Chapter 611 - Automaton Stark

Stark appeared regal and impregnable as he stood among the hail of bullets from the other mechs.

Han Wu’s fighting spirit soared, and he took a deep breath to center himself.

“Come on then!” he cried, clapping and activating his Divine Ring. The Divine Ring took the form of the Great Dragon Ring.

He then transformed into the Black Dragon King. With the effects of his Divine Ring, his Dragon Fear shook the entire area. His presence shocked even the most seasoned of hunters.

Stark glared at Han Wu, or more specifically, at his arms, which had taken the form of mechanical dragon claws. For some reason, a foreboding sense of danger prickled up his spine when he saw them.

Unfortunately, the presence of his underlings meant he couldn’t afford to consider surrendering. Propelling himself forward with two blasts from his palms, he kicked at Han Wu with an electrified leg.

Han Wu was extremely experienced in battle. The moment he saw Stark move, he had already guessed his plan and preemptively raised his arms to guard.

The electrified kick connected without a sound. The electricity surged into Han Wu’s arms like mud into the water, dealing no damage to Han Wu. On the contrary, Stark felt his leg go numb, and he quickly jumped back.

Looking down, he noticed that the armor on his leg was missing.

My mech armor is forged from extremely durable Blacksteel. How could it just disappear?

he thought in bewilderment. Eyeing Han Wu, he pondered,

It was still there when I fought against the two automatons. Did Han Wu steal them away?

Another wave of HEAT rounds fired at Han Wu. The latter blocked them with his arms. Even Han Wu himself assumed that the barrage would push him back a few steps, but unexpectedly, the bullets simply disappeared with a puff upon contact with his arms.

When Stark saw this, he finally understood the reason behind his armor’s disappearance. Something was indeed wrong with Han Wu’s arms.

This was also the first time Han Wu had noticed this, but he was quick to accept it without question. After all, it seemed logical for the arms of the Machine God to suppress and overpower anything mechanical or metallic.

Deciding to forego melee combat, Stark opted to use his firepower instead. He gathered energy into his palm, waiting until the brilliant light appeared solid before firing it at Han Wu.

Han Wu didn’t back down, turning his right arm into a laser cannon with a swift retaliating shot. The two lasers collided in midair before exploding, matched in power.

Stark frowned at the realization that he couldn’t defeat Han Wu in long-range combat either. As he was mulling over whether to use the item buried deep beneath the Weeping Mines, Han Wu interrupted his train of thought.

“Are you done? My turn.”

Han Wu’s body flickered, appearing beside Stark and swiping at him with his mechanical dragon claws. The blow was both heavy and destructive against mechanical objects.

In just a few blows, Stark lost most of his armor, exposing his vulnerable body within. Han Wu then landed a final blow.

Stark neither feared nor avoided it. In fact, he conversely anticipated it with a bizarre eagerness. Han Wu’s dragon claws crushed Stark’s body to pieces, and his vitality faded as he turned into a mangled corpse.

Han Wu pouted in dissatisfaction. Stark was the first enemy he had to take seriously since entering the Lawless Civilization. Unfortunately, even he seemed weak against a World life form.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

As Han Wu moved to destroy the remaining mechs, he sensed a strange energy gathering in the Weeping Mines. The convergence point was at Stark’s body.

He was already aware of the tiny microscopic machines in the Weeping Mines and naturally knew that Stark would turn into one as well.

But isn’t this a bit much? Why is there so much energy?

A powerful gust enveloped Stark’s body. If one were to observe this wind with a microscope, one would find that it was actually a swarm of microscopic machines. These machines infiltrated Stark’s body, hastening the conversion process.

Stark’s body was fortified repeatedly.

The wind stopped as abruptly as it started, and Stark’s body suddenly sat up. He had turned into a five-meter-tall automaton. Eight sharp appendages sprouted from his back, a thick armor plating covered his form, and his arms had morphed into weapons.

One of his arms had turned into a warhammer containing the power of lightning, and the other into a cannon barrel with a 10-centimeter diameter. An irregular halo of unknown metal floated above his head.

Although already wary, the halo in particular sent alarm bells ringing in Han Wu’s head. While the size and position of the halo were different, he knew it was akin to a Divine Ring—a Divine Halo unique to Stark.

Its enhancement made Stark ten times stronger than before. Moreover, even after becoming an automaton, Stark had somehow maintained his awareness and could still speak.

“It’s amazing that you could force me to this state. Yield, and I will spare you before turning you into my underling.”

Han Wu was in shock. A transformed automaton was no longer a living life form and couldn’t retain its memory or speech capabilities.

What makes Stark different from the others?

Han Wu silently pondered.

Meanwhile, Stark took Han Wu’s silence as another rejection. “Since you’re unwilling to become my underling, you will die in my hands. You’re strong, but not unstoppable.”

Stark charged forward with speed rivaling that of lightning. The coordination of his hammer and cannon was immaculate. His hammer dealt powerful lightning blows in tandem with the explosive cannon fire.

The eight sharp appendages behind him were extremely nimble and acted as blades. One wrong move and they would stab into Han Wu. Even Han Wu, with arms that could suppress all things machine, felt pressured against Stark’s incessant attacks.

Stark damaged and destroyed many of Han Wu’s dragon scales. While Han Wu could heal fast, this wasn’t something he could sustain forever. He had to change the way he fought, and fast.