Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

158 – Ursafex

Until Myung-jun in Nautilus approached closely, Grimpanther did not take any action.

Myung-jun, too, refrained from making any provocative attacks that could trigger Grimpanther, who was warily observing him.

Even when Myung-jun descended to the ground from the swiftly flying Nautilus, Grimpanther merely stared at the Elimination Suit Myung-jun was wearing.

Seeing this, Myung-jun, who was watching Grimpanther warily, spoke.

“Aren’t you going to attack?”

“Growl…”

Grimpanther responded with a growl, a sound typical of feline animals.

However, the multi-language translation implant embedded in Myung-jun’s body translated Grimpanther’s voice, which lacked human vocal cords, into a form that Myung-jun could understand. Thanks to this, Myung-jun understood exactly what Grimpanther was saying just from the growl.

‘Your purpose is to save that human with severed legs over there, right? Do as you wish.’

“And what if you stab me in the back later?”

‘I don’t know what you mean by stabbing in the back. I have no intention of attacking until you are ready. Finish quickly and come at me with all your might.’

“Is that confidence born from absolute belief in your own strength? You might regret it later.”

‘You might be their last resort, but it would be an amusing pastime to see their trump card shattered before their eyes.’

At that moment, Skyler, watching Myung-jun converse with a beast twice his size, spoke.

“Excuse me, are you talking to that monster?”

“Yes.”

“You can communicate with monsters?”

“Not all of them. Only a few gate bosses above grade 6 can engage in basic conversation. Judging by the level of conversation with that black panther, the difficulty of this gate is at least grade 8, if not higher.”

The mention of ‘at least’ grade 8 implied the possibility of the opponent being a grade 9 or 10 monster, causing Skyler to gulp involuntarily.

However, Myung-jun ignored Skyler and calmly pressed the button to disable the external speaker.

“Nautilus.”

[Nautilus awaiting command.]

“Activate maximum alert mode. If the opponent shows any sign of movement, unleash a concentrated barrage immediately.”

[Command confirmed. Activating maximum alert mode.]

“Open the cockpit hatch.”

[A monster with hostile intent is within the danger radius. Do you wish to open the hatch?]

“Open it.”

[Protective field for the pilot deployed. Opening the cockpit hatch.]

As the cockpit hatch of the Elimination Suit opened, Myung-jun and Skyler, who was sitting on his lap, were revealed.

At that moment, Grimpanther, who had been sitting as if it wouldn’t attack, moved its forepaw at an invisible speed.

-Boom!!!-

[Warning. Protective energy field output decreasing. Remaining defense below 5%. Emergency closing of the hatch.]

With a tremendous impact on the craft, a sharp, crescent-shaped force clashed with the translucent energy field surrounding the cockpit.

The hatch of the Elimination Suit closed at a terrifying speed, and Nautilus began its counterattack.

[Nautilus counterattack protocol initiated.]

With a system message, Nautilus, having unlocked all its weapons, began attacking the spot where Grimpanther had been with terrifying power. Sensing the immense force behind the attack, Grimpanther immediately vacated the area.

The Minigun, a rapid-fire platform of large-caliber shells that had previously devastated a horde of enhanced monsters.

The Juice Maker, a chemical missile containing a special solution capable of instantly melting any tough monster skin.

The Amaterasu, a thermite grenade launcher that produced flames that wouldn’t extinguish until the target was reduced to ashes, even if doused with liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees Celsius.

The Spear, a railgun that fired specially treated ultra-high-hardness penetrator rounds through a 10-meter-long ultra-accelerated rail running through the center of Nautilus.

Myung-jun’s power, which was said to be capable of single-handedly defeating the US 7th Fleet, left deep, seemingly irreparable scars on the ground where Grimpanther had been. Grimpanther’s mocking voice echoed in Myung-jun’s ears.

“Che. Were you prepared in advance?”

“Of course. Why would I trust a beast like you? I knew from the start that you were waiting for me to approach because you found it troublesome to deal with me from a distance.”

While preventing Grimpanther from approaching James’s direction through Nautilus’s concentrated fire, Myung-jun quickly moved in his Elimination Suit to retrieve the injured James. He summoned the injured transport port mounted on Nautilus, placed James and his severed foot inside, and sent them back to Nautilus.

During this time, Grimpanther repeatedly slashed at Myung-jun, but all of Grimpanther’s attacks were intercepted mid-air by the Spear rounds fired from Nautilus. However, Myung-jun vaguely realized that the seemingly advantageous situation would not last.

