Chapter 268: Materialization
As expected by Zhou Ning, the Magician Knight Guiltya died rather peacefully.
With a loud crash, the three mithril golems sent him flying the moment they clashed. Above his head flashed terrifying numbers: -521, -412, -449. In the next instant, he turned into a streak of white light.
But Zhou Ning had no time to feel sorry for him, because his own situation was clearly just as dangerous.
The mechanism triggered earlier had silently sealed off the stone door behind him. That meant he had to face three boss-level creatures at once inside this cramped burial chamber. For a long-range shooter like him, wasn't this practically a death sentence?
Thud!
Thanks to the brief obstruction from Magician Knight Guiltya, Zhou Ning managed to use Blink Step to narrowly avoid the mithril golems' first wave of attacks. But immediately, the foremost golem smashed through the iron bars and swung its massive five- to six-meter spear horizontally at him. At the same time, another golem's spear came crashing down from above!
Two enormous spear shadows overlapped, descending from the air. When they struck the ground, dust billowed upward, cracks spread like a turtle shell across the floor, and the entire chamber seemed to quake. The burial chamber was far too narrow—Zhou Ning had almost no room to dodge. He was forced to roll toward the front-left, but at that exact moment he "saw" the last mithril golem dragging its spear tip across the ground, sparking fire, as it thrust directly toward him.
If he didn't act, that strike would hit him dead on.
Zhou Ning hastily extended his hand, summoning the Sword of Cortés into his palm. Gripping the hilt, the sword gleamed as he unleashed Two Sleeves of Green Serpents.
Clang!
A blast of turquoise sword energy clashed against the massive spear, producing a deafening noise that filled the cramped chamber.
Overwhelmed by sheer force, Zhou Ning was flung away like a fallen leaf. The icy armor shielding his body shattered layer by layer. At the last instant, he had triggered the Ice Armor effect from his Guardian Ring—an item he had purchased for 750 Vecktas at the underground auction before leaving Darkland. It played a crucial role here. Even so, his HP plummeted sharply. He hurriedly cast Healing Light on himself and gulped down a Super Healing Potion, just barely recovering above the safety line.
He absolutely could not let all three surround him, or he might be killed instantly! Zhou Ning's heart grew heavy.
The thought flashed by, but the golems gave him no respite. They pressed forward, attacking from three sides, spears hacking down like walls collapsing from above.
The one in the center reached him first. This time Zhou Ning didn't attempt to block—he used Evading Shot instead, slipping past the golem's strike with uncanny agility. At the same time, he fired three shots while rolling backward to retreat.
His figure blurred with afterimages. Bang, bang, bang! Three bullets charged with supernatural force pierced into the chest of the central golem, knocking it back two steps. That small stagger caused the three mithril golems to crash heavily into one another, stumbling back several paces.
-329! -419! -322!
Three clean hits. The mithril core in its chest cracked like a spiderweb, but it didn't shatter completely. Worse, it even began repairing itself slowly. Its HP bar had barely dipped—its health pool was far thicker than the one outside!
Only now did Zhou Ning catch a glimpse of their levels: 69, 70, and 70—two or three levels higher than the one outside.
In Apocalypse, once an enemy's level surpassed yours by ten or more, it triggered the "Level Suppression" state. That meant when these level 70 bosses struck Zhou Ning, their attacks could randomly deal crushing damage far beyond normal. The hope of surviving against three at once seemed slim.
Zhou Ning still had one trump card left—the Pirate King Zhou Ning's temporary possession card. With the Pirate King's overwhelming Haki and battle power, he could fight fiercely for fifteen minutes. But this place was disturbingly strange—who knew what other dangers lurked? Unless absolutely forced, he wouldn't use it.
Keeping the possession card in reserve, Zhou Ning gripped Black Ebony and White Ivory tighter. While running and dodging, he fired relentlessly at the injured golem. Against these extraordinarily durable, element-resistant creatures with thick HP bars, he had no choice but to chip away one bullet at a time. From experience, as long as he destroyed the mithril core in their chests, he could finish them off.
But the golems cared nothing for his tactics. They relied solely on brute force. As constructs, their power was monstrous and their stamina endless. Every time Zhou Ning prepared a counterattack, another strike followed immediately, leaving him no opening.
Inside the cramped chamber, Zhou Ning darted and twisted, looking graceful, but in truth, he was completely suppressed. Counterattacking was nearly impossible. If not for his expert-level Observation Haki and the occasional use of talisman skills to materialize barriers in the nick of time, he would already have been cut down.
No wonder they were legendary battle golems guarding the ancient Elven Kingdom—their combat strength rivaled that of high-tier professionals. Zhou Ning, though clearly outmatched, didn't panic. Even while evading frantically, he searched for flaws, for a way to turn the tables.
Wait… wasn't his Stand ability able to materialize a designated target? If it worked on paintings and statues, could it also work on golems?
The thought struck him. He glanced at his Focus value—it was still enough. Fixing his gaze on the foremost mithril golem, he attempted to materialize it.
At once, Zhou Ning felt a higher-order force repelling him, while his stamina and Focus began draining rapidly.
"You used the special skill Bohemian Requiem on an Ancient Alchemy Golem!"
"Skill failed!"
Twice in a row it failed. His Focus dropped at a frightening pace. When it fell to one-fifth of the bar, the golem suddenly seemed to awaken—its eyes blazed with black fire, and it abruptly halted its charge.
Did it work? What happened?
Zhou Ning hadn't expected much. This was a boss-level creature, level far too high. Even when he had materialized the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, he had failed several times before succeeding. He wasn't sure if it had worked this time either.
Just then, as the other two golems lunged at him, the one targeted by Bohemian Requiem veered sideways and rammed into them. With a deafening crash, all three massive constructs slammed into each other.
This time, the materialization had actually succeeded!
Beautiful! Zhou Ning exhaled in relief. Checking the pet data, he saw this mithril golem's stats were terrifying—an all-around juggernaut with both offense and defense. The only flaw was the insane Focus drain. With his current endurance, he couldn't maintain it long. Counting skill consumption, he had at most four minutes to finish this fight.