Level Up Machine

Chapter 71 The Siege of Talion Fortress (6)

“You people are…

Kang Ha-rin trailed off as she alternately observed the stranger in the black suit and the woman with brown hair. She had never heard of rankers with such appearances and features participating in this expedition.

‘No, that woman… I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before…?’

She squinted her eyes as she tried to recall a faint memory. At that moment, the brown-haired woman spoke up.

“I’ll explain later. First, let’s deal with that monster.”

The woman, who had changed her hair color and facial features with magic, Tiria, spoke to Kang Ha-rin in a calm voice. A mysterious aura emanated from her body.

“…Alright.”

Kang Ha-rin nodded and readjusted her grip on her longsword. It wasn’t the right time to question their identities.

Yeong-sik, who was wearing the mechanical suit Lacteon Type 2 found in the royal report, turned slightly towards Kang Ha-rin.

‘Luckily, it seems she didn’t recognize Tiria.’

Since it was only a slight change in hair color and appearance through magic, he thought she might recognize her, but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

For him, it was good news that the Salvator Guild’s participation in the expedition remained hidden.

– Fwoosh!

“More insignificant beings have appeared.”

Lekras, engulfed in intense flames, glared at Yeong-sik and Tiria with a ferocious voice.

Yeong-sik’s expression hardened at the intense heat that reached him even through the suit.

‘I need to finish this within five minutes.’

The suit he was wearing, the Lacteon Type 2, could only operate for five minutes.

They had to defeat Lekras before that time limit was up.

“Blade.”

– Clank!

With Yeong-sik’s low murmur, a black blade appeared from the back of the suit’s left hand.

It was a blade much sharper than the one he usually used.

– Boom!

Yeong-sik pushed off the ground violently. The ground, unable to withstand the heavy impact, caved in as if a bomb had exploded.

At the same time, a bright light burst out from the boosters on the back of the suit.

His body, now a streak of black light, shot towards Lekras.

Lekras raised his left arm towards the approaching Yeong-sik. The flames surrounding his body gathered in front of his left arm, forming a solid shield.

– Clang!

The blade clashed with the flame shield and bounced off.

Yeong-sik frowned at the intense heat transmitted through his hand.

“Haa!”

Following Yeong-sik, Kang Ha-rin charged at Lekras. The white blade of her longsword swung towards Lekras’s right flank.

– Clang!

– Ssshh!

“Ugh!”

Lekras created another flame shield with his right arm to block Kang Ha-rin’s attack. She suppressed a groan of pain as the heat from the blade seared her palm.

“Heavenly Light!”

While Lekras was busy fending off the attacks from Yeong-sik and Kang Ha-rin, Tiria, who had circled behind him, extended her arms.

A beam of pure white light shot towards Lekras.

Lekras, who had been about to continue his attack on Kang Ha-rin, quickly turned around and blocked the light beam with his flame shield.

– Boom!

With a crushing impact, Lekras’s body was pushed backward.

“Grr.”

Lekras grimaced at the relentless assault. In his current state of ‘Incarnation of Fire,’ he could handle someone of Kang Ha-rin’s caliber one-on-one, or even two-on-one, but defending against three was becoming increasingly difficult.

– Whoosh!

With a chilling wind sound, Yeong-sik aimed a kick at Lekras’s waist.

Having just blocked Tiria’s attack, Lekras grimaced again as he formed a flame shield around his waist.

At that moment, Yeong-sik’s eyes gleamed upon seeing the flame shield materialize.

‘Boost.’

A faint light burst from Yeong-sik’s right shin, and his kick, which had been aimed at Lekras’s waist, suddenly shifted downward.

– Thud!

“Ugh!”

Yeong-sik’s foot struck Lekras’s knee with precision.

The strike, combining the suit’s inherent destructive power with the boost, was devastating. Even the tough-scaled Dragonian couldn’t withstand such an attack unscathed.

Lekras staggered as his stance collapsed.

“Iggeok (Triple Strike)!”

Not missing the opportunity, Kang Ha-rin dashed forward. Her longsword seemed to split into two, and two consecutive slashes cut through Lekras’s body.

– Shhhk!

“Aaargh!”

A groan of pain escaped Lekras’s mouth. The strike, delivered while his stance was broken, left a deep sword wound on his body.

Lekras’s expression twisted in agony.

“You wretches!”

Lekras roared in fury, flailing his arms. A massive storm of fire surged towards Yeong-sik and Kang Ha-rin.

“Heavenly Protection!”

A pure white light emanated from Tiria’s body, enveloping Yeong-sik and Kang Ha-rin. The light, shaped like angel wings, protected them from Lekras’s flames.

As Lekras’s frenzied attack proved futile, Yeong-sik didn’t miss the opening that followed.

