Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1471 Can I still fight?
As it flew backward, the Taikong forcibly twisted its body, its propulsion units on its back and legs erupting with chaotic jets of flame. It used the thrust generated by the jets to adjust its balance, like a wild beast coiling and stretching its limbs in mid-air, substituting instinct for the most sophisticated tactical maneuvers. Upon impact with the ground, its heavy steel frame slammed down, its paws and feet striking the earth simultaneously. Its claws and gripping structures pierced deeply into the rock, and the impact of its backward flight carved gruesome scars into the ground. Molten rock and slag, melted by the high temperature of the propulsion units, exploded backward in a fan shape.

The entire force-dissipating process was breathtakingly smooth, as if this wasn't a thirty-meter-tall mechanical construct, but a real beast. Energy surged through its veins, power flowed through its bones, requiring no system assistance or programming; instinct told it how to deflect the most lethal attack with minimal cost. It even used the momentum to lower its body, tilting its head forward, its crimson optical signal locking onto Cheryl and Serphis in the distance. Although the construct itself lacked vocal capabilities, the latter two couldn't help but feel a momentary daze, as if they heard the greedy and ferocious growl of a predator.

If nothing unexpected happens, it will soon launch another attack; only endless battles can satisfy this beast.

However, the unexpected still happened.

The way the Taikong decelerated and landed was impeccable. Even the most coordinated gymnast among humans could not have done it better. However, at the moment of landing, its massive body stiffened almost imperceptibly, causing the transition of movements to be less smooth. It was as if a ferocious beast had suddenly touched a wound from the past before it could pounce.

That was a minor malfunction that inevitably occurred after overloaded heat dissipation in the old-style magical joints. The design drawings labeled it as "response delay after frequent maneuvers." Most magical machines using this joint design encountered the same problem, which was unrepairable at the time and could only be compensated for by the pilot's actions. It was only during the development of the Earth Witch, Turbo Mothership, and Alien Philosopher that this issue was perfectly resolved by improving the joint structure and incorporating a built-in buffer circuit. However, the Titan had already been mothballed and did not undergo further modifications, leaving this design flaw permanently on the old prototype.

For the average person, a millisecond delay that is invisible to the naked eye is hardly a flaw, but Cheryl "saw" it.

Not with her eyes, but with the help of the fairy sword Hydras, a perspective that resonates with the elements of nature. When she grasped the sword and prayed to it for the fairy's blessing, her soul was deeply in sync with the pulse of this world—the trembling of the rocks, the hissing of the air, even the subtle whimpering of the armor from overheating… There was no clearer perception than this, and no better time than now.

"Sephis—!"

The fairy sword shimmered, its pale, silvery-white hue transforming into a deep, rich ochre. Cheryl gripped the hilt in reverse, plunging the blade once more into the earth, conveying her will in the process. The ancient Atoriga Wasteland responded to her call; the elements of earth and rock stirred, and the ground beneath the Sky softened, rose, and expanded like a swamp, finally transforming into a giant hand formed from rock, dust, and soil. Its five fingers closed, gripping the Sky's left leg tightly, giving it no chance to escape.

The abundance of magic, a blessing from the fairies, made the giant rock hand incredibly solid. Even the prototype machine god Taikong, known for its terrifyingly violent methods, needed a moment to break free from it.

A moment is enough.

Serphis let out a long howl mixed with pain and rage. The wound on its shoulder, torn by sharp claws, was still spraying blood like particles of light. Each muscle contraction brought excruciating pain, but there was no hesitation in the guardian beast's crystal-like eyes. It stomped its four paws on the ground, and the ground cracked again under its immense power. Spiderweb-like cracks spread and bloomed all the way with the mournful sound of the airflow, chasing the comet intertwined with gold and fire, and crashing straight into the trapped steel behemoth.

