Chapter 63: Where Is My Big Brother Svarog

Just as the turret was about to fire, Chen made no move to stop it.

After all, a little show of force was not only necessary but could also save him a great deal of trouble down the line.

So, he simply issued a crisp command.

“Geo-Map!

Correct target!”

“Aim upward.

A warning shot!”

“Com…mand…re…ceived…tar…get…cali…brating…” the little robot, still in its turret configuration, responded with a synthesized, stuttering voice.

In a blink, the barrel of the weapon canted upward, the shift in angle so minute it was nearly imperceptible to the naked eye.

It locked onto a section of the cavern’s ceiling that was both solid and free of any crucial support structures.

Hum—Zzt—!!!

The crimson glow at the turret’s heart, having charged to its absolute peak, suddenly erupted.

A highly condensed beam of dark red energy lanced out!

The beam was as thick as a man’s wrist, yet it was so dense with power it looked less like light and more like a solid, physical rod of crimson steel.

Boom!!!

The energy beam struck the cavern ceiling with pinpoint precision.

There was no explosion.

Instead, it plunged into the stone with a muted hiss, sinking in like the universe’s sharpest drill bit.

It left behind a perfectly circular, seemingly bottomless hole, its edges vitrified and smooth as glass.

Immediately after, with the hole as its epicenter, a terrifying web of cracks spiderwebbed across the hard rock wall, accompanied by a series of sharp, cracking sounds.

A shower of fine stone chips and gritty dust rained down, pattering against the metal floors and the frozen Vagrants below.

The entire cavern seemed to shudder in the aftershock.

Time in the makeshift camp ground to a halt.

Every single Vagrant, including the burly man who had nearly been vaporized, was frozen solid.

Their eyes were stretched wide, staring fixedly at the shocking hole and the fractured rock of the ceiling.

Their mouths hung open, but no sound could escape their constricted throats.

Any lingering trace of greed or hostility that might have been brewing in their hearts was utterly crushed.

The power of that single strike… if it had hit a person…

Or if it had struck one of the camp’s fragile support beams… The consequences were unthinkable.

As this dead silence deepened and the dust slowly began to settle, a new sound shattered the stillness.

“Clang!

Clank!

Clang!”

Not far away, the giant, heavy gate began to move.

Accompanied by the ponderous grinding of heavy machinery, it slowly slid open to either side.

The rhythmic, uniform sound of metal footsteps echoed from within the darkness beyond.

The first to step through the gate was not the Svarog that Chen had been expecting.

It was a massive figure completely unfamiliar to him.

This was a robot far taller and more heavily built than the Svarog from his memories of the game.

Its chassis was a rugged mix of dark bronze and iron-gray plating, the kind of metal that looked as if it had been tempered not in a forge, but by ages of unrelenting conflict.

The armor plates were a proof of a long life, covered in fine scratches and the tell-tale marks of countless repairs, yet these imperfections only made it look more ancient and formidable.

Its head was no simple helmet.

It was a complex assembly of multi-layered sensor arrays and radiating heat sinks, resembling the majestic war-helm of an ancient, forgotten king.

A single, central optical sensor glowed with a constant, cold blue light.

That light slowly swept across the scene, its gaze finally fixing on the damage to the ceiling and then on Chen, still in his Herta form.

Behind this behemoth, no fewer than a dozen familiar, smaller mechanical monsters were lined up in neat, silent ranks.

They simply stood there, an army awaiting orders.

Chen’s eyes widened, a storm of questions erupting in his mind.

Who is this?

He stared at the oppressive, dark bronze robot leader, his mind frantically sifting through his game memories.

Where is my Big Brother Svarog?

Was there even a character like this in the game?

With an entrance like that, there was no doubt this machine was the one in charge of the Mechanical Settlement.

Could it be…?

Chen took a deep, steadying breath, forcing the frantic thoughts down.

He had to get a clear answer first.

He took a step forward, tilting his head back to look up at the towering automaton, and shouted, “Hey!

You!

Who are you?!

Where’s Big Brother Svarog?!”

After yelling, he felt that wasn’t quite direct enough.

He added another question, his voice laced with incredulous suspicion.

“Are you Svarog?”

The moment his voice faded, the blue light of the robot’s central eye flickered.

It didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, its massive head slowly turned, the single blue optic sweeping over the bottomless hole in the ceiling.

Then, it scanned the weaponized machine still in its turret form on the ground.

Finally, its gaze fell back upon Chen’s face.

“Outsider.” The voice was a deep, synthesized monotone, devoid of any emotion.

“Detected: unknown model of mechanical creation.

Detected: high-intensity energy impact.”

“All unauthorized destructive behavior is prohibited within this area.”

It hadn’t answered a single one of Chen’s questions, instead issuing a cold series of warnings.

Chen’s brow furrowed, his suspicion solidifying into a grim theory.

Did he really get usurped?

Refusing to give up, he took two steps closer and raised his voice again.

“Cut the nonsense!

I’m asking you, where is Svarog?!”

“Who the hell are you?!

Are you one of his subordinates?

Or…”

Before he could finish, the blue light in the dark bronze robot’s eye suddenly sharpened.

“Outsider.

Repeating warning.

Disarm your weapon immediately and stand by for processing.”

“Failure to comply will result in consequences.”

The merciless warning cut him off, making him choke on his words for a second.

Then, he raised an eyebrow and let out a sneer.

In his Herta form, his expression shifted.

His eyes narrowed, instantly taking on the sharp, dismissive glint of a genius creator looking at a malfunctioning toy.

Instead of backing down, he crossed his arms and paced two more steps forward, closing the distance.

“Wow.

You’ve got some nerve, talking to me like that.”

“Do your creators know you’re this brave?”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it dripped with the unshakeable arrogance of a true genius.

His gaze swept over the gaps in the dark bronze robot’s armor, as if he were already dissecting it.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll strip you down for parts?

Geo-Map could always use a spare battery.”

As he spoke, he raised a finger and pointed at the small robot on the ground, still in its turret form.

The gesture was pure provocation.

As if it had received a silent command, Geo-Map’s muzzle swiveled, and a trace of red light once again began to glow at its tip.

While not as terrifyingly powerful as the initial charge, it was more than enough to convey a clear signal: ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

The playful smile vanished from Chen’s voice, replaced by a chilling calm.

“I’ll ask one last time.”

“Where is Svarog?

And just what are you?”

[Elysian’s Note:

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