Chapter 322: The Tin Knight and the Revived Myth (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 322: The Tin Knight and the Revived Myth (4)
Clip-clop. Clip-clop.
The horse and carriage galloped across the land.
As the scenery flew by, Dorothea was lost in quiet thought.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if you have any worries!]
At the question from her side, Dorothea glanced over and said, “I have plenty. Like how the black serpent that was chasing that dragon has suddenly vanished, or how it’s difficult to discern the heavens’ true intentions, or what the situation is like elsewhere.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that since Dorothea only has one body, there’s a limit to what she can solve on her own!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says it’s best to handle things one at a time, starting with what’s right in front of you!]
“You don’t have to emphasize it, I know.”
Dorothea replied curtly, then turned her gaze to the sky.
She had been through countless hardships since childhood under the guise of running errands, and after meeting the Tin Knight, she had fought against the strongest across the continent as if on a dojo challenge. Yet even she couldn’t help but tense up.
The presence of the golden dragon flying leisurely through the sky was so intense that, despite the dark night, it felt as if a second sun had risen.
“That’s… weaker than its prime?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that’s roughly the feeling!]
Dorothea fought back the urge to ask what kind of monster it had been in its prime. Not only was there no need to know right now, but she felt it would only sap her motivation.
It was then that she felt an abnormal flow of mana.
In the distant sky, toward the dragon’s location, all the surrounding mana began to be sucked in.
Clatter. The golem horse’s movements stuttered for a moment. The carriage, which passively maintained all sorts of magical effects including weight reduction and durability enhancement, briefly lost its light.
Dorothea even felt as if the mana within her own body was being forcibly pulled away, and she frantically suppressed it in alarm.
“Wh-what is this?”
She soon had her answer.
Around the dragon’s mouth, a torrent of mana, so overwhelming it sent a chill down her spine, began to surge.
A deep breath in, a long breath out.
It was an act that could be described so simply.
But its result was devastating.
There was light. A pillar of light, falling from the high heavens to the earth.
An immense heatwave and shockwave erupted in a radius of hundreds of meters around the point of impact.
Rocks that had stood their ground for ages melted instantly in the extraordinary heat, turning into sticky caramel.
Trees, once full of moisture, were not just dried out but turned to charcoal dust and scattered in an instant. Wild animals were not merely roasted; their very bodies evaporated.
A forest was transformed into a barren wasteland, uninhabitable by any living thing, in a single moment. Another forest, which had avoided a direct hit, was still ravaged by the aftershock, its trees uprooted or toppled like dominoes.
From within the barrier created by her staff, Dorothea stared blankly at the scene.
Her mind in turmoil, she unconsciously uttered a single word.
“Why…?”
Why, so suddenly, without any warning, had it unleashed such a catastrophic blow upon the earth?
To keep them in check? But the place it had attacked was an empty forest.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ replies that maybe there was a lone hunter living in the forest!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ speculates that, according to Sophia’s theory, they are programmed to attack humans, so someone must have been there!]
Dorothea blinked.
So, just now.
To kill a few people, it had spewed that from its mouth?
A strike of judgment that looked like it could have turned a town or even a city to ash if it had hit directly?
[The ‘Tin Knight’ replies that for that thing, it was just a basic attack using a tiny bit of its power!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that back in the day, it would casually scan the ground from high up, and if it saw anything that stood out, it would just blast away, and that area would be annihilated!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ comments that its attack power has definitely decreased, since a single breath would have previously devastated things by the kilometer!]
Dorothea was at a loss for words.
The ‘strength’ the Tin Knight spoke of was on such a transcendent level that it felt unreal. The current situation, where they were desperately chasing after such a being to fight it, felt just as absurd.
However, Dorothea suppressed the words of weakness that threatened to escape her lips.
The Tin Knight was perfectly composed.
Though his demeanor was a little more serious than usual, there was no fundamental sense of fear or any attitude of avoiding the battle.
If that was the case, then she too had to be dignified.
As the Tin Knight’s master, as his contractor, she could not yield on that point.
