Aya found Tiran on the second floor of a building, half a street away from the battlefield. The princess was sitting on the windowsill, half of her body suspended in the air. She was holding a magic gun that was over a meter long, her gaze fixed on the battle zone outside the street.
The gun was completely black and made of an unknown material. It didn't reflect any light in the distant Chi lights, and it had an eight-time scope and a triangular support... Oh my god, this is a sniper rifle!
"Where did you get this thing from?" Aya curiously reached out to touch the gun, but Tiran slapped her hand away.
"I got it after taking out an idiot who was using it... Life is as lonely as snow." The princess hugged the gun to her chest, a look of melancholy on her face, portraying an old and imposing figure. "This thing reminds me of the glorious days when I got thirty-five chicken dinners."
Aya covered her face with a slap and had nothing to say. The princess was acting crazy again.
"Hey, what's that expression on your face? Can't I mourn my lost youth for a moment?" Tiran couldn't maintain her expression any longer and glared at Aya fiercely.
"I covered my face, how can you still see?"
"Tsk, I know you too well! You're definitely secretly ridiculing me behind my back!"
"If you know that, then why are you acting crazy at such a critical moment?"
With a loud bang, the heads of the master and servant clashed together. Their icy-blue and wine-red pupils stared at each other defiantly, and their four hands pressed against each other, desperately trying to overpower the other.
"Hmph, you've got guts after wandering outside for a few hours."
"Hah, that's all thanks to a certain heartless mistress who abandoned me in the pitch-black darkness!" Aya's face was full of resentment as she remembered her trembling experience in the dark corner. Her teeth were grinding loudly.
"Aya, I'm here... huh?"
Suddenly, a heroic voice came from behind the stairs. However, when the person saw the scene in front of them, there was a hint of confusion in their tone.
"Nothing happened!"
The two quickly separated, with Tiran busying herself with cleaning her gun and Aya idling around the room.
"Is this your friend?" Etras confidently approached Tiran and gave her a tight hug, showing a smile. "I'm Etras, yeah, that's right, 'The Azure Gunner' from the Bounty Hunter Guild."
--It seems that due to the psychological shadow left by Aya, she emphasized her self-introduction once again.
As for the princess... she almost choked. The Silver War Maiden never expected that as a dignified princess, she would one day be attacked with face cleanser by someone other than Hesse's crazy sister... She really wanted to die! This girl was even worse than that crazy sister!
Aya stood on the side, her expression ranging from shock to uncontrollable laughter, and finally turning into gloating.
"Uh... I feel completely defeated." The Silver War Maiden looked at Etras, who was smiling and greeting her with her chest almost touching her nose, and felt a deep sense of frustration.
When it comes to appearance, Aetras is not bad, but because some of the lines are too strong, it appears somewhat boyish instead of feminine, giving off a more handsome rather than delicate feeling. Of course, Aya envies it a lot. If she could look like this after transforming into a human, maybe she wouldn't have to wear women's clothing anymore.
It's mainly the two in the chest...
No, no, now is not the time to worry about that! The princess also stood up, and her face, previously obscured by hair, was now revealed.
It was only at this moment that Aetras fully recognized Tiran's face. The smile on her face froze instantly, and she took two steps back in astonishment before asking, "Your Highness, the Silver War Maiden?!"
Aya and Tiran locked eyes and both had expressions of disbelief. Aya almost blurted out, "Hey, hey, aren't you supposed to be an otaku who doesn't go out much and hasn't been seen by many people? How did you get recognized?"
"No, no, you've mistaken me for someone else. I'm just a wandering knight who upholds justice..." Tiran lowered her head, pretending to be foolish.
"Um, Your Highness, I do recognize you. I was invited by the Dragon Slayer Group to provide long-range support during the dragon slaying mission, but before I had a chance to act, you had already defeated the dragon..."
Aetras tilted her head and softly spoke these words.
Tiran: "..."
Suddenly, she regretted bringing this stupid dragon home. Why does it always cause trouble?
Feeling the resentment emanating from Tiran, Aya shrank her neck and opened her hands. It's my fault, I didn't know who jumped up and slashed me with a sword.
At this moment, a loud rumbling sound came from outside, followed by a powerful impact that shook the unprepared trio through the half of the street they were standing on.
Aya walked to the window and saw that the attackers had become the hunted, fleeing in panic. The magical core in the chest of the metal giant released the stored energy, creating a pure shockwave that pushed away the participants who were already close to its body, leaving them dizzy for more than two seconds.