Although the fully formed Serphis was only a dozen meters tall, far shorter than the thirty-meter-tall prototype Titan Taikong, its beast-like appearance made it even more intimidating, and the oppressive feeling it generated upon impact far surpassed that of a man-made machine. Amidst terrifying explosions and furious roars, its head slammed heavily against the Taikong's chest and abdominal armor, the dull thud resembling the collision of two mountains. Serphis braced its four legs firmly against the ground, its muscles taut like steel bars, releasing the accumulated protective power and unwavering will of millennia into this collision without reservation. The thirty-meter-tall steel body of the Taikong seemed utterly powerless against this pure and savage kinetic energy. Its body was forced backward, its lumbar joints emitting a sharp, strained grinding sound, as if a human spine had been forcibly bent backward. With his left leg still restrained by the rock palm, the terrifying force was almost entirely borne by his waist, right leg, and upper torso, causing his entire body to take on a twisted shape.

Then, under the terrifying kinetic energy, the rocky palm formed by the earth, after a stalemate of less than half a second, began to shatter from its fingertips. Torn apart by the immense force transmitted from the Taikong's body and the residual momentum of Sephis's forward charge, it instantly transformed into a torrential downpour of rocks. Having broken free of its restraints, or rather, having lost its last anchor point, the Taikong finally detached itself completely from the ground, propelled by inertia, and hurtled towards a towering rocky mountain at the edge of the battlefield. Its almost dented body was flung backward and upward like a rag doll, its pale blue coolant spraying from multiple lacerations in its waist, shoulders, and other areas, leaving a chilling trail in the air like the blood of a beast. Small external parts and armor fragments detached during the tumbling, gleaming with a dull light, spinning as they plummeted downwards.

Even in this chaotic, backward flight, the deeply ingrained combat procedures continued to operate frantically. What Pere felt in the cockpit wasn't panic, but a cold, exhilarating excitement. The exhilarating battle was invigorating, and a non-existent pain seemed to surge into the pilot's mind, washing over her consciousness like a tidal wave. She seemed to hear the machine's evil mockery, feeling its restless fighting spirit and destructive desires at such close range. Even now, she was still thinking about how to retaliate.

The logic of thought is so simple and straightforward: not because it can do it, but because it wants to do it.

So, the Taikong forcibly twisted its body in the air, and the propulsion devices on its back and feet briefly erupted to help it readjust its posture. Just before it was about to crash into the rocky mountain, it slightly bent its knees, exerted force again, and its feet heavily pushed off the semi-inclined rock wall.

"boom--!!"

The rocky mountain, which had been used as a leverage point, collapsed with a deafening roar. Tens of thousands of tons of rock layers completely disintegrated under the reaction force—or perhaps "collapsed" would be a more accurate description? Because unless you see it with your own eyes, you can hardly imagine such a powerful and impactful scene. The shock it brought to Cheryl was no less than when she watched miners use alchemical gunpowder to blast open a new mine in the ground that was impossible for humans to drill through when she was a child. The scattered minerals and crystal fragments in the explosion at that time seemed to correspond to the scene before her eyes.

Amidst the rubble and dust, the steel mech, propelled by the terrifying recoil, ricocheted back like a swift meteor, even faster than before it was thrown back. This time, it employed no maneuvering or evasive techniques, but instead charged straight ahead with pure, brutal force. Its opponent had just completed a full-force charge, Serphis was still charging, and Cheryl's sword remained embedded in the ground; both were in a brief vacuum. Its primal instincts detected this fleeting opportunity to kill.

Perec felt her fingertips trembling slightly, not from fear, but from the ferocious fighting spirit emanating from her mech, like a beast ravenously devouring flesh. Crimson signals, symbols of danger, flashed alternately at a frequency beyond visual detection, drawing a wild and brutal straight line along this path of advance, arriving before Sephis in the blink of an eye. The Titan's left arm tensed, its right arm pulled back, its legs gripping the ground, all joints locked, channeling all the kinetic energy and remaining magic power of its charge into that straight punch. The blood seeping from the gaps in the armor was no longer the pale blue of blood, but rather the blazing white sparks emanating from the overloaded magic reactor, as if the entire mech was burning from within.

