MTLNOVEL Chapter 9: Lingering Mechanical Echoes
The night prairie was cold, and the three of them walked briskly under the starry sky. Sura was in the front, an oil lamp hanging from his waist, carrying essential tools. Tilan was carrying an iron box for the sword on her back, while Guy was walking at the rear, keeping watch over the surroundings.
Because of some unspoken worries, Sura and Guy didn't talk much along the way, just hurrying through the night while occasionally informing Tilan of important landmarks to remember the directions.
"Those two trees close together, the right angle line between them pointing south is where our settlement is. Remember it for future visits."
"I'll remember it." Tilan nodded.
When they saw a large rock on the road, Sura told Tilan that this was an important landmark; if walking northeast along the rock, another settlement could be found.
"A group of decomposed leaf tribe live there; their habits are somewhat primitive, but the elder of the settlement is reasonable. If there's anything, you can try talking to their elder," Sura told Tilan.
Then the three continued walking for half an hour, getting very close to the rescue point.
"Be careful. If you hear any noises, try lying down first to avoid bullet wounds," Sura warned Tilan.
"If there are few machines, we can try to fight back. But if there's a large group, then we have to find a way to escape." Tilan grew a bit tense, as she had never seen those historically recorded war machines.
As Tilan started to extend her senses, a series of short gunshots rang out in the distance. The three focused their gaze on the distant night; Guy and Tilan could see the faint muzzle flashes, while Sura only heard the general direction of the sound.
"Over there." Guy said, prompting the other two to crouch slightly, then dropping his carried pack to engage with agility.
This was Tilan's first time seeing Guy in combat. He used an unknown secret technique, his body becoming exceptionally light, his footsteps completely silent, as he dashed rapidly across the grassland.
No wonder he was able to escape from the war machines back then. Such speed is indeed hard for ordinary people to chase, perhaps also why he survived that day's chaotic battle.
Following the direction of the gunshots and the flashes, Tilan observed intently and gradually started to see the distant scene clearly.
In the night, a nimble man, dressed in a trench coat, held a gun, continually moving around a hill on the wilderness, using it to evade shots while occasionally firing back. His shooting was economical, likely due to limited bullets, while his opponents...
A mechanical mantis with three pairs of legs, wielding sharp twin blades, was leaping through the hills, straight-pouncing at great speed but not flexible in turning, hence missing the man so far.
A mechanical armadillo firing from a distance, its armor plates layered and interlocked, with two dark red muzzle points on its head, occasionally firing in the night.
A reconnaissance-type mechanical meerkat stood beside the mechanical armadillo, raising its body with its head open, a dim red light rotating within, constantly scanning and observing the surroundings, transmitting the man's position coordinates to the mechanical armadillo beside it.
For the man in the black trench coat, though the mechanical armadillo and mechanical meerkat combination offered strong long-range attacks, they were not fast. With his skills, he could run desperately, taking a couple of hits, and still escape. But with the mantis, it was different; the mantis's straight-line speed was fast, and with those sharp twin blades, it posed a significant threat, trapping him here, engaging repetitively in guerrilla tactics, trying to deplete the mechanical armadillo's ammunition before making his escape.
"I'll help you!" Guy quickly approached and shot an arrow at the mechanical meerkat standing upright in the distance. The arrowhead hit the fragile observation device, sparking slightly.
Afterwards, the mechanical armadillo's shooting accuracy seemed to waver slightly, giving hope to the exhausted man, who immediately perked up.
"Thanks." He flipped up, and as the mantis pursued closely, he gripped the gun with both hands. A blue glow appeared at the muzzle, and a slightly dull special gunshot sounded. The bullet unexpectedly pierced through the mantis's head armor.
Despite the sparks, the mantis continued approaching, its blades crossing, narrowly missing the man. Although it didn't slice him in half, his coat was cut with a straight slit, appearing exceedingly dangerous.
Dodging the subsequent attacks with a roll, the man exerted himself to leap away again, temporarily creating some distance, then raised his gun, focusing intently on aiming.
"Bang—" The bullet entered through the gap previously pierced, going through the mechanical mantis's head and shattering into fragments from the back.
With its head pierced, the mantis's movements and attacks became visibly disordered, like a blind man, allowing the trench coat man to dodge the confused attacks several times.
Sura and Tilan started to approach, but when Tilan was about to take down the iron box from her back, Sura stopped her.
"It's not necessary to use it today; let me handle this." Saying this, she raised the gun in her hand, aimed at the distant mantis, and began to calm down, then shot and hit the mantis in the abdomen, causing black oil to start oozing out.
"It won't last long now." Sura sighed in relief, then fired again, though the accuracy of the subsequent shots wasn't great.
Perhaps realizing it was near its operational end, the mechanical mantis's attacks became more frantic.
[ρ Autonomous Unit of the Mechanical Council Subunit-'Mantis'-s-5, executing a purging command, has reached the shutdown threshold and will initiate self-destruction... 3... 2... 1... Long live the Continuance Committee for the future of human civilization!]