The Colossus Engine spewed light directly at Zeke, who flew toward it while gripping the Giant-Slayer.
Kwarung!
The Giant-Slayer in Zeke's hand cleaved through the giant's light, charging straight at the center of its chest.
Kwaduduk!
Zeke's body became a solid projectile that pierced right through the giant's chest.
Goooong—
Even as the Colossus Engine staggered backward with its chest impaled, it swung its hand to grab Zeke.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Zeke twisted his trajectory and immediately unleashed Dragonʼs Claw toward the Colossus Engine.
Chwaak—
Clear claw marks raked across the mask that covered the Colossus Engine's face.
Karduduk!
The Colossus Engine clutched its face as if to protect the mask, retreating further.
'Is that its weak point?'
Zeke targeted the Colossus Engine's mask and swung the Giant-Slayer with full force.
Kwang!
A powerful blow struck the Colossus Engine's face.
Grraaaah—
The Colossus Engine flailed its hands wildly to seize Zeke.
Zeke dodged the Colossus Engine's attacks while continuing to swing the hammer infused with spiritual power.
Jjeojeong!
Cracks began to form on the sturdy mask.
'Now's the time.'
Zeke seized the opening and leaped into the air, striking the cracked mask on the Colossus Engine with Dragonʼs Roar.
Kwarung!
A rune emerged from the chest where the middle dantian was located, and intense light poured out from within.
Dragonʼs Roar pierced the giant's hand and hit the mask squarely.
Jjeojeojeok—
The compressed mana cannon shattered the mask that had covered the giant's face.
Thud!
At the same time, the giant collapsed to the ground.
As the broken mask fell away, the giant's face was revealed.
Seeing the giant's face, Zeke understood what Arataso had meant.
'He said it was a being close to the Nephilim. It gives off a similar vibe to the Snow Queen.'
The giant's face, hidden by the mask, had no nose or mouth—only eyes imbued with a mystical light.
From the giant's gaze, Zeke realized, just as Arataso had said, that it was closer to a spirit than a typical lifeform of the Phenomenal World.
Unlike the ferocity it had shown earlier, the giant now looked at Zeke with calm eyes.
—Thank you for freeing me from long bondage....
A voice transmitted directly into his mind.
Zeke recalled the Lord of the Swamp, who had said something similar before. 'Its original soul was sealed and bound within the body modified into a war weapon.' Wooooong!
White light emanated from the giant's body.
The light scattered and seeped into the earth all around.
At the same time, the light faded from the giant's eyes.
'The guardian said to be crafted by the Earth God. Has it returned to the god's embrace?'
Zeke gazed at the giant, whose soul had departed.
'If I just leave it, who knows what the Empire might do with it next. Better for me to absorb it.'
Confirming no one was around, Zeke activated his absorption skill toward the giant's body. Tsk tsk tsk—
The giant's flesh vanished into Zeke's shadow, and a message window appeared.
[You have absorbed the Corrupted Guardian of the Earth, a Designated Extermination Target.]
[Devouring a Designated Extermination Creature as a reward upgrades the absorption skill.]
[Your depleted stamina, mental strength, and mana are restored.]
[The Dragon Warrior skill advances from beginner to proficient.]
[The Colossus-Hunting Art skill advances from proficient to expert.]
[You acquire 2,000 Karma Points.]
[You acquire 1 Special Random Box.]
Absorbing the giant's body granted Zeke substantial rewards.
After checking the messages, Zeke spread his Dragonʼs Wings and headed back toward the ravine.
At that moment, the Barbarians who had hidden to avoid the Colossus Engine's attacks rushed toward Zeke.
"Big Bro Zeke!"
The Barbarians raised their thumbs, having witnessed Zeke take down the Nine-Headed Dragon and now the giant.
Seeing them, Zeke suddenly recalled the Giantʼs Guardian Tower in the Rock Tribe village.
'What kind of connection do the Barbarians have with the giants?' Just then, Adnan and Bodmir emerged toward Zeke.
Bodmir whistled as he surveyed the collapsed ravine here and there.
"Whew. I thought we were really done for when the cliff crumbled. What the hell happened?"
They must not have seen the Colossus Engine rampaging since they were inside the cave.
Zeke looked at Adnan and asked.
"Did you find the cause of the dimensional rift?" Adnan nodded and pulled something from his bosom.
It was a grotesquely shaped Taqgo Idol, rusted over.
Engraved on it were monsters, suffering humans, and all sorts of impure things screaming in agony, intertwined.
"This is?"
Adnan took out a cigarette, lit it, and exhaled smoke as he spoke.
"It's a Token of the Demon. They borrowed its power to tear open the dimensional rift and drew forth the strength to control monsters from there."
Zeke recalled what the Narak mage he had killed earlier had said.
'Something about the corrective effect of a sacred relic. So this must be the Token of the Harbinger of Blood and Madness.'
Adnan pocketed the finished cigarette and continued.
"This is a headache. If they have this token, it means they can create dimensional rifts anywhere."
"You're taking it to the High Table now?" Adnan nodded.
"Yeah. Once they verify it, they'll take appropriate measures and issue missions. We'll just follow orders."
He tucked away the Token of the Harbinger of Blood and Madness, then looked at Zeke. "Knight of Draker. This time, we owe you one. I'll repay the debt next time." Bodmir waved at Zeke.
"See you next time!"
Adnan and Bodmir left without lingering. Zeke watched them briefly, then crossed the ravine with the Barbarians to join Helen's group.
The ravine had collapsed in places from the destructive beams the Colossus Engine had fired, burying most of the monsters under the debris.
'With the Fallen Constellation's sacred relic gone and its controllers all dead, the monsters must have scattered everywhere.'