Serphis had no chance to dodge the punch.

A powerful fist, capable of piercing a fortress and tearing apart a stronghold, struck the guardian beast squarely in the chest. The thud wasn't loud, but it was heavy enough to send chills down one's spine—the sound of bones shattering under the weight of metal and flesh collapsing in the violence. Serphis's massive body, over ten meters tall, was forced backward, its golden radiance dimming instantly, a flicker of pained disorientation flashing in its crystal-clear eyes. Before it could even utter a cry, it was blasted away by the irresistible force, streaking across the dust-filled battlefield like a falling meteor, crashing heavily into the distant, dark, menacing fortress wall.

"BOOM—!!!" The outer walls of Blackfire Fortress trembled violently upon impact. Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface of the most solid obsidian, and a huge crater sank into the center. Debris mixed with the blood splattered from Serphis's body rained down. The guardian beast's body was embedded in the wall, its limbs hanging limply, its head drooping, its chest visibly caved in, and its fiery mane had lost its luster, quietly dimming.

The Taikong slowly retracted its fist, the blazing white sparks seeping from the gaps in its armor still flickering like breaths. It didn't immediately pursue, but instead tilted its head slightly, its crimson optical signal locking onto Serphis beneath the city walls, as if admiring its masterpiece. In the cockpit, Pereike could feel a slight tremor emanating from her machine, like a sigh tinged with satisfaction and excitement. The primal thrill of destroying a powerful opponent was washing over her consciousness through the connection between her machine and her body.

Deadly, alluring, fragrant, intoxicating, inescapable, so captivating... Ah.

Perec seemed to understand why her teacher could treat death as commonplace, and why Tientes could speak of killing so lightly. Just as the latter had said herself, what she was doing was essentially the same as what Metanzo was doing. If that was the case, weren't they essentially the same kind of people?

She is approaching that feeling, experiencing that state of mind, and then facing the same choice.

Although, in a less-than-pleasant way...

A deep green light suddenly shifted, and an aura of life, defying all logic, spread across the battle-ravaged wasteland, rapidly and continuously flowing into the heavily wounded body of the guardian beast. Its wounds visibly began to heal, and a faint grinding sound emanated from the hollow of its chest—the sound of broken bones and flesh reconnecting under the influence of magic. Serfis let out a low growl from deep within its throat and struggled to its feet.

Seeing the fiery red mane begin to burn again, Cheryl breathed a sigh of relief. Although her face was pale and her breath was weak, she still felt a sense of peace.

They were completely suppressed.

As expected of the legendary construct mech, it truly lives up to its reputation. Cheryl even felt that even a true god would find it difficult to muster the will to fight in the face of this savage, primitive, brutal, and cruel steel behemoth.

Fortunately, at least they weren't completely without the ability to resist.

As long as there is still resistance, there is a chance... After all, my goal is not to defeat it, but merely to buy time.

Cheryl glanced at the sky above. The clouds remained dark and heavy, the oppressive atmosphere making it difficult to even breathe. With neither sun nor moon visible, it was impossible to gauge the passage of time, but judging by her senses, it was at least… nightfall, wasn't it?

Miss O'Vila's exact words were, "At least delay for one night."

That is, at dawn.

“Sephis,” she gripped the hilt of her sword, her voice clear and calm, “can you still fight?”

The guardian beast growled and shook its head, shaking off the faintly glowing blood that landed on the gravel with a hissing sound. It lowered its body slightly, and the flame-like mane around its neck burned even more vigorously, the intense radiance giving the illusion that it was about to burn out, demonstrating its stance through its actions.

"Alright." Cheryl's lips curled slightly. "Then let's continue the fight."

A man and a beast stood on either side of the Taikong, seemingly surrounding the steel behemoth. However, having witnessed the battle just now, no one could underestimate its power. Therefore, it was less a battle and more a struggle.

Struggling desperately to buy time.

This is the only strategy.

Give me some cats