Chapter 16: Tit for Tat
After dealing with the patrol mercenaries on three streets and at the main gate of the Lord's Manor, Joshua, without any hesitation, blasted open the tightly shut door with a single punch and walked into the front courtyard of the manor with Ying.
"That person isn't dead."
Following closely behind her master, Ying asked with some confusion, "Not going to kill him?"
"I don't kill those who can't fight back... Even I think that sounds pretentious when I say it."
While observing the surroundings, Joshua replied casually, seemingly unconcerned about such a trivial matter. "He's just a mercenary. If he's not dead, he's not dead. No need to finish him off."
"What does 'finish him off' mean?"
"It means giving the final blow to someone who isn't dead yet, making sure they're truly dead."
"Then what's a 'mercenary'?"
"A warrior who fights for money."
This simple back-and-forth had been going on ever since they left the underground tomb beneath the church. Although Ying had some basic common knowledge, she was completely ignorant of certain situations and terms, especially newly coined ones. Joshua felt that her database urgently needed an update—it was at least a few centuries behind the times.
Fortunately, although his Divine Mechanism lady appeared rather cold, she was quite curious about everything around her. It probably wouldn't take long for her to fully adapt to this world.
Turning a corner, they arrived at the main path leading to the mansion.
The Lord's Manor was essentially a city within a city. The outermost layer was the perimeter wall and gate, followed by a sizable garden and wooded area, with the residential buildings at the very center.
Because Joshua's strides were quite large, Ying had to jog to keep up. She looked at the surroundings and muttered to herself, "Uncle Fan lives in this place?"
"You know Fan?" Hearing something interesting, Joshua immediately turned to look at Ying, somewhat surprised.
"Yes, he often comes over to maintain us." Speaking of something she knew, Ying's lips curled up slightly as she recalled, "About once every two weeks, I suppose. Master, you should know that tuning Divine Mechanisms is quite troublesome..."
"No, I don't know. I only recently found out that Divine Mechanisms even exist."
"Is... that so?" Stunned for a moment, Ying hadn't expected that her contractor had only recently learned of her existence. She seemed a bit deflated. "Well, after all, the Seal Blade Chamber has so many Divine Mechanisms left over from the past. Someone has to maintain them. The previous Lord always seemed very busy, so maintenance was Uncle Fan's job."
"I see." Joshua nodded and then asked, "But from what you're saying, are all the weapons in the room beneath the church cemetery Divine Mechanisms?"
He had originally thought only two of them were, and the rest were ordinary blades. After all, there were over a hundred weapons there.
"That's right, all of them."
Ying nodded. "To ensure the best resonance rate, each contractor would have two or three Divine Mechanisms as candidates. Since most contractors throughout history couldn't bear the burden of multiple Divine Mechanisms, they could only choose the one with the highest synchronization rate. The rest had to be sealed away."
As she spoke, her brow furrowed slightly, as if puzzled. "For optimal performance, the core of each Divine Mechanism is made from a part of the contractor's body. My core is made from a piece of your right wrist bone, while my younger brother's is from your left. Strangely enough, his synchronization rate with you was originally higher than mine, so why did you choose me this time..."
(That giant axe? It did feel very familiar too... It seems the soul fusion caused a slight change, altering the synchronization rate. Ah, I do feel a bit sorry about that.)
Guessing the reason, Joshua wasn't foolish enough to say it out loud. From what Ying said, he came up with another question. "So that means the Divine Mechanisms left in the Seal Blade Chamber also have consciousness. Being sealed for so long—don't you and they feel pain?"
"Would we?"
Ying was unconcerned. Although she looked like a fifteen-year-old girl, her tone was now very cold, and her emerald-green eyes were icy. "Pain and loneliness are feelings that only humans have. A weapon only has meaning to exist when it is held by someone. If it's not needed, then it waits, sealed in its sheath, until the day it is drawn."
"That's quite cold."
"Because the heart is made of iron."
Without realizing it, the two had fallen into a cold exchange of words. Joshua and Ying arrived at the main entrance of the Lord's Manor. The warrior looked up at this small castle and the massive wooden door, as large as a city gate. After observing for a moment, he nodded. "It seems a magical door was installed after I left. The energy fluctuations are quite complex. Opening it will be a bit difficult, but not too troublesome."
