Chapter 292: Senior, Your… Really Works Well!

【NAME: MEBIS Curse Silver (Curse, Flesh, Metal)】

【APPEARANCE: Lustrous silver special metal…】

【ABILITY: Curse Amplification, Flesh Assimilation, Metal Body】

【COST: The user's five senses will be permanently halved, and the soul will suffer irreversible damage (waived if granted permission by the original holder)】

【FILE: The city of Mebis, rich in silver mines, was once one of the kingdom's most vital mining cities. Since its initial construction over three hundred years ago, it has annually paid the kingdom an extremely substantial tax and mineral tribute.】

Until eleven years ago, the secret society "Earth Essence" attacked Mebis City, causing thirty-six hundred and fifteen residents in the city center to be corroded by silver rain falling from the sky, all transformed into immobile metal statues—except one young man named Piony Alpha, who escaped and joined the Cleansing Bureau's Virgin Division the following year…】

Later, during a surprise assault on the Boarding Tower, Piony Alpha, unable to act himself, voluntarily relinquished partial ownership of the Curse Silver, temporarily transferring it to Leon Rayne, hoping to help him escape safely…

【EVALUATION: An extremely powerful anomaly, but this Curse Silver does not fully belong to you—its most crucial portion still belongs to its former holder. Do not forget to return that part to him.】

【CONTAMINATION LEVEL: 19. (5. )】

【Your contamination level has increased】

…

"Splash!"

As if sensing Leon's presence, the shiny silver buttocks twitched twice, then shifted from solid to liquid, dissolving with a splash—leaving only…

╰v╯

Got it. Thank you, Senior, for your help. I'll bring this crucial part back to you.

Seeing this, Leon's lips twitched slightly. He first ordered Little Ha to retrieve Piony Senior's remains, then cautiously extended his will toward the mercury-like liquid metal on the ground.

"Hum!"

With a sound like a trembling blade, the mercury-like metal twisted and reshaped under Leon's will, instantly forming a thin, slender silver sword that slashed at the nearby thermos.

"Clang!"

A sharp, crisp metallic clash rang out—the iron thermos borrowed by the red-haired director split open like soft tofu, cracking cleanly in half.

And it wasn't just the thermos—the ground beneath it also failed to withstand the strike, cleaved into a narrow, half-meter-deep groove.

So sharp?!

Watching the destruction caused by the Curse Silver sword, Leon's eyebrows lifted slightly.

No wonder it's an anomaly nearing 20 contamination points—just a casual strike caused this much damage. If I put more effort into it, I could probably cut through a pneumatic shield twenty centimeters thick.

Piony Senior's buttocks, while not as versatile as my Holy Pendant, lack speed and stealth, and their "range" is only two or three meters—beyond that, control is lost.

But in raw destructive power, the slashes from the Curse Silver weapon far surpass the Holy Pendant, which can only pierce a few centimeters of steel plate.

As for defensive capability…

After attempting to split the Curse Silver mass in two—a contradictory test—and watching the hardened Curse Silver shield effortlessly block a thrust, Leon exhaled in relief, now understanding its protective potential.

Also incredibly strong!

It seems Piony Senior guessed I'd come looking for his buttocks, so he temporarily transferred control of this portion to me, hoping to lend a hand.

My own anomalies have been sealed one after another; though the 【War Opposite】 hasn't fully failed and Little Ha's electric therapy can still handle enemies, my defensive and offensive options are critically lacking—this help arrived at the perfect moment!

After sincerely thanking Piony Senior, overjoyed Leon immediately commanded the Curse Silver sword to float, trying to test "sword flight" to escape before other guards arrived.

But unfortunately, Piony Senior's buttocks don't support such an operation.

The instant Leon's feet left the ground, the Curse Silver mass—which had previously moved freely in air and even formed a giant hand to grasp objects—lost all vitality, liquefied, and collapsed back down.

Is this because Curse Silver, as a mineral, draws power from the earth? Or because Piony Senior himself is afraid of heights?

After two failed attempts, Leon abandoned the idea of flying away. Instead, like he normally does with his Holy Pendant, he used his will to spread the Curse Silver into a protective barrier around himself, then sprinted away from the Boarding Tower.

Must speed up.

After breaking through the encirclement beneath the tower, I was ambushed by the Snake Spirit of the Scale Gold Sect, then spent time testing Piony Senior's buttocks—if I don't move faster now, I'll be trapped by the reinforcements.

…

"Suspicious target spotted! Quick! Sound the alarm!"

Seeing a shimmering silver glow racing across the plain, the lookout soldier tensed, blew the alert horn, then immediately waved flags in the distance.

Seven o'clock direction: one target, possibly armed with a special weapon?

Squinting at the lookout tower, decoding the flag signals, the commander leading a squad of twenty powered suits en route to the Boarding Tower gestured with his powered suit's arm toward a squad member behind him, then pointed to nine o'clock and made a grabbing motion, signaling him to confirm the target.

Amid the muffled alarm horn, the squad member gave a confirming gesture, immediately slowed, broke formation, and changed course to pursue the target.

Hope this goes smoothly…

Ignoring this minor incident, the commander of the powered suit squad sighed, watching the airship's gasbag still smoldering atop the Boarding Tower. He adjusted the suit's pressure gauge, slightly increasing his speed.

Though I'm not part of the direct Boarding Tower guard force—just a military unit dispatched for emergency rotation—I'm only supposed to assist in defense if a large number of hostile targets appear.

But this disturbance is massive—even a Krook Kingdom airship was burned. Even with only auxiliary responsibility, I'll likely be held accountable.

