Transmigrated as a Ghost

For the moment everyone in the expedition squad was safe within the protection of Marcus' tier eight iron magic spell.

A barrage of rockets continued to rain down outside, but the castle's defenses kept them all safe from the violent explosions.

'We have a little time at least. That robot can't target us directly since it is still on the other side of the stronghold. Though the rain of rockets is already enough to overwhelm us with so many members injured or exhausted.' Marcus thought, his mind racing for a solution.

Unfortunately, the only thing he could come up with was to go all out and reveal the skills he had kept hidden as well as the fact that he was a ghost. 

With the field around the colossal robot that disrupted mana attacks and magic, the only way to deal any real damage to it was to get up close and hack away at it. However, if Marcus approached it in his material form, he was certain he would be blown apart by explosions or torn to shreds by thousands of bullets.

Of course, there was also the possibility that the colossal robot would have a means of attacking him while he was in his ghost form, which would be the absolute worst-case scenario. Even if he gave it his all he wasn't sure if he could beat the mechanical juggernaut if it bypassed his intangibility.

"I recognize that look. You are planning on doing something dangerous aren't you?" Mrazivý said, walking up next to Marcus.

It had only been a half dozen seconds since Marcus had conjured the massive iron castle and everyone except for Mrazivý was still looking around in shock.

She had not been nearly as surprised since this was not the first time she had seen this spell. The few times Marcus had practiced this spell, she had acted as the attacking force to test its resilience.

"Yeah, I was. I guess I have gotten too easy to read." 

"That is just how things are when you spend so much time together with another. You can read me just as well after all." Mrazivý said with a wry smile on her face.

Even while they were under attack from a powerful enemy, she did not show a hint of worry. Likely because she knew that she and Marcus would be fine.

Thanks to Mrazivý, Marcus did not do anything rash and waited for the other members of the expedition squad to gather and come up with a cooperative plan.

"I say that we try and make a break for it while we can. Fighting that thing is too dangerous."

"No, if we do that, our wounded and fatigued won't be able to keep up. You think in our current condition we can defend against the constant blasts of those explosive magic weapons without losing someone."

"I agree, running isn't going to work. We have no idea if we can actually outrun that thing or for how long it will pursue us. For several hundreds of kilometers all that is in front of us is a straight strip of land with nowhere to hide."

"We could try traveling over the water. Surely that thing cannot float and with how deep the lake is it would sink far down into the depths and be unable to attack us."

"Are you crazy. You must remember the last time we tried traveling over that lake. There are monsters and beasts just a dangerous as that metal monstrosity lurking in those waters."

Unfortunately, with tensions running high, a cohesive plan did not come together easily.

While many had their own ideas, most were put into two camps. Those that wanted to flee and those that wanted to stay and fight.

Naturally Marcus and Mrazivý were among those wanting to fight. Neither of them was particularly weakened and still had plenty of trump cards they could use.

Among those that wanted to flee, Evette and Fianna were leading the debate. Fianna was personally pretty beat up, with several missing legs, while Evette knew that she was practically useless against their current enemy. He death magic would not work against a nonliving foe, and pure mana attacks already had proven to be ineffective. 

'Crap. That is not looking good.'

As part of Marcus' spell, he could see everything that was going on within and around his castle. 

Outside the continuous stream of rockets had slowed down, but that was because the colossal robot was focusing its power on breaking through the remainder of the stronghold's wall in one go.

From what Marcus could tell, they only had a couple dozen seconds at most. 

"We don't have much longer. In just a few seconds that thing will have broken through the wall and will be able to target us with all of its weapons. My spell won't last long under concentrated fire. We need to make a decision now." Marcus said, conveying the urgency of their situation.

Reluctantly, Evette finally agreed to stand and fight. Forcing Fianna to go along with the plan or risk wasting the little time they had.

Now that they were on the same page, a strike for of their best close-range fighters was assembled to attack the colossal robot directly.

"Marcus, can I trust you to have my back?" Miguel said, wearing a conflicted expression.

"Yes. I'll make sure to protect you. I am on the support team after all. Magic may not be able to damage our enemy, but I can still block its attacks. Even if you do get hurt, I will use my healing magic or even my Supreme Skill to keep you going. You can believe in me." 

"Very well." Miguel said curtly.

He then turned to everyone else and announced that he would lead the charge. 

This garnered all manner of stunned looks since Miguel had been among those that wanted to run away.

Still, no one spoke up against him after seeing the resolute look in his eyes and the golden aura that had suddenly flared up around him.