Chapter 1526: A Guard

Erend slowed his pace as he approached the factory. The closer he got, the stranger the place looked.

It resembled an abandoned industrial complex that should not have existed in a world like Valthoria that had been struck by this kind of disaster.

From everything Erend had seen so far, the people of this world struggled to maintain even basic infrastructure. Their settlements depended on salvaged materials and whatever resources they could recover from the wasteland. Building something on this scale seemed almost impossible with their current level of civilization.

But a factory like this stood before him.

It did not look like a relic from before the Apocalypse either. The structure appeared to have been built several decades ago and abandoned sometime afterward. Not thousands of years ago.

Its walls were still recognizable beneath the layers of dust and corrosion, the massive metal frameworks still standing despite years of exposure to harsh environments.

"There are still a lot of things I don’t know about this world," Erend thought.

He did not dwell on the question for long. There was no point in speculating without more information, so he simply continued walking toward the factory.

Tall patches of brown grass surrounded the facility. Some of them reached up to Erend’s chest and moved slowly whenever the dry wind passed through them.

Several trees stood among the grass with gnarly branches and their leaves almost completely gone. Some trees grew together in small clusters, others stood alone across the landscape among the tall grass, looking more like dead remains than living trees.

And in the middle of all of it stood the factory.

The enormous structure rose above the surrounding plants like a dark fortress. Its walls were tall and imposing, the various towers and metal frameworks gave it an almost threatening appearance.

If Erend had encountered the place without knowing its original purpose, he might have mistaken it for the stronghold of some powerful monster or a deadly overlord.

Erend narrowed his eyes and activated his Dragon eyes.

The moment his enhanced eyes focused on the structure, he noticed something unusual, some kind of energy. A strong concentration of energy existed somewhere inside the factory.

Erend slowed down his steps.

"Is this... Magic energy?" Erend wondered.

He had not sensed anything like it during his time in the settlement. The people of Valthoria did not seem capable of using Magic, at least not from everything he had observed so far.

He just stood still for several seconds as he tried to understand what he was sensing. The energy was faint in some areas but became increasingly noticeable the closer he moved toward the factory.

Perhaps there was something big about this world that he had not yet discovered. Much bigger than he thought before.

Erend eventually shrugged. "I’ll find out soon enough."

He continued forward.

He had only taken several more steps when the ground ahead of him suddenly moved.

Erend stopped again and saw the soil cracked open.

Something emerged from beneath the ground with a harsh metallic sound hitting gravel.

Erend’s eyes narrowed with curiosity. It was... a humanoid figure slowly rose from the earth. But it looked like a machine.

Its body resembled a metal skeleton covered by several layers of armor. Rust had spread across much of its surface, leaving dark orange patches along its limbs and torso. Several sections of its armor had been damaged or worn away, exposing the mechanical structure underneath.

Then its head moved and two glowing blue eyes appeared within the darkness of its metal face.

Erend stared at it. "A robot guardian? Huh..."

The machine stood nearly as tall as he was. Its limbs were constructed from thick metal components, reinforced plates covering its chest, shoulders, and legs. Despite its age, its movements were surprisingly still smooth.

It looked like some kind of guardian from a much more advanced era.

Erend’s curiosity deepened. Had the people of Valthoria built this thing? Or had it existed here before the Apocalypse?

Perhaps it had been created by the people who had built the factory.

But he had no idea.

The machine suddenly moved.

Erend immediately dropped the backpack from his shoulders and let it fall onto the dry ground. He didn’t want them to get damaged.

The next moment, he launched himself forward as well. His fist collided with the machine’s armored chest.

The robot staggered backward several steps but remained standing.

Erend’s eyes widened slightly. "It’s still pretty sturdy."

The machine immediately retaliated. Its arm swung toward Erend with surprising speed.

Erend raised his arm to block.

CLANG!

The impact forced him several steps backward. Erend looked at his arm before looking back at the machine. That strike was pretty strong as well. Very strong for a machine that appeared to be several decades old and heavily corroded.

The robot charged again.

This time Erend smiled. He was not afraid. He was just very curious. Instead of destroying the machine immediately, Erend decided to test it.

He exchanged several blows with the machine guardian. The machine moved with unexpected speed and precision, combining powerful strikes with defensive movements that looked kind of familiar.

Erend narrowed his eyes.

The machine threw a punch. Erend avoided it and watched carefully as the robot shifted its stance.

Another attack came. Erend blocked it.

The machine followed with a low strike before immediately transitioning into another attack.

Erend suddenly realized what he was seeing.

"It’s mimicking martial arts or something?"

The realization made him even more curious.

The machine was not simply attacking randomly. Its movements followed patterns that resembled human martial artists. Its stance, footwork, combinations, counters, and even the way it adjusted its balance all followed recognizable combat principles.

Yet it was doing all of this with a mechanical body.

Erend continued exchanging blows with it, deliberately holding back while studying every movement.

The strange guardian had just become far more interesting than the factory itself.

What was actually happening in this world? Does he need to know it, or simply continue with his task searching for the Dragonborn trail?

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