Chapter 27: The Tin Knight and The Witch's Way of Greeting (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 27: The Tin Knight and The Witch's Way of Greeting (2)
A solid iron shield smashed into the golden monkey's face.
With a loud crash, the golden body tumbled to the ground, but a moment later, it sprang up like a coil and broke its fall.
Its already reddish face was even more flushed, perhaps from the blow, and blood trickled from its half-crushed nose.
-Kishaaaah!
The golden monkey roared, its fur standing on end in fury.
Far from being intimidated, it only seemed more enraged.
You considered this a good thing.
You had no intention of letting it end here, either.
You glanced over to check on Dorothea.
Her clothes were rumpled and torn, but that was the least of it; the state of her back and shoulders was severe.
Sand and grit were embedded in her scraped skin, matted with blood. The mere sight of it looked painful enough to make one wince.
But Dorothea herself, far from shedding tears of pain, filled her blue eyes with venom and shouted to you.
“Smash it!”
A most agreeable order. As a knight loyal to your master, you were more than happy to obey.
-Ukik!
The golden monkey lunged, as if to repay you for the last attack.
Its long, flexible, and powerful arms were like whips. And with mana-infused claws at their tips, a simple metal shield should have been no more than paper.
Clang!
-U-Ukik?!
But the powerful attack failed to pierce your shield and harm you. No, it didn't even force you back a single step.
As if unable to accept this, the golden monkey unleashed a flurry of attacks.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Sparks like flashes of light erupted each time the claws met the shield's surface.
With every shrill metallic clang, those watching the fight with bated breath flinched, feeling an instinctual threat.
But you did not retreat.
Your expert technique deflected most of the impact, and besides, your shield was also reinforced with mana.
Swords could be imbued with mana, and so could claws; there was no reason a shield couldn't be as well.
The moment the golden monkey, agitated by your impenetrable defense, swung its arm wide for a powerful strike, your blue eyes gleamed ominously.
Slice!
-Ukiieeeek!
A scream of agony echoed.
Severed by the curved sword you swung, the golden monkey's right arm twitched as it rolled on the dirt floor.
You were inwardly surprised. Even though you had used the momentum of the monkey's swing to land a counter, you'd had considerable trouble cutting through it cleanly.
From its golden fur to its tough muscles and strong bones, nothing about it was ordinary.
Flap!
The golden monkey spread its wings and flew into the air.
Having decided it couldn't beat you in a direct confrontation, the golden monkey tried to bypass you and aim for Dorothea.
Few knights know how to fight a flying creature.
In that sense, the golden monkey's decision was a wise one.
If only its opponent hadn't been you, the 'Tin Knight'.
Shunk!
Your shield dug into the ground like a shovel.
Imbuing the gravel and stones on your shield with mana, you shouted.
[The 'Tin Knight' warns you to get down!]
Dorothea's reaction was swift.
Instead of questioning 'Why?', she obediently lowered her stance.
-Shaaaak!
The golden monkey dove, aiming for her defenseless back.
And you swung the shield diagonally upwards with all your might.
Fwump-fwump-fwump!
The pile of mana-reinforced gravel shot out like buckshot, striking the golden monkey directly.
The golden monkey fell to the ground without even letting out a proper scream.
Before the golden monkey could get up, you shot forward like an arrow and swung your curved sword.
Grrrrrind!
You felt the curved sword grate with a bizarre sound.
Despite attacking with enough force to cleave its entire body in two, the actual damage was little more than a deep gash in its shoulder.
Worse, the sword was now firmly lodged between its muscles; you were certain that trying to force it out would break the blade.
-Kishaat!
The monkey spun around and swung its left arm.
The blow was powerful enough to make the air tremble, but to you, it was a crude attack.
Dodging the attack, you let go of the curved sword.
And instead, you grabbed the monkey's tail.
Squeeze.
Despite gripping it with enough force to crush it, the tail remained intact.
You felt a sense of satisfaction.
A weak handle would have been useless.
Adding rotational force, you slammed the monkey into the ground.
Thud!
The golden monkey thrashed its limbs wildly. You ignored it and swung again.
Thud!
Its flapping wings struck your face. You ignored it and swung again.
Thud!
A roar, impossible to tell if from pain or rage, escaped its lips. You ignored it and swung again.
Thud!
The monkey's body went limp.
It looked as if it had lost consciousness.
So, with your free hand, you grabbed the back of the monkey's head and, using the ground as a grater, ground its face like a radish.
-■■■■■!!?!
A horrific shriek erupted from the monkey's mouth, its face half-buried in the ground.
It could no longer even be described as the cry of a monkey.
Of course, you felt no pity for it. The fact that it could still resort to a shallow trick like playing dead meant this monkey clearly had plenty of fight left in it.
You resumed the task of slamming the monkey.
After a few dozen times, you could feel the monkey was no longer moving, but just in case, you repeated it about ten more times.
You stomped on the monkey's back.
