Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Lecia had granted Shard the privilege to enter and exit the study at will, so when Shard asked the maid to open the door, the somewhat panicked maid immediately went to find the butler for the keys.

Shard's presence was also a secret among the servants of Sophia's Mansion. Only Lecia's personal maids knew who he was; a very few servants were aware that "Her Highness the Princess" was keeping "a man" in the mansion during her stay at Coldwater Port, while most of the other servants were not even aware of the existence of "John Watson".

Now, everyone in the manor had been gathered by the aged butler behind the front door on the first floor, preparing to deal with any scattered intruders that might appear. As it was inconvenient for Shard to let too many people see his face, he stayed alone in the study, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the situation outside.

He had assumed the battle would end quickly, but the gunfire had lasted for twenty minutes and seemed to be getting more fierce.

Although Shard was not anxious, he also sensed something was amiss. He paced in the study, deliberating over the current situation, then considered how many bullets he could take before he would die.

In theory, as long as he wasn't killed with a single shot, Shard could use "False Immortality" to give himself a chance to strike back. However, if he suffered a severe injury again within half an hour while "False Immortality" was active, the effects of the sorcery would immediately vanish—that was the biggest weakness of this sorcery.

The dim yellow light of the brass gas lamp illuminated the Outlander who was precisely counting the fatal spots on his body. Just then, someone knocked on the study door.

"Hmm?"

He turned around in surprise, and before he could speak, a burly man with messy yellow hair burst in.

He was wearing black rain boots, his clothes and trousers were also black, and his head was oddly bullet-shaped, with patches of red ringworm on his face. The water dripping down from him was staining the expensive carpet of the study.

Seeing a man inside the room, the intruder looked very astonished,

"Where is Lecia Cavendish?"

As he spoke, his throat produced a strange gurgling sound, and his accent revealed that he was a local from Coldwater Port.

Shard looked down at the wet patch on the carpet at his feet. The man rudely shut the door behind him, first threw a metal disc toward the doorway, then glared menacingly at Shard.

He didn't even give Shard a chance to speak. He gestured towards Shard with his hand, and Shard subconsciously thought about walking over to him.

But such simple sorcery was useless against a Circle Sorcerer. Shard only staggered briefly before regaining his composure, and the next second, the sound of a steam whistle and bells appeared behind both of them.

Brass Life Rings emerged from the billowing steam. Shard was a Second Ring Sorcerer, while the other man was a Four-Ring Sorcerer.

"Princess Lecia has gone to the Aphrola Family's banquet. You don't even know this and you rashly barged in?"

Only then did Shard provide an answer. He wasn't worried about these people going to the Aphrola family's estate to cause trouble because he wouldn't let the man before him leave.

"She declined yesterday... This is a trap! A damned trap!"

As he cursed loudly, the man's ugly face began to morph rapidly into that of a fish. Behind him, the Ring of Fate on his Life Ring glowed, as Whisper: "Bone" activated. The man casually scattered some white powder, which coalesced into a White Bone Stabbing Sword etched with strange runes as it fell, aiming for Shard's throat.

"Yes, she declined yesterday, then agreed today. Could you not properly investigate before attacking this place?"

Shard didn't bother to dodge; "Genesis: Silver Moon", controlled by the Arcane Technique "Treasured Item", flew out from his pocket and positioned itself in front of his throat. The Bone Blade pressed against the card but couldn't penetrate it.

"Oh?"

Seemingly puzzled that Shard so easily blocked the attack, the Four Rings on his Life Ring lit up with "Bubble". The intruder clasped his hands in front of him, keeping the backs parallel to the ground. Slightly parting his hands in the gaslight, it appeared as if colorful bubbles were rapidly filling the room.

Though they seemed merely bubbles, Shard instinctively sensed danger. He grasped the Bone Blade with his left hand and threw it forward. As soon as the bone material weapon touched the bubbles, it pierced through some of them, but was also corroded in the process.

"Poisonous?"

Without a second thought, Shard grabbed a chair and threw it forward. Following the chair's corrosion, two silver arc blades flew out from his hands.

These weren't solid weapons, so they weren't threatened by the corrosive bubbles. However, these bubbles could slow down the "Silvermoon Slash" in the air, allowing the man to easily dodge Shard's counterattack.

"Stop resisting. I use 'Bubbles' as the core of my ability system. These bubbles are not only poisonous but can also explode, imprison, release curses, create illusions, fill wounded tissue, reflect energy. You're only a Second Ring, don't..."

Before he could finish, he saw Shard wave his hand in front of him. A silver fog spread out from his hand, instantly enveloping him.

The bubbles flew towards the illusion-created fog, gradually dissipating it. At the same time, the man scattered more Bone Powder, which converged like water, eventually forming a slender bone rapier engraved with runes.

The man held the sword in his right hand and continued to spray bubbles at the silver fog that covered half the room with his left.

Bang~

A sudden gunshot rang out from within the silver fog, and a bullet from a revolver hit the man in the right chest, but only the transparent bubbles there burst, not affecting his actions:

"You think I would be afraid of ordinary firearms?"
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His eyes were fixed on the gradually dissolving silver fog, the gunshot confirming that Shard hadn't run away; he was right in front of him.

Bang! Bang!

Two more gunshots, this time Shard aimed for the man's head, but the ceaseless bubbles blocked the man's head, and the bullets couldn't penetrate them.

"It's useless, don't waste my time here."

As he spoke, the bubbles from his left hand had already dissolved two-thirds of the silver fog. The edge of the fog revealed the sleeve of Shard's coat, the man quickly directed the bubbles to that position, but then the sound of something heavy falling came from behind:

"What? When did it get behind me..."

He instinctively turned around, sword at the ready, but it was only the sound of the chair hitting the ground. Then he looked up and saw Shard above, sword raised high, descending with a slash.

The silver light of the moon fell down, and the Moonlight Greatsword cleanly severed the blond man's right hand.

Shard, clad in a shirt, caught the White Bone Stabbing Sword in the severed hand with his left, thrusting forward, but it disappeared in mid-strike as the man canceled the Arcane Technique effect.

So, his right hand thrust out with the greatsword. Although it successfully stabbed into the man's abdomen, it got stuck there, thanks to the returning bubbles.

The two men locked eyes, and for a moment, the man's eyes seemed to become light-absorbing black holes. Spiral patterns appeared in his eyes, causing a slight sensation of soul peeling, but this soul-attacking Arcane Technique had little effect on Shard.

Playing cards flew out from a pocket, blocking in front of the man's eyes, and Shard, who had been counting down in his mind, had reached the last number:

"Three seconds! Blade of Chaotic Time!"

"What?"

The vanished White Bone Stabbing Sword reappeared from the void. Most of the bubbles in front of the man were defending against the Moonlight Greatsword, and the cards temporarily blocked his view.

This moment of negligence allowed the sword, brought forth by his own Arcane Technique, to pierce his heart.