Upgrading Primary to Tier II. 10 UP consumed. Stand by…

  Golden light poured over Arthur’s cannon, the glow growing stronger by the second. He felt the same happening inside his turret and in the dozens of tiny subsystems attached to the weapon. Like always, he relaxed and waited for the process to finish.

  It did so in about a minute.

  What the light revealed would have made him grin, if he still had a face.

  Where a single rusted barrel had once sat, there were now two, fused together like a massive double-barreled shotgun. And honestly, they didn’t even look any different from what he had before, just repaired and repainted. Nothing really that special.

  Arthur snorted. Right.

  Upgrade finished successfully. Primary has been returned to Pristine condition.

  Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now show me exactly what I’m working with.

  The System gladly obeyed.

  [Primary (Tier II)]

  Type: Double 85mm Cannon

  Ammo Type: AP, HE

  Combat Rating: E-

  “Double the trouble, double the power. What you can’t solve with one cannon, you definitely can with two. The slightly upgraded ammunition might help, too.”

  Not sure what I was expecting.

  Was Arthur disappointed that he had simply received a twin version of his previous Primary? Not at all—this was his choice. The name of the upgrade told him precisely what he would be getting.

  I just hope accuracy didn’t suffer. That would suck. I need the range.

  He still had a few hours left before his planned assault on the demonic tree, so he could always tweak his plan if necessary. A shorter effective range wouldn’t be ideal, but it wasn’t as though he could reverse the upgrade now. Hopefully, getting to fire two shells instead of one would compensate for any potential negative side effects.

  All right. Next on the list. Full status check, Arthur ordered. Within a second, more text appeared before him.

  Armor: Operational | Engine: Pristine | Primary: Pristine | Secondary: Operational | Mobility: Healthy | Generator: Pristine | Sensors: Operational

  Status check completed.

  Not bad progress in a few days, he mused.

  At first, he was kind of confused why Armory, Warrior’s Hook, or Fabricator weren’t on the list, but honestly, it made sense. Those parts couldn’t really be damaged, as they didn’t exist in the physical world. Maybe if something managed to harm his Core, though?

  Yeah, no. To hell with that.

  He pushed that thought aside and opened Fabricator’s menu. After all that hunting, he had accumulated over three hundred Inferior Omnimatter. And as tempting as it was to dump it all into the production of a fleet drone, he stopped himself.

  Athena was quite effective, yes, but he couldn’t trust some mass-produced drone to be her match. Which was why he decided that throwing most of his materials into the crafting of Field Grenades sounded like a much smarter idea.

  More explosives meant more control of the battlefield. And he had discovered that he could give the grenades to Athena. Again, where she carried those, he had no idea, but as long as she dropped them on the heads of his enemies, it was a win.

  That the Field Grenades were stronger than the ones she carried was yet another reason to use them like this. Well, that and the fact that he could only throw them so far by himself.

  Okay, produce twenty Field Grenades.

  200 Omnimatter(I) consumed. Production in progress… Success. Mass production has managed to create 1 bonus unit.

  Huh… Arthur stared at the message. So there is RNG at play. Why am I not surprised?

  With a mental shrug, he dismissed the System and fired up his engine. While Athena napped and recovered her strength, he had to get them closer to the demonic tree. Once there, he simply had to finish coming up with a plan that didn’t end up with him as just another piece of scrap in this wasteland.

  No pressure at all.

  On a scale of one to ten, how screwed do you think we are? Arthur asked, glancing at Athena in his Silent Observer form.

  The bird tilted her head and chirped.

  Five? He hummed. Okay, I will take that. I was thinking more along the lines of seven or even eight.

  Athena squeaked at him, annoyed.

  Hey! I’m not pessimistic. I believe we can win. It’s just… you do see what is in front of us, right?

  The army of demons around the tree hadn’t changed much since his last visit. Maybe—and it was a big maybe—there were fewer of them, thanks to all the patrols he had killed. But the difference was barely noticeable. For all he knew, he was imagining things to make himself feel better.

