Chapter 847 – Battle of Vajra -5-

000

Meanwhile, as Cleon dealt with the automata that blocked him and took his sword, he was feeling that he had faced a pretty annoying enemy.

Obviously, it has a huge body, and its single fist is large enough to encircle about half of the passage, so it was not an enemy that moved at such a fast speed except when firing or pulling its fist.

In terms of speed, Cleon has the overwhelming advantage.

However, in some ways, ‘speed’ may have been an unnecessary part of the automata.

That’s because it had ‘durability’ and ‘destructive power’ that more than made up for its speed.

＂Quuk! It’s incredibly hard!”

Every time Cleon swung the slash to cut off the guy’s sphere, the shock felt through his hand made him feel like he might lose the sword if he made a mistake.

His sword, which was made of adamantite, boasted cutting power so high that it could cut through rocks like butter, but he couldn’t even guess what kind of metal the automata’s iron ball was made of.

Cleon knew that what he was aiming for was the main body, not the iron ball, but its legs were slow, and it had a body that rotated 360 degrees, so it was able to block Cleon’s attack by simply rotating its body and slightly moving its arms. Receive it.

And, after blocking the attack with the iron ball, the next step was to take out the weapons attached to the shoulders or back and attack Cleon.

I don’t know what the principle is, but even though it had a not that big battery on its shoulder, it was firing as if it were infinitely loaded with shells.

When a cone-like bomb with its tail on fire flew towards Cleon, Cleon quickly cut it down.

Fortunately, since it is a physical weapon, it can be countered without using magic.

The cone that the slash splits in two passes through both sides of Cleon and hits the wall behind it, causing a large explosion.

＂Ugh!＂

Even as Cleon, it was inevitable that his body would shake in the aftermath of the explosion, and boom! And the sound of the explosion ringing my ears was now tiresome.

[My body is shaking, that explosion…]

As the explosions continued to the extent that Slash complained, Cleon felt as if his ears were ringing with tinnitus.

“That guy… He’s firing an explosive weapon indoors like that… First, I think we need to do something about the launcher on that shoulder.”

If you take a quick look at the back – the inner wall, which seemed so strong that it would not be scratched by any shock, was damaged so intensely that it was dented.

That bomb didn’t cause much damage to the surrounding area, but it exerted considerable power only in the area where it landed.

If he had not momentarily protected his body with a magical barrier and slash earlier, but had enveloped his body in magical energy and was hit by a bomb, the part that was hit would have been blown away.

Cleon thought he had no choice but to make some changes to his strategy of targeting the main body, so he held his slash with one hand and gathered his magic power with the other hand.

[Detection of artificially expanded magic power. Anti-magic area development]

＂──.＂

However, when Cleon tried to use magic by raising his magic power, he thought a weak shock wave was released from the black body of the automata, and the gathered magic power lost its power and dispersed.

＂Ugh, this guy…!＂

If you think about it, automata were the weapons of the great wizards created to win the war against wizards.

If that guy was also an automaton, it wouldn’t be strange if he had one or two of those functions.

In other words, what is required of Cleon here is the skill and skill of a pure swordsman who does not use magic.

Feeling that his identity as a magic swordsman had been sealed for the first time in a long time, Cleon had no choice but to grab the slash with both hands.

[Giggles.]

Although she got a little heated when she saw Cleon unable to use her magic and heard Slash’s voice laughing, it may be inevitable that she, who is obsessed with cutting, would be happier about Cleon not using her magic. I don’t know

That way you will be able to be more active.

[Let’s give up magic and cut it down quickly!]

＂I’m trying to do that…!＂

Cleon answered Slash’s urging, but he was well aware that he couldn’t use magic and that it would take a lot of trouble to cut down that iron ball with a single sword.

Now, where should I start? A simulation of several cases that come to mind.

If you recklessly rush in a straight line and swing your sword, you will only be blocked by the iron ball like before and be interrupted by the exploding cone shooting out from your shoulder.

The iron ball had several cuts and dents on its surface, and the metal had fallen off, but it still maintained its spherical shape.

An enemy with high physical resistance that nullifies magic, Cleon sighs.

