Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle Chapter 1261: The Guardians

"This is a problem..."

Sylas remained crouched beside the metallic floor as he carefully examined the surface. At first, he had assumed that the smooth metal was simply part of the facility’s entrance, but the longer he looked at it, the more certain he became that something was wrong.

There wasn’t a single trace of rust, damage, or even dust covering the surface.

That was strange.

The entire facility had supposedly been buried beneath Eden Island for an unknown period of time. Even if the structure had been constructed from some incredibly advanced material, it should still have shown some signs of being buried underground for so long.

Yet the metallic floor looked almost new.

Sylas slowly extended his hand and activated one of his detection abilities. His perception immediately expanded across the surrounding area, allowing him to sense even the slightest disturbance that might otherwise escape his notice.

At first, he didn’t detect anything unusual.

Then his expression changed as he realized that there was something nearby.

Sylas immediately withdrew his hand and carefully looked toward the side of the facility. The sensation had been extremely faint, but his instincts told him that it hadn’t been his imagination.

He had sensed something coming from the wall.

Sylas immediately disappeared from his original position.

His body blended into the surrounding environment as he silently moved toward the side of the enormous structure. He didn’t approach directly, instead using the exposed rocks and metallic sections of the facility as cover while carefully circling around the area.

The closer he got, the stronger that strange sensation became.

Eventually, Sylas stopped beside a massive metallic wall.

At first glance, there was nothing unusual about it.

However, after carefully examining the surface, he found it...

They were so well concealed that even Sylas had nearly overlooked them.

A hidden door had been built directly into the wall.

Sylas carefully inspected the surrounding area but couldn’t find any obvious mechanism that would allow him to open it. There was no handle, no button, and no visible control panel.

He was about to investigate further when he suddenly heard a faint mechanical sound.

Click.

Sylas immediately disappeared.

A few seconds later, the metallic wall suddenly shifted.

A section of it slid sideways, revealing a dark passage behind it.

Sylas remained completely hidden as he watched something emerge from the passage.

It was humanoid.

For the first moment, Sylas thought it was a Warden Unit.

However, the machine that stepped out was completely different from the Warden Units he had seen before.

The metallic humanoid stood approximately three meters tall, making it considerably larger than the Warden Units produced by the New Genesis Shelter, which were only around six feet tall. At the same time, it was still much smaller than the Mech Frames used by the various shelters, which could reach heights of eight meters, with some specialized models reaching twelve meters.

However, the size wasn’t what caught Sylas’ attention.

The design was completely unfamiliar.

Its entire body was covered in dark metallic armor, but there were no exposed joints or mechanical components. Everything seemed to have been constructed as one seamless structure, and its head contained no recognizable facial features. The only visible detail was a pair of narrow red lights that resembled eyes.

Sylas remained perfectly still.

The machine walked forward.

Then another one appeared behind it... then another.

Sylas’ expression gradually became more serious as more machines continued to emerge from the hidden passage.

There were a dozen of them!

He couldn’t determine exactly how many were inside because the passage disappeared into darkness, but it was clear that there were far more than the machines he could currently see.

Sylas didn’t move and simply watched.

The machines eventually reached the entrance of the facility and spread out around the massive metal doors. Each one stopped at a specific position before becoming completely motionless.

Sylas immediately understood.

They weren’t wandering around randomly. Without a doubt, they were guarding the entrance.

These machines had been stationed here for a reason.

The Legendary Elf’s expression became slightly more serious.

He had already encountered various forms of advanced technology during his time with Shane and the Eclipse Revenant Clan. The Warden Units were particularly impressive, and the Mech Frames were even more powerful. However, these machines were different from both.

They weren’t designed for large-scale warfare like the Mech Frames.

They also weren’t ordinary androids like the Warden Units.

They were simply guards. And if these machines had been waiting here all this time, then there was a possibility that the facility wasn’t truly abandoned.

Sylas didn’t want to take unnecessary risks.

He had already gathered enough information.

Without making a sound, he slowly retreated from the area before opening his communication device.

"Tundra."

His voice immediately reached the others.

Tundra, who had been waiting with Natalie and Travis, immediately turned his attention toward the communication channel.

"What did you find?"

"There are machines guarding the facility."

Tundra’s expression changed.

"Machines? How many?"

"I’m not certain. I can see at least twelve, but there are likely more inside."

Tundra immediately became more serious.

"What kind of machines?"

Sylas briefly looked toward the massive metallic humanoids.

Soon, Tundra’s expression immediately became solemn.

"I see... We’re going to need Cloud. If anyone can analyze these machines, it’s Cloud. The Warden Units and Mech Frames were developed using technology that Cloud understands. If these things are completely different, then we need to know exactly what we’re dealing with before anyone enters the facility."

Tundra immediately contacted Cloud through one of the Warden Units standing by...

A few moments later, the familiar voice of Shane’s A.I. assistant responded.

[ Yes, Tundra? ]

"We found something you need to see."

After reporting what he learned... Cloud knew that it had to see what they were seeing...

After sending a Warden Unit to scout the area, Cloud finally confirmed something.

[ You are right... This technology is from Anima Civilization. The ones you’re seeing are called War Automata. ]