Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 172

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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172
I scoured the ruins for the black cores of shattered golems to reinforce Ricaros’s damaged spirit body.
The broken golems showed no flexibility or vitality whatsoever, resembling nothing so much as shattered porcelain figurines.
The black cores themselves appeared to be nothing more than dark metal spheres, yet I could sense the faint souls dwelling within them. I gathered countless cores with the fervor of one searching for treasure in a garbage heap.
While I collected cores, Jae-in constructed a mechanical body that would serve as Ricaros’s new form.
“Try moving it here.”
Jae-in connected the core to the mechanical hand.
[Understood.]
Watching the mechanical fingers move at Jae-in’s command, I added or removed components as needed, gradually building the mechanical body.
Since we already had all the necessary materials, the work primarily involved removal rather than creation, so the process didn’t take long.
When Jae-in saw Ricaros—now two meters tall and fully armored in solid metal plating—she wore an expression of pride that surpassed even what she’d shown upon completing the Lunar Base.
“Combat robots are every scientist’s dream.”
“Scientists certainly have many dreams, don’t they?”

“This is revolutionary! A golem-type robot powered by souls!”
“Is it more efficient than building it purely from machinery?”
“Overwhelmingly so! The computational power surpasses any existing AI, and since it moves like a golem, it needs no actuators, sensors, or power sources whatsoever!”
Jae-in spoke with unbridled excitement. This passion was surely what drove her to conduct research and development without rest.
“That’s impressive.”
“I absolutely must retrieve that soul extraction artifact from Brixel’s Ark. We could give people with disabled bodies new golem forms, couldn’t we?”
“That’s an excellent idea. However, rescue comes first. If retrieval seems impossible, simply destroy it.”
[While it’s nothing compared to my original body, this golem form Brixel created moves far more naturally than before. I accept this body with gratitude.]
Ricaros moved his body this way and that, testing it.
The natural fluidity of movement was unmistakably different from conventional robots.
“Shall we depart then?”
“Chairman, please lead us well.”
“Brother, be careful.”
[I’ll kill Brixel myself—just buy me time.]
Each of us steeling our resolve, we moved toward the Lunar Base.
“Ground, are you ready?”
[Yes! Ready whenever you give the order!]
Above the Lunar Base, I opened a massive Gate eighty meters in diameter using the energy from the Blue Dragon’s heart core.
From the enormous Gate emerged the bow of an aircraft carrier, accompanied by torrents of seawater.
The flight deck of the aircraft carrier that had emerged into space was occupied by hundreds of Hunters.
Mages stationed at regular intervals along the deck’s edges had layered shields to contain the air, while warriors gripped their weapons firmly, their fighting spirit ablaze.
As the aircraft carrier entered the weightless void of space, its hull groaned and shrieked, warping in places.
“Telekinesis mages, increase your output!”
Ian, Germany’s S-rank mage commanding the mages, shouted from the center of the aircraft carrier.
The mages surrounding Ian drew mana from their magic stones, reinforcing their telekinesis magic to strengthen the vessel’s structure.
As the entire aircraft carrier emerged into space, it maintained a stable form even in the weightless, airless environment of the cosmos.
“Make them regret ever touching Earth!”
“Peace and freedom!”
Behind the aircraft carrier carrying Hunters brimming with morale, space shuttles, submarines, and destroyers streamed out in succession.
Hundreds of warships and spacecraft formed a grand fleet, surrounding and escorting the carrier.
They advanced slowly toward the Ark. The objective wasn’t to launch a surprise attack and annihilate them, but rather to capture them in spectacular fashion.
“It’s too quiet, isn’t it?”
A tense warrior on the carrier’s flight deck gazed at the Ark and gripped his sword hilt tightly.
They had conducted a general briefing, but hadn’t informed all the Hunters and soldiers that this was a feint operation.
When they approached to within several dozen kilometers of the Ark.
[First Fleet, First Wave—prepare to launch! Second, Third, and Fourth Fleets, protect the flagship!]
General Samuel Archer, the United States Secretary of Defense, barked orders to each fleet with veins bulging in his neck. He had been deceived during the Angel incident, and now deceived again by the Ark incident—his fury had reached a boiling point.
[First Fleet, all ships—launch preparations complete!]
[Forward mages, deploy defensive barriers against impact! Carriers, raise the forward Barrier Wall!]
An iron Barrier Wall rose before the aircraft carrier, protecting the Hunters on deck, while mages expended magic stones like water to reinforce the shields further.
[First Wave—launch! Get a taste of nuclear fire, you interdimensional monster!]
At General Samuel Archer’s command, dozens of missiles streaked toward the Ark.