"Can you use magic, Master?" Hearing this, Ying asked curiously.
"No, I'm just used to dismantling things."
With that, Joshua extended his fist. In his eyes, he could see the thirty-seven energy nodes within the door, which had been magically reinforced time and time again, comparable to a door forged from pure steel. The flow patterns and effects of the mana were easily seen through.
As he said—magical doors were something he had dismantled at least a thousand times, if not eight hundred. He was long used to it.
And so, he threw a punch!
"BOOM!!!!"
The air twisted into a strange shape, then let out a thunderous roar. But just before the sound reached his ears, Joshua's right fist had already struck the door solidly. The shockwave kicked up a gale, sweeping away the sand and dust on the ground.
At the same time, accompanied by the breathing technique he had used countless times, the power hidden deep within his body surged up once more. A crimson radiance poured into the door. Under the control of the legendary warrior, this battle qi split into countless strands, turning into tiny knives that tore apart the mana pathways within the door, completely destroying the magical array supporting it.
Everything happened within one second.
Joshua slowly withdrew his fist. A breeze blew past, and the door before him crumbled into ash, slowly scattering in the air, with only a few remnants falling to the ground.
[Ultimate Essence · Collapse]
A combat technique that only Gold-rank experts could normally use was casually employed by a Silver-rank warrior. This was the greatest benefit brought by the legendary warrior's [Ultimate Essence].
"It would have been more troublesome if it were a real pure steel door."
Stepping into the Lord's Manor, Joshua tilted his head, signaling Ying to follow. "A tough battle awaits. This is your chance to shine. Come on."
"Yes, Master."
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"Boom!"
A loud noise echoed throughout the entire city center.
It was a low, intense rumble, like a siege hammer striking a city gate.
Even in the hall of the Moldavia Lord's Manor, the sound could be heard.
Dania was deep in thought when the loud noise interrupted him. He turned to look in the direction of the sound and frowned, asking, "What's going on? Is there an accident outside?"
The source of the sound was far too close, making him feel something was off.
"I'll go check."
A shield-bearing mercenary standing behind him prepared to go see what was happening, but Dania stopped him. "No, you stay. Let Nal go first."
The middle-aged man naturally had his own considerations. He said, "Francis and the patrol are outside. If there's an accident, they'll check it out first. You're too slow; it's better for you to stay here and protect me. Nal is a ranger; he's the most suitable."
"You're right."
The mercenary nodded and stepped back. The bow-wielding ranger called Nal stepped forward, gave a slight nod, and then ran toward the source of the sound.
"Strange. Could snow have collapsed a house? But this is the Northern Lands. Every house is specially reinforced, and the snow this year isn't heavy. How could it collapse?"
Standing up, Dania felt that this rumble was unnatural. He had witnessed both magical beast attacks and building collapses, and the sound just now didn't quite match either...
"BOOM!!!"
Another loud noise, just as low but much more intense than the last. If the first sound source was only relatively close, this time, it was right downstairs!
"What, exactly, is going on?!"
It wasn't just the rumble; even the tables and chairs were trembling slightly, as if from a small earthquake. Dania, shocked, also had his mind racing. "There was a rumble not far away earlier, and then an accident happened downstairs shortly after. There must be a connection—yes, an intruder. He took out the patrol and Francis, blasted open the door, and is now directly attacking the Lord's Manor!"
"Joshua! That's right, it has to be him! He's launching a surprise attack at this time, but how is that possible?!"
Shaken, Dania was filled with regret. He should have reacted sooner, but he never imagined that Joshua would be so direct, attacking without any regard for reason. There were over twenty Silver-rank warriors guarding the Lord's Manor right now. How dare he?!
Thinking with normal logic, Dania couldn't fathom Joshua's current mindset. He had thought his nephew wouldn't go for a decapitation strike immediately, but would lie low for a while and wait for the right moment to strike. He never expected that, at the height of the manor's alertness, this guy would just make his move!
"Rondo, Loven, both of you go too!"
Issuing orders quickly, the middle-aged man said decisively, "Call all the guard mercenaries together. Tell them it's my command!"
"Understood!"
The two remaining Silver high-rank mercenaries replied loudly, then stomped heavily as they rushed downstairs.
"Coming alone... Joshua, my foolish nephew. Once the patrol mercenaries and knights from the city arrive and surround you from both sides, that will be your death!"