Chapter 173: Who Stole My Bones? (4)

Thud!

Snow and dirt erupted from three directions—front, back, and both sides—in a fountain-like display.

Pneeee!

The horses at the rear whinnied violently. As the order’s warriors calmed the startled animals, the splattered mud settled to reveal an enormous, human-like figure.

“Tr-Transcendent!” one of the order’s warriors exclaimed upon seeing it.

At this cry, Louis’s eyes glinted with understanding.

So it’s true.

If they had orchestrated this whole affair to lure Pablo, he expected an attack sooner or later. And if there was to be an ambush, it would undoubtedly occur on their return path. Moreover, he had already suspected something was amiss in this place for quite some time.

Despite knowing it was a trap set by his enemies, Louis hesitated to enter. He intended to play along with their rhythm.

This way…

I can pull on the vine and see what’s hidden behind it.

Having realized there were masterminds behind this affair, he needed to tug at the loose end of the thread to uncover the truth.

And everything unfolded as Louis had anticipated.

However, even Louis couldn’t have foreseen this:

”…I expected another half-hearted attack with some random strongman.”

Yet, unexpectedly, a Transcendent emerged.

He gazed at the creature with keen interest. Although uniformly white in color, their sizes varied greatly. Three Transcendents, each 10 meters tall, encircled their position along the slopes of the mountain.

A single transcendent of 15 meters blocked the exit, while the largest one obstructed the front. This behemoth stood an astonishing 20 meters tall.

The astonishing sight of such creatures emerging from the ground left me in awe.

“This…is a Transcendent.”

“Wow…”

Having heard countless tales of Transcendents since birth, the Flame siblings’ eyes grew wide upon seeing these legendary figures for the first time.

“Huuh…?”

“Whata…?”

In contrast, the twins had seen various glittering Transcendents in Louis’s laboratory and appeared somewhat underwhelmed by these ancient models.

Then there was their designer—the man who could be called the father of Transcendents—Louis, whose expression was quite peculiar as he took in the sight of these early creations.

It was as if he were gazing upon a fully-grown son, his expression radiant with pride and joy. “It’s a… a robot!”

Was this truly the same hovercraft he had once seen piloted by humans? Of course, Louis had designed his own version over the years, but he marveled at the extent to which humans had advanced the technology.

As Louis’s eyes lit up at the sight of the hovercraft, a gasp escaped from Pablo’s lips.

“A tier-2… Transcendent?! Where on earth did that come from?!”

Hearing this, Louis sought clarification. “Tier-2 Transcendent?”

Apparently, there were classification levels assigned to the currently used Transcendents. He was curious about this, but there was no time for a detailed inquiry.

The surrounding Transcendents were starting to move.

Thud-thud-thud.

The Transcendents charged towards them with a mighty roar.

Louis grinned at the sight. “Kendrick, Tanya! It’s twins today!”

“Yes!”

“Right, Mr. Louis!”

“Got it.”

“Understood.”

“The biggest one up front is mine! You two take the rest.”

A total of five Transcendents appeared. Louis claimed the largest for himself and assigned the remaining four to the twins and the flame siblings.

“Hey, what? I want the biggest one!”

“Me! I’ll take it!”

The twins protested vigorously, but Louis was already on his way. His face brimmed with excitement.

I can’t let someone else get this great opportunity!

Excitement was already building up inside me. I wondered how much human and technological advancements had progressed over these past 250 years, including the techniques of the Tower of Wishes. Right before my eyes, I had excellent material to examine this very question.

“I anticipate a good fight,” Louis remarked with a grin as he clenched his fists.

Meanwhile, the twin whose prey had been stolen glared at its sibling, both thinking the same thing:

“The second biggest one is mine!”

“Whoever strikes first gets it!”

They raced towards the creature just below the one Louis had claimed, leaving the Flame siblings behind.

“Hmm… Do you think we can take it…?”

“The smaller ones seem to move more sluggishly, right? I think it’s worth a try, isn’t it?”

