Chapter 145: Curse

The core of the Mechanical Apostle shattered under Robin's blade.

The silver heart split open with countless fissures, blinding light bursting from within like a punctured water sac, and viscous mechanical fluid splashed out.

The liquid twisted in the air, as if alive trying to re‑coalesce, but it vaporized instantly upon touching the silver‑blue engraving of the Tang Sword.

"Step back!" Alje barked, his mechanical arm grabbing Robin's back of the neck and yanking him away.

In the next instant!

Boom…

The heart exploded completely, a ferocious energy shock sweeping across the entire underground space.

The Mechanical Apostle's flesh‑mount body disintegrated in the blast, hundreds of human faces emitting final shrieks before being engulfed by silver‑blue flames.

The ground trembled violently, the dome's rock layers began to collapse, and massive shards of stone rained down.

"The passage is collapsing!" Lina slashed a giant stone falling toward them; the thorny pendant's glow had dimmed, but her sword swing remained fierce.

Alje's mechanical eye scanned rapidly, the ice‑blue core overclocking: "Follow me! There's a weak layer at the northeast corner; we can blast a path straight through!"

Robin didn't hesitate, seized Lina's wrist, and rushed with Alje toward the designated spot.

His Tang Sword was more than half shattered, the remaining blade still trembling faintly, as if answering some call.

Alje's mechanical arm transformed, the barrel gathering blinding ice‑blue energy: "All down!"

Bang—!!!

Extreme cold energy hammered the rock wall, frost spreading rapidly and rendering the entire layer brittle. Immediately after, Alje's second blast detonated, carving a narrow passage.

The moment the three surged into the passage, the underground space behind them collapsed completely.

When they finally burst onto the surface, Ashen Village was unrecognizable.

All the houses overrun by mechanical veins collapsed, turning into charred ruins as if life had been drained. The air reeked of acrid metallic burning, yet oddly the purified villagers' corpses retained human form, as if the mechanical contamination had never existed.

Alje's mechanical body was severely overloaded; black smoke billowed from his right arm joint, and the ice‑blue core's spin slowed noticeably. He dropped to one knee, coughing up blood mixed with black oil: "Ha… never thought I'd actually make it out alive."

Lina's End Sword's side effects began to show; her face turned as pale as paper, her sword‑hand trembling slightly, yet her gaze remained sharp: "The Mechanical Apostle of Ashen Village is dead, but the Mechanical Apostles of two other villages remain unresolved."

Robin lowered his head, staring at the broken blade in his hand; the fissure on the blade was slowly writhing with silver‑blue light threads, intertwining and repairing like a living thing.

The broken metal regenerated in the glow, emitting a faint "sizzle," as if flesh were regrowing.

Lina's gaze fixed on the scene, surprise and doubt flashing in her eyes.

"Ailen, you broke the Legendary?"

Her voice was soft, yet it made Robin's movements pause slightly.

Alje's mechanical eye also focused, the ice‑blue pupil dilating as it scanned the blade's data stream: "This isn't ordinary weapon repair… it's a property of 'Life Metal.'"

Robin gave no immediate answer.

He felt the Life Force coursing within him—more condensed and more ferocious than before.

The experience points of the Dragon Devouring Breathing Method surged in the recent battle, leaving only a final step before breaking through to the Order Knight.

What concerned him more was the dark‑red chain pattern on the Tang Sword, gradually spreading as the blade healed.

"No, I haven't fully broken through yet," he finally spoke, his voice low, "but some things… are changing."

Lina stepped closer, her fingertip lightly touching the healing blade. Silver‑blue light threads instantly coiled around her finger, delivering a faint sting.

"In that battle, you unleashed Legendary‑level power at least three times," she said, looking straight into Robin's eyes. "That speed and destructive force is beyond what a Great Knight can achieve."

Robin was silent for a moment, then finally nodded: "The traits of the family‑inherited Breathing Method… they let me briefly touch the threshold of Legendary."

He didn't utter the latter half; with each eruption, the dark‑red chain pattern deepened a notch.

Alje let out a sudden cold laugh: "Ha, Legendary? Have you forgotten what we just wiped out?" His mechanical arm emitted an overburdened "creak," "That was a Mechanical Apostle of peak Legendary Knight level! Even a half‑finished one isn't something an ordinary Legendary can handle!"

The Tang Sword's repair continued.

The blade, once silver‑blue, now interlaced with dark‑red patterns, spreading through the metal like veins.

When the final fissure healed, the blade suddenly emitted a clear humming, not a metallic vibration but a pulse of some life.

"Let's rest a bit; we'll head to the other two villages," Robin said.

Lina and Alje, after a brief silence, nodded in agreement.

Inside the Frost Fortress, in the steel throne hall of the Frost Eagle Grand Duke.

"Ashen Village destroyed?" the Frost Eagle Grand Duke's voice rumbled like distant thunder, his fingers drumming the throne's armrest, each beat making the kneeling scout shudder. "That was Apostle No. 3's breeding ground… who did it?"

The scout's forehead pressed to the cold ground: "Ac—according to the residual energy traces… it appears to be people from the Round Table Council and the Knight Guild."

"Round Table Council?" the Frost Eagle Grand Duke sneered, a crimson glint in his eyes, "They're truly desperate. This time the Wizard Council stands aside, clearly hoping to reap the fisherman's profit."

He rose slowly, silver mechanical patterns surfacing on his black armor: "Relay—dispatch Xue Ren Ka'ao Si and Tie Bi Jia Er Mu immediately, with the latest hunting unit."

In the shadows beside the throne, two figures knelt on one knee: "As you command, Grand Duke."

Inside an ice cavern about thirty li from Ashen Village, the three took a temporary rest.

Alje's mechanical body was self‑repairing, the ice‑blue core emitting a steady hum. He removed the severely damaged right arm, retrieved a spare mechanical arm from a metal case at his waist, attached it, and a few electric sparks flew as the neural interface linked.

"If I overclock like this again, my core will melt," he grinned, as if remarking on nothing serious.

Lina inspected the End Sword's wear; the golden runes on the blade had faded by more than half: "We still need more intel… the situation in the other two villages could be worse."

Robin leaned against the icy wall, his Tang Sword restored to about seventy percent. The dark‑red chain pattern was clearer than before, occasionally flashing a strand of silver‑blue light.

He closed his eyes, feeling the Life Force surging within—breakthrough of the Dragon Devouring Breathing Method was within reach.

"Alje," Robin suddenly spoke, "what exactly is the Frost Eagle family's bloodline Curse?"

Alje's movement paused, his mechanical eye's aperture contracting: "Why ask that now?"

"Your level of mechanization has deepened since we last met," Robin opened his eyes, "and moreover…"

His gaze fell on Alje's newly attached mechanical arm—there, faint dark‑red patterns reminiscent of the Tang Sword emerged.

(End of Chapter)