Of course, there are limits to the magic he can nullify, but the problem was that he could not use any more magic than that, at least with his own skills.

Would it be possible for Lailana and Selena?

‘Would it be better to go back and join them?’

No, that’s right, there’s no point in her getting out first.

Here, we had to find a way to carefully, yet finish off the enemy as quickly as possible.

First, let’s summarize the enemy’s attack methods.

The first thing that catches your eye, of course, is that large iron ball.

It seems that the magnet-like property that attracts metal can be turned on and off at will.

For some reason, Slash didn’t stick to that guy’s iron ball because it was a sword that wasn’t attracted to magnets, but even so, it wasn’t easy enough to cut cleanly.

And – although I’m not using it right now, I should remember that I also have the ability to shoot and retrieve the iron ball that pushed me several meters when we first met.

Next is a cone-shaped bomb launched from the shoulder.

The bomb that automatically tracks and flies toward Cleon’s location was not fast enough for Cleon’s body vision to catch up with it, but the problem was its power.

As we figured out earlier, the explosion range itself is small, but it is a unique thing that has enough power to turn the entire area it hits into powder.

Is this also a weapon from the primordial world?

If you are not prepared and are hit squarely in the body and explode, the entire part will turn into flesh.

You should never hit it straight, but sudden braking or sudden bending movements seemed impossible, so dodging or cutting is not a big problem, so you just have to be careful in how you respond.

However, when I saw the flying bomb, I could tell that it was made of metal.

Lastly – a mechanical arm extending from the guy’s back, although it hasn’t posed much of a threat yet.

The freely bending, mollusk-like arms and sharp hands seemed enough to hinder his movements, even if he had somehow avoided the iron ball and dug into his arms.

Of course, the thickness of the arm was so thin that it could not be compared to an iron ball, so it gave the impression that it would just fall off if cut.

You just need to be careful that you can’t let your guard down.

─And, after completing the analysis of the enemy, Cleon clicks and ends the simulation by moving the stone of the abacus one last time.

The time it took to think from the moment I cut down the bomb and heard Slash’s complaint to this moment – about 0.5 seconds.

Cleon was not without thoughts as he paused and thought longingly during the battle.

And the conclusion Cleon came to in that 0.5 second was that he could win by quickly finding a way to defeat him.

＂Good.＂

[Ok? What?]

When those words came out of Cleon’s mouth, Slash reacted as if he didn’t know, but the next moment, Cleon had already attacked head-on.

Then, like a machine, the automata repeatedly used the tactics that had been in effect until a moment ago.

He raises the iron ball to block Cleon’s path, protects his body, and then fires a missile from his shoulder towards Cleon, who pulls his body back to avoid a counterattack.

As a living creature, Cleon naturally has physical limitations, but for automata, the concept of ‘guidelines’ does not exist.

Even if the war of attrition continues like this – the infinite supply of missiles through the transfer magic circle installed in the device on the shoulder will not fall before the opponent’s physical strength –

In the first place, if it takes until then, the fortress will have already regained balance control and fired magic incinerators on the ground.

Kang!

Once again, Cleon’s sword and the automata’s iron ball collided, sparks flying out due to friction.

Slightly – very slightly, but the strength of the iron ball is lower than that of the slash, so the iron ball is cut, but it is only a small part.

As calculated, the automata aims and fires the shoulder missile at Cleon.

Push! And if you think that a slightly exhaling sound is heard, Cleon will retreat like this –

In fact, Cleon takes a big step back, looks at the missile flying towards him, and gradually increases the distance between him.

Unlike before, did he choose to physically run away rather than slashing away with a sword?

Cleon’s movement speed is also quite fast─ contrary to the iron ball and his sword, the missile is slightly faster than Cleon’s movement speed.

The automata is quietly glaring at Cleon as he walks away across the hallway, thinking that he will eventually catch up.

Since it was in the form of a ring, it disappeared from view in a straight line after a certain distance, and soon after, an explosion sound like ‘Bang!’ Was heard.

Whether it was hit or not, the automata’s thinking circuit calculated that it was the sound of a missile exploding – and was on guard, watching to see if Cleon would appear again.

