Clang! Clang! Clang!...

The "Clockwork Man" Beverly's stance of cleaving bullets with blades was even more exaggerated than Aiven's earlier, unwavering against the segmented volley of dozens of firearms pointed at him.

He even laughed wildly, charging back at the firearms array through the rain of bullets!

Not to mention the aboriginals and pirates, even the well-experienced navy elite following Aiven had never seen such a spectacle.

The firearms array couldn't help but tremble slightly, maintaining continuous firepower was already a testament to their firm resolve.

At this moment.

mal——

From the rear, Milan raised the string of black crystal beads wrapped around his hand, shooting a grayish flowing light that struck the charging "Clockwork Man" with lightning speed.

[Witchcraft: Misfortune Curse!]

Meanwhile, heavily armored Gary had already leapt up, shouting: "Suit up!"

"Invincible in battle!"

Naval soldiers gathering around him followed immediately with roars.

Whoosh——

The various fish skins tied around their waists swelled and extended rapidly, instantly transforming them back into large, imposing "Fish Monster" warriors!

It was these "Fish Monster" warriors, with combat power reaching the late-stage apprentice level, that just shattered the barely formed formation of the guards, delivering the heaviest blow.

Clang——

They discarded their firearms and drew the sailor's knives from their waists, stepping forward in unison:

"Kill!"

The land-based team combat truly underscored the coordination and courage of a regular army, crucial moments highlighted their prowess as stalwart defenders.

"Wow! Even more monstrous than me!"

Yet, even now, the "Clockwork Man" remained nonchalant, declaring exaggerated admiration.

Bang!

He crushed the ground beneath him with a single step.

He lunged towards Gary, standing at the forefront like a steel fortress in heavy armor.

The wheel giant axe, seeming capable of splitting mountains, was but a joke to him.

The two bright blades in his hands weaved like swimming fish, effortlessly bypassing the heavy ax in Gary's hands to slice at the weakest point in his defense—the neck.

It was like a mouse toying with an elephant.

However.

Crunch——

Unfortunately, some gear inside his body inexplicably jammed, causing the strike, destined to decapitate Gary in a flash, to lag for a moment.

A tiny margin could miss by a thousand miles.

His body continued its forward rush, not striking the intended neck but rather solidly hitting the thickest armor at Gary's chest.

Even so, it still easily sent the tank-like Gary flying like a baseball.

Boom!

He crashed into a large group of "Fish Monster" warriors behind him; had it been an ordinary person, broken bones and torn muscles would be inevitable.

"Hmm? Something's amiss?"

At this moment, he realized that the magic spiritual light Milan had shot earlier, seemingly ineffective, actually held treacherous elements he temporarily could not comprehend.

He became slightly less nonchalant, deciding on a swift battle to finish off these audacious pirates, so he could guard the treasures and wait for the official reward from Hilus, earning the commission due to him!

Despite witnessing comrades fall, prioritizing money seemed utterly unscrupulous.

Yet, no one could doubt "Clockwork Man" Billiver's reputation, the essential foundation for a mercenary.

"Not playing with you anymore, obediently offer your heads and become my bounties!

Starting with you, the sorcerer using odd magic, die!"

He crossed the twin blades above his head, resembling the horns of a wild bull, with white steam jetting from four vents on his back. Propelled by surging power, he bent forward and charged fiercely.

Boom——

Heading straight for Milan, appearing without significant combat power, standing behind the opened line.

The momentum seemed to be enough to cut everything in its path... into two halves!

Bam! Bam! Bam!...

Seeing this, the surrounding pirates resumed their suppressive fire at once.

But this time, the "Clockwork Man" didn't even bother dodging, letting the lead bullets deform and ricochet upon impact with his metal body. Only when aimed directly at his face did he slightly tilt his head.

The distance of just over ten meters disappeared in a blink.

The icy glow of twin blades almost reflected in Milan's eyes, leaving no time for any reaction, his face frozen with fear.

"Get... away from me!!!"

With a thunderous roar from above, a longsword turned into a radiant streak, carrying wind and thunder, striking from behind the "Clockwork Man" toward his spine.

Sensing the power of that sword, for the first time, Billiver's face showed slight alarm, no longer daring to test the sword's might with his own body.

He stomped and twisted to the side, swiftly dodging, and the almost descending blade barely missed Milan, the sharp gleam shaving off some of his hair strands.

"Ha... ha..."

Narrowly escaping death, in just a moment, Milan already felt cold sweat soaking his clothes, with a drop of sweat sliding from his forehead.

Whoosh——

Carrying a gust, Aiven, equally frightened, pursued the "Clockwork Man" past Milan's side.

At this moment, Milan's legs gave way, and he plopped down onto the ground, shouting at Aiven's back:

"Be careful, this guy's strength is definitely more than just a Peak Knight!"

"I know, hide yourself!"

At this time, Aiven was very certain that this being, somewhat resembling a Mechanical Body yet retaining some flesh and blood, had never appeared in front of the seagulls from start to finish.

In other words, for nearly a month, unless he also had a "Magic Pocket," he truly hadn't eaten or drunk anything, hiding in that box which was very cramped for his size.

