Chapter 370: Entry

At this time, Kai ignored them as an Impulse moved into position behind him and fired.

Before the projectile could reach Kai, one of the hoverboard users suddenly swept across the attacker’s path and released a powerful Gene Skill that struck the enemy’s vessel!

The attack struck the Impulse directly.

Boom!

Kai immediately took advantage of the opening and continued forward.

The modified Dragoon passed between several hoverboard users before Kai suddenly activated Shadow Dash.

His body and the Dragoon disappeared from their original position.

A moment later, they reappeared several dozen meters away.

Kai looked at the display with surprise...

"I knew it... Since equipped clothes and weapons also get affected, then Shadow Dash can also take the Dragoon with me."

A smile appeared on Kai’s face as he knew that it would be so useful.

If he could take the Dragoon with him, then Shadow Dash could become another method of avoiding the Citadel’s detection systems.

Kai didn’t waste any more time as he immediately activated Neural Acceleration.

His perception improved as the battlefield seemed to become easier to understand.

The movements of the machines became clearer, and the attacks coming from different directions were easier to predict.

Meanwhile, Chamber quickly calculated a route.

[ A possible approach route has been calculated. ]

A path appeared on the Dragoon’s display and it wasn’t a straight line toward the Citadel.

Instead, it passed through several gaps between the enemy formations before approaching the fortress from an angle.

Kai studied the route before nodding.

"That should work."

He then accelerated.

The Dragoon moved through the battlefield at high speed, passing between the machines and the airborne Survivors. Kai changed his altitude several times whenever an enemy unit entered his path, while Chamber continuously adjusted the route based on the movements of the surrounding machines.

For a while, everything went smoothly.

Then an Impulse suddenly appeared directly in front of him.

Its weapons were already charged.

Kai could change direction, but doing so would force him away from the route Chamber had calculated.

Instead, he decided to destroy it.

"Spirit Lance."

A spear of condensed Spirit appeared in his hand and shot forward.

Boom!

The attack struck the front of the Impulse, causing its armor to crack.

Kai immediately activated Reverb.

"Spirit Lance."

A second spear appeared almost instantly and struck the exact same location.

Boom!

The damaged armor finally broke apart, and the Impulse lost control before beginning to fall toward the battlefield below.

Just like that, the Dragoon continued climbing.

The Citadel was becoming larger with every passing second as he looked at it...

Kai could now see the enormous armored sections covering its exterior, the energy stations running between different structures, and the massive docking ports that continued opening and closing as machines entered and exited the fortress.

It was even more imposing from this distance.

Kai’s expression became more serious.

He had already infiltrated a Citadel once in the past, and that experience had taught him just how dangerous these machines could be. However, this time was different.

He wasn’t going there simply to loot whatever he could find.

There was a reason this machine civilization had suddenly appeared above Cameron City.

And Kai wanted to know what it was.

If possible, he also wanted to know where these machines had come from, what controlled them, and whether the Citadel contained any technology that could help him understand the machine civilization even further.

Most importantly, if he could reach the central systems, Chamber might be able to do something much more interesting than simply guide him through the fortress.

Kai looked toward the enormous structure.

"Chamber, can you connect to the Citadel if we get close enough?"

[ Unknown. ]

Kai frowned.

"Unknown?"

[ The Citadel’s systems appear to share technological similarities with the systems previously analyzed. However, the available data is insufficient to determine whether direct access will be possible.]

Kai smiled.

"Then we’ll find out when we get there."

The Dragoon continued accelerating.

[ Warning. High-energy detection system activated. ]

Kai’s expression changed.

"They noticed us."

[ Multiple defensive systems have acquired the Dragoon as a target.]

Several sections of the Citadel were beginning to move.

Mechanical structures unfolded from the fortress, revealing weapons hidden beneath weapni exterior.

At the same time, several aerial units changed direction and began flying toward him.

There were still hundreds of meters between him and the Citadel.

Getting this far had already been difficult, and as expected, the final approach would be even worse.

But Kai didn’t slow down.

Instead, a faint smile appeared on his face as he leaned forward on the Dragoon.

"Then let’s see if you can stop me."

The Dragoon continued accelerating toward the Citadel, but before Kai could get any closer, a strange distortion suddenly appeared in front of him.

A moment later, a massive transparent barrier emerged around the Citadel.

It wasn’t completely invisible. Under the light of the explosions happening across the battlefield, Kai could see faint lines of energy spreading across its surface, forming a gigantic dome around the fortress.

The Dragoon suddenly shook violently as it collided with the barrier.

Boom!

Kai’s body was thrown slightly backward before he quickly regained control.

"What the hell?"

He immediately slowed the Dragoon and looked ahead.

The barrier had completely blocked his path.

Kai frowned as he had expected the Citadel to have defensive weapons, but he hadn’t expected a barrier to suddenly appear around the entire fortress.

"Chamber?"

[ A defensive energy barrier has been deployed around the Citadel. ]

Kai stared at it.

"Can we break through?"

[ Negative. ]

Kai’s expression became serious.

"How strong is it?"

[ The barrier is significantly stronger than the defensive barrier previously encountered at Citadel-9. A direct attack is not recommended. ]

Kai frowned...

The Citadel-9 he had encountered previously had already been extremely difficult to deal with, and this fortress seemed to be even more advanced.

He looked around the enormous barrier.

There were no obvious openings as the entire Citadel was completely enclosed.

Even the machines leaving the fortress seemed to pass through specific sections of the barrier without causing any reaction.

"Then how are their own machines getting through?"

Chamber immediately responded.

[ The barrier recognizes authorized machine signatures and temporarily creates passage points for allied units. ]

Kai’s eyes lit up.

"So it isn’t simply a wall. Then there should be a way to fool it..."