Chapter 185 – "Iron Tower"

“Hey! You there, kid! What’s going on?”

Accompanied by an extremely arrogant and furious voice, an obese, bloated figure strode over with large steps. The massive shield couldn’t conceal his flabby body, and his heavy footsteps even caused the ground to tremble slightly. The leather armor on this unwelcome guest rattled incessantly.

Punk stopped retrieving gold coins from his storage ring and warily watched the aggressively approaching fatty. He could clearly sense the undisguised malice from this barrel-shaped enemy, whose level was estimated to be around twelve or even higher—undoubtedly a dangerous foe.

Therefore, almost the moment he confirmed the fatty was targeting him, Punk ordered Golem Two to prepare for battle.

Even after noticing Punk’s vigilant gaze, the fatty didn’t halt his steps. He closed the distance to about twenty meters from Punk, slammed his spike-covered shield hard into the ground, and then snarled viciously at Punk:

“You there, kid! Didn’t you hear me calling you? Who gave you permission to buy so many slaves? If you take them all, what am I supposed to buy?”

“What’s going on? Where did this senseless fool come from?”

Punk kept his eyes on the fatty’s movements while pondering internally. He was certain that, aside from Bloodclaw, he didn’t know anyone in this Black Fort Camp, so the fatty’s provocation couldn’t be due to a personal vendetta. The reason the fatty roared about was too absurd—it was the first time Punk had encountered someone wanting to fight to the death simply because the goods they wanted were sold out.

“Is this some kind of test, or perhaps a scheme by Bloodclaw?”

At this thought, Punk turned his unfriendly gaze toward Bloodclaw, who was watching the scene with amusement.

Bloodclaw, who had been reveling in schadenfreude, shivered under Punk’s glare. Punk’s pupils almost explicitly spelled out the words “fight to the death.” Bloodclaw immediately realized that if he couldn’t clear up this misunderstanding, Punk might flee in the next second, and he would face the full retaliation of a level thirteen spellcaster.

Breaking out in a cold sweat, Bloodclaw instantly lost his appetite for spectating. He hurriedly explained to Punk:

“Don’t misunderstand, don’t misunderstand! I truly had no idea about this. That fatty over there goes by the nickname Iron Tower, known as the Crusher. Everyone in Black Fort Camp knows he’s an utter madman who’ll pick a fight with anyone.”

The Boss Lady chimed in nearby:

“That’s right, he does occasionally buy some slaves. Looks like he’s drunk again today and deliberately looking for trouble.”

Punk gave Bloodclaw a deep, scrutinizing look, but Formal-Level powerhouses were all shrewd through and through—he couldn’t discern anything. However, based on basic reasoning, Punk, who possessed the Haitzita Magic Box and had no contact with the outside world, was unlikely to have been preemptively targeted. So, was this fatty “Iron Tower” genuinely just a madman?

While Punk was still thinking, “Iron Tower,” with his Battle Aura surging around him, grew impatient. He roared at Punk in an overwhelmingly arrogant tone:”Enough. While I’m still in a good mood, get lost, kid over there. These slaves are all mine now. If you disagree, then go die.”

“Oh? It seems your intelligence isn’t much better than a shadow maggot’s. Who gave you the illusion that you could defeat me?”

Punk narrowed his eyes slightly, sapphire magical radiance spinning wildly within his pupils. Vast mana whirled rapidly around his body as the black and red patterns on his mage robe grew increasingly vivid and conspicuous. Clearly, Punk – having been repeatedly provoked – was growing angry. He was no academy mage who would tolerate being bullied.

Though Punk felt this encounter with the madman didn’t seem like mere coincidence, combat now appeared unavoidable. The fatty nicknamed Iron Tower was clearly someone who had descended to a certain depth of chaos, probably only second to those insane demons in the Abyss who wouldn’t hesitate to cut themselves.

One must understand that even within the chaotic alignment, degrees of chaos varied greatly.

Some chaotic beings were complete madmen, like demons and Faerûn’s tanar’ri, while others like Punk preferred adventure and following their whims, yet always maintained firm control through rationality.

Undoubtedly, a thoroughly chaotic madman was unreasonable – such as the current Iron Tower.

Upon hearing Punk’s mockery, he exploded like a ignited powder keg. Almost instantly, he condensed his battle aura onto the shield before him and charged at Punk with a furious roar.

“Hraaaaaaaah!”

“BOOM!!!”

Near the front yard of Yubeika Livestock Cabin, accompanied by a tremendous sonic boom, Iron Tower’s greatshield collided violently with Golem Two’s elbow. The golem, enhanced with defensive spells like Iron Armor, Deflection Field, and Steel Shield, was sent flying backward by the powerful impact, her steel-clad feet carving two deep furrows in the ground, while Iron Tower’s footing remained completely undisturbed.

But Golem Two had already accomplished her mission. The instant she collided with the shield, Punk – under the effects of Swiftness Spell – had swiftly moved behind Iron Tower and unleashed his prepared spell at the undefended vertebrae of his opponent’s back.

“Formal-Level Conjuration Spell – Kinetic Cone!”

“Metamagic – Mana Compression!”

Punk’s Kinetic Cone could now be cast instantaneously, and the metamagic preparation required merely fractions of a second.

The deep purple Kinetic Cone tore through the air with lightning speed toward Iron Tower’s back.

But Iron Tower proved worthy of being a level twelve combat professional. His armor abruptly tightened under the drive of his battle aura, individual steel plates becoming almost seamlessly welded together.

Most peculiarly, Iron Tower’s obese body suddenly contracted within a thousandth of a second. Through the dynamic vision provided by True Seeing, Punk clearly saw masses of silvery substance being squeezed from Iron Tower’s body, coalescing into a small yet incredibly sturdy shield behind his neck.

In the next instant, the spell carrying terrifying kinetic energy violently collided with this shield.

“BOOM!!”The ejected clods of earth flew nearly dozens of meters away, while the ensuing shockwave collapsed almost all surrounding houses. Aside from the land and wooden cabin protected by the Boss Lady’s shadow energy, the ground elsewhere cracked with fissures. The spot where “Iron Tower” stood sank half a meter downward, forming a massive circular crater.

Yet, under everyone’s astonished gazes, Iron Tower nonchalantly pulled his legs free from the ground and bounced out of the crater like a rubber ball.

Grinning through gritted teeth, he rubbed the back of his neck where the “Kinetic Cone” had struck and glared fiercely at Punk:

“You little brat… that hurt”!

Rolling around begging for votes~

(End of Chapter)