Chapter 137: The Tin Knight and The Golden Alchemist (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 137: The Tin Knight and The Golden Alchemist (7)
Dorothea’s blue eyes quickly surveyed the enemy forces.
‘Their numbers are too low.’
An army of over 200 homunculi. It was absurd to think their numbers were low when every single one was a knight-level combatant capable of wielding sword energy. But her opponent was one of the Four Great Witches.
According to Franka, the Witch of the West's direct disciple, the witch should still have more than twice, no, three times that number of homunculi under her command.
She didn't know where they were or what they were doing, but they couldn't possibly stay occupied with other tasks forever when the Witch of the West herself was in danger.
Reinforcements were inevitable.
She couldn't afford to drag this out.
Dorothea opened the pouch at her waist.
Crash!
With the sound of a glass bottle shattering, an eerie smoke filled the air around her party.
The pitch-black smoke, like darkness turned to gas, obscured the golden monkeys' vision.
Thud!
From within the smoke, the Tin Knight leaped forward.
As if they had been waiting, the golden monkeys thrust their spears at him.
As expected, the strikes were imbued with mana.
In response, the Tin Knight tightened his grip.
Vwooom!
The sword in his hand began to hum, resonating with the sword energy that was condensed to the point of bursting.
This was unusual for the Tin Knight, who normally dispatched his enemies with utmost efficiency.
Slice!
A single flash.
With one strike that drew a line from left to right, the heads of three monkeys flew off.
Before the golden heads could even hit the ground, the Tin Knight kicked the bodies of the monkeys he had just slain back into the black smoke.
Whether out of fury for their fallen comrades or simply executing their master's orders mechanically, the surrounding monkeys charged the Tin Knight all at once.
Front, back, left, right. And from above.
A coordinated assault, possible only for creatures possessing flight, small frames, and abnormal physical abilities all at once, surged toward the Tin Knight.
Crown of the head, left eye, right jaw, neck, shoulder, side, back, waist, navel, thigh, ankle, instep.
Facing attacks aimed at twelve different points, the blue flames that formed the Tin Knight's eyes flickered.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!
A series of harsh, shrill metallic sounds rang out as sparks flew from all over the Tin Knight's body, carving scratches into his armor.
But that was all.
The golden monkeys' eyes widened at the unexpectedly light damage.
The moment they thrust their mana-infused spearheads, they felt the tips inexplicably slide away.
It was like touching a rapidly spinning sphere, and that sensation was, in fact, correct.
Vwoooooom!
Blue and gray mana circulated at high speed across the surface of the Tin Knight's body.
The principle was similar to what he'd done when acting as a propeller for the carriage: generating physical force by circulating mana.
The Tin Knight's sword swung again, and this time, two more heads fell.
After cutting down those who blocked his path, he once again threw himself into the black smoke.
Just as the golden monkeys rushed forward to pursue him.
Swoosh!
The Tin Knight, who had seemed to be retreating, suddenly spun around and threw a spear he had picked up at some point.
It was a surprise attack that seemed to pierce a gap in their awareness.
Just as the golden flash was about to reach the Witch of the West, tearing through the air...
Ripple.
The ground beneath the witch rippled like liquid, and a golden pillar suddenly shot up, blocking the Tin Knight's spear.
Just after the thrown spear shattered with a loud crack, the Witch of the West's expression changed, a moment too late.
The knight judged.
Possesses defensive measures independent of the user's perception. The main body's reaction speed is not that fast.
Her skill as an alchemist is so exceptional it's not obvious, but she is essentially a scholar, not a warrior.
Given her tactic of leaving combat to her familiars, it is presumed she has little experience fighting in situations where she is personally threatened.
The gamer judged.
The summons are the main threat. Her skills are powerful, but her stats are low. Judging by the way she handles her minions, she has zero talent for strategy simulations.
《Such petty tricks!》
The Witch of the West's enraged roar echoed. It seemed she was trying to suppress the fear of the imminent threat with a show of anger.
The ground beneath the witch rippled like liquid once more, and a massive pillar emerged, lifting her body into the sky.
At the top of the pillar, a spherical barrier formed to protect the witch, while four mechanical arms sprouted from its base.
A crossbow, a spear, an axe, and a shield were attached to the end of each arm.
The gleaming golden axe was raised high and then brought down on the center of the black smoke.
The blow, aimed at Dorothea's position, was blocked by the Tin Knight's shield and couldn't connect, but the sheer force of the impact pushed back the black smoke, revealing the party.
Dozens of spearheads flew toward the Tin Knight, who was pinned down blocking the axe.
The Tin Knight managed to fend them off with the sword in his free hand and his own armored body, but he didn't have enough hands to stop the enemies attacking his other companions.
Shwip!
Deflecting a fiercely lunging spear over her left shoulder, Adel swung her two-handed sword.
CRUNCH!
The blade, embedded in the enemy's side, met with strong resistance.
She lacked the strength. It was true even for a blow that utilized centrifugal force and was enhanced with sword energy.
Judging it impossible to cut it down in one blow, she pulled back and swung her sword sideways.
As she blocked another homunculus's downward spear strike, a jarring shock ran through her hands and forearms.
Adel grimaced.
‘As I thought, they're not weak…!’
