episode_0392

The unavoidable battle between two forces for control of the island had begun.

On one side were ferocious magic beasts, the minions of the evil Monad dictator, and on the other, our cute and democratic Violet.

In the abandoned lands of humanity, the confrontation between good and evil had begun!

“G-g-get out…”

The island itself seemed to howl, sending us a warning with a heavy resonance that felt like it was pressing down on the entire island.

The voice ringing loudly in our ears was undeniably clear. Not only that, but the roaring sound from the land, the sky, and the entire island sent bone-chilling shivers through our bodies each time we heard it.

It wasn’t just a simple warning. It was a bizarre phenomenon where the Erosion Zone itself seemed to stretch out a massive, invisible hand, struggling to suppress intruders.

“Ugh! I feel a pressure! My strength is draining a bit.”

Aetheric waves fiercely sweeping around the bodies of the combat Violets caught my eye.

As I focused my magic power, I could see it more clearly. The force of the waves was extraordinary.

The writhing waves, pressing down on our bodies, soon violently collided with the unique waves emanating from our own bodies and scattered into pieces.

“This is like a curse, isn’t it?”

“The Red Zone seems angry!”

I instinctively realized. This was undoubtedly a magical technique that those Apostles would employ.

What if another being had come here instead of us? What if it was a being with less combat power than a Violet individual, or an unawakened ordinary person?

They might not have just felt their strength drain, but could have been rendered utterly helpless on the spot.

Even a being stronger than us would have experienced severe dizziness if they didn’t possess a certain level of physical resilience and magic adaptation.

Even at this moment, seeing my muscles stiffen and ache, it wasn’t a very pleasant feeling.

But we Violets are not weak.

We, who had absorbed Apostles, could fully overcome such an anomalous phenomenon.

In fact, if we analyze their magical techniques, we might even be able to exploit them.

“Th-this…land…is…not…yours…”

The island’s voice continued to mumble.

Not to be outdone, the construction Violets fiercely shouted back at the island’s blatant hostility.

“This is our territory! You get out!”

We could not suppress our anger at the Red Zone’s shameless attitude.

Legally and by common sense, this land should naturally belong to us Violets.

“You, the invader!”

Federal Law explicitly states that all continents and seas of Trist are humanity’s birthright.

In other words, this island should inherently be human land. Furthermore, as citizens of Trist, we Violets can fully claim this right.

Moreover, the legal clause stating that whoever first occupies and purifies a Red Zone owns it, further strengthens our claim.

In conclusion, this island where we Violets have set foot is, without a doubt, our new territory!

Therefore, we Violets, as a species of humanity and residents who have planted our flag and settled here, have the right to monopolize the Karnak Archipelago.

It was truly irrefutable, perfect logic!

Gaining confidence, the Violets raised their weapons with fierce momentum.

“You, the illegal occupant, get out! This is human land!”

“That’s right! You invaded here first, didn’t you? It’s justified to reclaim what was stolen!”

The Red Zone’s reaction paused for an instant.

Had it lost its words in the face of our Violets’ flawless logic?

But the silence was brief; a few seconds later, the Red Zone responded with the violent roars of magic beasts.

“GRRRRROAR!”

At the same time, earth-shaking vibrations and sounds echoed from all directions.

In the distance, the trees and bushes of the forest began to shake madly. It was because of a horde of magic beasts surging forward like a giant wave.

“You coward!”

I don’t know what the core of the Red Zone was, but it was undoubtedly a despicable entity.

To choose violence instead of a logical rebuttal.

But if it wanted violence instead of dialogue, then we had no choice but to respond with violence!

“Miner Violets! Change unit type!”

The pickaxes and shovels in the Violets’ hands instantly transformed into different forms.

Rifles, swords, shields, crossbows. Having changed their armaments, the Miner Violets quickly took positions and adopted an offensive posture.

Their unit type: Marine Violet.

