Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 169: Offshore battleship Assault – Joining the Others

“Ugh… Even my exoskeleton can’t withstand such close-range shots?”

After taking a point-blank burst of bullets, I was sent flying through the air, bouncing on the deck several times before rolling to a stop. After finally coming to a halt, I quickly got back on my feet and, with my right hand, removed the bullet lodged in my exoskeleton’s chest. Meanwhile, I redirected my attention towards the drone.

The drone was trembling slightly as if it were convulsing while spewing fire from the two gashes carved into its torso. This must have been the result of the black sword cutting through the frame, including whatever mechanism lay behind it, and then being pierced from the chest gun barrel to the back by the white sword.

Just before it fired, I realized that there was no time to either defend or attack, so I instinctively threw the white sword. Despite my crude throw, the white sword’s terrifying sharpness easily pierced through the drone’s chest. I couldn’t help but feel gratitude toward the Popi people.

“Significant… damage… self-destruct…”

“As expected. I won’t let you…!”

As expected, once it was immobilized, the drone attempted to self-destruct. That’s when I tried to create a sand cocoon around it. It would consume my spiritual power, but with my exoskeleton damaged, I couldn’t afford to overestimate my own defenses.

However, it seemed that the Republic Army had long prepared countermeasures against preventing self-destruction. A box on its back unfolded, and it emitted a blast of hot air that dispersed the sand.

I didn’t anticipate the sand being dispersed so effectively, and I hurriedly tried to reconstruct my spiritual art. But I couldn’t make it in time, and the unmanned drone exploded dramatically.

“Ugh…!”

I cursed my own misjudgment. When I failed to encase the drone in sand, I should have shifted my focus to protect myself. Because of my haphazard attempt to rebuild my spiritual art, I ended up creating a half-hearted barrier of sand to protect myself.

Most of the scattered debris bounced off my exoskeleton, but unfortunately, some larger fragments found their way into the vulnerable chest area, thanks to my bad luck. While I had avoided a critical hit, had I not dulled my pain receptors, I might have been immobilized for a while.

“Never underestimate anything…huh.”

I reflected as I pulled the embedded fragments from my chest. Though blood oozed from the wounds, my healing abilities, which were augmented by my fighting spirit, quickly stopped the bleeding. Despite the unexpected strain, I believed I could still fight effectively.

With my exoskeleton gradually healing, I planned to retrieve the white sword and then head back to rejoin my comrades. I could see the white sword embedded in the remnants of the humanoid upper body, torn apart by self-destruction. I need to extract it and reunite with the others as soon as possible.

However, just as I was contemplating this, my compound eyes caught something astonishing: the unmanned drone, which should have been disabled by the self-destruction, was moving. Could it still function in that condition? The drone made a creaking noise as it extended its remaining right claw towards me.

“Whoa! Did it have that kind of mechanism too…?”

Just when I thought the claws had opened to their limit, they unexpectedly got shot out. If it weren’t for my compound eyes, I might have reacted too slowly.

On the other hand, because I saw it coming, I had the composure to dodge it with ease. The flying claws descended straight into the sea. Leading me to believe it had stopped moving and then launching a surprise attack like stabbing me in the side… Whoever came up with this tactic definitely had a sinister personality. It might be a compliment in the eyes of weapon designers, though.

“I guess it’s not moving anymore.”

I cautiously approached and, as a precaution, struck it once more with the black sword in my left hand. I half-expected some kind of response, but this time, it seemed completely deactivated. There was no sign of movement whatsoever.

I took a moment to catch my breath and then retrieved the white sword, which had remained lodged in the drone’s chest. I had definitely used it in a reckless manner, but not a single dent or bend marred its blade. It remained as straight and pristine as ever. As expected of the craftsmanship of the Popi people.

“The new weapon is stronger than I expected. I hope everyone else is safe… Let’s hurry.”

After checking the condition of my swords, I dashed toward my comrades. As I approached while destroying nearby weapons along the way, I found them engaged in a battle with twenty of those new drones.

It seemed like my comrades were holding a defensive line under the command of Marcellus. They had arranged destroyed artillery pieces into an improvised barrier, taking cover behind it and using their spiritual arts to retaliate.

On the other hand, the drones relentlessly bombarded the makeshift barrier with guns on their left arms and cannons on both shoulders. When attacked from a distance, there was no choice but to focus on defense.

“But this ends now.”

“Big brother!”

“You’re late, Boss!”

To change the course of the battle, I lunged at one of the drones from behind. The drone seemed to have noticed my approach but was slightly delayed in turning to face me. Seizing that opportunity, I promptly sliced through its humanoid torso with my twin swords.

It seemed they wouldn’t self-destruct when there were friendly drones nearby. The drone I had just sliced ceased its movement. Just to be safe, I used my tail to sweep the upper part of its body into the sea. With this, even if it did self-destruct, we wouldn’t suffer any harm.

“The tide has turned! It’s time to counterattack!”

“We’ve been waiting for this moment!”

“Continuously defending isn’t really my style!”

