Chapter 733: Anti-Magic Formation

"Adolf, what are you doing?"

"Guild Master, what is this?"

"Damn you! Are you trying to get us killed?"

...

Henwell ignores the curses and questions and looks back at the Lady of Calamity. "How many should we leave alive?"

The Lady of Calamity answers calmly, "That is entirely up to you."

Henwell nods, pulls a bandolier from his pack, and slings it across his chest.

He spins Silver Dove in one hand and shouts to the others, "Form up on either side of me! Defensive formation! Protect your heavy hitter!"

Only three people join him: Miller, Doyle, one of Solomon's Knights, and Daisy, the young spy.

Dacro, his deputy, and the Lady of Calamity's people refuse to come any closer.

They retreat instead, abandoning even their employer, the Lady of Calamity, as they huddle against the wall to defend themselves.

As Henwell toys with the sword in his hand, a faint tremor runs through the hall. A powerful force of law descends a moment later.

Henwell and the three beside him are the only exceptions. All the other extraordinary professionals suddenly feel their bodies grow heavy.

Ordinary people like Abbas feel no change at all.

With their extraordinary power suddenly suppressed, Miller and the others feel as though their bodies are made of lead.

Without fighting spirit supporting them, their combat strength plummets.

The statues along the walls come to life. Ten statue knights remain, and light already burns in the eyes of two.

Even within the anti-magic field, these statue knights possess combat strength beyond that of a Knight.

They stride to the swords planted in the floor, pull them free, and charge the two groups.

Henwell fires at the statue knight rushing toward him, but the shot only knocks it flat on its back and chips away some of the stone on its chest.

The statue knight rises stiffly to its feet and charges again.

Henwell shifts his aim and blasts its lower leg.

Stone fragments burst away. The statue knight's lower leg is damaged, and its body stumbles.

Both Miller and Doyle are seasoned fighters. They step forward at once to meet the enemy.

They attack from opposite sides. Miller heaves his sword with all his strength and knocks the statue knight's blade off course.

Doyle ducks low and moves to the statue knight's right side.

He hacks his sword into its damaged right shin, trying to widen the fracture Henwell created.

The statue knight's strength is monstrous. One swing sends Miller flying, and then it drives its hilt at Doyle to its right.

Doyle retreats and raises his sword to defend himself, but the crushing impact still hurls him away.

His sword snaps, and a deep dent appears in the armor over his chest.

Miller hits the floor, snatches up his fallen sword, and struggles to rise.

The statue knight is already on him again, bringing its greatsword down toward his head.

If Miller tries to block, the sheer force of the blow will take off his entire left shoulder.

Henwell's gun roars again, this time targeting the hand gripping the sword.

The first shot shatters its fingers, and the sword falls.

The second strikes the damaged section of its right shin and throws it off balance once more.

The ruined leg throws its attack off line, and the statue knight plunges headfirst into the floor.

Its sword and fingers are gone, leaving only a rounded stump braced against the floor.

The statue knight reacts with startling speed. It sweeps the rounded stump sideways and knocks Miller away just as he rises.

After taking two heavy blows, Miller cannot get up for the moment. Doyle, who was sent flying earlier, is still on the floor struggling to catch his breath.

The statue knight continues limping toward Henwell as he reloads.

Daisy, the young spy, takes a deep breath and advances with her sword.

Her swordsmanship is good, but with her extraordinary power suppressed, speed and agility are all she has left.

She uses her footwork to keep the statue knight occupied, but survives only two exchanges before a punch sends her flying.

That is enough time. Henwell finishes reloading and fires into the statue knight's lower leg.

The shot obliterates its right leg.

The statue knight lists to one side, adjusts its balance, and steadies itself.

Miller is already back on his feet. With a roar, he slams into the statue knight and knocks it down.

Ignoring the pain in his chest, Doyle swings his broken sword and hacks at its remaining left shin.

After a rough struggle more like a street brawl than a battle, the statue knight sweeps them both away again.

Daisy gets back up but does not immediately rush forward.

Instead, she runs to where the statue knight dropped its weapon and drags away the two-handed greatsword.

Her intent is obvious: keep the statue knight from recovering its weapon. With one leg and one hand destroyed, it is far less dangerous without its sword.

All three are wearing armor. Miller and Doyle, in particular, are clad in heavy armor.

The impacts may leave them concussed and bleeding inside, but their armor should keep a single blow from killing them.

The statue knight plainly wants its weapon back. Balancing on one leg, it launches itself toward Daisy.

Henwell finishes reloading and lands two precise shots on the statue knight's left shin while it is still in the air.

When it lands, the full force of its massive body slams through the damaged left leg.

With a sharp crack, its shin snaps, and the statue knight crashes headfirst in front of Daisy.

Daisy freezes for an instant and tries to counterattack, but the greatsword in her hands is too heavy. She turns and runs, dragging it behind her.

She now understands that Henwell is the core of their group.

If they want to win, they cannot allow the statue knight to reach him.

She therefore runs away from Henwell.

Behind her, the statue knight plants both hands and drags itself across the floor at startling speed, kicking off with its broken legs.

As it moves faster and faster, Miller finally recovers and catches up. His sword sweeps horizontally into the statue knight's intact left arm.

The first blow carves a notch. Miller turns with the rebound and hacks into the inside of its forearm.

Doyle rushes back as well and attacks the statue knight's right arm with a new sword.

Under their coordinated assault, cracks spread across both of the statue knight's arms.

Just as victory seems within reach, the loose stone covering its body explodes outward.

The fragments sweep across the two attackers like bullets.

Stone hammers against armor in a rapid metallic burst, and both men are hurled away again.

Miller fares better. He raises an arm in time to protect his head, but the stone fragments strike his left wrist and leave it badly fractured.

Doyle is in far worse condition. A fragment tears a hideous wound across his left cheek, exposing his gums.

His left ear is shattered as well. His face covered in blood, he falls unconscious.

When the dust clears, the formerly towering statue knight has shrunk considerably.

It has shrunk from nearly three meters to about 1.9 meters, but all four limbs have been fully restored.

Worse still, a stone sword has appeared in its hand.

Judging by the blade's sharp edge and the statue knight's immense strength, a single hit from that sword could be fatal!