Chapter 143: The Secret to Defeating the Enemy (Part 1)

Chapter 143: The Secret to Defeating the Enemy (Part 1)



As Rain was shocked by the attacker, who turned out to be a metal maiden puppet, the eerie puppet seemed to immediately notice Rain standing nearby.

"Gagaga!"

The puppet's bottom wheels started spinning rapidly, adjusting its body to face Rain, aiming its pair of rapidly spinning spinning blades at him.

Rain's expression turned grim as he braced himself, but suddenly, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air!

This massive metal puppet accelerated to an astonishing speed in an instant, charging towards Rain at a breathtaking pace.

Alarm bells rang in Rain's mind, and he instinctively rolled to the side, dodging the puppet's swift strike.

"Boom!!"

The towering metal puppet crashed straight into the wall of the neighboring house, effortlessly creating a gaping hole in the wall of the house across from Rain's home.

Screams erupted from within the house! Rain's pupils contracted sharply!

Such incredible speed! It was faster than the acceleration of supercars in his previous life.

The iron maiden puppet's heavy body and high wind resistance should have made it impossible to accelerate so quickly. This defied all logic!

For a moment, Rain couldn't comprehend the operating mechanism of the iron maiden puppet.

However, there was no time to ponder; he had to fight first.

"Leap Slash!"

Rain, having activated 'Breaking Limit', leaped high into the air, aiming his radiant greatsword at the puppet's relatively slender neck and delivering a powerful strike.

"Clang!!"

Sparks flew in all directions!

A piercing sound of metal clashing echoed, as if someone was striking a massive bell.

The material of the puppet's exterior, unknown to Rain, was so sturdy that even his radiant greatsword, infused with starmetal, emitted a mournful sound, struggling to withstand the intense recoil.

The impact was so strong that Rain almost lost his grip on the sword's hilt.

His expression changed once again.

This was the first time Rain had encountered an enemy that his starmetal-infused greatsword couldn't cut through.

Although he had anticipated this day would come eventually, he hadn't expected it to arrive so soon, and the enemy wasn't even a typical living being—it was a metal maiden puppet.

Nevertheless, Rain wasn't entirely without gains from this brief encounter.

After evading the puppet's two ultra-fast charges, Rain noticed that the puppet's speed was relatively slower when adjusting its direction.

For the time being, Rain could maintain a stalemate, neither winning nor losing.

This scene also caught the attention of a Black Flame Adept lurking nearby, who couldn't help but smile.

"Impressive sword skills? But what good are they if they can't penetrate the defense of an iron maiden dummy?"

"When your stamina is exhausted, your end will come."

The Black Flame Adept, responsible for setting up the iron maiden dummy, spoke with confidence.

"What a pity for Ahim, Andrews, and those other fools. They only knew how to engage in brute force." The Adept shook his head slightly, lamenting the deaths of his colleagues at Rain's hands.

At that moment, the door of Anna's house suddenly opened, and Ragle burst out with a shield in hand, seemingly intending to assist Rain in defeating the iron maiden puppet.

The commotion from Rain's earlier battle with the puppet had awakened Anna and Ragle.

Rain's heart sank as he shouted, "Ragle, get back inside!"

"Swish!"

The puppet immediately charged at Ragle, who had been spotted.

"Bang!"

With a single strike, the puppet shattered Ragle's sturdy shield, sending her flying several meters away.

Fortunately, the oak shield had blocked most of the impact, sparing Ragle from any serious injury.

It was then that Ragle realized just how formidable the puppet's attacks were.

Rain quickly pulled Ragle behind him, shielding her with his body, and engaged the puppet's spinning blades head-on!

"Sizzle!!"

Sparks flew in all directions!

Rain's radiant greatsword now had two small notches, which pained him deeply.

However, Rain's block had bought Ragle some time, allowing her to retreat back into Anna's house and take cover.

This was a veteran knight's battlefield, and Ragle's skills as a knight cadet were simply too weak.

"Clang, clang!!"

Rain's greatsword slashed repeatedly at several potential weak points on the iron maiden puppet, but to no avail.

This forced Rain's mind to race.

The next moment, Rain's eyes lit up.

"Perhaps this method will work."

So, to the Black Flame Adept's bewilderment, Rain sheathed his greatsword and drew the metal warhammer from his back.