  Athena’s caw dragged his attention back to her.

  Guess you’re right. Ready then? The sun is already up. So much for striking at dawn.

  The bird nodded and shot into the sky, heading for her position on the far side of the tree. Meanwhile, Arthur returned his gaze to the demon-infested plain in the distance. There were exactly five targets there.

  First, obviously, was the tree and the Hell Gate. Not a priority unless things went very wrong.

  Then came the gathering of over a hundred Fiends, Hounds, and the occasional Cyclops. Dangerous, but not the biggest threat. The same went for the group of sleeping skeletal bats and vermin, as well as the one large pack of Hounds.

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  So what was the primary target? Simple.

  The thirteen Cyclopes camping near the tree. If they managed to reach him… well, it wouldn’t be pretty. They had to go down first.

  Of course, targeting them and only them wouldn’t bring Arthur victory. Thankfully, he had Athena to solve that issue.

  Are you in position? he asked over the link.

  A loud chirp answered him.

  Good. We begin in ten.

  Athena didn’t reply. Not that she needed to. He felt the shift in their connection, the weak surge of bloodlust entering it. Either his own enjoyment was bleeding through to her, or the bird was just that bloodthirsty. Or maybe it was both.

  Doesn’t matter. Focus, Arthur said to himself, and reached for his only offensive skill.

  Power Shot activated instantly, enhancing the two HE shells inside his upgraded cannon. He took aim at the group of Cyclopes and waited. 942 meters.

  Three… Two… One… Begin.

  The ground beneath his vessel shook as the shells left their chamber. Two green blurs were all he saw before they exploded among the Cyclopes. If the shot killed any, he had no idea. Not that it mattered.

  Before the dust settled, he had two more shells loaded. Another Power Shot released them at the same group. In the meantime, more explosions occurred somewhere else. Athena had also managed to deliver her payload.

  This, however, also marked the end of their advantage.

  Even with Arthur being so far away, the Hounds locked onto his position within seconds. The bats weren’t far behind, though they split into two flocks. One flew toward Athena, while the other snatched the exploding rats off the ground and went for him.

  Okay, that’s new, he thought, while firing another salvo at the Cyclopes.

  Good news? Only four were left. Bad news? They spread out far enough that HE shells wouldn’t do the trick anymore. Oh, and they were also now running toward him.

  Still, Arthur held his ground. He stayed put on the low hill he had claimed as his vantage point. Around 600 meters was plenty of breathing room. He could thin the herd before moving.

  AP shells slipped into the chambers. He adjusted his aim, now without Power Shot, and pulled the trigger twice.

  The first round punched through a Cyclops’ chest. The second sent it crashing to the ground. He reloaded, targeting another, sacrificing precision for speed.

  In a matter of not even a minute, only one Cyclops of the original thirteen remained. Arthur brought it down with two more shells. Unfortunately, by then, the Hounds were getting quite close. Not to mention the bats carrying their rat bombs.

  The machine gun and engine flared to life at once.

  He put his vessel into gear and rolled down the hill. The bullet rain never stopped, though, and continued tearing through the incoming hounds.

  Some might call him mad for driving straight into a horde like this. And maybe they would be even right. But Arthur called it a calculated risk. After all, unlike most of this hellish wasteland, the terrain around the demonic tree was made for him. Uneven enough to keep his enemies unsteady, but smooth enough that he could ride across it at full speed.

  To get there, he just had to punch through the incoming demons. And for that, he had the perfect tools.

  Power Shot-powered HE shells slid into the cannon. Arthur fired the first shot, waited about three seconds, and followed with the second. During the reload, he threw his first Field Grenade.

  Pained whines filled the area, drowning out the distant explosions and the rattle of his machine gun.

  Arthur didn’t care for any of that and plowed right into the cloud of dust his own attacks had created. A ping from his sensors warned him about an enemy to his right. He turned his turret a bit and fired the machine gun. The warning disappeared.

  Before long, he burst from the fading dust, leaving nothing but mangled Hound corpses behind.

