The Retired Max-Level Worker Wants to Rest - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Raid

TL/ED – Miso

42 kills with one Turret.

125 kills with three Turrets.

‘Not nearly enough.’

Rounds per minute for a Turret.

The speed of a Creed.

Hit rate variance depending on range.

A calculation accounting for every factor.

‘What if I enhance them?’

The range doubles.

84 kills with one Turret.

251 kills with three Turrets.

‘Still not enough.’

Twenty-four hours remained.

The silver lining was that the Auto Ammo Supply System was finished. Given the production rate for ammunition, running out wouldn’t be an issue.

Same for power.

If I pushed myself to the limit…….

‘I can finish up to five Turrets.’

That would mean 420 kills.

Still leaves half of them standing.

How do I solve this?

Clang-

I looked up at the sky.

The sun was blindingly bright.

And judging by its position-

‘I need to build a bunker too.’

Cha Yu-ra needed a place to shoot from.

I spotted a suitable location.

If I joined in on the shooting from there, it might be possible to bring the Creed count below a hundred.

Yu-ra would probably contribute more than me, though.

But would even that be enough?

‘We can’t hold them off.’

Running would honestly be the smarter call.

No matter how I looked at it, that was the wiser decision.

‘No Tactical Warheads, and even if I made oxygen tanks and laid down K-17s-‘

Not enough hands.

Either give up on Turrets, or-

“Yu-ra. You saw it, right?”

“Yes, oppa.”

“From now on, we move while eating Nutrition Capsules.”

“……Wouldn’t it be better to run?”

Even Cha Yu-ra thought so.

I’d thought the same.

But.

“Park Dong-cheol still hasn’t regained consciousness. He needs at least five days before his wounds heal enough.”

“……Right.”

So what, we just leave Dong-cheol behind?

I couldn’t accept that.

“We’re not running. We hold, we survive, we get stronger.”

“Got it!”

In moments like these.

A leader’s conviction gives courage.

That courage becomes morale.

In war, morale is everything.

“Head back to base right now and bring the things I wrote down-”

I gave her several instructions.

On the way back, she’d have to drag the Loader Back herself. Impossible for a normal person, but Cha Yu-ra had passed Level 10, so it was a different story.

“Think you can handle it?”

“Yes, of course!”

“Okay. Move out.”

In reality, our odds of holding without serious losses were less than one percent.

But we had something called EXP.

EXP from everything I’d build over the next twenty-four hours. And EXP from the Creeds killed by Turrets and gunfire as they approached.

‘What if I hit 20?’

Cha Yu-ra above 15.

Me reaching 20.

It might just be possible.

‘The problem is the Basilaks and Cree’vah, though.’

……The odds were still abysmal, no question.

But I couldn’t give up.

It was true that I didn’t want to abandon Park Dong-cheol.

But could we even survive by running? If we got lucky and found an exit gate, maybe.

But that was just luck.

This was essentially a quest, announced through a system message. Naturally, even if we ran, there was a high chance they’d chase us to the end.

‘Rather than running and praying for luck.’

I’d face them head-on.

If that gave us better odds of survival.

Then full speed ahead.

.

.

.

-You have crafted an [Auto Turret].

-You have gained EXP.

The second Turret took three hours.

The bottleneck was the core components.

-You have crafted an [Auto Turret].

-You have gained EXP.

The third Turret took five hours.

Two of those hours went into assembling the core components.

‘Not enough time.’

But I didn’t stop.

Even with an enhanced body, my stamina was running dry. I hadn’t gotten a proper night’s sleep since arriving here. Two, maybe three hours a day, plus a handful of naps. That was it.

-You have crafted an [Auto Turret].

-You have gained EXP.

The fourth Turret.

The sun was beginning to set.

Sunset.

‘I have to keep them from getting past the Basin.’

I’d built the Turrets on higher ground above the Basin.

Because there was no way to know which direction the raid would come from. If it came from the direction of the base where Park Dong-cheol was, we’d take serious losses.

‘At least I’ve prepared for quick transport if it comes to that.’

I had the Radar too.

That meant Park Dong-cheol’s safety was secured. He was currently at base, recovering with Revital treatments.

-You have crafted a [Fixed Bunker].

-You have gained EXP.

I built it before the fifth Turret.

This had to be finished first.

“The ammo’s here!”

“Move it inside!”

“Nutrition Capsules and water too!”

