Chapter 397: Chapter 24: Ancient Ruins Rumble!
The ground started to shake, countless fragments of rock fell down. Their group had been digging for more than half a month and had excavated thousands of meters down. At this moment, the walls on both sides cracked open, as if some mechanism had been triggered, and heavy footsteps echoed from the darkness.
——Dwarven Defender (Ancient Mechanized Body) (Divine Hall Guard) (Three-star Silvery Gray)!
——Dwarven Furnace Guard (Ancient Mechanized Body) (Divine Hall Guard) (Three-star Silvery Gray)!
——Moradin’s Steel Guardian (Ancient Mechanized Body) (Divine Hall Guard) (Four-star Silvery Gray)!
Three mechanical guardians, standing three to four meters tall, emerged. Their surfaces were even marked with bronze-colored rust. The leading golem wielded a heavy warhammer and carried a thick dwarven tower shield. In an instant, a massive force surged, with rocks flying everywhere, and the howling wind smashed towards Tassia.
Facing the sudden enemy, Tassia quickly retreated. With the help of her mechanical arms, she moved like Spider-Man, her expression tense yet exhilarated: "We’ve hit the jackpot!"
"Below us are ancient relics from the Mythical Era."
"We might excavate an ancient dwarven city."
Boom.
A huge force smashed the excavation shield machine ahead into a pile of scrap metal. The three activated ancient dwarf mechanized bodies appeared sluggish, but their combat power was astounding. With a booming dull sound, the runes of the Dwarven Mythical Era lit up on their warhammers, a unique engraving close to the rune language.
"Watch out for the lava!"
At that moment, a startled voice came from the side.
A hot stream gushed out from the underground, continuously spouting lava from the triggered mechanism. A man who didn’t escape in time was engulfed by the lava, his body instantly obliterated.
"Something’s not right!..."
Duncan had arrived by now; they took turns digging, resting in shifts while the machines worked non-stop. If a machine malfunctioned, Duncan would apply Holy Oil to appease the Machine Spirit. This maintenance method seemed bizarre but was indeed effective.
At the rear of the team, Bert, dressed as an Esoteric Practitioner, pulled out a section of mistletoe staff, saying solemnly, "We might have uncovered something incredible."
A dull gunshot echoed.
Tassia, using the power of her mechanical arms, leapt ten meters, landing on a rock. She shouted, "Gun! Give me the biggest one!"
In the corner, a burly mercenary tossed an upgraded heavy machine gun over.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
A storm of metal pummeled the dwarven mechanized body, denting its surface, but the bullets could not penetrate its thick armor. As the formation of the three mechanized bodies changed, the defender holding the dwarven tower shield moved to the front of the team.
The runes on their surfaces glowed faintly, seemingly activating different combat modes.
On the projection page.
A line of special prompts appeared.
——"Dwarven Defender activated the Combat Specialization ’Defense and Attack’."
——"Dwarven Furnace Guard activated the Combat Specialization ’Fierce Attack’."
——"Moradin’s Steel Guardian activated the Combat Specialization ’Flowing Slash’!"
Huh?
Why are there combat prompts?
Duncan glanced at the prompt box with his mind, discovering that the mark of the ’Mechanical Soul’ had lit up. These were all messages from the Mechanical Soul, as if it had a special perception of mechanized bodies, informing Duncan of the enemy’s actions.
A hail of bullets tilted out.
Using the strength of the mechanical arms, Tassia lifted the modified heavy machine gun, its 30-centimeter diameter akin to a cannon, and swept a dense firepower net across the enemies. If they were flesh and blood, they’d probably have been shredded to bits by now.
But these hulking creatures were made of steel, capable of withstanding damage but not being torn apart.
"Watch out!"
Just then.
The foremost Dwarven Defender launched a Shield Strike, its dwarven tower shield weighing at least half a ton. A mercenary hiding in the corner who’d just pulled out a grenade was smashed into pulp by the shield, which then exploded, making the Dwarven Defender’s leg unstable, struggling to maintain its balance as it moved.
"No, we need armor-piercing bullets!"
Tassia glanced back at Duncan and shouted, "The armor-piercing bullets are in the iron box next to the rack, toss me one, there’s a sniper rifle too!"
Duncan immediately turned, grabbing and tossing the iron box over.
But in these few seconds, the battle had already shifted. Under the cover of the Dwarven Furnace Guard, the rearmost Moradin’s Steel Guardian had charged in front of everyone, deceptively quick despite appearing slow.
The large warhammer swept by with a whoosh!
Splutch.
A mercenary’s upper body was smashed to pieces instantly, the heavy warhammer’s momentum unabated, swinging like a whirlwind towards another.
Flowing Slash.
Duncan had already picked up a sniper rifle, though it was extremely heavy, weighing around thirty kilograms.
"What the hell!?"
"Can mechanized bodies possess such combat skills?"
At the front of the battlefield, a one-sided slaughter had erupted. The other two dwarf mechanized bodies were cumbersome, but Moradin’s Steel Guardian was different. Duncan saw a sophisticated combat technique in its actions.
Even as it maneuvered and charged, its steps remained flawless, proficiently balanced, harmonizing with its mechanical structure.