Chapter 682.5: Upgraded Modifications
Boom!
Yudala looked at the entangled Catachan Demons, her face full of genuine excitement and joy.
Being able to predict the enemy's actions and ambushes in advance—
Then respond with pre-prepared combat combos—
The simplicity of this battle was far beyond Yudala's expectations.
Thinking of this, she finally understood—
Why the territory entrusted her and Rika with piloting such a powerful combat unit like Yaya No.1.
It must be just as Rika said—
"The territory wanted to pick warriors unfamiliar with war vehicles to test Yaya No.1's combat support mode and combat performance."
"If even the two of us, who lack much piloting experience, can unleash Yaya No.1's full power, then surely others can too!"
"And we two piloting it might expose more issues or flaws."
"The territory can then identify and refine them in future upgrades and production."
At first, Yudala had been a little worried and scared.
Not afraid of death—Bay Territory's soldiers never feared death.
She feared hindering the battle, delaying the chance for victory, and affecting the territory's success.
Now, feeling Yaya No.1's power and convenience—
Yudala was already looking forward to mass production of Yaya No.1.
So they could crush the territory's enemies and threats with overwhelming might.
Boom!
A Catachan Demon that had just crawled from the ground slammed heavily to the earth.
Smelling its comrade's scent, it forced itself to hold back from attacking.
But the chainblade sword had already swung down with great force, slashing once more at the other demon's side.
The repeatedly injured Catachan Demon, though still alive thanks to its vitality—
Had completely lost its combat ability after the multiple hits.
Yudala, who had dragged it up, was about to toss it aside to avoid interference—
But she unexpectedly noticed the demon on the ground, pretending to be obedient.
The moment the other demon was pulled away, it launched a sudden attack.
A strange thought popped into Yudala's mind.
"Do Catachan Demons not attack their own kind?"
As the chainblade swung at it, the demon leapt away, screeching wildly.
Yudala watched the scars on its body regenerate rapidly under the scorched soil and made a bold attempt.
She didn't toss the wounded demon away.
Instead, she gripped it firmly—
And used it as a hefty flail, smashing it toward another charging Catachan Demon.
That demon actually stopped its charge and sidestepped to avoid the incoming "comrade."
"Huh? It really works!"
Seeing this, Yudala eyed the tail spike heading for Yaya No.1's chest—
And hoisted the wounded demon like a shield in front of her.
The attack stopped!
The second demon twisted its tail aside, trying to maneuver around the first and reposition itself.
But it ran straight into a massive hand erupting from the earth.
Whoosh!
Tier 7 Spell—Earth Manipulation!
It grabbed the demon instantly!
Yaya No.1's chest glowed red-hot as the trapped demon struggled against the earth element hand.
Yudala swung the chainblade sword down with full force.
Crack!
Whoosh!
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Unable to dodge, the Catachan Demon had its entire flank's claws chopped apart.
Though it broke free from the elemental hand in seconds—
Nearly half its sharp claws had already been severed by the chainblade.
With its mobility crippled, it couldn't escape Yaya No.1's relentless pursuit.
Excited, Yudala hacked it into pieces with her chainblade.
In just a few minutes, two powerful Catachan Demons were slain.
Even Yudala, joyfully collecting the corpses, hadn't expected that.
"If I hadn't killed those two, I wouldn't have realized how strong I was!"
Her excited shout spread through the team's comms.
On the other end, Orianna and Rika, seeing that she'd taken out two demons, were also surprised.
While fending off two demons, Orianna asked curiously:
"How'd you kill them so fast? Got a secret?"
"They won't attack each other—in fact, they even interfere with one another."
"If you grab one by the tail, you can use it as a shield."
Yudala quickly explained her bold guess and successful use, piquing their interest.
"Catachan Demons are that silly? That's actually hilarious."
Rika hadn't expected Yudala to discover something so fun.
Curious to try, she used Yaya No.1's onboard control magic to grab a demon's tail and copied Yudala's move.
A second demon rushed up.
Just as it was coordinating a pincer with a third, it nearly bumped into the captured one—and halted.
"They really hesitate to strike when a comrade's in the way!"
Confirming this trick, Rika and Orianna quickly seized the opportunity to engage more demons.
They didn't rush to kill them—just distracted and held them so Yaya could finish the job.
Seeing how many they lured—
Yaya, still circling in the sky, happily dove in.
Crack!
Yaya grabbed a Catachan Demon attacking Yaya No.1.
