Chapter 175 A Huge Turnaround
In the battle at Hope Base, William scored big on Magic Crystals: nearly 20,000 Level 1s, dozens of Level 2s, and one Level 3.
At this point, these were a goldmine.
But running the Devil's Gamble, aka "The Roulette of the Wealthy," was super pricey. In no time, he burned through almost 2,000 Level 1s, one Level 2, and even his only Level 3.
Even without today's expenses, he needed tons of Magic Crystals to recharge his mental power, evolve the red-haired Iron Corpse, and craft the Edge of the Moon. Despite having a stash, they'd vanish quickly once used.
Now, he had this iron dude, supposedly his Battle Pet, but when he asked it to attack, it replied, "Please insert startup energy?"
William was beyond frustrated.
But given the situation, he gritted his teeth and popped a Level 1 Magic Crystal into the Mechanic's iron head.
The mechanical hands, which were raised horizontally, immediately started to move once the Magic Crystal was inserted, and its dim eyes lit up.
"One unit of energy, Level 1 turret," a mechanical voice announced.
Then, various mechanical parts suddenly spewed out from the mechanical hands, piling up on the ground in moments.
"Captain Wright, help us out!" Jack and the others were already struggling and were crying out for help.
The Mechanic ignored them and began assembling the parts at a very high speed, even William could only see afterimages.
In five seconds, a mini turret was assembled, with a barrel about four inches long, swaying back and forth, waiting for William's command.
William instantly felt deceived by the Devil's Gamble.
He yelled silently, 'What can such a small thing do? A four-inch barrel? Are you kidding me? Can it even kill a non-mutated rat with one shot?'
With a cracking sound, William looked up to see the Stone Giant shattered under the combined attacks of the Heavy Armored Skull and the Fog Sunflower.
On the other side, the Metal Osmium Person delivered a heavy blow to the Naga Warrior, distorting its face. However, it couldn't withstand the attacks from the Level 3 Blood Zombie and the Level 2 Cursed Black Camel, reverting back to a lifeless piece of metal.
Cecil, holding his shield, was getting pushed back by the combined attack of the Level 3 Flame Lion and the Level 2 Horrors. Even though he wasn't directly hit, the impact was brutal, causing blood to trickle from his mouth.
Without the cover of the giants summoned by the initial Coagulation and Arousal spells, the others didn't dare to advance recklessly and could only stay by Cecil's side, helping him fend off the attackers.
William drew the Edge of the Moon, knowing he had to act or everyone would die here today. He couldn't believe he had been tricked by the Devil's Gamble.
Receiving prompts in his mind to choose an attack target, William, in his frustration, shouted, "Fog Sunflower!"
The Fog Sunflower was a snake-like monster hidden in pink mist, a Level 3 creature with a very peculiar attack method. It emitted thick smoke that could corrode anything it touched.
The Stone Giant was shattered so quickly because this creature's attack had made its body extremely fragile, allowing the Heavy Armored Skull to kill it with a few strikes.
The Fog Sunflower's attack was an area attack, while William had no good defense against it. He feared that the strange mist would attack Cecil, worrying that the shield wouldn't hold out against it.
Without the shield, the final step of William's plan couldn't be executed.
In his urgency, William chose the Level 3 Fog Sunflower, which seemed to pose the greatest threat to the team.
The tiny turret, no thicker than a pen and not even as long, aimed at the approaching Fog Sunflower upon receiving the command and emitted a sharp sound.
The battlefield froze for a moment.
As a Level 3 evolved creature, the Fog Sunflower had strength not inferior to others of the same level, and its unique attack made it even more formidable.
When the tiny turret aimed at it, it didn't pay much attention and fixed its eyes on the shield in Cecil's hand.
However, the moment the turret lit up, it sensed extreme danger and instinctively tried to dodge.
But after a silver flash, although it avoided a critical hit, it found its body out of control.
A large hole was blasted through the lower snake body of the Fog Sunflower.
A blood-curdling scream erupted from its gaping mouth as it was severely injured in one strike.
The team was stunned. They knew this was something William had created, but they hadn't paid much attention during the battle.
Now, seeing a flash of light and the ghost-like creature hidden in the mist being pierced, they were in awe.
That was a Level 3 evolved creature! Apart from William, no one in the team had that kind of firepower.
