Chapter 446 - 446: The harder they fall

Seeing the Bulwark Golem in front of him, Lucen became even more excited. This was proof that it was entirely possible to make a mech in this world.

Several spells and beams came flying towards him, but Lucen, who had his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, easily evaded the attack by simply swaying his body as he continued looking at the Bulwark Golem with a grin.

"I, Lucen Thornehart, am taking command!" Lucen, who enhanced his voice with his aura, shouted.

Lucen did not even need to hear their response as he barked out orders.

"Riflemen, withdraw behind the Fenrirs! Concentrate your fire on the enemy gunners and mages. Do not waste another bullet on that mountain-sized golem! Every Fenrir still capable of firing will spread out. Retrieve the ammunition from the overturned machines, reload your cannons, and wait for my order."

Every soldier quickly moved as ordered. As they moved, the enemy forces kept on attacking them.

The riflemen withdrew in alternating groups. Half of them moved while the others continued firing, then they exchanged positions.

Beams passed through the barrier and carved glowing trenches across the ground. Fireballs exploded among the retreating soldiers, while spears of ice shattered against the armored sides of the Fenrirs.

Lucen remained where he was. Despite being targeted the most, he easily evaded each attack while his hands were still in his pockets.

Aside from the giant golem, there was nothing on this battlefield that could threaten the current him.

From this distance, Lucen could study how the unfamiliar guns behaved. The crystal near each stock brightened first. A moment later, the runes covering the rings around the barrel lit up one after another, followed by the beam.

Once he recognized that sequence, predicting when each weapon would fire became easy.

"Fenrir unit! Target the lower right leg of the giant golem!"

The Fenrir turrets began turning toward the golem's right leg. Lucen then shouted. "Fire!"

The Fenrir cannons discharged together. The shells crossed the battlefield and struck the barrier protecting the golem's right leg.

The explosions merged into a single eruption of fire and smoke. Cracks spread across the barrier, branching outward until the entire lower-right section appeared ready to shatter.

Lucen, who had created a rifle in his hand, had also fired at the same time. His bullet was imbued with the fire element, making it explode upon contact with the barrier.

The second the barrier broke, Lucen used aerial arsenal, creating several dozen floating rifles above his head and firing.

With Lucen's marksmanship skill and parallel focus trait, he was able to hit the mages hiding behind the Bulwark Golem.

The floating rifles did not all aim directly forward. Some pointed through the opening in the barrier. Others angled toward the spaces beside the golem's legs and shoulders.

Each barrel moved independently, and then the rifles fired. Dozens of mana rounds crossed the battlefield. Several mages managed to raise barriers, but most had been concentrating on attacking the Norvaegard soldiers.

Bullets shattered their magic circles and tore through their bodies. One mage was struck through the shoulder before he could release his fireball.

Another collapsed with a bullet through his thigh, causing the spears of ice surrounding him to fall apart.

The barrage lasted only a second. By the time the barrier began repairing itself, more than half of the mages behind the golem had already fallen.

The Bulwark Golem once again raised its hand, and this time it was about to slam it onto Lucen.

The enormous hand blotted out the sky.

Lucen looked up as it descended toward him. The rifle in his hand disappeared, replaced by his twin revolvers.

Two gunshots rang out. The golem's hand struck the ground. The earth collapsed beneath it. Stone and soil erupted upward, while the resulting shock wave threw several Inevirian soldiers from their feet.

The Norvaegard commander stared into the spreading dust. "Lord Lucen!"

The golem slowly lifted its hand. Lucen stood upon the back of it.

His trench coat whipped around him, but his expression remained unchanged. Neither the impact nor the debris had left a mark upon him.

He looked down at the crater. "Now that's a proper boss attack."

Lucen decided to attack the Bulwark Golem, Shadow of the Colossus style. The golem's hand continued rising.

Lucen looked toward its shoulder, and he started running. The golem tilted its hand, attempting to throw him off. The stone beneath Lucen rose until it became nearly vertical, but Lucen dug his feet into the golem, sticking himself to it.

Cracks spread beneath Lucen's boots as the stone continued tilting. Instead of being thrown off, he leaned forward and ran.

Each step left another shallow crater in the golem's hand. This was a move he had seen done by numerous powerful anime characters, so he wanted to try it too. He crossed the enormous palm and reached the wrist as the arm rose above the battlefield.

