Arknights: I'm Pretty Strong With Minecraft — Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Is This Your Ultimate Move?

The tense, breathless chase through the ruined, ash-choked streets of Chernobog ground to a sudden, violent halt. A mountain of a man stepped out from the swirling dust, his massive, armored frame completely blocking the narrow alleyway.

Patriot. The legendary Wendigo.

“Rhodes… Island…” His voice was a low, grating rumble, like boulders grinding against each other. “Ivan… let… her… go…”

Without another word of warning, Patriot’s colossal body sank into a combat stance. A terrifying, suffocating pressure began to coalesce in the air around him. The enormous halberd in his grip began to hum violently, vibrating with lethal intent.

He planted his feet, drew his arm back, and hurled the massive weapon!

It tore through the air with a supersonic shriek, aimed directly at Ivan’s legs.

“Holy crap!” Ivan yelped, his eyes widening. “The old man is fast!”

Beside him, Rosa reacted instantly. Gritting her teeth, she hefted her heavy launcher and hurled a miniature siege trident with all her might to intercept the strike.

The two weapons collided in mid-air with an ear-splitting clang. A blinding shower of sparks erupted across the darkened street!

But Rosa’s strength was a mere drop in the ocean compared to the Wendigo’s monstrous power. Her trident held the line for a meager fraction of a second before it was mercilessly swatted aside. It spun wildly back toward her, the immense recoil numbing her grip and sending a painful shock up her arms.

“Mr. Ivan! Watch out behind you!” Rosa shouted, her voice laced with panic.

Ivan clicked his tongue. He adjusted his grip on Frostnova, who was currently slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and casually tossed her backward like a bowling ball toward Amiya. “Catch her!”

Pivoting on his heel, Ivan turned to face the destructive halberd that was already inches from his face. Yet, there wasn’t a single trace of panic in his eyes.

He dropped into a solid stance and brought the Blade of the God of War up horizontally, using its broad, indestructible surface as a shield.

The lead slammed into the flat of the blade with the force of a falling meteor. The sheer kinetic impact instantly shattered the asphalt beneath Ivan’s feet, cratering the street. But the spear didn’t bounce off. Instead, it spun wildly like a high-powered drill, grinding fiercely against the sword’s surface and spewing a blinding fountain of sparks into the night sky.

‘Troublesome… such ridiculous strength…’Ivan gritted his teeth. He could feel his hunger bar rapidly depleting from the sustained exertion.’No way, if this keeps up, I’m going to starve to death before I take a hit!’

Summoning the last dregs of his physical strength, Ivan angled the Blade of the God of War, parrying the spinning halberd upward and to the side.

With a heavy thud, the massive weapon plunged diagonally into the rubble of a nearby collapsed building.

Seizing the brief opening, Ivan immediately whipped out an Enchanted Golden Apple, fully intending to munch on it and restore his rapidly draining satiety.

But Patriot was already there. The Wendigo’s massive hand clamped around the haft of his embedded spear. With a brutal, sweeping motion, he ripped it from the concrete and swung it horizontally, forcing Ivan to abort his meal.

“I… know… that… thing…” Patriot’s low, oppressive voice rumbled through the dust. “You… have… no… chance…”

Ivan was forced to leap backward to dodge the lethal sweep, tucking the golden apple away with a frustrated sigh. “Tsk. Such sweaty combat experience. You’re not giving me a single frame to heal.”

He turned his head, shouting back at the tense Rhodes Island operators and the Doctor. “Same drill as before! You guys fall back! Take Frostnova and get out of here! I’ll hold the aggro!”

“But, Mr. Ivan, you—” Amiya started, her ears drooping with worry.

“Alright! Stop talking nonsense and go!” Ivan barked, his tone leaving no room for argument. “I can get away on my own.”

The Rhodes Island and Lungmen personnel exchanged hesitant glances. They knew better than anyone that Ivan possessed a terrifying arsenal of game-breaking tricks. Nodding grimly, they turned, hoisted the tightly bound Frostnova, and sprinted down the designated escape route.

“No, guys, are we really just leaving him like that?!” The Doctor’s exasperated voice echoed from down the alley.

“Go, Ivan! We believe in you!”

