Chapter 181: Nightwatcher

Amid the alarm's sharp whine, the mansion hallway lights suddenly turned scarlet.

The mechanical patterns on the walls lit up, and the sound of gears turning approached from all directions, as if the whole building were waking.

"The Nightwatcher has activated," Feng Ling quickly judged, "It has locked onto us; we can't escape."

Robin tucked the ledger into his arms, held his Tang Sword before him, the star‑etched markings on the blade faintly glowing; he inhaled deeply, the Dragon Devouring Breathing Method silently engaged, and the energy within surged like tide.

"Then cut it down."

The ceiling burst with a roar, and a black shadow slammed down like a meteor.

The ground cracked, dust rose, and once the haze cleared, Robin saw the enemy before him.

It was a nearly three‑meter‑tall mechanical giant, entirely jet‑black, its joints inlaid with star‑marrow crystals, and a core at its chest emitting a faint blue cold light.

Its head lacked any features, only a smooth metal helm bearing ever‑shifting runes, as if silently calculating methods of slaughter.

"Intruder detected," the Nightwatcher's voice was cold and mechanical, "Executing purge protocol."

In the next instant, its silhouette vanished!

"Clang—!"

Robin's Tang Sword clashed with the Nightwatcher's metal arm, sparks scattering.

The massive impact gouged two deep ruts in the ground beneath his feet, his palms tingling.

"Speed, power… indeed second‑tier!" Feng Ling quickly fell back, raised her pocket watch, muttered an incantation, and launched a dozen energy bolts, but they were deflected by an invisible energy barrier as they neared the Nightwatcher.

The Nightwatcher ignored her; its sole target was Robin.

The mechanical arm suddenly reshaped, extending sharp alloy blades that instantly sliced out dozens of after‑images.

Robin leapt back, his blade colliding with the alloy edge, sparks flying in all directions.

His breathing grew ever steadier; the Dragon Devouring Breathing Method let him precisely track each of the Nightwatcher's attack vectors, yet even so he was forced to retreat step by step.

"Its core is at the chest!" Feng Ling shouted, "But an external star‑marrow shield renders conventional attacks useless!"

Robin's gaze hardened.

The Nightwatcher's onslaught grew increasingly ferocious, each strike bearing force enough to shatter steel; Robin's blade could barely parry, but over time he would inevitably be defeated.

"We must break through its defenses…"

He vaulted backward sharply, creating distance, then whirled his blade as the Dragon Devouring Breathing Method surged at full power.

The star‑etched markings on the Tang Sword flared instantly, golden filigree spreading like a living thing onto his arm.

This was the key Melinda had left him, designed specifically to counter the Mechanical Church's constructs.

"Half‑Moon Slash!"

At the moment the blade sliced, a golden blade‑qi roared out like a dragon's silhouette, charging straight at the Nightwatcher's chest!

The Nightwatcher's barrier quivered violently; the star‑marrow shield began to crumble under the blade‑qi's erosion, yet it remained unbroken!

"Warning, energy overload," the Nightwatcher's voice stayed cold, but its movements grew swifter; the mechanical arm reshaped again, becoming a miniature star‑marrow cannon, its muzzle flashing a blinding blue.

"Robin!" Feng Ling's face turned pale.

The moment the cannonfire fell, Robin's figure vanished abruptly!

The Nightwatcher's scanning system instantly locked onto Robin's location; he seized the star‑marrow cannon's shockwave, vaulted upward, and thrust his blade straight at the Nightwatcher's core!

"It's over!"

As the blade tip pierced the Nightwatcher's chest, the Dragon Devouring Breathing Method's devouring trait erupted, and the star‑marrow shield melted away like ice.

The Tang Sword pierced the core, and the Nightwatcher's movements froze instantly.

"Purge… protocol… failed…"

The runes on its metal helm flickered wildly before finally dimming.

The massive mechanical body crashed to the ground with a roar, turning into a heap of scrap iron.

Robin, breathing heavily, sheathed his sword; Feng Ling rushed forward, connected a mechanical arm to the Nightwatcher's wreckage, and data streams surged.

"Found it!" her voice trembled with shock, "Duke Huo Ke's control over the Knight's central system… is right here!"

The wall suddenly cracked open, revealing a hidden chamber.

Inside the chamber, a massive star‑marrow control console floated, countless light filaments stretching to every corner of the mansion, even linking to the distant award ceremony site.

Robin approached, and the console displayed the status of all modified Knights.

Their thoughts, actions, even life and death were wholly under Duke Huo Ke's control.

"No wonder he can command the entire Knight order…" Feng Ling whispered, "This is the Mechanical Church's ultimate technology, the 'Star Marrow Domination Network'!"

Robin's gaze cooled.

"Destroy it."

Feng Ling nodded, withdrew her pocket watch, placed it at the console's core, and rapidly uttered an incantation, causing data to pour out wildly.

"Warning! Central system compromised!" a mechanical voice echoed through the mansion.

On the other side, the battlefield.

Duke Huo Ke's mechanical wings stirred a hurricane, hurling the incoming Acacia Knights dozens of meters away.

He hovered atop the shattered bell tower, his chest's star‑marrow crystal casting an eerie blue glow over the battlefield.

"Ai Shaer, your acacia poison vines are that weak?" he raised his hand, crushing a incoming paralyzing arrow, purple toxin splattering his metal gauntlet, "Even the rats in my mansion can't be killed by it."

Lei Ao's heavy sword cleaved two mechanical guards, his one eye bloodied: "Mongrel… you think you can rely on the tattered scraps of the Mechanical Church."

"Rags?" the Duke suddenly cackled, his voice wave shattering nearby glass, "The rags you speak of are now crushing the Knight order you so pride yourself on!"

He pointed elsewhere, the Nightwatcher's energy surge rose skyward, the second‑tier pressure causing the battlefield's warhorses to shudder collectively: "That little mouse that slipped into my study has probably had its bones ground to dust by the Nightwatcher now."

Lady Ai Shaer's staff swept, poison vines coiling around the Duke's left flank: "You severely underestimate that youngster."

"Underestimate?" the Duke's mechanical wings suddenly spun in reverse, the poison vines snapping apart, "Three years ago, the Nightwatcher slew the Order Knights and the Second Ring Wizard who infiltrated my mansion to assassinate me."

He lunged down sharply, the star‑marrow light blade slashing through Lei Ao's protective aura: "And you, working together, even I can't…

Lei Ao violently retreated thirty steps, the heavy Sword plunged into the ground to steady his stance, and traces of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Lady Aisha'er's purple wisteria flower formation had been struck seven times in a row by the Duke's light cannons, and cracks had already appeared.

"Enjoy your last breath." The Duke's pupils completely turned into the gilded hue of mechanical prosthetic eyes, "When the night watchman returns with the rat's head, you will see with your own eyes your heart being crushed by it!"

Duke Huoke, who was fiercely battling Lady Aisha'er and Lei Ao, suddenly staggered. The star marrow crystal on his chest flashed violently, then dimmed a bit.

"What the hell?!" he roared.

Lady Aisha'er keenly sensed the abnormality, curling her mouth into a cold smile: "It seems your 'toy' has been taken apart."

(End of chapter)