Your curved sword had been flung off somewhere during the slamming.
There was a risk it might escape while you went to retrieve your weapon, so you raised your shield instead.
Just as you were about to split the monkey's skull with the bottom edge of the shield…
Chill.
The 'Tin Knight's' intuition sounded an alarm.
An instant after you rolled to the side, something pierced through the space where your torso had been.
Thwack. Seeing the object embedded in the stone wall, you felt a rare sense of bewilderment.
It was a large arrow... no, something closer to a spear.
Its size alone made it far too large to be fired from a handheld bow—it looked like something that needed to be mounted on a ballista. What's more, it was solid metal, with no wood at all.
Swoosh!
Another arrow shot forth.
This arrow, faster than the last, did not allow you time to evade.
You swung your shield and batted the incoming arrow away.
The impact was so heavy that even after deflecting most of the force, you could feel the shield groaning.
But thanks to that, you were able to pinpoint the direction the arrow came from.
On the roof of the tallest nearby building. Someone was looking down at you.
Your superhuman vision captured the figure's appearance precisely.
A crinoline-style dress, with a skirt that billowed out like a parasol.
The garment was covered in ornate embroidery, and her accessories were just as extravagant.
Her hair, tied in two long pigtails, appeared either blonde or silver depending on the angle and the intensity of the light.
Her elegant face was undoubtedly that of a beauty, but her sharp eyes conveyed an unapproachable arrogance and fierceness.
She was the kind of woman who would draw all eyes just by walking down the street, but what truly caught your attention was not the woman herself.
A golden ballista.
Not a metaphor or anything of the sort, but a ballista with the texture and sheen of literal gold, loaded with a massive arrow and aimed right at you.
The woman's gaze darted ceaselessly between you and the monkey you had beaten to a pulp.
With killing intent and fury in her blood-red eyes, the woman muttered something.
As if in response, the golden ballista beside her fired a third arrow.
Crack!
Faced with an arrow of increasing power and speed, your iron shield finally began to buckle.
Simply blocking the attacks would only worsen the situation.
But you couldn't recklessly approach that peculiar sniper, as it would leave Dorothea defenseless.
You were about to tell Dorothea to hide, but there was no need.
As if guessing why you couldn't leave the area, she was already moving toward an alley between the buildings.
Feeling satisfied with the quick-witted Dorothea's actions, you were about to charge toward the new enemy.
-Uki!
Another golden monkey had appeared from somewhere and was snatching up the one you had mangled.
Unlike the first one, which had bird-like wings and a developed upper body, this new one had bat-like wings and a thick lower body.
You tried to stop the golden monkey, but another arrow flew in and thwarted your movement.
It seemed the enemy had given up on their original target, Dorothea, and was now focused on retrieving the monkey.
You were enraged.
You could not let them escape.
The pride of the 'Tin Knight', sworn to protect the descendant of his lord, would not allow it.
And failing to get revenge for the witch—who was so fun to tease—was unacceptable for you as a 'Gamer'.
Maintaining only a minimal defense, you kicked off the ground.
Crunch!
The shield, caught by the ballista bolt, shattered completely, and as if that weren't enough, your left arm was torn off.
But in exchange, you managed to grab the hind leg of the first monkey just as it was about to fly away in the grasp of the second.
-Ukiki!?
The second monkey struggled, flustered by the unexpected extra weight.
Apparently, the second monkey lacked the strength to lift you, a human-sized lump of metal.
Unable to shake you off or abandon the first monkey, the second one hovered in mid-air.
The stalemate did not last long.
The enemy still had another card to play: the ballista.
If this standoff continued, it was obvious the ballista would come to pierce your vitals.
That's right.
The very strike you had been waiting for.
It was impossible to judge the exact timing of the attack.
Therefore, you entrusted everything to the 'Tin Knight's' intuition.
One, two, three!
As you threw your full weight into pulling the first monkey down, its body perfectly overlapped with yours.
And an instant later, the ballista bolt pierced through both you and the monkey.
With a heavy impact, your body rolled across the ground.
Your chest was badly dented, but it didn't impede your movement.
The result was just as you expected.
You, who had sliced it, beaten it, and ground it into the dirt, knew better than anyone just how durable the golden monkey's body was.
The golden monkey, impaled through the chest by the ballista bolt, gasped, its eyes wide.
It was a tenacious life, but that lasted only a few seconds.
Finally, the golden monkey's breathing stopped.
This time, it didn't seem like an act.
You glanced toward the top of the distant building.
The lavishly dressed woman wore a look of horror, then seemed to lose all her strength and collapsed to the ground.
The ballista beside her also vanished, though from your position, you couldn't see exactly how.
Before the woman could regain her senses, you quickly rolled across the ground and fled toward the alley.
You could feel that the mana inside your body was completely depleted.
Just after entering the shade of the alley, your body collapsed against your will.
In your fading vision.
The last thing you saw was the sight of Dorothea and Adelaide approaching you, and then your world went black.