Artillery Onslaught
As we burst out of the residential neighborhood turned golem den, a half-destroyed road stretched out ahead. Fallen utility poles lined the roadside, adding to the eerie atmosphere. It felt like we'd stumbled into an apocalyptic world.
Even if we fully cleared the dungeon, rebuilding this village would take a ton of time. The residents who used to live here were probably doomed to end up as beggars.
Once a dungeon pops up in the wrong place, the damage is catastrophic. Especially for countries without much resistance to them.
That's why nations treat dungeon hunters as vital human resources and manage them so strictly. If this were Korea, the dungeon erosion never would have spread this far.
Screeech! Screeech!
A few Scrap Golems chased after us from the neighborhood. The rest of their comrades were already reduced to useless scrap metal rolling on the ground.
Rina casually flicked her hand, and pitch-black chains shot out, twisting and snapping the Scrap Golems' necks. Three or four of them crumpled without even getting close.
"Good. Keep pushing forward, and we'll hit 4th Company's sector."
The ruined road led up a hill. The area was full of them. We trudged along the empty road on foot and crossed into 4th Company's zone. It was still before noon.
"Look over there. Cannons."
From the hilltop, the surroundings came into clear view. Dozens of field artillery pieces were set up along the road leading into 4th Company's sector.
Some even had six robotic legs. The four-legged ones looked like giant snails. Straight out of a comic—straight-up creepy, sending chills down my spine.
"Weird visuals, huh? Those things look like they've got some serious firepower."
Hwang Cheolmin stared at the walking artillery, fixated. They moved slow like the Scrap Golems, but their destructive power was on another level.
"Better take them out first."
The company commander quickly assessed the situation.
There were about 30 cannon golems in sight. If they all fired at once, we'd be in deep shit. We had to hit them preemptively and thin their numbers.
"Seungjin. Can you pull off that thing from yesterday?"
The commander ordered Han Seungjin's Darkness Cannon.
"If I have time, yes. I'll aim from here to that road sign over there."
"Perfect. That should keep our side out of the blast."
We were over 150 meters from the cannon golems, and we had the high ground. Ideal spot for bombardment.
Han Seungjin raised one arm to the sky and slowly gathered mana.
Vrrr!
A faint hum resonated from his hand. I could feel the massive mana flow starting from his heart.
Screeech!
A patrolling cannon golem's barrel suddenly swung toward us. Bore looked like at least 80mm. The muzzle gleamed like a polished greatsword blade.
"They've spotted us!"
Hwang Cheolmin yelled, fidgeting nervously. They'd picked up on the mana surge from charging the Darkness Cannon. It was powerful, but charging it made it obvious.
"Damn it! Fall back!"
The commander clicked his tongue and ducked behind the hill.
Boom boom boom!
A deafening explosion roared as massive shells rocketed toward us like fireworks. They arced smoothly through the air.
"Darkness Barrier."
While charging, Han Seungjin deployed another technique. A black shield enveloped us from above.
BOOM!!!!
A short, brutal blast hammered my eardrums. The shell exploded against his barrier, vanishing in a thunderous echo.
Sweat beaded on Han Seungjin's forehead. Even for him, charging a finisher while multitasking was a heavy load.
"Tch! I'll pull aggro!"
The commander leaped out and dashed down the exposed hillside toward the cannon golems. Their barrels tracked him.
'A few are still eyeing us.'
With so many enemies, even Colonel An Seokho couldn't draw all the heat alone.
I glanced at Rina.
"You're going too, right, oppa?"
Sharp as ever, she read my intent from my eyes.
"Yeah. You guard Seungjin and the others."
"Got it. Be careful."
Rina summoned her chain bundles in response. She could handle the rear no problem.
"J-Jaesung-ssi. You're heading out?"
Hwang Cheolmin looked anxious. The guy was a bit dim, but competent enough to hold the line.
"Cover us, Cheolmin-ssi."
"Y-Yes sir!"
I ignored his unconvincing reply and charged forward. Some cannon golems not targeting the commander swung toward me.
'Aiming's not super fast. But those shells mean I gotta watch it.'
Boom boom boom!
Over ten shells fired at once. Like Hong Kong gunfights, they didn't reload—just unleashed a barrage. Some were even mana shells.
'Time Acceleration!'
I activated my speed boost without hesitation. Taking those head-on would hurt even me. A couple direct hits would cost a life.
Max speed up, I zigzagged on a diagonal, dodging. Reading their aim let me predict the bullet hell trajectories.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
Dozens of cannon golems turned the hill into a kill zone. The wide barrage pounded the earth with ear-shattering noise and ground-shaking quakes. Choking gun smoke and dirt clouds blinded everything.
A normal civilian without abilities would freeze in terror just witnessing this.
The relentless festival of explosions was demoralizing enough to paralyze anyone. The unstable ground vibrations tapped primal fear.
Just surviving the barrage intact could trigger shell shock.
If I didn't have all my frontline experience, I might've collapsed right there.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
Their fire was inaccurate—area denial via shrapnel, not precision hits.
'Darkness Armor.'
I cloaked in black armor to block fragments. Smoke and dust hid me from the others, so no holding back.
'Holy Missile.'
I fired at a left-flank cannon golem mid-barrage. It locked on and pierced the chaos straight to target. They couldn't dodge while firing.
Drunk on their one-sided beatdown, they ate the missile clean.
BOOM!
Their armor was way weaker than Scrap Golems'. All offense, no defense. With that many guns blazing, who needed to tank?
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
"Ngh!"
A shell detonated 1-2 meters away. Without the armor, it'd have taken my arm. Ringing in my ears, dizziness, vision spun.
Yeah, no joke on the power.
Whoosh!
Jang Gun-gi teleported behind me. His ability: teleport.
"Jaesung-ssi. Seungjin's attack is ready. Let's pull back!"
"Got it."
He grabbed my shoulder. Reality warped, sucking me away.
Vision flickered, and I was back atop the hill. Han Seungjin held a soccer-ball-sized orb of darkness in one hand.
"Seungjin-ssi! Got the commander and Jaesung-ssi! Fire!"
"Yes!"
Han Seungjin launched his hard-earned Darkness Cannon. Time to return the favor.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Thunderous roar swallowed the cannon fire. He threw up a Darkness Barrier; Rina wrapped chains into a shield.
The massive blast engulfed everything. Double barriers and hill cover made it way easier this time.
As the din faded, Colonel An Seokho peeked out. The hill beyond was wrecked from one strike.
"Monster."
The commander whistled. Dozens of cannon golems were shredded beyond recognition, like yesterday's Scrap Golems. Peak Darkness Control display.
Han Seungjin wiped sweat, deadpan.
"Couldn't have without Jaesung-ssi buying time."
True. The commander shrugged.
"Lucky to have the best team. Opposing abilities, perfect synergy."
Only scraps left thanks to him. Rina, Hwang Cheolmin, and Jang Gun-gi mopped up.
"Cleared clean. Easier to link with 4th Company now. Bet they heard that and are coming."
Sure enough, after 10 minutes, a group appeared at the road's end. I could spot my girls from afar. 4th Company.
Someone over there was jumping excitedly, staring our way. Definitely Jisu.
Yeonji led 4th Company. Their tank.
Commander Jo Misuk and our commander locked eyes, grinned, and shook hands.
"Still kicking."
Jo Misuk's brutal greeting got a shrug from An Seokho.
"You guys clear a bunch?"
"Around 500."
"We win then. Almost 700 on our side."
The commander grinned playfully, glancing my way.