Chapter 385: The Ambush

The convoy continued moving through the uneven road, completely unaware that its route would soon become a battlefield.

Kai remained behind the broken concrete barrier, watching the machines through the scope of his rifle. The closer the convoy came, the more clearly he could see its formation. Several Sentinels surrounded the trucks while dozens of Spyders moved through the nearby ruins, constantly scanning the area. The trucks themselves were heavily reinforced, their metal bodies covered in additional plating.

Whatever was inside them, the machines clearly considered it valuable.

"Chamber," Kai said quietly. "Give me the prisoner count."

[ Scanning. ]

A few seconds later, the answer appeared.

[ Thirty-seven human life signatures detected. ]

Kai’s expression immediately became serious.

Thirty-seven.

At least thirty-seven people were being transported by the machines.

"How is their condition? It’s not too late to save them right?"

[ I can’t tell. However, several subjects are suffering from severe biological deterioration. Multiple unstable mutations have been detected.]

Kai’s grip tightened around his rifle.

So they really were transporting experimental subjects.

He glanced toward Farrah, who was already crouching beside Xian and Xinyi.

"Farrah."

She looked toward him.

"I’ll handle the machines. Keep the children behind you and don’t let anything get close."

Farrah nodded without hesitation.

"I understand."

Kai turned back toward the convoy.

He took one final look at Atom.

The S-Grade Sentinel was standing several meters away, completely motionless as it waited for his command. Its mechanical eyes remained fixed on the approaching machines.

Kai thought for a moment before making a plan.

He wasn’t going to fight beside Atom at close range.

Atom was too powerful and too fast. Its entire combat system had been designed around close-quarters warfare, and Kai knew that trying to move alongside it would only interfere with its movements.

Instead, he would support it from a distance.

"Atom."

The Sentinel’s head turned toward him.

"Go."

Atom immediately disappeared from its position.

The ground beneath its feet cracked as the machine accelerated forward. It crossed the distance between them and the convoy in only a few seconds, moving so quickly that several of the machines didn’t even have time to react.

The first Sentinel raised its weapon.

However, Atom reached it before it could fire.

Boom!

Its fist slammed into the machine’s chest with enough force to send it flying through the air.

Thud... Thud...

The Sentinel crashed into the ruins beside the road, tearing through a concrete wall before finally coming to a stop.

The convoy was immediately put into chaos...

Warning signals flashed across the machines.

The Spyders spread out while the remaining Sentinels opened fire.

Hundreds of rounds tore through the ruins.

***

Kai immediately lowered himself behind the concrete barrier as the first wave of machines opened fire.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bullets tore through the abandoned buildings around him, sending fragments of concrete and rusted metal flying through the air.

The sound of gunfire was deafening, but Kai remained surprisingly calm.

He reached toward his inventory.

A moment later, the Electromagnetic Railgun from the Legendary Gift Pack appeared in his hands.

The weapon was considerably larger than an ordinary rifle, its dark metallic frame surrounded by several electromagnetic components that hummed softly as its internal energy system came online.

It was designed for one purpose... overwhelming penetration.

Kai had received the weapon just recently, but he had barely found an opportunity to use it.

This seemed like the perfect test.

"Chamber, identify priority targets."

[ Scanning battlefield. ]

The A.I. Assistant immediately began marking targets within Kai’s field of vision.

Several Sentinels appeared first.

Then the heavier combat machines.

"Give me the most heavily armored target."

[ Target acquired. ]

A large modified Sentinel had just moved into position behind the convoy. Its body was covered in thick armor plating, and the weapon mounted on its shoulder was already charging.

Kai steadied the Railgun against the concrete barrier.

The weapon then began gathering energy.

Soon, a low electromagnetic hum filled the air as the machine suddenly turned toward him.

"Eat this..."

Kai pulled the trigger.

Click!

There was no ordinary gunshot.

Instead, the Railgun released a thunderous electromagnetic discharge.

BOOOOM!

The projectile crossed the battlefield almost instantaneously.

It punched straight through the combat machine’s chest armor, continued through its internal frame, and exited from the opposite side before the machine even had time to react.

The massive machine froze.

Then it collapsed.

[ Enemy Unit Destroyed: Armored Sentinel (A) ]

[ Experience Points distributed among all participants. ]

[ +500 Experience Points ]

Kai stared for a moment.

"...That’s powerful."

He had known the weapon was Legendary-grade, but actually seeing its penetration capability was something else entirely.

He immediately shifted his aim.

Another Sentinel was attempting to move around Atom’s flank.

Kai aimed and fired.

Boom!

The projectile struck its weapon arm and completely tore through the limb.

Before the Sentinel could recover, Atom appeared beside it and drove a powerful punch into its chest.

The machine was sent flying across the road.

[ Enemy Unit Destroyed: Armored Sentinel (A) ]

Kai smiled faintly.

He understood the battlefield now...

He didn’t need to fight alongside Atom. He just needed to control everything around it.

Whenever a machine tried to attack Atom from a blind spot, Kai would eliminate it. Whenever one attempted to approach the trucks, he would stop it. And if something particularly heavily armored appeared, the Railgun would deal with it.

Atom could focus entirely on destroying whatever stood directly in front of it.

The combination was devastating.

Another group of Spyders rushed toward Atom.

Kai fired again.

The electromagnetic projectile passed through the first machine and continued into the second, destroying both.

Atom didn’t even slow down.

It grabbed another Sentinel by the arm and swung it into an abandoned building. The machine crashed through the wall before Atom charged after it.

Bam!

Meanwhile, several Spyders attempted to circle around the battlefield.

Kai switched targets and, needless to say, the machines fell one after another.

"Whoa... This railgun is a bit too good." Kai muttered.

Still, he could tell that if not for his level and other bonus stats, it would be impossible for him to use his railgun several times.

If someone other than him used this weapon, they might already be injured.

Well, it wasn’t really that surprising considering the firepower it had...

"I really needed more Talent Upgrade Crystals..."