Chapter 130: The Tin Knight and The Country of Giants (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 130: The Tin Knight and The Country of Giants (2)
-■■■! ■■■■!
The giant captain bellowed, and the surviving soldiers all threw their weapons in unison.
The attack was terrifyingly powerful, but unlike their captain’s, their aim was poor.
Their projectiles only served to turn their former comrade into a porcupine.
You felt a flicker of confusion, but it was quickly resolved.
The soldiers began throwing stones and kicking up sand.
In a way, it was their most effective attack yet.
Countless new scratches appeared on your body, and a large stone even dented your leg.
You circulated mana through your body once more.
Ignoring the parts that weren't immediately important, you restored only the leg necessary for movement.
Then you checked your shield.
One of the three gems embedded in it had lost its light during the battle with the Witch of the West, but the other two still pulsed with intense mana.
Staggering from the barrage of sand, you quietly waited for the right moment.
This stone is too big, this one is too small, this one isn't dense enough.
As you picked and chose from the volley of stones, the moment the ones that met your criteria flew toward you, you unleashed the mana stored in your shield.
BOOM! CRACK!
The stones that had been hurtling toward you were sent flying back to their owners with far greater force.
The soldiers' heads shattered all at once.
The only one left was the giant captain.
Instead of running or cowering, he swung his sword at you in a rage.
Size and weight were violence in themselves.
Merely grazing the flat of his blade was enough to severely dent your body.
A normal person would have been immobilized by compound fractures.
But it didn't matter.
The concept of pain did not exist for you.
The fight dragged on, but your body knew no fatigue.
Any injury could be healed, as long as you had mana.
You slashed the giant captain's ankle.
His muscles and bones were far tougher and stronger than the other giants', but to the Tin Knight's battle-honed senses, his flesh and bone still felt soft.
As the giant captain's body tilted to one side, you leaped from his knee to his opposite flank.
You briefly considered unleashing the last gem on your shield, but decided to save your trump card, just in case.
Instead of delivering a body blow to his liver, you climbed onto his back.
The giant captain, as if sensing your intent, quickly threw himself to the ground to shake you off, but you reached his neck faster.
You crawled into the gap between his armor and helmet and plunged your sword deep into the back of his neck.
The giant captain struggled for a moment, then his body shuddered and he collapsed forward.
You stood atop the giant captain's head and surveyed your surroundings.
The corpses of dead giants lined the streets.
The survivors fled from you, their faces filled with terror.
Where you stood, only blood and death remained.
You watched the scene for a moment, then hopped down from the captain's head.
You looked at the golden thread bracelet.
Its brilliant golden light had long since been stained a dark crimson.
No, it wasn't just the bracelet; your entire body was the same.
If you had a sense of touch, you might have felt the warm, sticky sensation of blood.
If you had a sense of smell, you might have smelled the foul stench of blood and viscera.
Of course, that wasn't the case. Your body was nothing but a cold, metal doll.
Feeling no particular emotion about this fact, you headed in one of the directions the bracelet pointed.
A few more giants appeared after that, but upon seeing you, they all fled frantically as if they had seen something terrifying.
How long did you walk?
You arrived at the coast.
You stared blankly at the surging waves.
You knew this place was inside the witch's workshop, but no matter how you thought about it, there was no word other than "sea" to describe the vast expanse of water stretching before you.
And that was a very serious problem.
You could not swim. You could not float.
There were no boats you could use, and after the major battle you’d just fought, getting cooperation from the locals was out of the question.
In other words, you were trapped on this island.
You stood in silence for a moment, then looked around.
You approached a nearby tree and cut it down.
Cutting, splitting, fitting the pieces together.
The wood, shaped by your hands, transformed into a magnificent boat… or not.
Looking at the failure of a creation that likely couldn't even float a dog, let alone a person, your worries deepened.
It was almost strange how you could slice and cut things with infinite precision, yet when you tried to use that skill for something creative, this was the result.
Leaving the failed craft behind, you decided to walk along the coast.
Come to think of it, the thread pointed in several directions; there was no guarantee they all led out to sea.
