How to Live as a Knight After the Ending-Chapter 296: Automaton Battle (1)

The scrap graveyard was a place Osian knew about.

Before coming here, when reading the materials provided about District 49, it was the place where there were the most testimonies of automaton sightings.

'The very center of District 49. Where the most debris is piled up.'

Once, it was the most prosperously built urban district but after the Second Coming of Fire, it became the origin point of where everything collapsed.

As it was built so large and splendid, the scale of debris created when it collapsed was enormous.

They say the countless mountains of scrap metal seen while entering District 49 look rather modest compared to the scrap graveyard.

The scrap graveyard was quite a dangerous place.

That desolate place, true to its name as a graveyard, had given countless deaths to those who visited.

While mutant monsters appearing between the scrap piles were a problem, the biggest danger would still be other humans.

The scrap graveyard was a kind of border zone where all gang influences reached.

Since it wasn't controlled by any single organization, gang fights broke out there almost daily.

As such, visiting recklessly meant you were likely to die getting caught up in gang fights.

Nevertheless, many people visited the place, and the reason was clear.

It was to find valuable items remaining from the glorious old days.

"If it's in the scrap pile, that makes sense."

David continued with additional explanation.

"That place has had many unique items discovered from before. There were even things that defied common sense. Including artifacts and relics."

"It's strange that treasures remain in a devastated graveyard maintained for decades."

Simon was the one who responded to Osian's words.

"In other words, it means the city was unimaginably splendid before becoming ruins."

He said that even now, after decades have passed, traces of how great this place was in the past still remain.

"Do you know about the Second Coming of Fire?"

At Osian's question, Simon shook his head.

"I only know the formal things that are publicly known. The Second Coming of Fire happened 50 years ago, and I wasn't even born before then."

"I see. Are there no others who know more?"

"Even among the elders of this settlement, there aren't many who know. Most of the survivors from that time didn't live long and died."

In other words, the Second Coming of Fire was not well documented, and those who witnessed it could be counted on one's fingers.

Osian felt a strange regret.

"Whatever the case, congratulations on becoming the sheriff here, even if temporarily."

Simon smiled ceremoniously.

"A sheriff's position for someone walking into certain death."

"Even if I tell you not to go, you're going to go anyway. If that's the case, it's better to at least add a spoonful while we're at it."

"I like your honesty."

Osian shook hands with Simon.

They had a relationship where they both used each other.

Unless one had bad intentions and hid them, rather than that, this was much more comfortable when openly showing it.

After getting food from the settlement, Osian and David immediately departed in the direction of Old Town.

The eyes of the settlement residents watching the two were full of worry.

They asked Simon, who was at the entrance.

"Will they be alright?"

"What if they're not?"

"That's..."

"Once the death race has begun, there isn't much we can do. When caught in the rapids of great power, everything ends."

This flow leads directly to death the moment you submit to it but settlement people like these couldn't resist the flow of great power.

They were too weak to fight, and too slow to run away.

They were nothing more than prey perfect for predators to eat.

That's why Simon chose to gamble.

He rode the new flow created by the intervention of strong ones like Osian and David.

They might be swallowed by the enormous flow of the death race. If that happens, the fate of this settlement would be the same.

But what if their gamble really works?

In that chaos where all gangs clash at once, a tiny gap might be created by the two.

Simon believed there was a way forward there.

"In the end, we have to believe."

Simon stared intently at the two people disappearing beyond the wasteland, hoping that his eye for people wasn't wrong.

*

When Osian and David arrived at Old Town, it was after sunset.

The yellow earth that was stuffy hot during the day was now covered in cold indigo energy at night.

The cold seeping into their skin felt ominous.

Osian and David looked at the entrance to Old Town.

"It's eerie."

That was their first impression.

Though it was named Old Town, it was embarrassingly small to be called a city.

Should we say it was similar in size to the settlement they passed through?

But there was something eye-catching.

Beyond Old Town the silhouettes of countless spires standing as if piercing the sky could be seen.

"That's the graveyard."

At David's words, Osian nodded.

Those things rising as if to pierce the sky were piles of debris that had already collapsed once.

They only looked like towers because they were too far away.

'If what's piled up after collapsing is that big, I can't imagine how big it was before.'

Perhaps it was similar in scale to the skyscrapers of District 10 that he had only seen in photos or pictures.

That's why it raised more questions. Building skyscrapers comparable to District 10 in District 49 meant they considered this city that important.

The fact that such a place collapsed and couldn't be rebuilt meant that the Second Coming of Fire was that terrible a disaster.

"You need to be careful. From here on, it's an area where other gangs wage war. If there's any good news, it's that there are some safe zones."

Of course, that didn't mean these safe zones were areas where gangs didn't fight.

Now that the death race had begun, no area could be free from danger.

Still, hearing about safe zones meant they were relatively better than other places.

"You said it was an area managed by Steel Fist."

"Yes."

This was also a place recommended by Simon, the head of the settlement.

"Instead of avoiding gangs, we're going into an area controlled by them. It's dangerous, but conversely effective."

"Especially with Steel Fist, they're a bit different from other gangs."

Unlike Mining Heavy Industry that used people like slaves or beasts, Steel Fist was somewhat better.

"Steel Fist is, how should I put it. They look favorably on strong people and don't particularly discriminate against outsiders. Of course, they have their own rules, but I don't think they're impossible to follow."