‘The opponent is too fast.’

The ultra-high hardness penetrator rounds of the Spear, which flew at over ten times the speed of sound, were the second fastest weapon that could be fired from Nautilus. However, due to the fixed launch system within Nautilus, the main body had to rotate for aiming, which was a weakness. Grimpanther avoided the rounds by watching the direction Nautilus’s main body was aiming, and dodged the relatively slower rounds of other weapons by observing the firing direction.

Despite having enough firepower to turn the opponent into a bloody mess if hit, Myung-jun could not inflict proper damage. To capture the high-speed opponent, he activated a new piece of equipment developed by Soojin.

“Activate Magnet Phylone system. Target is the same as the main target.”

[Using Magnet Phylone system. Ejecting Magnetic Cloud Generator.]

With a ‘thud-thud-thud’ sound, eight cylindrical projectiles with multiple holes were ejected from Nautilus’s main body. As soon as the cylinders hit the ground, invisible ferromagnetic particles emerged like clouds. These highly adhesive particles soon disappeared into the air as if melting away.

‘It doesn’t seem like poison, so what is he trying to do?’

Grimpanther, tense from the unknown attack, asked, but Myung-jun did not answer. He merely stared at the numbers displayed on the screen.

[Magnet Dust adhesion rate 15%.]

As Grimpanther, angered by the ignored question, tried to lunge at Myung-jun, the firepower from Nautilus poured onto the spot where Grimpanther had been.

“Graaaah!”

Starting evasive maneuvers again, Grimpanther soon erased the memory of the cylinders. They did not seem to be toxic, and when lightly touched, they caused no harm.

Grimpanther, believing that even Myung-jun couldn’t maintain such firepower indefinitely, weaved through the transparent clouds Myung-jun had spread, waiting for an opportunity. He vowed to himself that the moment the ammunition of that dreadful aerial fortress ran out, he would tear Myung-jun limb from limb.

Unfortunately for Grimpanther, the ammunition running out was not the first event to occur, instead, the number Myung-jun had been waiting for appeared on the screen.

[Magnet Dust adhesion rate 100%. Ejecting and activating Magnet Phylone.]

In an instant, eight elongated stakes, completely different from the previously fired cylinders, were launched from Nautilus. Simultaneously, an unimaginable amount of magnetic force began to emanate from the stakes embedded in the solid ground.

[Detected ultra-strong magnetic field. Generating magnetic nullification field to prevent damage to the unit.]

It was as if someone had stopped time; everything began to freeze in place. Grimpanther’s body, which moved too fast to be tracked even by the eyes of an Awakener, the ultra-high hardness penetrator rounds fired from Nautilus at over ten times the speed of sound, the 155mm special rounds fired from the Minigun, and even the missiles spewing flames—all appeared to be suspended in mid-air. Grimpanther, bewildered, roared.

‘Graaaah! What have you done?!’

Of course, this was the result of the Magnet Phylone system activated by Myung-jun. The system attached ultra-adhesive particles that strongly reacted to magnetism to the opponent’s body, then generated a tremendous magnetic field to seal their movements. However, what Soojin, who designed the system, had not considered was that the rounds fired from Nautilus and the ‘Elimination Suit’ Myung-jun was wearing were also made of metal that easily reacted to magnetism.

The field that mitigated the magnetic influence protected Myung-jun’s power armor and Nautilus, but it could only barely prevent functional failure.

“Ha, damn. Of all times, senior’s oversight…”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a piece of equipment that couldn’t be used in actual combat. One could summon a Hell Blaster Turret in a location unaffected by the magnetic field and attack, or use the attack means of a party member unaffected by magnetism. However, in close combat like this, where one faced an enemy 1:1, the Magnet Phylone system had a serious flaw.

‘Release me! You insolent mortal! I’ll tear you apart right now… huh?’

At that moment, Grimpanther, who had been struggling in mid-air in a very dynamic posture, realized that Myung-jun was also not moving, just like him. He also noticed that the rounds and missiles fired at him from Nautilus were all suspended in mid-air.

Realizing this, Grimpanther looked at Myung-jun with eyes full of disbelief and spoke.

‘No way… Are you also unable to move?’

