Chapter 197: Chivalry Must Not Be Profaned
The Knights of the Round Table instance did indeed restrict the use of technological constructs, but this didn't stop Cheng Tian from using his completely unusable tank as material for a "rockslide."
Oh, in this situation, calling it a "steel-slide" might be more appropriate.
Among the single-person vehicles of the Metal Slug government army, the Drill Tank was heavier than the Metal Slug, Iron Ox Tank, and Submarine due to its alloy steel drill used for excavating rock walls.
Actually, Cheng Tian hesitated for a moment when performing the quick deployment, wanting to release the Mammoth to trample people. The thought flashed for an instant before he abandoned it upon sensing the highly condensed fire element in his opponent's hand.
If a vehicle breaks, there's always a chance to repair it; at worst, it just becomes scrap metal. But a roasted Mammoth cannot be revived.
So, in a flash, he chose to smash the Drill Tank onto the person and endure the fire-attribute skill himself.
He refused to believe that his 45% fire damage reduction couldn't withstand a fire skill that clearly hadn't been fully charged!
The quadruple-enhanced fireball exploded. As Cheng Tian felt a scorching heat engulfing his entire body, his mana bar also dropped sharply, deducting 132 points instantly, which was a little more than a third of Cheng Tian's current mana.
Theoretically, even if the Five Fireball Mage had truly charged to the full 16 times damage, a single fireball would still leave Cheng Tian with about 30 points of health.
However, unlike Cheng Tian, who transferred the damage to his mana bar using the Primordial Shell, Arthur took the 240-damage fireball head-on, and he did so with almost no ability to resist.
The fifth person's idea was indeed not wrong; the human race typically has a strength-to-health ratio of 1:10, and even units that become leader templates only see a very limited increase in this ratio. But he overlooked a problem that low-level players at this stage commonly overlook—
That is, besides being a pure-blooded human, Arthur was also a true Knight!
For pure-blooded humans to change their strength-to-health and spirit-to-mana ratios, without altering their bloodline, the only thing they could change was their profession.
Although even identical professions can develop completely different styles based on individual characteristics—for example, Lancelot is an agile and elegant Knight, skilled at finding openings for critical strikes, while Percival is pure brute force, capable of splitting a person and their armor with a single axe swing even without a critical hit.
But Arthur followed the balanced doctrine, and he was also a legitimate wielder of a legendary sword.
As he was struck by the quadruple-enhanced fireball, the Sword in the Stone at Arthur's waist also emitted a soft light that enveloped his entire body. A significant portion of the flames could be seen being repelled by the light.
However, the fifth person, the instigator of the entire incident, suffered unimaginable injuries.
A 12-ton tank, if not for a player specialized in pure strength, would have a very high probability of being flattened into a two-dimensional foil.
But it was a hasty choice after all, and compared to a normal heavy object, the Drill Tank had gaps between its treads.
The fifth person, who instinctively leaned back to dodge, was hit by the tank. His head was precisely caught between the tank's tread gaps, only suffering heavy pressure that forced him down without being flattened into a pancake. However, his calves and ankles, which extended out as he fell and were completely covered by the treads... were instantly crushed to a pulp!
Intense pain instantly occupied every corner of the fifth person's brain.
Five seconds passed!
The eight stones of the Eight Trigrams Formation disappeared. Cheng Tian and Arthur, as well as the Dual-Sword Knight and his adjutant who were also forced airborne, all got up as quickly as possible as they hit the ground.
"Wait!"
However, just as Cheng Tian and Arthur, who had taken a fireball, were about to retaliate, the Dual-Sword Knight Balfourd first plunged his two swords between the two parties, then shouted loudly.
Cheng Tian and Arthur stopped their actions upon seeing this, because a Knight making such a gesture of actively discarding his weapons already indicated that the other party truly had no intention of fighting.
"...This person is yours to deal with. We shall meet again on the battlefield."
After speaking, Balfourd drew his two swords again, turned around, and, casually exposing his back, led his adjutant to soothe their horses and ride away.
From Britannia's perspective, Balfourd was naturally a heinous invader, but for himself, he was merely the chief Knight under Prince Allen, forever loyal to him. He was Prince Allen's dual swords, wielded for the Prince's will. Balfourd did not believe there was anything wrong with his actions, even if it was an invasion of another country.
As a Knight, Balfourd was actually not very skilled at, nor did he disdain, using schemes and tricks. For instance, the night raid plan from yesterday was suggested by the fortress's mage strategist, and he had always maintained an noncommittal attitude towards such matters.
But at this moment, a foreign mercenary actually used the pre-battle taunting phase for an assassination, which truly touched his bottom line as a Knight and a legion commander.
What Balfourd wanted was to crush Arthur and his soldiers head-on in a legion battle. Only this way could he further prove his importance under Prince Allen and solidify his position.
However, proud as he was, he bothered with no explanations. Restraining himself from personally dealing with the mercenary howling under the Drill Tank's treads was already the greatest forbearance Dual-Sword Knight Balfourd could manage at the moment.
Seeing Balfourd's reaction, Arthur also realized that this sudden assassination was not orchestrated by the enemy leader; it was very likely the personal act of an undisciplined foreign mercenary.
As for Cheng Tian—
He had already taken three steps in two, directly lunging forward to the tank, and the longsword in his hand, which had already loaded the "Palando's Sable Sword and Shield" template, stabbed directly under the vehicle!
The fifth person's screams abruptly ceased, because his neck had been pierced through by the Sable Sword in Cheng Tian's hand.
Having delivered the finishing blow, Cheng Tian, with his expressionless ancient mask, watched the Dual-Sword Knight depart. Balfourd, who originally thought he had shown great chivalry, felt a bit unnerved by the gaze, repeatedly wanting to turn and face the source of the threat again, but ultimately restrained himself each time.
The fifth person, who had completely breathed his last under the vehicle, instantly transformed into a bloody gold coin treasure chest.
But upon seeing the chest, Cheng Tian instinctively sighed.