The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 206
206fury.
============================
“……Zeus Ex Machina, what is that??”
It was sad to ask that question. Her question was something everyone was curious about, so all eyes were on Lee Hyun-wook..
Lee Hyun-wook pointed to the mechanical dragon that landed right next to him and said..
“Like that mechanical dragon, it is a weapon being secretly developed in Laputa's research lab. Captain Seo may also have seen it on his way to and from Laputa..”
"ah… … It seems like that……."
However, Seo Eun-ha also seemed to not know much about it. Although she lived in Laputa for a while, she did not closely understand what projects the blacksmiths were working on. This was because she had been solely focused on ‘surreal training’..
"But what kind of weapon do you think can kill titans and black orcs??”
This time Edwards Woods asked.
“From what I heard, I think the number of them that appeared near the camp was in the thousands... … Can you really stop that??”
He seemed worried about his comrades in the camp beyond the rising mountains..
The judgment of others, including Edward Woods, was that if help was not given right away, he might not be able to last even a few more minutes..
"Well, to be exact, it's not going to kill you and block you, but it's probably going to have the right performance to delay time..”
“yes?”
“……What do you think is the best attribute for suppressing multiple enemies without killing them??”
The answer was Brian Thiel..
“There are three things that can be said about big data:.”
As the world's best analysis player, he presented the correct answer based on reliable dates..
“……These three - wind, ice, and electricity - have the widest attack range compared to mana consumption, but the lowest damage. Oh, of course, as the level of each ability increases, the killing power is maximized..”
Lee Hyun-wook nodded..
“There are players in that camp who have reached the peak of two of these abilities, and we have prepared hextech equipment to maximize their abilities..”
Lee Hyun-wook continued speaking as he slowly launched an AD-2 into the air..
"To explain it further, it's like maxing out my metal control skills with these metal boxes..”
It could be said that the reason Lee Hyun-wook's ability to manipulate metal was replaced with extreme firepower was thanks to the 'Aerial Drop Device' series created through magical engineering..
"ah… … Are you talking about those two people who always walked together??”
That meant Kim Se-hee and Park Jun-mo..
They were a wind elementalist and a person with the ability to control electric current, respectively..
"Yes, that's right. And among them, Current is, as everyone knows, a so-called S-class player. It's also one of the most powerful weapons I can handle.."
Lee Hyun-wook highly evaluated Park Jun-mo’s potential..
That guy's ability, electric current, is 'intangible', 'light speed', and 'projected'. And even range damage called ‘electric shock’… … Therefore, as an enemy, it was quite difficult to block that attack..
However, as powerful as it was, the growth method was quite difficult, perhaps due to balance..
‘The way he grows is by being struck by nature's lightning..’
So, they visited areas with bad weather and used all kinds of methods to induce lightning, and Park Jun-mo was struck by lightning thousands of times..
Also, the reason why Park Jun-mo did not move with Lee Hyun-wook for the past few weeks was because he was constantly getting hit by lightning in preparation for the final war..
‘I'm a little sorry, but I couldn't help it..’
In that way, Park Jun-mo grew several times..
Enough to fill this area with electricity…….
"I mean, he'll buy you some time..”
Hyunwook Lee raised his head and looked at the camp and the volcano that split it in half..
Although he could not see beyond the mountain with his eyes, Hugin and Munin's transcendental senses allowed them to sense a certain 'vibration' coming from the other side..
Two—two—two—two——
It was the sound of something hitting the floor loudly, like a herd of buffalo running. I could tell without having to see it with my own eyes that it was the sound of enemy footsteps moving towards the camp..
‘……30Man, you'll be able to hold on..’
Even though he sensed a terrible omen, he believed in Park Jun-mo and Kim Se-hee, who had become even stronger..
I didn't fully anticipate this situation, but I left them at the camp just in case..
But I couldn't help but feel frustrated in a corner of my heart..
Because there was nothing to see here..
and.......
'......What other variables may arise?.’
In fact, even this situation was a variable that Lee Hyun-wook did not expect... … If this variable were to occur again, how he would respond was currently vague..
