Chapter 79 Robin

For Xia Nan, the world had frozen the instant the pink light entered his eyes.

It was nothing like the Basilisk’s [Petrifying Gaze].

Back then, Xia Nan had clearly felt the sinister energy seeping through the pores of his skin and spreading into flesh and bone.

He had known what was happening.

More importantly, he had known what to fight.

He had been able to grit his teeth and resist the petrification through sheer will and physical strength.

Ingram’s pink spheres of light looked similar in effect.

Both abilities left their target unable to move.

But in Xia Nan’s perception, the two were completely different.

This time, there had been nothing to resist.

No pressure forcing its way into his muscles.

No energy corrupting his flesh.

No clear point of struggle.

The pink light flashed.

Then his body simply stopped listening.

His eyes still worked.

He could see everything happening in front of him.

His mind still worked too.

Thoughts rushed through his head one after another.

His senses remained intact.

He could feel the faint coolness of wind against his skin.

He could feel branches brushing against his trouser legs.

But move?

He could not even twitch one finger.

It felt as though his soul and body had been cleanly separated.

So Xia Nan could only watch.

He watched Ingram smash Tim’s head apart with the mace.

He watched the sheriff tear the spine from Tim’s back with a blank expression.

He watched Ingram carefully place that spine into the ritual array.

Then Ingram turned.

Face covered in blood.

Flanged mace in hand.

And walked straight toward him.

Xia Nan had thought that was it.

But then something changed.

The pink radiance that had entered his body and rendered him completely helpless…

After spreading across his skin…

Began to feel different.

What had once seemed intangible suddenly became almost solid.

A layer.

A restraint.

Something wrapped around his body.

And if it was something he could feel…

Maybe it was something he could break.

[I think… I can do this!]

The attribute points Xia Nan had gained from his feats and his encounter in the secret realm had pushed his physical ability noticeably above that of other low-level adventurers who had yet to gain a class level.

He clenched his will.

Then he forced every muscle in his body to move.

The pink restraints trembled.

Barely.

But they moved.

[Ten seconds… No! Five!]

[Just give me five more seconds!]

Xia Nan’s estimate was almost exactly right.

[Hold Person] was a genuine second-circle spell.

The version stored in Ingram’s sleeve, however, was still a single-use item.

There was no spellcaster continuously supplying it with magic.

With Xia Nan’s current physical strength…

Five seconds might genuinely have been enough.

Of course, that assumed no one interfered.

[Five, four, three…]

Crack.

A branch on the ground snapped.

A large shadow fell across Xia Nan’s face.

By the time his silent count reached three, Ingram was already standing in front of him.

No words.

No taunting.

No attempt at conversation.

Ingram simply raised the flanged mace.

Aimed at Xia Nan’s skull.

Then swung.

Hum…

The sound Xia Nan expected never came.

No crack of shattered bone.

No wet burst of flesh.

The iron haft in Ingram’s hands did not transmit the sickening resistance of a mace burying itself in a human head.

Instead, an ocher-red translucent barrier flashed into existence a fraction of a second before impact.

It came from the only magical accessory Xia Nan owned.

The Deathline ring.

[Deflection Field]!

The mace struck the barrier.

Then slid.

It was like Ingram had stepped on empty ground.

The tremendous force behind the blow was silently redirected and swallowed by the field.

Golden hair stirred in the wind.

For the first time, naked astonishment crossed Ingram’s face.

Xia Nan was completely immobilized by [Hold Person].

And somehow, the blow had still missed.

“A magic item!?”

Ingram had no time to think.

No time to raise the mace for another strike.

The instant [Deflection Field] disappeared, the pink particles covering Xia Nan’s body shattered as well.

Slash!

A dark blade tore through the fading light.

Its edge screamed toward Ingram’s face.

He snapped his head back and retreated.

Step!

Step!

Step!

Three footprints sank deep into the damp ground.

Several severed strands of golden hair drifted lazily through the air.

Ingram glanced down.

A deep sword mark now crossed the breastplate over his chest.

Then he looked up again.

His deep blue eyes settled on Xia Nan, who had finally broken free of [Hold Person].

His expression turned serious.

From what Ingram remembered, the sharp-featured adventurer in front of him had a fairly polished combat technique.

