“The Central Unit consumption is severe.”
The Artificial Spirits mainly targeted the Central Command Giants and Central Command Warriors. Even with the Apocalid World spread out, they used their swift mobility to approach before being digested.
Then they activated Annihilation Magic, trading blow for blow. The Central Units disappeared without a trace.
“Since they blow away the corpses, we can’t even recycle the nutrients!”
If there were corpses, they could put them in the Soil Pit to make nutrients and produce new Apocalids. But the Artificial Spirits’ Annihilation Magic left no corpses, making the battle very inefficient.
“Is there no way?”
It wasn’t enough to turn the tide of battle, but efficiency was a very important factor for the Apocalids.
“Trading one-to-one with Suction Workers is the best option, but…”
Since the Artificial Spirits started their self-destruct attacks, the Suction Workers were being consumed as fast as they were produced from the Soil Pit.
“We need to stop Gunsmir too.”
Gunsmir approaching Ku-eong. Since he was the Spirit King, he didn’t seem likely to self-destruct immediately, but they couldn’t just leave him alone.
-We’ll go. Spirits should be handled by spirit specialists.
Dielka said via Will.
“When did you wake up?”
-Just a moment ago. This one was just waking me up.
Dielka, inside Ku-eong, tapped the wall of the Hibernation Room.
-So this is how Apocalids hibernate.
Iselin looked amazed. When you wake up from sleep without knowing what’s going on in the world, memories and information from other Central Units flood in.
“I’m counting on you.”
-Leave it to us.
Iselin and Dielka flew off. The Suction Workers that had just emerged from the Soil Pit followed behind.
Choi Kangjoong watched the two elves. He was curious how they, who knew spirits well, would fight.
-So they’re the elves who destroyed the Spirit of Battle.
Gunsmir issued a caution order. The Artificial Spirits spread out from the two elves and fired beams. Thousands of beams focused on Iselin and Dielka.
“This is nothing!”
Dielka spoke as if she could easily block the barrage of beams, then urgently summoned a Fighter Giant. The Fighter Giant shielded Dielka with its broad back.
“Ooh, it’s hot!”
Dielka summoned a Spirit of Wind to cool the sweat beading on her neck.
Iselin, on the other hand, was the same as before the attack. She didn’t shed a single drop of sweat. That was because she had deployed several shields infused with Life Mana and deflected all the beams from a distance.
Artificial Spirits flew in, whoosh whoosh. They spread out to avoid being caught in each other’s Annihilation Magic and approached Iselin and Dielka in sequence.
Iselin twisted the corners of her mouth and waved her hand. The spirits composing the Artificial Spirits rose up. The spirits regained consciousness and ran wild, and the Artificial Spirits broke down helplessly. The resulting spirits were either collected by Iselin or absorbed by the Suction Workers.
Dielka was different. She used Death Mana to remove the binding force that formed the Artificial Spirits’ bodies. The result was similar. The Artificial Spirits collapsed like sandcastles.
Gunsmir had no reaction. It wasn’t that he wasn’t surprised. He no longer had the leisure for that. He was quietly making countermeasures.
‘But could there be a countermeasure? What can you possibly do against such an opponent?’
-They’re full of defects…
Gunsmir had a sense of superiority. How many weaknesses do naturally born creatures have? Dead if cold or hot. Dead without water or food. Dead if half their body disappears, and dead from age. Artificial Spirits were different. They could live at any temperature, didn’t need water or food, and could regenerate even if only 1% of their body remained. Living creatures were fragile. There wasn’t a single advantage. The function called evolution was too weak. They were inferior in every way compared to Artificial Spirits. Beings that polluted the Dimensional Sea and were utterly useless.
But now the Artificial Spirits were being beaten by such beings. And completely helplessly. Suddenly, rage boiled up. He wanted to melt them all away satisfyingly. But the power the Artificial Spirits had was insufficient.
Gunsmir suppressed his emotions and called a Magic Stone Golem. Two Magic Stone Golems approached Gunsmir. They were Magic Stone Golems with identification numbers 6 and 7, and they proudly used those as their names. They were also the only siblings of Clytemnestra, who was number 1. Because among the Magic Stone Golems with single-digit identification numbers, only Six and Seven remained besides Clytemnestra.
-I leave it to you.
Six and Seven flew toward Iselin and Dielka. They already knew the situation from what they heard on the way.
Iselin also called for support. It was hard to block a 5-meter Magic Stone Golem with just spirits. That much mass was needed. Two Super Titans approached. Among the Super Titans, these were ones whose weight class was close to Hive Class. On their backs lay Battle Titans, and inside their bellies were full of Giants.
Kuuung.
Six landed on the back of the Super Titan where Iselin was. While the two watched each other, Giants that had woken from hibernation crawled up the flank and surrounded Six. The Giants were much longer and heavier than Six, but the height difference wasn’t that big.
“Attack.”
At Iselin’s word, the Giants leaped. Some aimed for Six’s lower body. A simultaneous attack covering front, back, left, right, and even above and below.
Click.
Blades emerged from both of Six’s forearms. He stabbed a Giant with them and spread his arms, splitting the Giant’s body in half. To tear apart a sturdy Giant like that was no less than terrifying power. In an instant, five Giants were killed.
