Chapter 248

“Oh man, I can’t believe I’m getting wrecked by The Masked One!”

“Those intruders are strutting around this island like they own the place!”

“We can’t wait any longer! We have to tell the master the truth!”

To an outsider, this chaos would probably prompt a comment like, “Are you all some kind of politicians?” But the Undead were dead serious.

The haunted mansion, meant to drive people to extreme stress with all sorts of curses and supernatural phenomena, failed to do so, while dreams that could make even the toughest warrior weep like a child were being toyed with. Even The Masked One, who could turn into anyone, was dealt a crushing defeat.

Even the merfolk crawling out from the sea, despite being from a different faction, ended up being slaughtered with ease.

Now, they were utterly clueless about how to drive out those wicked, vile, and malicious beings.

“Uh, what about those intruders? They just gather food every now and then and lounge around the beach. Can’t we just let them be?”

Of course, every now and then the collective intelligence yielded some excellent ideas.

“Nonsense! If we leave them alone, who knows when they’ll burrow deeper into our territory?”

“It’s our duty to drive out the intruders! Are you even in your right mind?”

“You have no loyalty to the master! No loyalty!”

In the face of the undeniable truth that even the greatest intellects can be drowned out by loud mouths, the peaceful resolution that might have been vanished.

And then it happened.

“Hmph, why’s it so noisy? I finally opened my eyes after a long time… Looks like some sturdy ones have shown up?”

“Y-You!”

“The Undying Murderer! I heard you were in a long slumber!”

The Undead murmured.

“The Undying Murderer”.

This guy could withstand any attack and persist without falling, slaughtering enemies with outrageous strength and agility. If only someone had the common sense to wake him up sooner or question the notion of a long sleep for an Undead, but sadly, that wasn’t the case.

“Are the intruders over there? Hmph. I hope they’ll provide a bit of entertainment.”

Strutting confidently, he lumbered toward the beach.

Little did the Undead know, the real fearsome monsters don’t waste breath on pointless chatter.

After a brief walk, the Undying Murderer spotted his target at the corner of the beach.

There was The Tin Knight, building a sandcastle with a sword, making towers that rose between 1 to 2 meters high.

It wasn’t just one castle; it had multiple towers, all connected, and it was so long you could almost run a race from start to finish.

He laughed, thinking it was childish play.

His foot smashed into one of the sandcastles, reducing it to a pile.

With a cruel grin beneath his mask, he waved at The Tin Knight.

Watching the knight charge at him with frightening momentum, he smugly prepared for battle.

Whoosh!

His belly got pierced.

Casually, he attempted to swing his machete, but a shield nailed his face first, spinning the Undying Murderer around like a top.

Surprised by how much stronger his opponent was than he expected, the Undying Murderer was still unshaken.

Because he was undying. No matter how powerful the attack, they couldn’t kill him.

Crack! Boom! Thud!

So, an attack like this?

Crunch! Smash! Splatter!

Not a problem at all.

Thud, thud, thud, bam!

But seriously, how long was this guy planning to keep hitting him?

“No matter what—”

Crunch!

His declaration that “it’s useless, I’m Undying!” got cut off by a glorious uppercut that smashed his jaw.

Every time he tried to kick out, his knee got wrecked, and every swing of his sword resulted in his arm twisting unnaturally.

At this point, even the Undying Murderer realized something was off.

His usual tactic of driving victims into a state of fear by taking hits didn’t seem to be working. He couldn’t even make headway, just getting clobbered instead.

“Ugh! This one’s pretty good! But how long can you keep it up?”

Human stamina and mental strength are not infinite resources.

Even his opponent, currently enjoying the fight, would eventually wear out and weaken.

That would be his chance for revenge, and he grimaced with anticipation.

[The Tin Knight celebrates discovering an endless stamina practice target!]

[The Tin Knight exclaims this is the chance to practice never-before-used combos due to his opponent being obliterated!]

[The Tin Knight thinks his opponent is more fun to beat up than Captain Bill, who’s got extra meat!]

Too bad, he had no way to understand what The Tin Knight was babbling about.

But it didn’t matter.

There existed a fantastic form of communication called body language.

Three hours into the fight, The Tin Knight discovered air combos. The Undying Murderer didn’t even touch the ground while getting sliced.

Six hours in, pressured by his colleagues to eat, The Tin Knight planted the Undying Murderer upside down in the ground and enjoyed a meal.

Nine hours in, The Tin Knight put his sword in its sheath and started brawling with the Undying Murderer like it was a boxing match.

Twelve hours in, intentionally letting the Undying Murderer go, he smashed him only when he charged at him.

Fifteen hours in, when the Undying Murderer tried to flee, The Tin Knight repeatedly released and caught him seven times.

Eighteen hours in, the knight and Adelheid enjoyed a game of badminton using the Undying Murderer as the shuttlecock. Sofia and Dorothea were invited but declined.

Twenty-one hours in, The Tin Knight began fishing, using the Undying Murderer as bait. No fish caught. A disappointed Tin Knight kept beating him up.

Twenty-four hours in, feeling he finally understood something, The Tin Knight began building a sandcastle out of the debris caused by pummeling the Undying Murderer.

But sadly, The Tin Knight’s masterpiece would never be completed.

Just as he was getting serious about his art, the Undying Murderer’s body crumbled like sand.

As the mask shattered, the Undying Murderer departed with an overly happy face, and The Tin Knight had to watch him go with a hint of regret.

***

“But hey, weren’t you pretty clumsy at first?”

You looked at the sandy Great Wall of China you made, and Dorothea tilted her head, astonished.

She was right.

You thought you’d inherited every skill The Tin Knight had left behind, but that was ‘engraved in the body’ skills, not ‘recalling’ them from memory.

To be precise, it was more like riding a bike after a long time—you clicked back into those skills your body once knew.

Whenever you entered battle, you somehow instinctively knew what to do.

However, this ‘muscle memory’ was mostly inclined towards combat, so it didn’t show much promise in other tasks.

Like cooking or crafting rafts. (Although, to be fair, the cooking was also something you did without thinking!)

But maybe thanks to all the fights during your journey.

You were starting to feel like The Tin Knight’s skills were gradually stacking up inside you.

It wasn’t like pressing the A button to use skill number 1, but rather, you began to understand how to swing a sword and channel magical power, every little detail.

Of course, that didn’t mean your combat power skyrocketed, but it certainly helped in applying those ‘non-combat factors’ effectively.

[The Tin Knight claims it’s all due to your steady efforts!]

[The Tin Knight wants to thank his masked friend for helping him practice!]