Therefore, I had no choice but to trust Park Jun-mo and Kim Se-hee while hoping for luck..
***
This 'camp' is an outpost for attacking the Demon King's Castle, and currently 2,344 players have arrived as an advance team..
About one-fifth of them were combat troops, the rest were tasked with supporting the upcoming battle..
For example, blacksmith, analyst, priest, etc.…….
In other words, the current camp's combat power was bound to be significantly weak..
However, since the battle took place not here but somewhere around 2-3 km away, the players in the camp believed that they would not be attacked directly..
I thought that even if a diversionary attack were to occur, Steele Rain would immediately rescue me..
So, the camp was currently processing various preliminary tasks to support the upcoming battle while maintaining a minimum level of alert..
but.......
1 gu 1 gu 1 district——!
The whole world was twisted in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the ground I stood on cracked and magma rose, the plains rose and mountains rose..
The opening of heaven and earth).
There was a drastic change in the terrain that could be called that..
“Wow, what happened all of a sudden??”
“……What happened to Stillane??”
Even in the midst of all the chaos, the first thing the camp players thought of was inevitably Steele Lane and the others. Because their existence was tied to their own survival..
However, because they were hidden by the rising mountain range, Steele Lane and his party could not be seen... … For an instant, they felt a shiver run down their spines..
How long can we survive in this crazy land, in the middle of enemy territory, without the direct protection of Steele Rain??
But those worries couldn't last long..
Ku—gu—gu—gu........
The whole world was covered in a hazy smoke, magma rushed in like waves, and pieces of rock that rose up from the explosion began to rain down on the camp..
Right now, I had to figure out how to survive..
"Damn it, move quickly!”
"Don't lose your mind, respond!”
The scene might have been similar to the final scene the residents of Pompeii would have witnessed..
In other words, this small camp was a catastrophe that could have been deleted in an instant like a lantern in the wind..
at that time--—
Just by a single second, at the perfect moment, a wide-area magic shield was deployed, covering the camp like a dome..
yes——
Rocks the size of houses crashed down on top of it one after another..
Thump 1 Thump 1 Thump 1!
"Wow, what are you doing all of a sudden?!”
The so-called 'Camp Guard', wizard players in charge of defending the camp, quickly cast an area-wide magic shield..
A while ago, a battle with an undead army was taking place nearby, so everyone was tense and waiting. It was a shame. If we had been just a little bit late, the camp would have been devastated..
“What the hell is going on??”
"……I don't know what's going on, but I'm feeling a little fucked up..”
At that time, a sharp voice came from loudspeakers installed throughout the camp..
- All troops ready for battle—! All troops ready for battle—!
This voice was the voice of team leader Kyojun Lee..
He was the representative of Director Woo Seong-moon, who was in charge of camp operation..
He was urgently giving battle orders..
Doesn't that mean something is approaching??
However, for them, the ‘battle’ was not a planned operation..
So one by one, we raised our heads and looked around the camp..
"Uh, what? Wow, what a battle.……."
“……What's about to happen??”
However, the entire area was covered with volcanic ash and visibility was limited, so it was impossible to guess what was coming..
However, even though you cannot see it with your eyes, the roar is getting louder.…….
Two—two—two—two——
The deep sound sent shivers down the players' spines..
No matter who heard it, it was the sound of footsteps..
A very large being was approaching..
Soon, shadows appeared one by one on the volcanic ash that surrounded everything like a curtain, and they began to grow larger..
As the figure holding a large shield and a spear taller than his height became more and more clear, the players took a step back without realizing it..
"omg......."
One of them muttered in a low voice..
“……T, it's titan.”
Yes. They appeared to be man-eating giants called 'Titan Hoplites'. The beings I faced before... … However, before the final siege, he disappeared with the Demon King..
They once again appeared before humans..
After all, right now, in front of them..
"Ooh, can we stop them on our own??”
"……Well, I guess I'll need some steelane..”
But that wasn't all.
Ahhh——
Something small moving black beneath the feet of those giants... … No, it was only relatively small, but the large being much larger than a human was none other than the Black Orc Legion..
