Etranger Chapter 127

“Get into Formation Three!”

An explosion occurred in the area that the Essen crew members were just at. Dozens of spikes were lodged into the ground.

Where the monsters disappeared, ten machines spewed out fire. The machines were without covering, allowing everyone to see the frame and internal machinery of the machines. The machines were located where the monsters’ mouths were previously. If the monsters’ illusions were still in place, it would have looked like a terrifying dragon spewing out fire.

Biyeon had just bought San some time. A five-legged machine was moving where the illusion of the monster had just been removed. Its legs were 2 meters long with a platform on top of the legs that were 5 meters wide and formed a hexagonal tower like a tank. It seemed like the hexagonal structure could rotate 360 degrees.

Above the rotating tower were huge steel structures designed to be able to shoot anywhere in the shape of a three-dimensional lattice structure. Among them, the tallest steel structure was over 20 meters in height. It must have been the location of the monster’s mouth earlier. In various places of the steel structure, articulating, flexible mechanical arms were moving fast. It was as if they each had a person controlling them. At the end of the mechanical arms were sharp blades that shined blue.

In the center of the structure was a rotating fan that blew out hot air. Numerous hydraulic and electrical lines extended out like tentacles from each side of the hexagonal tower. There also seemed to be various sensors and fuel lines across the main platform. The structure that extended from side to side like wings were probably solar cells.

San clicked his tongue.

“This… machine was made very economically (cheap). Anyway, Gibin, watch my back.”

San accelerated his body and bounced off with explosive thrust. Gibin accelerated to his max level and warily surveyed their surroundings.

Behind San and Gibin, Dongha and Dongyoung of the Dong-Myung Clan came running in with their weapons at the ready.

Even the two Awakened warriors of the Han-Sung Clan drew their swords without hesitation and rushed towards the machines.

Once the enemy’s deception was removed and its shabby reality was confirmed, their fear had disappeared like it never existed.

Their fighting instinct had been awakened. The other Awakened warriors in the group must have felt a little embarrassed by Gibin’s bold participation when he initially approached the monsters with San. When the opportunity came for them to show their own mettle, they actively participated in the battle.

The hexagonal machine was spinning round and round to meet the enemies.

Meanwhile,

“The upper parts are anti-personnel weapons. The lower part is where the main control unit is located. Don’t be deceived. Crew, get ready for battle,” Biyeon calmly explained to the group members as they formed into companies.

“First and second company! Prepare the third weapon!” 

“Third and fourth company! Prepare the fourth weapon!” 

“Left section, advance!”

The company leaders screamed the orders from behind. The company members secured their personal defense and visuals by attaching a shield on one side of their wrist and opening a small latch installed in the middle of the shield.

Several small arrows were attached to the device mounted vertically on their other wrist. The levers on the devices were pulled taut, ready to be deployed at any moment.

They moved their feet quickly and advanced in their respective companies. They proceeded forward in a snake-like single file line, changing directions in a zigzag pattern to avoid enemy fire.

Their main purpose was to survive and to protect the non-fighters, such as Rain and Gun. In other words, the formation was conducive to active avoidance.

Rain’s face was greenish-blue with fright, but she dutifully moved around as they had previously practiced.

That was the only way for her to live…

“Biyeon… where’s this guy’s weakness?” San murmured as he quickly approached one of the machines. As soon as he approached, the machine’s long, sharp steel claws swiped at him like a whip. It was standing tall with its five legs fixed firmly onto the ground. Only the tower turret located above its mid-section spun, as it pointed its barrels at the incoming enemy.

Its steel legs were about the size of an adult’s forearm and seemed to be formed with three joints.

The barrels, which looked like multi-shot cannons, seemed to be calculating their aim towards the moving enemy. However, it was difficult for the machine to calculate the projectile’s impact point because the enemy was moving too fast.

