Chapter 262: Combat Puppet

"HAH!" Sol slashed horizontally, sending a wave of mana that split multiple mechanical creations in half.

[Azrem Combat Puppet Model Knight

Unique

Skills:

[Rune Algorithm] Lv 8, [Oscillating Sword] Lv 6]

[Azrem Combat Puppet Model Vanguard

Unique

Skills:

[Rune Algorithm] Lv 8, [Force Dampener] Lv 6]

[Azrem Combat Puppet Model Seeker

Unique

Skills:

[Rune Algorithm] Lv 8, [Precision Firing] Lv 6]

The enemies came in different shapes and sizes, each with different means of attack, but regardless, they all fell before him. Due to the mechanical nature of these creations, Sol didn't gain any experience or skills from them. Similarly to how [Siphon] didn't work on items, he couldn't use it on these lifeless constructs.

Beside him, Lapis stabbed forward with her spear, which stretched and bent in ways that allowed her to penetrate multiple puppets with a single strike.

Behind them, the soldiers used their own methods to take down the puppets that slipped past Sol and Lapis, while Nataly, even further behind, healed and controlled a tree sentinel she had summoned to crush the puppets.

These puppets weren't too difficult to defeat, even for the C-Rank soldiers. Though they were C-Rank, they were the best among their rank, with level being the only real difference between them and a B-Ranker. It also helped that the metal the puppets were made of wasn't the same as the nearly indestructible alloy found in the tunnels and other parts of the ancient city. Instead, it was a special alloy that was more mana conductive and flexible, which made the puppets less rigid but easier to destroy.

This was true in one on one situations. However, the enemies outnumbered them ten to one, and soon, too many were slipping past Sol and Lapis, who were holding back the majority of their forces.

"There's too many of them!" a human soldier shouted as he was surrounded by six puppets. Though he felt overwhelmed, he stood his ground regardless, gripping his shield tightly and rapidly blocking attacks from multiple directions. He held out for a few more seconds until four blades smashed into his shield simultaneously, knocking him off balance. The puppets detected the opening created and mercilessly swung their weapons at him. All the soldier could do was brace himself for the end.

CRASH!

Just before the blades struck, a boulder flew through the puppets, crushing them and giving the soldier a chance to retreat toward the others, who were also struggling. He glanced at where the boulder had come from and saw Sol creating more boulders out of thin air and launching them at other enemies. Though the entire building was made of the special alloy that he couldn't manipulate, Sol could still create and use earth. While it consumed more mana, it was within a tolerable range.

Sol, having trouble keeping track of all the enemies, turned to Lapis, who was flashing between the puppets, taking down tens per second.

"We need to block the servant passage!"

At this rate more would slip by them and eventually overwhelm their forces. Even if they could hold on, eventually Sol and Lapis would get exhausted from the constant fighting. They needed to stop it at the source.

She agreed. "Go, I'll hold them back."

He didn't know how she planned to do that but trusted her regardless. He rushed through the horde of enemies, wielding his blazing sword. Cranking the dial to the maximum, the blade ballooned in size and he unleashed [Vorpal Blade Rush]. Each slash cut through over 50 enemies as he rushed forward, creating a massive opening in the horde of puppets.

As he neared the servant passage, he finished the skills execution with a final spin slash that destroyed all the mechanical creations around him, revealing the entrance to the passage.

Not wanting to waste any time, Sol used his recently combined skill [Umbral Domain], sending multiple streaks of shadows into the passage, making sure no one noticed in doing so. Once inside the passage, the shadows rose from the ground, forming shadowy figures wielding various weapons. They began attacking the puppets in the narrow passage. They were able to hold off the enemies without any issue, as only so many could attack at once in the confined hallway without the puppets risking damaging each other.

With the shadows buying him time, Sol created a large, thick slab of compressed stone and lodged it into the entrance, completely blocking it off.

'The shadows should be able to hold them off for now.'

Believing his job was done, Sol turned to return to the rest of the team. But he noticed that more mechanical beings were still pouring in as quickly as before. Looking further down the hall, he saw yet another side passage from which more puppets were emerging, and another even farther away.

'This might take a while...'

While Sol was busy sealing the servant passage entrances, Lapis was destroying as many of the puppets as she could. But without Sol's help, more and more of them kept slipping past, overwhelming those at the back. Nataly was also doing her best with her tree sentinel, but with countless enemies ganging up on it, there was only so much it could do.

To keep them at bay, Lapis used multiple skills to temporarily boost her power and restore the precarious balance. Her body blurred as her agility, her highest attribute, soared to nearly 700 points. She moved so quickly that she left afterimages, blurring back and forth across the hallway, shredding any mechanical creation that dared approach her spear.

Even with Sol using [Overpower], he wouldn't have been able to match her raw speed. The enemies, much weaker than him, couldn't process her attacks before they were destroyed.

With no more enemies slipping through, the soldiers were able to quickly dispatch the remaining puppets. They watched in awe as the green blur of Lapis became an unstoppable force, sending metallic scraps flying everywhere.

"What a powerful woman. How have we not heard of her before?" an orc said in amazement.

The human archer next to him shook her head. "We haven't heard of her either, but she's definitely stronger than any of my superiors in the army. Besides the A-Rankers, of course."

A more analytical soldier pointed out, "She's probably using burst skills to pull this off. She won't last much longer."

Nataly, who had just finished healing her tree sentinel, chugged a mana potion and said, "Then let's take this chance to reduce their numbers before her burst skills wears off."

The others agreed, and they began using their ranged skills and weapons to support Lapis.