Chapter 734: A Grueling Battle

The shrunken statue knight seems to recognize Henwell as the greatest threat.

It charges at once, but two shots blast it backward before it can take a full step.

One shot shatters the wrist holding its sword, while the other strikes it in the chest.

Henwell breaks open Silver Dove's breech. "It has entered its second phase. Its defenses are weaker, but it is faster!"

He turns to Miller. "Stop it! Watch how it fights. Its footwork is mechanical, and it applies force differently from a human."

"Don't read its shoulders or trust the way it faces. Both will mislead you. Keep your profile as narrow as possible."

Henwell calls out instructions while he reloads.

Miller repeatedly comes within a hair of death, forcing Henwell to save him with a well-timed shot.

After a brutal struggle, Miller hacks off all four of its limbs, but the effort leaves his left shoulder fractured and his organs badly injured.

Daisy darts in whenever she can to harry the statue knight and take some pressure off Miller.

Their shared training in Peace Haven's combat techniques lets them coordinate without difficulty.

Daisy suffers less than Miller, but one wrist now hangs limp, clearly broken.

One look at Daisy's tear-filled eyes tells Henwell that the girl has never endured much hardship.

Their fight only truly ends when Miller severs the statue's head and forces himself to hack its body apart.

Across the hall, the other battle ends at almost the same moment.

The four Knights under the Lady of Calamity, along with Dacro and his deputy, have been all but wiped out.

The last Battle Knight hangs impaled on the stone greatsword of another statue knight in its second phase.

Miller takes a deep breath and braces himself for the next fight.

Henwell rests his gun on his shoulder and makes no move to intervene.

Just as that statue knight prepares to pull out its sword and turn on Henwell's group, something unexpected happens.

The Battle Knight, head bowed and apparently on the verge of death, suddenly grabs the blade and punches the statue knight away.

As soon as the statue knight lands, a small figure leaps high into the air.

Alex drives a knee into its chest, grabs its left foot as it continues flying upward, and slams it violently into the floor.

The statue knight bounces once. Alex is already on it.

He crushes its neck beneath one foot, then kicks again and smashes its body apart.

Meanwhile, the man who punched the statue knight away slowly pulls the greatsword from his chest and walks toward the Lady of Calamity.

His appearance ripples like overlapping illusions, and something about him changes with every step.

After only a few steps, he has become a completely different person.

Henwell watches the transformation with interest. This is no extraordinary ability.

It is something far more formidable, a method that touches the laws themselves.

Henwell looks toward the Lady of Calamity. "What kind of ability is that?"

"Fate Grafting. It is a bloodline talent."

Henwell asks no further questions. Steve approaches with his eyes closed. "Where are my things?"

Henwell points toward the hidden chamber they occupied earlier. "Inside."

Steve gives a slight nod and joins the Lady of Calamity with Alex.

Each of them picks up a greatsword to use as a weapon.

Before Miller and the others can recover from their shock, the hall trembles again. Stone cracks all around them.

The eight remaining statues around the hall awaken at once.

Miller turns pale, but still raises his greatsword with difficulty.

Doyle has only just regained consciousness after Daisy's treatment. He stares at the scene before him in despair.

Henwell tosses Silver Dove and the bandolier to Miller. "Watch carefully."

He then opens his pack and takes out a small case.

First, he removes a bandolier filled with finely crafted cartridges and fastens it around his waist.

Next come two holsters, which he straps to his thighs.

Then he lifts out a pair of oversized revolvers.

The guns are works of art, their surfaces patterned in interwoven silver and blood-red.

Each is nearly forty centimeters long. Unlike a standard revolver, its cylinder does not hold five or six rounds.

It holds only three cartridges, each as thick as a finger, while the caliber exceeds fifteen millimeters.

A short blade is mounted beneath each barrel for close combat.

The two guns look brutal, almost savage.

After checking the weapons, Henwell twirls them once and slides them into the holsters on his thighs.

With that done, he hooks the fallen statue knight's greatsword up with his foot and catches it in one hand.

Henwell steps forward, and his body begins to change.

The fat, middle-aged man gradually transforms into a tall young man.

He removes an elastic band from his wrist and ties his long hair into a simple ponytail.

Henwell turns to the two stunned young people. "Girl, who is your father?"

Daisy stammers, "Re... Reporting... No, I mean... Sir, my father is Tiriel!"

Henwell chuckles. "So that explains the nerve. You're the daughter of the Deputy Director of Constabulary."

"All right. Stay here and keep yourself safe."

"But this isn't over. You impersonated a member of the Military Intelligence Office. I'll be telling your father when we return."

The girl is too frightened to speak. She does not even notice the statue knights awakening around them.

Miller gives Henwell a complicated look. He knows the Blood Hill Lord's face, and now he knows who has been standing beside him all along.

Henwell nods to him. "I will speak to you about your situation later."

"Watch this next fight carefully. What you take away from it is up to you."

With that, Henwell raises the greatsword and walks to the center of the hall to await the statue knights' attack.

Confused, Abbas looks at Alex and Steve. "Aren't you going to help Adolf?"

Daisy proudly lifts her chin. "My lord needs no help. These monsters are no match for him!"

Abbas scratches his head. "Weren't you the physician Solomon hired? Since when did Adolf become your lord?"

Doyle answers through his mangled cheek, his words slurred. "He isn't Adolf. He is the Blood Hill Lord!"

Abbas freezes. "Which Blood Hill Lord?"

Doyle does not answer. Who else besides the lord of Peace Haven would dare call himself the Blood Hill Lord?

At that moment, the first statue knight charges.

The instant it reaches him, Henwell slips aside and drives a sweeping kick into its back, sending it flying.

The second statue knight rushes in. Their greatswords clash, and Henwell turns the force of its blade aside.

At the same time, he twists his own greatsword, disarming his opponent and severing its right arm.

Three more statue knights then charge together and surround Henwell, raining blows down on him.

Henwell weaves lightly among them, his greatsword flashing high and low. Every strike lands at precisely the right moment.