Chapter 270
Chapter 270
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 270
Chapter Title: Drainage Tunnel (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Eloa's sword strike sliced through 45 meters of soil and bedrock as cleanly as if it were a cake.
Yet the foundation didn't crumble, and no rockfalls occurred. That meant the slash that carved out the ceiling was utterly flawless, without a shred of excess.
Light streamed from the elongated V-shaped gash in the ceiling, draping down like a barrier wall.
Facing off across the majestic wall of descending light: Siu and the Red Knight.
A 1.8-meter man in black armor, gripping his sword in a reverse hold.
A 2.5-meter monster in red armor, clutching a crimson spear.
Siu had faced homunculi with massive size differences before.
The first shadow beast he'd ever killed had been the size of an intercity bus, and the mother dog beast that followed was big enough to make a low-rise villa shake with every thundering step.
But was it because the enemy before him took a human form?
Or because forty red eyes glared at Siu in unison from beneath the helmet?
A mere two heads' difference in height suddenly felt like an insurmountable chasm.
"Siu, listen carefully."
In the tense standoff, each probing for the other's openings, Eloa recited the Red Knight's abilities to Siu.
"It doesn't have much strength left. Your ambush succeeding means its body has slowed and dulled that much. There should still be meaningful damage lingering in its frame."
"Yes. Tell me about the Red Branch too."
Siu kept his eyes fixed on the Red Knight, slowly shifting his stance.
The Red Knight mirrored him, beginning to circle in the same direction.
One man and one monster tracing slow circles along the same trajectory.
Items that allow the magic within them to be used semi-permanently.
Among them, reusable ones are called artifacts.
But when the embedded magic goes beyond mere spells—serving as a catalyst for Nature Magic or manifesting Nature Magic on its own—it earns the superior title of relic.
The relic making the Red Knight such a formidable foe was that Red Branch.
Even a rough classification revealed three distinct effects.
"The Red Branch is a tricky relic. First, it generates a distortion field. It acts as a barrier blocking magic and impacts while trying to transfer distortion the moment weapons clash."
"You might endure a couple clashes, but it'll wear you down over time. Never trade blows head-on for long."
No matter how great the magic, nothing in this world works without cost.
Not just the Red Knight, but the Red Branch itself must consume a great deal.
Evidence: the Red Branch, which once warped the present to reverse the past and resurrect the White Knight endlessly, could no longer raise it.
"Barriers extend from the Red Branch. They're not fast, but their power is absolute. Be especially wary of the paths swept by the spear tip."
"Got it."
"Finally, believe in yourself. Ready?"
Siu mulled over Eloa's advice and nodded.
Watching his back, Eloa wondered if this choice was truly right.
Siu had grasped the situation perfectly.
The Cowardly Witch's top forces: the Red Knight and White Knight.
Eloa had poured her all into annihilating the White Knight and weakening the Red Knight.
Retreat now, and the Red Knight and Cowardly Witch would vanish again.
Sua and Tiphereth had searched fruitlessly for the workshop for months.
Raiding it at all was thanks to intel from the captured Della.
The Red Knight was already adept at hiding and fleeing.
If it went underground again, no guarantee they'd find it.
Sooner or later, a fully prepared Sochitl would unleash disaster.
As a public enemy, she'd spare no means for Plan B, birthing countless more sacrifices.
Was there truly no better way?
Even trusting Siu completely, sitting idle while he risked his life was agony.
But Eloa's deliberations didn't last.
The Red Knight, spear at ready and eyes fixed on Siu, moved first.
Its speed was a far cry from its full-power days.
But that was merely relative.
All Siu registered was the once-blurry Red Knight suddenly bursting into view.
His belated defensive swing clashed with the Red Branch.
The shadow sword met the glancing spear blade.
And...
"Guhk!"
Siu instantly knew Eloa's warning against head-on clashes was spot on. Just crossing swords felt like his guts were bursting from his mouth. The distortion field surging through the blade tip, fingertips, and his entire body rippled his armor like waves, once rigidly formed. The magic construct shattered under the extreme shock and strain.
Siu barely recomputed to keep his armor from unraveling when the second strike came, no breather given. The Red Knight spun its spear like a windmill and swung full-force at the off-balance Siu. Centrifugal force amplified the blow, followed by root-like barriers extending for delayed strikes. Siu's only choice: retreat.
