The Tin Knight-Chapter 30: The Tin Knight and The Witchs Way of Greeting (5)

To clarify one fact here, Adelaide’s combat experience was meager.

The period she had been learning to fight from the Tin Knight amounted to a little more than two weeks.

Her ability to achieve an undefeated streak at the Lennart dojo was due to quick initiative and unpredictability, not because Adelaide was overwhelmingly strong.

Therefore, Dorothea didn’t demand something like “defeat the opponent” from Adelaide.

Her sole task was to stall for time.

To somehow hinder the movements of one familiar.

Even that came with the condition that she could flee anytime if it became disadvantageous.

Adelaide was grateful for the consideration

That witch, slightly older than her, was cruel to those who first pointed their blade at her but had a surprisingly soft side towards companions.

For this reason, Adelaide had no intention of easily running away.

The Tin Knight and Dorothea treated her not as a servant, but as a companion.

As such, Adelaide felt a duty to act in a way that would not be considered shameful as their companion.

[Ooh-kee!]

The bat-winged monkey soared through the first floor’s airspace.

The golden body that had risen to a precarious point near the ceiling shot down to the ground in the blink of an eye.

Sharp claws approached her face.

Instead of reflexively closing her eyes or shrinking back, Adelaide dodged while observing the trajectory of the attack until the end.

I felt it at the dojo too, but the training results are really showing...!

Adelaide was inwardly delighted.

Having been beaten defenseless when she mistakenly closed her eyes and lost sight of the enemy, it had become ingrained in her to keep her eyes open no matter what.

It was a truly unfortunate misunderstanding brought about by Adelaide’s excellent talent.

Ordinarily, forcing oneself to endure such experiences would only lead to trauma, causing the body to shrink even further—Adelaide, of course, was unaware of this.

Since the Tin Knight lacked a human heart, and Dorothea knew little of the training of knights and warriors, her misunderstanding went uncorrected.

[Ooh-keek!]

Naturally, the monkey attacking Adelaide didn’t know such detailed circumstances.

The golden beast simply wanted to catch the prey that was slipping away from its attacks as soon as possible.

The sight of the prey narrowly escaping again and again only caused its frustration to grow.

A few times it had tried to return to its master, abandoning the prey, but each time Adelaide uncannily sensed the attempt and rushed in, foiling its attempted escapes.

Finally, the monkey’s already limited patience ran out.

[Kee-shaaaaa!]

As the monkey’s golden fur shone brilliantly, its movements became even faster.

Feeling a chill surge up her spine, Adelaide hurriedly protected herself with her sword.

Crack!

Adelaide’s iron sword broke as it blocked the monkey’s attack, and its fragments grazed her thigh.

A stinging pain flared, but Adelaide had no leisure to check her wound.

The monkey, now emitting mana from its wings and claws, lunged at her once more.

Adelaide’s body, certain that even one hit would mean death, came up with a usable tactic almost instinctively.

Adelaide grabbed a nearby chair and threw it at the monkey.

It was a powerful throw as if claiming this much was basic etiquette for a trained noble young lady.

[Ooh-ki!]

Of course, to the monkey with its special body, not to mention wielding claw energy, it was a trivial attack.

The chair was split in two with a light kick.

Next came a water bottle flying, but this too shattered with a single wing beat.

Next was a desk, then a picture frame, then a fireplace poker... By this point, even the monkey felt something was odd.

Wasn’t she throwing a bit too much?

[Oo, ooh-keek!]

Despite the monkey’s protests, Adelaide was busy throwing everything she could get her hands on.

If she closed the distance, she risked getting torn to shreds by her opponents claws, but keeping too much distance would only make her lose sight of her opponent—this was the best Adelaide could manage for now.

It was fortunate that the first floor space was very large, befitting the best inn in the city, and that Tom and the employees had fallen unconscious in the corner.

Both in the sense that they weren’t caught up in the battle, and that they didn’t have to witness the mayhem unfolding before their eyes.

But even this was nothing compared to the chaos the two monsters were causing upstairs.

***Boom!

Crash!

Creak!

A wall crumbled with one punch from the monkey.

When the Tin Knight stepped down hard, the ground caved in as if it might collapse.

Golden light and silver energy. Every time the two mana forces clashed, something in the surroundings was cut or crushed.