In the blink of an eye, the shattered street was empty, leaving only Ivan facing down the towering Patriot. Behind the Wendigo, the panting members of the Yeti Squadron and the Shieldguard Guerrillas finally caught up, surrounding the area.

“Ivan…” Patriot’s heavy breathing sounded like a massive, rusted bellows as he slowly raised his halberd once more. “You are… a… commendable… warrior…”

Ivan coughed lightly, flashing a cheeky grin. “Thanks for the compliment, old man. To be honest, I think so too.”

“Then…” Patriot’s suffocating aura surged, the air growing heavy with Originium energy. “Come… Ivan…”

“Bring it on!” Ivan tightened his grip on the Blade of the God of War. The atmosphere stretched taut, ready to snap at the slightest movement.

But just as the tension reached its absolute peak…

Ivan suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Without any warning, he dropped to his knees. The Blade of the God of War vanished into his inventory. Both of his hands flew up to cover his eyes as he writhed in apparent agony.

“My eyes! It hurts so much! Ahhhhh!”

This abrupt, bizarre turn of events completely derailed the dramatic showdown. Patriot’s advancing footsteps ground to a halt. The towering Wendigo stood frozen in place, staring warily at the boy thrashing on the asphalt. Decades of battlefield experience screamed at him that this was a trap, but the display of sheer agony looked incredibly genuine.

The Yeti Squadron members and Guerrillas exchanged utterly bewildered looks.

“What’s wrong with him…?” one of the Yetis muttered. “A sudden Oripathy attack?”

“I… do not… know…” Patriot rumbled, his grip tightening on his weapon. “But… be careful…”

Several tense minutes ticked by. Ivan was still curled up on the ground, clutching his face and groaning, showing absolutely no sign of launching an attack.

Finally, one of the Guerrillas couldn’t take the suspense anymore. “Why don’t we just rush him?! If we keep dragging this out, we’ll never catch up to Big Sister!”

Patriot pondered for a heavy moment, then gave a slow, deliberate nod.

Moving in unison, Patriot and the Yeti Squadron slowly closed the distance, weapons drawn, preparing to subdue the writhing boy.

But just as they stepped within striking range…

A blinding, piercing light suddenly erupted from between the fingers covering Ivan’s left eye!

Ivan sucked in a massive breath and roared at the top of his lungs.

“My ultimate skill is finally off cooldown! Take this!”

“AMATERASU!!!”

“Not good!!” Patriot’s crimson eyes contracted. He had no idea what an ‘Amaterasu’ was, but the sheer confidence in the boy’s voice made him sense a catastrophic threat. “Everyone… full defense!!”

Reflexively, the Yeti Squadron channeled their Originium Arts to the absolute limit. Massive, thick walls of glacial ice instantly erupted from the pavement, forming a heavy barricade. Patriot slammed his colossal tower shield into the earth, bracing himself to weather the devastating ultimate attack.

They braced for the impact.

One second passed.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

A long, agonizing silence stretched over the ruined street. The anticipated apocalyptic blast of energy never came. Aside from the desolate howl of the Chernobog wind whistling through the shattered buildings, absolutely nothing happened.

Well, nothing except a faint, echoing voice fading into the distance:

“Nige-ru-da-yo!!”

Cautiously, the Yeti Squadron members peeked their heads out from behind their fortified ice walls.

The street was completely empty. Ivan was gone without a trace.

Patriot: “…”

Yeti Squadron: “…”

A cold breeze blew past, carrying a solitary piece of trash across the asphalt. The silence was deafeningly awkward.

After ten full seconds of collective stun, one of the Guerrillas finally broke the silence, his voice trembling with sheer disbelief.

“Damn it… how… how can a warrior be so shameless?!”

“He just… ran away?! What about the promised ultimate skill?! What happened to ‘Amaterasu’?!”

“So he spent all that time rolling around on the ground just to pull out a teleportation scroll?!”

In the hearts of the mighty Yeti Squadron and the seasoned Guerrillas, ten thousand packbeasts were stampeding in pure, unadulterated frustration.

Patriot slowly lifted his massive shield from the cratered ground, staring blankly at the empty space where the boy had been.

He slowly exhaled.

“Ivan… I… will remember you.”