"Huh? Is he going to use a hammer to deal with an iron maiden dummy? That's ridiculous!" The Adept looked at Rain with disdain as he took out the bronze warhammer.

Anna, watching the battle through the window from inside her room, was equally puzzled.

Rain was skilled with a greatsword, so why switch to a warhammer when facing a formidable enemy?

Anna couldn't quite understand.

Ragle was even more perplexed. After all, Rain had practiced hammer techniques with her just a few days ago.

How much could his hammer skills have improved in such a short time? She was well aware of the vast difference between Rain's sword and hammer skills.

Could it be that Rain was trying to protect his beloved greatsword?

Ragle's face filled with worry.

Rain, that idiot, could always forge a new sword if it broke. But he only had one life! Just as Ragle was about to speak up, she saw Rain circling the iron maiden puppet with the warhammer.

The strikes became heavier, but they didn't seem to cause any damage to the puppet.

The greatsword, on the other hand, had at least made the puppet's sturdy exterior spark and even left some scratches.

The black-robed man was equally confused by what he was witnessing.

Ryan wasn't stupid, so what was he doing? However, his eyes gradually lit up as he found the critical element to defeat his opponent—the 'resonance frequency'! But the power he was currently exerting wasn't enough.

"Gigastrength!"

With the activation of the Extraordinary trait 'Gigastrength Level 2', his strength increased by another 60%, and his Breaking Limit had already boosted his strength by 43%.

In other words, Ryan's strength was now enhanced by 103%, surging from 15 points to 30 points.

"Clang!!"

A deafening strike echoed through the air. The Iron Maiden Puppet staggered under the mighty blow of Ryan's 30-point strength, but its body structure, akin to a tumbler, quickly regained its balance.

"Is the Extraordinary trait useful?"

"Hahaha, don't joke around! The Church had people test it, and even a Peak Knight couldn't break through the Iron Maiden!" The Black Flame Apostle observing from a distance couldn't help but laugh at the scene before him.

"But it's understandable. A man, even when facing overwhelming odds, can't give up. He has to fight like a cornered beast."

"Seems like it's still not enough!" Ryan instantly realized.

The resonance frequency of the Iron Maiden Puppet's outer shell was higher than he had anticipated.

The loud strikes also attracted the Night Watch on patrol, who quickly rushed through the thick fog towards the source of the sound.

They saw a group of three Night Watch members charging towards the source of the noise.

The intense battle dissipated the thick fog around them, allowing the trio to clearly see the combatants. One was the familiar Sheriff Ryan, and the other was a strange and eerie metal maiden puppet.

"It's Sheriff Ryan!"

"Go help him!"

The three Night Watch members immediately rushed to assist.

"Don't come closer!" Ryan also noticed this and shouted a warning.

But it was too late.

"Boom!!"

The Iron Maiden Puppet's two arms, wielding massive spinning blades with a diameter of one meter, suddenly accelerated and charged towards the three.

The three Night Watch members screamed in agony as the spinning blades struck them head-on, piercing their bodies from head to hip with a row of spikes. They were clearly not going to make it.

The middle one was suddenly bound by a black, slender chain that appeared out of nowhere, dragging him towards the Iron Maiden Puppet.

"Creak!"

The cylindrical skirt of the Iron Maiden Puppet suddenly opened two iron doors, pulling the Night Watch member inside.

Seconds later, a large lump of red flesh was excreted from the bottom of the cylindrical puppet with a 'pfft' sound.

A pool of bloody flesh appeared on the ground, and the Night Watch member's skin was completely peeled off.

The two women in the house stared in shock at the scene before them, and then they looked at each other in disbelief. Anna couldn't help but recoil in horror.

Who would create such an evil thing?

Witnessing the gruesome death of the Night Watch member, Ryan's expression turned stern, and anger surged within him. But suddenly, his rapid movements faltered, and he slowed down.

The observing Black Flame Apostle's face immediately showed an expression as if he had expected this outcome.

"Generally speaking, the duration of a Knight's physical Breaking Limit isn't long, especially when combined with an Extraordinary trait."

"It seems like he's exhausted and has automatically released the state!"

"Hahaha, Ryan's done for!"

Ryan quickly glanced at his status panel and almost instinctively chose to add an attribute point to his strength.