The Tin Knight observed his opponent closely, even as he nimbly rolled to avoid the predictable sequence of arm swings and forward charges

The monkey with bird wings had a strong body, decent flying ability, and overall well-balanced specs.

Although he hadn’t directly fought the bat-winged monkey, he could guess that its abilities were focused on flight and agility.

Then, what of the insect-winged monkey he was fighting currently?

Bang! Bang! Crash!

A complete physical powerhouse.

A moving mass of muscle itself.

Its half a size larger than the Tin Knight, its limbs as thick as logs, and its fur was notably denser compared to its brothers.

The wings on its back seemed decorative, having abandoned flight ability, but considering this was indoors, this wasn’t a major disadvantage.

Boom!

Every time the huge limbs swung with a roar resembling a beast, the Tin Knight’s body seemed to flair like a rag doll.

The Tin Knight, having lost his shield in the previous fight, was left with only a curved sword.

One-handed sword and one-handed shield.

Unable to use his preferred combat style, the Tin Knight’s body continued to be dented and injured.

It was a stark contrast to the first fight where he had pushed the enemy without receiving a single proper injury.

The opponent was stronger, and the Tin Knight’s power had diminished.

Therefore, the one who held the advantage in this fight was...

Slash!

...overwhelmingly, the Tin Knight.

An expression of pain and bewilderment appeared on the monkey’s face.

Although the steel knight’s body fluttered and was injured every time it collided with the monkey, none of those injuries could be called fatal.

Of course, if that was all, there would be no reason for the monkey to be greatly pushed back.

After all, it too had escaped major injury.

Although the shoulder wound from the initial surprise attack was somewhat deep, it was a level that the monkey’s regenerative ability could fully recover from.

Yes, if the monkey’s regenerative ability was functioning normally, that was.

A searing pain, as if something was burning, was felt from the shoulder joint.

No, not just the shoulder, but all the wounds inflicted by the Tin Knight were like this.

Wounds that normally could have been easily ignored were endlessly asserting their presence, tormenting the monkey.

The Tin Knight’s eyes shone brightly.

The curved sword in his hand was stained black.

It wasn’t the sword’s original color, nor was it the color of the Tin Knight’s mana.

Poison, and curse.

The witch’s spell that Dorothea had imbued was mercilessly tearing at the monkey’s wounds.

— There’s no time to leisurely go find a shield. But since you’d be uncomfortable without one of your usual pieces of equipment, I’ll enhance your sword instead.

— It’s originally a spell to strengthen weapons used by the undead, so if a living person uses it, they’d be harmed too, but you should be fine without worrying about side effects.

— There’s no need to conserve mana to protect me like last time, or to deal with the surrounding situation. You can use it all up, so finish it off for sure.

Despite there being no one to hear him, the Tin Knight shouted.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ claims that your master and his are in a hierarchical relationship!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asserts that DOT damage is truth!]

[■■■■!]

The monkey let out a roar of anger.

As if displeased with the Tin Knight’s nimble movements, dodging fatal blows while moving here and there, the monkey wildly swung its robust body, turning the surrounding terrain into chaos.

[The ‘Tin Knight’s eyes flash, saying the berserk pattern has come!]

The Tin Knight didn’t dodge.

On the contrary, he dove into the monkey’s embrace.

When the right arm swung, the shoulder was cut.

When the left arm struck down, the sword was stuck in the shin.

He stomped on the tail and sometimes climbed up the monkey’s thigh to strike down on its head.

It was a dangerous manuveur where even the slightest miss or a moment’s mistiming could result in him receiving a fatal wound instead, but the Tin Knight’s movements were as light as if he were dancing a joyful dance.

There was no room for error.

Failure was not an option.

He was the Tin Knight.

Even if he had deteriorated unrecognizably compared to his prime, he wasn’t one to be defeated by a mere strong monkey.

Crash!

The 4th floor, unable to withstand their fierce battle, collapsed once again.

Tearing the monkey’s insect wings to shreds, the Tin Knight inaudibly shouted.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ declares that if you want to surprise him, you’ll need an immortality ability at the very least!]

***Golden wheels raced across the ground.

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The luxurious carpet touched by the blades on the wheel’s surface turned into rags in an instant.

The wheel rushed fiercely as if to split Dorothea in half in one go, but the undead monkey blocked its path.

As the blade wheel and the monkey’s hand met, a harsh metallic sound rang out as they entered a stalemate.