The wooden sword he carried also seemed to be enchanted, with some kind of advantage against undead creatures.

That had been about it.

Xia Nan was no veteran adventurer hardened by years of combat.

His armor looked ordinary.

His equipment looked ordinary.

And his face, which seemed to belong to someone not even twenty years old, was dangerously misleading.

Ingram had never considered him an equal.

Now he realized that had been a mistake.

This young man who did not look remotely wealthy was actually carrying a defensive magic item powerful enough to save his life.

And the fact that he had broken free of a second-circle [Hold Person] spell so quickly meant his physical ability was far beyond what Ingram had assumed.

[Where did this guy come from?]

Ingram’s thoughts flickered.

Xia Nan, meanwhile, did not rush to attack.

His dark eyes swept briefly toward Alton.

The Halfling was still frozen behind the sheriff.

Then Xia Nan checked the surrounding terrain.

The clearing was broad enough to move.

Good.

His gaze returned to Ingram.

Never leaving the sheriff for long.

At the same time, Xia Nan’s hands moved.

Fast.

The cool-hilted wooden sword [Green Pine] vanished back into its sheath.

An iron-gray flash crossed the air.

A heartbeat later, the Decapitating Longsword was in Xia Nan’s hands.

Nearby, the silver-white robin remained quietly perched on its branch.

Its black eyes reflected the two armed men facing each other below.

The bird tilted its head.

Bang!

Mud exploded beneath Ingram’s boot.

He attacked first.

His muscular body erupted with power far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Nearly ten meters separated them.

Ingram crossed the distance in only a few long strides.

The flanged mace flashed beneath the sunlight filtering through the leaves.

Then came crashing down.

Clang!

Sparks burst outward.

The iron-gray longsword held beneath the mace head.

The shock of the impact numbed both of Xia Nan’s forearms.

He gritted his teeth, drove strength through his shoulders, and shoved the flat of his blade forward.

Ingram had committed his weight to the downward strike.

Caught off balance, he was forced back two steps.

Space opened.

Xia Nan moved.

[Spinning Slash]!

Slice!

A sharp iron-gray arc tore through the air.

Danger screamed through Ingram’s instincts.

He twisted aside.

Screech!

The sound was like fingernails dragged across a blackboard.

Another cut appeared across the sheriff’s standard-issue plate armor.

The blade continued downward, slipping beneath the lower edge of the breastplate and opening a bloody wound near his thigh.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Metal crashed against metal again and again.

Then, almost as quickly as the exchange began, the two men separated.

Xia Nan’s chest rose and fell.

Physically, he still had plenty left.

What was tiring him was the fight itself.

Ever since arriving in this world, Xia Nan’s maxed-out [Spinning Slash] had been almost unstoppable against low-level monsters and adventurers.

No creature had ever managed to gain much of an advantage once he brought the technique into play.

But fighting Ingram felt wrong.

Awkward.

Restrictive.

After that first [Spinning Slash], Xia Nan had not found another clean chance to use the combat technique he knew best.

The sheriff was doing it deliberately.

Ingram kept taking positions that made the technique dangerous to use.

If Xia Nan forced [Spinning Slash] anyway, the brief opening created after committing his strength would expose the vital area around his shoulder.

One instant of vulnerability.

That was all the flanged mace needed.

One hit to the head could decide everything.

Across from him, sweat covered Ingram’s forehead.

He no longer looked relaxed either.

Pain pulsed through the wound in his thigh.

His eyes locked on Xia Nan, then shifted to the iron-gray longsword.

Troublesome.

That was the word.

Before today, Ingram had only seen Xia Nan fight skeletons.

At the time, most of his attention had gone to the enchanted wooden sword.

He had never seriously evaluated Xia Nan’s actual combat skill.

He had not dismissed the young adventurer completely.

But neither had he treated him as a real threat.

A few exchanges had corrected that.

Xia Nan clearly understood the strengths and weaknesses of a two-handed longsword.

He controlled distance well.

He never rushed blindly.

Every flash of steel, every burst of sword wind, made approaching him dangerous.

Worse, even his ordinary attacks were difficult to read.

A normal slash could become [Spinning Slash] in the next instant.