There might be a companion you could reach on foot.
You walked, and walked, and kept on walking.
The time you spent trying to build a boat and wandering around was far longer than the time it took to pacify the giants.
Your remaining mana was down to about a third.
There was still one gem left on the shield, but its power was for combat, not to be used as your fuel.
A sense of anxiety crept in. Would you find a companion before your mana ran out?
You were the type to enjoy a fight rather than be intimidated, no matter how strong the enemy, but in a situation like this that couldn't be solved with force, you were helpless.
How much farther did you walk?
You suddenly spotted a golden glint in the sky.
Glistening in the sunlight, they were flying over the sea on two wings.
Having seen them several times before, you immediately recognized them as the familiars of the Witch of the West.
They didn't seem to have noticed you yet, but judging by the way they were searching, it was only a matter of time.
Just as you were preparing for battle, it happened.
The golden monkeys flying in the sky suddenly faltered, stopped their search, and began to fly away hurriedly.
You tilted your head in confusion, but that didn't bring the departed monkeys back.
Feeling an emotion you couldn't identify as disappointment or relief, you quickened your pace once more.
Clank. Clank. Clank.
Leaving footprints in the sand, you dragged your heavy body forward.
The blood had dried into black scabs, and the sun was nearing the horizon.
After confirming that the third golden thread also pointed out to sea, not toward land, you collapsed onto the ground.
If there had been a giant's boat on the coast, you would have tried to use it to press on, but no matter how far you walked, you saw no boat, nor anything resembling one.
The only thing you could do now was wait for a companion who might never come and conserve what little mana you had left.
And so, time passed again.
“—Found you.”
A familiar voice tickled your ear.
A girl with braided black hair draped over her shoulder, her pale skin wrapped in black clothes, disembarked from a boat and approached you.
Her blue eyes, as always, were far from gentle, and her expression was blunt.
But you were overjoyed to see her.
Was it because you said nothing?
The girl spoke, her face laced with suspicion.
“What are you staring at?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ claims to be determining if you are real or fake!]
The words came out before you could think.
The girl, Dorothea's, face turned grim.
“Wait, fake? Don't tell me that witch had shapeshifters among her minions?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says there weren't any minions like that!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that having multiple Dorotheas would be a truly terrifying sight!]
“Hey!!”
Dorothea shrieked.
You laughed heartily with your soundless throat.
Dorothea glared at you, but soon let out a sigh.
“Hah, whatever. This isn't the time for games. Are you okay? Looks like you’ve been through a lot.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ reports they were in despair, facing the formidable foe of a Restricted Zone!]
“So everything else was fine, I see. Get on the boat. …No, wash yourself off first.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ expresses confusion, asking if you aren't used to blood, given your profession!]
“Do you think being used to something is the same as liking it? Just hurry up and wash.”
You washed your body as Dorothea instructed.
Normally, washing metal with seawater was a bad idea, but with plenty of mana, it wasn't a major problem.
Pouring mana into yourself like oiling a rusty doll, your tattered and unsightly body became pristine.
When you infused the shield with mana, the gems that had lost their light began to shine brilliantly once more.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks about the other companions!]
“I don't know. You're the first one I've found. It's bothering me that one of the threads disappeared, but there's no way to check on that right now.”
As a bizarre skeleton—it was hard to tell if it was a man or a horse—rowed the oars, the boat carrying you and Dorothea began to move forward.
Dorothea asked.
“Did you run into the monkeys?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says they were searching nearby but then left as if something urgent came up!]
“Urgent? …Did they find the others and call for reinforcements? It wouldn't take a group to catch Sophia, so it might be Adel or Franka.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that Sophia might have surprisingly pulled something off!]
“As if she would. Anyway, be ready. Just because they've retreated for a bit doesn't mean they won't attack again.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ guarantees that while they cannot fight on the boat, they can demonstrate a special booster instead!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ claims it will be accompanied by dizzying thrills and excitement!]
“Enough! Just grab an oar and row!”
Trading grumbles, jokes, and complaints, you and Dorothea pressed on.
Your gloom had long since vanished.