Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

”Could it be the same energy powering the facility?” Natalie muttered.

[ That is possible. However, there is insufficient data to confirm it. ]

Tundra stared at the enormous structure and nodded.

”So the entire island could actually be connected to the facility.”

Nobody answered, but it was a possibility they had all considered before, but hearing it aloud made the situation feel even more significant.

Perhaps Eden Island had never been an ordinary island as the enormous structures buried beneath it had been part of something much larger.

Shane eventually looked toward the facility.

”We’ll investigate these structures later. The facility comes first.”

The others nodded as they continued forward.

Several minutes later, they finally reached the location where Sylas had disappeared.

For a moment, there was nothing...

But then, a figure suddenly appeared beside them.

”We’re clear.”

Max nearly jumped.

”You really need to stop doing that.”

Sylas ignored him and continued reporting.

”There are no obvious traps around the main entrance. However, the War Automata are still there.”

”How many?”

”Fourteen. Two more emerged from the hidden passage after you contacted Cloud.”

Shane immediately looked toward the enormous entrance.

”So they’re still coming out.”

”Yes.”

Sylas paused.

”I couldn’t determine how many remain inside.”

That statement immediately made everyone more cautious.

Cloud’s voice came through Shane’s wristwatch.

[ I have continued analyzing the machines through the Warden Units. ]

Shane looked down at the device.

”Can you identify their model?”

[ Not yet. ]

That answer surprised Shane.

Cloud had been able to identify them as War Automata almost immediately, yet even he couldn’t determine exactly what type they were.

[ The Anima Civilization possessed numerous types of War Automata. Their functions varied considerably. Some were designed for battlefield combat, others for facility security, and some were created specifically to protect important individuals or locations. ]

Tundra looked toward the machines.

”So these might be facility guards.”

[ That is my current assumption. ]

”Then let’s find out exactly what we’re dealing with.”

Shane’s gaze remained fixed on the fourteen War Automata surrounding the enormous entrance.

They looked almost like statues.

However, Shane knew better than to mistake their stillness for inactivity.

”Cloud, can you analyze them while we fight?”

[ That’s my plan. I can attempt to collect additional data during combat. ]

”Then we’ll give you that data.”

Shane looked around at the others before continuing, ”Don’t destroy them immediately. Try to disable them first. We need to know what kind of machines we’re dealing with.”

Max’s expression immediately brightened.

”Finally. Something interesting.”

The moment Shane gave the signal, Max was already moving.

The Tempest Cloak wrapped itself around his body as a faint surge of wind and lightning surrounded him. His figure blurred, and in the next instant, he appeared nearly ten meters away, directly in front of one of the War Automata.

He was truly one of the best frontliners aside from the Warden Units and Mech Frames they have...

The closest machine reacted almost immediately.

Its red eyes lit up as it recognized Max as an enemy! Soon, its right arm swung toward Max.

But the latter just raised his left arm.

Boom!

His mechanical hand met the incoming fist with a tremendous impact that shook the surrounding ground. The force pushed him several meters backward, but his feet remained firmly planted, and when he lowered his arm, he was still smiling...

”Not bad.”

The War Automaton didn’t give him time to say anything else. Its other arm moved forward, and several concealed weapons unfolded from its forearm before firing a series of concentrated energy projectiles.

Max’s grin widened as he activated the Tempest Cloak again.

His body vanished from the projectiles’ path, and the attacks struck the ground behind him instead, tearing apart several sections of soil and sending fragments of stone into the air.

Max then triggered his Voidpiercer Gauntlet as he struck the machine!

The effect activated at the moment of impact, allowing his strike to penetrate the War Automaton’s armor far more easily than a normal physical attack should have been able to.

”Hahaha!”

The gauntlet sank through the metallic plating of its chest, but Max deliberately stopped before reaching the deeper components.

He wasn’t trying to destroy it...

He wanted Cloud to see what was inside.

Tieria had also begun observing the battle through his mechanical eye. Various layers of information were rapidly appearing across his vision as the artificial eye analyzed the machine’s movements, energy output, structural composition, and weapon systems.

”These aren’t using the same energy systems as our Warden Units,” Tieria said.

[ Correct. Their energy signature is significantly different from the technology we used. ]

Before anyone could continue the discussion, the other War Automatons finally moved.

The next one that got closer extended both arms toward the ground.

Then, a strange pulse of energy spread outward from its body.

The buried structures beneath the island immediately responded!

Faint lines of light appeared across the metallic pillars protruding from the ground, and within moments, the earth beneath the group began to tremble.

Tundra’s expression changed.

”Move!”

Everyone reacted immediately.

The ground suddenly trembled and soon, several enormous metallic spikes tore through the soil, forcing the group to scatter. Sandara moved first, leaping backward while drawing her bow, while Lyra quickly threw one of Aya’s talismans toward the ground.

The talisman activated before it even touched the soil.

A defensive barrier rose from the ground just as another metallic spike crashed into it, absorbing the impact and preventing the attack from reaching the people behind it.

”Interesting,” Travis muttered as he watched the energy flowing through the buried structures.

”They’re using the island itself.”

”They might be,” Tieria replied, his mechanical eye continuing to scan the battlefield. ”Or the machines are connected to the same system.”

Tundra didn’t wait for them to finish.

He reached toward the ground and activated his Talent.

The invisible bombs he created were impossible to see, and the War Automata had no way of knowing that several of them had already been planted beneath their feet.

A moment later, the explosions came!

The blasts weren’t large enough to cause serious damage to the surrounding facility, but they were more than enough to throw several of the machines off balance.

Their heavy bodies were lifted from the ground and sent crashing into the metallic surface surrounding the entrance!

Max immediately took advantage of the opening.

”Haha! This will be easy!”

He blinked forward with the Tempest Cloak and appeared beside one of the fallen machines. His Voidpiercer Gauntlet struck its knee joint, and the attack penetrated directly through the armor.

The machine attempted to rise, but its leg failed.

Still, Max stepped away just as another War Automaton approached him.

This time, however, Sandara’s arrow arrived first.

The projectile struck the machine directly in one of its red optical sensors.

Lyra then followed by throwing several talismans onto its body.

”Seal.”

The talismans activated simultaneously.

A strange force spread across the War Automaton’s limbs, slowing its movements enough for Tieria to destroy the exposed joint.

The battle continued for less than a minute.

The War Automata were undoubtedly powerful compared to ordinary machines, and their technology was clearly far beyond anything most Survivors could understand.

Unfortunately for them, the people standing against them were not ordinary Survivors...

Soon, the entrance looked messy, but all the War Automatons were taken care of!