Global Awakening: Infinite Gift Pack System

Chapter 302: The B-Ranks and New Vessels

In the meantime, the continent of Versailles, the crimson sky lingered above...

The people in New Haven‑45 couldn’t get used to this sky that was like a wound that refused to close.

A day had passed since the colossal mechanical structures appeared, and though they remained motionless, their silence weighed heavily on the defenders.

After all, they had no idea what it would do...

Would it drop some huge humanoid machines or mechas? Perhaps numerous Dragoons would be deployed from the sky?

They had no idea what it could do, and it was simply terrifying...

Althea stood at the watchtower, her eyes fixed on the horizon. The shelter had pulled out its telescopes and binoculars from Kai’s gift packs. As for the telescopes, they were relics salvaged from abandoned observatories and scavenger runs.

Scouts rotated shifts, peering through lenses at the floating constructs.

They magnified the angular surfaces, tracing the outlines of towers and strange protrusions, but no movement was detected.

No drones, no beams, no descent. Just silence...

"Anything?" Augustine asked, climbing the ladder to join her. His voice was hoarse from shouting orders all day.

Althea shook her head. "Nothing. They’re just... probably watching us as well"

Augustine spat over the railing. "Hahaha? Are they actually waiting for the Foreign Survivors? These machines don’t just watch for no reason... They’re definitely waiting and when they move, it’s never good."

He wasn’t one to sit idle. While the telescopes scanned the skies, Augustine had spent the day strengthening defenses.

He ordered trenches dug deeper around the perimeter, their edges lined with sharpened stakes. Pits were camouflaged with dirt and debris, ready to swallow any advancing unit.

Closer to the walls, he had overseen the placement of spike traps... Well, they were crude but effective, made from welded rebar and scavenged steel. If Sentinels, Hounds, and other units tried to climb, they would impale themselves before reaching the barricades, or at least slow them down.

Beyond that, Augustine had devised more elaborate snares.

Thanks to the various wires they had scavenged and numerous ropes that Kai had supplied, they created some weighted nets, rigged with counterbalances. They are mostly hidden beneath loose soil. If triggered, they would spring upward, entangling mechanical limbs and dragging them down into the trenches.

"Diggers worry me most," Augustine muttered as he inspected the ground.

"If they come from below, the walls won’t matter."

To counter that, they had planted some explosives underground and also prepared several grenade launchers so once they stick out, or once they get a hold of their holes, they could easily bombard and collapse their tunnel.

Of course, with their portable disruptor field and the perimeter alarm system set or sensors placed around the shelter, they would have enough time to react...

These devices would at least give a warning if something burrowed beneath.

"You’ve thought of everything... Well done." Althea muttered quietly.

"Not everything," Augustine replied. "But enough to buy us time."

Inside the shelter, survivors worked tirelessly.

Barricades were reinforced with more scavenged scrap metal. Ammunition was inventoried, rationed, and distributed to squads. T

The modified Sentinels stationed at the gate, X‑02 through X‑06, were recalibrated, their optics tuned to detect movement in the crimson haze.

Irene, the infirmary’s caretaker, worked tirelessly to prepare for the worst. She brewed stimulants from Kai’s earlier recipes, improving them with herbs that were cultivated in a greenhouse.

She stocked salves for burns, bandages for wounds, and others... Her hands never stopped moving, and though she spoke little, her presence reassured the defenders.

In the mess hall, Mila, the head chef, took charge of rationing. She organized supplies with her experience, ensuring every defender had enough to last through a siege.

Nonetheless, Althea knew that it would be hard to deal with this matter...

The crimson sky was definitely an omen.

Just like that, night fell, but the sky did not darken.

The crimson glow persisted across the land.

By dawn, the shelter remained safe... and only a couple of hours later, the Foreign Survivors would return...

However, the machines in the sky could no longer wait. In just a few moments, the people assigned to the watchtowers rang the bell.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The floating island was finally sending out numerous flying vessels. Many headed in different directions, but one of them was coming straight toward New Haven‑45.

"Holy shit..." Augustine muttered as he looked at the sky...

Defenders rushed to the walls, weapons in hand, as they hoped that Kai and the others return immediately!

From the horizon, a vessel came closer... but it was unlike anything they had seen before.

It was not an Impulse Gunship with its sleek cannons. It was not the twin‑rotor aerial gunship that had harassed shelters in the past.

It was not the Dominion, the disk‑shaped anti‑gravity craft.

Nor was it the jetski‑like vessel used by Dragoons.

