The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 341
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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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Chapter 341
Chapter 341
After completely occupying the Lower Front Line.
I immediately shut down the defensive installations that had been set up in the sea connected to Cronion’s Lower Front Line garrison.
Truly, this was Cronion’s work.
The defensive installations were formidable.
Fixed machine guns and various explosives installed facing the sea.
Even my Black Dragon Ship wouldn’t have been able to breach through easily.
And if they had lined up mecha scorpions along the coastline on top of that, it would have been even worse.
Not long after shutting down the defensive installations.
Whoooosh!
“It’s the Imperial Army!”
“Reinforcements?”
“I wish they’d bring plenty of supplies. The potions I prepared have already run out.”
“Same here.”
“I heard merchant-class players are risking their lives bringing potions to the frontline.”
“We’ve penetrated especially deep into the frontline, so it’ll take quite a while on foot.”
“That’s why we were waiting for the supply line.”
Imperial Army vessels began to appear.
And among them.
“Guild Master, it’s the Black Dragon Ship!”
“It seems our territory has sent out reinforcements as well.”
The ship I had boarded together when we defeated the White Aquatic Deity.
The Black Dragon Ship existed here too.
The number of ships following behind was enormous.
Not long after, they settled into the garrison, and the first person to disembark was someone I recognized.
“Marquis Mir!”
“Admiral Sidrin?”
“I have volunteered to take the field! Since Marquis Mir requested support, I must help!”
Sidrin, who had recently been promoted and now commanded the island that was once Pirate Island—now the Kalbera Maritime Military Base.
She had personally led a fleet here.
Following that.
“Thanks to the support from Belmore Territory and Kalbera Territory, we were able to prepare abundant supplies!”
“Belmore Territory?”
“Isn’t that the place you saved, Marquis? When they heard it was to support you, not only the Lord of Belmore but all the territory’s residents did their utmost to prepare various potions.”
“I see.”
“Thanks to Kalbera Territory also providing various supplies, we were able to prepare and arrive with a large quantity of provisions quickly.”
Supplies began to be unloaded.
Various potions, materials needed for equipment repairs and construction, temporary equipment for users whose gear had been damaged.
There was nothing lacking.
The sheer volume of supplies was staggering.
Enough for all the users to resupply themselves without any shortage.
“Our fleet will defend this Garrison. And those soldiers disembarking over there are reinforcements from the Empire. They’ll be placed under the Marquis’s command, so please utilize them as combat strength immediately.”
“Commander Mir! I deeply respect you! I look forward to serving under your command!”
“Whatever orders you give, I will stake my life to see them through!”
“Loyalty!”
“Haha, most of these soldiers come from common backgrounds like myself, so many of them hold great respect for Marquis Mir.”
With this, I no longer needed to station my own forces to defend the Garrison.
In truth, the users had been reluctant to take on Garrison defense—it offered few opportunities to accumulate merit, and their login schedules made it incompatible with constant defensive duties anyway.
Thanks to these reinforcements, I could now proceed with my next plan without hesitation.
And I was pleased with these new reinforcements as well.
“This is the latest war situation update.”
Sidrin then handed me a map.
But the battle situation marked on it looked far from favorable.
“Are we being pushed back?”
“Yes. Word has it that a mechanical weapon spewing black flames has appeared on the Central Front, and its destructive power apparently exceeds even that of the Knight Order.”
“A mechanical weapon spewing black flames….”
“Moreover, the number of monsters descending from the north has increased recently, making it difficult to spare troops. It seems we cannot even send reinforcements to the Central Front.”
A mechanical weapon spewing black flames.
It must be the mechanical weapon with Luke’s heart—the Black Heart—implanted within it.
This gave me yet another reason to head toward the Central Front.
“Will you depart immediately?”
The Legion commanders came to ask if I would head to the Central Front right away, but.
“What is the status of our users?”
“If we depart immediately, their numbers won’t be very large.”
“To increase the number of users, we’d need to set a time and coordinate their login schedules. For that… I think tomorrow would be appropriate.”
“But didn’t you say the Central Front is in danger? Wouldn’t it be better to go now, even if our numbers are slightly smaller?”
The problem was the users.
Unlike NPCs, users weren’t always logged into the game.
Even now, after the battle ended and we occupied the Garrison, quite a few users had logged out.
To gather them, it was better to set a specific time and give them a day’s notice.
Of course, the situation did seem somewhat pressing….
‘The Central Front won’t collapse immediately.’
While the situation was bad, the Imperial Army was far from weak.
Even now, though the front lines had been pushed back considerably, casualties remained relatively low.
Besides, the scale of the war on the Central Front exceeded our imagination.
Even though our users numbered in the tens of thousands, the scale of the war unfolding on the Central Front easily exceeded hundreds of thousands.
While our arrival would certainly help, it wouldn’t be enough to completely reverse the tide immediately.
Therefore.
“I will set a new time. After maximizing our user numbers, we will advance toward the Central Front.”
I decided to increase the number of users even slightly.
But that wasn’t all.
