Don't Stop! Strike the Fatal Blow!

Fabien did not rush forward. He raised a hand, signaling the control team to launch another volley of Alchemical Flash Rounds.

Several flares arced into the air one after another.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Pallid light spread in overlapping halos, illuminating the ruined ground at the outer edge.

An entire belt of heavy-shelled stitched creatures lay there. They slowly raised their heads like low walls coming to life.

Their outer shells were densely wrapped in the remains of various creatures, thick planks, and all manner of bizarre objects.

The shells had been stitched tighter, and the Gray-Red Blight Threads that had been exposed earlier had vanished completely.

Most of each creature had sunk deep into the bloody mud. Only when one moved did a strip of dark red show beneath a seam, before it was swiftly dragged back in.

Beside Fabien, a Mobile Knight stared at the heavy shells and cursed under his breath. "Bastards. They've hidden their bodies underneath."

Fabien's gaze turned icy. These things could hardly be called intelligent, but they had a vicious instinct for avoiding danger.

That earlier slash had cut through one's skin and taught it to protect its vital point.

If the mobile unit tried to cut through by the same tactic, the heavy shells would pin them down.

From the high platform of White Fang Fief's Inner Fortress, Otto saw it clearly too. This round was far from over, and the breath he had just let out caught hard in his chest.

Uneasy, he descended the platform with his Silver Staff and went to inspect the firing positions himself.

The winches of the Light Steam Repeating Crossbows glowed red-hot. Each turn felt to the Repeater Crossbowmen like wrenching apart rusted iron teeth, and their palms and the webs of their hands were covered in