Chapter 2163: Chapter 2163

The key to defeating the golem was to destroy its energy core, but the six magic eyes, working in tandem with virtually no pause, had Jenkins scrambling. The six magic eyes each had a different function: slowing, petrification, decomposition, spatial teleportation, annihilation, and distortion. Moreover, Jenkins couldn't discern the specific origin of any single eye.

He dodged nearly a full circle around the plaza without finding any lull in the eyes' assault. So, he decisively stomped his right foot on the ground. As stone fragments flew, he executed a clean kick, sending dozens of shards hurtling toward the golem standing before the fountain's remains.

The stones collided and ricocheted in mid-air. Under Jenkins's precise control, they each flew to obstruct the line of sight of a different eye.

While the shards couldn't completely block the effects of the magic eyes, they at least bought Jenkins a moment's respite. He didn't attempt to use his mechanical abilities to control his opponent, because the Difference Engine would obviously not make such a critical error.

So, wielding his sword with one hand, he deftly traced two arcs in the air:

"Sword Dance: Pirouette!"

White glints of sword light flickered around Jenkins, linking together to form a ring. The power of the holy sword, combined with Jenkins's own strength, forcefully blocked the effects of the magic eyes, keeping them outside the circle of his sword dance.

The ring then expanded outward, slicing through everything in its path. Just as it was about to touch the humanoid golem, the golem finally moved. It swung the sword in its hand forward, clashing with the ring of light. The sword dance ring held for several seconds before completely severing the blade, but it was then intercepted by a downward strike from the scimitar. This time, it only managed to chip the scimitar before finally dissipating.

The golem tossed aside its broken sword and lunged from its spot, charging at Jenkins while the magic eyes continued their assault.

The golem opened its three mouths wide. A powerful suction pulled the black smoke into its maws. Jenkins, revealed behind the dissipating smoke, was stunned:

He wasn't carrying any smoke-producing talismans, because such items were too basic and cheap, typically used by low-level Enchanters for practice. After all, there were many ways to create a blind spot, and far too many methods to see through smoke, so neither Jenkins nor the Church had wasted their limited storage space on such items.

The one he had just thrown was a talisman that turned stone into an explosive cloud. Jenkins had only intended to create a temporary smokescreen for a surprise attack. He never imagined the golem would dare to swallow such a highly volatile substance.

He slipped on the Air Bomb Ring and gestured in front of him. With a deafening roar, a mushroom cloud surged above the plaza. Both Jenkins and the golem were nearly point-blank to the explosion. But Jenkins was the one who triggered it; he shielded his vitals and was merely thrown back by the shockwave. The injuries he sustained would heal in a few breaths.

However, the blast didn't just damage the golem's exterior; it also detonated inside it. Its craftsmanship was exquisite, and it had been augmented with a measure of power from the Difference Engine after being "brainwashed." Even so, the internal explosion temporarily deactivated its central head, and the eye on that head was rendered useless for the moment.

He charged through the smoke and dust of the explosion, sword raised, and swung at the golem's left head. But unexpectedly, the golem, which had been standing motionless as if damaged, suddenly whirred back to life. Its damaged scimitar parried his blade:

"You've fallen for it."

it declared in a monotone voice. The long spear shot toward Jenkins's chest, piercing straight through his heart.

"Did you think I still have vital points?"

After the sublimation of his Four Seasons ability, Jenkins himself wasn't sure if his body could still be considered human, but he knew, at least, that his heart was no longer a vital point. At the end of the battle in the town, the Scarlet Ephemera had impaled him with dozens of spikes, and he had been completely unharmed. So this time would be no different:

"You're the one who fell for it!"

A cane materialized in his free left hand. The jewel at its tip began to glow again, and in an instant, a blinding white light engulfed the town plaza under the sallow sky.

Magic eyes, as rare supernatural items that exist in the form of living organs, had never become mainstream in research and application, not because they were uncommon, but because they possessed a fatal flaw. Fresh chapters posted on NoveI-Fire.ɴet

As eyes, they had to be able to "see" to function, and most magic eyes lacked any special defensive properties for their vision. Thus, despite their power, methods of disabling them by disrupting their sight were not at all uncommon.

Therefore, when the glowing jewel flared at point-blank range in front of the golem, even Jenkins, who had mentally prepared himself, turned his head, and shut his eyes, felt his eyeballs burn behind his lids from the white light. To say nothing of the golem's four still-functioning magic eyes, all four of which were blasted by the intense light at close range and temporarily disabled.

The golem's self-healing ability was clearly inferior to Jenkins's. By the time Jenkins had sliced through the spear piercing his heart, wrenched himself free, and recovered his vision, the golem had yet to react, still blinded.

But a golem does not rely solely on sight to perceive its surroundings, so when Jenkins thrust his sword toward the core in the center of its torso, the golem dropped its broken spear and clapped its two free hands together:

Its metal palms clamped down on the blade with perfect precision. And because it was lifeless metal, the vast majority of the cursing power on the White Bone Holy Sword was completely ineffective against it.

With his sword caught, Jenkins froze for a second. Then, with a twist of his wrist, sparks flew from between the golem's palms. He twisted the blade, its edge grinding across the metal palms, and yanked it free.

The golem wasn't forged from the special alloy the Difference Engine used, which not even the White Bone Holy Sword could cut. Therefore, after that simple exchange, only one of its hands remained intact. Jenkins had sliced the other one off at the palm.

Having gained an advantage, Jenkins didn't press his attack, instead backpedaling. But the golem, having recovered from its momentary panic of being blinded, had no intention of letting him retreat so easily.

The black iron scimitar was out of reach for the moment, but the short staff was not. The wooden staff aimed at Jenkins's body, and lightning gathered along its length before striking out at him. The golem was using a spell.

The [Titan's Power] ability had faded, but its effects lingered. Jenkins planted his right foot forward and his left foot back, holding his sword in his right hand. He pointed the tip forward, letting the bolt of lightning strike the blade.

But the electricity didn't travel up the blade to his arm. Instead, it clung to the surface of the White Bone Holy Sword.

Wielding the sword one-handed, he shifted his weight, twisted his waist, and swung forward. The arc of light from his sword, now wreathed in electricity, slashed forward as if to cleave the sallow sky in two.