Don Quixote looked down at the fallen Meltrio. He was undoubtedly a strong opponent. His dazzling spear technique was a skill he had mastered through repeated battles without being taught by anyone.
Nevertheless, it was precise, sharp, and above all, mesmerizing to the eye. It was almost worthy of praise that he had devised such a technique on his own.
His strength as a mana user was equally impressive. He couldn't use magic due to the limitations of his talent, but because of that, he had mastered how to maximize the use of his mana as a user.
Mana users drape mana around their bodies or weapons to enhance them. Mana is a kind of powerful energy. Just by covering a weapon with mana, it produces several times the destructive power of a conventional weapon.
The same goes for Meltrio's modified spear. The shaft would extend and contract at will, and sometimes the shaft would separate and transform into chains, becoming a three-section staff.
Yet, he never infused too much mana into his spear. Even in such situations, the mana blade held by his spear tip maintained a very stable form.
Even his new La Mancha suit could be cut if caught off guard. Perhaps the previous Don Quixote, who hadn't experienced the incident in District 49, would have been defeated by Meltrio.
But he was different now. Don Quixote had grown stronger and truly awakened to the starlight that a knight wields.
And the power of that starlight, just as in the previous battle with Alpha One, handed him victory.
Looking at Meltrio who collapsed spewing blood from his chest, Don Quixote caught his breath. Despite the reckless movements in a state where his injuries hadn't fully healed, his body didn't feel much strain.It was proof of how incredibly excellent the performance of the La Mancha suit was. Even in the midst of that fierce battle, the suit moved smoothly without any issues.
He seriously resolved that if this matter ended safely, next time he would apply for a suit production at Antique Gear.
Just then, Osian, who had finished his battle, approached. He had defeated two enemies all too easily despite being outnumbered 2 to 1.
Before he could even express his amazement at that fact, the phenomenon occurred.
-Boom!
An intense wave erupted from over there. Some kind of energy spread like a wave, sweeping through everything around it.
Just as water remains after a wave hits and recedes, a subtle aurora-like light remained like an afterglow where the wave had passed.
And vibrations comparable to an earthquake followed.
"W-what on earth is happening!"
"...Whatever it is, it doesn't seem like a good sign. Let's move quickly. The place where the wave erupted from seems to be where we need to go."
Don Quixote immediately mounted Rocinante. Osian also summoned his warhorse, which he had temporarily unsummoned.
The two advanced, breaking through the bulkheads.
The wave swept through not only the entire underground but even spread to the ground above.
-Whoosh!
Aurora-colored light erupted from passages leading to the surface. Some of it even spilled beautiful light powder, like a whale spouting a fountain.
Everyone who was engaged in battle was captivated by it. This was true for the knight order members, Lupona, Asmer, and David as well.
"What on earth is that?"
Such questions were fleeting, as they soon had to focus on the battle.
New reinforcements of enemies had arrived at the scene.
"Over there! Shoot!"
"Turn them all into sieves!"
The knight order raised their shields against those who were firing at the mere sight of them. Heavy lead bullets poured onto the shields. The arms holding the shields trembled. It felt like they would collapse at any moment if they didn't exert strength in their legs supporting their bodies.
"Damn it! They're flooding in like rats!"
If you took care of one, two would appear. If you took care of two, ten would appear.
Seeing the enemies' offensive that kept surging endlessly no matter how many they dealt with, it almost made them think they had made the wrong choice.
"Hey! I hope no one here is already exhausted and about to fall out!"
"Hmph! Aren't you the one who's scared, saying such things?"
"Hahaha! Right! We should put up this much of a fight at least! Compared to the training we've been through, this is nothing!"
Washing away their fear with hearty laughter, they slowly moved forward through the rain of bullets.
Countless lines of fire crossing the night sky scattered like sparks when they hit the shields. Each time, the bullet marks engraved on the shields gradually increased and became more distinct than before.
'It's still manageable, but we can't go on for long.'