Then, after a while, I could see that Cleon had appeared from across the hallway and was running towards us with all his might.

The sight of him running away and coming back with a slash in his hand could have been quite comical, but the automata had no emotions to judge such a thing.

All that exists is a thought circuit to destroy and suppress the enemy.

It’s the same this time too. Block with iron balls and check with missiles.

With that, his role of ‘taking time’ is fulfilled.

And—the moment when I thought the time for conflict had arrived once again.

What Cleon did in front of the iron ball was not swinging the sword, but bowing down.

By simply bending your legs and lowering your body – the automata paused for a moment at the enemy’s unexpected behavior, but was quickly able to understand the meaning of the action.

They were still following behind him.

The missile launched by the automata.

What exploded earlier was only one or two missiles out of several.

There were still a few missiles left, and they had tracked down Cleon and returned to the automata that had launched them.

[──]

And – missiles that cannot make a sharp turn just stick in the guy’s iron ball and explode.

Bang! When I thought I heard a voice, the ringing and flashing lights made me unable to understand the situation in the hallway for a moment.

Cleon stood up even though he was staggering.

His torn clothes stung a little on his tattered back, but he was looking down at his body.

Then, Cleon looked down at the black armor he was wearing underneath his thin cloth clothes.

Although he was not wearing a helmet, Cleon was wearing special adamantite armor made by Bourbon, and thanks to this, he was able to withstand even a slight impact from an explosion at close range.

Of course, if it exploded right above the body, even the internal organs would have been damaged.

And, seeing that the iron ball that the missile had collided with in front of him was destroyed in half, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly!

With a sigh, the guy’s body was severely cut.

When she swung her slash like lightning, sparks flew out of the automata’s body, her slightly moving arm went completely limp, and the launcher on her shoulder was also disabled.

“Now I understand why you use a weapon with such a small explosion range. According to your fighting method, if you use a weapon with a large explosion range, there is a high possibility of destroying the fortress from the inside.”

[…

The guy looked down at his broken iron ball and listened quietly to Cleon’s words.

And-

[Above, it’s dangerous, Cleon! What were you going to do if you got hit by us?]

When Galatea, who was bound by an iron ball and fell to the ground, raises her voice like that, Caliburn speaks as if to comfort her.

[Calm down~ As long as the nucleus is safe, we can regenerate with magic, right?]

[But it hurts! Look! The blade is slightly off!]

And, Cleon sighs and picks up the two fallen swords.

“I’ll fix it later. First, this guy-“

[Redefine enemy threat level. Change from top- to best.]

＂…＂

As if to interrupt Cleon’s words, another voice came from the automata, as if he was getting over the shock of being hit by a missile.

Then, Cleon looked at her and quietly retreated behind her, returning Galatea and Caliburn to her sheath.

It would have been nice to be able to cut down the main body while it was stopped – but somehow, I felt the magic power expanding inside the automata.

[Disconnect the neutralized weapon.]

With a clanking sound, the thick and huge body that appeared to be the main body was peeled off like a shell, and a woman slowly opened her eyes and walked out.

And, Cleon had no choice but to keep his mouth shut for a moment when he saw the woman walking out from there.

She, with her long flowing silver hair and gray eyes, is looking down at us while wearing black clothes that cling to her whole body-

＂… Arnia? ─No, it’s an automaton of the same type.”

The automata of the Exiled Church that were stolen from Enlai – because they now had the same face as their colleague, Arnia.

Except for the part where the mechanical part was exposed.

“Either way, I think it would be easier to deal with than thick armor…”

When Cleon said that, the female automata, who appeared to be Arnia’s isomorph, closed her mouth for a moment.

Looking back at her iron ball next to her, she slammed her fist into it.

Then- Wow! And the iron ball was split in half, as if to show off.

[Power output. No problem. A process is launched to destroy the pretentious organic life invaders.]

“… Under. Isn’t it human to fall for provocation?”

Cleon gave her a wicked smile as she seemed to be somewhat angry, and he himself took her stance.

As she has taken off her armor, the match is now closer to the end.