Level Up Machine

Chapter 122 Power of the Machine Legion (2)

-Ratatatatatatatatatata!

“Kieeeeeek!”

“Kruuuaaaaah!”

Beyond the eastern northern boundary. In the forest of hell, filled with powerful monsters, sudden gunfire echoed loudly.

It wasn’t just a few gunshots, but hundreds, thousands of them.

“…It almost seems pitiful.”

Yu-na let out a hollow laugh at the sight of the monsters spewing blood and collapsing under the barrage of over a thousand androids.

From giant monsters like ogres and minotaurs to plant-type monsters like giant plants and cursed wood, and even the manticore, known as the king of the entrance, none could withstand the power of the android legion.

At least the manticore, with its bulletproof tough skin, managed to withstand the androids’ attack and counterattacked, but every time it did, it was effortlessly cut down by the thirty A-grade androids led by Lacteon.

Even the strongest summoners couldn’t let their guard down beyond the northern boundary, as death was imminent.

Yet, the Salvator Guild members walked through this land of death as if they were leisurely taking a stroll.

[Master. The surrounding monsters have been cleared.]

“Well done.”

[Suggesting a break for ammunition supply and battery recharging.]

“What are the damage reports?”

[Twenty-two C-grade androids were completely destroyed. Fifty-eight were half-damaged. Three hundred seventeen suffered minor damages. Five B-grade androids were completely destroyed. Seventeen were half-damaged. Thirty-two suffered minor damages.]

“No damage to the A-grade androids?”

[There was some damage, but they all have self-repair functions, so they can recover on their own.]

“Gather the androids that need repairs separately.”

[Understood.]

Lacteon nodded and finished the battle report. Before following Yeong-sik’s orders, he approached and knelt on one knee.

[Requesting a reward for the victory.]

His eyes, which actually glowed with green lights, gave Yeong-sik a burdensome expression.

No matter how many times he experienced it, seeing Lacteon, who looked exactly like Xdam, asking for this kind of physical contact was quite surreal.

But since it wasn’t a big request, and merely a pat on the head, he couldn’t refuse.

*Sssk*

[Reward confirmed. Now, proceeding to carry out the orders.]

Lacteon’s eyes literally blinked with lights as he turned around.

As Yeong-sik watched Lacteon’s back with a complex expression, Chae-rin approached him.

“Yeong-sik oppa.”

“…Why.”

“5P… Aaahhhhh! I-I didn’t even finish my sentence!”

“The very thought of it is so ridiculous, please just shut up.”

The image of Xdam lying on the bed with a shy expression.

Even as a joke, it was too hard to accept.

“Hehe. But looking at him like this, he does seem kind of cute.”

“…That’s not a look that suits the word ‘cute’ at all.”

Tiria smiled brightly at the sight of Lacteon, who, like a baby, was demanding physical affection from Yeong-sik.

When she first heard about Lacteon, she had been taken aback by the enormous gap between his appearance and behavior, but she got used to it after seeing it a few times.

‘Maybe this is what it would feel like to have a child in the future…’

In her mind, she pictured herself holding hands with Yeong-sik while patting a child’s head. Her face turned bright red.

“Tiria.”

“Ah…! Oh, no! We’re not in a situation where we can have a child yet…!”

“…What are you talking about?”

Yeong-sik sighed as if his head hurt and looked at her. Only then did Tiria flinch and turn her head. There, with meaningful smiles and gazes, were the guild members.

She turned away from Yeong-sik and quickly fled to where the guild members were gathered.

“Anyway, this is really more than I expected.”

“The monsters look so pitiful…”

The power of the android legion was beyond what they had imagined.

Even if an army of summoners of similar level came, it would be impossible to crush the monsters to this extent.

The main reason the android legion was so strong was not only their sheer numbers but also the fact that they used guns.

In the Elnote Continent, a typical army would place tanks with shields at the front, melee dealers with swords and spears behind them, and wizards and archers at the rear for stability.

However, the androids, equipped with powerful guns as standard, could unleash their firepower from both the front and rear. Even if they were at the same level, there was an overwhelming difference in firepower.

Considering the concentration of firepower, the android legion showed an efficiency far beyond that of the current summoners on the Elnote Continent.

Even if there were dozens of summoners with swords, only about three or four could attack a single monster at the same time.

Unless they could float their swords like Cheon Tae-hwang, a human body took up that much space.

But the android legion, using guns, could concentrate the firepower of dozens of units on a single point simultaneously.

It was only natural that the monsters were crushed under such an attack.

“But will this even count as a field test?”

Park Cheol-tae asked Yeong-sik, looking at the monsters being wiped out solely by the android legion.

They didn’t have to lift a finger, as the monsters were dropping like flies, leaving them with nothing to do.

“It’s probably only at the entrance that we can sweep through so easily. As we go deeper, there will be more monsters like the manticore that bullets can’t penetrate.”

