Being a knight is not easy

Chapter 145 Curse
The core of the Mechanical Apostle shattered under Robin's blade.

The silver heart cracked into countless cracks, and dazzling light burst out from the inside, like a punctured water bag, and sticky mechanical fluid splashed out.

The liquid twisted in the air, trying to regroup as if it had life, but evaporated instantly when it came into contact with the silver-blue markings on the Tang sword.

"Stand back!" Alger warned sternly, and the mechanical arm grabbed Robin's collar and pulled him away.

The next moment!
boom……

The heart completely exploded, and a violent energy shock swept across the entire underground space.

The mechanical apostle's fleshy body disintegrated in the explosion, and hundreds of human faces let out their final screams before being engulfed by silver-blue flames.

The ground shook violently, the rock layers of the dome began to collapse, and huge pieces of rubble fell like rain.

"The passage is about to collapse!" Elina chopped off the boulder that was falling towards them with a sword. The light of the thorn pendant had dimmed, but her sword was still sharp.

Alger's mechanical eyes scanned quickly, and his ice-blue core overclocked. "Follow me! There's a weak layer in the northeast corner. We can blast a path right through it!"

Robin didn't hesitate, grabbed Elena's wrist, and rushed to the designated location following Alger.

Most of his Tang sword had been shattered, and the remaining blade was still trembling slightly, as if responding to some call.

Alger's mechanical arm transformed, and the muzzle condensed with dazzling ice-blue energy: "Everyone get down!"

boom--! ! !
Extremely cold energy bombarded the rock wall, and frost quickly spread, freezing the entire rock layer brittle. Immediately afterwards, Alger's second cannon detonated, blasting open a narrow passage.

The moment the three rushed into the passage, the underground space behind them completely collapsed.

When they finally broke out of the ground, Ash Village had been completely shattered.

The houses covered in mechanical veins collapsed, reduced to charred ruins as if drained of life. The air was filled with the pungent smell of burning metal, but strangely, the bodies of the purified villagers retained their human form, as if the mechanical contamination had never existed.

Alger's mechanical body was severely overloaded. Black smoke billowed from the joints of his right arm, and the speed of his ice-blue core dropped noticeably. He knelt on one knee and coughed up blood mixed with black engine oil. "Ha... I didn't expect to make it out alive."

The side effects of Elina's Sword of the End began to show. Her face was as pale as paper, and her hand holding the sword was shaking slightly, but her eyes were still sharp: "The mechanical apostle of Ash Village is dead, and the mechanical apostles of two villages have not been dealt with yet."

Robin stared down at the broken sword in his hand. Silver-blue threads of light were slowly wriggling in the cracks on the blade, interweaving and repairing themselves like a living thing.

The broken metal grew again in the light, making a slight "sizzling" sound, as if flesh and blood were regenerating.

Elina's eyes were fixed on this scene, with surprise and confusion flashing in her eyes.

"Alan, have you broken through to the legendary level?"

Her voice was soft, but it caused Robin to pause slightly.

Alger's mechanical eyes also focused, his icy blue pupils dilated and scanned the data stream of the blade: "This isn't ordinary weapon repair... This is the property of 'living metal.'"

Robin didn't answer immediately.

He felt the life force coursing through his body—more concentrated and violent than ever before.

The experience points gained from the Dragon-Devouring Breathing Technique skyrocketed in the previous battle, and he was only one step away from breaking through to become the Order Knight.

But what concerned him more was that the dark red chain pattern on the Tang sword was gradually spreading as the blade was repaired.

"No, I haven't completely broken through yet," he finally said, his voice low. "But something... is changing." Elina took a step closer, her fingers gently touching the healing blade. Threads of silver-blue light immediately wrapped around her fingertips, causing a slight tingling sensation.

"In the battle just now, you unleashed legendary power at least three times." She looked directly into Robin's eyes. "That kind of speed and destructive power is definitely beyond the reach of a great knight."

Robin was silent for a moment, then finally nodded: "The characteristics of the breathing method inherited from my family... It allowed me to briefly touch the threshold of legend."

He didn't say the second half of the sentence. With every outburst, the pattern of the dark red chain would deepen a little.

Alger suddenly sneered, "Ha, Legend? Have you forgotten what we just killed?" His mechanical arm creaked under the weight. "That was a Mechanical Apostle at the peak level of Legendary Knight! Even if it was a half-finished product, it's no match for an ordinary Legend!"

The restoration of the Tang sword is still ongoing.

The originally silver-blue blade was now doped with dark red lines, spreading through the metal like blood vessels.

When the last crack healed, the blade suddenly emitted a clear humming sound. It was not the vibration of metal, but rather the pulsation of some kind of life.

"Let's take a break and go to the other two villages." Robin said.

Elina and Alger were silent for a moment before nodding in agreement.

Frost Fortress, in the Iron Throne Room of Grand Duke Frosthawk.

"Ash Village was destroyed?" Grand Duke Frosthawk's voice was as low as thunder, his fingers drumming on the armrests of the throne. Each tap made the kneeling scout tremble. "That was the incubation ground for Apostle Number Three... Who did this?"

The scout rested his forehead against the cold ground. "Based on the remaining energy traces... they appear to be members of the Round Table Council and the Knights Guild."

"Round Table Council?" Grand Duke Frost Eagle sneered suddenly, a crimson light flashing in his eyes. "They're really anxious. This time, the Wizard Council stood by and watched, obviously hoping to reap the benefits."

He slowly stood up, silver mechanical patterns appearing on his jet-black armor. "Send the message—have Blood Blade Chaos and Iron Wall Garm depart immediately, bringing the latest hunting units."

In the shadows beside the throne, two figures knelt on one knee. "As you command, Grand Duke."

The three of them rested temporarily in an ice cave thirty miles away from Ash Village.

Alger's mechanical body was repairing itself, its ice-blue core humming rhythmically. He removed his severely damaged right arm and took a spare from the metal box at his waist, attaching it. A few sparks flew as the neural interface connected.

"Next time I overclock like this, my core will melt down." He grinned, as if he was talking about something insignificant.

Elina inspected the damage to the Sword of the End. The golden runes on the blade had dimmed by half. "We need more information... The situation in the other two villages may be even worse."

Robin sat against the ice wall, the Tang sword in his hand having recovered 70% of its original strength. The dark red chain lines were clearer than before, and occasionally a silver-blue light flashed.

He closed his eyes, feeling the life force coursing through his body—the breakthrough of the Dragon Devouring Breathing Technique was just around the corner.

"Alger," Robin suddenly said, "What exactly is the Frosthawk family's blood curse?"

Alger paused, the aperture of his mechanical eye narrowing. "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

"You've become even more mechanized than the last time we met." Robin opened his eyes, "and..."

His eyes fell on Alger's newly attached mechanical arm—on which dark red patterns similar to those of a Tang sword faintly appeared.

(End of this chapter)