Two seconds in a battle is enough to determine life and death.
The participants who fell from the sky and couldn't dodge were left defenseless and exposed to another round of magical bombardment, instantly torn apart by various magical projectiles.
"Damn it! This guy... is so strong!"
"Tsk, it's really unlucky. We shouldn't have been greedy for these points. Whoever wants them can have them. Let's retreat!"
After most of the main attacking force was exterminated, the temporary alliance collapsed, and those who barely escaped began to use the terrain to flee.
However, the aftermath of the battle between the metal giant and the participants had already destroyed a large area of the surrounding buildings. There were no sufficient cover options, and the open ruins had become Hermes's perfect hunting ground. The giant cannon barrel on its shoulder was five meters long, making Aya feel like she could crawl inside in her human form...
"Oh my god!"
Beside her, Aetras, who was also watching the battle intently, excitedly grabbed the window frame and pointed at the giant who was lowering its body to reduce the recoil of the cannon, shouting, "Aya, sister! Did you see that? That, that, that's the unreleased magitech cannon, 'Cloud Buster,' by Sainz!"
"Cloud Buster? Is it very powerful?"
"Of course!" This gunner seemed to be a hardcore magitech firearm enthusiast and talked endlessly, "The largest energy-level magitech cannon in history. Its single-point attack power is comparable to forbidden spell Magic. Even scattered shots can't be blocked without a high-level guardian barrier. It's said that with a full-power shot, it can penetrate the body of a dragon!"
Aya felt annoyed, damn it, here we go again. Since when did Dragon become the unit of measurement for weapon power? Are those researchers at the Central Research Institute in the future magitech kingdom going to measure the power of weapons in "one Dragon" or "two Dragons"? Are they making dumplings or what?
As she spoke, the Burst Cloud Cannon fired.
Aetras' words weren't wrong. Just the residual shockwaves made Aya feel the same pressure as before. After the light of the magitech cannon dissipated, the people who were still trying to escape had vanished, leaving only a few traces of blood that had not been completely evaporated.
............
"Hmph, you almost got me."
A little higher up from the power core, after a few layers of armor plates, Hermes relaxed in the cockpit, knowing from the magitech radar that there were no threats nearby. The giant metallic figure knelt slowly on one knee on the ground.
The previously dominant and overpowering magitech puppet finally showed signs of exhaustion. The magical barriers around its body dissipated, and smoke emitted from several joints, filling the cockpit with a burnt smell.
To deter those who had intentions against him, Hermes had almost used all the capabilities of this magitech puppet, even damaging the magical power transmission system to maintain a 300% output power. It was undeniably fatal for most of the overambitious attackers.
Those who managed to escape should quickly spread the news, but at least Hermes would be slightly safer. After all, many of the first wave were formidable opponents, and those who remained would have to think twice before making any moves against him.
But as a result, the magic core's energy had been reduced by more than 60%, and the recoil from the final shot had caused structural damage to this mechanical giant that was still in the testing phase.
"Didn't expect... the core of an ancient monster like the Misty Treant would be so inefficient... No, should I say that the magical energy conversion rate of the power reactor is too low?"
Even in this moment, Hermes continued to ponder on how to improve his puppet. His own technology had already reached the pinnacle of magitech machinery, so he was well aware of the effort required to further reduce losses, and the slight increase in conversion rate was not worthwhile...
"It seems pure machinery alone won't do. Do I still need her?"
The image of the girl brought back from Gilliast Castle appeared in his mind. Hermes bit his fingernail lightly, his face twisted in anger. Damn it, why couldn't anyone understand his ideas, not his former teacher, colleagues, or even those families behind the scenes!
As long as biological magitech and mechanical magitech were combined, the myth of mechanical deification could be fully realized! But those people thought of him as a madman and a heretic!
"However, I have to get through this first."
Hermes activated the magitech puppet, standing up again. As long as he could hold on, with the spoils obtained from killing those attackers earlier, winning the top spot should be almost guaranteed. After all, among the attackers, at least seven or eight of them could make it into the top twenty of this competition based on their strength.
"Hold on? Are you sure you can?"
Mocking laughter reached Hermes' ears through the shell, startling him. In the next moment, the Burst Cloud Cannon on the right shoulder of the magitech puppet exploded in a resounding boom!
