Chapter 136

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on January 26, 2025

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Pinterest Telegram

#136 Chapter Tin Knight and the Golden Alchemist (6)

You gazed up at the sky.

The West Witch looked down at you and your party with an expression that clearly shouted disapproval.

With her pointed hat, hooked nose, and a face blooming with age spots, she was the very definition of a witch. However, she was not riding on a broomstick.

In fact, she didn’t seem to need one. Several golden monkeys were cleverly entwining their bodies to create a throne for the witch.

《Such a truly annoying bunch of brats.》

The witch’s single eye rolled around as it swept across the ground.

Even though the words were being spoken somewhere high above in the sky, you had no trouble understanding what was being said.

This was because the monkeys wearing necklaces that looked like eyes were repeating her words in unison.

《You’ve made my garden into a complete mess. It’s practically a rat’s nest!》

While half-listening to the witch’s monologue, you pondered if you could smash the West Witch’s head right now that she seemed to be gearing up for a long-winded rant.

The conclusion was, ‘It seems difficult.’

You had been closely observing the angle for throwing your spear, but it seemed the West Witch was on guard, with the golden monkeys constantly obstructing your line of attack.

Ordinary monkeys might not be a problem, but those homunculi could easily deflect an average sword attack, and if they decided to act as meat shields, you had no chance.

Suddenly, the ‘sword mastery’ that Kalidah had shown you flashed in your mind, but you shook your head at the thought.

After trying it out a few times following the martial arts tournament, you realized it wasn’t such an efficient technique for your use.

It lacked power against strong opponents and was too inefficient for dealing with weaklings.

It seemed like a technique that required a special type of magical energy to demonstrate its true power.

Meanwhile, the conversation continued.

《Do you really think you can get cocky just because you blocked one attack? I could drop rocks like that any day!》

“Then why don’t you just stop talking and show us?”

Dorothea snapped back sharply at the West Witch’s comment.

Her blue eyes scanned the remains of the attack she had just unleashed.

It was a massive boulder, roughly the size of half a football field.

“If you could drop something like that again and again, you should have just followed us from the start and kept dropping those! But you didn’t, and that shows your limits!”

[‘Tin Knight’ expresses that it’s just a typical multi-phase boss battle!]

[‘Tin Knight’ asserts that a final boss spamming instant deaths from the very first stage is a terrible game design!]

Dorothea’s words seemed to have missed their mark, as the West Witch remained silent for a moment, then finally opened her mouth.

《Such a bold girl. I could make her my apprentice. But…》

The witch’s single eye turned towards Franka.

《You might be okay, but my foolish old apprentice doesn’t seem quite right.》

“Ugh. Stop spouting nonsense! I’m perfectly fine!”

Franka retorted indignantly, but it was clear to everyone that she didn’t look well.

It appeared she had pushed herself rather hard while creating that wall earlier.

As if having seen through that bravado, the West Witch let out a hearty laugh.

The golden monkeys chuckled along as if responding to their mistress’s amusement.

《Let’s see how far your noses can reach.》

After saying that, the West Witch flew towards the castle.

She clearly seemed to be retreating to regroup.

Dorothea frowned.

“We can’t give her a chance to recover! If we let her be, she’ll use the same trick again!”

Everyone’s gaze turned toward Franka.

There was still a distance to the West Witch’s castle, and Franka’s ability seemed most suited for this kind of movement.

Approaching the faltering Franka, Dorothea asked.

“Are you out of magical power?”

“Yeah, what? Do you think I’m a monster like you?!”

Franka snapped back, clearly irritated, but Dorothea didn’t show any signs of anger.

“What if I lend you my magic?”

Franka softened her tone a bit to respond calmly.

“That won’t work either. The properties of our magical energies are different, so I can’t use it immediately. The catalyst only responds to my magic.”

“Tch, guess there’s no other choice.”

Magical properties varied according to their purpose and the constitution of their wielder.

Some didn’t much care for the properties of magical energy like basic physical enhancements or simple sword techniques. But just like how your own sword launch technique was less efficient than Kalidah’s, there were techniques or spells that required dedicated magical energy.

It seemed that Franka’s alchemy belonged to the latter category.

Now that you had lost a means of transportation, you had only your sturdy legs left.

After making up your mind, you wrapped your arms around Dorothea and Sophia.

“Hey, you two, hold on.”

Dorothea squirmed for a moment, but you shook your head firmly.

[‘Tin Knight’ insists that this is the faster route!]

[‘Tin Knight’ requests that since he ran low on magic from the fight, a bit of refilling during your movement would be appreciated!]

“Uh, wouldn’t it be better to leave me behind? I don’t think I’ll be of any help right now.”

[‘Tin Knight’ claims he’ll take care of the humans since it’ll be a bumpy ride!]

“Aha.”

Sophia seemed to immediately understand your words as she began to emit a radiant divine power from her body.

Confirming that Dorothea and Franka were enveloped in the divine power to protect them, you took off running with all your might.

Thanks to the slight delay, monsters appeared to block your path, but you paid no mind.

Pffft!

You stomped over the head of a werewolf that was trying to lunge at you, launching yourself into the air.

Dodging an arrow from a centaur-like species, you twisted your body mid-air before landing.

Like a football player diving for a touchdown, you evaded obstacles, using some as springboards and occasionally clearing them with your body, running endlessly forward.

