Chapter 44
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Armored Train Assault (4)
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The interior of the armored train was a scene of utter devastation.
The shock from the dynamite exploding outside had scattered equipment and cargo everywhere.
The narrow, elongated corridor was shrouded in shadow, save for the faint light seeping in through the gun ports.
The floor echoed with the groans of wounded Trade Federation soldiers, mingled with the stench of burning and blood.
'If I don't loot it fast, this armored train's going up in flames soon.'
Then there'd be no point in all the effort to hijack the damn thing.
More importantly, this train carried something incredibly valuable.
A puzzle piece that would shape the flow of the main quest ahead.
Jinwoo resolved not to let his guard down until that item was safely in his pocket.
"Intruder! The intruder's inside the train!"
"Stop him! Block him by any means necessary!"
Jinwoo sliced through the heart of the chaos like a single, razor-sharp blade.
His target was singular.
The central command car—the heart of the train.
That's where the operation's overall commander would be.
The boss known as the "Iron Overseer."
Thus, Jinwoo entered the sleeping car.
Federation regular troops who had survived rushed from the far end of the corridor, rifles trained on him.
"Intruder!"
They were trained soldiers, but their eyes clearly showed the shock and terror from the recent accident.
'The perfect stage for me.'
Instead of charging head-on, Jinwoo kicked open a door to one of the passenger compartments.
Bang!
No sooner had the door shattered than Jinwoo rolled into the room with the bed.
"He's gone! The bastard's hiding!"
"Surround him!"
The soldiers moved with composure.
Jinwoo unhesitatingly aimed his gun at the interior wall.
Pssshhh!
Bullets stitched into the wall like nails. Jinwoo charged straight at it.
Boom!
To the soldiers outside, it was just some strange noise from inside the room.
"What the hell's he doing?"
As the soldiers tilted their heads in confusion, Jinwoo's figure suddenly appeared behind them.
Bullets slammed precisely into the soldiers' necks and backs!
"Argh!"
"Behind us! He's shooting from behind!"
Jinwoo had smashed through the wall into the adjacent room.
Red Eye Activated!
His vision dyed red.
The backs of the terrified, frozen soldiers came into sharp focus.
Psssh! Psssh! Psssh!
Muted gunshots rang out in rapid succession.
The soldiers collapsed into the corridor without so much as a scream.
Jinwoo stepped over their bodies without a moment's hesitation and headed to the next car.
The resistance grew fiercer with each car he passed.
"Turn it around! Blast him!"
Tutututut!
In some cars, soldiers manning Gatling guns unleashed a ferocious barrage the moment the door opened.
In others, soldiers armed with massive shields tried to press him using the tight space.
But all resistance was futile.
Jinwoo's knowledge pierced every structure of the train, the types and numbers of enemies in each car.
'A Gatling without its shield is neutralized by jamming a single cog!'
Psssh!
The soldier cranking the handle fell in bewilderment, shot mid-turn.
'Federation shield soldiers have high defense. But their feet aren't protected!'
Psssh!
"Gaaah!"
The line faltered as bullets hit feet and exposed legs, creating an opening.
Jinwoo predicted the enemies' attacks one step ahead and neutralized them in the most efficient way.
No wasted movements.
Following the guide's exact sequence, Jinwoo dismantled the foes one by one.
At last, he reached a passenger car near the train's center.
A particularly thick steel door adorned with ornate patterns divided the cars.
Above it, the Trade Federation's crisp emblem was engraved.
'Central command car.'
The brain of this armored train.
Jinwoo pressed his ear to the door, probing for signs of life inside.
No sound.
But Jinwoo didn't relax.
Beyond this door waited the train's final guardian.
The moment Jinwoo reached for the thick steel door of the command car.
"Ghost!"
A urgent voice called from behind.
He turned to see Kellogg and a few elite Resistance fighters panting as they ran up.
'They handled cleanup properly.'
Their faces were flushed with battle excitement—and awe toward Jinwoo.
"We'll help too! We'll blow the door right now!"
Kellogg aimed his mystic magitech rifle at the door.
Jinwoo silently raised a hand to stop him.
"You'll just get in the way. Wait back there."
"Something wrong?"
"Plenty."
The icy gaze piercing through the mask silenced Kellogg unwittingly.
His words carried an irrefutable weight.
Kellogg and the Resistance fighters reluctantly lowered their guns and watched from the corridor's rear to see what he'd do.
Jinwoo turned back to the door.
He quietly pressed his ear against it.
No sound from inside.
A faint mechanical whir.
And someone's heavy breathing.
'Three, two, one.'
The instant Jinwoo finished counting in his head, he pulled away from the door without hesitation and leaped back down the corridor.
Just as Kellogg and the Resistance fighters looked at him in bewilderment.
Kwaaaaaang!
The command car's thick steel door exploded outward from within with a deafening roar, shards flying.
Razor-sharp fragments swept through the spot where Jinwoo had stood moments ago.
