Chapter 27 – Silver Iron Rain

I immediately gave orders to the Worker Bugs.

‘Gather all the metal in one place!’

This included the Steel that became available after I dismissed the Assault Cannon, as well as all the spare metals I had brought along.

Next, I gave them instructions for the shaping.

Just like with Medium-Class machines, Large-Class machines required their form to be established before summoning.

The problem was that the 60cm-class Worker Bugs couldn’t fully maintain the shape of a massive Large-Class machine on their own.

‘I need an alternative.’

I scanned the surroundings for something useful.

Spotting a sunken area of the ground, I shouted.

“Ah, over there!”

If the Worker Bugs couldn’t hold the shape, I could use the terrain to define it. Of course, efficiency would drop accordingly, but this was the best option for now.

Meanwhile, I didn’t forget to command the battle.

‘Magitech Armor, prepare for melee combat.’

No matter how much they fired their guns, this Special Entity was of a caliber where bullets wouldn’t even penetrate. Thus, I switched the four units of Magitech Armor to melee combat to draw the creature’s attention and buy time.

“Ms. Sua, move further back. Way back!”

I had Sua provide support from the rear.

Although she had undergone basic combat training, I judged it premature to place her on the front lines in a situation like this.

Meanwhile, I focused on the summoning.

Whoosh—

First, I surged my Mana to begin the shaping.

Krr- krrr-krr—

Various metals folded and began to reveal their form.

Starting with a sleek, long tail.

‘Good.’

However, the situation was far from good.

K-boom—!

With a powerful impact sound, a unit of Magitech Armor was crushed under the Stomper’s foot.

“Gwaaaaagh!”

Beneath the massive leg of the creature letting out a horrific shriek, there was nothing left but a miserably crushed heap of scrap metal.

“Hu… Si, Siwoo?!”

Sua, seeing a unit of Magitech Armor get destroyed for the first time, called out to me in panic, but I gave her a word.

“Ms. Sua, focus on the situation. I’m going to use every method possible to buy time. You just need to keep stalling.”

Only then did she seem to realize how serious the situation was; she closed her open mouth and nodded with a solemn expression.

“I understand! I’ll do whatever I can!”

Flash—

Sua immediately began pulling up a Water Mass.

Meanwhile, I finished the torso connected to the tail.

Krr-krr—

I focused on the four sturdy legs. As I checked the materials going into those legs once more, I frowned slightly.

‘Steel, huh… Still, I can manage it once.’

It would hold for one hit. No, it had to hold.

In the meantime, Sua was doing her absolute best.

Tatatat— thud thud thud!

A barrage of Water Spears poured out.

But it was meaningless.

Splat— Bang!

As if to prove her attacks were useless, another unit of Magitech Armor was kicked by the massive leg and shattered into pieces. Now, only two units of Magitech Armor remained.

Meanwhile, there was a problem.

‘Tsk, am I already short on Mana!’

Summoning the Medium-Class Assault Cannon had already consumed a significant portion of my Mana Pool. No matter how much I had improved since then, there was no way I could summon a Large-Class entity from my bare state at my current level.

Therefore, I lacked Mana.

Of course, there was always a way.

Crunch—!

I tossed a Mana Stone from a regular Stomper into my mouth and chewed.

“Ahem.”

A foul taste circulated through my body, but it wasn’t as bad as the Thorn Spider or Rake Wolf grade. The problem was… the Mana Quantity I needed wasn’t something that could be solved with just one.

Crunch! Crunch!

I tossed two, three, and then four into my mouth.

Whoosh—!

Along with the foul taste, the Mana spread even further.

“Alright, I can do this.”

Having finished my doping, I focused even harder on the summoning.

Krr- krrr-krr!

The tail, the torso, and then the legs.

This time, a pair of giant wings revealed their form.

K-boom!

It happened at the exact moment the last remaining unit of Magitech Armor fell.

‘Now, once the head is shaped, it’s complete…’

Just as I thought that.

Thump!

Another roar echoed, and the final Magitech Armor was flattened like jerky under the Black Stomper’s foot.

Then, the creature howled toward Sua and me.

“Gwaaaaaagh!”

Somehow, it sounded as if it were saying there were no more obstacles in its way.

* * *

Sua fired Water Spears with everything she had.

Taaaang—!

Thud thud thud!

It was her maximum firepower.

But it caused no damage to the Black Stomper.

“Gwaaaaagh!”

It seemed only to provoke its anger.

‘It’s too hard…’

Only then did Sua realize why Siwoo had dismissed the Assault Cannon after just one use. With their level of firepower, they couldn’t deal with this thing.

Sua knew the firepower of the Assault Cannon well. If that didn’t work, she felt acutely that she stood no chance.

However, though she didn’t know the details, she could intuitively tell that Siwoo had some kind of solution.

‘Siwoo asked me to buy time…’

Sua recalled Siwoo’s words.

‘What do I do? How can I buy time?’

She thought again about what she could do. First, attacking was impossible. Even her maximum firepower Water Spears couldn’t leave a scratch on the creature’s hide.

‘Something else. I have to do something else!’

If not attacking, what else could she do?

‘Should I trap it in water?’

Maybe she could suffocate it. Thinking this, she began gathering a Water Mass and directing it toward the Stomper.

Swoosh— swoosh—

But it was useless.

