Chapter 30: Unexpected [1]
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A giant iron arm fell beside Jin, its yellow eyes glowing brighter and brighter as if representing its rage.
A rusty scream echoed through the entire palace, loud enough to be heard clearly outside.
'This is bad… I need to end this quickly…'
Jin's blade moved with incredible speed, trying to strike the puppet more and more, but it seemed to be prepared this time.
Its body became inexplicably stronger, while certain areas softened.
"It can concentrate its defense in one area! But that makes it weaker in other spots!" Lyra shouted from a distance, not hesitating to share information that could lead to their victory.
Several arrows shot out at the same moment she spoke. Her task here was to support Jin, not just give advice from the back. It seemed the puppet understood what was happening and began moving away from Jin, specifically towards a corner of the room.
Clearly, it was planning something, but it was hard to deduce what in the short time they had.
Jin could only sigh as he slowly approached his enemy, raising his guard to the maximum.
He wouldn't hesitate to strike, even if it meant taking a hit himself. His new body was designed to operate in extremely harsh conditions, whether outside hunting travelers or in various industries. Jin considered several scenarios and plans. That was one of his skills as an assassin – coming up with strategies.
But he didn't expect what happened next… not even in his wildest dreams.
The puppet grabbed a piece of the stone wall like it was nothing and threw it at Jin, then another and another…
The puppet's throws were incredibly fast, even faster than bullets. This demonstrated its immense strength…
Jin dodged the first easily, the second threw him off balance, and the third almost hit him. He had to use his sword to deal with the third one, turning it to dust with the mist covering his blade.
However, what he faced after the rock was not another one but a massive metal fist. He attacked with his sword unconsciously, but it wasn't sharp enough…
A cracking sound was heard in the room, as the sword couldn't withstand the immense weight of the Puppet's blow. Lyra tried to continuously support him with arrows, but the puppet skillfully blocked everything, stopping the explosive arrows by throwing large chunks of rocks at them.
The doll had many arms and could focus on both of them at the same time.
Despair filled the room at that moment. If things continued as they were, they might die before even starting. If the guard at the gate was this strong, what about the one inside?
How could they defeat someone stronger than them in rank, while struggling against a mindless doll of the same rank?
Was there any hope for this plan to succeed? Was there really a point in continuing to try? It was clear the result would be the same, endless slavery.
A strong metal punch hit Jin like a hammer, smashing him to the other side of the room. The wall forcibly stopped him, almost throwing him outside. He lost consciousness for a few seconds, his ability to breathe was compromised, and he felt his ribs break, perhaps his ribcage had turned to shreds.
However, he managed to stand up and moved like a ghost towards Lyra, as the puppet charged at her the moment Jin was thrown away.
A few more seconds and he would be able to complete the attack he had been preparing for a while, he would succeed in killing the Puppet but needed to save Lyra first.
It seemed impossible to reach her, but the mist around him and all his movement skills allowed him to break the speed limit of his body.
If not for the rank restriction on his body and something else unknown, he would have broken through to rank S- now due to the surge of power and emotions.
He remembered everything that happened in the past four months.
He didn't spend all his time training and studying, after all, he was human, and so were those around him. They talked a lot, laughed together, and invented dark jokes together.
Jin had long realized that most of them might die, so he tried to put a barrier between him and them.
However… he couldn't…
The person in front of him was the first person he cared about in 11 years. He used all his strength, everything he could do to reach in time, and his reward was fitting.
He got a clear view from the front row, of a girl he loved turning into a bloody pulp, with the utmost clarity possible.
Lyra was considered an Archer, someone who relied on using arrows and fighting from afar, her physical abilities were at most in rank B.
Due to the lack of suitable Archer weapons in this place, she could only display 40% of her power at most.
Against this doll, which almost broke through to rank S-, she didn't stand a chance…
Perhaps there was a chance to escape from that blow, Jin realized that someone of her rank couldn't be simple.
She must have a movement related skill or at least a means of escape...
But for what?
They were almost dying against a doll of the same rank, and behind the door in front of them were two people at rank S- and S respectively.
Their plan was doomed from the start... no hope.
Jin finally realized the bitter truth, but he couldn't accept it.
He fell to his knees, refusing to breathe. He couldn't even cry. Reality collapsed around him, and he didn't try to avoid the next blow.
However…
He felt the wind intensify around him, and a man in his late twenties, almost thirty, appeared.
With gray hair representing the worries he had endured in his short life, Killian pulled Jin and rolled away.
Although he was only at rank B+, and that after developing his body as a doll, he had a special ability that allowed him to sense things in advance.
Specifically, enhanced instincts.
Ever since their shipwrecked that day, he had awakened on this island, lost his mind for a few days, and arrived here by some strange twist of fate.
Like Jin, he met the resistance group, but it was purely coincidental for him, they hadn't searched for him before. Today, he stood in this hall against people much stronger than him.
Looking at the bloody corpse on the ground, he couldn't help but close his eyes for a moment, then he slapped Jin's face hard.
"Wake up for God's sake, are you out of your mind?"
Another slap and another, with continuous rebuking.
Looking at the girl's corpse on the ground and Jin's broken-minded face, he could vaguely guess what had happened.
"Are you going to ruin our chances because of her? Don't you think she participated in this hellish mission for at least a small hope? Are you going to waste everything dozens of people worked for because of a small setback?"
Killian lifted Jin's body with one hand and dodged the giant doll's moves with relative ease.
Its moves were as clear as a book to him; he even knew the puppet's next ten moves.
He was slower and weaker, but he was untouchable…
Jin was a person with a solid mind, trained for years to remain persistent no matter what. It took him a little time to pull himself together, but his sad look didn't leave him. The mist around his sword spread more and more until it almost covered the room, Killian's smile widened when he saw that.
"It's going to use its left limb for an overhead strike, then hit with its head like a hammer on your right side."
Killian provided better support than anyone else, and with his help, Jin became untouchable, combining his speed with his knowledge of the incoming attack.
In the end, all the mist in the room converged on the puppet, causing it to explode without making a sound.
This was Jin's combat style... the outcome of the battle was in his favor from the start... he just needed time to spread the mist into the puppet's body...
It was usually extremely difficult to infiltrate enemies' bodies with the mist, but given the mindless nature of the puppet and its lack of mana control, it was relatively easy.
If he had revealed the secret of his martial art to the others... maybe Lyra wouldn't have surrendered, and their plans might have changed to one with fewer sacrifices…
His distrust of others led to this...
With a regretful face, Jin looked at Killian with a slight bow.
"Thank you..."
Gilbert could be seen approaching from a distance at that moment.