Fallen Chronicles

Chapter 254 Chapter 254: The Hunt

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After issuing the advance command, the forty-nine combat units slightly bowed their heads, their mechanical gears behind them swiftly rotating, with internal parts reconfiguring and extending shadows of wings outward.

The usual sentinel patrol mode "Advance Two" signifies having a pair of wings at the back, while the current "Advance Four" command from Control Number One directs a greater computational power into the "wings".

Eventually, with two pairs of wings on their backs, the mechanical servants, resembling "mechanical angels", took to the skies. With the powerful thrust of their double mechanical wings, they broke through the air above the wilderness, forming a neat flying formation and speeding towards the signal coordinates.

D-21 wasn't far from them, and within a quarter of an hour, CN. One led the troops to the coordinates.

The terrain here was no longer a wilderness plain but a vast canyon crisscrossed with steep cliffs, upon which could be seen many oddly shaped rocks.

Looking down at the position of the gorge, it was like a gathering of murky, miasma-infested creatures rolling in like dark tides.

[Battlefield information scan complete... Dog-level miasma entities 301, Snake-level miasma entities 107, Elephant-level miasma entities 15, Flood dragon-level miasma entities 0, Other biological signals 31]

[Latest intelligence updated, changing from Calamity-level Miasma Surge to Disaster-level Miasma Surge]

[Remaining computational power... 56%. Terrain analysis in progress. Calculating optimal combat plan. Plan formulated]

Upon arriving at the battlefield, CN. One, with eyes covered by a black cloth, flickered with vast amounts of information, summarizing and comparing the intelligence gathered by other combat units before issuing commands.

Dog, snake, elephant, and flood dragon classifications are derived from the physical appearances of miasma monsters, where in the miasma creature hierarchy, generally, the larger the volume, the higher the monster's rank.

The monster tide in the canyon below seems very large, but after a battlefield scan, most of them are still primarily murky dogs, slightly larger than ordinary wolves, and sea serpent-like, semi-erect murky snakes. As for the truly high-end combat forces, the threatening, several meters tall murky elephants are not numerous.

Moreover, the canyon's terrain is long, narrow, and small, which creates the illusion of a massive monster tide. If spread out over the wilderness, it would at most be considered a disaster level, far from reaching the calamity level.

[Preparatory energy storage array—Electromagnetic Cannon]

Although they had just arrived at the battlefield, CN. One had already processed the information instantly, putting the mechanical servant troops into combat mode.

The combat method of intelligent mechanical life is construction, and "construction" consists of two foundations: one is the [Canon] that stores blueprints, and the other is the [Computational Power] needed to realize the construction.

The classification of [Canon] is the same as the Eclipse beings, divided into?Common, Uncommon Danger, Disaster, and Calamity levels. The higher the rank, the more powerful the construction blueprints stored, and similarly, the more immense the "computational power" required to realize the "Canon," growing exponentially to astronomical figures.

A single mechanical servant possesses limited computational power, so to realize a powerful Canon, it usually requires a "combination" method, aggregating the computational power of individual units. However, this aggregation is not infinite because all the combined computational power needs a "core" for guidance, typically served by a "control unit," whose strength determines the maximum load of aggregated computational power.

The "Disaster Canon: Heavenly Reasoning Cannon" used against the witch was probably the limit for CN. One, formed by the combined computational power of forty-nine mechanical servants. However, the now-employed "Danger Canon: Electromagnetic Cannon" seems somewhat more manageable.

Groups of four mechanical servants combined, and the barrels of twelve "Electromagnetic Cannons" started pulsing with electric light. The next second, thick bolts of white lightning struck down from the sky, targeting those fifteen elephant-level miasma entities.

The thunderous lightning of the electromagnetic cannons pierced through these giant beasts, instantly killing twelve of them.

Before the miasma monster tide could react, three more electromagnetic cannons were fully charged and once again flashed the light of day, turning the remaining three miasma elephants into charred remains within the electromagnetic field.

[Decapitation attack complete. Current computational power remaining at 19%. Enemy threat level analysis in progress. Adjusting combat plan]

[All combat units, disengage energy storage formation, enter Valkyrie mode, initiate cleaning protocol]

At the command of CN. One, all mechanical servants floating in the sky rapidly descended.

Their mechanical wings swiftly retracted, replaced by beams of thermal energy weapons in their hands. Leveraging the momentum of their downward dive, the mechanical servants plunged into the swarm of miasma monsters, bringing the fight to close quarters.

…

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, atop the steep cliffs of the canyon.

The initial scan by CN. One had already revealed, aside from the miasma monsters, 31 other lifeform signals present.

