Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 538: Quick and Decisive
Whether it counted as illegal or not, Lin Yuxia couldn't really say. But Steven didn't give her time to answer anyway. While she was still hesitating about how to handle the situation, he had already rushed forward with his AK raised.
The monsters made from strange assortments of objects didn't look particularly ferocious, but they gave off an eerie vibe. Unfortunately for them, that eeriness meant very little in front of modern firearms.
The muzzle of the AK erupted with dazzling flashes. The roar of gunfire echoed throughout the small auction room. Steven didn't care who these creatures used to be—shoot first, worry later.
Even if he made a mistake, as long as the wounds weren't fatal, he could patch people up in seconds. But if the chess set ran away, who knew when he'd find it again?
And the results proved his point. Even though the bodies of the creatures called Artifact Apparitions weren't made of flesh, they were still far too fragile against bullets. The monsters rushing him couldn't slow him down at all. The only thing that made him pause was the strange white mist.
The fog carried an odd aura—so dense he couldn't even see what was right in front of him. When Steven stepped into it, it felt as though he had entered a different space entirely. The surroundings stretched wide, nothing like the enclosed indoor room from before.
Inside the mist, the Artifact Apparitions also seemed empowered. Their bodies grew tougher, their movements faster.
If Lin Yuxia had entered as well, she would've noticed something more critical: Originium Arts appeared to be blocked entirely in this space. But Steven didn't rely on such techniques, so he felt none of that change.
"Interesting trick… but I'm not in the mood to drag this out today."
After firing a few more shots to repel the encroaching creatures, Steven glanced around the fog-shrouded space with mild curiosity. It felt somewhat similar to the domain Nian had created before—but noticeably cheaper, more crude.
Even though he was intrigued, Steven knew his priorities. The most important thing was securing the chess set. If he wanted to study this phenomenon, he could always ask Nian later.
He waved his hand experimentally, confirming the fog couldn't be dispersed normally. Shrugging, he pulled out Yamato.
"Mmm~ I smell something tasty… Boss, kissy-kissy, the child is starving…"
Enma, still half-asleep, snapped awake the moment she felt freedom. She immediately sensed the familiar scent of a fragment of authority in the air.
Having inherited Steven's complete lack of shame, her first words were utterly embarrassing. Even Steven covered his face instinctively, unwilling to acknowledge this as his weapon.
Ignoring her antics, he rested his hand casually on Yamato's hilt.
In the next instant, a blade of light flashed—like space itself being severed. The dense white fog filling the area split apart, as if cut along with the very air.
But it wasn't just the mist.
The Artifact Apparitions charging toward him froze mid-motion. Then they collapsed one after another, gradually reverting into the people who had vanished within the fog.
As for the Artifact Apparitions Steven had already dealt with, once their bodies returned to normal, the wounds on them gradually disappeared as well. Judging from the expressions on the unconscious victims' faces, however, the process clearly wasn't comfortable.
At the far end of the room, where the chess set had originally been placed, the pieces now floated in midair as if controlled by some unseen force. From their arrangement, one could faintly make out the illusory figure of a man.
He clearly hadn't expected the illusion he created to be shattered so easily. For a moment, he remained frozen in shock.
Steven, of course, wouldn't miss such a perfect opportunity. Taking advantage of the man's daze, he flashed forward in an instant and appeared beside the phantom. Without giving him a chance to speak, Steven reached out and removed the chess pieces that formed his body.
"Man, what a letdown. I was hoping for a cute chess-playing spirit girl. Who knew it'd turn out to be a guy? I was actually looking forward to this. Aren't these so-called artifact spirits usually naïve maidens that are easy to befriend?"
Complaining once again about how unreliable the chinese novels he read were, Steven didn't stop moving. As he gathered the chess pieces, he also grabbed the fleeing phantom like catching a mouse and shoved him back into the set, stuffing him in by force.
After all, he paid for this thing. Whether it was a guy or not—even if it were something far worse—Steven was determined to make it produce value.
To Lin Yuxia, however, this entire scene was shocking in a completely different way.
"You're… done already?"
She pointed at the staff lying on the ground and the mist that had appeared and vanished like a fleeting illusion, then looked at Steven with wide-eyed disbelief, hoping for some explanation that made at least a bit of sense.
"What else? You wanted me to fight it for three hundred rounds and tear Lungmen apart before you'd be satisfied?"
Steven turned back, casually picked up a chess piece, and tapped it against his teeth like cracking a sunflower seed. After confirming it was indeed stone—and tasted terrible—he shrugged.
"For something that doesn't even count as a complete Fragment of God, the fact I used Yamato at all is already giving it plenty of face."
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 617: A Bold Guess[1]
Link: https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628[2]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628
[2] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628