"THE GREAT GIANT RAN AWAY FROM HIS MOUNTAIN," the Alpha Unit mocked. The monster took another slow, heavy step forward. "GENERAL SILAS SAID YOU WERE A PROTECTOR. HE SAID YOU WOULD FIGHT AT YOUR FRONT DOOR. BUT YOU FLED INTO THE DARK." Jonah did not answer. He stared at the smooth black mask. "YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD HIDE IN THE GRAVEYARD OF BROKEN TRAINS," the Alpha Unit sneered. The liquid purple magic pumped faster through its tubes. "YOU THOUGHT THE SNOW WOULD HIDE YOU. BUT MY EYES SEE EVERYTHING. MY AURA FINDS ALL GLITCHES." The Alpha Unit raised its massive right arm. The heavy black steel gauntlet flexed. "I HAVE DELETED YOUR MAGIC, JONAH," the monster growled proudly. "I CAN FEEL YOUR SYSTEM DYING. YOUR IMMORTALITY IS GONE. YOU ARE JUST WEAK, BLEEDING MEAT. YOU ARE A MISTAKE IN THE CODE." Jonah breathed slowly. His breath formed thick white clouds in the cold air. He felt the heavy, crushing weight of the cold. He felt the agonizing pain in his stomach. But Jonah did not fee

The heavy steel wheels shattered into a thousand jagged, razor-sharp pieces of heavy metal. The shrapnel flew outward at supersonic speed like a massive, deadly shotgun blast. The three Elite Hunters on the right side of the train were caught perfectly in the center of the blast radius. Their high-tech black power armor was designed to stop bullets. It was designed to absorb magical Mana. It was not designed to stop fifty pounds of jagged, rusted railroad steel flying at the speed of sound. The three Elite Hunters were instantly obliterated. The heavy shrapnel tore straight through their magical armor. Their bodies were blown backward, broken into pieces, and thrown fifty feet across the railyard into the dark, freezing snow. They were dead before they even hit the ground. The shockwave of the explosion shook the entire railyard. The heavy trucks rocked back and forth. The falling gray ash was blown away in a massive circle. The Alpha Unit stumbled backward, raising its heavy,

Jonah gritted his teeth. He pressed his hand against his bleeding stomach, trying to hold his own flesh together. He glared up at the monster. "I am... still breathing," Jonah choked out. Blood bubbled on his lips. "NOT FOR LONG," the Alpha Unit replied. The monster reached up and pressed a small button on the side of its black glass helmet. "WAKE UP," the monster commanded. In the dark shadows of the railyard, heavy metal doors suddenly hissed open. Jonah slowly turned his head. The four heavy, armored military trucks parked in the half-circle were not empty. General Silas was not stupid. He knew Jonah had laid traps. He knew the first squad of six Elite Hunters might die. The back doors of the massive trucks flew open. More soldiers poured out into the snow. They were Vanguard Command Hunters. But they were not holding swords. They were not holding small rifles. There were twenty of them. They wore thick black armor. They carried massive, heavy machine guns. They set up h

The twenty Vanguard Hunters raised their heavy machine guns again. But Jonah did not stand still this time. Jonah did not try to dodge. He did not try to run away. Jonah charged directly at the Alpha Unit. He moved with heavy, lumbering, terrifying speed. He did not run like a ninja. He ran like a falling boulder. "FIRE!" the Hunters yelled. Bullets flew through the air. They hit Jonah. They hit his shoulder. They hit his arm. Jonah roared in absolute agony. He felt every single bullet tear his flesh. But the adrenaline of pure, human rage pushed the pain deep into the back of his mind. He refused to fall. He crossed the ten feet between him and the Alpha Unit in one second. The Alpha Unit raised its heavy, armored fists to block. Jonah did not swing the sledgehammer at the monster's head. He knew the armor was too thick. Jonah dropped to his knees, sliding through the bloody snow. He swung the forty-pound iron sledgehammer low and flat across the ground. He swung it like a m

Jonah stopped spinning the hammer. He stood in the middle of the road. Smoke poured off the heavy iron head of his weapon. The metal was glowing white-hot from the friction of a thousand bullets hitting it. But Jonah did not just block the bullets to stay safe. His System Merge skill had a terrifying secret. Every time a heavy bullet hit the hammer, the kinetic energy of the bullet was not lost. The hammer absorbed the force of the impact. It drank the speed and the power of the gunfire. Jonah could feel the energy building up inside the iron head of the hammer. It felt like a massive, angry bomb waiting to explode in his hand. Jonah looked at three Vanguard Hunters standing close together near a rusted train car. "My turn," Jonah whispered softly. His deep voice carried a cold, deadly promise. Jonah raised the heavy sledgehammer high above his head. The silver veins on his arm glowed with blinding intensi