The Tin Knight-Chapter 72: The Tin Knight and The Land of Deep Green (2)

The carriage of Dorothea’s party was an exceptionally high-quality luxury item.

Thanks to the extensive use of leaf spring technology, it had excellent ride comfort, superior insulation that made it suitable for use as a mobile base, and was resistant to wind and rain.

Lorentz Halder, the head of the Halder Company, had handed over such a top-quality item to curry favor with the party.

However, no matter how luxurious a carriage was, it didn’t have the function to move normally inside a lake.

It was the limitation of being a ground type instead of a water type.

As the carriage’s compartment gradually sank into the deep water, Dorothea quickly extracted herself.

She held her staff in her right hand and grasped Adelaide’s nape with her left hand.

Adelaide, seemingly not knowing how to swim, was flailing her arms and legs, and her favorite cloak was tangling around her, hindering her movements.

While Dorothea was somehow swimming upwards carrying deadweight that was more of a penalty than a help for swimming, ominous shadows gathered around her as if to encircle her.

The body size was about as big as an adult’s palm, the teeth were sharp, sharp spine-like things were protruding all over the body, and the colors were varied.

If one were to give an OX quiz asking, “Will this fish bite humans or not?” nine out of ten people would answer that it would bite, judging by its appearance.

Moreover, the number of fish, or rather fish heads, was swarming.

Dorothea’s experience of rolling and tumbling under a nasty teacher rang alarm bells to prepare for immediate combat.

Faithfully following her cultivated intuition, Dorothea prepared to activate the defense magic engraved on her staff when...

Splash!!

Near the water’s surface, something like a heavy shockwave spread out.

Dorothea judged that it was an impact, as if something heavy had fallen.

Naturally, her judgment was correct.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ welcomes the event-based forced battle!]

The Tin Knight.

He, the only one in the group who had remained outside, had jumped into the lake.

Dorothea’s gaze met the blue will-o’-wisp-like eyes of the Tin Knight.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ tells Dorothea to go up so as to not get involved!]

Dorothea faithfully followed those words.

While she might behave differently in normal times, in combat situations, Dorothea trusted the Tin Knight’s abilities without doubt.

After confirming that Dorothea and Adelaide were heading upwards, the Tin Knight confronted the school of fish.

Or rather, he confronted them while sinking.

In fact, this was unavoidable.

Just as even a high-quality carriage couldn’t exert its abilities in water instead of on land, it was impossible for the Tin Knight, whose entire body was made of metal, to swim freely underwater.

However, Tin Knight was by no means rendered powerless underwater.

The very fact that he was in the process of sinking implied he hadn’t sunk yet.

Silver mana began to wrap itself around the Tin Knight’s sword.

The mana, which at first looked like a simple heat mirage, gradually took on a distinct form, eventually taking the shape of a propeller.

It was a feat made possible by his intricate mana circuits, like that of human blood vessels, just as when he defeated the bees.

This change was comparable to giving a new drawing tool capable of pixel-level control to a painter who could only use the thick brush function of a drawing board.

Shwababababat!

Centered on the straight-extended sword, five propellers made of silver mana began to rotate violently.

With a terrifying vortex, the Tin Knight’s body shot forward.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ shouts that his drill is the drill that will pierce this very lake!]

The line was playful, but the result was far from a joke.

Kwajijijik!

The fish caught in the vortex created by the Tin Knight were cut into several pieces, scattering their flesh.

There wasn’t even a need to directly swing the sword to hit the fish.

The sword, embracing the vortex itself, had the power to violently suck in everything around it.

After instantly dyeing the middle of the blue lake red, the Tin Knight deactivated the sword energy drill, or rather, propeller.

No matter how much his mana efficiency had improved, after fighting the swarm of bees and pulling off such a feat, his remaining mana reserves were approaching the bottom.

It wasn’t to the point where he couldn’t fight, but he had to leave mana to use when returning to the ground.

The Tin Knight looked around in the water.

At the bottom of the lake.

He could see the damaged, sunken carriage.

Surprisingly, the horses were nowhere to be seen.

It wasn’t that they had become fish food in that short time, but it seemed they hadn’t fallen into the lake in the first place.

Considering that the carriage and horses were connected with various tools, it was truly remarkable.

If asked what was remarkable, however, it would be Sophia’s driving skills.

In terms of a car, it was like disassembling the wheels and engine while sitting in the driver’s seat and driving at full speed. It was a feat that even professional racers wouldn’t dare attempt.

The Tin Knight, who had landed on the floor of the lake, looked around the wreckage of the carriage. novelbuddy.cσ๓

Sure enough, he could see Sophia’s upper body stuck between the ground and the wreckage.