Just this terrifying endurance alone was something any Extraordinary Knight could only dream of.

However.

"Clockwork Man" Billiver's brief evasion was clearly not because he feared Aiven, but simply because he didn't want to pay the price of injuring his body to kill that Wizard.

After merely two steps of sidestepping past each other.

Buzz——

His legs were still charging forward, but his upper body rotated 180 degrees instantly around the waist and swung the blade, the dual blades transformed into blazing lightning, even faster and more vicious than when he dealt with Gary!

Clang——!

The sword backs repeatedly struck the weak sword body of Aiven's Hand Half-Sword, successfully dissipating the force it carried.

Then, as if completely unaffected by his current posture, he twirled the dual blades into a curtain of blades, clashing fiercely with Aiven's surging brilliant sword light a few times.

Although he couldn't harm Aiven, who was close on his heels, he did successfully interrupt his pursuit.

His legs continued to run forward for two more steps, till he was a hundred meters away, then leisurely stopped his upper body, while his lower body rotated on its own, restoring to a normal appearance.

"Clockwork Man" Billiver's pair of red eyes again fluctuated, sizing up Aiven from top to bottom, and asked with interest:

"Hey, have you already dealt with that insidious guy Rudolph?"

Aiven didn't answer his question, also observing this peculiar fellow.

Relying on the data collected during the previous fight from "Data Visualization", along with his inherent "Vitalist School" sensitivity to life and machinery.

He discovered that this guy only had his head, most of his chest cavity, and one arm still as human flesh, but most of the body's tissues and organs, including the heart, had been replaced by machinery.

Yet even the life force of these remaining tissues was extremely vigorous, far stronger than the life energy field of a normal Peak Knight as a whole, while the mechanical body showed no other reactions of Extraordinary Energy aside from traces of Alchemy.

Within the body data, constitution held no meaning for such an existence, with strength at 5.2, speed at 5.6, already surpassing the Tier 2 limits.

"The fusion of flesh and mechanical alchemy, what relation do you have with those Evil Alchemists?"

As a member of half an Alchemy School, Aiven certainly couldn't be unaware of the Evil Alchemists who try to combine flesh and machinery to achieve immortality, not hesitating to perform numerous forbidden experiments.

Is this "Clockwork Man" perhaps the result of their research?

"Ha, who knows?"

However, Aiven sharply noticed that when he mentioned "Evil Alchemists," the speed of the expanding and contracting of Billiver's eyes noticeably accelerated.

Obviously, his mind was not as nonchalant as his casual facade.

"Although you almost reached the limits of a Tier 2 Knight, you are still not my match.

I hate procrastination, I might as well slice you all into seventeen or eighteen pieces right away!"

He threw out a smoke bomb that emitted an extremely intense, irritating smell, making everyone present instinctively retreat and hide.

Casually, he took out a palm-sized clockwork key from a shabby pocket, inserted it into a hole in his left chest, and turned it twice with his last remaining flesh arm.

Creek! Creek!

The sound of a powerful spring tightening inside was clearly audible.

In fact, what Aiven just observed was merely the surface.

The main energy of the "Clockwork Man"'s body actually comes from a miniaturized "Steam Furnace."

It has three power supply methods: biological energy from flesh, elastic potential energy from the mechanical spring, and thermal energy from the Steam Furnace.

Although its power is reduced due to miniaturization compared to the "Golem Knights" which once appeared in the Netherlands Bank Group, not reaching the level of a Senior Grand Knight.

It still far surpasses fragile flesh and blood, having reached the minimum level of a Tier 3 Great Knight.

Of course, his attributes are only cold numbers, neither increasing through training nor boosted by any physical liberation or sword techniques, except for one case...

Boom! Boom! Boom!...

Whoosh——

A loud roar of a large steam engine erupted inside Billiver's body, with four vents on his back suddenly spewing out scorching white steam.

Dual blades grasped inversely in hands, wrists rotated turning into extremely fierce blades of light.

No traces of Extraordinary Swordsmanship, the sole knack in his blade techniques was speed! Speed beyond the human reaction limit!

This is the only exception——[Steam Furnace: Overload!]

Standing outside the range covered by the smoke bomb, Aiven had already realized that this "Clockwork Man" had exceeded the formidable power of the Tier 2 limits.

Though brows slightly furrowed beneath the mask, the fighting spirit in his eyes erupted forth!

"Physical Liberation" had quietly reached its current limit of eighty-five percent, with the activated Spiritual Light within his body injected with excessive activity, the first time this ability was displayed in a formal battle.

Heart pulsating, as if the high-speed flow of blood in the vessels could be heard, every muscle squirmed and swelled like a living thing, integrating with bones and tendons.

Finally, even the surface of the body slightly emitted a red Extraordinary Spiritual Light.

[Activated Spiritual Light: Overclocking!]

Gazing at Billiver like a volcanic eruption, Aiven held the sword in both hands.

The invisible pressure steadily accumulated between the two.

A leaf gently floated down.

Tss——

Suddenly turned to dust.

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