Six broke through the encirclement and flew toward Iselin. Iselin retreated, and a Battle Titan rose and swung its Scythe Claw. Six dodged the Scythe Claw by a hair’s breadth and leaped up to the Battle Titan’s head. Meeting eyes that felt no emotion, he thrust his right arm. He intended to destroy the eye and turn the brain inside into pulp. No matter how big the thing was, if that happened, it would fall.
Swoosh!
An arrow flying from Six’s right. Instead of striking the eye, he had to block the arrow.
Clang!
Six was sent flying. From the impact delivered by the arrow, he had no leisure to fly steadily.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Large Scythe Claws came in. No matter how tough a Magic Stone Golem was, it couldn’t remain intact if hit with that mass and speed. Moreover, the Scythe Claws contained an unknown power that was fatal even to Magic Stone Golems. Six lay his body flat. The Scythe Claws grazed his back and chest as they passed. Sparks flew and fragments of magic stone fell.
Swoosh!
Arrow? No. It was Iselin’s sword, which had approached unnoticed.
Clang!
Six hurriedly turned his body. He barely knocked away the sword thrusting at the center of his back.
“Too bad.”
Iselin climbed onto the Battle Titan’s head.
-Aren’t you a Spirit Master?
“I just have many talents.”
-You have even more subordinates.
The group of spirits, Fighter Giants, and Titans summoned by Iselin all stared only at Six. Six gave up the idea of handling it alone and called for comrades. The Magic Stone Golems that had fought alongside him for many years flew in.
Grrrr.
The Super Titan turned its body. The Mana Cannons moved here and there, targeting the approaching Magic Stone Golems.
KABOOM!
• A brutal explosion created by thousands of Mana Cannons.
The Magic Stone Golems avoided direct hits with their shields and endured close explosions with their sturdy bodies as they pushed forward. Thus they closed the long distance and arrived on the Super Titan’s back. What welcomed them were Giants led by a Central Command Giant.
Six was already fighting Iselin, who had the Battle Titan in front. A quiet battle occurred. No sounds of screams, shouts, or battle cries were heard at all. Only the sound of Scythe Claws or weapons cutting through the Dimensional Sea was heard.
The battle between Lutal and Clytemnestra was similar. Only occasional vibrations occurred during rapid maneuvers or when Expel and Scythe Claws clashed.
‘It’s not easy.’
Clytemnestra had removed one or two legs from each of the three Lutals, but his own condition wasn’t good either. His left arm was on the verge of falling off, and two legs had been gone for a long time. His entire body was full of long cracks. He couldn’t regenerate easily because of the Death Mana.
‘This is going to be tough.’
Originally, he planned to kill those individuals and disrupt the enemy lines. Since that plan failed from the start, he had no choice but to change his strategy. Clytemnestra spun Expel once. Annihilation Magic spread widely, and the Lutals retreated. Clytemnestra flew back to his main camp. The Lutals that were following him had to give up pursuit due to massive firepower.
“What is he trying to do?”
Choi Kangjoong’s question was soon answered. The Dimension Ship that Clytemnestra was riding transformed. The front part split into four sections and spread wide open. With a head forming there, it became like a giant Magic Stone Golem with a protruding back.
-If I can’t kill the small ones first, I’ll eliminate the big ones.
Clytemnestra flew toward one Super Titan. At the approach of the giant Magic Stone Golem, the Super Titan fired a Breath and then turned its body to fire its Mana Cannons. It thought that if this killed it, good, and if not, at least it would be a check. Clytemnestra struck the Breath with her left arm, ignored the Mana Cannons, and approached, grabbing the Super Titan. The Super Titan didn’t just stand still. It struck with its tail and sent the Apocalids inside toward Clytemnestra. But nothing worked against Clytemnestra. As Clytemnestra moved her four arms, the Super Titan was soon split into four pieces. Even if it endured with Death Resistance, it was a fatal wound that could not be regenerated. Thus one Super Titan died vainly.
“Is it some kind of transforming robot?”
Choi Kangjoong only felt absurd and couldn’t laugh. Because the Lutals had similar abilities.
Ku-eong’s belly opened. From where a Bio Pod should have come out, a giant Apocalid resembling a Lutal emerged. It flew and combined with one Lutal.
“Should I thank Kuralgal? No. Even if we hadn’t fought Kuralgal, he would have evolved by now.”
“Ku-eong.”
Ku-eong affirmed.
‘So such an entity exists too.’
Clytemnestra approached the giant Lutal with slight carelessness. Her own body was an ultimate battle weapon integrating Crystal technology. Even though Crystal had lost most of its technology after the Great War, it still possessed technology superior to any current race. The fact that she could freely move arms of this size was proof of that.
‘It’s probably just big. It can’t compare to this body.’
She thought that the Outer Mind’s giant servants were not streamlined for nothing. If not for that shape, the structure would collapse from weight or be unable to move.
The giant Lutal also drew Scythe Claws from its middle legs. Clytemnestra, recalling the opponent she had struggled against earlier, tried to shake off her anxiety. But she couldn’t help but be astonished by the trajectory of the four Scythe Claws and the Death Blades gathered on them.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
A sound as if the world was breaking rang out. Fine cracks appeared in Clytemnestra’s arm joints. The same was true for the enemy. But the enemy regenerated quickly. It was several levels above her own regeneration.
‘If this drags on, I’ll definitely lose.’
Clytemnestra increased her core output. The output that had been maintained at 80% soon reached 100%. The cooling system was activated at full to cool the heat emitted by the core. Hot air blasted out from Clytemnestra’s rear.