Chapter 245: The Awakening of the Titan

Chapter 245: The Awakening of the Titan

Kazuki was frustrated: his Wind Concept was useless. The sentinel was unfazed by the wind blades, and even the strongest gusts barely slowed it down. The hoplite warrior knew his Concept had little chance of aiding him against a mighty enemy, but usually, the breathless zone had some impact. Here, the only advantage the wind provided was reducing air resistance for him.

Annoyed by the ineffectiveness of his Concept, the hoplite grimaced as he blocked a vertical strike. The shockwave rippled through his body before it was absorbed by his lower limbs.

Using Micro II to focus his vitality into his legs, Kazuki dodged another attack. He landed a few meters away, hiding a wince. The microfractures in his shins and the light tears in his calves weren’t yet critical, but if left unchecked, they could lead to a fracture or a tear. In high-intensity combat, that meant death.

The sentinel raised its warhammer and charged. Kazuki’s mind, assisted by Knightmare’s AI, broke down his opponent’s movements. One foot forward, a shift in center of mass, and a grip at the base of the heavy weapon’s shaft. No doubt, the enemy was preparing a powerful vertical strike.

Some might have considered it a feint, but Kazuki had studied his opponent. The sentinel was a juggernaut: it possessed insane strength and infinite endurance, but its fighting skills were unexceptional.

In an instant, the hoplite warrior reviewed his options. Should he retreat and risk underestimating the warhammer’s reach, or advance to get inside its guard? Using his physical strength and Knightmare’s thrusters, Kazuki dashed forward.

The heavy melee weapon reached its apex and then came crashing down. Taking advantage of his opponent’s temporary imbalance, Kazuki slipped under the heavy weapon and tackled the sentinel. His shoulder slammed into the stone body with monstrous momentum, sending the sentinel sprawling.

“Always press a winning exchange when you have the chance.” It was one of his maxims when he was the instructor of the Titan classes.

Following his own advice, the hoplite reactivated his armor’s thrusters. Catching up with the sentinel before it hit the ground, he doubled his attack. The tip of his spear struck the stone head with the combined power of his body, his mech, and his Mastery.

The creature hit the ground, creating a crater that widened as Kazuki tripled the attack, initiating a devastating combo. Sparing a downed opponent was not a hoplite habit, and the Champion wanted to win. Deep down, he was tired of seeing his rivals shine. Arnold, Dishnu, and, of course, Priam were monsters, but the Champion refused to be left behind.

Kazuki wanted to prove to the hoplites that they remained a force to be reckoned with, even in this new world. As a Champion, it was his responsibility to lead his people.

Deploying his Supremacies, the warrior struck again. The black stone slab under the sentinel cracked before exploding. The geyser of dust temporarily blinded Knightmare’s photosensitive sensors. When Kazuki’s Domain detected his opponent’s kick, it was too late.

Hurled backward like a rag doll, the multi-ton mech spun before landing heavily. Kazuki grimaced at the sight of the hole in his machine’s chest. Facing him, the sentinel was rising amid a cloud of dust. A flow of glowing aether leaked from the cracks in its face.

A red aura surrounded it, and the instinct Kazuki had honed over decades of combat roared.

“You’re powerful for a Tier 0, but let me show you the pinnacle of Tier 1.”

Purple runes appeared on the sentinel’s surface an instant before it leapt. Kazuki blocked the first blow by instinct and the second by experience. The third pierced his armor like paper, shattering one of his kidneys. Even with his agility, the warrior couldn’t keep up.

Roaring in defiance, the spear master stopped defending to attack. The exchange went poorly for him: where the opponent’s warhammer shattered his chest plate and half a dozen ribs, his spear couldn’t pierce the sentinel’s wrist.

“My attacks should scatter you like a handful of sand. Strange,” murmured the voice of the vengeful spirit.

Kazuki spat blood as he retreated. Without [Titan of Iron], a Merit that lent him the metallic constitution of a Titan, each blow from the warhammer would have reduced him to pulp.

“Sir!”

Kazuki grimaced as Gallad took position beside him, his saber pointed at the sentinel.

“Elaine is taking up position,” his subordinate explained over a secure channel. “Sakura should arrive in a few minutes.”

According to their training, Kazuki and Gallad were close combat masters, Elaine was a sniper, and Sakura a trap specialist and a scout. They only lacked a shield bearer to have the classic hoplite team composition.