  That was far from the end of the battle, though. He instantly started firing at Fiends and other demons closing in on him. This time, however, he swerved to the left. No reason to drive straight at the horde when he already got what he wanted.

  There was just one important issue.

  The flying bats and their cargo.

  Somehow, the annoying demons realized that to avoid death, they just had to stay away from each other while flying high enough so his weapons couldn’t reach them. Then they started dropping the rats into his path.

  Shit! Arthur hissed when one of the vermin detonated right at his left flank. He felt a weak spike of pain coming from his treads, but thankfully, their condition didn’t worsen.

  Athena! I need air support!

  Loud, irritated cawing answered him. A moment later, a rattle of a machine gun filled the sky above him, and four bats dropped to the ground along with their cargo. The rats exploded upon impact.

  Thanks! Arthur yelled and fired two HEs at the Fiends following him. Only a few died. The rest had already learned to keep their distance from each other. No matter. Load ano—Shit!

  A rock the size of a large dog slammed into his turret, denting the metal a bit. This was followed by a few flaming arrows that hit his back. No real damage from those, thankfully.

  The hell?

  The source of the rock wasn’t hard to find. One of the few remaining Cyclopes grew bored of chasing him and decided that hurling stones was the way to go. And surprise, surprise, it wasn’t wrong. Well, that was until an HE shell blasted its leg to pieces.

  The arrows, though? With all the chaos around him, the source was a bit harder to locate. He still managed, or rather, Athena did.

  It was the Fiends, ones that climbed the demonic tree and started firing at him from its branches. Apparently, they weren’t limited to bladed weaponry. Who would have thought?

  Still, Arthur’s response was simple. Two HE shells enhanced by Power Shot.

  It was a mistake.

  The moment the rounds slammed into the tree and exploded, all the burning leaves flared. Then, half of them shot toward him like guided missiles. And well, Arthur, being what he was, couldn’t do much more but just brace for impact.

  The first few leaves that hit him only heated his hull a bit. The following ones, however? Those began to melt it in a few places. The pain got more than a little uncomfortable now. No System messages, thankfully.

  Ah, to hell with it. Electric Charge!

  Arthur had crafted only one of those and hoped to use it for something else. But well, desperate times call for desperate measures.

  Lightning erupted in a short radius all around his moving vessel. To his relief, it vaporized a large portion of the incoming leaves. A few still slipped through, but he just took them like the tank he was.

  Seconds later, he was back to firing at the thinning horde on his tail. Despite the damage he had taken, it looked like he and Athena were winning. A Field Grenade from his bird companion even wiped out one of the last three Cyclopes.

  Now, they just had to finish the cleanup and take care of the tree once and for all.

  Huh… this is easier than I expected.

  As if the universe had been waiting for that exact thought, the Hell Gate in the distance shuddered. A broken, horrifying screech followed just as something stepped through it.

  It was unlike anything Arthur had ever seen.

  While the creature possessed a somewhat humanoid shape, it was anything but human. Two legs, arms, and a head, sure. But all of it was made from a blend of thick, dark bark and crimson flesh. Worse, the entire thing was on fire, including the massive greatsword it dragged out of the Hell Gate.

  Oh, and it easily matched the size of the largest of the Cyclopes.

  Now, despite all that, there was both a good and a bad side to the beast’s appearance.

  The good? Every single remaining demon on the field stopped chasing Arthur and backed off. The bad? The obviously powerful monster was already charging at him, much faster than his engine could ever move his vessel.

  Well damn…

  Ether poured from his Core, flooding the two AP shells in his cannon. For obvious reasons, he doubted those would kill the monster, but he wasn’t going down without a fight. He also grabbed another Field Grenade and aimed.

  Yet before he could fire, the world around him slowed down. A few lines of text appeared before him afterward.

  What?

  Low-rank Guardian-type threat detected nearby.

  Conditions met.

  Warrior Matrix unlocked.

  Activate?

  We just hit the main Rising Star list! Or, well, we did a few hours ago. Thank you all for your support.

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