In addition, there were even 5-6m ice trolls mixed in between them..
Literally, an army of monsters was approaching like a swarm, entangled in volcanic ash..
"......."
No matter how much they thought about it or how much they tried to force it, the players here were not at the level to compete against him..
Aren't these just security forces to begin with??
"Well, I can't stop that.!”
The first to spit out the truth was Antonina Grasso, the head of the 'Camp Guard'..
She was ranked 4th in the Italian player rankings and was at level 80..
In other words, he was actually the strongest among them..
Even she didn't have the confidence to easily defeat even one of the hundreds of titan hoplites coming here..
But having to fight with so many people... … It was crazy. It was an act of suicide..
"Tee, team leader, what should we do then??”
She thought for a moment, then turned to her friend and gave an order..
“—Listen up everyone! Right now, pour all your mana into the magic shield, max it out, take the mana potion, and get ready to open the long-range portal. I need to get out of here.!”
In the end, the only answer is to retreat with all your might.
however…….
Chi-ji-ji-ji——
A deep friction sound rang above her head, and she instinctively raised her head. Then she realized that the top part of the magic shield was torn and was slowly melting..
The only lifeline was being cut..
“……It's a barrier collapse magic.?”
It was a fraudulent skill that nullified magic shields or barriers..
"Crazy, this trash magic……."
She'd only heard of it, but this was her first time seeing it in action..
Because it was not a normal skill, but a part of black magic based on ‘human sacrifice’..
"Oh—I'm thrilled that you realize how expensive my magic is..”
Overhead, a voice rang out through loudspeaker magic..
When I looked up, the volcanic ash covering the sky was slowly fading away, and I was able to spot a zombie Hippocripo floating there..
And then I saw a woman riding on top of it..
Many people realized who she was..
"Me, that person is Rachel Hardy……."
"You're the witch of Manchester.!”
That woman's notoriety was so famous that everyone was shocked to hear her name..
Rachel Hardy was a vicious Red Player known as the main culprit in several serial killings that took place in England over the years..
aka the witch of manchester.......
It was known that all of her victims were victims of black magic..
That woman appeared as a vassal of the Demon King..
"Would you like to be a part of my magic too? To prepare for this, I took about 20 souls and mixed them together, but I think 5 souls would be enough for a player of your size..”
Rachel Hardy placed her hand on the head of the zombie Hippogriffo with a wry smile, and the monster began to lower its altitude..
And at the same time, he raised his staff. A 'fairy' was hanging on the staff like an ornament..
Red light spread from the eyes, nose, and mouth of the little mummy, and as if it was coming back to life, it opened its mouth wide and let out a small scream..
Tweet—
Then a black sphere was shot and hit the melting magic shield, and it began to disappear even faster..
"Hehehe—my choice was right in the end! I've been running away from this shit world all my life, but I thought that one day a moment like this would come! Now it's you who have to run away, not me.!”
exclaimed Rachel Hardy with great excitement..
She is one of the first generation warlocks, enduring the world's oppression of the dark side and surviving in the shadows..
Then, he gained the favor of being called the Demon King and reached his prime..
In the end, the magic shield completely collapsed..
"ruler! Let's go and kill them all.!”
The monster army advanced at Rachel Hardy's cry..
As a vassal of the Demon King, she was given the authority to control 55 Titans and 644 Black Orcs..
Ku—gu—gu—gu—gu—
If you look at it from a distance, a water buffalo running while kicking up dust... … No, it would look like a herd of mongooses about to be trampled by a herd of elephants..
It was such a precarious moment, but the players could not do anything in the face of approaching death..
"uh……."
I realized that even if I turned my back and ran away right now, it would only be a meaningless struggle..
It's like your body freezes in front of an oncoming truck..
But that was then.
- Chick—All troops, prepare for the gust of wind..
Such voices came out through the mana messenger of camp guard Antonina Grasso and the mana messenger of several executive players..
"huh?"
- Chick—I say it again. every. Lie down. right now!
a woman shouted.