– Clank!

The right shoulder of the suit opened, revealing three holes. Yeong-sik aimed the three holes at Lekras’s neck, chest, and side. Once he finished aiming, the sound of gears meshing reached his ears.

[‘Jericho Missile’ lock-on complete.]

It wasn’t a weapon Yeong-sik possessed, but one built into the suit itself. Yeong-sik only knew how to operate it and had never actually used it before. He fired the weapon at Lekras.

– Whoosh!

A tiny missile, the size of a fist, shot out from his shoulder towards Lekras.

Click.

The three missiles aimed at Lekras split in half. From the split missiles, countless tiny missiles, the size of fingernails, poured out. In an instant, dozens, hundreds of missiles swarmed Lekras.

– KABOOM!

“Grr!”

With a tremendous roar, the surrounding ground shook violently. The intense shockwave uprooted and toppled nearby buildings.

Yeong-sik’s urgent voice echoed.

Yeong-sik stared in disbelief at the spot where the explosion had occurred.

Even though there were dozens, hundreds of them, they were merely fingernail-sized missiles.

How much explosive could fit into a missile that small?

However, the destructive power of the Jericho missiles exceeded his expectations.

The area around where Lekras had been standing was completely devastated, and the dust rising from the ground settled around like mist.

The power was so overwhelming that it made him question if aiming was even necessary.

Once again, Yeong-sik shivered at the fact that this was only 20% of the suit’s potential performance.

‘What on earth is this suit…?’

Yeong-sik looked at the pitch-black suit with an expression of incomprehension.

“What, what are you…?”

Yeong-sik wasn’t the only one shocked by the power of Jericho. Kang Ha-rin stared at him with her mouth agape, and Cheon Tae-hwang looked at him in astonishment.

“Kraa…aaah…

As the smoke cleared, Lekras’s figure emerged. He was in such a pitiful state that calling him a rag wouldn’t be an exaggeration. The battered Lekras raised a confused hand to his forehead.

“Aa…aa…

A single memory flashed through his mind.

Kill the humans.

The voice of something with a blurry form echoed in his ears. The blurry figure became a little clearer.

Lekras’s eyes widened.

“That can’t be.”

Lekras looked at Yeong-sik with a trembling body. He kept muttering, “That can’t be,” over and over again.

“Why, why are you…?”

Lekras stared at Yeong-sik, his body convulsing as if he were having a seizure. Dark red blood gushed from his entire body, splattering everywhere.

“Why are youuuu!”

“Ugh! What’s wrong with him now?!”

Kang Ha-rin frowned as she watched Lekras suddenly scream as if in a fit. Massive amounts of magical energy began to gather around Lekras’s battered body.

“Wh-what?”

A confused voice escaped from Kang Ha-rin’s lips. A sticky sense of foreboding shook her entire body. Realizing the immense magical energy converging around Lekras, Kang Ha-rin shouted urgently.

“Get away!”

Her desperate voice echoed loudly. Even without hearing her urgent cry, Yeong-sik felt the overwhelming magical energy gathering around Lekras and pushed off the ground to distance himself.

[The operational time of the Multipurpose Functional Combat Suit Lacteon Type 2 has ended. It requires 72 hours for reactivation.]

“Damn it! Why now of all times?!”

Yeong-sik’s expression twisted in frustration. It was the worst possible timing, as if it had been perfectly coordinated.

The suit, which had granted him immense power, now became a heavy burden pressing down on his body. The suit that had given him great strength now turned into a shackle.

Yeong-sik bit his lip roughly and tried to activate the release code to remove the suit.

“Graaaahhhh!”

The magical energy gathered around Lekras concentrated in his mouth. An overwhelming amount of magical energy coalesced in front of his wide-open mouth.

Seeing this, Yeong-sik’s expression hardened.

“Breath…”

An attack that reached the pinnacle of ‘destruction,’ possible because of the Dragonian’s inherited dragon power.

– Ssshh.

The ground beneath Lekras began to melt. A storm of heat swept through the area.

– Thud! Thud!

Lekras’s body began to burst as he could not withstand the overflowing magical energy.

He was attempting to use a genuine ‘Dragon Breath,’ far beyond merely mimicking the dragon’s breath.

Dark red blood started pouring from Lekras’s entire body. Despite bleeding profusely, he did not stop preparing the breath, as if he intended to sacrifice his life for it.

A destructive light that would annihilate everything around him formed in front of Lekras’s mouth.

“Graaaahhhh!”

Lekras summoned his last remaining strength and fired the breath at Yeong-sik.

It was not the usual breath created by Dragonians imitating dragons. It was a true Dragon Breath, imbued with terrifying magical power, aimed at Yeong-sik.

A blindingly intense red light filled Yeong-sik’s vision.