Chapter 27

Chapter 27: The Tin Knight and the Witch’s Greeting (2)

A solid iron shield slammed into the face of the Golden Monkey.

With a loud crash, its golden body tumbled across the floor, but soon after, it sprang back up like a spring, rolling to its feet.

Its already reddish face was now even redder from the hit, and blood was gushing from its partially crushed nose.

– Kiyashaaah!

The Golden Monkey fluffed up its fur, roaring in anger.

It wasn’t just shrinking back; it looked even more riled up.

You saw that as a good thing.

You weren’t planning to end things here either.

You quickly shifted your gaze to take in Dorothea’s state.

Her clothes were crumpled and torn, but it was her back and shoulders that were real trouble.

Sand and blood were caked into the torn skin, looking painful enough to make anyone squint just from the sight.

But instead of showing pain, Dorothea glared at you with venomous blue eyes and shouted,

“Break it!”

Now that was an order you could wholeheartedly get behind.

As a loyal knight to your lord, you were eager to follow that command.

– Wukkiik!

With a vengeance, the Golden Monkey lunged at you, as if to pay you back for the recent blow.

Its long, flexible, and strong arms were like whips on their own.

And with those magically empowered claws at the end, a simple metal shield was nothing more than flimsy paper.

Kaaang!

– Uh, wukkiik?!

But that powerful attack couldn’t get through your shield.

In fact, it didn’t even push you back a step.

Refusing to acknowledge the defeat, the Golden Monkey kept attacking.

Kaaang! Kaaang! Kaaang!

Every time its claws collided with your shield, sparks flew like fireworks.

The shrill clang echoed, sending shivers into the onlookers, who instinctively shrank back in fear.

But you didn’t retreat.

Your honed martial arts allowed you to absorb most of the impact, and your shield was enhanced by magic, just like your sword.

If claws were imbued with magic, there was no reason your shield couldn’t be as well.

Excited by your fortress-like defense, the Golden Monkey swung its arms even harder and unleashed a furious attack as your blue aura shone ominously.

Swoosh!

– Wukkiiih!

A pained scream rang out.

The Golden Monkey’s right arm was cleanly sliced off by your curved blade, twitching and flopping on the dirt ground.

You were secretly surprised.

Even though you countered while leveraging the momentum of the monkey’s attack, it had taken quite an effort to cut it clean.

Nothing about its golden fur, thick muscles, or sturdy bones was ordinary.

Flap!

The Golden Monkey spread its wings and leaped into the air.

Perhaps realizing it couldn’t win in a head-on match against you, it tried to dodge and go after Dorothea.

Few knights know how to fight against flying creatures.

In that context, the Golden Monkey’s decision was wise… at least if you weren’t the “Tin Knight.”

Swoosh!

Your shield dug into the ground like a shovel.

Infusing magic into the pebbles and rocks in your shield, you shouted,

[The ‘Tin Knight’ warns you to drop down!]

Dorothea’s reaction was swift.

Instead of questioning “Why?”, she promptly lowered her stance.

– Shaaaah!

The Golden Monkey made a nosedive towards her unprotected back.

And you swung your shield diagonally with all your might.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The magically enhanced pile of pebbles shot out like a shotgun blast, hitting the Golden Monkey directly.

The monkey didn’t even manage to let out a proper scream before crashing to the ground.

Before the Golden Monkey could rise again, you dashed in, swinging your curved blade.

Chop chop chop!

You felt the strange sound and the creaking of the curved blade.

You aimed to cleave through its whole body, yet it only dug into its shoulder.

Even the blade seemed firmly stuck between the muscles, and you were convinced that forcing it out now would just end up breaking it.

– Kiyashaat!

The monkey turned, swinging its left arm.

The air rippled with the force, but to you, it looked like a sloppy attack.

You dodged its strike and let go of your blade.

Instead, you grabbed onto the monkey’s tail.

Squeezed.

Even with all your might, the tail remained undamaged.

You felt a sense of satisfaction.

If the handle were weak, you wouldn’t have done a thing.

You spun around to gain momentum and slammed the monkey down onto the ground.

Boom!

The Golden Monkey flailed its limbs in a panic. Ignoring it, you swung your arms again.

Boom!

Its flapping wings smacked you in the face. Ignoring it, you swung again.

Boom!

A roar escaped that was a mix of pain and fury. Ignoring it, you swung again.

Boom!

The monkey’s body went limp.

It looked as if it had lost consciousness.

Taking advantage of that, you grabbed the back of its head with your empty hand and ground its face into the dirt like a butcher.

– █████!!?!

A horrible wail emerged from the monkey’s mouth, half-buried in the ground.

It was hard to even call it a monkey’s cry anymore.

Of course, you didn’t feel any sympathy toward it.

Seeing it pretend to be dead meant this monkey still had energy to spare.

You resumed the butchering process.

After a few dozen blows, it seemed the monkey no longer moved, but just to be safe, you repeated it ten more times.

You stomped on the monkey’s back.

Your curved blade had been flung away during the beating.