“That’s a pretty specific assessment. Didn’t you say you had no memories of your predecessor other than his combat experience?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that after using the game book with Adel so often, memories sometimes appear like dreams!]
“And based on those memories, you’ve judged that the two of us have a chance against that thing?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ replies that no matter how strong the lizard is, as long as a sword can reach it, there’s a chance!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that back in the old man’s day, his comrades in the kingdom helped him get close to the lizard, and that’s how they won!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ confidently declares that if Dorothea just provides a ride or a foothold, he can take it down too!!]
“If that’s all it takes.”
Dorothea nodded.
Anticipating that the heavens might pull something after the collection of the sacred treasures was complete, the Tin Knight’s party had stayed together for a while. Dorothea had used that time to prepare materials.
Since she had to return the Gloves of Haider, her supply wasn’t as inexhaustible as before, but the materials piled high in the carriage were more than enough to create an undead legion.
Dorothea swung her staff, weaving her mana.
Receiving the deep, dark power of necromancy, five chimera eagles materialized.
“Undead strong enough to carry your heavy self have a short duration, so it’s more efficient to keep summoning them in waves rather than all at once. I’ll keep sending reinforcements from below, so fight without worry.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ beats his chest and says to leave it to him!]
With that, the Tin Knight climbed onto the back of one of the chimera eagles.
Watching him soar into the sky, driving the eagle without a hint of fear, Dorothea let out a small smile.
When it came to battle, at least, the Tin Knight was a man of unerring judgment and reliable insight.
If he said, ‘The two of us can do it,’ then it meant they really could.
In that case, there was no reason to be afraid or hesitate.
She would simply do her best.
Like a witch, Dorothea’s mind worked with cold calculation.
‘That breath earlier. The power was certainly shocking, but the wind-up time before the attack is longer than I thought. It’s easy to detect the prelude since it sucks in the surrounding mana. A direct hit from the beam itself would render any defense meaningless, but I should be able to block the aftershock with a barrier. Considering the mana supply and undead support, I can’t get too far away, so I’ll maintain a moderate distance and—’
Thud!
Just then, something rolled down the stairs from the second floor of the carriage and landed at Dorothea’s feet.
Dorothea identified the object and frowned.
It was the hand mirror she had left in her private space on the second floor.
Why did this fall now? The moment Dorothea wondered this…
The reflection of Dorothea in the mirror grinned.
It was a clear paranormal phenomenon, but rather than stumbling back in shock or screaming, Dorothea first activated the staff’s barrier.
It was the composure and reaction of a seasoned witch.
However, her opponent was a bad match.
That was inevitable.
Her opponent was a demonic being that had, a thousand years ago, delved into the minds of countless key figures, manipulating them at will and sowing chaos.
The body of one of the eight generals, Opium, emerged from the mirror, broke through the barrier, and lunged at Dorothea.
Dorothea’s body collapsed, losing consciousness.
The staff in her hand trembled as if in panic, but it couldn’t bring Dorothea’s consciousness back.
Flip. The pages of the game book Dorothea carried opened on their own.
For some reason, the pages were stained a pitch-black, unlike usual.
On the black pages, white sentences were inscribed.
「Once upon a time, a long, long time ago. There was a knight.」
「A knight who was so brave, so strong, and so loyal.」
「In the knight’s country, there was a very great queen.」
「A queen who was so wise, so fair, and so considerate.」
「And, and, and.」
「There was a certain girl, who admired those two more than anyone else.」
The pages continued to turn.
The driverless carriage continued to run, following its given orders.
At that moment, as Dorothea lay unconscious inside the carriage, the Tin Knight, having soared high into the sky with the five chimera eagles, finally reached the dragon’s position.
Unlike the others, the Tin Knight didn’t bother speaking to the general.
He didn’t have the function to speak in the first place, but even if he did, it would have been the same.
He knew better than anyone that what he had for the dragon before him was not words, but a sword.
CRUNCH!
The Tin Knight’s sword energy carved out a piece of the dragon’s flesh.
The skill to precisely target the gaps between its mighty scales was truly marvelous, but the dragon was no pushover either.