[The legs with its three joints, any of the moving parts that seemed to be connected with bearing and ball joints, and the rotational drive of the mid-section that is moving on 5-axises…]

San quickly changed his direction mid-air and calmly looked at the enemy’s specifications that Biyeon mentioned.

Occasionally, whenever there was a gap, he shot in and hit the machines' leg joints with a knife or smacked them with his foot. It seemed that bouncing upward to the mid-section deck was difficult, as there were too many steel blades embedded on the platform, like a hedgehog.

After connecting his two shorter spears into one long one, Gibin moved to the opposite location of where San was and fought against one of the machine’s arms.

However, while fighting, he made sure not to bump too hard with the machine. The solid wooden spears would break helplessly the moment they encountered that machine’s steel arms and claws.

San, who had been poking around for a while, suddenly retreated. Gibin also left quickly.

“This guy… it’s quite tricky… Woah-!”

San hurriedly moved his body to the side. As soon as he distanced himself from the machine, it had fired a column of fire at him.

Its sensing ability and instantaneous aiming seemed quite good. San moved about quickly once more and fell into thought, ‘I should be varying my speed.’

The machine was trying to predict his trajectory, spitting out flames and fireballs intermittently at San’s predicted path. Fortunately, the other machines were not getting involved in their battle. This probably meant that an area was probably defined for each machine. The formation of the machines was focusing more on defense than offense…

“First of all, attack the multiaxial joints on its legs!”

San, who had momentarily retreated, kicked off the ground and struck the machine again. A steel arm rushed across to meet his strike. San swung his sword downward and pierced the mechanical arm’s joint.

As expected, the joint part bent inward and soon shattered into pieces once the machine used some force to move it. The other mechanical arm swung towards San. He repeatedly hit the joints of the other arm through the same hit-and-run tactic.

The steel arms, which seemed to be designed for close combat, began to disintegrate as the joints crumbled and disintegrated from San’s sword strikes. Once both arms were no longer operational, San found some breathing room.

He then moved towards the lower half of the machine. Previously, when he hit the legs a couple of times, he found that the legs were hollow. Considering the weight the mechanical legs had to carry, the amount of force the joints could handle was probably not all that much.

San jumped in quickly and stomped on a joint.

Crack-

He felt a satisfying crunch under his foot. Along with the sound, the joint caved inward and the leg soon broke off into smaller pieces. One leg soon collapsed.

Suddenly, with the balance broken, the other legs tried to take on the heavier load and balance out the machine. This was exactly what San wanted.

San slid beneath the machine and kicked the machine's leg outward. Since the machine’s legs had spread further outward to compensate for the additional load on each leg, they were already at max tension. San’s successive kicks, which pushed the legs further out from the center, on the already overloaded legs caused the machine to further lose its balance.

With a thud, the machine finally lost its balance and collapsed sideways. The steel platform and the structures above it crashed into an adjacent building.

The four remaining legs struggled in the air, but they would never be able to right the machine. Even the equipped weaponry, now that it was upside down and limited in mobility, had a hard time finding its aim, especially between the various curved steel frames.

San jumped lightly over the body of the machine and quickly inspected the various joints. The remaining four legs tried to limit San from causing any further damage.

However, San easily tapped a few places before ripping off something that looked like a handle from the underbelly of the machine. He looked inside.

[Hmm… just as we thought. They’re unmanned.] 

[Please hurry.]

San pulled on the lever so that the internal compartment was fully visible. He aimed the small bow mounted on one of his arms and shot a few arrows into the internal compartment. 

The arrows were tipped with sodium bombs, the same ones Biyeon had used earlier. Since the sodium bombs used saltwater, the machine’s internal electronics would probably suffer a fatal short-circuit.

A large pop was heard. The machine ceased to move as smoke wafted into the air. This was how the first machine left this world.

Episode 3. Book 3: Adventure – Chapter 1

The battle started in earnest.

The machines were moving in all directions.