“Just set those down and get some sleep.”

“What about you, oppa?”

Cha Yu-ra had made several round trips to the base.

Most of the loads were components and Core Cells I needed.

She’d also brought five Gauss Rifles to the bunker. Preparation for potential malfunctions, accounting for barrel cooldown time.

“I’m still fine. You need to stay sharp, because your focus is what keeps us alive. I’ll sleep a bit later too.”

“……Okay.”

“Eat before you sleep. Eat, sleep. In combat, that’s the most important thing.”

That’s right.

In my past life.

I spent thirty years on the battlefield.

‘Eat. Even if you can’t stomach it, force it down.’

That was advice from a senior Construction Robot Worker.

We were usually stationed in the rear, but that rear was nothing like a real rear. It was directly connected to the front lines, so it was practically the frontline itself.

‘Shut your eyes, even if it’s just for a minute. That’s how you stay alive.’

All of that advice had been written in blood.

I found myself giving the same advice later on.

And then.

-You have crafted an [Auto Turret].

-You have gained EXP.

-You have leveled up.

The fifth Turret.

By the time it was finished, the sun was rising.

And I’d leveled up too.

Level 17 now.

I could feel my exhausted body recover slightly. But the fatigue had reached its peak.

“……Hah, done.”

The bare minimum defense system was complete.

I’d wanted to set up a Radar too, but that wasn’t feasible. I didn’t have the parts, and I didn’t have the time. In that case-

“Sleep.”

I forced food into my mouth too.

Nutrition Capsules were for during combat.

Right now I ate Combat Rations with water.

-First Trial: Brakta Swarm Raid!

-Creed 1,000/1,000

-Cree’vah 50/50

-Basilak 30/30

-01:54:23

Still two hours left.

I’d sleep for as long as I could.

.

.

.

I opened my eyes.

My body felt heavy, like waterlogged cotton. My eyes barely opened, and my joints ached deep in the bone. The accumulated fatigue had weakened my entire body.

“Hoo-”

I moved to shake myself awake.

In the process, I swallowed a Nutrition Capsule.

Washed it down with water.

“Are we… going to be okay?”

Cha Yu-ra asked.

I answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Of course. We survive, and we get stronger. And once we do, surviving what comes next will be that much easier.”

“……How can you be so sure?”

Perfectly blocking a Brakta swarm here wasn’t something I could guarantee. But even if our defense failed, survival was still possible.

I’d survived worse than this.

Alone, at that.

This time, I had allies.

“Because I’ve done it before. In worse situations than this.”

“…….”

It was the kind of thing that could be mistaken for empty bravado.

But I didn’t want to feed her a different lie.

She simply nodded.

“Let me know when you see them.”

“Got it.”

Twenty-five minutes left.

If they would reach this place right as the timer hit zero, they should be coming into view soon. Nothing on the Radar yet, which meant they weren’t coming from the base’s direction.

And then.

“……I see them!”

Cha Yu-ra’s eyesight was better than I’d expected.

The Radar originally just barely covered the distance from the base to this end of the Basin. So the farthest reach of our detection network was the Turrets’ firing range.

But beyond even that.

Cha Yu-ra could see them clearly.

“When they’re in range, start firing. Take it slow.”

I placed my hand on her rifle.

And then.

“Enhance.”

Keeing-

The rifle glowed blue.

She slipped quickly into the bunker.

I cast Target Enhancement on the Turrets.

One to start.

Keeing-

Mana drained from me in a massive chunk.

But I held the staff in my hand.

Mana slowly trickled back.

‘Not yet.’

The enhanced Turret’s range was 600 meters.

They were still beyond that, apparently.

Just how good was Cha Yu-ra’s eyesight?

That’s when.

Taang-

Cha Yu-ra’s shooting began.

Her enhanced rifle-

“One Cree’vah down!”

Not a bottom-tier Creed, but a Cree’vah.

The subterranean beast that hid underground and launched spines.

She dropped it in a single shot.

Taang-!

The next crack of the rifle.

This time?

“Basilak. No good, it didn’t penetrate.”

My Target Enhancement combined with her Precision Shot.

Even a charged-up power shot couldn’t get through.

‘As expected, that’s the biggest problem.’

It’d be a different story up close.

When they opened their mouths to spit acid, she could shoot between the teeth. That was exactly why I’d built the bunker. In a pinch, the bunker would be the key to hunting Basilaks.

And then.