"—Everyone get down!”
Although she didn't know what was happening, Antonina Grasso instinctively gave the command..
Then, one by one, the players all fell flat on the floor..
yes—
At that moment, the atmosphere in the area completely changed..
The direction of the wind, which had been mixed up due to the rise of mountains and volcanic eruptions, began to flow in only one direction..
towards the enemy camp.
towards the monsters.
The winds began to flow like a swollen river during the rainy season..
Ku-hwa-ah-ah-ah——!
storm.
A wind powerful enough to be called that blew from the upper rear and completely pushed away the volcanic ash that had been coloring the area hazy..
The rocks blown away by the volcanic eruption surfaced again..
The entire cracked ground was lifted up..
And the magma that was flowing this way reversed..
"Pfft! What's this!”
Rachel Hardy, who was floating in the sky on the Zombie Hippogriffo, was also swept away by the gust of wind and was thrown hundreds of meters away before crashing to the ground..
puck——
There was magma flowing there, but I didn't get burned or burned because I wrapped myself in a magic shield right before I fell..
She cursed as she crawled out of the magma..
“Shit—what is this! What a gust of wind! Hurricane, Kodo Koshiro won't be here, so why?……."
Even titan hoplites, which were over 15 meters tall and weighed hundreds of tons, stopped moving forward, covered themselves with shields, and placed their weight on their legs..
I could move forward slowly, step by step, like a person going through a typhoon, but it didn't seem like I could call that progress..
And the relatively small black orcs couldn't hold on and were pushed back, and some even rolled around on the floor..
The advance of the monster army stopped in an instant..
It was that overwhelming wind pressure..
What it is…….
Ki-i-i-i——
Although it was buried in the sound of the wind, the sound of machinery was clearly coming from somewhere... … Rachel Hardy lifted her head and tracked the sound..
And I noticed that very large airships were rising all over the camp..
"huh? I would have been greeted by a mana reflux grenade........"
Before this battle began, Gordon Price fired a 'mana reflux grenade' to paralyze the magic engineering equipment..
But it had already been restored and started functioning properly..
Looking closely, there was a circular device attached to the bottom of the airship..
It was an object that looked like a turbine at a power plant. Or, it resembled a fighter jet engine..
It spun at high speed, and huge blue magic circles bloomed above it, pushing all the air in the area to one side..
Ku-hwa-ah-ah-ah——!
Because such a storm-like wind was fired, the airships had no choice but to be pushed back in reaction. It was like spraying a propeller with enormous output in the reverse direction..
However, it did not fly away completely and was fixed at a certain height because it was firmly tied to the ground with a rope made from the vine of the 'world tree'..
"Pfft!"
"I can breathe......."
And with all the air being blown to one side, there was no oxygen left and the players were having trouble breathing..
But this attack could not be stopped..
"Great—this time, the secret weapon pays off! Well, how about it! The taste of Enlil's frenzy!”
The person who shouted that was Kang Hee-seol wearing an oxygen mask..
Those storm generators, ‘Enlil’s Frenzy’, were also designed by her..
It was an object endowed with dozens of hero-grade ‘Silph Orbs’ collected from all over the world, and was designed solely to create powerful winds..
That is why the absurd thing of covering such a wide battlefield with a storm was made possible..
Thump—thud—
However, the Titan Hoplites were steadily breaking through the typhoon thanks to their overwhelming weight, and soon they reached the camp..
at that time—
Chum—Chuk.—
Blood burst from their Achilles tendons and the backs of their knees. The tendon had been torn when something cut deep there..
「Wow—」
And no matter how giant he was, he couldn't walk through the storm with the tendons in his legs broken..
They stopped moving forward and eventually collapsed helplessly..
Chum—Chuk.—
It's already the 6th.
In an instant, the titan hoplites were neutralized..
The identity of the small blade hidden in the wind that was cutting them down was only one woman..
The only being that can move freely with the wind.
It was Kim Se-hee, who had already become the world's best wind elementalist..
Hung—
"Hani— Let’s aim for the guy on the right.!”