William was shocked too. He had seriously underestimated this little guy.
To inflict such severe damage on a Level 3 mutated creature in one shot, only William's Radiant Seal Blade Master's combined skills could achieve that within the team.
This meant that this small turret, powered by a single Level 1 Magic Crystal, could unleash an attack equivalent to that of a two-star Evolving person!
What did this mean?
It almost meant that William now had a helper with strength equal to his own.
The Screeching Cage was incredibly powerful!
This was a reward that could appear on the four-star roulette!
After delivering a strike that stunned everyone, the Mechanic's eyes dimmed, and the small turret barrel drooped, losing its energy.
William quickly inserted another Magic Crystal into the Mechanic's head.
This time, he used a Level 2 Magic Crystal.
The little robot immediately became lively, its mechanical hands dismantling the previous turret and quickly assembling a new one.
This turret was noticeably larger than the previous one, with a longer and thicker barrel and a bigger frame.
However, it also took more time to build this turret, nearly twenty seconds.
"Ninety-eight energy units, Level 2 turret."
During this time, the team's defensive line was further pushed, forcing William, who had just been freed from the Devil's Gamble, to join the battle.
Even with his participation, they were still completely suppressed by the attacks of four Level 3 mutated creatures. During this period, both Jack and Candice were seriously injured, and if it weren't for Lucy's timely Restoration spell, they might have been in mortal danger.
Receiving the prompt to fire, William immediately roared, "Heavy Armored Skull!"
This time he targeted the undead creature clad in thick armor.
The reason for choosing it was simple.
It was slow.
Compared to other Level 3 creatures, this guy was the slowest, also its attacks were strong, making it William's target.
The turret paused for a moment, then emitted an even more dazzling beam.
Sensing the danger, the Heavy Armored Skull placed its massive weapon in front of itself.
It was slow and knew it couldn't dodge, so it made the best possible response.
The light burst forth, creating a powerful shockwave that blew both monsters and humans backward.
After the light, only half of the Heavy Armored Skull's body remained.
This strike took out half of its body, leaving only its upper half struggling on the ground. The thick layer of heavy armor was in tatters, and the greatsword was reduced to just a hilt.
"Damn it!" Jack exclaimed, dumbfounded. "Is this a grenade launcher? Even a grenade launcher isn't this powerful."
"Cecil, hold off the Flame Lion. Naga Warrior and Blood Zombie are mine. Everyone else, take down the Level 2 creatures, quickly!" William ordered, excited.
The Devil's Gamble, though terrifying, truly produced good things. Look at the changes brought by this Mechanic. Originally, he had to use his last risky move to win, but now he saw the dawn of victory!
Hearing William's orders, Cecil roared, recovering some injuries under Lucy's Restoration spell, and charged at the Flame Lion with his shield.
This Flame Lion had given him a lot of trouble today, and Cecil, who always avenged his grudges, attacked regardless of the power difference.
The red-haired Iron Corpse and Pill, under William's control, began to besiege the Blood Zombie. Both of William's subordinates were stronger than ordinary Level 2 mutated creatures. Although they couldn't defeat the Level 3 Blood Zombie, they could hold it off for a while.
William himself faced the slightly injured Naga Warrior.
In its battle with the Metal Osmium Person, this marine mutated creature had paid a price. Due to its material, the Metal Osmium Person had great strength and defense.
Although the Naga Warrior had been suppressing it, it was occasionally hit, and each hit was painful. Now, its face, which could be considered beautiful if not for its skin color, was still twisted from the Metal Osmium Person's final blow.
William didn't plan to fight it head-on. He feinted a couple of times and then quickly returned to the Mechanic, inserting another Level 2 Magic Crystal into its head.
The target was the Naga Warrior!
William believed that after this attack, even if it didn't kill the Naga Warrior, it would lose most of its combat power. He had just calculated the turret's beam speed and the Naga Warrior's speed and was confident that this beautiful marine creature couldn't completely dodge the turret's attack!
Once it was injured, William was confident he could kill it swiftly!
Just as he was about to secure victory, with a smile starting to form at the corner of his mouth, he suddenly heard a prompt from the Mechanic that made him nearly collapse.
The mechanical voice said, "Warning: Cooling down in progress."