With the remaining attribute point reduced from 2 to 1, his strength increased from 15 to 16 points.

Instantly, a warm current surged from his heart and quickly spread throughout his body. All the soreness and fatigue in Ryan's muscles vanished without a trace!

The reason he chose to add a point to strength was because Ryan considered the two secret techniques of the Tokkar Hammer Technique, which required an extremely high level of strength. Relying solely on the Mammoth Breath Technique might not meet the requirements in a short time.

With the activation of the core skill 'Power Surge', Ryan's body awakened like a prehistoric giant beast.

The chrome iron plate armor covering his body creaked and groaned under the pressure of Ryan's expanding muscles.

'Breaking Limit', 'Gigastrength', and a 50% 'Power Surge'! Ryan entered the 'Tri-State'!

"Clang!!"

Ryan's hammer blow bent the metal handle of the bronze warhammer, like a taut bowstring, and the Iron Maiden Puppet shook violently, coming to a sudden halt.

The Black Flame Apostle's eyes widened in disbelief at this sight, and he couldn't help but exclaim:

"Didn't he exhaust his energy? How the hell did he suddenly become so energetic again? Impossible!!"

"Damn it!"

"But... this must be some kind of secret technique, just slowing down your path to death!"

Soon, the Black Flame Apostle seemed to have figured something out and instantly came up with a reasonable explanation.

Additionally, when he thought about the Iron Maiden's formidable defense, his expression became more composed.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The strikes became more and more intense.

For some reason, the Black Flame Apostle felt his heartbeat quicken in sync with Ryan's rapid strikes, as if it were beyond his control.

He vaguely felt that something was amiss, but he couldn't pinpoint the problem right away!

51%

52%

Ryan gradually increased the level of the core skill 'Power Surge'.

He found it! Ryan's eyes lit up.

51%

52%

Ryan gradually increased the level of the core skill 'Power Surge'.

He found it! Ryan's eyes lit up.

51%

52%

Ryan gradually increased the level of the core skill 'Power Surge'.

He found it! Ryan's eyes lit up.

51%

52%

Ryan gradually increased the level of the core skill 'Power Surge'.

He found it! Ryan's eyes lit up.

Ryan gradually increased the level of the core skill 'Power Surge', reaching 51% and then 52%.

He had found it! Ryan's eyes widened in realization.

With 52% 'Power Surge', combined with 'Breaking Limit' and 'Gigastrength', Ryan's hammer strikes perfectly resonated with the Iron Maiden Puppet, triggering its maximum vibration!

Ryan controlled his strength, raining hammer blows like hail upon the Iron Maiden Puppet!

This time, the Iron Maiden Puppet's body began to shake and stiffen in an eerie manner, unable to retaliate against Ryan's attacks.

The next moment, Ryan stopped his hammering and watched the Iron Maiden Puppet, which was still buzzing.

The Black Flame Apostle, witnessing this scene from a distance, was also stunned.

Ryan couldn't understand why the Iron Maiden Dummy was malfunctioning, standing still and allowing Ryan to hammer it like a live target without any retaliation.

This didn't make sense!

"Crack!"

A crack suddenly appeared on the delicate metal face of the Iron Maiden Puppet, and immediately, the entire puppet resonated with a 'crack' sound!

At this moment, Ryan calmly walked up and gave it another light tap with his hammer.

"Crash!!!"

The three-meter-tall Iron Maiden Puppet, like a large vase, shattered its once-impregnable exterior in an instant, revealing its true form.

Inside the puppet, the metal walls were covered with collected human skins, and shockingly, there was indeed a young girl with her eyes gouged out.

Her entire body was pierced by a black iron rod, and she was enveloped in a mysterious black aura. It seemed that her body was in a state of frenzy and unconsciousness, controlling the puppet.

Perhaps, in her current state, the girl didn't even know what she was attacking!

This scene immediately reminded Ryan of the game players from his past life, wearing 3D glasses and immersed in the game world, a scene eerily similar to what he was witnessing now.

It seemed that both were immersed in a fantastical world!

At this moment, more Night Watchmen surrounded the area, and Hamilton hurried over from the Administrative Hall in the center of the town. Seeing this scene, he exclaimed in shock, "An Iron Maiden Dummy!"

