Chapter 209 Penthesilea (Terror Construct) VS. James
When Eisenhart heard the name Penthesilea from the mouth of the scarlet werewolf, he frowned, recognizing that this was not a small matter. The only famous person in history known to have used the name Penthesilea was the Amazonian queen who died at the hands of Achilles during the Trojan War.
All mages were familiar with this historical figure due to the education they received at the Hightower. Specifically, Penthesilea hailed from a time period that mages considered crucial for understanding the foundations of their magical world.
The era that mages used to comprehend the basics of the magical world was divided into four periods.
The First Era was the Modern era, the era in which they currently lived. It began in the 18th century and continued to the present day. In this era, mana was scarce, and ancient magic was largely regarded as legend and hearsay. Utilizing ancient magic in this era was seen as nothing short of a miracle.
The Second Era was the Mythical era, starting in the 5th century. During this time, gods could not easily manifest in the mortal realm due to its insufficient mana. If gods wished to enter the mortal realm, they had to restrict their power, enabling powerful mortals, such as mages, to confront them.
This era was a time when mages held dominance, and various folktales, including those about vampires, werewolves, elves, and dwarves, spread across the world.
The Third Era was the Era of Gods, commencing around 10,000 to 9,000 BC. This era was both desired and feared by mages. Gods could walk among mortal humans and even have offspring with them during this time. Heroes and legends, such as Hercules, Achilles, Atalanta, and Penthesilea, were born during this period.
Mages yearned for this era because it was a time when ancient magic prevailed, and even the weakest mage could wield it. Additionally, the era's dense mana nurtured the bodies of heroes, making them several times stronger than normal humans.
However, it's important to note that even "several times stronger" referred to the scale of normal foot soldiers, not the exceptional strength of heroes like Penthesilea, who were more than ten times stronger than the average soldiers of their time.
The Fourth Era was the Era of Titans, a period about which the Hightower had only recently discovered evidence. In this era, Titans reigned supreme and ruled over the gods. Mages knew little about this era and could only speculate since much of the evidence concerning it was exceedingly difficult to find.
[Is she actually the Penthesilea who lived during the Era of God? This should not be possible right?] Eisenhart thought to himself, the only thing that can confirm his suspicion is that he needs to see this 'Penthesilea' in action.
Eisenhart checked the mana within his body. His mana was at a sufficient level to sustain this 'Penthesilea' Terror Construct of his for at least 3 minutes at full power. It was less than he desired but still better than maintaining the 'Daniel Emberweave' construct, given its exorbitant mana consumption. Yet, he couldn't underestimate the archangel, Daniel Emberweave, who was regarded as the worst fear by an archangel. Considering this, the mana expenditure seemed reasonable.
"Kill the damn mutt," he commanded the 'Penthesilea' Terror construct after calculating his remaining mana.
Upon receiving the command, the 'Penthesilea' Terror construct lowered her stance, readying her spear and shield, preparing to lunge at the werewolf.
"Die, you horny dog!" Penthesilea shouted from James's perspective.
Observing this, James found himself torn between laughter and despair. His fierce female boss aimed to kill him because he had been too indulgent in America, becoming involved with multiple women and a witch in Hollywood. Was this punishment too severe?
"Wait! Big sis! Calm down! I can explain!" James attempted to placate his boss, but his efforts were in vain. She lunged at him quickly, spear in hand.
"Shit!" James cursed as he attempted to defend himself.
Boom!
Penthesilea's shield clashed against James's fist, causing the metal deck floor to bend and deform due to the sheer force. The impact sent James several meters backward. He tried to employ his overwhelming strength to push Penthesilea back, but suddenly, a sharp pain coursed through his abdomen, reaching his heart.
Pierced!
Penthesilea's spear had thrust through his abdomen, exploiting a blind spot with precise accuracy, ultimately puncturing his heart and destroying it in the process.