Steel Fist gang, as their name suggests, were followers of iron's strength.

They weren't modified humans like the Steel Followers.

While modified humans were those who were fascinated by metal's superiority and wished to become like that themselves, Steel Fist simply loved metal itself in a different way.

"You mean the automaton battles?"

The district gangs here each had their characteristics, and Steel Fist was one that collected metals to make automatons.

These were different from standardized automatons made by corporations.

If anything, they advocated a freedom where standards didn't exist, something more like made-to-order.

They used such automatons in battle, or used them to exchange opinions among themselves.

Particularly, automaton battles had innovatively established themselves as one of their cultures.

Drawing on the tradition of resolving problems through races, they resolved internal issues through automaton battles.

Just hearing about it might make one wonder what nonsense this is, but at the same time, it strangely fits with District 49's environment they had seen so far.

Compared to Mining Heavy Industry throwing away their lives to kill people, automaton battles seemed almost cute.

"In some sense, they're pure people. But we can't deny that they're also a huge organization dominating this place. It doesn't hurt to be careful."

"Right."

Osian and David headed toward the Steel Fist gang's base on one side of Old Town.

Finding it wasn't difficult. Not only had they heard its location from Simon, but they could see red lights gathered in the distance.

As Osian and David got closer, a rusty searchlight moved to illuminate the two.

"Hey! Stop right there! Who are you guys?"

With a click sound, the guard was seen loading his gun.

Osian and David stopped in place.

David stepped forward and raised both hands to show they had no intention to fight.

"We're residents from a nearby settlement, looking for residents scattered by a gang attack. The sun set while we were searching, so could we stay for about a day?"

This too was pre-arranged content.

As outsiders, they couldn't go around saying they were wanderers.

If they claimed to be from a settlement, they would at least be considered internal people of District 49, which could reduce suspicion.

Indeed, that intention worked properly, and the gang on guard sent a signal inside instead of shooting immediately.

Shortly after, the base's rusty iron gate opened with a grating sound.

Three vehicles with headlights on came out and surrounded Osian and David.

They were all tuned and modified. It had a unique appearance modified differently from Mining Heavy Industry.

"Just the two of you came looking for scattered people?"

"This person is our sheriff. Is that enough?"

At David's explanation, the Steel Fist gang shone a flashlight on Osian's chest.

When the light revealed a shining golden badge, their suspicion eased somewhat.

"Who attacked your settlement?"

"It was Mining Heavy Industry."

"Ha. Those bastards, looks like they're making a fuss trying to use people like slaves again at this opportunity."

The big gang member wearing black goggles and with a bushy beard thought for a moment, then gestured with his chin.

"We'll let you stay for about a day. But if you try anything funny, you'll die immediately."

"We know that."

"And we're not just letting you in for free. You came here knowing this is territory controlled by us Steel Fist, right?"

"Yes. We know."

At David's answer, a deep smile formed on the member's face.

"You're bold. No need for explanations, this will make things faster."

Permission was granted. Osian and David headed to the residence, escorted by the gang under the pretense of protection.

The first impression inside was that it was very noisy.

They hadn't noticed from far away, but inside was full of all kinds of noise.

-Keeeeeing! Kagagagak!

There were many people working on something with welders and grinders.

Looking at what they were working on while creating sparks, it was automatons.

They had taken regular tin robot automatons, modified them further to increase their size, and stuck on armor all over.

Traces and parts of broken automatons were everywhere.

Some Steel Fist gang members looked at Osian and David.

Most wore black leather jackets with studs. Unlike Mining Heavy Industry where everyone had unique appearances, this was surprisingly uniform.

"Hey! Everyone listen up! We have guests who want to stay at our residence for a day!"

When the member who brought Osian and David shouted loudly, everyone's attention focused.

"I won't explain much! These guys came knowing our rules!"

Curious words burst out from all around.

"Wow, they came knowing? This should be interesting."

"Those guys. Looking at them, they smell like rookies, will they be okay?"

"Whatever, as long as we get something to enjoy!"

Steel Fist members whispered among themselves.

"Now! Let the automaton battle begin!"

-Bang! Bang!

A gang member loudly hit a rusty can with the blunt weapon in his hand.

Starting with that, other gang members also took out clubs or sticks from their waists and strongly hit nearby metal.

-Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The resonance shook the air. The sound grew louder as it resonated and spread further.

It felt naturally overwhelming in that atmosphere.

This noise contained the Steel Fist gang's soul and joy.

"The battle begins!"

There was a large circular arena in the center of the residence.

Osian realized that place was for conducting battles.

"Now. If you have an automaton you want, choose it."

Automatons to be used in battle were lined up around the arena.

Osian looked at David and asked.

"Will you be alright?"

"Have you forgotten what I did before becoming your apprentice knight?"

David was a veteran fixer who handled two automatons.

Regarding handling automatons, his ability certainly needed no doubt.

"I'll take this one. This guy looks similar to the ones I used to handle."

The automaton David chose had a similar base to Ronald and Reginald, the two automatons he used to handle in the past.

David used magic threads to link with that automaton.

The automaton climbed onto the arena with creaking movements.

"Don't worry. I'll end this quickly."

-Clang!

Along with David's confident voice, the bell sound announcing the battle rang loudly and one minute after the battle started.

-Bang!

David's automaton's head was smashed and fell to the ground.