399 Chapter 399: Decisive Duel (1/2)
Seizing the opportunity, I charged at the Castellan. The robot emotionlessly raised the shaft of his weapon and used magic to conjure a new double hammerhead.
\”!!!\”
Before I knew it, the Castellan stomped forward and swung his hammer straight at me, with every intention to pulverize my skull into bone shards and brain matter.
I swept underneath the Castellan's attack, ducking under his massive hammer even as I sliced through his barriers with my two swords. The mechanized puppet's bulky weapon soared several centimeters above my face, almost ruffling my fringe as I slid past under it, as well as the metallic arms that wielded it. I could literally feel the heat flaring from the thruster-cannons on his arms – even though the beam cannons from Teresa's battle armor had fused with the Castellan's arms, they did not seem capable of ranged weaponry. Instead, the cannons served as thrusters to boost the strength of his mechanical arms and augment his physical blows.
Don't ask me how that worked. I had no idea. Just assume it was technomagic (which it really was) or something. Dodging under another crushing blow from the Castellan's massive hammer, I spun about to avoid a kick and then withdrew to a safe distance. Skidding back from a powerful strike, I managed to still my trembling arms. Enhanced by my chibi Celestial Guardians, I was able to parry the Castellan's hammer with my crossed swords.
\”Huff.\”
Perspiration dripped down my face as I studied my opponent, and I took a deep breath as I prepared myself for the next round. Kicking off the ground, I lunged at the Castellan again, and we exchanged several dozen blows in the space of a few seconds, my two swords clashing ferociously against the Castellan's hammer. All the while, my remaining Celestial Guardians continued to bombard him from afar with their ranged spells, but he always had his barrier activated at the last moment to block them, before I could slice them apart.
Cut them too late and I would end up cleaving my own Celestial Guardians' spells apart too. This was truly a complex battle.
\”Ha ha ha ha!\”
From afar, Wilhelm chortled as he watched what he perceived to be my fruitless struggle.
\”It doesn't matter if you concentrated all of your mana down into such a small area and penetrate my Castellan's barriers! You still won't be able to match him blow for blow!\”
Despite his claims, I traded another few strikes with the Castellan, proving him wrong by holding my ground and matching the mechanized puppet blow for blow. The robot tried to shove me back, but I deflected his hammer and counterattacked, forcing him to withdraw.
\”Richard is actually fighting on par with that monstrous robot!\” one of the spectators murmured in awe. \”How?!\”
Magic, that's how.
With a mechanical bellow, the Castellan swung his hammer downward, crushing a massive crater into the ground and forcing me into a hasty retreat. While I jumped away, raising both swords to protect myself from the flying debris, my Vermillion Phoenix dove down on him, launching an enormous fire spell. The inferno that he unleashed took the form of a flaming, intangible phoenix, and crashed down upon the robot.
Seizing the opportunity, I charged forward and thrust both of my swords forward, penetrating his barriers and scything through his metallic body to carve him apart.
\”!!!\”
Unable to evade either attacks, the Castellan could only stand his ground. Raising his left hand, he caught the flaming phoenix from above while he swung his hammer with his right hand to parry both of my swords. The ferocious fire spell seared through him, the superheated plasma almost melting his armor. More mana gushed out of the Castellan's armor as he struggled to withstand the blow, and Wilhelm winced when he realized that even his reserves were being siphoned away. The half-molten metallic armor managed to solidify, but there were clearly rapidly expanding cracks on the head and torso as the Castellan buckled under the immense impact and extreme temperatures.
\”Ugh!\” Wilhlem groaned. His Castellan responded, linked to him psychostigmatically, and let out a mechanical howl.
\”UOOOOOOOOOOH!\”
\”?!\”
I was almost forced back by the hurricane-like white mana that poured out of the crumbling armored hull of the Castellan, buffteted by arcane shockwaves that tore through the ground and threw up chunks of debris.
Skidding backward, I flipped myself upright and landed on my feet and used Bai Ri to maintain my posture. Slowly straightening up, I studied the glowing Castellan and sighed.
\”This much mana…\”
\”I can't control it!\” Wilhelm shouted from afar, clutching his body as he crashed to his knees. \”He's sucking me dry! At this rate I will run out of mana before the match can end!\”
Even though that should sound reassuring to me, I couldn't smile. I was in the same situation as him. This was quickly turning into a battle of attrition. I had no doubt the outcome of the battle would be determined by who ran out of mana first.
\”This is bad!\” Wilhlem muttered, almost as if he was talking to himself. \”I need to get my Castellan under control!\”
While he did so, I took a step with my swords while my Celestial Guardians cast their spells. It didn't work – the immense amounts of white mana erupting from the roaring Castellan deflected the fireballs that Vermillion Phoenix launched, as did the earth spikes and lightning from Golden Kirin and White Tiger crumble or dissipate when they made contact. As for me, I found myself physically shoved back by the shockwaves.
\”I can't get close!\” I realized. \”And I can't even attack him when he's in this state!\”
\”What's happening?!\” the commentator exclaimed excitedly. \”Seems like the Castellan is rampaging! Has the formidable robot gone berserk? Will Richard Huang be able to stop the Castellan when it goes out of control?!\”
There were murmurs among the spectators who were watching the entire spectacle somewhat fearfully. If the Castellan blew up here and now, he would be dealing D6 mortal wounds to any unit within 3D6\” of him…ahem, I mean he would be dealing out mortal wounds to anyone in the vicinity. Of course the boundary fields and the barriers around the arena should hold, but I couldn't blame them for feeling a sense of unease.