“Conversion complete! Commence attack!”

“Let’s fight!”

Countless Violets bravely charged towards the magic beast army.

In an instant, two companies engaged in close combat, while other Violets rushed to a small, bushy hill on the right and poured out cover fire.

Among the automatic rifles and Federation-made electromagnetic rifles, an unfamiliar firearm stood out.

It was Hekatoncheir’s new model acceleration rifle.

“Taste our latest weapon!”

-Thump-thump!

Amidst the sharp gunshots, a heavy, low sound echoed. Through my magic-enhanced vision, I could vaguely see the trajectory of the flying bullet.

Small flames erupted from the tail of the bullet, which had been powerfully propelled by electromagnetic force, as if exploding.

An ultra-small rocket embedded inside the bullet had activated.

“It’s fast! So fast!”

The bullet, having received a rapid secondary acceleration, flew like an arrow and embedded itself in the skin of a two-headed crocodile magic beast.

And then, a splendid sight unfolded.

The aetheric shield, which previously required a barrage of rifle bullets to penetrate, was pierced in one blow, and the bullet embedded itself deeply.

And then the explosive charge activated.

-Boom!

The bullet, having penetrated the thick hide like paper, burst open one of the crocodile magic beast’s heads like a watermelon.

“Oh my god! The power is tremendous!”

The acceleration rifle, like a mace, instantly pierced through magic defenses and even reinforced armor. Each time rocket-propelled armor-piercing high-explosive rounds rained down, small-sized magic beasts fell like autumn leaves in a strong wind, and even relatively larger medium-sized magic beasts flinched and staggered.

Despite being supplied in small quantities, its power was on a completely different level from other personal firearms.

“It’s a revolutionary rifle!”

The Marine Violets, marveling at the exhilarating impact of the acceleration rifle, continued their supportive fire.

The miscellaneous lower-class magic beasts had already been swept away, regardless of their type.

The disappearance of the small magic beasts meant that the escorts of the various medium-sized magic beasts, which had been charging to break the front lines, had vanished.

“Fire on that target!”

A simultaneous barrage of rocket rounds, raining down from the hill and flanks, struck the head of a charging Kranos.

The fake theropod, resembling a giant lizard, staggered from the impact.

The aetheric shield covering its head shattered like glass and deactivated.

The moment it growled in anger and opened its mouth, just before magic gathered at its maw, a white, sharp trajectory flew in like a flash.

-Whoosh!

A bullet, having pierced its eye, brought down the Kranos in one go. Following the direction from which the bullet came, my gaze fell upon a massive acceleration anti-material sniper rifle with a square barrel.

Another Kranos, following behind, struggled and fell. It had been battered by raining gunfire and its ankle severed.

“Kuooh…”

The medium-sized magic beasts leading the front lines were thus caught in concentrated fire and close combat, falling one by one.

The first battle for the Violet Marines, who had set out to pioneer the front yard from the Violet main base, thus ended in victory.

“Give me one too! I want to try it! I’m tired of this old rifle!”

“No! There isn’t much ammo. Kale said it uses special gunpowder for armor-piercing high-explosive rounds, so it takes time to make.”

The debut of the experimental new weapons was successful.

Their performance was so amazing that we were all clamoring to try them ourselves.

“Violet Commander! I can make rifles on the spot! But I need resources. Bring more minerals!”

“Understood!”

The Miner-Marine Violets advanced over the corpses of the magic beasts.

As the battle ended, the magic beasts’ corpses were disappearing beneath the Red Zone’s ground like a mirage melting away.

As I turned the detector around, a signal immediately sounded.

The detection signal was coming from right underfoot.

“Magic beast corpse?”

“Yes! Some of them seem to have useful resources. Bring them!”

Ah, come to think of it, magic beast corpses could also be used as resources.

Unlike common dungeons, corpses in this Red Zone decomposed into the ground too quickly, so I had forgotten about that.

