Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Where is the Limit?
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The group peered into the mirage with anxious eyes.
Inside the rippling mirage, they could see Harkrux, who had just entered the beast-filled plains.
Harkrux, displaying unbelievable mobility for a Cyclops, quickly closed in on the enemy unit.
“They noticed...!”
The enemies’ movements changed. They seemed to pause and assess the situation for a moment before suddenly charging toward Harkrux at high speed.
But then,
“What the hell is that speed? Is that really a Titan?”
One Titan surged forward alone, leaving four Byabas behind it. Its speed was absurd.
Harkrux was much faster than a standard Cyclops, but this enemy Titan was no ordinary machine either.
“Dangerous...!”
To make matters worse, due to the performance gap in their SPU units, Harkrux detected the enemy late. The distance between Harkrux and the enemy Titan shrank rapidly.
Harkrux finally sensed the enemy and turned, but by then they were already quite close.
Kang Geohan gritted his teeth.
‘At this rate, it won’t make it to the rendezvous point. It’ll get caught way before that...!’
He quickly scanned the mirage.
No beacon signals were visible.
The other enemy units continued their beast hunts and gathering as if oblivious to the situation.
His prediction was correct. The enemies were operating separately.
That was good news, but...
‘Harkrux is in immediate danger.’
To think their mobility was this exceptional...!
No time for hesitation.
He had to do something.
Kang Geohan swiftly boarded Femoral and sealed the hatch.
“I’m heading out first! Follow quick and back me up!”
Kuuuung!
Flames spurted from every joint of Femoral. The Berserker Pack activated! Femoral’s output surged dramatically.
‘Here we go!’
Kang Geohan tensed his entire body, pushing back against the crushing pressure.
Whoosh—boom!
Femoral spewed steam like a chimney. The ground shattered with every step.
Full-power sprint initiated.
* * *
Whoooosh—!
On the beast-filled plains, where sky oxen with blue glows and fire-maned kirins grazed leisurely.
Harkrux, piloting his Giant across the peaceful plains, was drenched in sweat.
Not a trace of composure remained on his face.
‘What the...! How is it this fast...!’
He’d thought his mobility was on par with higher-class machines like Yotuns or Titans...
Was the enemy a monster?
Even at maximum output, he couldn’t shake off the Titan drawing ever closer.
The Giant, hidden until now, had closed to within 100 meters—practically point-blank.
One step at a time, it approached.
Finally, they were within weapon range.
—Got you!
Squeeeee!
A spear thrust straight toward Harkrux’s back.
Harkrux, fleeing to the last moment, gritted his teeth and threw his body sideways.
Kugugugwang!
Whooo?!
The plains shook, startling the sky oxen chewing grass in the distance.
Harkrux slammed his palm into the ground and swiftly rose.
Pssshhhh—
From overexertion, white steam billowed from Harkrux’s body and his Giant.
The plains breeze was cool, but his ragged breaths were scorching hot.
—Where you running off to in such a hurry? Got friends hiding somewhere?
The Logoth Giant Rider activated external speakers and sneered.
—But what’s this? Turns out I’m way faster.
Harkrux found the tone utterly obnoxious.
—Meeting me was your misfortune. Name’s Drek von Rad. Say goodbye.
The guy struck a pompous pose as he raised his spear.
He sounded like he’d rehearsed that line for the battlefield—totally contrived.
Harkrux gave a bitter smile.
‘Some noble brat?’
It all made sense now.
Speed too excessive for a mere Titan.
It looked unassuming like a standard Titan on the outside, but inside, it was fully tuned with top-tier parts.
Harkrux grinned ferociously.
A noble brat, huh...
‘Makes me wanna win even more...!’
Flames ignited in his chest.
Why had Harkrux wanted to become a Giant Rider?
Wasn’t it to shake off his past of getting one-sidedly beaten by noble brats, to test the limits of human Harkrux?
To prove his own worth, see how far he could go?
‘Yeah. Like Kang Geohan...!’
Even the Black Knight served him as lord...!
That thought banished any urge to whine.
“Fine. Let’s throw down.”
He didn’t think he could win. But he had to hold out until allies arrived, right?
That much he could manage. He was a tank, after all!
Kiriirik!
From the main armament slot, he drew a 5-meter medium shield and a 3-meter short sword.
Thanks to the size-alteration enchantment, they were compact when stowed at his waist, but expanded to full size upon deployment—like a mage drawing a staff.
—Good. Come at me like that, so it’s satisfying to smash.
Drek von Rad sneered, stowed his spear in his main slot, and drew a massive warhammer instead.
Seven meters long, with a head alone three meters wide—an absurdly huge weapon slung over his shoulder.
Harkrux’s medium shield looked puny by comparison.
Kiriirik!
Whoosh—boom!
The moment Drek’s Titan crouched, the ground exploded upward, and the enormous warhammer plummeted toward Harkrux’s head.
Kwaaaang!
In a split second, Harkrux twisted his shield slightly to deflect the warhammer. But,
Wooduduk!
“Guhhh...”
The power behind the hammer exceeded imagination.
A single blow crumpled the medium shield like tin foil.
The pressure on the Giant blackened his vision momentarily. His face flushed red, nosebleed gushing.
Felt like he’d burst like a hammered cola can from the inside.
‘What kind of output gap is this...!’
He’d expected it to be tough, but
this was far worse.
Yet even amid it, Harkrux kept his demonic tension razor-sharp. He boosted output, burst his sonic thrusters, and retreated swiftly.
Kuaaaang!