Kendrick and Tania chattered tranquilly for a while before parting ways between left and right. They scattered in different directions, leaving the rest of the sect members staring blankly at their backs.

Several possessed-looking warriors turned to Pablo in confusion.

“Isn’t that a 2nd rank Transcendent?”

“I-is it okay to let them go?”

“We should help…!”

Pablo remained silent. Instead, he heaved a big sigh.

“It’s alright…”

On his left, a 4th rank Transcendent approached within 10 meters. Behind him, a 3rd rank Transcendent drew near at 15 meters.

Though the creature would have been difficult for ordinary warriors to handle, those rushing towards it were far from ordinary.

Even the red-haired juniors are at least tier-2, if not higher.

Pablo had been astonished when he first gauged their abilities. And their age! To be tier-2 at barely twenty-something was unheard of! He couldn’t help but marvel at their talent, truly deserving of being Louis’s disciples.

A 4th-rank Transcendent wouldn’t pose much threat to the red-haired juniors. As for the twins, whose level he couldn’t even perceive…

Louis, on the other hand…

Pablo’s gaze followed Louis’s retreating figure, his thoughts lingering on the enigmatic man.

The diminutive figure sauntered confidently towards the colossal 20-meter-tall adversary. Pablo observed Louis’s shoulders, which, far from trembling with fear, seemed almost buoyant, as if he was exhilarated. Seeing this, Pablo felt not even a grain of worry.

Before long, the moment of impact arrived.

Bang!

An earth-shattering explosives detonated all around as battle commenced.

Louis observed the approaching Transcendent with keen interest.

Thump-thump!

The machine moved with astonishing fluidity, almost like a living person. Compared to the early models, this one’s movements were far smoother and more powerful. Louis’s lips curved into a faint smile as he watched the 20-meter giant stride towards him.

“Not bad. It’s well-balanced,” he mused.

Having crafted Transcendents himself, Louis understood their intricacies better than anyone else. He was acutely aware that as the size increased, so did the destructive power and energy output. However, this also raised the difficulty of construction exponentially.

Unlike smaller models, larger Transcendents bore heavier loads, straining their joints. Moreover, moving such colossal bodies required even more robust power sources.

For each meter in size a Transcendent grew, the effort required to build it multiplied several times. Louis could vividly imagine the hardships endured by those who constructed the 20-meter behemoth.

Time truly is an insurmountable giant, he mused.

It had been a remarkable 250 years since the first prototype Transcendent saw the light of day. The tiny seed Louis had planted on the Fall Continent had now crossed the sea, its influence spreading across the winter lands.

Whoosh!

The approaching Transcendent leaped from the earth, soaring about five meters high into the air.

“Oh? Sturdy joints and excellent output! Maneuverability-wise, it passes with flying colors!”

Louis grinned as the Transcendent hovered above his head.

“Then… how much does it weigh?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the 2nd Ranke Transcendent slammed Louis to the ground.

Thud.

An immense shock wave scattered snow in all directions, creating a dense, fog-like blanket across the area. From within this snowy haze emerged an eerie sound:

Graaate.

As the metal clanged and ground against itself, the warriors of the order were horrified by what they beheld.

“Th-that!”

“Huh?!”

Underneath the enormous Ranke Transcendent’s foot, where any ordinary being would have been crushed and flattened, Louis stood unscathed. In fact, he was holding up the Transcendent’s sole with one hand.

“Hm… This is roughly 9 tons, isn’t it? It’s much lighter than I anticipated.”

“I was expecting about twelve tons,” Louis mumbled, giving his arm a gentle shake that had been supporting the Transcendent.

The armored giant flew off in the opposite direction from which he’d come.

Krrrrrk.

He crashed to the ground. After a moment, he pushed himself back up.

If the Transcendent had been human, his eyes would have glowed yellow with panic.

But that didn’t last long.

Vrrmm…

A deep vibration filled the air as the Transcendent lurched to its feet.