As some of the drones turned toward me, the barrage of fire against my comrades diminished. This gave them the opportunity to leap out from behind the barrier. The hot-blooded ones like Tigar and Gora dashed out as if they had been eagerly anticipating this moment.

Following their lead were individuals like Leo and Tuhru, who wielded large weapons and shields. They advanced with their weapons and shields held diagonally, deflecting bullets as they moved forward. A few of them had their limbs pierced by bullets and fell, but their inherent toughness and healing abilities allowed them to quickly rise to their feet.

“Come on! Break them down!”

“I’m not good with enemies with no clear weak points…”

Powerful individuals like Tigar swung their massive weapons to destroy the drones. When they got close, the drones attacked with their right arm claws, but those with shields effectively restrained those claws and created openings for counterattacks.

On the other hand, warriors like Zald and Asumi, who focused on precision strikes and targeting weak points rather than sheer power, found it hard to battle such opponents. They followed my lead, thrusting their blades into the joints and gaps in the armor of the drones.

There were two approaches to destroying the drones: the former method, which involved rapidly destroying them at visible speed, and the latter, which involved gradually wearing them down before finishing them off. The former was more efficient in terms of destruction, but those who fought without putting themselves in danger were the latter group.

“The injured should fall back for now! Those with shields, hold your ground a little longer!”

However, it was thanks to Marcellus that their power was fully demonstrated. It was his ability to provide precise commands while overseeing the entire battle that allowed the unit to engage in combat with minimal casualties.

This wasn’t just because of his natural aptitude but also because of the difference between someone educated as a commander in the Imperial Army and those like us who relied on instinct. Learning from Mika, I have come to appreciate the importance of proper education.

Mika possessed knowledge in various fields, but he wasn’t an expert in any, and although he was skilled in individual battles, he was an amateur when it came to military strategy. There was an insurmountable gap between those who had accumulated knowledge through education and those who were uneducated.

“Fellow aircraft severely damaged.”

“Output restrictions lifted completely.”

When the drones were reduced to about half their number, they began to heat up just as that one did when I fought it previously. This was where the real battle began. While I used my tail to flick the remains of the drones into the sea, I alerted my comrades to stay vigilant.

“When it turns red, its performance will increase dramatically. Plus, the surface temperature increases, and eventually, it’ll self-destruct. Be cautious, everyone.”

“””Ou!”””

Even in the midst of the battle, where gunshots and explosions mingled, the demons’ hearing allowed them to pick up my words accurately. Asumi, who was near Marcellus, clearly conveyed my words to him.

With the drones’ performance significantly enhanced as they started emitting intense heat, those holding them back with shields faced a sudden increase in their burden. Individuals like Tuhru, who lacked means like spiritual arts to mitigate the heat, had no choice but to endure the scorching temperature that felt like it might engulf their whole bodies.

Nonetheless, the reason they could continue fighting was due to those skilled in spiritual arts, like Sharl, who protected everyone. Without them, they would have had to retreat behind those makeshift barriers once again.

“Is this all you got? It’s just a little warm!”

“Leo, that’s cheating!”

“It’s my constitution; can’t help it…”

However, for those like me with resistance to heat, the high temperature felt normal, and we could fight as usual. Leo, in particular, stood out in this regard.

Leo, who has been synthesized with a Radiant Lion, could generate heat intense enough to easily melt metal. Of course, the heat would never have an effect on him. As a result, the temperature of the drones felt like a warm breeze to Leo.

Leo seemed to be in even better shape than usual, swinging his sword with ease and strength. Ariel, on the other hand, was pacifying Julius, who was complaining about the “cheating” Leo.

They put up a good fight against the drones, but when they were damaged enough to be unable to move, several of them self-destructed. Those caught in the blast were scorched by the intense heat and sent flying. Regrettably, a few were fatally pierced by shrapnel in vital areas. Tch, self-destruction is too troublesome after all…!

“Before they completely break down, either distance yourself or sink them in the sea! If that’s not possible, defend with all your might!”

“Yeh, I understand.”

Marcellus had given the order to distance oneself from the drones before they self-destructed. He was well aware of the drones’ self-destruct tactics, to say the least. It was only natural to take precautionary measures.

Responding to his command was Lappy. Without hesitation, she charged toward the drone about to self-destruct and sent it flying backward with a swift dropkick. The drone collided with one of the gun emplacements and promptly exploded.

“Haha! Nicely done, Lappy!”

“It’s not easy to do what Lappy does. Just make sure to prevent them from self-destructing without pushing yourself too hard.”

Tigar offered unreserved praise, but I made sure to emphasize the priority of maintaining a cautious defense. After all, I had previously suffered injuries due to reckless actions.

Members of the special operations unit systematically destroyed the drones one by one. Dealing with them before they self-destructed was a difficult task, and most of the time, we had to focus on preventing them from detonating nearby. Those with shields were burdened heavily, and we suffered numerous casualties and injuries. Nevertheless, we managed to successfully annihilate all the drones.