Ryan finally realized that he had been calling it an Iron Maiden Puppet, which was inaccurate. It should be an Iron Maiden Dummy.

Could it be that the girl with her eyes gouged out was a virgin?

Otherwise, why would they call it that?

Ryan shook his head slightly.

Perhaps he could ask Hamilton about this later.

The Black Flame Adept in the distance twitched his face, and it was at this moment that he realized the mission had failed!

A mission that was almost impossible to fail had failed!

Damn it!

Why did it fail?

Up until now, he still couldn't figure it out!

The incredibly durable Iron Maiden Dummy had been inexplicably smashed by Ryan!

"This can't be... This can't be," he muttered to himself.

The next second, he finally snapped out of it, turned around, and left without looking back.

With the disappearance of the Black Flame Adept, the awkward dark mist that had enveloped Shangjin Town began to dissipate.

Under the dim moonlight, Ryan quickly noticed that the bronze warhammer he was holding had lost its hammerhead, which had fallen to the ground due to the intense combat.

Fortunately, the bronze warhammer hadn't broken during the previous battle.

This clearly demonstrated the importance of a good weapon.

"Ryan, I didn't expect you to defeat the Iron Maiden Dummy," Hamilton said as he approached and patted Ryan on the shoulder with relief.

"This bizarre thing has appeared several times within Maistre County, and each time, it has caused significant casualties before leaving calmly."

"The main reason is that its outer shell is extraordinarily sturdy, making it very difficult to deal with. Ryan, how did you do it?" Hamilton asked, puzzled.

"Umm..." Ryan thought for a moment, unsure how to explain the concept of 'resonance' to Hamilton.

He thought to himself, "Brother, you didn't study junior high school physics, so I can't explain it to you right away."

"Every object has a fixed frequency, and if you can grasp that frequency, you can use it to destroy the object," Ryan explained carefully.

"Hmm? Frequency?" Hamilton looked perplexed.

But seeing Ryan's serious expression, he knew Ryan wasn't trying to deceive him.

"Well... Okay! Although I don't understand what you mean by frequency, it seems quite amazing!"

"By the way, Ryan, what do you plan to do with this Iron Maiden Dummy?"

At this moment, the Night Watchmen nearby had already collected the fallen fragments of the Iron Maiden Dummy.

Ragle, Anna, and Ryan's parents also came out of the house.

The intense battle had caused considerable damage to Ryan's house, and Anna's house, being adjacent to Ryan's, had also suffered collateral damage, with its structure partially compromised.

Ragle picked up a metal fragment and said, "Ryan, you might be able to use this to forge a warhammer."

"Hmm?" Ryan turned his head in confusion.

"If I'm not mistaken, this puppet's outer shell is made of rare Hardened Golden Alloy Ingots, which have excellent toughness and strength, surpassing your Bloodvein Steel and making it more suitable for crafting warhammers."

"So, I'm also curious, Ryan, how did you manage to break through such a sturdy exterior?" Ragle's beautiful eyes fixed on Ryan, filled with curiosity.

Ryan then explained the concept of resonance to Ragle once again.

The number of perplexed people increased by one!

However, Ryan hadn't expected that after destroying the Iron Maiden Dummy, he would gain such an unexpected reward—a forging material even better than Bloodvein Steel. It was indeed a pleasant surprise.

After some thought, Ryan said to Hamilton, "Sir, I will keep a portion of the Iron Maiden Dummy's outer shell to forge a warhammer, and the remaining frame and excess parts can be exchanged for merit points."

"That's a reasonable arrangement! The Empire's Mystic Research Institute will definitely be interested in this puppet."

"Perhaps, Ryan, you will receive a substantial merit reward this time!" Hamilton said with a smile.

That night, Hamilton and the night watchmen didn't get much rest. The events that occurred needed to be reported to the county city as soon as possible, and some of the frightened citizens required reassurance.

Indeed, this is the advantage of being a deputy!

When something happens, the leader takes charge.

Ryan, on the other hand, let his sister Mint continue sleeping with their parents. Additionally, he asked Anna and Ragle to stay in his house, in Mint's room on the second floor.

With everyone together, safety could be better ensured, and it would also be more convenient for Ryan to protect them.