Monsters rarely formed packs except for specific individuals.
Once they spread out across the Ghetto region, they might pose a threat, but it wouldn't lead to the area being completely isolated like before.
Feeling somewhat relieved, Zeke hurried onward and spotted Helen's group beyond the wasteland.
But Helen's group was fighting magical beasts.
Zeke shouted to the Barbarians.
"Let's go!"
The Barbarians let out battle cries and charged at the magical beasts.
Kwarung!
Zeke and the Barbarians cut through the magical beasts and approached Helen.
"Sis!"
Helen swung her sword at the charging magical beasts, felling them.
Hearing Zeke's voice, she brightened.
"Zeke! You're safe!"
Zeke sighed in relief seeing Helen's group unharmed.
Fortunately, they had escaped the ravine before the giant awoke and avoided being buried.
With Zeke and the Barbarians joining, the group broke through the wasteland and arrived near the Autonomous District.
But a problem arose.
"The Autonomous District was under attack by monsters."
The Autonomous District had only iron fences for defense outside the earthen walls, so if a large number of monsters pushed with brute force, it wouldn't hold for long.
The Song of the Crouched Flame gripped his iron club, glaring angrily at the monsters surrounding the Autonomous District.
"I'll tear through them and save our comrades." Zeke stopped the Song of the Crouched Flame.
"Rushing in blindly could cause even greater casualties."
Even from afar, the number of monsters attacking the Autonomous District seemed to exceed several hundred.
What worried Zeke more than anything was Big Joe's condition.
Being elderly and having gone weeks without proper food in the fortress, his vitality had waned significantly.
Though Zeke had been treating him intermittently with potions and healing, there were limits.
Zeke called out to Richmond inside the Autonomous District.
'Richmond.'
Richmond responded to Zeke's call.
'Master!'
'What's the situation inside?'
"Ugh, these damned monsters keep coming without end. We've raised bone walls to block the magical beasts from the outskirts, but it won't hold for long. All the monsters are swarming toward the west gate."
'The west gate.'
'Me and Bane are holding off the big ones, but there are these weird guys holding back behind them....'
'What do you mean by weird guys?'
"You know, those freaks with the strange weapons you took down, Master. They're like knights but not quite....'
Zeke frowned at Richmond's words.
'You mean the Knight Killers?'
"Ah, yes! That's right. They're firing those bullets at me and Bane too, but it doesn't affect us. The knights, though—if they get hit, it's fatal. So we can't step outside the zone."
The presence of Knight Killers meant Abel's side was involved.
'If Abel himself had moved, he'd have shown up. So... has William Siemens made his move?'
Zeke organized the information from Richmond in his mind and devised a plan to turn the situation to their advantage.
He gathered the group.
"The Autonomous District was currently surrounded by three layers of enemies." Zeke drew a diagram on the ground to explain.
The innermost layer around the Autonomous District was monsters, with magical beasts positioned outside them.
Finally, snipers from Siemens were targeting anyone trying to emerge from afar.
Zeke spoke to Helen, the Song of the Crouched Flame, and Big Joe.
"I'll handle the magical beasts and the snipers, so use that opening to push straight inside quickly."
Zeke specifically addressed the Song of the Crouched Flame.
"Have the Zoin Tribe take the lead and guide the unit to the main gate, then use the war cry to signal those inside to open the west gate." The Song of the Crouched Flame nodded.
"Got it."
After brief instructions, the unit finished preparations. Zeke activated Sacred Radiance Technique, infusing the weapons of the beastmen and Zoin Tribe with the power of light.
The Zoin Tribe and beastmen, their weapons glowing with light, recalled that Zeke had received the Blessing of the Fairy King and their eyes gleamed.
"This light will block some of the demonic energy's poison, so charge straight for the main gate."
Everyone nodded at Zeke's words.
The Song of the Crouched Flame and Helen took the lead and dashed forward.
"Here we go!"
Helen swung Dragon Buster, cutting down the charging magical beasts and clearing a path.
At the same time, Zeke unleashed Mace of Light toward the magical beasts, disrupting their formation.
She felt Zeke's boundless power vividly as she saw the lightning of light falling from the sky.
It was then.
Pew!
A bullet fired by a Knight Killer flew toward Helen.
In an instant, Helen's bloodline ability 'Magnetism' activated, deflecting the bullet.
'So this is the sniping Zeke warned me about.'
Zeke had previously alerted Helen about the Knight Killers' sniping and taught her how to defend using her bloodline ability.
Helen stayed close to the Song of the Crouched Flame and Big Joe, blocking the incoming bullets.
Before long, Helen's group broke through the magical beasts and reached the monsters.
As the Autonomous District's iron fences came into view, the Song of the Crouched Flame let out a war cry toward it.
Kiyoooooot!
The Zoin Tribe sentries inside recognized the signal from the war cry.
But with monsters still remaining, they hesitated to open the gate recklessly.
At that moment, something charged at the monsters.
Krrroror—
Gurab and Shark Dragons appeared.
Kaaaak—
With the Gurab unit blocking them, no more monsters could approach the main gate.
The Zoin Tribe sentries watching from inside were startled.
"Wh-what is that?"
Boris, who had been observing the situation with them, recognized the Gurab and Shark Dragons.
'The boss is back!'
He said to the Zoin Tribe.
"Those are our summons, so don't worry and open the gate!"
At Boris's words, the Zoin Tribe nodded and immediately opened the gate.
The triple-layered iron gate rose upward smoothly.
Seeing the gate open, Helen shouted to the group.
"I'll hold them off—get inside quickly!"
She raised Dragon Buster and deployed her bloodline ability.
Chwarararak!
The form of the armor clinging to Helen's body began to change.