288 Final Wave! A Rank 4 Destroyer!

The sisters at the compound were chilling and vibing, despite the possible danger looming behind their back doors. Nevertheless, everyone was ready and at standby, in case the fishmen actually escaped the shoreline and reached the mall.

Which seemed impossible considering the aged lineup of Paterno and Felipe, who were supporting Takaw at the cornfield.

After the five minute preparation period, the final wave has finally come. Every survivor got a brief resting period and a time window to restock on things that they need. The top three factions reorganized themselves.

When everything was settled, they waited on their assigned spots for the final wave.

Just like last time, four Pillars of Light appeared on the four general directions of the town. However, one light specifically shone brighter than the others. 

Coincidentally, the Pillar of Light that shone the brightest was the western part of the town, which was Black Haven's assigned spot. Not many people noticed this small disparity as everyone was focused on what's ahead of them.

Jun stared at the Pillar of Light with a deep frown. Even from afar, he could see the towering silhouette of the monster they were supposed to fight.

As the resplendent light slowly disappeared, a single figure remained standing. A dark muscular giant appeared for everyone to admire, After some time, he runic symbols from the Pillar of Light faded.

It was a five-meter tall Destroyer with slightly tanned skin. Since it was an artificial being, it had no body hairs and was purely made of skin, muscles, and bones. Coiled around its neck were two massive pipes for breathing. It appeared menacing and tranquil as it dazedly stared at the vanguard group.

Additionally, a small portion of the upper chest area has become black plate armor connected to the shoulder guards slightly above. The shoulder guards were of the same color just like the shoulder guards from the Rank 3 Destroyer that they turned into shields.

Considering all the information they have on Destroyers, this particular one should be a Rank 4 Destroyer; the height and various features perfectly fit the bill. However, Jun and everyone who knows the basic evolution of carriers was dumbfounded with the situation.

For instance, the Rank 3 Destroyer that Jun fought in Angono was an artificial carrier that evolved through a hidden shortcut. The watering-can was a god-tier tool that could boost any living things by nourishing them with energy.

Now, a Rank 4 Destroyer stands directly in front of them. It was something unimaginable since the town siege has always been fair. Even if it spawns a lot of monsters, the wave would still be pretty doable. 

Everyone couldn't even feel pressured since most of the people here weren't privileged to know.

Adrian spoke first, feeling burdened with the unusual silence on the battlefield. "I don't understand. Why is it just staring at us?"

Most of the time, the summoned monsters charge ahead without a single care for their life. Seeing the Rank 4 Destroyer stare at them, Adrian couldn't help, but get confused.

"Is it bugged?" Edward commented from the side.

"What do you mean bugged?" Sheila asked in interest, then added. "Like mind-control worms? Eww..."

"No..." Edward wanted to explain for Sheila but knew that she wouldn't understand, so he stopped trying. "Bugged simply means something isn't functioning as intended."

The two chatted a bit more until Jun finally spoke his thoughts.

"It's observing us. We already know that evolved carriers tend to become intelligent. This only proved that we are right. Now, we have to kill it before it kills us all."

Jun already shared the story about veteran evolved carriers developing survival instincts with additional cunning. After getting their brains refreshed, everyone was able to accept the reality of having to face the Rank 4 Destroyer.

"We need to kill it as fast as possible. The longer we fight it, the higher the chance that we would all get killed. Let's proceed, assuming that it could learn and adjust its attack pattern like a human being. Adrian, as soon as we charge in, try to kill it with the sniper rifle. Don't join the melee and keep pressuring it by shooting its eyes."

At this moment, the Rank 4 Destroyer finally made a move. Without bellowing, it suddenly dashed forward like a professional naked athlete. Its arms swung from the side and its running posture was passable.

Jun ran forward equipped with the Fantasy Shield and Bumuth's Warhammer and left a message for Adrian. "Also, inform Evo about the situation. Ask if he has something that could help us deal with this monster. With our current weapons, I don't think we'll be able to kill it in a short amount of time."

Jun used every buff available that he could think of; Reinforce, Empower, Block, Aura(Death), just so he could fight without having to worry about getting one-shotted to death. That would have been the worst scenario for everyone.

As the got nearer to each other, they could clearly see each other's faces. The Rank 4 Destroyer remained stoic and calm just like Jun. Both of them had no expressions of urgency or panic shown on their faces.

The Rank 4 Destroyer swiped Bumuth's Warhammer to the side before sending a fist towards Jun. Its fist bulged and excreted white smoke as if it was a steam engine forced to work more and overheat.

Jun felt his hand floating after getting his Warhammer smacked to the side. Still, he kept his composure and planted his feet on the ground as he braced for impact.

The Destroyer's fist struck the Fantasy Shield and caused a dull reverberating sound when metal strikes metal.

As the first clash occurred, the whole area experienced a vast shockwave followed by the trembling of the ground. Anything weightless in the surrounding was pushed back due to wind power alone. If it was raining, the area could have been rain-free for a few moments before resuming once again.

Jun immediately felt his arms go soft and tremble, yet he didn't let go of the Tier 3 Fantasy Shield and jumped back slightly.

Upon taking a look at the surrounding, Jun noticed that Sheila's spear couldn't do much damage to the enemy. It was like trying to sculpt a marble by using a nail. The spear could only nick small portions of the marble and might get destroyed if repeatedly used.

Edward, on the other hand, was doing a fair job dealing some damage. The energy spears could pierce the Destroyer's skin albeit too shallow. However, the injuries recover quickly even though the Destroyer wasn't consuming anything. It's simply because it had a lot of stored energy inside its body, making regeneration possible.

"Edward, we'll take turns blocking. Use Reinforce and Block to negate some damage. Keep watch over your energy levels!" Jun shouted then continued observing the enemy.

After giving his orders, Jun heard a loud gunshot from behind. Adrian finally took a shot after getting a good angle on the Destroyer.

The high-caliber bullet flew in a straight line and spun erratically. It was a guaranteed shot that will hit the target.

Unfortunately, the Destroyer raised its head after it got curious about what the loud sound was about, causing the bullet's trajectory to hit the lower part of its eye. 

The bullet ricocheted from the extremely tough skin and grazed the tip of the eye before getting stuck when the Destroyer instinctively closed its eye, catching the bullet in the process. It clutched its eye and saw its blood making it infuriated. It roared wildly as it felt the throbbing pain coming from its left eye.

It glanced at the faraway people and found a suspicious person pointing something towards him. It was Adrian with his MSSR.

Jun didn't let this moment of distraction pass by. Although they could only reach up to its stomach, that doesn't stop them from disabling it.

Jun expertly threw shining pebbles towards the shallow holes in the Destroyer's body. He watched as the shallow stab wounds recover its flesh while the pebbles got absorbed inside.