[Chapter 285. Close-Quarters]

He simply began to walk up to them, his defensive drones forming a shimmering wall of energy that moved forward with every measured step. The sound of his boots on the stone floor was nearly drowned out by the cacophony of magic and steel—a steady, deliberate rhythm amidst the chaos of battle. The barrier flickered with each impact, its blue light casting shadows across the corridor walls. He could feel the heat from the fire spells and the static electricity from the lightning, each attack testing the limits of his defenses. His mind raced, calculating the energy output, the rate of depletion, and the diminishing integrity of his shield.

`If you don't want to come to me, I'll come to you.`

With that thought, he dashed forward, his legs pumping as he closed the distance between himself and the Gatura formation. The barrier moved with him, a mobile fortress blocking every incoming attack. The first layer of his defense shattered when he was halfway there, the hexagonal pattern fracturing into fragments of light before dissipating. The second layer held, but it flickered violently, its blue light dimming with each successive impact. He could see the commanding Gatura adjusting its position, its movements becoming more aggressive as it sensed his approach.

Then the Guards shields began to glow with that familiar yellow-green energy, the intensity rapidly increasing. In the next moment, they flew forward as if launched from a cannon, their heavily armored forms propelled by some unseen force, shields held in front of them like battering rams.

Searanox had anticipated this move. Instead of bracing for impact, he stepped aside at the last possible second, his body pressing against the cold stone wall as four Guards hurtled past him down the corridor. He shifted the defensive drones to cover the space directly in front of him, pressing himself as flat against the wall as possible while his machines hovered above.

The moment the Guards were past, he commanded the barriers to seal off both sides of him, the drones adjusting their positions with flawless precision. Trapping the Guards in the corridor behind him and exposing the remaining Gatura in front to the full fury of his assault. Without the protection of the Guards and their deflection abilities, his offensive drones began to cull them out, their beams cutting through the enemy ranks.

To his dismay, the Gatura commander exhibited the same infuriating deflection ability as its Guards, moving with a fluid grace that belied its bulky frame. Every beam of energy Searanox's drones fired toward the commanding Gatura was met with a sweep of its halberd, the weapon glowing with that same pale energy as it intercepted the attacks with uncanny precision. The commander moved in perfect sync with its warriors, using their bodies as cover while simultaneously deflecting beams that would have struck the ranged units positioned behind them.

It was a coordinated dance of death that frustrated Searanox to no end. His drones were essentially being neutralized by this tactical intelligence, their powerful shots rendered useless by superior strategy rather than raw power. Searanox adjusted his approach on the fly, recognizing that overwhelming force alone wasn't going to break this formation.

"Time for some close-quarters work," he muttered under his breath, the words barely audible over the din of battle.

Searanox left his offensive drones to continue their assault on the commander and the ranged units. Their beams created a constant barrage of energy that, while mostly ineffective, kept the enemy occupied. He dashed back toward the trapped Guards, his movements swift as he closed the distance. Behind him, the corridor echoed with the sounds of drone beams striking the halberd and the occasional pained grunt when a shot managed to slip through.

The first Guard was already struggling to free itself from the wall where it had crashed, its heavy armor scraping against stone as it tried to regain its footing. Searanox paid it no mind, instead launching himself at the second Guard, his dagger gleaming with deadly purpose in the dim light.

With a fluid motion, Searanox drove the blade deep into the second Guard's temple, finding the weak point between the helmet and armor plate. The beast let out a guttural, choking sound as it fell dead to the floor, its body crumpling with a heavy thud.

While the third Guard was still busy extracting itself from the rubble, its movements clumsy and hampered by its bulky armor, Searanox pivoted and lunged at the fourth. This one was more prepared, swinging its shield wildly in a desperate attempt to keep him at bay. Searanox ducked under the clumsy arc, slipping inside the Guard's reach and thrusting upward with his dagger. The point found the soft tissue beneath the jaw, piercing through to the brain with a sickening crunch. It dropped without a sound, its body twitching once before going still.

Only the first Guard, now freed from the wall, remained—turning to face him with murder in its eyes. Searanox didn't give it the chance to strike, closing the gap in a blink and driving his blade through its exposed throat.

With the immediate threats eliminated, Searanox turned back toward the main battle, his attention shifting to the commander and its remaining forces. His drones had managed to kill most of the warriors and two mages, but the commander had proven alarmingly adaptive. It had sacrificed its remaining warriors, using their bodies as living shields to absorb whatever attacks slipped past its guard. The mages huddled behind this makeshift barricade, their staffs still glowing with purple energy as they continued their assault from relative safety. The commander itself stood as the ultimate barrier, its halberd moving with impossible speed as it deflected every beam that threatened the backline. The situation had devolved into a stalemate, with his drones unable to break through to the vulnerable ranged units, and the commander unwilling to expose itself to a direct attack.

`Clever little shit. Not as brain-dead as I thought.`

Searanox's respect for his adversary grew, even as his frustration mounted. This Gatura was operating on a level of tactical intelligence he hadn't encountered in this dungeon yet. It had identified the primary threat and developed a counter-strategy that neutralized his advantages while maintaining offensive pressure. The creature was adapting in real-time, learning from his tactics and responding with calculated precision. This was no longer just a battle of strength; it was a contest of wits, and Searanox found himself reluctantly impressed by his opponent's resourcefulness.

He moved forward under the protection of his remaining defensive drone. The hexagonal barrier shimmered erratically; one of its companion drones had already been rendered useless, its second layer breached just as he was finishing off the Guards in the back. The air thickened with the acrid smell of burnt stone as his assault and offensive drones provided a constant barrage of attacks, illuminating the corridor with flashes of crimson and violet energy.

The commanding Gatura was frantically busy deflecting, its halberd moving with impossible speed as it intercepted beam after beam. With its front line already dead and gone, the beast stood as the sole barrier protecting the half-dozen mages huddled behind it.

As Searanox closed the distance, an idea formed in his mind. When he was close enough, he decided to test a theory, thrusting his rifle forward with deliberate intent. Since the Gatura couldn't stop deflecting the drone beams without leaving itself vulnerable to them, it couldn't block his physical advance. His barrel made contact with the beast's armored chest plate, the cold steel pressing against the metal with a faint scrape.

A fraction of a second later, the violet beam from his rifle tore through the commander's chest cavity as the energy weapon discharged at point-blank range. The intense light illuminated the creature's shocked face for a moment before the beam punched clean through its body and into the mage directly behind it, killing both of them in one devastating shot.

The commander's body collapsed with a heavy thud, its halberd clattering to the stone floor with a metallic ring that echoed in the sudden silence. With the commander gone, his drones were now free to dispatch the remaining stragglers, their beams finding their targets with lethal precision as the enemy formation crumbled without its leader.

Not totally immune to ranged attacks... or did it not count as one since I practically touched it with the barrel before firing? Or was it just the halberd that could deflect them? That deflection ability seems specific to the weapon rather than an innate power. That would explain why it could intercept drone beams from a distance but couldn't react to a contact shot. Something to remember for future encounters.

Searanox pondered this as he brought up the System window for the dead commander, the blue holographic display materializing in the air before him as he stood amidst the aftermath of the battle.

"Not a Guard, but an Elite... Seems like I'll have to test that again on one with a shield," he muttered to himself. His words echoed softly in the deathly quiet of the stone corridor as he stepped over the Gatura's cooling corpse, its black fur already starting to mat with the dark blood pooling on the flagstones.