“What… what is this?! Are those all nuclear warheads?”
“Is it going to end with this? Then why are we even here?”
While the Hunters summoned for close combat stood bewildered, the missiles reached the Ark.

Small Gates opened before the Ark, one for each missile, swallowing them whole.
Then they shot back out from the holes they’d entered, hurtling toward the fleet.
“R… run!”
“Where to?!”
A single hit would obliterate the painstakingly prepared space fleet, and the Hunters panicked. On Earth there would be places to flee, but this was outer space. There was nowhere to run.
The moment the missiles struck the shields, everyone shut their eyes.
Kwang!
There was no explosion—only the sound of metal shattering.
“It didn’t detonate!”
One Hunter, who had been covering his head, suddenly sprang up and shouted.
“Hey, you didn’t listen to the briefing?”
From the start, they had designed the missiles with remote detonation, anticipating that Gates would redirect them. There was no chance the missiles would detonate against their own forces—it was all covered in the pre-operation briefing.
[Second Wave—launch!]
Twice as many missiles as the first wave were fired, and Gates opened again before the Ark.
[Detonate!]
But this time, before the missiles could be pulled into the Gates, General Samuel Archer’s command triggered the nuclear warheads to explode.
Tremendous shockwave and heat engulfed the fleet, but the one-meter-thick Barrier Wall forged from special alloy and the magical shields absorbed all the impact.
The Ark didn’t simply endure it passively. A massive Gate opened before the Ark, absorbing the energy of the nuclear explosion.
But the chain reaction from the explosion was far greater than the Gate could handle—its edges began to warp, and before the blast even finished, the Gate vanished.
It wasn’t a direct hit, but the impact was considerable. The Ark trembled slightly, though its inherent defensive barrier held firm.
[You insane humans! Have you forgotten there are hostages?!]
Brixel burst forth in panic, and I climbed atop the carrier’s shield wall.
“They followed of their own volition. They’ll bear the consequences themselves.”
I wanted to save the ordinary citizens swept along by their leaders’ rhetoric, but if I couldn’t, so be it.
That’s why I’d instructed Bae Na-young and Jae-in to halt the operation if this nuclear bombardment succeeded by some miracle.
First, I needed to draw Brixel’s attention as spectacularly as possible.
[All fleets, unleash everything! Eliminate that demon!]
Samuel had abandoned all strategy. His only desire was to kill Brixel, who had desecrated his faith.
Missiles rained down like a deluge. Thanks to decades of nuclear armament by the world’s superpowers, obsolete nuclear warheads were so abundant they were practically rotting away. Depleting them now would weaken their capacity for future conflict—a welcome outcome.
To counter the missiles, golems emerged from the Gate and the Ark in numbers so vast they resembled clouds.
Not only the humanoid golems that had appeared on Earth, but bird-shaped golems and cosmic horse golems surged forth as well.
The golems clung to the missiles and destroyed them physically before detonation.
Yet some missiles detonated prematurely, obliterating golems in massive chunks.
Brixel multiplied his form and charged toward the carrier.
“I’ll settle the score I couldn’t last time!”
[Everything has gone awry because of you! I no longer care if I’m exposed! I’ll slaughter you all!]
Brixel and I collided as explosions erupted from all directions.
By draining his strength through this assault, the success probability for the three infiltrators entering the Ark would increase.
* * *
[It’s begun. Are you ready?]
Luna gazed up at the explosions flickering across the black sky and asked Bae Na-young’s group.
Bae Na-young and Jae-in wore thin spacesuits and helmets, while Ricaros, a mechanical golem, observed the conflict bare.
“Yeah, Luna. Count on us.”
Bae Na-young, Jae-in, and Ricaros gripped the handles they’d fastened to the large boulder beforehand.
[Here we go~~~]
Luna’s ears elongated dramatically, grasping the boulder’s handles as she spun the rock around with increasing momentum.
“Nngh….”
Jae-in groaned as the velocity intensified.
Once the speed was sufficient, Luna hurled the boulder toward the Ark.
[Safe travels~]
Luna waved cheerfully, her figure shrinking in an instant.
Thanks to Luna’s throw, we approached the Ark without expending mana or any other propulsion.
‘Is the Ark actually going to break at this rate?’
Watching nuclear bombs detonate in the distance, Jae-in worried. To avoid using any electronic devices, I relayed all communication telepathically.