WHOOOOSH!
Spheres of light gathered around the dragon’s body, then shot out in all directions as a barrage of lasers.
Just as the Tin Knight remembered how to defeat the dragon, the dragon also had memories of being defeated by the Tin Knight.
As if knowing that any attempt at a precision strike would be endured by the Tin Knight anyway, the dragon unleashed an attack that was impossible to evade.
The Tin Knight protected himself amidst the parade of light beams, but the eagle he was riding could not.
Having lost his footing, the Tin Knight plummeted toward the ground. No sooner had he begun to fall than the second chimera eagle, which had received prior instructions from Dorothea, swooped in, caught the Tin Knight on its back, and soared upward again.
The golden dragon was silent.
The Tin Knight was also silent.
The dragon and the knight clashed once more, as if continuing their ancient battle.
Above the continent.
Dragon Dracaena VS Tin Knight (Four mounts remaining.)
In the dream of ??????.
Succubus Opium VS Dorothea Aschengard
*
At that time, as fierce battles raged or were about to erupt across the continent, a strange phenomenon was occurring at the place where the eight generals had first materialized and the black serpent had appeared.
Slither, slither.
Like a pitch-black lake whose contents were completely invisible. Or like a mass of shadows themselves.
From the hole the black serpent had emerged from, a place that could only be described as ‘the black thing,’ something began to well up continuously.
There were lilliputians. There were giants.
There were fairies, vampires, werewolves—countless beings who were once called legends on this continent and were now believed to have vanished.
They were fully armed as they set foot on the surface.
And they cheered.
This refreshing air, this welcoming earth, this bountiful nature.
Everything they had craved, yearned for, and yet failed to obtain was so commonplace on the surface.
And that cheer soon turned into a thick, sticky resentment.
It was jealousy toward the race called human, who possessed all these things and enjoyed their benefits alone.
If their revenge against the heavens was a just retribution for stealing the god that should have been theirs and a task they had to accomplish, their grudge against the surface was something far more worldly and personal.
Starting a war at this point was not something they wanted, but it was an unavoidable action.
They could not stand by and allow the eight generals, the pride of the underground, to be subjugated, annihilated, or captured and used again.
They had to quickly secure and rescue the eight generals while they still had strength remaining.
With a faithful mission in their hearts, the ‘rescue army’ of the underground began its march.
“—The stench of filth is overwhelming.”
And a woman blocked their path.
She was a woman with a youthful appearance.
She was a woman dressed in loose-fitting clothes.
She was a woman who exuded an ancient aura.
She was a woman who reeked of curses and death from every inch of her being.
The Witch of the East declared coldly.
“Where do you think you are, treading with your filthy feet? You filth of the underground.”
The next moment, death arrived.
A lilliputian’s body swelled like a balloon and burst.
A werewolf’s fur fell out in clumps, and it clawed at its own body as if dying from an unbearable itch before it perished.
A fairy flying in the sky burst into flames, wings and all, and died. A giant clutched its chest, flailed, and died.
They died. They died. They died. They died.
The soul of one crushed to death cheered. The soul of one who died from a skin disease cheered.
The soul of one burned to death cheered. The soul of one poisoned to death cheered.
The evil spirits erupted in a chorus of mad laughter. The curses they spread contaminated the ground, causing even the plants to wither.
It was a moment when it seemed the entire army of the underground would be annihilated.
《That will be enough.》
A black serpent, which had appeared at some point, swallowed the evil spirits in a single gulp.
The Witch of the East’s eyes narrowed.
The black serpent’s form shrank, soon transforming into a human-shaped shadow.
The shadow-man. No, the prime minister of the underground, opened his mouth.
《I had originally intended to check on the state of the other generals… but it seems I have no choice but to step in.》
The prime minister sighed, as if the need to recollect his eight divided bodies was quite displeasing.
《So, would you care to make an excuse for why you so brutally massacred our people?》
“Is it not natural to clean up filth?”
《Fine, that’s enough. I see now that conversation is useless.》
Extra Stage.
Prime Minister of the Underground & Army of the Underground VS The Witch of the East.