"Gah!" James coughed up blood as Penthesilea withdrew her spear. His formidable regenerative power swiftly went to work, mending his wounds and reconstructing his damaged heart.
James hastily retreated to a safe distance, but Penthesilea pursued relentlessly. In the blink of an eye, she closed the gap between them, her spear thrusting directly towards his head. James attempted to defend and parry the attack, but Penthesilea's spear moved with the agility of a snake, evading his block and homing in on his head.
Desperate to save his life, James launched a counterattack. However, Penthesilea paid no heed to his assault. The claws sliced through her clothing and touched her skin but stopped abruptly, failing to progress any further. Even the momentum of the claws failed to budge her an inch.
Pierced!
The spear punctured his eyes and penetrated his skull. James momentarily lost consciousness as his brain suffered catastrophic damage.
Boom!
Penthesilea kicked him towards the ship's observation deck, and his body crashed through the metal wall, entering the interior.
"God... She really is Penthesilea," Eisenhart uttered in disbelief and awe. Witnessing his 'Penthesilea' Terror construct swiftly dispatch the werewolf was astonishing. Penthesilea's specialty lay in her immunity to all none-godly or powerful weapons, and the werewolf hadn't even made a dent in her defenses.
This is all the evidence he needs to confirm the existence of Penthesilea, that she is truly the Penthesilea from the Trojan War. It's not even a minute, and that werewolf, which caused his headache, was easily dispatched just like that.
Eisenhart wanted to keep this Penthesilea Terror Construct as his trump card, but he knew that it's impossible, or at least it was impossible for him right now as he is in a foreign country and didn't have access to his Sanctum Sanctorum. This means it was impossible to save all of this Terror construct's characteristics and its secret for later use.
Fwip!
Pierced!
At the moment of his carelessness, Eisenhart's abdomen was pierced by an iron bar that looks like it was yanked from the stair safety rail and was thrown from the direction of the observation deck. The power behind the throw pinned him to the nearby ship railing, causing him excruciating pain.
"Arrrrgghhh!" Eisenhart cried out in pain as he tried to pull the iron bar out of his body, but it was very hard, as if it got glued to the railing. With the strength of the mage, who is not skilled in close combat like him, it's impossible for him to pull it out.
In truth, this is one of the glaring weaknesses of his Terror construct. Since it doesn't have a mind of its own, it needs his command to act, and it can't automatically protect him like those golems or normal familiars summoned by other mages.
At that moment, James's large silhouette started to transform from his human form into werewolf form, slowly walking out of the broken wall of the observation deck. His head started to heal itself as white vapor rose from his injury on his head.
"God damn it… Thank you for destroying my brain… Otherwise, I might not be able to get out of your damn spell," James said with a mix of frustration and relief.
It was because his brain was destroyed in the process, and it regenerated back, making his brain restart itself, rendering the spell that affected his old brain useless. And now that he had gotten out of the terror spell that affected him, he knew that Penthesilea in front of him was just a mindless Terror construct created by foul magic.
James checked his body condition before turning his gaze toward the Wardens who were shocked at the fight between him and Penthesilea just now.
"Good… that you guys are around. I just feel pretty hungry," James said with a malicious smile before rushing toward the Wardens. His werewolf jaw went wide before snapping on the head of the nearest Warden, killing him in the process. Then, another bite came, chomping on that unlucky Warden's arm.
Now, James's werewolf form was no different from a hungry wild beast hunting for its prey.
Seeing the wardens becoming the food of that terrifying werewolf, instead of panicking, Eisenhart felt relief. The werewolf had turned its attention toward those mortals, allowing him to escape and save himself.
"You! Help me pull this thing out!" He shouted his command toward the Penthesilea Terror construct.
With the command, the Terror construct proceeded to help its master out of the predicament, slowly pulling the iron bar out of his abdomen.
"Urgh! Slowly! Slowly!" Eisenhart commanded, instructing the Terror construct to reduce its strength, trying to prevent his master from further agony.
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