Taaaat—!

With a single kick, the Water Mass was scattered into pieces. Sua felt despair. This was practically a waste of Mana.

Meanwhile, the number of Magitech Armors continued to dwindle.

One, then two were destroyed.

Eventually, the very last one was helplessly crushed.

Now, she was truly the only one left.

Sua looked at Siwoo with a panicked expression, but he was still focused, trying to achieve something with a serious face.

Seeing his expression, she slapped her own cheek.

Slap—

She focused her mind once more.

‘Time. I just need to buy time!’

Sua thought again about what she could do.

‘What I can do. What I can do—’

Gather water vapor, create a Water Mass, then Water Spears—

‘Wait, why do I have to make a Water Mass?’

A thought suddenly flashed through her mind.

Whoosh—!

Once again, Mana was surged. It contained all of her remaining Mana; in many ways, this was her last chance.

The Mana she pulled up…

Swoooosh—

…did not gather into a Water Mass this time.

Instead, it remained as water vapor.

Sssss—

It became a thick fog that blocked all visibility… and enveloped the Black Stomper.

“Gwaaaaagh?!”

The Black Stomper grew confused.

“It… it worked?!”

Just as she shouted in joy.

“Ms. Sua.”

Siwoo’s meaningful voice sounded from behind her.

“Y-yes?”

When she turned around in surprise.

“You did very well.”

Siwoo was grinning.

* * *

In the worst-case scenario, I had even considered canceling the summoning, making a few more Magitech Armors to throw as distractions, and running away.

A Special Entity could always be hunted later. There was no reason to risk my life and Sua’s right now.

As long as we survived, there would be plenty of opportunities.

‘This isn’t a game.’

I believed there was no need to grow by throwing away one’s life.

But it seemed my worries were for nothing.

Swoooosh—

The fog Sua created enveloped the Black Stomper.

Sssss—

When the creature let out a confused cry within that fog.

“Gwaaaaagh?!”

I sensed victory.

‘[One-Horned Dragon]. Summon.’

Thump.

With the completion of the summoning.

The [One-Horned Dragon] revealed its elegant majesty.

* * *

Rather than a long, snake-like body, the One-Horned Dragon was a Large-Class “dragon” in the form of a winged four-legged lizard.

Actually, more than its size, its complexity was the bigger issue.

In terms of size, it was only about the size of a compact car.

Sure enough, my Mana began to drop rapidly, unable to sustain the maintenance cost of a Large-Class entity.

‘Remaining maintenance time is about 7 seconds?’

I smiled, gauging the rate of Mana consumption.

Seven seconds was more than enough.

‘One-Horned Dragon. Commence attack.’

As soon as my order fell.

The One-Horned Dragon kicked the ground with its four legs.

Bang—!

Simultaneously, a powerful shockwave spread out.

5 seconds.

K-crack!

As expected, Steel couldn’t handle it. From the impact, all four legs shattered.

And those shards of metal dyed the trajectory of the One-Horned Dragon, as it soared straight up into the air, in silver.

4 seconds.

With the shockwave from kicking off the ground.

Whoosh—!

With one violent flap of its wings, the surrounding fog was blown away instantly by the strong wind.

It was the moment the Black Stomper was revealed once again.

“Gwaaaaagh!”

The creature let out another unpleasant shriek.

3 seconds.

Having leaped from the ground and ascended with a single flap, the One-Horned Dragon turned its direction toward the Black Stomper with another flap.

Whoosh—!

It was only two flaps, but just like the legs, Steel couldn’t withstand it. Even the wings broke off and began to flutter down from the sky.

2 seconds.

Now, the dragon, having lost its legs and wings, used its torso and the sharp horn on its head to dive steeply, powered by the force of that second, mighty wingbeat.

Screeeech—

The ear-splitting sound vibrated through the lungs.

And… 1.8 seconds.

Impact.

K-BOOM!

Just like a kinetic missile.

Hearing that sound, I grinned once more.

“It’s over.”

‘Dismiss One-Horned Dragon.’

There was no need to wait for the dust to settle.

* * *

No matter how strong Adamantite is, it’s useless in the face of sufficient inertia. With the One-Horned Dragon’s immense weight added to that insane speed, there was no way the creature could withstand it.

The black shell covering its hide shattered helplessly, as if struck by a hammer. Like peeling a crab, the apricot-colored flesh inside was exposed, bleeding.

And it revealed the brilliant form of a Mana Stone.

“Good.”

I grinned and ordered the Worker Bugs to retrieve it.

Meanwhile—

“Oops.”

“Oh, you startled me.”

I draped a coat over Sua, who was standing there blankly.

“They say you lose your hair if you get hit by metal rain.”

Patter patter patter—

Just how high had it gone? The glittering shards of metal scattered by the One-Horned Dragon continued to fall for a long time afterward.

* * *

“Ding-ring!”

“Ding!”

Meanwhile, the Worker Bugs tilted their heads toward the sky as if admiring the view. Looking at them, I suddenly remembered and spoke.

“Guys. Now you have to go pick all that up, right?”

Sua looked at me as if I were somehow repulsive.

“Why?”

“It’s nothing.”

She pouted, hugged a Worker Bug, and sat on the ground.

“Wow… we actually won.”

Sua spoke in a voice that sounded completely exhausted.

The Worker Bug in her arms struggled.