Those damn attackers… why couldn't they strike any time but now, when I was assigned to assist?

Right now, I just hope I arrive in time to intercept—or even kill—the attackers, to lessen my own culpability.

Otherwise, even if I'm not the primary responsible party, just bearing some collateral liability might stall my promotion for years—I'll be stuck in this position for at least three to seven years…

"Duu… duuduu!"

As the commander of the powered suit squad was lost in thought while moving, the muffled alarm horn sounded again—this time far more urgent.

He opened his scope in surprise, glancing at the lookout tower—the flags had changed from beige to a higher alert level: deep orange.

Nine o'clock direction: same target. My dispatched unit was defeated?

Estimating the time since his squad member left, the commander's expression hardened.

According to the lookout's flag signals, the suspicious target isn't a powered suit—it's a foot soldier carrying an unknown weapon.

Yet my squad member, piloting a four-meter-tall powered suit, was defeated so quickly? What weapon does that man have?

"You go!"

Slightly slowing, he gestured to open the hatch, then shouted directly to his deputy's powered suit:

"Dangerous target at nine o'clock. Take two men, find out what's happening!"

"Understood."

The deputy nodded, selected two men from the squad, and three towering powered suits slowed, broke formation, and headed toward nine o'clock.

Logically, a trio of powered suits could easily take a position defended by hundreds of soldiers—sending them after a lone foot soldier with an unknown weapon is overkill.

But the previous unit fell too fast. The commander was uncertain, so he opted for caution: he dispatched excess manpower to locate the target and ordered the entire squad to reduce speed, ready to turn back and reinforce.

This time, the wait for feedback was longer—but not by much. Soon, an even more frantic alarm horn blared, and the lookout tower's flags changed color again.

Red flag? The second-highest alert, just below black?

Seeing the flag color, the commander's heart lurched. He pressed his eye to the scope, straining to read the flag signals.

Eleven o'clock direction: same target. All units defeated?!

"Turn back!"

Sensing something wrong, the commander flung open his hatch and barked to the squad behind him:

"Last ten powered suits keep advancing. The rest—raise pressure to yellow zone! Eleven o'clock, full speed to reinforce!"

…

Indeed, running on two legs is too slow.

In his soul vision, Leon spotted several souls approaching at sixty to seventy kilometers per hour. He frowned, then shaped the Curse Silver into a crowbar and jammed it into the hidden hatch on the powered suit's back.

"Squeak!"

With the immense force granted by five contamination points and the Curse Silver crowbar's enhancement, the solid hatch—thick as a pneumatic shield—groaned as metal bent, then burst open, revealing a complex gear assembly and, at its center, a massive energy core wrapped in purple-red copper casing.

Not bad. This one still has plenty left.

Peering through the translucent resin gauge, Leon nodded in satisfaction at the deep purple liquid inside the core. He used the Curse Silver crowbar to pry aside copper wires and deformed gears, hooked the tail of the core held by a thick spring, and began prying with a grating squeal.

"You're dead!"

Spitting out dirt from his mouth, the deputy, dragged from the cockpit and thrown to the ground, clenched his teeth and shouted, his golden hair gleaming:

"If you're not the mastermind, attacking the Boarding Tower might not be a death sentence—but sabotaging military powered suits and stealing their energy cores? Each is a capital offense!"

"Squeak"

"Stop! Do you know what you're doing? These powered suits are private property of the Rayne family!"

"Squeak squeak"

"Don't pry! Our new Duke Rayne is about to marry into the royal family and reclaim the Upper Academy! Even if you escape today, the entire kingdom will hunt you!"

"Squeak squeak squeak"

"Are you even listening to me?!"

I'm listening. Of course I'm listening.

Glancing back at the golden-haired youth, Leon—who had already circled the spring—gave him an ambiguous smile, then stomped on the Curse Silver crowbar and snapped the energy core free with a crack.

Remember what the automaton "Atif 128" said in the airship: if I connect the powered suit's energy core to her, she'll reactivate. And these aren't easy to come by—when the chance arises, grab as many as possible.

"That's the Rayne family's property! Damn it! Put it down!"

Watching Leon pick up the energy core worth over ten thousand gold wheels and casually dump it on the ground, piling it with three others, the deputy's gut twisted in anguish as he roared:

"You're finished! The Rayne family will never let you go—your wanted posters will hang on every notice board in the kingdom!"

Yeah, yeah, sure.

After signaling Little Ha to collect the piled cores, Leon leapt from the fallen powered suit, ignoring the furious glares of the golden-haired men. As he turned to flee, a rhythmic rumbling rose from afar.

Leon squinted—twelve towering powered suits, each over four meters tall, had emerged from the distance, charging through clouds of dust straight toward him. Their target was unmistakably him.

They're here fast…

Watching the mechanical beasts thundering toward him, hearing the growing roar of steam engines, Leon clicked his tongue. He turned to run—when the golden-haired youth shouted again:

"I told you—you're dead!"

Glaring fiercely at the Leon before him, the aide from the Lyon family shook his golden hair and grinned with delight:

"You barely survived blowing up all three of us—now you're facing this many? You're dead for sure! And our captain's different—he's got power armor bought at a premium from the Kingdom of Krok… What are you doing?!"

"You're right—I can't hold off this many power armors. Just their ranged weapons would be enough to finish me."

After answering off-topic, Leon pulled out a rope, tied the terrified golden-haired aide to his own back, then slung him over his shoulders and sprinted off while calmly replying:

"To avoid getting blown to bits by all those cannons, I'll have to ask you to take one for me… Oh, and I promise you—your Lyon family's new Duke will sincerely thank you for your sacrifice!"