With a simple swipe of her claw, she twisted and restrained its body, dragging it to the volcano.
Injured demons were even easier.
She just needed a light claw jab to rip them apart.
The surrounding demons couldn't resist such efficient slaughter.
Their numbers dwindled rapidly, making the Evil Shadow Spirits anxious.
Watching their demon count drop fast, they gritted their teeth and told them to hold the line.
After all, the more weapons and features Yaya No.1 revealed—
The more prepared they'd be to counter her in the future.
But as the number of Catachan Demons shrank, the battle dragged on.
After at least two combat rotations, Bay Territory's forces—
Were no longer willing to keep stalling with the twisted monsters.
Angela gave the order: "All troops, attack!"
The Sub-dragons who had been resting in the lava nests turned.
Opening their jaws, they unleashed scorching dragonbreath on the monsters surrounding the walls.
In an instant, the firestorm devoured wave after wave of large twisted monsters.
After killing the last Catachan Demon, Yaya went for the final Twisted Treant.
With the Sub-dragons and Elio cutting its roots and vines—
Yaya dove in, tearing off its branches and tendrils.
Before it could regrow its arms—
Yaya activated gravity control and forcefully lifted it into the air.
Then hurled the last Twisted Treant into the smoking volcano.
The spectacular scene marked the failure of the Evil Shadow Spirits' assault.
They quickly ordered a retreat for the unused large monsters.
But they sent more twisted monsters and plants to harass the front.
Trying to tie down Bay Territory's forces and drain their supplies.
Though this battle failed—
The Evil Shadow Spirits felt more confident in attacking other cities and Catachan settlements.
In those cities, without Yaya or Yaya No.1—
There'd be no stopping the green tide of twisted monsters.
However, what they didn't know—
Was that Bay Territory had the same idea.
And had hidden its weapon manufacturing capacity.
While the monsters besieged the Aso Volcano Fortress—
Bay Territory had already mobilized massive quantities of artillery and new weapons to other cities.
Upgraded flamethrowers—
More powerful magic cannons and dwarf artillery—
Were now providing dominant firepower on their walls and lines.
During the battle—
Bay Territory's command and researchers gathered vital data.
"Flamethrowers can be upgraded further."
"Standard soldiers have weak protection—so exosuits or mechanical armor should be paired with them."
"We could make special flame trooper armor for flamethrower units."
"That would boost their close-range effectiveness."
"Add some ranged defense gear too, for close-quarter survivability."
"Maybe even let them form formations for defensive pushes."
"Good idea—against twisted monsters like the Catachans, it could be a core combat unit."
Everyone was optimistic about combining flamethrowers with combat armor.
Even Angela agreed.
But she raised another crucial concern—
"Ordinary soldiers lack group damage and counter capabilities against large monsters."
"Heavy armor is clumsy—it lacks agility against big, fast foes."
"Dragon-slaying crossbows are too expensive to field widely."
Their cost kept them out of the army's basic loadouts.
A cheaper, reliable weapon was needed.
One that could hurt large monsters—
And suppress multiple big enemies in an area.
Buying time for Dragon Warriors and elite units.
That was this battle's biggest takeaway.
Morduncan browsed various weapons, thinking about enchantment-based upgrades.
But he soon shook his head.
Even with reduced costs, mass-producing magical weapons was still tough.
For a wide-scale army weapon—
The lower the cost, the higher the approval chance.
Nearby, Macaron focused on improving mechanical armor and golems.
He thought maybe they could build better machines to empower the troops.
As he scanned specs, a light suddenly flashed in his eyes.
He hesitated, then asked cautiously:
"Shotguns are quite effective against twisted monsters—"
"If we boost their damage or impact force—"
"Maybe they could hurt even large ones..."
Angela raised her brow instinctively.
She tapped the image display, showing shotgun internals and parts.
It also played their battlefield footage and performance.
That got everyone's attention.
Victor stroked his chin, gave a thumbs up, and said excitedly:
"That's a solid idea."
"Shotguns are cheap—even upgrades are affordable."
"Short range is fine—they're enough for the frontlines."
Morduncan applauded too, projecting a cloud of magical data and simulations.
Soon he placed a detailed large shotgun prototype before them:
"This is the heavy shotgun prototype."
"Might be a bit much for regular soldiers—"
"But for those in exosuits or mech armor, no problem."
Just as the battle stabilized, Jifan returned and saw the shotgun demo.
He exclaimed excitedly:
"I say—we should give one to every Dragon Warrior!"