The gleaming golden fur, the muscles like tough, woven fibers, even the bones harder than most metal weapons—nothing about them was easy to cut.
Despite having frames only slightly larger than a child's, their strength was enough to hurl boulders their own size, and they naturally knew how to imbue their weapons with mana and enhance their bodies.
And if things got even slightly disadvantageous, they would fly into the sky to escape.
The Tin Knight, who could slay several of these things in a single blow, was the abnormal one; each of the Witch of the West's homunculi was stronger than an average knight.
Adel had experience fighting a troop of homunculi alone and felling about twenty of them, but that had only been possible because their objective had been to capture her alive, and because she'd had the sacred treasure, the Belt of Amaryllis.
Facing enemies who were now determined to kill, and without her sacred treasure, it seemed she would be lucky to last twenty seconds, let alone fell twenty of them.
Just as she finally lost her balance and was about to be pierced by a spear.
CLANG!
An attack from the side blocked the spear that was about to impale Adel.
It wasn't the Tin Knight's assistance.
The one who had saved Adel was a monkey with golden fur and twin wings—a homunculus.
The homunculus that had been attacking Adel showed a flicker of bewilderment at the unexpected interference from its comrade.
But as if it couldn't care less, the homunculus that had protected Adel thrust its spear, piercing its former comrade.
Besides that one, several other homunculi turned their backs to Adel and fought against the others who were trying to attack her.
The number of homunculi that had betrayed their own was exactly five.
It matched the exact number that had been killed by the Tin Knight in the battle so far.
《You wretched girl!》
The Witch of the West's single eye glared down at the rooftop, filled with rage.
Slosh.
At some point, something strange had begun to flow across the rooftop floor.
The strange liquid, which looked like a mix of plant sap and green algae, became a muddy stream that gradually spread across the rooftop.
The green liquid seeped into the corpses of the homunculi that had been pierced, unable to react to their comrades' sudden betrayal.
Immediately after, something like plant stems grew out from between the golden fur and the blood vessels beneath.
Stir.
The things that were once corpses rose nonchalantly and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, swung their weapons at their former kin.
At the center of this bizarre phenomenon,
was Dorothea, clutching her staff.
Protected by a translucent barrier, she withstood the attacks of the surrounding homunculi and offered a bold taunt.
“Looks like you don't have the luxury to deal with the corpses this time, huh? Then again, you fled to such a high place because you were scared of being attacked, so I guess you wouldn't care about a funeral for your minions.”
《You insolent child, your arrogance pierces the heavens!》
Three of the four arms that shared a base with the golden pillar swung.
The arrow fired from the crossbow, while not as large as the previous one, was still massive; the axe was ferocious, and the spear was vicious.
But that was all.
CLAAAAANG!
The Tin Knight's swinging sword parried the spear, his shield blocked the axe, and a kick deflected the arrow's trajectory.
The witch's attack, meant to punish Dorothea, was futilely blocked by the wall that was the Tin Knight.
In exchange, parts of the Tin Knight's body were pierced and sliced away, but the damage was instantly restored as mana was poured into him.
Thump!
Adel, who had been fighting wildly outside, threw herself inside the defensive barrier where Dorothea and Sophia were.
The barrier, which was blocking the homunculi's attacks in real time, allowed Adel to pass through as if it were nothing.
“Healing!”
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
The holy power flowing from Sophia's hands quickly healed the wounds all over Adel's body.
[‘Tin Knight’ says this side requires supplies!]
As if responding to the Tin Knight's call, the newly healed Adel charged out again and unleashed a fierce blow. In that opening, the Tin Knight returned inside the barrier, and Dorothea shoved mana into his back.
Perhaps because there was no time to calmly channel the mana, she poured it in with the force of dumping it from a bucket.
Half of the transferred amount failed to be delivered properly and leaked away, but Dorothea didn't care. Right now, no resource was more precious than time.
When his mana tank was about a quarter full, the Tin Knight leaped forward again.
Adel was already cornered and staggering. In the mere three seconds he had been away, she was already on the verge of being beaten to a pulp. This was despite Sophia continuously healing her from a distance. No joke, it looked like she would be dead if left alone for another two seconds.
Sending Adel flying back inside the barrier, the Tin Knight glared at a homunculus that was unleashing particularly sharp attacks.
Seeing the flame-like belt wrapped around its waist, the Tin Knight's eyes glinted.
It was an item of little use to him, whose body was made of metal, but there, on that monkey, was a piece of equipment his still-frail disciple desperately needed.
SH-SH-SH-SHINK!
The Tin Knight's sword drew a savage arc.
It was a crude style of swordsmanship, devoid of any noble intent or elegance, focused solely on the thorough annihilation of the enemy.
It wasn't that the sword energy was crude, but that the nature of the swordsmanship itself was so.
In the space of a single breath, three more homunculi were slain, but his actual target, the monkey with the belt, was still standing with only a shallow gash.
It seemed to be benefiting fully from the sacred treasure's effect.
Just as he was about to launch a follow-up attack, the witch's giant golden weapons once again targeted the barrier protecting Dorothea.
The Tin Knight withdrew his attack and once again stood to block the witch's weapons.
The chaotic storm of attacks from all sides chipped away at his body again, but at his feet, the slain homunculi, submerged in the green liquid, rose to turn on their former allies.
It was a fierce war of attrition.