Especially Jonathan, who stood at the front holding a large shield, vaguely sensed it. At this rate, the shield's durability would be exhausted by that shower of bullets.
They needed to reduce the numbers before then, but that wasn't easy. The enemies, not being fools, were thoroughly maintaining their formation and keeping them in check.
It was a tactic they adopted after realizing that this side had few numbers and was trying to protect the main gate.
'This is dangerous. We need support.'
But that support didn't seem readily available. Even Lupona, who should be able to compete with her excellent mobility, was gradually being pushed onto the defensive due to the enemies' increased offensive.
-Vrooom!
The bike, scattering lethal energy, devoured the enemies, but they didn't go down easily either.
"Deploy the Automaton unit forward!"
"Build barricades! Respond as if it's a tank!"
"Restrict its movement! Block all escape routes!"
Well-trained, they moved strictly according to the given orders. It was only a matter of minutes before they panicked from the initial surprise attack; after regaining their composure, they began to respond efficiently.
"Tch! How annoying!"
Lupona turned her bike sideways, looking at the Automaton unit blocking her way. At the same time, she swung the whip she was holding widely as a disc was drawn in the air centered around Lupona.
Automatons caught in that dark red disc were cut off with crimson traces on the cross-section. But the fallen Automatons remained as annoying obstacles.
"Hey! Twin Swords! Help me out!"
Although Asmer heard Lupona's cry, it was equally difficult for him to provide support.
"Tch!"
Avoiding the rain of bullets being fired, Asmer delved into the alleyway between factories. He could see countless red bullet trajectories being drawn beyond the corner he had just entered.
But he couldn't afford to be relieved.
'The moment I slow down even a bit, I'll be surrounded.'
Was it because they were a large corporation? The pressure from the elite security guards employed under them was beyond imagination. Just as he was about to break out onto the main road, a vehicle stopped in front of him and shone a searchlight on him.
"Over here!"
"Shoot! No need for a live capture!"
Just as Asmer gripped his twin star swords and was about to move forward, a muscle car approached from beside the parked vehicle, roaring a powerful exhaust sound, and rammed straight into its side.
-Crash!
The massive Humvee toppled sideways. As Asmer was in shock, David shouted from the driver's seat window.
"Mr. Asmer! Get in!"
"David! But are you alright?"
The speed at which David had just rammed the Humvee was abnormal. For a driver, it would not be strange to be ejected out the window from such an impact.
"My neck is killing me right now!"
David joked like that. The impact was not small, but this muscle car still maintained an intact body even after that.
The hood was severely dented, but considering it had rammed a military Humvee, it was more than a bargain; it was practically free. It was possible because, despite only having the design of a muscle car, it possessed output and durability beyond that of an ordinary armored vehicle.
As soon as Asmer got into the passenger seat, the muscle car drove off but Humvees chased after it in a rush.
Snipers positioned all over the factory rooftops aimed and fired at the muscle car. David showed godlike driving skills and shouted:
"These bastards! If they so much as scratch this expensive car!"
The car was already beyond scratches, with the body much more damaged than before, but no one pointed that out.
"Mr. Asmer! What happened to Mr. Osian?"
"Not yet. We need to buy more time."
"Damn it! And what the hell is that aurora light?"
That was something Asmer wanted to ask too. The unknown light surging from various places, though it looked beautiful on the outside, he realized that it was by no means a phenomenon friendly to their side.
-Screech!
The bizarre reaction shown by the Automatons that came into contact with the light was evidence of that. The Automatons, which originally could only perform simple tasks like firing, began to move faster and more nimbly than before.
-Thud!
A shadow formed above the vehicle, and an Automaton landed on top of the car. It raised its fist and struck the muscle car's roof hard.
-Bang! Bang!
The fist contracts as much as possible and then springs out. The power fist using compressed steam was powerful enough that the instantaneous impact exceeded 5 tons. At this rate, the roof would collapse entirely.
-Slash!
Asmer unfolded his twin star swords and cut through the roof, along with the Automaton beyond it.