At this sight, Louis grinned, revealing his teeth. “Good. You shouldn’t stay down after such a minor setback.”

Gwoooo…

The Transcendent let out a rough growl and drew its sword from where it had been resting diagonally on its back.

Clink, clink, clang.

The blade that was merely the length of the Transcendent’s forearm moments ago abruptly transformed into a longsword, extending three times its original length. It resembled less a sword and more a slender column.

As the Transcendent lunged forward with the longsword, Louis nonchalantly tucked his hands into his pockets. He mumbled, his gaze fixed straight ahead:

“Time for the durability test now.”

No sooner had he spoken than Louis charged forth. The Transcendent’s longsword swung towards him. Showing no slack since Louis had thrown it earlier, it wielded the blade with full force.

Despite facing an attack that could turn him into paste if it hit, Louis remained composed. Keeping his hands in his pockets, he casually extended his leg towards the incoming longsword. A swift side kick.

The result was astonishing. There was a heavy clang, and the three-sectioned longsword split into two pieces.

The broken sword continued its flight, slicing through six nearby trees before lodging itself in the seventh. As the hilt slipped from the Transcendent’s grip, his arm was wrenched backward, exposing his chestplate.

“You’ll need some serious firepower,” Louis muttered. “This heat treatment is subpar.”

With those words, he lunged at the Transcendent’s chest, his hand emerging from his pocket as he did so.

“Time to start the durability test.”

No sooner had he spoken than his hand began to thrash about like a torrential downpour. Or rather, to the onlooker’s eyes, it was less like a downpour and more like… nothing at all.

Save for one thing:

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

The relentless barrage of sounds came as the Transcendent’s armor began to buckle and cave in.

Crunch crunch crunch.

The repeated impacts drove the Transcendent’s torso backward, each thud heralding another strike from Louis’s fists.

“The upper body’s solid enough. How about down here, then…”

Louis halted his assault and unclenched his hands.

As he took the form of aHandsaw, Louis made a slight movement with his shoulder.

Tsunk.

The transcendent’s right arm fell off cleanly.

Then, in a succession of three strikes, Louis’ hand swung again and again:

Tsunk.

The left arm now.

Tsunk. Tsunk.

Both legs followed in quick succession.

In an instant, the dismembered transcendent’s body toppled to the ground.

Thud.

Its hefty frame clattered across the floor.

Meanwhile, Louis squatted to examine the detached limbs up close.

“Tsk, joints are too weak. This unit needs some reinforcement.”

With his analysis complete, Louis stood up and walked towards the transcendental’s torso.

Grrrgh.

The transcendent’s yellow eyes fixed on Louis as he approached.

Louis raised an eyebrow at the prone figure before him.

“Let’s see… is this it?” he muttered, reaching into the transcendent’s lower abdomen.

Craaaaunch.

His slender arm punched through the Transcendent’s thick armor as if it were butter.

And then…

Cracked candied berry-

When Louis pulled his hand back, he held a 7-inch spherical object. Needless to say, this left an enormous hole in the Transcendent’s abdomen.

Fwiiiishh…

The moment the sphere was removed, the light in the Transcendent’s eyes went out.

Meanwhile, Louis examined the power core he held in his hand with great interest.

“Hmm… The basic structure here is mine, and improvements were made by gradually adding elements?”

He casually rolled the power unit on the ground, observing it leisurely.

The Order’s warriors, witnessing Louis’s battle, were utterly astounded.

“Oh m-my goodness…”

“Wh-what is this?!”

Perhaps they needed some time to fully process what they had just witnessed.

Meanwhile, among the dumbfounded onlookers, one man broke out in a cold sweat.

Whew…

Pablo gazed at the once-proud Transcendent, now with its limbs neatly severed and its power core extracted.

If I get too cocky… I might end up like that thing…

Indeed, he feared that if he allowed himself to become overly complacent about his own martial prowess, he might suffer a similar fate - reduced to nothing more than a scattered pile of bones.