Some of the Miner Violets quickly collected the corpses from the ground and returned to the main base.

“These beasts have many various rare substances. The quantity is small, but it’s not bad! Bring them, and I’ll refine it all for you!”

We poured the collected magic beast corpses and minerals into the pioneering machine’s large maw.

The machine ravenously swallowed the resources like a hungry beast, then operated, spewing steam, and extruded ingots of all sizes and types, along with red-hot lumps, as if laying eggs.

“Move those ingots and raw materials over there! Oh, not that one! This is for expanding the pioneering facilities. We’re going to build a supply depot connected by conveyor belts over there.”

“Alright!”

Some skillfully moved the materials, while others immediately folded, processed, and assembled them on the spot, using them to attach and expand the machine’s own body.

In less than 30 minutes, the machine’s input ports grew even larger, and their number increased.

As expected, the more you feed it, the bigger it gets.

Thousands of Violets continuously lined up, carrying resources and pouring them into it.

“Eat quickly and grow big and strong!”

**

The pioneering war, which began in early September, was truly unstoppable.

Within days of the war’s start, the Violet command’s pioneering machine had achieved dazzling growth.

The machine, which once fit in a single container and was the size of a small car, had now grown to the size of a two-story house.

-Clank! Clank!

From the central pioneering machine control facility, conveyor belts and chain conveyors densely connected every part of the Violet base like a spiderweb.

Above them, various materials and processed components ceaselessly moved in and out of the different facilities and buildings.

In various places, the robotic arms of temporary armories ceaselessly spewed welding sparks, and chimneys billowed steam as they operated fiercely.

“Not enough minerals! We need more supply depots!”

“Water! We need water! Connect these pipes to the nearby streams and beaches!”

An emergency alarm always sounded in the minds of all the construction Violets roaming the island.

It was Hekatoncheir’s voice urging them on.

It reminded me of the strategy games I used to play. There, too, a warning sound would go off every time something happened, saying there wasn’t enough money.

“Ugh! I’m the commander, and I’m doing manual labor! When will this be automated?! We just work every day!”

We grumbled at this reversed situation where subordinates were exploiting their master.

“It’ll be over soon. It’s all necessary work. Quickly put in more wood, nuclear batteries aren’t enough. We need auxiliary power!”

“Sigh…”

Unit 5321 sighed and dumped the Red Zone wood into the input port.

The multi-fuel generator, having received fuel, shuddered and continued to generate power.

“Even so, Commander, it’s because there are so many of us Violets that it’s ending so quickly. If it was just me alone, it would have taken much longer. The large military factory will be completed soon, so just bear with it a little longer. Then we can instantly mass produce anything!”

-Boom! Thump!

While the main base continued its development, the leisurely sound of cannon fire, like massive drumbeats, reached us.

At first listen, it sounded like a work song, but that was the sound of artillery bombardment.

The improved large-caliber artillery, produced in Cascadia and the archipelago, continuously delivered firestorms upon the magic beasts attacking our sacred forward base.

When the strategy of deploying beast-type magic beasts to push forward failed, the Red Zone changed its tactics starting the next day.

New magic beasts, resembling medieval knights, clad in white carapaces, had appeared.

These bipedal monsters, looking like a mix of insects and humans, fought more strategically than the previous magic beasts.

“Agh! They’re shooting!”

-Whoosh!

These four-armed monsters, instead of hands, swung arms tipped with blunt, round gems and shot beams of light.

It seemed like a strategy they adopted after being severely beaten by our magic and gunfire a few times.

Even the medium-to-large sized magic beasts were ones we had never seen before.

“What is that?!”

Suddenly, I recalled the army that the Apostle had summoned when we fought it in the Erosion Zone last time.

They looked different from the magic beasts born from mutated good animals of Trist, as if they were entities born from transformed alien creatures.