Though San had downed a machine in an instant, it was long enough for the advanced warriors to gain insight into how to handle the machines.

The warriors quickly overcame the initial fear of the enemy that they had never faced before. Showing a successful example was just that scary.

Now, the companies were more concerned about falling behind the other companies in the overall battle.

“What does this mean…?” Biyeon murmured while tilting her head. She came down from the gate that she was perched on and looked around. She was observing the fragments scattered on the ground from the machines’ first barrage of attacks. She stared at the progress of the battle calmly.

In the front, the warriors were fighting. The lead person within each company hid behind the buildings while the crew stood in front of the machines with shields held high.

San had already jumped into the thick of things, smashing the most dangerous machines first. Biyeon quietly raised her hand and signaled to her crew.

The crew advanced forward slowly according to her instructions. Her gaze was still calmly fixed on the battlefield.

In front of the advancing crew, two warriors from the Han-Sung Clan, two from the Ki-Jang Clan, and two from the Dong-Myung Clan were fighting against their respective machine opponents. It seemed as though they were competing.

The sight of these three great warrior clansmen demonstrating their skills and performing their abilities in battle was a spectacular sight to see. Even experienced warriors could probably only see this type of sight once in their lifetime.

On her left, Gibin and Giyoung were dismantling the machines as if they were dolls.

The Ki-Jang clansmen’s main weapon was the spear. There was no weapon as effective as a spear in large-scale group or horseback combat. When it came to using spears, the Ki-Jang Clan warriors were a formidable opponent.

However, in short-range, close combat, the spear was a very disadvantageous weapon. So, in normal combat, the Ki-Jang clansmen usually preferred to use short spears with long handles.

Though a spear has a shorter blade than a sword and a very long shaft, the Ki-Jang Clan mastered the technique to use two short spears with both hands, shoring up the weakness of the short spear and creating further attack and defense possibilities through the dual-wielding approach.

In case of emergency or mid to long-range combat, the two short spears could easily be connected to form a long spear. Furthermore, since the single long spear had blades on either end of the elongated shaft, multiple attacks could be conducted if wielded properly.

Thus, for Gibin, who preferred to wipe out large numbers of enemies with broad strokes, there was nothing more suitable than the long spear.

Gibin’s spear emitted enormous energy and destructive power as it cut through the air. His movements were incredibly fast and flexible. Even though he was wielding a very long spear, over 3 meters long, his hands moved freely about as if he was handling a toy.

The spear spun round and round before suddenly stabbing its target. The force of cutting, stabbing, and swinging was surprisingly strong. Even in the midst of such intense movement, it precisely hit its target.

The counter-action of the machines was too slow compared to the movement of the Awakened warriors. The machine’s fragile joints were targeted and easily dismantled after a few spear strikes.

Giyoung had also contributed greatly to the swift dismantling of the machine. She moved quickly, always opposite to Gibin. Her diametric movements confused the machine’s judgment.

Her long hair, which was not conducive for battle, was tied up in a bun, and her attire was changed into a gray-brown combat suit that clung and conformed to her body. The body-conforming suit showed off her rock-hard muscles and explosive agility.

Giyoung’s weapons of choice were a javelin and a small iron net. The net held the opponent in place, restricting or disturbing their movements, and further helped to blur their combat judgment by blocking their vision.

She had already thrown the iron net and wrapped one of the machine’s arms, immobilizing it. With the arm covered by her iron net, she no longer had to worry about the machine’s sharp claws.

The Ki-Jang Clan warriors constantly communicated with each other. The emphasis of the communication was on sharing information, relaying updates, and planning future moves. It was similar in principle to the one San and Biyeon often employed when battling against a single enemy.

This form of ‘communication skill’ was what allowed the Ki-Jang Clan to be widely known as the Absolute Clan that dominated its enemies through organizational formations and group tactics. They were not only able to properly utilize the strength of each individual but also amplify it through the organized, collective movement of each member.

Chapter end