Chapter 322: Not Late
The sight before Kai was overwhelming. Nearly four hundred survivors had gathered, their combined forces were fighting against the defenses of the docked Floating Fortress. Yet despite their numbers, progress was painfully slow.
’Well... No wonder there are two batches...’ Kai mused.
At the forefront of the battle, Kai spotted six black humanoid machines locked in combat against a dozen high‑level survivors, each likely around Level 80.
These machines moved terrifyingly well and could go toe to toe against various Gene Skills and Gene Weapons thrown at them.
Flaming Fist, Vibrating Sword, Crushing Palm, and various things were being taken head-on by the machines... Their forms weren’t even dented.
It was as if their bodies were fully made of Aetherium Ore like the S-Grade Sentinel, Atom...
Still, it didn’t take that long before recognition struck Kai.
Ascendant Units...
They were not Sentinels, Dragoons, Spyders, Hounds, Tyrants, or any of the other A.I. Army classifications he’d always encountered...
They didn’t belong to the familiar grading system of F‑Grade through A‑Grade.
Ascendants were something else entirely... a separate mechanical entity, designed to surpass conventional ranks.
Their existence explained why the first batch had failed to breach the fortress.
"It’s already amazing that they’re holding on."
Meanwhile, the rest of the survivors were locked in battle against five massive mechanical beasts that guarded the base...
Each beast had a thick layer of armor... They were towering quadrupeds with their bodies filled with pointed protrusions...
Then, their heads resembled a fusion of reptile and machine.
Their limbs were also made to move fast, allowing them to crush survivors with terrifying ease. Lastly, mounted along their spines were rotating cannons, spewing bursts of plasma fire.
Still, those cannons would get targeted by some elite Survivors in order to suppress their firing rate...
’They’re all coordinated.’ Kai mused.
He then scanned the fortress itself.
"Ah?"
Just now, he realized that its turrets, machine guns, and cannons had already been destroyed!
This was probably the evidence of a successful ambush, or this expedition group had specific elites who could take out those mounted weapons.
This was definitely a form of victory, at least.
But the real obstacle loomed above them... an energy barrier enveloped the fortress, preventing infiltration!
Survivors battered against it with weapons and skills, but it held firm, humming with alien energy.
Kai watched them unleash their Gene Skills, Gene Weapons, and even some explosives so they could sneak in!
However, none of them were being successful!
’I guess they’ll be needing more firepower, huh...’ Kai mused.
He knew that if they failed to raid this base today, more A.I. Soldiers would come and without the protection of the City’s Barrier, they would be killed here.
"We have 16 more hours before the reinforcements from the other Floating Fortress arrive. We have plenty of time!" The leader of the Scorpio Faction shouted.
These words also attracted the Survivors who had been fighting against the A.I. Soldiers.
A few of those exhausted survivors began to retreat, giving space for Pisces and Scorpio to join the fray.
The Pisces hoverboards glided into formation, while the mercenary squads revved their motorbikes.
Meanwhile, Scorpio’s armored cars rolled forward, their turrets swiveling toward one of the mechanical beasts.
"Focus on that one!" Trent shouted, pointing to the beast closest to their position.
The chosen beast was a hulking monstrosity, its body plated in obsidian armor. Its maw opened to reveal rows of metallic teeth, spewing bursts of molten plasma.
Each step shook the ground...
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The mercenaries charged forward, and soon motorbikes were moving around their legs. Explosives were hurled, detonating against its armor.
Pisces members darted in on hoverboards, striking with precision weapons.
Kai himself activated his Strength Gauntlet, channeling Brutal Impact Skill into a devastating punch against one of the beast’s joints.
Bam!
The strike reverberated, forcing the limb to buckle slightly.
’Ohhh... It’s softer than I thought... I guess that others had already done the damage.’
Just like that, Scorpio’s armored cars unleashed coordinated fire.
Their turrets spat streams of high‑caliber rounds, hammering the beast’s flank.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
One of the Level 80 Scorpio elites leapt from a car, wielding a massive glaive that was filled with Spirit Energy. He carved into the beast’s armor, leaving glowing scars across its plating.
The battle was brutal. The beast roared, sweeping its tail to smash motorbikes aside.
Survivors were thrown through the air, some crushed beneath its claws. But the combined assault was relentless.
Kai pressed forward, thrusting his War Lance into the same joint he had weakened earlier. The Perfect Thrust effect triggered, shattering the armor and piercing deep.
"Now!" Trent shouted.
Explosives detonated in unison, ripping through the exposed joint.
The beast staggered, its massive frame collapsing to the ground with a thunderous crash.
[ Enemy Unit Destroyed: Artifact Creature (A) ]
[ Experience Points distributed among all participants. ]
[ +1,400 Experience Points ]
"Artifact Creature? What the?" Kai was confused as he got the notification.
This was his first time participating in the hunt for such a huge mech...
He thought it was a Beast Mech, but it turns out to be completely different.
"Is this creature only here because of the Floating Fortress?" He mused.
Still, the cheers erupted as the survivors realized they had felled one of the five guardians.
But the barrier was still present.
At this point, Scorpio’s leader, a broad‑shouldered man clad in black armor, stepped forward.
He raised a device that was humming with energy.
It looked more like a huge speaker in Kai’s eyes but it must be something precious.
"Stand back."
The Scorpio elites activated the device, and beams of concentrated and invisible energy lanced toward the fortress...
The barrier shimmered violently, resisting at first, then soon, it cracked like glass under the assault.
With a final surge, it shattered, fragments of light dissolving into the air!
Survivors roared in triumph, but the celebration was short‑lived. Complaints erupted almost immediately.
"You arrived late!" one shouted.
"We’ve been dying out here while you sat back!" another accused.
"You had the anti‑barrier tech all along!"
The Scorpio leader only laughed, his voice carrying over the chaos. "You rushed in, thinking you could loot the fortress without us. You thought you didn’t need Scorpio’s specialty. And now you complain because you failed?"
He shook his head, smirking. "We’ll take our share. That’s the price of survival."
Kai listened, piecing the situation together. It wasn’t that Scorpio had been late. The first batch had deliberately rushed ahead, hoping to breach the fortress before Scorpio arrived so they wouldn’t have to share the spoils.
Their greed had cost them dearly.
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