The two you were carrying would undoubtedly feel considerable shock without any cushioning, but the divine power provided a safety net.

Thanks to that, you were able to leap as freely as you wanted.

Dorothea seemed to yell something before likely biting her tongue, but it was nothing serious enough to be a life-threatening situation.

Franka was keeping up with you while being protected by the two homunculi, and finally, you reached the castle.

Though the small issue of the gates being firmly shut arose, you didn’t care.

Gates opened with a knock.

[‘Tin Knight’ requests the barrier to be activated!]

You thought you heard some fierce curses being hurled, but your master was indeed a competent witch.

You saw a circular barrier forming around Dorothea’s staff, and with that, you poured magic behind you and dashed toward the gates.

Kwahhh!

The combined force of your sprint, weight, and magic release produced a spectacular crash that smashed the castle gates to bits.

Once inside the castle, you let the two down and nodded contentedly.

[‘Tin Knight’ proudly claims successful arrival!]

“Survived my foot!”

Dorothea whacked your head with her staff.

It was a hit that could easily claim the title of the strongest.

Thanks to the divine power surrounding you, she scolded you with an angry tongue that barely had any real bite.

“Were you trying to kill someone or what!? Who in the world uses defensive magic as a siege weapon?!”

[‘Tin Knight’ puffs out his chest because he’s the one here!]

“Is that a brag? If you were just opening the door, you could have used Opium’s key instead! Leave the reserve tactics for later, I might just want to boil soup with it!”

Ah, you lightly sighed in amazement.

Honestly, you had forgotten all about the key’s existence.

Admittedly, it wasn’t particularly useful unless you were a thief.

While you were bickering, Franka and her homunculi finally entered the castle a bit late.

Looking beyond the shattered gates at the enemy forces advancing, Dorothea spoke to Franka.

“You stay here. This idiot caused some destruction, but it’s better to defend against the enemies coming through the broken gaps than to fight them on the plains. Recover some magic so you can block the door with alchemy.”

“Are you telling me to just watch your backs?”

“Then we’ll handle the ones here while you try to take your old master’s head?”

“…Fine, I’ll do it.”

Though she had an extremely displeased expression, Franka eventually nodded.

She was acknowledging that Dorothea’s judgment was correct.

As you watched the two monkeys defeat some of the enemies trying to come through the broken gate, you began to ascend the castle stairs.

It was a similar situation to your first fight with the West Witch, but there were differences.

[‘Tin Knight’ remarks that unlike the last castle, there aren’t any weaklings in this one!]

“They probably never intended to let us into the castle at all. I doubt they meant it when they said they didn’t want to break the castle twice.”

“The size of this castle feels even smaller than the last one.”

Since there had been no battles, your ascent was unimpeded.

“But where on earth is Adele?”

At Dorothea’s question, Sophia answered.

“Oh, that’s this way. I saw her tied up through a window. They brought me close enough to see, likely wanting to showcase my execution. Thankfully, Elphaba wasn’t watching me closely.”

“…It seems you’ve had quite your own share of troubles.”

Dorothea looked conflicted about whether to deal with Elphaba first or save Adele, but after clicking her tongue, she decided on the latter.

“I don’t want to get caught up in any trouble or end up as a hostage myself. Franka mentioned the Great Witch’s pride, but how can you trust that?”

[‘Tin Knight’ says you can just admit that you’re worried!]

“Shut it.”

Where you arrived after following Sophia’s guidance was a wall.

Dorothea seemed suspicious, but Sophia’s demeanor was resolute.

“This is the right place. I remembered the location from outside.”

You didn’t hesitate.

You thrust your sword into the wall, confirmed there was an empty space beyond it of a certain size, and carved it out into a rectangular shape.

Taking precautions so that the wall would not collapse inward and crush Adele inside, you carefully pulled the cut wall outward, revealing what looked like a laboratory.

“Uh?”

Adele, tied to a table with a worried expression, opened her eyes wide upon seeing you.

Tears were welling up in her bright purple eyes.

“Kn-Knight! Witch! Sophia!”

[‘Tin Knight’ expresses that this joyful reunion isn’t bad, but her outfit is decidedly avant-garde!]

[‘Tin Knight’ advises that while he’s a gentleman, it’s probably best to exercise restraint in front of others!]

“Uh? Ah, ah!”

Adele’s face turned bright red, while Dorothea sighed and gave you a light smack on the head amidst the slight mishap, but finally, you managed to rescue Adele successfully.

You reclaimed Adele’s clothes and gear that were stuffed away in the corner of the lab, and this time without any pauses, you headed for the roof.

And finally, the moment you opened the rooftop door and arrived.

Just as if it had been waiting for this moment, hundreds of dazzling golden spears shimmering with magic descended upon you.

Fwoosh!

The magical energy contained in your shield exploded outwards, dispersing about half of the spears flying at you.

The remaining spears failed to breach the defenses set up by Adele’s sword along with Dorothea and Sophia.

《Hmph. Seems you can at least receive a greeting.》

The West Witch, Elphaba, spoke.

Surrounding her were the golden monkeys and winged homunculi, all opening their mouths in unison to echo her words.

No other monsters were visible.

Only the homunculi remained.

But your party didn’t let their guard down.