This was something new.

The vessel moved through the air like a serpent, its body was segmented and flexible with scales of metal...

Then, five humanoid figures clung to its back! They seemed to be armored Sentinels riding this flying snake-like vessel!

Althea couldn’t help but feel shocked... "What in the world..."

Augustine frowned as he wasn’t sure if that snake vessel was only a transportation vehicle or it was also a mechanical beast ready to pounce on them...

"Doesn’t matter what it’s called. It’s coming for us!"

The serpent vessel swooped low, aiming for the shelter.

But as it neared, the Advanced Barrier System activated.

Bam!

A shimmering dome of energy flared around New Haven‑45, repelling the vessel with a thunderous crash...

The serpent buckled and its riders ere thrown off, crashing into the earth outside the walls.

The defenders cheered briefly... until they saw what had landed.

The Sentinels rose from the dust, their armor still looking perfectly under the crimson sky. They weren’t dented at all!

Furthermore, these sentinels were larger, bulkier, and their armor plating was thicker than anything the shelter had faced before.

Augustine’s eyes widened. "Is this... B‑Rank Sentinels? Shit!"

Althea’s heart sank. Their modified Sentinels, X‑02 through X‑06, were only C‑Rank. They had been proud of those machines, but compared to these, they looked fragile.

The defenders murmured in fear. "B‑Rank? We can’t fight those..."

But Althea silenced them with a shout.

"We don’t give up! We have traps, we have weapons, we have each other. Hold the line!"

The battle began just like that...

The B‑Rank Sentinels advanced with their heavy steps, shaking the ground.

Augustine triggered the perimeter traps. Trenches collapsed, stakes impaled, nets sprang upward... but the armored machines tore through them, their plating shrugging off the crude defenses.

B-Rank Sentinels were on a different level for sure!

"Grenade launchers!" Augustine shouted...

Soon, explosions erupted across the field as smoke and fire engulfed the Sentinels, slowing their advance.

One staggered, its armor scorched, but it kept moving.

Althea directed the artillery. "Target the center! Fire!"

The lone artillery piece thundered, its shell slamming into a Sentinel’s chest. The impact knocked it back, denting its armor, but still it rose.

"Damn it, they’re too tough!" a defender cried...

Althea hurled a smoke grenade, the thick cloud obscuring the machines.

"Blind them! Use the disruptors!"

Portable disruptor fields activated and soon, it started distorting the Sentinels’ signals. Stun grenades followed, detonating with blinding flashes. For a moment, the machines slowed d as if their movements became sluggish.

"Now! Rifles!" Augustine roared.

Dozens of defenders opened fire, bullets hammering against the weakened joints.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

Sparks flew as rounds found gaps in the armor.

One Sentinel collapsed soon as it was actually thrown into a fire trap, its systems fried!

Thud!

The defenders cheered, but the victory was short‑lived.

The remaining Sentinels surged forward, smashing through barricades.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Their weapons, heavy blades and mounted guns, tore into the defenses.

Althea gritted her teeth. "Keep fighting! Don’t let them breach the walls!"

Grenades were thrown, nets were used to keep them in place, and rifles fired continuously...

The battlefield was chaos...

One Sentinel reached the trench, its foot caught in a weighted net.

Augustine seized the chance, firing a grenade launcher directly into its chest. The blast tore through its plating, sending it crashing into the pit, but it wasn’t disabled yet...

Another Sentinel continued slamming the barrier, and they knew it would collapse if they don’t stop it... Thankfully, defenders swarmed it, hurling grenades and firing point‑blank.

Bang! Bang!

Furthermore, the disruptor field seemed to have overloaded its systems, and it toppled backward...

Still, two remained, pressing hard against the defenses. One of them were even slowly standing up to continue...

Althea’s voice rang out, steady despite the chaos. "Focus fire! Aim for the joints!"

The defenders obeyed, rifles and grenades hammering the machines’ knees and elbows.

Althea couldn’t help but feel nervous since each defender had probably used five magazines by now... Since there were 20 or so of them, that was already quite a lot considering that they were only facing five enemies!

Still, slowly, the Sentinels also reached their limit...

Two collapsed under the barrage, with their armor cracked open. The last Sentinel charged, but Augustine triggered the final trap.

Explosives buried beneath the soil detonated, engulfing the machine in fire.

When the smoke cleared, only twisted metal remained...

"We did it—"

However, as they were about to celebrate, they realized that the huge snake-like vessel had already destroyed the barrier...