She flew at incredible speed, riding the wind path opened by Hani in a powerful storm that no one could resist..
Like gliding down a canyon in a jet suit..
Additionally, she wore a cloak made from the black dragon's wing membrane, an item that allowed her to fly more freely..
However, as time passed, the Titan Hoplites began to sense her movements and chase her..
Hung—
She had just narrowly avoided the giant hand..
"Pfft! Shit!”
If I didn't pay attention, I could have been crushed by a huge hand..
"Uh—uh—”
Then two hands flew towards her, and she performed aerobatics and narrowly entered them, as if passing through a narrow ravine..
I barely made it through, but when I hit my little finger, I lost my balance and started spinning in the air..
However, with Hani’s assistance, I was able to quickly regain my balance..
But it was dangerous like this.
"How long do I have to hold on?!”
she shouted.
Her mission was to buy time in the first place.
Then she heard Kang Hee-seol's voice in her ears..
- The final boss will arrive soon. Please hold on just a little longer!
There are 30 seconds left now!
Meanwhile…….
Clap—clack—
camp center.
The 14 airships, including Friedwen, that were parked there started up all at once..
And there were a lot of thick cables attached to their mana engines, but those cables were connected to only one place..
A huge amount of power, i.e. mana, was flowing along that cable.…….
yes——
“Okay, start Zeus Ex Machina.!”
Kang Hee-seol shouted and pulled the lever of the control box..
OK—
yes——
A 25-meter-tall, magenta-blue metal giant, seemingly carved from blue sapphire, stood up..
Chijijijiji——
I could see an electric current flowing through its body..
Colossus, one of the crystals of magical engineering..
Among them, Talos, who is said to be the best, was Orichalkon, and the remaining mass-produced giant monsters produced after that were Adamants..
So what is the body of that blue light giant soldier made of??
Cheoncheol (天鐵)).
It was a 1,558-ton metal giant made of 'cheoncheol', a magic metal that generates electric current when given mana, and various lightning-related orbs..
In other words, if there was a huge supply of mana, this 1,558-ton lump of iron could produce an absurd amount of electric current..
And its engine part was none other than ‘Mjolnir’.…….
It contained the mana of as many as 14 magic engineering engines and was replacing it with very strong lightning energy..
P—G—G—G——!
Even though no action had been taken yet, an electric current began to erupt around the body, threatening to glass the ground it was on..
And in its chest there was a cockpit, or cockpit..
The person in it was Park Jun-mo, the controller of the electric current..
And now he was caught up in a huge amount of electric current..
In other words, an environment was created in which he became the most powerful..
He slowly opened his mouth, feeling an overwhelming force..
"After— Team Leader Kim. Hurry and avoid!”
- Ah, Park Jun-mo! I'm ready now?
"yes. Now there……”
thud—
Zeus of Deus (ZeCis Ex Machina)).
Thunder God of Machinery.
The 25-meter-tall giant soldier with that name took a step forward..
“……It will become a place where life cannot live..”
With just that small movement, a large amount of electricity was discharged and the floor in the area became glassy. Although it was not visible to the eye, the angry current was spreading wildly, causing electronic and magical engineering equipment in the area to malfunction..
And even though they were hundreds of meters away, the players' hair began to stand on end..
magnetic field.
Electric current began to cover this entire space..
It was a harbinger of the apocalypse.
Its huge body slowly rose into the air..
Pa—ja—ja—ja——!
A current that spreads out like an explosion every time the altitude increases little by little..
Pa—ja—ja—ja——!
The torrent spread through the volcanic ash that filled the sky, drawing colorful rays of light in the sky..
It was a strange and mysterious appearance, as if an unknown nebula from deep space had appeared, so everyone could only stare in fascination for a moment..
And when the single figure floating solidly in the center slowly raised both hands, more electric current dispersed and electrocuted a wider space..
The whole world was colored with a strange light that could only exist in imagination..
Soon its hand slowly tilts and points to the ground as if giving some kind of revelation.—
The whole world was dyed blue,
The movement of all living things was forcibly stopped..
Comments