‘No order to halt the operation has come through.’
[Earthlings possess terrifying weapons….]
Ricaros trembled as he watched the nuclear explosion.
The boulder hurtled rapidly toward the rear of the Ark.
‘Jae-in, get ready.’
Without electricity or power, I manually operated the nozzle connected to the oxygen tank. Bae Na-young and Jae-in exchanged signals, opening and closing the nozzle to fine-tune the boulder’s trajectory.
[Right there!]
Ricaros pointed to a door at the rear of the Ark—a minuscule opening that would be invisible without careful observation.
[Now! Jump!]
As the boulder scraped past the lower rear of the Ark, all three leaped from the rock onto the vessel.
Bae Na-young, now a warrior of A-rank caliber in martial arts, landed gracefully on the Ark, while Ricaros executed a magnificent landing using both feet and one hand for support.
Jae-in, however, whose physical coordination was poor, collided with the Ark’s surface and bounced back—only to be caught and pulled forward by Ricaros’ outstretched hand.
[This is the waste disposal outlet. The Ark’s exterior and interior spaces are warped, but not here or at the entrance. Opening it won’t trigger detection. Stand back—I’ll open it now.]
Ricaros wedged his hand into the door’s gap and wrenched it open.
[Let’s go inside.]
Upon entering through the torn door, a passage caked with filth came into view.
‘Why isn’t the air leaking out?’
Jae-in marveled at how air remained sealed even as people passed through, glancing around in wonder.
[The Ark is the crystallization of magic. Containing air is a trivial matter. Follow me.]
Ricaros took the lead, with Bae Na-young and Jae-in following behind.
The passage was lined with filth on all sides—hardly a pleasant sight. Without the helmet, the stench alone might have made me retch.
[We reach a fork here. Let’s descend to the lower level.]
Following Ricaros, I descended at the fork, moving slowly and restraining my abilities to avoid detection.
[In the lower level lies the urn of souls that propels the vessel. If any spirit within harbors vengeance against Brixel, I shall absorb them. And with that power, I will personally eliminate both Brixel and Exbog.]
“Exbog is the Giant Race member we fought in Japan, isn’t he? One of your own kind, right?”
[That shameless traitor, ignorant of honor, fills me with unbearable shame that he bears the name of the Giant Race.]
“You didn’t feel that way when you boarded the Ark, did you?”
[True. But I cannot blame him alone. Though deceived, I too am guilty.]
“What happened?”
[Our planet suffered a catastrophic defeat in war. We were on the brink of annihilation by the Destruction God. When the last handful of Giant Race survivors abandoned all hope, the Ark appeared….]
Ricaros began recounting the tale of the past.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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