The second hammer strike grazed the Cyclops’ front and pulverized the ground.
—Dodged it? Not bad.
Harkrux forced air into his deflating abdomen like a leaky balloon, building pressure.
He discarded the crumpled medium shield, drew a 3-meter small shield from the main slot, and shouted.
“Can’t you shut your trap? All that gear-whoring and you still act so smug.”
—Huh? Gear-whoring? Isn’t that a compliment? Being able to pilot a better Giant and wield stronger gear is rider skill in itself. That’s why you’re stuck on a Cyclops—you wouldn’t get it.
The enemy scoffed and swung the warhammer again.
This time, Harkrux didn’t dare block. He shielded himself and dodged nimbly.
But the hammer’s edge caught the shield’s corner.
Kwajik!
With a sickening crack, the crumpled small shield flew off.
The Cyclops’ arm whipped around—whooo!—tilting the Giant sharply.
Kwaduduk!
Boom!
But Harkrux somehow regained balance.
Drooling saliva from his mouth, he propped with the other arm, stomped the ground, and endured.
Vision flickering, vomit rising.
Yet Harkrux bared his teeth in a grin. His mouth filled with the metallic tang of blood.
‘This blood smell brings back memories.’
Back when he was a serf, beaten daily by noble brats as a human punching bag.
Even then, Harkrux had endured. He could’ve blacked out quick for mercy, but no—he kept rising after each hit, until broken.
That mantra from those days slipped out now.
“No problem...!”
Kiriirik!
Gears whirred loudly from the auxiliary slot on his back. Prepping a spare shield.
—Touching. Real heartwarming!
Auxiliary slots took time to load.
Before the shield deployed, the Titan’s warhammer descended again.
This time, Harkrux didn’t dodge back or sideways. He burst sonics and lunged forward.
Kwak!
The hammer grazed his shoulder, but his 3-meter short sword stabbed the enemy’s knee first.
Blocked by thick armor plating—no major damage. Still, it disrupted balance, greatly reducing the hammer’s power.
Ting! The hammer glanced off his shoulder and flew weakly. Harkrux chuckled.
“Huh? Doesn’t even hurt.”
Grinning like that, he deployed the freshly loaded 5-meter medium shield.
—You... little shit...?
At Harkrux barely hanging on, irritation and rage crept into Drek von Rad’s voice.
That’s why.
Because Harkrux kept dodging, blocking, refusing to fall despite looking on the brink,
From the mounting frustration and fury,
Drek von Rad failed to realize how much time had passed.
Bang! Kwaang!
Next hit, he’d fall—nah, this one for sure!
Harkrux didn’t fall.
Battered to hell, he still bought time.
Until Kang Geohan, with Berserker Pack blazing at full throttle, arrived.
Kwaaaang!
Femoral dropped from the sky, slamming down Giant Killer.
It stood tall before Drek’s Titan, who’d hastily retreated.
Chiiiii—
From the full-power sprint, steam clouds endlessly rose from Femoral’s frame.
A faint smile tugged at Harkrux’s lips.
“Kang Geohan...!”
—Good work.
Kang Geohan’s voice carried apology and gratitude.
“Good work? I’m... fine... no sweat.”
With that,
Uweeeek...
Harkrux cut comms and quietly vomited in the cockpit corner. Chunks of blood mixed with bitter gastric acid splattered down.
After emptying out, he re-enabled comms and said firmly.
“Wasn’t tough at all. Not one bit.”
* * *
Truth be told,
Kang Geohan should’ve been exhausted.
Blasting the Berserker Pack across that distance at full power.
Gasping to his chin, body aching all over—totally normal.
But what was this?
This refreshing power surging from the depths?
“Huuuuh...”
Exhaling pure white steam, Kang Geohan pondered.
‘My demonic essence still hasn’t stiffened.’
Even after exhaustion that should’ve locked it rigid, his essence remained supple. No—beyond supple...
‘It’s boiling.’
Ready to erupt any second. Bubbling furiously.
A full-power sprint?
Felt like mere warm-up. Still got more—push harder—it urged him on.
Power recovered beyond what he’d spent, swelling wildly.
‘Impossible.’
Even 3,000 pin-dem of demonic essence couldn’t explain this absurd stamina. Fuel efficiency? No—the efficiency of his demonic essence had fundamentally changed.
‘Is this what they mean by the quality of demonic essence transforming?’
Was the Balrog core this incredible?
The thought triggered an unbearable thrill up his spine.
Ah,
where was the limit of this power?
Kwaduduk.
Femoral’s hand gripped Giant Killer crushing tight.
‘Let’s find out.’
Kang Geohan patted Harkrux’s retreating shoulder and stepped forward.
Guuuuung—!
With overheat, the newly refitted 2-core 4-thread Giant Heart thrummed powerfully.
‘Intent Grasp’ and ‘Inertia Control’ abilities activated simultaneously.
—Hmph! What’s this? Another Cyclops changes nothing! This is a Titan! And...!
Thud! Kuku-thud!
Four new Byabas emerged behind Drek’s Titan.
—We’ve got reinforcements too! Come on! Let’s wrap this quick! Process them before more enemy backup shows!
—Yes sir!
Drek von Rad barked irritably, the four Byabas responding as they advanced.
Kang Geohan watched calmly.
He simply drew a deep breath to steady himself.
“Huuuuh! Haaaa... Here we go. First set.”
Kuguguk!
As output climbed, the weight slumped onto his shoulder—thunk!—yet he grinned through gritted teeth. Thick veins bulged at his temples.