The spear tip grazed his helmet's edge, shattering it like a cookie.
But the trailing barrier slammed into Siu's chest.
"Gaaah!!!" "Siu!"
Don't underestimate the barriers just because they're slow and lack raw mana. The Red Branch's barriers sought to warp Siu's 'existence itself' with every attack. For a spirit body blending flesh, thoughts, and mana, 'distortion' was poison incarnate.
Normally, that would've been the end. Siu's finale. But he still lived. The Guardian's Contract had auto-defended, anchoring him from dissolution. The moment his fading consciousness cleared, Siu raised his sword again.
"What kind of monstrous bastard..."
He hadn't expected an easy fight. His left eye, revealing mana flows, warned of ample power left in the Red Knight.
The crimson spear slid fluidly in the Red Knight's grasp. Gripping the end, it smashed down with earth-splitting force. Siu retreated once more. Root-like barriers erupted from the grounded Red Branch, targeting him again.
That's the problem. The Red Knight's movements were blatantly unnatural. Awkward and stiff, plenty of openings to exploit. Step inside during those big swings, and victory wasn't impossible. But those supplemental barriers between motions were a nuisance.
Numerous and dense. Given their power from before, ignoring them to advance was suicide.
Pure physicals favored the Red Knight. Normally debatable, but unable to clash weapons now, Siu was at a technical disadvantage too. So where lay the key to victory?
Magic. The Red Branch wielded diverse spells. Those were what made breaching the Red Knight so tough. So if he read the mana flows and found countermeasures?
"Rise!"
Backpedaling from the Red Knight's relentless combo, Siu amplified his mana. Inky black shadow particles spread like spilled ink from his hands, enshrouding him entirely. He'd converted amplified mana into shadow particles for smokescreen use.
The Red Knight faltered, seemingly startled by the sudden shadows.
But realizing it was magic of tiny particles, it swelled its distortion field.
Against unhardened shadows lacking firm physical form, the distortion field was an absolute counter.
Pushed out, the smokescreen erased clean like rubber off paper.
In that split-second gap, four ribbons burst forth like guided missiles weaving through thunderclouds—ends sharply twisted like morning glory buds.
For the Red Knight, vision narrowed to under 3 meters, it was an unforeseen assault.
Yet it swung its spear, shredding and pulverizing all four.
Siu watched from within the shadows. Dispersing shadows as smokescreen wasn't just to blind and flee. It tested the distortion field's traits. His eyes steadily analyzed and gauged the Red Branch's series of magical reactions.
He'd already gleaned one key piece of intel.
The Red Branch's overpowered nature was obvious at a glance. In close quarters, it transferred distortion waves on contact, stacking internal damage; against external magic, it unfurled like a curtain, twisting structures.
This was like wielding the cheat item game devs hand out for unbeatable boss mobs. Can't approach up close, can't fight from afar—then how the hell do you beat it?
But that test revealed one thing. The distortion field's nature.
Normally, the distortion field condensed inside the Red Branch like a deflated balloon. Inflating it like a balloon blocked external magic, but the expanded surface weakened tensile strength, diluting distortion intensity.
If his hypothesis held, he could press close while minimizing impact if it inflated the field to block shadows.
To confirm, Siu charged as the field hadn't yet contracted. Scattered cloud-shadows dispersed in the gale as his sword whistled through the air.
A decently hidden ambush, but the Red Knight reacted surely.
It raised the Red Branch diagonally, blocking Siu's descending slash.
Siu gritted his teeth, bracing for potential shock.
But red barriers merely sparked like fireworks; the returning pain was minor.
Just a fleeting nausea like seasickness.
But it wasn't enough.
Those barriers still blocked; without crushing the distortion field, brute force against the Red Knight was impossible.
"Rise!"
Siu melted back into shadows while quadrupling his mana amplification. His left eye throbbed from the strain, but he swapped it all to shadows, blanketing the entire tunnel. It looked like black smoke billowing from a fire.
The Red Knight uttered a dissatisfied growl and swept its spear.
The distortion field easily repelled the shadow smokescreen.
Truth be told, Siu's current shadows had little effect. Unless clinging close, they couldn't hold form like armor or sword, and as ribbons, four was his limit. At best, they obscured vision and mildly disrupted magic.
So no chance of winning? Siu asked himself. No. There's still something left to do.