“This isn’t a duel anymore?” the sentinel asked telepathically.

Kazuki ignored his opponent. Among the hoplites, only victory mattered.

A bullet struck the sentinel’s ear before Kazuki heard the gunshot; it was the signal. Without hesitation, he dashed forward, Gallad at his side. [Odyssey - Legendary Thrust] targeted the enemy’s fractured face while his subordinate’s saber intercepted the rising warhammer.

Both attacks hit as the sentinel trembled with rage. Kazuki’s spear widened one of the cracks on the stone face, but the saber couldn’t stop the heavy melee weapon. Rather than resist, Gallad went with the swing and leaped at the end of the arc. After almost a hundred meters of flight, he landed in a roll.

The sentinel hesitated for a moment before charging at the saber master, recognizing the team’s weak link. Kazuki gave chase while Elaine tried to slow it down with her shots. When the sentinel realized the bullets weren’t powerful enough to harm it, it stopped dodging.

“It’s ignoring my attacks,” the sniper growled over the local channel. “Its eyes and ears are cosmetic; I can’t disorient it.”

Kazuki grimaced at the news. If their glass cannon sniper couldn’t damage the enemy, he was their only source of offense. The Champion arrived just in time to save Gallad from a powerful blow. His subordinate dodged what he could, knowing even the weakest hit would tear him apart. For about thirty seconds, the three warriors improvised a deadly dance, with Kazuki trying to take down the sentinel before it killed his subordinate.

Each strike further damaged his opponent, and the tip of his spear always found a way to widen the existing cracks. The flow of aether escaping from the stone statue increased rapidly, depleting its energy reserves.

It was a race against time the hoplites couldn’t afford to lose.

As Gallad retreated further, the sentinel smashed its warhammer into the ground. Powered by Tier 1, the heavy weapon triggered a small earthquake that unbalanced the hoplite. In an attempt to regain his balance, the saber master stepped into one of the newly opened fissures. His pupils dilated as he realized his mistake.

Time slowed for Kazuki. He could already see the sentinel’s swift and deadly response. By the time his subordinate freed himself, the warhammer would have turned him into paste. Gritting his teeth, the Champion hoplite overclocked his muscles without restraint to divert the sentinel’s attention.

Grabbing the heavy weapon with both hands, the enemy tanked Kazuki’s ultimate to execute a whirlwind strike. The wind displaced by the heavy weapon pushed the Champion back before he could dominate it, while the steel bit into Gallad’s leg. The limb vanished in an explosion of blood and bone.

Freed by the amputation, the saber master threw himself backward, dodging a second strike. A mech descended from the sky, grabbed the hoplite, and took off again. The sentinel threw its warhammer to finish the kill, but Kazuki’s spear intercepted it mid-air.

The two opponents locked eyes as their respective weapons fell back to the ground. Half the stone face was gone, revealing a glowing crystalline structure. Thousands of foreign runes glowed, exchanging energy to allow the creation to move. Far from being an enchanted statue, the sentinel was a robotic and runic creature.

It tilted its head, observing its panting opponent. Blood trickled from Kazuki’s mouth: the overclock he used to save Gallad had cost him dearly.

“If this isn’t a duel, then...”

Kazuki gritted his teeth as two new stone sentinels emerged from the central building. His spear landed beside him, and he grabbed it before taking a defensive stance. With half a dozen broken ribs, a shattered kidney, torn muscles, and a pounding headache, Kazuki smiled.

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Kazuki Status: (Average value for a Hoplite male before integration: PHY 23 / MEN 18 / META 0)

PHYSICAL:

Strength 1107

Constitution 852

Agility 1081

Vitality 811

Perception 845

MENTAL:

Vivacity 591

Dexterity 591

Memory 580

Willpower 592

Charisma 311

META:

Meta-affinity 184

Meta-focus 152

Meta-endurance 352

Meta-perception 160

Meta-chance 79

Meta-authority 180

Potential: 10 763

Tier 0

Race: Titan Hoplite (Tier 1)

Bloodline:

Titan - Purity <>

Concepts:

Wind (T0) - Harmony

? (T1) - Awakening

Suprématies:

Micro II

Spear Mastery II

Domain I

[Symbiose - Knightmare] - Active.

[Tribulation]: FourTribulations are coming.

Time: 1 day 9 hours 13 minutes 22 seconds.

Your Soul Baptism is due.

Time limit: 69 days 15 hours 34 minutes 12 seconds.