Myung-jun, his face flushed, deactivated the Magnet Phylone system instead of answering Grimpanther’s question. As soon as he did, time, which had been frozen, began to flow rapidly again, and explosions erupted from all directions.

‘Hahaha! You have a knack for surprising me!’

“Shut up. Even I make mistakes sometimes.”

‘If that was your last card, the moment your ammunition runs out will be your death day!’

Ignoring Grimpanther’s chilling warning, Myung-jun checked the remaining ammunition of Nautilus.

“Nautilus, report ammunition status.”

[Reporting the remaining ammunition loaded on Nautilus. Including subspace quantities: Minigun rounds 14,221, remaining 13%. Juice Maker missiles 132, remaining 22%. Amaterasu grenades 3,824, remaining 22%. Spear penetrator rounds 529, remaining 10%.]

“At the current rate of attack, how much combat time is left?”

[Time remaining until all ammunition is expended: 2 minutes 56 seconds.]

“Cease fire.”

As Nautilus’s bombardment, which had been turning the plain into a canyon in real-time, ceased, Grimpanther also stopped moving. He then glared at Myung-jun and spoke.

‘Have you given up?’

“No matter how strong the firepower, it’s meaningless if it doesn’t hit.”

‘That’s true. Speed is the most powerful force that overwhelms all other strengths.’

“Depending on the situation, I generally agree with that opinion.”

‘Then this fight is my victory. One thing to ask, among the human race, how strong are you?’

“I’m almost 100% sure that I’m the strongest among those I know.”

‘The strongest human… is only this strong…’

Grimpanther roared, a sound that translated as laughter to Myung-jun’s ears but as a terrifying scream to Skyler’s, who lacked a translation implant.

‘Hahaha!’

Skyler, sitting on Myung-jun’s knee, instinctively grabbed his arm tightly, her hand trembling with the fear of facing inevitable death. Despite the current situation, where his trump card had been defeated for a ridiculous reason, Myung-jun maintained a calm expression. The Magnet Phylone, which had failed miserably, was merely a ‘test’ for Myung-jun and held no other significance.

The real trump card Myung-jun had prepared for Grimpanther was not a simple electromagnet.

“Hey, black cat.”

‘Black cat!? Are you referring to me?’

“Yes, don’t get too cocky for a big black cat.”

Grimpanther was taken aback by Myung-jun’s voice, which was too calm to be mere bravado.

‘What confidence do you have to show such bravado? Although I was surprised by that strange attack earlier, you’ve already lost your trump card. And there’s not much ammunition left to keep me in check.’

“Yeah, honestly, that earlier thing surprised me too. But don’t think that ridiculous gag card was my trump card. The ‘real’ one is about to be shown.”

Myung-jun took a deep breath and spoke with eyes that had grown infinitely cold.

“Beast-type target elimination protocol, ‘Ursafex,’ activate.”

As soon as Myung-jun finished speaking, the 5-meter-tall power armor ‘Elimination Suit’ he was wearing and the 25-meter-long mobile floating fortress ‘Nautilus’ began to transform simultaneously. Red warning lights flashed, and numerous system messages echoed in the cockpit where Myung-jun sat.

[Ursafex protocol activated. Preparing to transfer system control authority.]

[Activating occupant protection equipment. Anti-shock system ready.]

[Mainframe structure modification of power suit completed.]

[Initiating ejection of Ursafex transformation parts.]

As the power suit Myung-jun wore leaned forward, the external armor covering most of the massive Nautilus flew off with sparks and began to merge with the suit. Unlike the sleek exterior armor of Nautilus, these external armors had a wild design, covered in thick fur like the hide of a giant beast.

Moments later, the suit Myung-jun wore no longer resembled a 5-meter-tall steel giant. Instead, standing in his place was a colossal mechanical beast in the form of a bear, towering at 15 meters, as if it had stepped out of ancient mythology.

[Beast-type target elimination protocol, ‘Ursafex,’ activated. All control authority is now transferred to combat AI ‘Ursafex.’]

The thick fur covering the entire body of the transformed Elimination Suit was the hide of ‘Ursafex,’ a bear-shaped gate boss with overwhelming durability that even Myung-jun had given up processing.

“Sorry, but from here on, I won’t be fighting. This monstrous guy is stronger than me in close combat.”

Myung-jun’s voice reached Grimpanther’s ears, who was confused by the sudden appearance of the giant bear-shaped beast, now larger than himself.

“Let’s see which is stronger, the bear or the panther.”

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