Dorothea tore open two leather pouches and scattered their contents on the floor.

Translucent oil and a noxious purple liquid mixed, transforming into a swarm of mice.

It was a swarm of mice imbued with a poison that would paralyze skin upon touch and endanger life if bitten.

“You necromancers, always creating things on the spot and then using and discarding them like consumables. Not an ounce of respect for life...!”

Near Franka’s feet, surplus golden blocks left from making the wheel were installed on the ground.

The poisonous mice swarm tried to go around these blocks or jump high over them, but it was useless either wayfutile

Spikes resembling chestnut burrs sprang from the square blocks, skewering the mice.

Franka placed her right hand on a nearby dressing table.

The dressing table creaked and shook violently, then in the next moment, it changed form.

The mirror became arrowheads, the wood became arrow shafts, and the decorative cloth became fletching, settling onto a golden block that had somehow transformed into a crossbow.

A dozen arrows were fired simultaneously toward Dorothea.

“And what about you? You respect life by ordering your children to assassinate? Practice what you preach!”

White bone powder scattered from Dorothea’s hand.

The bone powder, infused with Dorothea’s mana, expanded into a giant skeletal shield, deflecting the arrows.

“What even is that!? That magic doll! How on earth did you design thought circuits that could execute such inhumane, cruel acts, and then implant that into an artificial soul!?”

“Don’t blame me, I didn’t make it! And do you think I’ll fall for your subtle attempt to change the subject?”

While exchanging verbal retorts, the two continuously operated magic.

Franka’s accessories repelled Dorothea’s curses.

Just before Franka could launch golden blades, evil spirits summoned by Dorothea disrupted Franka’s senses.

Franka was on the verge of losing her composure.

What, what on earth is this woman!?

While there were various schools of magic, if asked to choose the most base, repulsive, and feeble school among them, Franka would answer “Necromancy” without hesitation.

Those who couldn’t use high-level magic purely with their own mana and skill, exploiting the remains of others and the residual mana within them.

Unable to control contented souls, these novices resort to manipulating vengeful spirits, only to succumb to madness themselves.

In their quest for power, these half-wits embraced both modern “witch” magic and archaic witchcraft, amassing an array of pointless skills and achieving mediocrity among all magical disciplines.

Their spells required painstaking preparation, took far too long to cast, and weren’t particularly powerful. For anyone with genuine talent, there was little appeal in necromancy.

But, the woman before her eyes?

If normal necromancy uses 5 units of catalyst, 4 units of time, and 1 unit of mana, this woman reduces the units of catalyst and time to 1 each and supplements the deficit with mana.

From a purely combat perspective, this approach was incredibly effective.

Magic that would normally require numerous offerings or a huge altar could be replaced with portable, simple catalysts carried in small pouches, and what would normally require long rituals could  be instantly activated by just pouring in mana.

However, as a mage, it was also an incredibly inefficient action.

1 unit of catalyst couldn’t be replaced with 1 unit of mana—losses inevitably occurred in the conversion process.

According to Franka’s estimation, the exchange rate, at best, was 1:10.

In other words, this witch was pouring in 1 unit of catalyst, 1 unit of time, and 71 units of mana to activate magic with a total sum of just 10.

It was utter madness.

Above all, what enraged Franka more than the sheer absurdity of this approach was the fact that she was being overwhelmed by brute force alone.

Not by superior spell quality or operational skill, but purely being pushed back by quantity!

“This, this kind of...!”

Crack, crack crack.

The accessories Franka was wearing began to break one by one.

The jewel in her earring shattered, the chain of her necklace broke, and her ring split in two.

Faced with curses that had gained mass due to excessive stacking, the protective gear Franka had made herself succumbed to the unbearable pressure and were destroyed.

The golden blocks that had been transforming into various shapes and targeting Dorothea were failing to break through the blood-colored monkey with its tremendous regenerative ability and were running out of mana, and the spare blocks that had been attempting counterattacks and targeting Dorothea were now at their limit just protecting Franka’s body.

“I can’t accept this kind of match! This, this absurdity, this irrationality!!”

In front of Dorothea’s hand, a black and enormous mana sphere appeared.

Aiming it at Franka, Dorothea answered simply, “This isn’t a knight’s duel, you shouldn’t demand fairness in a witch’s fight.”

Bang!

A black flash pierced through Franka.