As you headed to retrieve your weapon, there was a risk it might escape, so instead, you lifted your shield.

Just as you swung the lower edge down to crack its skull open, you felt a chill.

The ‘Tin Knight’s’ intuition rang alarm bells in your mind.

After rolling sideways, something whizzed by where your upper body had just been.

Crack! You glanced at what had lodged itself into the stone wall, feeling a rare sense of disorientation.

It was a big arrow… or rather, something closer to a spear.

Just its sheer size made it impossible to be fired from a bow someone could carry; it looked like it belonged in a ballista, and it was entirely made of solid metal without a splinter of wood.

Whoosh!

Another hail of arrows rained down.

This time the arrows were faster than before, allowing you no chance to dodge.

You swung your shield to deflect the incoming arrows.

The weight was so heavy that despite most of the shock flowing off, you could feel your shield creak.

But thanks to that, you could pinpoint the direction the arrows were coming from.

On top of the highest building around you. Someone was looking down at you.

Your enhanced vision, surpassing that of humans, captured the figure with precision.

A crinoline-style dress, its skirt puffed out like a parasol.

Gorgeous embroidery adorned the garment, and the accessories were extravagantly over-the-top.

Her hair was tied in two braids, glistening as either gold or silver, depending on the angle and light.

Though her delicate features could easily be called beautiful, her sharp gaze exuded an air of unapproachability and coldness.

Just walking down the street, she seemed capable of drawing all eyes to her, but what truly captivated your sight was something else.

The golden ballista.

Literally made of gold, its texture and shine were so stunning that it fit the description perfectly, as it aimed a massive arrow directly at you.

The woman kept glancing back and forth between you and the Golden Monkey you had battered to a pulp.

With crimson-red eyes filled with malice and fury, she muttered something under her breath.

Responding to her, the golden ballista fired its third arrow.

Crack!

As the arrows picked up speed and power, your iron shield began to finally buckle under the pressure.

Simply blocking the attacks wouldn’t be enough; the situation was only going to get worse.

But throwing caution to the wind to charge toward that unique sniper was concerning, considering how unprotected Dorothea would be in the meantime.

You wanted to tell Dorothea to hide, but it turned out there was no need to.

Seems she had already caught on to why you couldn’t leave and was moving toward the alley between the buildings.

Pleased with Dorothea’s quick thinking, just as you were about to dash toward your new enemy…

– Wukki!

You suddenly spotted another Golden Monkey swooping in to grab the one you had thrashed.

This new one had avian-like wings and a well-developed upper body, unlike the first, which was thick through the lower half with bat-like wings.

You attempted to stop the Golden Monkey, but another incoming arrow thwarted your movement.

It seemed the enemies had abandoned their original goal of capturing Dorothea and were now focused on retrieving their comrade.

You were filled with rage.

There was no way you could let them escape unscathed.

The pride of the ‘Tin Knight,’ dedicated to protecting your lord’s lineage, wouldn’t allow it.

As a “gamer,” you couldn’t accept not being able to exact revenge on that mocking witch.

So, you braced for the minimum defense, planting your feet into the ground.

Crunch!

The ballista’s arrow splintered your shield into pieces, and worse, tore your left arm off.

But in return, you seized the rear limb of the first Golden Monkey just as it attempted to fly off, held tightly by the second one.

– Wukkiik!?

Surprised by the unexpected weight, the second monkey struggled.

It seemed unable to lift you—a human-sized mass of metal.

Caught between not being able to shake you off and not wanting to abandon the first monkey, the second monkey spun aimlessly in the air.

This standoff didn’t last long.

The enemies still had the ballista in play.

As long as this deadlock remained, it was clear the ballista would soon make its move to pierce your heart.

Indeed, this was the strike you had been waiting for.

It was impossible to time the exact moment of attack.

So, you entrusted everything to the intuition of the ‘Tin Knight.’

One, two, three!

As you put all your weight into dragging the first monkey back, its body was firmly in front of yours.

And right after, the ballista skewered both you and the monkey.

With a heavy jolt, your body rolled across the ground.

Your chest caved in, but you could still move.

Just as expected.

You knew better than anyone how sturdy the body of a Golden Monkey was, having chopped, punched, and ground it into the dirt yourself.

The Golden Monkey, pierced in the chest by the ballista, gasped in shock with wide eyes.

It had an incredibly tough life, but that only lasted for a few moments.

Finally, the Golden Monkey’s breath ceased.

This time, it wasn’t just smoke—it was the real deal.

You glanced afar, to the roof of the nearby building.

The woman in lavish attire looked astonished, her face coloring with horror before she crumpled to the ground, seemingly drained of strength.

The ballista beside her too disappeared from sight, but you couldn’t tell exactly how it vanished from your angle.

Before the woman regained her composure, you quickly rolled to the ground and darted toward the alley.

You could feel the magic within you fading to empty.

Just as you stepped into the shadows of the alley, your body collapsed involuntarily.

In the dimming vision,

You caught a glimpse of Dorothea and Adelheid rushing towards you before everything went dark.

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