These signals belonged to the group now hiding in the shadows of the cliff rocks. They had "black flame" tattoos on their arms and backs, clearly not programmatic lifeforms within the dream but illegal dream entrants from reality, like the "Salvation Society". However, their tattoos, equipment, and quality suggested they were not corporate individuals but rather a gang members.

"Boss, do you think these mechanical servants are dumb? They could fight from the sky, so why go down and brawl with the monsters?"

"Isn't it obvious, idiot? Because their purpose is to kill the miasma monsters. They don't care about casualties like we do; their only goal is to maximize the depletion of the monsters."

After being scolded by the boss, the gang member looked down at the canyon's battle scene again and found it to be true. It was evident that, after the initial long-range electromagnetic cannon attack, the remaining computational power resources of these mechanical servants were limited, preventing them from constructing any more long-range lethal weapons.

Therefore, while floating in the sky was safer, it limited their killing efficiency against the miasma monsters below. Now, though the mechanical servants were incurring casualties amidst the monster swarm, they, true to their "Valkyrie" mode designation, returned the favor to the miasma monsters with a tenfold casualty rate.

Watching those mechanical servants fearlessly fighting the miasma monsters, the gang member, likely a new recruit, hesitated before asking:

"Boss, are we doing something wrong? It feels like..."

"What does it feel like? Feeling guilty? Did you get your brain kicked by a donkey? They're fucking robots, a machine. Even if they get torn apart by those monsters, they won't really die. At most, they'll be melted down and remade, bouncing back before long!"

"With the time you're spending, you might as well keep an eye on those mechanical servants' weapons, so we can collect a few more later! Those weapons can be infinitely manufactured for the mechanical servants, ordinary and common, but for us, they are treasures that can make us rich! They can make those pretty girls in the bars who usually look down on you, fight to sleep with you for a stack of bills!"

Mentioning the pretty girls in bars and money, the gang member who was momentarily shaken by the fierce battle of the mechanical servants immediately filled with excitement, no longer hesitating.

Empathy may indeed be a human trait, but unfortunately, so is greed.

After scolding his subordinate, the steward of the Black Fire Gang continued to observe the situation in the canyon below.

In the time it took for their conversation, the original fifty mechanical servants were now down to thirty-nine, but the miasma monster tide had nearly halved.

At this rate, it wasn't the miasma monster tide that would annihilate the mechanical servant troop, but rather, after clearing the entire monster tide, about a dozen mechanical servants might still remain.

This was unacceptable.

The Black Fire Gang's steward frowned because he knew that if there were any mechanical servants left, they would collect their fallen comrades' remains before leaving, including the mechanical servant weapons the gang wanted to acquire. Wouldn't that mean their "hunting" effort was in vain?

'No, this won't do!'

'I need to increase the strength of the miasma monsters!'

With that thought, the steward immediately took out a skull emitting a sinister red light from his bosom.

This skull wasn't making its first appearance.

It, like the one used by the werewolf that triggered the "Blood Sacrifice" in the sealed city, was the same type of evil artifact from the "Old Alliance".

The Black Fire Gang's steward, also an Eclipse being, began to channel power into the skull. Then, the skull's eye sockets glowed even brighter red, and correspondingly, the miasma monsters below in the canyon roared and became more ferocious and brutal, momentarily suppressing the mechanical servants and causing their casualties to spike suddenly.

Even so, the Black Fire Gang's steward still felt it wasn't secure enough.

After all, this operation was highly valued by the leader, who spent a lot of money purchasing this item from the Old Alliance to lure the mechanical servants for a "big plan" the Black Fire Gang had in a few days. There could be no mishaps.

The strength of this deceived mechanical servant troop was a bit beyond his expectation, especially the mechanical servant serving as the "control unit". Under its command, even the berserk miasma monsters were initially suppressed, and now they seemed to be on the verge of turning the tables.

Fortunately, the Black Fire Gang's steward had prepared, waving his hand to position a specially assigned elite sniper from the gang. The sniper's firearm, also non-standard and technologically advanced, indicated this wasn't their first time stealing mechanical servant weapons, just that this time was on a much larger scale.

The dark sniper rifle aimed at Control Number One, and with the sniper pulling the trigger from the high cliff, a high-impact armor-piercing sniper bullet, turning into a blue beam of light, instantly pierced through CN. One.

[Target hit confirmed]

The sniper said coldly, while on the battlefield, CN. One was now kneeling on the ground, at her left chest where the clothing and synthetic skin had been burnt away by the frictional heat of the sniper bullet's penetration, revealing the sparking, fracturing circuits and circuit boards inside.