Chapter [16]

Iteration[1] felt Iteration[3]'s presence fully come back into being, signifying the end of its battle. With its return came a burst of knowledge that quickly summarized what occurred with it and the [Metallic mana].

Deeper packets of knowledge came after, but Iteration[1] had no time to look at those now. It had the beast of [Iron ore] to deal with, and another minute passed before the [Combat golems] finally arrived.

Iteration[1] quickly ordered them into position, and the [Combat golems] circled the [Iron ore] beast, causing it to pause. Although Iteration[1] didn't know if the beast could see, its intuition told it that the [Iron ore] beast was assessing its situation, signifying intelligence.

This surprised Iteration[1]. Intelligence could potentially complicate things for it, making the upcoming battle more difficult. Intending to test things, Iteration[1] ordered one of the normal [Combat golems] to move over to the beast. Iteration[1] watched as the [Combat golem] inched closer, and as soon as it was precisely 1 meter away from the beast, it exploded with ungodly speed, punching a hole through the lone [Combat golem].

Iteration[1] barely had time to process what it just witnessed before the [Iron ore] beast exploded its left claw, sending sharp spikes of [Iron ore] flying in all directions. Fifty of its 129 [Combat golems] died instantly, and Iteration[1] scrambled to dash out orders to the remaining 79.

The beast had deceived them. It wasn't naturally slow; it moved slowly on purpose to create a false image, shattering it when necessary to capitalize on the element of surprise. Iteration[1] steeled itself as it began dashing out orders. With a mental command, 30 units of [Automation mana] flowed out of its [Central core] and into the 30 [Combat golems] it had empowered last time.

The 30 empowered [Combat golems] visibly grew and bulged. A crown of twisted gears spun itself from the ambient [Automation mana] in the room and flew over to the 30 empowered [Combat golems], placing itself on their heads.

Iteration[1] felt something shift inside them. The link it had with them snapped before reforming, but this link was different. It wasn't composed of [Mana]; it didn't feel like anything Iteration[1] could properly conceptualize. It felt similar to the matter that made up its soul.

Before Iteration[1] could inspect further, 30 voices bellowed inside its mind, all repeating one thing:

(For the creator!)

With that, the improved [Combat golems] rushed at the beast of [Iron ore], spinning swords, axes, and greatswords out of the ambient [Automation mana] as they charged. Iteration[1] watched, utterly fascinated by the recent developments. It felt a pull on its knowledge as the largest among the improved [Combat golems] drew on Iteration[1]'s understanding of the beast of [Iron ore].

Iteration[1] allowed the transfer, and he reacted instantly. Ordering the rest of his improved brethren to stop mid-charge, through what Iteration[1] assumed was some form of inherent link, he rapidly shared the new information and changed their tactics.

A second later, the [Combat golems] dissolved their swords and axes back into the ambient [Automation mana] and instead condensed a massive amount of it into towering [great shields].

With surprising ease, the [Combat golems] hefted the [Great shields] with one clawed hand and positioned themselves in a circular formation, entrapping the beast of [Iron ore] in the middle. In their free hand, they condensed the ambient [Automation mana] into constantly rotating poles.

Iteration[1] was beyond shocked by the level of adaptation and speed the improved [Combat golems] displayed. Their level of intelligence was high too. Iteration[1] couldn't wait to investigate them thoroughly later. However, the battle hadn't even started yet, so it couldn't do much.

It would have to wait until it was over; it couldn't risk meddling with them mid-battle. Too much was at stake for that. Iteration[1] watched as the improved [Combat golems] inched closer. Soon, they were in the 1-meter striking range, and the beast of [Iron ore] blurred, moving too fast for Iteration[1]'s senses to see.

A loud clang echoed as tons of metal connected with the [Great shields], pushing five of the improved [Combat golems] back, almost breaking the circle. The other 25 [Combat golems] pushed their rotating rods forward, slamming them into the beast.

The poles rotated and dug out large sections of the beast of [Iron ore]. The beast screamed in pain, rapidly throwing out blows that hammered hard into the [Great shields], damaging them greatly. Cracks began to spread as the [Great shields], made of condensed [Automation mana], took damage.

Iteration[1] felt Iteration[3] empty its pool of [Automation mana] as it separated all the [Growth mana] it could from it before weaving it into the almost broken [Great shields]. Slowly, the [Great shields] began repairing themselves.

When the beast of [Iron ore] saw this, it doubled down on its efforts, focusing on the ones that had the most damage. But in doing so, it left itself open. The [Combat golems] pounced on it hungrily, using their poles to rip out a huge chunk of its clawed back. They hefted it over the [Great shields] before moving back into position.

This caused the beast of [Iron ore] to pause as it used one of its clawed hands to touch the section where its back used to be. Though the beast didn't have a face or a head, Iteration[1] could feel the surprise flowing from it.

Then the unexpected happened. The portal, which was silent for most of the battle, suddenly blazed with power and unknown [Mana] that flowed into the [Iron ore] beast, empowering it. Before Iteration[1] could react, Iteration[3] wove the ambient [Automation mana] into a blade and slammed it into the unknown [Mana].

Whatever goal the unknown [Mana] had was crushed as the link it was trying to form spasmed erratically before sputtering out and flowing back into the shimmering portal. The [Iron ore] beast staggered as if dazed by the sudden snapping of its newly formed link.

The [Combat golems], capitalizing on the [Iron ore] beast's momentary vulnerability, swiftly ripped it in half with their rotating poles, bringing an end to the battle.