“I also have matters to attend to, so I’d appreciate it if you Legion Commanders could manage the troops for me.”
I needed time as well.
The Mecha Wolf, Mecha Scorpion, and Mecha Rhino.
I intended to properly research these mechanical weapons—spoils of war from this battle.
By doing so, I could not only grasp their weaknesses thoroughly.
‘Perhaps.’
If all went well, I might be able to seize enemy mechanical weapons just as I had in this battle.
* * *
The next day.
Having completed the crafting of an item for hacking mechanical weapons, I gazed at the magic stone in my hand with a satisfied smile.
No, it wasn’t a magic stone.
This was….
[ Dark Link ]
An item I had created to hack Cronion’s mechanical weapons and seize ownership of them.
Normally, hacking a mechanical weapon required layering formulas onto the magic stone that powered it and infusing mana, among other tedious steps.
But with this Dark Link, I could skip all those bothersome procedures.
Simply pressing the Dark Link against the mechanical weapon’s body would automatically layer the formulas.
Then, infusing mana would immediately transfer the mechanical weapon’s ownership to me.
Even if I encountered a new mechanical weapon rather than one of the existing three, I could hack it by simply adding new formulas—there was no item quite like this.
The downside, however.
‘Only I can use it.’
The Dark Link’s demanding nature.
Even with formulas inscribed, I had to adjust them depending on the situation, and modify them slightly based on where I made contact with the mechanical weapon.
It required magical knowledge, understanding of golems, and physical ability sufficient to make contact with mechanical weapons.
And on this battlefield, only I possessed such capability.
It was essentially my exclusive item.
Content with this reality.
“Commander. It’s time.”
The hour of deployment was approaching.
Since the Legion Commanders had gathered, I decided to share my research findings with them first.
“I’ve become capable of hacking mechanical weapons.”
“Pardon?”
“Is that truly possible?”
“Hahahaha! Remarkable!”
“However, I must make direct contact with the enemy mechanical weapon myself. Given how demanding the conditions are, it’s best not to hold too high expectations.”
“Hmm, that’s unfortunate. If others—or even we ourselves—could use it, we could rapidly seize enemy mechanical weapons.”
It was an excellent achievement, yet inevitably disappointing.
Because it was a method only I could employ.
However, the second research result was different.
“Next, the weaknesses of the mechanical weapons.”
“Weaknesses?”
“Such things existed?”
“Yes. First, the greatest weakness is the chip inside the mechanical weapon’s body. Like a golem’s core, if we destroy only this chip, the mechanical weapon stops functioning.”
“The location is….”
“The Mecha Wolf has it at the center of its chest. The Mecha Scorpion has it at the junction between tail and body. The Mecha Rhino has it at the center of its neck.”
“Hmm, that’s good, but those are all difficult places to attack.”
“Yes, so you should attack the wiring instead.”
“The wiring?”
“Think of it as the mechanical weapon’s nervous system—wiring that connects from the chip throughout the entire body. The wiring is connected right beneath the armor plating, so if you sever it, you can stop the movement of that section.”
“Ooh!”
“For example, with the Mecha Scorpion, if you sever the wiring through the gaps between the joints below its critical pincers and between the joints at the tail’s tip, you can immobilize both the pincers and the mana cannon.”
“Oooh!”
“Indeed, that should work.”
“This will be of great help.”
“Cronion’s armored soldiers are the same. After analyzing their armor, the largest gaps are below the neck and in the groin area, so attacking those spots or switching weapons to blunt instruments would be advisable.”
“We’re already in the process of switching the melee combat units’ weapons to blunt instruments.”
“For those with good accuracy, focusing attacks on those weak points might be faster.”
Not only the mechanical weapons but even the armored soldiers’ armor.
I had thoroughly researched every gap.
From the weak points themselves to the weak elemental properties.
Based on that, I distributed the ‘elemental coating agents’ supplied from Kalbera Territory to the soldiers.
Attacking with electricity or fire attributes would deal significant damage to enemies made of metal, after all.
Beyond that, I shared various results from researching Cronion’s characteristics.
“That’s incredible.”
“Hahaha! To complete such analysis in just one night! Remarkable!”
“I’ll relay this information to the users immediately.”
“With just this, the difficulty of battle will become much easier.”
The legion commanders withdrew with satisfied expressions.
They needed to inform the users under their command and distribute the supplies.
And shortly after.
“Commander, it’s time.”
“Understood.”
The time for sortie had arrived.
Upon reaching the platform, tens of thousands of users logged in on schedule and stood arrayed before me.
If the opposition were NPCs, I might need to deliver lengthy speeches to boost morale, but with users, such theatrics were unnecessary.
After all, even a principal’s speech in childhood never reached children’s ears, no matter how long it was, did it?
Given that.
Click.
I stepped before them, drawing my weapon.
“I’m heading out.”
I stated only what mattered.
“Waaaaaaah!”
“Let’s go!”
“Time to earn some merit!”
“Let’s smash through this war content!”
“This is what the game’s all about!”
The users erupted in cheers and began following behind me.
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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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