While Amanda and her soldiers slowly withdrew from the line of fire, continuing their retreat maneuvers, the air several hundred meters ahead suddenly grew heavy. In the space between earth and sky, a colossal rift measuring roughly fifty to sixty meters in length tore open. The area surrounding the rift was covered with visibly twisting mana energy, radiating an indescribable and ominous pressure into the surroundings.
Most of the tall buildings nearby had already suffered severe damage. Smoke and the roars of monsters rose from shattered floors, while fragments of broken glass and chunks of concrete were scattered across the streets. The roads were filled with deep craters; destroyed vehicles, high-pressure water bursting from ruptured pipelines, and aggressive monsters running in every direction had transformed the city into an unrecognizable battlefield.
Ninety-five percent of Tiger City had already been evacuated. Because of that, the soldiers stationed in the area had only one objective—to buy time. And for that purpose, even though they had taken heavy losses, they had fulfilled their mission.
At that moment, violent electrical activity began inside the massive rift. Crackling sounds resembling thunder spread across the surroundings. From within the rift, a gigantic arm with enormous claws—metallic and silver in color—slowly stretched outward. Soon after, a head made of the same alloy emerged, and within seconds the enormous being, standing fifty-five meters tall, fully stepped out of the rift.
Its skin, covered with silver-colored alloys, reflected the sunlight with a blinding brilliance. The moment the monster set foot in the city, it filled its lungs and roared with furious rage:
"RRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!"
The shockwave generated by the roar made everything in the square tremble. Windows of nearby buildings cracked one after another, and the ground itself shook. The terror emanating from the creature was so immense that nearby low-tier monsters fled in panic, while even the stronger ones stopped and stepped aside in fear—or perhaps respect.
Watching this entire scene from the top of a gigantic 102-story skyscraper approximately 120 kilometers away, the Omega squad occupied a strategic position. The structure they stood upon was the second tallest building in its region and the fourth tallest in the entire city. Its exterior was a remarkably sturdy structure covered with droplet-shaped glass panels, reinforced concrete, and climbing vines wrapping around its frame.
The leader of Omega squad calmly scanned the data reflected on the visor of his combat armor.
[ARCHIVE RECORD: ENTITY #042 – "STEEL GOLEM"]
[Classification: Titan Class / Magical Category (Titan Monster)]
[Threat Level: A – A+ (High Strategic Threat)]
[Biological Structure: Organic–Metal Hybrid]
[General Description and Physical Structure]
The Steel Golem, with its colossal body ranging between 32.3 and 66.7 meters in height, is considered one of the most destructive titans within the ecosystem. Its body is composed of a naturally occurring, extremely rare and exceptionally hard alloy known as "Moon Steel." Although its structure originates from organic roots, the creature's outer layer completely nullifies standard attacks.
[Behavior Patterns]
{The creature possesses a very low level of intelligence. Rather than developing complex strategies, it acts purely on destructive instinct. Once it identifies a target, it eliminates every obstacle in its path through sheer physical force without compromising its molecular integrity.}
[Defensive Capacity]
Its skin density is high enough to withstand the majority of attacks even from AA-class hunters. Conventional weapons—such as swords, spears, or low-caliber magic—cannot even leave a noticeable scratch upon its surface.
[Industrial Value and Resource Utilization]
{The Steel Golem is classified by hunter guilds as a "high-value target," not only for its destructive power but also because of the raw materials contained within its body.}
• Material Analysis: Alloys extracted from the creature's body are used in the production of armor and weapons ranging from D to A class in quality.
• Construction Use: The steel obtained from it is highly preferred as a critical component in structures designed to bear extreme loads due to its structural integrity and corrosion-resistant nature.
• Nutritional Value: Due to the metallic hardness of its biological structure, it cannot be consumed. Its flesh is too rigid and completely indigestible.
• Estimated Mass: 450,000 – 800,000 tons (depending on size variation).
• Seismic Impact: While moving on foot, the vibrations it produces are equivalent to an earthquake measuring 3–4 on the seismic scale.
After reading this unsettling information displayed on his visor, the squad leader activated his communication device. Despite the apocalyptic scene unfolding around them, his voice remained calm and controlled.
"Commander Amanda! A Steel Golem has appeared—and it's not alone! What are your orders?"
Amanda's voice echoed through the radio, just as firm, clear, and authoritative as ever. Despite the chaos surrounding her, the elegant coldness in her tone remained intact.
"Establish immediate contact with the artillery unit," Amanda said.
"Transmit the coordinates of that massive nuisance to them. Until our mecha units arrive on the battlefield, you must keep those golems away from our sector."
Omega team leader Gomez acknowledged his commander's order without hesitation.
"Yes, ma'am!"
Immediately afterward, he touched the communication module on his helmet and switched frequencies, connecting to the artillery unit's secured channel.
"This is Omega Leader Gomez of the 6th Regiment, 7th Company, Second Sniper Team. I'm requesting heavy artillery fire support for my current sector."
From the other end of the radio came a cold, distant voice shaped by strict military discipline. It belonged to Aria Lara, commander of the 9th Artillery Unit of the Tiger City Defense Regiment.