Lucen could have flown directly toward the golem's head, but that would have defeated the entire purpose.

If he was going to climb a colossus, he intended to do it properly.

The enormous arm rotated again. Lucen's body became parallel to the ground, but his feet remained buried in the stone.

He bent his knees, and then he launched himself forward. The stone beneath him shattered as he crossed the wrist and landed upon the golem's forearm. He continued running without losing any speed.

Behind him, the barrier was already reforming. Cracks disappeared one after another until only a narrow opening remained between Lucen and the golem's body.

He fired both revolvers. The gunshots sent him through the opening an instant before it closed.

The Inevirian soldiers stared upward. Lucen was now inside the barrier.

Several mana-gunners immediately raised their weapons. The crystals near their stocks brightened as the rings surrounding their barrels began lighting up.

Lucen continued running, evading the beams of light. 'Heh, if I had a sword, deflecting those beams would be cool. Well, even if I did bring my Crimson Lord sword, I'm not good enough to do that.'

Lucen sighed as he continued running and then used Aerial Arsenal. Several dozen rifles formed around him.

Some floated above the golem's forearm, while others kept pace beside Lucen. Their barrels turned toward the gunners below.

The weapons fired. Each released a single mana round before disappearing. Every single shot was a clear headshot. Now that the distance was this near and Lucen did not need to bother with the barrier, it was easier to shoot them.

The mages also started shooting spells at him, but Lucen evaded each one by a hair's breadth as if to show them that they were not at the same level.

A fireball passed beneath Lucen's arm and struck the golem's forearm.

The explosion tore away a layer of stone, revealing the dark metal frame beneath it. Another spell followed, then another.

Lucen moved between them without slowing, allowing the mages to blast apart their own weapon while trying to hit him.

"Do you guys not understand what friendly fire is?" Lucen joked.

The golem rotated its arm, but Lucen continued running along its surface. Spears of ice shattered behind him, scattering frozen fragments across the battlefield. A beam passed beside his head and carved a glowing line toward the golem's elbow.

By the time Lucen reached its upper arm, the mages had caused more damage to the golem than they had to him. They were obviously panicking, as Lucen Thornehart was a name they knew all too well.

The Ruby-Eyed monster, the creator of the guns and the Fenrirs, had only appeared once on the battlefield, and it was said he had left it devastated. Those who had survived and returned finally understood why he was called the Ruby-Eyed monster.

Now, that very monster was running along the arm of their newest weapon. Of course, they were flustered. It was either Lucen died, or they died.

The normal-sized golems started firing their ballista bolts at Lucen, while the others hurled their spears

Lucen glanced over his shoulder. The projectiles were almost upon him. Instead of evading, he slowed.

A ballista bolt struck the golem's arm and buried itself halfway into the stone. Lucen stepped onto its shaft, ran along it, and leaped just as spears struck behind him.

The jump carried him onto the golem's shoulder. "Whoa!!! Yeah, this is fun!"

The giant's other hand swept toward him. Lucen fired both revolvers, launching himself over its fingers. He landed beside glowing runes extending from the golem's neck toward an armored plate in its chest.

Whenever the giant moved, the runes brightened toward that plate. "You may be bigger, but you're still a golem in the end!"

He released the revolvers and created a trench gun. He pressed the barrel against the armored plate and used an elemental bullet.

Lucen pulled the trigger. The trench gun roared. At point-blank range, the fire-imbued shot pierced the armored plate and struck the core.

It was a powerful blast that would have torn off the arm of the one who shot it, but Lucen was stronger than most.

Then red cracks spread across the golem's chest. Its raised hand stopped as the core exploded.

Flames burst from its armor as the barrier shattered. The explosion launched Lucen from its shoulder while the giant fell backward.

The ones in the way started running frantically, not wanting to get squashed by the mountain of a golem.

Its body struck the ground, shaking the battlefield. As the dust cleared, both armies looked toward the fallen golem.

Lucen stood upon its head, unharmed, with the trench gun resting against his shoulder. His free arm patted his body, trying to clean the dust away from his trench coat.

"Well then, are you going to surrender, or will you want to die for your kingdom?" As Lucen spoke, hundreds of floating rifles appeared above his head.

The surviving mages of Inevir looked at the grinning Lucen in horror. To them, he was neither the Ever-Victorious nor the Ruby-Eyed Monster. He was the Scourge of the Battlefield.