If she had been human, it would have been the scene of a great disaster, but Sophia blinked with a rather nonchalant face.

Although no words could be heard, she looked as if saying, “Ah, you came faster than I expected.”

The Tin Knight fell into thought for a moment.

To safely extract her, he would need to lift the carriage wreckage or cut out the part she was trapped under with sword energy, but he had insufficient mana for either option.

Therefore, the Tin Knight decided to choose the most straightforward method.

He grabbed Sophia’s arms and started pulling.

It was a crude rescue method that would have made an expert turn pale.

Various creaking sensations were transmitted, but the Tin Knight had no sense of touch to feel it.

And after a while, Sophia was pulled out as if uprooting a radish.

Surprisingly, despite receiving this terrible treatment, there was no particular anger or resentment in Sophia’s eyes.

Rather, as if grateful for being saved, she silently winked.

The Tin Knight scratched the back of his head.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ is embarrassed, saying this much is nothing!]

It was a sight that would have made Dorothea clutch her head if she had seen it.

As expected of non-humans, human common sense didn’t seem to apply.

The Tin Knight started walking step by step.

Since he couldn’t use the propeller, this was the best way to escape with his heavy metal body.

Then suddenly, the Tin Knight thought.

If only he had enough mana, he could escape right away, so why not borrow Sophia’s power?

[The ‘Tin Knight’ requests mana replenishment from Sophia!]

Sophia tilted her head, but soon seemed to understand the Tin Knight’s intention and placed her hand on the Tin Knight’s back.

Blood-red mana surged around Sophia’s body.

While it wasn’t on par with Dorothea’s mana, it was a far cry from their first encounter when she struggled to squeeze out even a single drop. Now it was fairly abundant.

The Tin Knight’s mana tank, which had many empty spaces, slowly began to fill up.

It was then.

The Tin Knight felt his vision distorting strangely.

At the bottom of the dark blue lake. He could see something like a blood-colored mist floating around.

The Tin Knight, who had been staring blankly at that mist, realized that what he thought was just mist was flowing from somewhere.

The Tin Knight moved towards that source.

The identity of the source was a crimson fissure-like anomaly.

In a space that should have been full of only water, there was a large crack, and from within, red mist could be seen flowing out in all directions.

The Tin Knight touched the red fissure.

However, the Tin Knight’s hand merely cut through empty space as if nothing was there.

The Tin Knight briefly turned his gaze and examined the mana inside his body.

And he channeled Dorothea’s original mana in his left eye and the new mana given by Sophia in his right eye.

Immediately, his vision split into two perspectives.

The vision containing Sophia’s mana said there was a red fissure there, but the vision containing Dorothea’s mana couldn’t find anything there.

The Tin Knight felt curious.

He was convinced that this phenomenon wasn’t just a simple mistake or coincidence, but some new function.

Special phenomena required special handling methods.

The Tin Knight, with his hand on the fissure, tried touching the mana contained in the crack in various ways, as if manipulating the mana inside his body.

The response was immediate.

With a crack, the gap in the fissure widened, and he felt a sensation as if his consciousness was being sucked inside.

A moment later, the Tin Knight was standing somewhere other than the bottom of the lake.

It was a swamp full of mud.

Kneeling on one knee, the Tin Knight was stroking someone’s head.

“...Don’t worry. No matter what the others say, I have no intention of abandoning you.”

Words leaked from the Tin Knight’s mouth.

But the Tin Knight hadn’t said anything.

Only then did the Tin Knight realize that he was now inside someone else’s body.

Two small hands carefully grasped the hand stroking their head.

It belonged to a child who looked no older than five or six.

But their skin was green, and sprouts were protruding from various parts of their body.

“This forest is very good. It has a lot of mana, and the soil quality is excellent. If we prepare well, it will be a wonderful environment for you to live in.”

The man’s voice was gentle and carried an unshakable will.

The Tin Knight sensed that the man must have a very determined look in his eyes.

“Don’t worry. I will build your home. A home that will protect you even after I’m gone.”

The child’s hands holding the man’s hand trembled.

Just as the child was about to open their mouth to say something.

Crack!

As if repelled by something, the Tin Knight’s vision returned to normal.

The swamp and the green child were no longer visible.

The bottom of the lake was silent once more.

The Tin Knight checked his surroundings again, but the red fissure had already disappeared.

The Tin Knight’s eyes met Sophia’s.

Looking at Sophia’s eyes, the Tin Knight realized.

That Sophia had also seen the scene just now.

The Tin Knight said.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ marvels, asking if there was even an interactive dungeon here!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ expresses his wish that it would be nice if he could directly control or intervene mid-event!]