Tudung-

The foremost Turret began firing.

‘Enhance.’

The second Turret.

The third Turret.

I managed to enhance three Turrets total.

‘The enhancement duration isn’t all that long.’

About thirty minutes.

It would definitely run out before the fight ended.

-You have leveled up.

Another level gained.

And with that.

-I just hit Level 15!

“Pick your reward first!”

That came before anything else.

It would make her that much stronger.

And I’d reached 18 as well.

‘Hitting 20 before the Creeds arrive is going to be a stretch.’

But I’d make damn sure to level up during the fight.

Keeing-

The fourth Turret.

My mana was depleted.

I waited patiently.

Then.

Tudung, tudung, tudung-

Even the unenhanced fifth Turret began firing. That meant they were already within 300 meters.

I raised my rifle too.

Enhanced it with the little mana I had.

Taang-!

I started shooting as well.

The Turrets’ rate of fire was relentless.

That was when.

“Firing-!”

Cha Yu-ra shouted.

I looked up.

‘A bow, just as I thought!’

I’d figured she would pick a bow.

Could she actually use it well?

I’d worried.

But.

Ping-

A single arrow flew.

An arrow from who knows where.

It pierced the air and punched clean through the foremost Creed. I thought that was the end of it, but that was just the beginning.

Thud-d-d-d-d-

It tore through eight at once.

The arrow moved like a serpent.

“What the hell is that!”

“This is insane!”

“Try it on a Basilak!”

She focused.

The bow must have had some kind of special property.

And if she layered Precision Shot on top of that-

Piiing-!

A sharper sound than before.

It became a streak of light and struck the Basilak dead on.

Crack-

The Basilak’s formidable carapace.

A fracture appeared.

And then.

Keeeeeing-

The arrow was spinning.

More intensely than anything before.

Thunk-!

The arrow punched through the carapace and lodged itself inside.

But it didn’t go all the way through.

“Couldn’t kill it.”

A shame.

But even this was a massive improvement.

If she could take down a Basilak at Level 15, that was effectively heavy-weapons-grade firepower. Enough to make me jealous.

“Focus on the Creeds for now!”

I checked my mana.

Still not enough.

If I got the chance, I’d enhance that bow.

But.

Dududududu.

The Brakta swarm was overwhelming.

The Creeds were so fast that they’d pulled far ahead, charging at the front. Without a Command Entity among them, a significant gap had opened between the Creeds and the Basilaks.

‘Good.’

They weren’t smart.

If this had been our Cosmic Allied Forces from my past life, a Brakta swarm rushing in like this would have been dealt with effortlessly.

But we weren’t the Allied Forces.

Just a single Worker.

One lone soldier.

“Full auto.”

The Creed numbers had dropped considerably.

Five Turrets.

Cha Yu-ra’s gunfire.

Then the power of the bow on top of that.

That alone had already killed well over half of them. But the Creeds had closed in right to the edge of the Basin.

“Hoo-”

I moved forward in the Turk.

I needed to draw their attention so they wouldn’t attack the Turrets directly. And that was something Workers usually did.

“……That would be me.”

What could I do?

Dangerous, but if it needed doing, it got done.

“Over here! You bastards!”

It had been a long time.

That hair-raising bloodlust.

Hundreds of Creeds turned their gaze toward me.

‘Wait, I expected a few dozen at most!’

They really were sensitive to bio-signatures.

The Turrets kept firing.

I changed direction.

Kwang- kwang-

A few Creeds latched on.

Some of the faster ones.

But.

Keeing- pwak!

Sorry, but this was an enhanced Turk.

Stronger than before.

My Fusion Cutter blazed blue as it started killing Creeds one by one. But getting surrounded was not an option.

So I kept running, only cutting down the ones that lunged in from the sides.

“Electric Arrow.”

I tried that too.

And then.

Pajijik-

An arrow struck a single Creed.

The electricity spread outward.

Five were paralyzed in one shot.

‘Doesn’t kill them, huh?’

Only the one that took the direct hit died.

Still, it was impressive.

Paralyzing about five at a time.

“Better than I expected.”

Electric Arrow.

I conjured one in midair. The Turk’s right hand had a Multi-function Manipulator, a set of grippers. I used it to grab the arrow.

Pajijik-

As expected, I didn’t get shocked.

And the arrow held together.

Then-

Tick. Tick.

The Core Cell began charging.

I hadn’t expected that.