And from the torn doorframe lunged a savage steel pincer.
Kakakakang!
The pincer crumpled the door's remnants like paper, clearing a path.
"Eliminate the intruder!"
A voice laced with cold mechanical tone boomed.
Clack clack clack!
At the same time, elite guards armed solely with mystic magitech rifles poured in from the rear of the train and the passenger corridors.
Elites on a whole different level from the regular soldiers Jinwoo had faced!
Leading them stood a man massive as a mountain.
Kiiing!
His upper body gleamed with mechanical parts.
One arm had been replaced by the massive steel pincer that just shredded the door.
Blue crystal eyes glowed ominously in the darkness, searching for the intruder.
"Th-that guy's...!"
Kellogg shouted.
Too infamous not to recognize.
The overseer of this transport op, the Trade Federation's notorious fixer.
Defeat the Iron Overseer, Zeros!
"Kill them all! I'll crush them without leaving a single bone fragment!"
At Zeros's command, the elites slowly tightened their encirclement toward where Jinwoo hid.
"Kellogg."
Jinwoo called softly.
Kellogg, overwhelmed by Zeros's appearance, jumped and looked at him.
"Leave those grunts to you guys."
His voice cut clear and cold through the battle's din.
Kellogg instantly grasped his intent and ordered his men.
"You heard him! Support Ghost! Take 'em down!"
The Resistance clashed with the elites, filling the corridors inside and out with gunfire once more.
Jinwoo burst from the shadows, charging straight for Zeros alone.
"Hah, the rat crawls out on its own!"
Zeros's red mechanical eyes flashed as he swung the massive steel pincer.
Whoosh!
Boom!
The metallic whine slicing the air.
The pincer tore into the corridor wall, bearing down on Jinwoo.
Jinwoo rolled aside, evading by a hair's breadth.
The floor where he'd rolled shattered, debris flying.
'As expected, that ponderous attack pattern. Each blow is lethal, but the openings are huge.'
In the same motion as his dodge, Jinwoo pulled the trigger on his infinite ammo pistol.
Pssshhh!
Precise shots flew toward Zeros's head and heart.
But Zeros didn't flinch at Jinwoo's godlike marksmanship.
Instead, he raised his massive steel pincer arm like a shield.
Tang! Tang! Tang!
Jinwoo's bullets thudded dully against the thick armor, ricocheting harmlessly.
'Right, this guy's body is bulletproofed—especially the pincer!'
The overseer's pincer could withstand cannon fire.
The key toing Zeros in the game was neutralizing that invincible shield.
Jinwoo leaped away again, dodging Zeros's attack while circling him.
He didn't target Zeros directly. Instead, he shot the walls, ceiling, and floor around him.
Psssh! Psssh!
Hot steam burst from punctured pipes, blinding Zeros.
A lighting fixture crashed from the ceiling, sparking at his feet.
Jinwoo cleverly used the terrain to harass Zeros, fraying his nerves.
"You filthy rat!"
Zeros gradually lost his composure, swinging the pincer wildly.
The corridor crumbled under his savage onslaught.
Jinwoo watched the frenzy, biding his time for the critical moment.
'When Zeros's rage peaks, he rears back both arms, roars, and unleashes a powerful AoE attack!'
That's the only window to strike fatally.
When the chest's cooling unit briefly opens, exposing the weak point.
'Any second now...'
Meanwhile, the elites around were getting swept away one by one.
Kellogg and his men were pushing back the guard detail.
Jinwoo shouted to Kellogg.
"Kellogg! Shoot that tin can head to draw his eyes!"
"Got it!"
Kellogg and the Resistance fired their mystic magitech rifles at Zeros in unison.
Blue mana bullets slammed into him, though most were blocked by his armor.
But the attack poured the final oil on Zeros's rage.
"You dare, you worm-infested scum!"
Zeros finally snapped. He halted his assault on Jinwoo, spread his arms wide, and roared.
"Behold my power!"
The circular armor plate in his chest hissed open with a sizzle.
Within glowed an overheated red core.
Jinwoo, as if he'd timed it perfectly, calmly squeezed the trigger in the slowed moment.
Pssshhh!
A hail of bullets.
Fierce shots poured through the gap in the open cooling unit, piercing the glowing core dead center.
"Guh... hng...?"
Zeros's roar cut off.
His blue mechanical eyes flickered, then went dark.
The massive steel body lost balance and crashed to the corridor floor with a thunderous boom.
Kwoooong!
All gunfire ceased, and silence returned before the command car.
Kellogg and the Resistance fighters could only stare at the scene in awe and shock.
Jinwoo stepped over Zeros's fallen corpse and entered the command car behind him.
A place cluttered with complex control devices.
He familiarly opened a console panel and pulled a lever.
The method to unlock the cargo holds.
Kiiiiiiik!
Deep in the Crimson Mountains, the meshed metals ground and released with a screech.