Or maybe it would not.

Ingram could never be certain.

That uncertainty kept him from seizing the initiative.

He was being forced into defense.

[This can’t go on!]

His eyes flicked toward the ritual array.

The skeleton inside was trembling violently.

Golden radiance erupted across the head of his mace.

Then Ingram charged.

His large frame blurred.

This time, he had clearly learned from their earlier exchanges.

His angle was terrible for Xia Nan.

No clean [Spinning Slash].

No easy way to force him back.

Xia Nan’s mind raced.

His body reacted almost on instinct.

He shifted sideways, keeping an offensive posture while slipping away from the worst of the incoming strike.

His wrists turned.

Slash became thrust.

Step.

Slice!

The Decapitating Longsword punched straight through Ingram’s left elbow.

Blood sprayed.

His arm immediately went limp.

At the same time, however, the flanged mace in Ingram’s right hand scraped across Xia Nan’s waist.

Boom!

Golden divine radiance detonated like a small explosive charge.

Scorching force slammed into Xia Nan’s abdomen and shoved him backward.

His eyes flicked down.

The cloth over his chainmail had been burned to ash.

The metal rings beneath glowed red.

Smoke curled from them.

Pain seared through his waist.

Ingram did not stop.

His left arm hung uselessly at his side, blood dripping from the puncture wound.

His expression never changed.

No pain.

No fear.

His lips moved.

A short, incomprehensible incantation slipped into the air.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

Blood became the catalyst.

Countless insects burst from the bushes and grass.

Wings beat.

Black shapes converged.

The swarm rushed toward Xia Nan.

A memory flashed through his mind.

The Misty Forest.

A tide of scorpions flowing like black water.

Wood throwing an incendiary oil bomb.

Xia Nan’s left hand shot backward.

His fingers dug into his waist pouch.

A small brown clay jar appeared in his grip.

He threw it.

Boom!

Thick black oil burst apart in midair.

Dark powder sprayed with it.

Then flame swallowed everything.

Countless insects vanished into the sudden blaze.

Ever since Xia Nan had watched Wood use this kind of projectile during his second mission, he had wanted some for himself.

During the fifteen days he spent resting in Rivervale Town, he had bought three from a general store and kept them buried deep in his pouch.

Just in case.

Now, that decision paid off.

Crackle!

There was no heavy Misty Forest fog here to suppress the flames.

Fire raced through the dry undergrowth almost immediately.

Several sparks landed near the edge of the ritual array.

Then they began creeping toward the trembling skeleton at its center.

Ingram saw them.

His face darkened.

For the first time, naked viciousness flashed through his eyes.

He ignored the heat scorching his boots.

Ignored the pain.

Then charged through the flames.

His broad frame tore through the burning air.

Across from him, Xia Nan’s iron-gray blade reflected the orange-red firelight.

His dark eyes remained fixed on the approaching sheriff.

Xia Nan drew a long breath.

Then stepped forward.

Faster.

Faster.

The world seemed to slow.

Flames twisted around their rushing bodies.

Burning fragments of leaves spiraled through the air.

Ingram’s mace blazed with golden radiance bright enough to resemble a miniature sun.

And above them…

The silver-white robin suddenly launched itself from the branch.

Twang!

A lute string snapped.

The sharp sound cut across the woods.

At some point, the pain from the surrounding flames had become intense enough to break Alton free from [Hold Person].

His clothes were singed at the edges.

His lute lay on the ground beside him.

One string hung broken.

Alton stood in the middle of the fire.

His eyes were lowered.

His expression was solemn, almost devout.

His lips moved soundlessly.

A prayer.

Then he lifted his head.

And once again tossed his brass lucky coin toward the sky.

It spun.

Flipped.

The woman’s portrait on one side gave way to the cloak on the other.

Then back again.

Firelight rose from below.

Sunlight filtered down through the canopy.

The silver-white robin swept past.

The coin turned.

Heads.

The indistinct face of the long-haired woman gleamed faintly silver-white.

Then the coin fell.

It dropped neatly into Alton’s waiting palm.

His fingers closed.

Slice!

The next instant brought the sudden halt of running footsteps.

A roar cut off halfway.

And the heavy sound of steel driving through flesh.