Chapter 486: ...That Sprouted II

Chapter 486: ...That Sprouted II



The blue paused, revealing itself, and struck.

Clang!

"Don't forget about me!"

It was Ava.

As she stepped back, premeditatively avoiding an attack that hadn't yet arrived, she struck another with her staff, cracking their skull and dropping them to the ground.

"You talk a lot for someone hiding behind a scrap heap!"

Maraak mockingly laughed in response.

"Alright! Let's test your theory! OVERCLOCK!"

The constructs lit up with Aether and attacked Arthur and Sofia at once, leaving them only a second to react.

But that was enough.

At least for Sofia.

She displayed her martial arts prowess, meeting the swarm before they could even attack.

Unlike Arthur, whose each strike depended on luck, she moved with something beyond, a level nearing Emir's, a level unattainable by luck.

Her blade sliced through two constructs, their metal plating seemingly offering no protection.

She then completely halted the momentum of her movement, using all the strength behind her muscles to attack in the complete opposite direction, ending another two.

Arthur tried to do the same, but all he could do was swing wildly at them.

Eventually, his bayonet landed on one, and before another could kill him, the one he stabbed killed its fellow construct upon death, accidentally piercing its pincers through its head.

Their blades cut deep, sparks flying, but the more they killed, another would close in, and then another.

The sheer number was overwhelming, a relentless tide.

"These damn things just keep coming!"

It was just as Arthur's panicked scream perfectly described.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Meanwhile, Ava stayed outside the circle, using nearby rubble as cover as she took the soldiers' attention away from the duo.

She focused her Aether on her own wounds as she repeatedly sustained them, not at all fit for melee combat, following a hit-and-run tactic that she was taught at the Academy.

"Arthur, keep at it."

Sofia yelled, parrying a construct's arm as it lunged toward her.

"Ava, don't let your guard down."

"I won't!"

'Just what kind of monster is he?'

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she activated Rapid Retreat, using all the Aether she

managed to stock up in the past minute of combat.

Time returned to normal as her body moved, twisting just enough to avoid most of the blades.

Sofia was fast, but not fast enough. One grazed her cheek, leaving a sharp, stinging line, another embedded itself in her shoulder, and the last found itself in her foot, tearing through

it from one end to the next.

"UG-!"

Before a scream could exit her mouth, she gritted her teeth, shutting herself up.

"Sofia!"

Arthur and Ava screamed her name, momentarily stunned by what just happened.

Their enemy too was stunned, though for an entirely different reason, his smug expression

faltering.

"Ah, you actually caught on... Fascinating. I didn't know Elites could be as self-aware. I thought you were all children pretending to play war."

Barely standing, Sofia wiped away the blood on her face, eyes glaring at the real Maraak.

"This isn't over."

Maraak's smirk returned.

"No, I suppose it isn't. Shall we see how it would, then?"

Before he could resume the fight, Ava, hiding behind a massive rock, interrupted him:

"How about a quick break?! Your toys might need some WX-40!"

He chuckled.

"My machines are perfection. Unlike you, they don't falter. They don't tire. They do exactly

what I command and my command is for them to kill you."

"You're right, Maraak."

Schwing!

A sharp sound cut through the tunnel-a metallic slicing noise, and with it came a deep voice,

cold as ice.

"Machines don't tire. But they also don't think."

It was Emir.