"Everyone, retreat!"
Althea’s voice was calm, yet urgent enough that everyone nearby reacted almost instinctively. The Sentinels positioned outside immediately disengaged, while Atom abandoned its pursuit and leaped backward with astonishing speed. Even the soldiers stationed on the walls stepped away from the edge as they hurried to follow the order.
Wallace frowned.
"What is it?"
"The formation."
Althea’s eyes never left the battlefield.
"They’re surrounding Atom."
Only then did Wallace notice it as well.
The Diggers were no longer attacking randomly. Each machine had stopped at a specific distance from Atom, forming a rough circle around the S-Grade Sentinel. There was no hesitation in their movements, nor any attempt to break through the barrier again. It was as though every one of them had received the exact same command at the exact same moment.
That wasn’t normal.
These machines had acted aggressively from the moment they surfaced, but now they had suddenly become disciplined.
A bad feeling settled in Althea’s chest.
"Atom!" she shouted. "Move away from them!"
The black Sentinel reacted immediately.
Its legs pushed against the ground, and the several-ton machine shot backward like a cannonball, crossing dozens of meters in the blink of an eye.
It was just in time.
The first Digger suddenly opened the armored plates around its drill-shaped head.
Instead of releasing the familiar Bomber Swarmers that Codebreakers had encountered before, a thick stream of dark green gas burst out under tremendous pressure.
PSSSSHHH—
The poisonous cloud spread across the battlefield with frightening speed.
Then the second Digger activated.
Another torrent of green gas erupted into the air.
The third.
The fourth.
Within only a few seconds, every Digger surrounding the area released the same substance. Thick clouds rolled across the ground before rapidly rising higher, merging together into a massive poisonous fog that swallowed the battlefield.
"What the hell is that?"
Wallace instinctively covered his nose despite standing safely behind the barrier.
No one answered.
They simply watched as the green cloud continued expanding until it completely concealed every D-Grade machines, every crater, and every trace of the battlefield beneath a sea of poisonous mist.
The visibility outside the shelter dropped to almost nothing.
Even the Sentinels’ optical sensors began reporting interference as the dense gas distorted thermal signatures and reduced their effective detection range.
"It’s blocking vision..." Victor muttered.
"No..." Althea replied quietly.
"It isn’t just smoke."
She watched as the poisonous cloud drifted toward the Advanced Barrier.
The moment it touched the shimmering wall of energy, faint ripples spread across the barrier’s surface.
One ripple.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Wallace’s expression stiffened.
"The poison is affecting the barrier?"
Before anyone could answer, the barrier’s energy level suddenly dropped by a fraction of a percent.
It wasn’t much, but it was still happening...
Everyone monitoring the defensive systems noticed it immediately.
The poison wasn’t merely toxic... it was corrosive.
It was eating away at the Advanced Barrier itself.
Silence fell across the command center.
Only now did they understand the true purpose of the Diggers.
Destroying the barrier with their drills had never been the real objective.
The drills had merely been meant to keep everyone’s attention focused on a direct assault.
Their actual weapon was the poisonous gas now slowly blanketing the battlefield.
***
The poisonous or corrosive fog continued spreading across the battlefield, growing denser with every passing second until the entire area outside the shelter had been swallowed by the dark green cloud.
Nothing could be seen anymore.
The Diggers had completely disappeared inside the poisonous mist.
Only the constant hissing of escaping gas and the rumbling of heavy machinery could be heard from within, making it impossible to tell where the enemy was hiding.
Even the Sentinels stationed along the walls began reporting errors.
Their optical sensors were struggling to penetrate the dense cloud, while thermal imaging became increasingly unreliable as the poisonous substance interfered with their readings.
The battlefield had effectively become blind.
"Can Atom still fight in there?" Wallace asked, unable to hide the concern in his voice.
Before anyone could answer, Althea calmly looked toward one of the operators monitoring Atom’s status.
It was Victor himself, with his special eyes that could quickly examine mechanical objects using his skill.
"Atom’s systems are functioning normally."
"What about the poison?"
"No corrosion detected."
Several people inside the shelter were impressed.
No corrosion?
The poisonous gas was slowly consuming the Advanced Barrier, yet it couldn’t even damage Atom’s outer armor?
Victor couldn’t help but smile.
"Of course..."
"That armor wasn’t built with ordinary alloys. That’s Aetherium for you..."
Everyone inside the shelter remained focused on the battlefield.
Then...
A violent shockwave suddenly erupted from inside the poisonous cloud.
BOOOOM!
The thick mist was momentarily blown away as a massive mechanical body burst out of it like a cannonball.
One of the Diggers was thrown uncontrollably through the air before crashing into the ground nearly fifty meters away.
The machine bounced several times before finally sliding to a stop.
Its drill-shaped head had been completely crushed!
The armor protecting its front half had caved inward, exposing shattered gears, broken hydraulic lines, and sparks dancing wildly from torn circuits.
It didn’t move again.
"..."
Silence filled the watchtowers.
No one had actually seen what happened.
All they knew was that a B-Grade Digger had entered the poisonous cloud...
...and had been thrown back out as nothing more than scrap metal.
Another explosion echoed from inside the mist.
BOOM!
This time, a second Digger flew into the air.
Then a third.
The massive machines, each weighing several tons, were being launched from the poisonous cloud one after another as though some gigantic monster was throwing toys aside.
Crash!
Boom!
Crunch!
Every impact shook the surrounding ground.
Some Diggers lost their drills entirely.
Others had their armored bodies twisted beyond recognition.
One unfortunate machine struck another midair, causing both to explode into a rain of burning metal before they even reached the ground.
The soldiers standing atop the walls could only stare blankly.
"Is..."
"...is Atom throwing them?"
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