As the ceiling was completely blown open, the view widened. More bullets rained down on top of it.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"It's nice and cool now that it's an open car!"
David tried to respond smugly but then immediately froze his expression. Automatons that were waiting on the rooftops of buildings jumped down in sync with their approach. Their movement was so coordinated that it gave the illusion of airborne troops jumping in suits.
"Crazy. How can Automatons have such functions?"
It wasn't as if someone was controlling them with threads of magic; after the light mass swept by, they were moving on their own like this.
David desperately turned the steering wheel to avoid the falling Automatons. But because there were so many, a few landed on top of the vehicle through the blown-open roof. The same happened on the hood.
"Mr. Asmer!"
"I know!"
Asmer swung his twin star swords to strike down the Automatons. But due to their sheer numbers, it wasn't easy to respond. Just then, two Automatons that had been still in the back moved.
Ronald and Reginald MK2 threw punches or kicked at the approaching Automatons, shaking them off, even though David hadn't given any instructions.
"No, what is this...?"
David was astonished. Asmer was equally surprised.
"David. Wasn't it your doing?"
"I've been focusing only on driving, so I haven't given any commands..."
Regardless, the two Automatons were diligently trying to protect the vehicle from external threats by shooting or throwing punches.
David felt a sense of déjà vu there.
As soon as this light touched them, the Automatons began to move autonomously, making judgments, not based on commands. As if they had developed a sense of self.
"Neo?"
This meant that the cause of this light was likely Neo, and some kind of event related to it was happening underground.
However, these thoughts couldn't linger long. The enemy's pressure became even more intense. He was grateful that Ronald and Reginald were moving on their own, but in other words, while this side had gained only two in numbers, the other side had gained hundreds.
Whatever it was, one thing was certain. If time continued to be dragged out like this, they would be defeated.
The place Osian and Don Quixote reached by breaking through the bulkheads was the center from which the light was erupting. It was a massive underground hangar.
The entire space, which should have been filled only with lighting, was filled with emerald color. And at the center where the light was flowing...Neo was hanging half-suspended from the ceiling in the form of a cross.
"Neo!"
Just as Don Quixote was about to shout something, there was an explosion from the opposite side that flashed towards where Osian and Don Quixote were.
As the explosive smoke cleared, Osian holding a shield appeared unharmed. Don Quixote was the same.
The two men's gazes turned to the enemy who had attacked them.
"Amazing. I didn't expect you to come this far like this."
The one clapping his hands was Jerey from Battle Trench.
"The fact that you two have come this far means that all the men sent to guard have been defeated. Well, this is embarrassing. The men hired with expensive money are so weak. It's shameful."
Jerey was not alone. On both sides of him, Beta team members in steam suits were standing by, and beyond them, soldier-type Automatons were lined up.
"But maybe it's fortunate. I was hoping someone would see this splendid spectacle anyway."
Jerey raised his hand to point at Neo suspended from the ceiling.
"You bastard! Release Neo right now!"
"Oh, what a tearful family reunion. Isn't it ridiculous? To sincerely believe that such a piece of scrap metal is a parent."
Before Don Quixote could angrily shout something, Jerey said:
"It's already too late anyway. The experiment has already succeeded. We have finally found it. The source of artificial intelligence!"
The light was flowing from Neo's core, which was wide open on his chest. All sorts of wires were stuck to the surface of the core, and along those wires, light was flowing towards something.
"And finally! It's been able to move with that power!"
That flowing light illuminated a massive form. A gigantic size that far exceeded 10m in height. With a heavy yet sophisticated design that was in a different league from ordinary Automatons.
A super-large Automaton. A giant of steel.
"Let me introduce Battle Trench's greatest masterpiece, [Giant]."
Like a giant from a story, the Automaton in the hangar was displaying a truly majestic appearance. And the giants illuminated by the light flowing through those wires were not just one.
10? 20? No, far more than that. The entire vast hangar, too wide to be confirmed by the eye, was filled with giants that were standing still as if dead.