Ryan then checked his profession panel and system prompts:

【Congratulations! Your Tokkar Hammer Technique has been enhanced. Experience +137】

【Congratulations! Your Tokkar Hammer Technique has been enhanced. Experience +239】

【You have experienced a battle. Knight (Extraordinary) Experience +97】

At this time, Ryan's profession level had reached lv3 (389/500).

The reason for such rapid progress was not only due to the experience gained from this battle but also mainly from the sparring with Knights Lloyd and Peres during their visit to the Habsburg Manor.

Additionally, there was the 'cooperation' of the two Crowley Family Knights.

Following the Knight (Extraordinary) panel, Ryan noticed the Tokkar Hammer Technique lv3 (365/500) and fell into deep thought.

In the previous battle, he had switched weapons, from the Radiant Greatsword to the Bronze Warhammer.

Therefore, in a single battle, two combat techniques were simultaneously enhanced.

Hmm?

It seemed that after he allocated points to strength, he successfully unlocked a new hammer technique.

Immediately, Ryan, feeling delighted, looked at the Knight (Extraordinary) panel and saw a new icon above 'Tokkar Hammer Technique,' almost parallel to 'Ascending Dragon Hammer.'

The icon depicted a muscular man, but with a different action.

He held a two-handed great hammer and vigorously struck the ground from top to bottom, creating a fan-shaped shattered area, resembling the Mountain Stone Beast's Gigantic Stone Stomp—a truly formidable sight!

In the lower right corner of the icon, there was a small line of text:

【Earth Splitting Hammer lv1 (Secret Technique) Effect: Utilize a special way of exerting force to swing the heavy hammer from top to bottom, striking the ground and delivering a blow with a powerful shockwave.】

【Note: Earth Splitting Hammer is a Secret Technique and cannot be directly enhanced through skill points. Earth Splitting Hammer lv2 requires the following conditions: 1. Tokkar Hammer Technique lv6 or above (Hammer Specialization can offset this requirement). 2. Strength 20 points or above, Constitution 16 points or above, and Agility 14 points or above.】

Ryan then looked at the description of 'Ascending Dragon Hammer' and compared the two hammer secret techniques.

He found that 'Earth Splitting Hammer' required higher strength, while 'Ascending Dragon Hammer' demanded higher agility.

Additionally, 'Ascending Dragon Hammer' unleashed a spinning force, whereas 'Earth Splitting Hammer' delivered a shockwave, seemingly more representative of hammer-class weapons!

After some thought, Ryan decided that the next morning, he would work with Ragle to craft the new warhammer.

As for the production of the mutation growth potion, it would have to be put on hold for now.

While Ryan and Hamilton were cleaning up the aftermath, the Black Flame Adept who had returned from Shangjin Town was reporting to a tall and thin knight, standing over two meters tall.

Even now, the Black Flame Adept's face still carried a hint of unnaturalness, seemingly still shocked by the scene of Ryan shattering the Iron Maiden Dummy.

"Hmm? How could it have failed? Did someone else intervene? Was it the Shangjin Town Sheriff, Hamilton?" The Black Flame Adept explained after pondering for a while.

He had been trying to figure out how to clearly describe the scene he witnessed.

However, no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation and could only attribute it to Ryan's exquisite hammer technique.

Even to him, this explanation didn't seem very convincing.

"Hammer technique? So what? You're not telling me that Ryan shattered the Iron Maiden Dummy with a hammer, are you?" The tall and thin knight looked at the Black Flame Adept as if he were looking at a fool.

Indeed, that was exactly what happened!

However, the Black Flame Adept couldn't say it so bluntly.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure about the details, but what I saw was indeed Ryan using a hammer to shatter the Iron Maiden Dummy." The Black Flame Adept spread his hands and said.

He recalled the scene where Ryan effortlessly smashed the Iron Maiden Dummy.

After hearing the Black Flame Adept's explanation, the tall and thin knight's tone immediately became more forceful, clearly filled with anger.

"Lamar! Do you think your reason just now was convincing? How am I supposed to explain this to the High Priest?"

"Do you know how many precious materials are needed to create an Iron Maiden Dummy? How could it possibly be shattered by a knight, even a peak knight?"

"Should I tell the High Priest that Ryan is a grand knight?"

"This..." Facing the tall and thin knight's questioning, the Black Flame Adept named Lamar was momentarily speechless, unsure how to explain for a while.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end