“Ah! Commander! That’s a familiar sight. The Eidos used something like that among the forces they employed when fighting my creators. I never knew they were here too!”

Kale, having received my thoughts, immediately confirmed.

My prediction was correct. They were magic beasts of alien origin.

Even as we exchanged thoughts, those magic beast knights countered our gunfire with beams and shields.

Already, the outpost’s defense line was filled with dazzling multicolored light and ferocious flames.

-Boom!

“Argh! The bunker!”

The Violet bunkers deployed on the front lines helplessly collapsed under the unexpected bombardment.

As the bunkers collapsed, Violets who had been firing and casting magic swarmed and crawled out from the debris.

Looking for the source of the bombardment, I saw a creature resembling a scorpion, escorted by the magic beast knights, slowly crawling up between the trees.

With a single energy orb fired from its whip-like tail, the ground greatly trembled.

And every time our defense line wavered from the bombardment, they cunningly approached by exploiting the battlefield’s terrain.

“They’re… smarter than beasts! Are they aliens?”

“Is that so?”

Come to think of it, there are ghouls that were humans turned into magic beasts, so we can’t say there are no alien ghouls.

It’s only a guess, but they are pitiable beings too.

If so, they must be saved through death.

And just in time, we had new equipment optimized for killing aliens. Brand new equipment that had just been assembled in the armory.

-Whoosh!

Three hover bikes, like a gust of wind, sped through the gaps in the stalled offense and defense.

These low-altitude flying vehicles, built to replace the slow hang gliders, cut through the barrage of projectiles like agile falcons and outflanked them to the left.

“Unit 421! Shells will impact in 5 seconds, then enter at full speed!”

Following the command from headquarters, shells landed precisely among the magic beasts.

As if sensing the aura of death from above, the monsters scattered to evade.

A trick impossible for human soldiers. But that was precisely what we aimed for.

“Charge!”

The targets were those scorpion magic beasts. Even after the bombardment, their shiny carapaces were intact.

Indeed, their tank-like durability deflected both gunfire and magic. But my intuition detected a weakness.

It was that tail, fluctuating with unstable energy.

“Analysis complete! Aim for the weakness!”

The scorpion, sensing danger, swung its many front legs, but they were ridiculously slow.

Its claws and pincers merely cut through empty air.

“Eat this bomb, you monster!”

The Violets on the bikes simultaneously gripped the bags they were carrying in their left hands.

What they held were explosive lumps made of anti-magic fragmentation liners and various metal fragments.

We, as if throwing shotputs, lightly tossed them towards the scorpion magic beast’s tail as we passed by.

-CRASH!

The magic beast’s tail was caught in the explosion and shattered into pieces. The scorpion, having lost its bombardment capability, hesitated and retreated, while some of them collapsed as if their own energy had backfired, fiercely glowing and flaring up from their entire bodies.

The enraged magic beast knights wildly swung their four arms and chased the hover bikes.

“You take this too!”

The hover bike squadron, while escaping, scattered more of their remaining bombs behind them.

The ones charging flinched, but it was too late. They staggered and fell in the explosion.

“Hahahaha!”

While happily teasing the magic beasts and repelling their attack, heartwarming good news arrived.

“Military factory construction is complete!”

“Hangar construction complete!”

Finally, finally, I, a construction Violet, had done it.

The forward bases burned with confidence at the news from the main base.

“Good! While we expand our military resources, let’s begin forward deployment!”

As the attack subsided, the construction Violets, with the assistance of the pioneering facilities, began aggressive construction.

“Command announces. Bunkers are insufficient, so from now on, we will construct Violet turrets!”

“Violet turrets!”

The forward base proudly continued to expand the scope of civilization in the face of the Red Zone’s malice.

At the same time, the military factory began its first heavy equipment production.

“We’re bringing Cheolkwon’s friend back to life!”

It was a moving moment as the revival of the valiant Violets’ friend, the No. 2 Light Tank, began.