"Understood. This is Commander Aria Lara. Report your situation clearly and concisely."
While observing the gigantic creatures several hundred meters away through the scope of his rifle, Gomez calmly explained the situation.
"Commander Lara, a Titan-class Steel Golem has been detected in our sector. Commander Amanda Demir wants us to stall and suppress them along this line until the mecha units arrive."
The Moon Steel covering the Steel Golem's skin was one of the hardest alloys that could exist in nature, effectively turning them into walking fortresses. The only ways to stop such monsters were either by using extremely high-temperature weapons or by targeting the natural cracks and weak points in their bodies.
High-temperature cutting required advanced equipment—special alloy close-combat weapons sharpened with energy, or rare beam swords forged from rift alloys.
The second option required awakened individuals who were fast and agile enough to climb onto the creature and attack its weak points directly. Ordinary soldiers, no matter how advanced their heavy armor was, remained too cumbersome; while the armor granted them tremendous physical strength, it severely limited their speed and agility.
Awakened fighters, on the other hand, with their movements that seemed to defy the laws of physics, were the only real option in such battles. Meanwhile, standard plasma and laser cannons were almost completely ineffective against these monsters. The golem's smooth and extremely hard skin could reflect such energy weapons almost like a mirror.
Commander Aria Lara, on the other end of the radio, was very familiar with the Steel Golem's armor structure and capabilities. She already knew that energy-based weapons would be useless against these colossal creatures. Without altering the cold distance in her voice, she issued a decisive order.
"Understood, Gomez. Their skin will reflect plasma and laser attacks—we won't waste that ammunition. I'm ordering all batteries to load heavy armor-piercing and high-explosive artillery shells. Give us the coordinates, and we'll turn that place into hell!"
Gomez began relaying the coordinates.
"Coordinates…"
Then he slowly lowered the heavy-class sniper rifle in his hands to his side. There was no need to look through the scope; with their towering height exceeding fifty-five meters, these silver giants shining in the middle of the city were clearly visible even to the naked eye. From where he sat, he could easily observe how the surrounding buildings trembled with each heavy step they took and how debris rained down from the damaged structures.
Gomez shifted his attention to the direction of the Golems' movement and to observing the effect of the artillery strike that would begin shortly.
Meanwhile, the remaining five members of the Omega squad were not idle at their positions. While their leader monitored the main threat, they continued to keep the surrounding streets under control with their heavy-class sniper rifles. The deep, solid cracks of their rifles echoed across the rooftop at steady intervals. One by one, they eliminated the smaller monsters approaching the infantry's retreat line below—creatures that ordinary soldiers would struggle to handle—thus easing the pressure on the troops on the ground for as long as their ammunition lasted.
Before long, the dull, thunderous roar of artillery batteries firing in succession echoed from kilometers away. Armor-piercing and explosive artillery shells tore through the air with a shrill whistle and seconds later began raining down upon the area where the Steel Golems stood.
When the heavy shells struck the creatures' silver bodies, a deafening metallic crash erupted—the colossal sound of metal colliding with metal. Armor-piercing shells attempted to gouge openings into the hardened Moon Steel, while the explosive rounds that followed detonated in massive clouds of fire and smoke.
The entire one-kilometer area around them was caught in a storm of fire. Buildings exploded, rubble collapsed, and vehicles of every kind—luxurious, old, large, or small—were struck and blown apart by the artillery rain.
Even if the bombardment did not kill the creatures, it halted their advance, shaking their colossal bodies and buying the defenders the precious time they needed until the Mecha units arrived.
Realizing this, Gomez ignored the trembling of the skyscraper beneath him caused by the explosions and muttered quietly:
"This is a crazy show… I just hope the cars around there have insurance."
The subordinate beside him chuckled while firing his rifle.
"And the houses. I bet there won't be a single intact house left in that area."
Gomez nodded in agreement.
"True…"
The artillery barrage continued relentlessly. Armor-piercing shells left scratches and small craters on the Steel Golem's silver skin, while explosive shells burst against the enormous metallic bodies like blazing fireballs.
The shockwaves from the detonations forced the massive Golems to stagger backward under the impacts, swaying in the middle of the street. One of them toppled backward and crashed onto a building, destroying half of its upper ten floors.
With every strike, furious roars like thunder rising from the depths of the ocean filled the street:
"GRRRRRRROOOOAAARRRR!"
The bombardment was so intense that fragments breaking from the cracked walls of nearby buildings fell around the Golems like clouds of dust.
Despite the rain of fire raining upon them, the creatures attempted to move forward with slow but determined steps, planting their feet more firmly into the ground with every tremor.
Gomez had set his rifle aside and was watching every movement of these steel giants with careful attention. Even if the artillery could not completely stop the Golems, it slowed them down and made it far harder for them to advance toward the soldiers' lines.
However, this heavy bombardment did not last very long.
When the artillery batteries thundered one final time and launched their last shells toward the target area, a different sound began rising from the end of the street: the grinding of metal against metal, the rumbling of heavy hydraulics, and the solid thuds of gigantic feet striking the ground.
Then a voice came through the radio.
"The cavalry has arrived, chickens! Who called for us?"