As the wood chips rained down, Dawn immediately raised the Lute, smashed off one of the Glass Golem's arms, and snatched the glass shield from its severed hand.
Although magic had reinforced them, making them far sturdier than ordinary glass,
to Dawn, the difference was merely that between one chopstick and a bundle of them. She could easily snap either.
After a sharp whoosh, she hurriedly raised the shield in front of Tang Qi.
The breath attack slammed into it, cracking the entire glass shield with a sharp crack. Fortunately, Dawn had taken the initial impact, keeping them from being sent flying.
That gave Tang Qi time to roll aside, letting his back take as much of the falling mixture of broken glass and wood chips as possible.
His leather armor had long since transformed into a leather jacket, becoming equipment permitted inside the mansion. As a result, the torrent of debris failed to pierce his flesh, leaving only a series of cuts across exposed areas such as his calves and the backs of his hands.
The pain stung like needle pricks, but it was bearable.
He glanced toward Rumi. The weight in the Gnome's arms did not hamper his movements as he leaped toward the chandelier on the ceiling. Just as he was about to fall back to the floor, however, he saw that One Ear had already drawn his rapier, judged his landing point, and thrust toward his toes.
He was a seasoned Ranger. That thrust would easily pierce the sole of the Gnome's foot and leave him completely immobilized.
Suspended in midair, Rumi had no room to turn—he was still holding his "mother." Otherwise, he could have hung from the chandelier and swung into a corner of the room, or used his arms to flip himself over.