“Hmm. That’s true. No matter how much we attack, if we can’t inflict any damage, it’s pointless.”

“Actually, bullets almost don’t work on ogres or minotaurs either. It’s just that they can’t withstand the sheer numbers.”

If a summoner of a similar level to a C-grade android could deal 100 damage with a single sword strike, and a bullet could deal 1 damage, then the android legion was hunting monsters by firing 1,000 bullets in the time it took to swing the sword once.

The moment the damage from bullets became zero, such a strategy would become meaningless.

“But where are we heading now? I don’t think I’ve ever been down this path before…”

“There’s a place Han-seong told us about. We’re going there.”

“…The orichalcum mine? Surely it’s not the Tomb of Heroes?”

“It’s not the Tomb of Heroes. But… it seems we have to go near it.”

Park Cheol-tae’s expression hardened.

The Tomb of Heroes. Only the Leviathan Guild and the Abaddon Guild had reached this area in the east.

It was a place where powerful monsters, which even 100-level rankers couldn’t defeat alone, appeared in groups.

“As you mentioned, the android legion could become useless if their bullets don’t affect the monsters. We should avoid the central area.”

“Yes. I plan to proceed cautiously.”

Yeong-sik nodded in response to Park Cheol-tae’s concern.

As Yeong-sik conversed with Park Cheol-tae, Lacteon approached him.

[Master. All the damaged androids have been gathered.]

“Got it.”

Yeong-sik stood up and walked toward the corner where the damaged androids were piled up.

“Repair.”

As he reached out and used his skill, a blue light spread out, starting to restore the broken bodies of the androids.

Completely destroyed androids required metal cores for repair, but those with minor damage could be repaired using just the skill.

– Whirr.

[Requesting ‘Yu-na’ to operate the generator more quickly. At the current power, it’s only running at 80% capacity.]

“Shut up! Do you even understand how I feel, spending the whole day operating a generator while on an expedition?!”

[It is judged that the android legion has higher value than the usefulness of ‘Yu-na.’]

“Ugh…! We have plenty of money, so why not use coal?!”

[This generator is an upgraded model using the master’s ability. It cannot operate on coal power. Furthermore, using ‘Yu-na’ to power the generator incurs no cost, so considering efficiency, it is reasonable for ‘Yu-na’ to power the generator.]

“Grr! You piece of junk! Don’t treat me as just a generator power source!”

[This unit’s name is ‘Lacteon,’ not ‘piece of junk.’ Requesting correction of the name.]

“Yeong-sik! This guy is so annoying!”

[This machine’s name is ‘Lacteon,’ not ‘this guy.’ Requesting correction of the name.]

“Please, just shut up!”

From a distance, the conversation between Yu-na and Lacteon could be heard. Yeong-sik let out a small laugh, listening to their seemingly close(?) interaction.

While continuing to repair the damaged androids, Yeong-sik was lost in thought.

‘It’s been five days since we crossed the boundary.’

Thanks to the overwhelming power of the android legion, the Salvator Guild’s expedition progressed rapidly.

‘The boss monsters should be appearing soon.’

S-grade boss monsters were stationed as if guarding the central continent. The Salvator Guild had set foot in their territory. Hunting these boss monsters was the core of his planned expedition.

Observing the guild members hunting boss monsters carefully, he would create the most suitable weapons for each of them. Simultaneously, he aimed to collect S-grade black cubes to enhance stats and gather S-grade metal cores.

It was the best way to achieve two goals at once.

“Well, we should be meeting one soon.”

Encountering S-grade boss monsters was not an easy task, but beyond the northern boundary, it was different. This place was known for frequently spawning S-grade boss monsters, even in regular fields, not just dungeons.

With these thoughts, Yeong-sik completed the android repairs. Now, all that was left was to manufacture bullets and supply them to the androids.

“Manufacture.”

Yeong-sik took out metal materials from his inventory and began manufacturing bullets. With a blue glow, a handful of metal materials were transformed into a massive amount of bullets.

‘Who cares about the laws of physics?’

Creating such a large quantity of bullets from just a handful of metal materials would normally be impossible.

No, the very idea of making gunpowder-infused bullets solely from metal materials was absurd.

However, the skill he possessed held a miraculous power that made these absurd feats possible.

It wasn’t just his skill. The skills used by summoners and natives alike often defied the laws of physics with ease.

[Master. All the androids’ batteries have been fully charged.]

“Got it. Once the bullets are distributed, we’ll move out again.”

Nodding, Yeong-sik walked towards where the guild members were gathered.

That’s when it happened.

-Kugugugung!

The ground shook violently as a massive explosion reverberated.

Thick tree trunks burst through the ground, filling the surroundings.

“Kruaaaah!”

A colossal monster, composed of tree trunks, rose from the fractured ground. Its presence was on a different level compared to the monsters they had encountered so far.

“Speak of the devil.” A broad smile spread across Yeong-sik’s face.