Srrrng!
Sir Joseph who had drawn his sword in tension at the sight of the enemy soon wore a helpless expression and began to wonder whether he should just put it away again.
Against that colossal fortress golem, his sword looked less effective than a toothpick.
“An axe… no, perhaps a pickaxe would’ve been better. Feels like I’m fighting a mountain.”
Thirty meters tall.
That was the height of the golem made from the Winslet lord’s castle.
The main keep of the castle had originally been only twelve meters high, but the outer walls that had disappeared were now acting as limbs, attached to the main structure and adding to its height.
Had the golem had a head, it might have been even taller…
But then again, a golem wasn’t a living creature; there was no reason for it to have a head, unless, of course, a few mages added one for aesthetic reasons.
“Talk about a big house. Could’ve built it smaller, don’t you think?”
“My apologies, young master.”
“Even the annex you kicked me out to was more than big enough for one family.”
“……”
As I cracked a joke to break the tension, the enemy made the first move.
Drrrrrrrk!
The fortress golem swept its long arm across the ground and swung it toward us.
The motion looked slow at a glance, but that was only an illusion caused by its size. The massive bulk accelerated in an instant and came bearing down on us.
A cloud of dust exploded into the air, arcing like a crescent across the vast terrain.
[Casting Tauber’s Graveling Gaze spell.]
[Casting Ernback’s Web of Time spell.]
[Cast Giant’s Fist spell.]
I unleashed a chain of high-level slowing spells, then countered with a punch of my own.
Mass against mass.
A rocky fist shot up from the earth.
Wham!
Mass collided with mass, and instead of a boom, a shredding crack echoed through the air.
Both fists shattered on impact, and gravel and dirt rained down over our heads.
Thud-thud-thud!
“Bit rude for a greeting, don’t you think?”
“Oh? It was just a greeting strike, but I didn’t expect you to counter it so well. You must have plenty of combat experience.”
“What’s the status of the hostages?”
“If you want to know, check for yourself. I have no obligation to answer.”
“No, you will answer. If you don’t have any hostages, I’ll grind you and that fortress to dust.”
The opponent burst out laughing.
The voice, produced by the massive golem’s tremors, rang out so loudly it felt like it could tear eardrums apart.
“Hahaha! Winter Winslet, I know you’re a distinguished mage, but you’re overconfident. Can’t you feel my presence?”
At those words, a ripple of magical force spread out.
It was the result of one magic field clashing against another.
Amazingly, the magical field controlled by Venizelos’s hound was on par with Winter Winslet, who possessed an “S-rank” magic talent.
Even while competing with me for territorial dominance, his magic field extended up to a kilometer into the sky.
Though I was outmatched in terms of size, I had the upper hand in sheer output.
Which is why the opponent was just as surprised.
“Well now, impressive. How can someone your age have that level of skill… You’re not even losing to me, a user of Venizelos’s secret arts.”
“You’ve learned Venizelos’s secret arts?”
Secret arts are only taught to a successor, hence the name.
And as far as I knew, the only successor of the Venizelos school was Shannon.
“Are you mistaking a prototype for the real thing?”
“No. I stole it properly. That’s how I ended up chained up in this underground prison, reduced to a mere hound. In any case… I was worried it might be a boring fight, but it’s turning out better than expected.”
“So where are the hostages? If you don’t reveal their location, I’ll assume they’re already dead.”
“They’re not dead. They’re still alive, trapped inside me.”
By “inside me”, he must have meant the fortress golem.
“You’re holding hostages, so that means you have demands. Speak.”
“A message from Venizelos. He’s offering you one last chance. If you, Winter Winslet, agree to become his disciple, all past transgressions will be forgiven.”
I frowned.
“He’s not asking for Shannon back?”
“That’s just a bonus. If you refuse the offer, I’ve been ordered to kill you and bring Shannon Quinlivan back. So what will it be?”
“Do I really need to answer that kind of bullshit?”
Once again, laughter echoed through the air.
“Hah! That’s more like it. I was worried you’d come all this way only to leave without putting up a fight. And frankly, dying here would be a better outcome for you than becoming Venizelos’s disciple.”
“My ears are starting to hurt. I’ll save the rest of my questions for after I drag you out of there.”
[Casting Druid Gutierrez’s Secret Art — Living Vines.]
Crackle-crackle.
The sound of grass growing and fibers weaving together.
Since I had the advantage in magical output, I seized the area beneath the golem’s feet and caused vines to sprout.
The living vines quickly climbed up the golem’s legs, beginning to spread their branches.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
The huge golem alternated lifting its legs, snapping the vines as it stomped down hard and crushed the rest underfoot.
“You look like a giant brat throwing a tantrum.”
Still, its performance was beyond expectations.
Despite its absurd size, the fortress golem had a wide range of motion and moved with surprising fluidity.
A golem is an automated construct powered by magic.
It can’t make its own decisions or carry out complex commands.
If it could, the world would already be under the rule of golem mages.
The nation with the largest quarry and the biggest golems would be the next empire.
What’s more, the larger a golem is, the more rapidly its mana consumption increases just to maintain its form and move.
Where on earth is he getting the mana needed to control a golem that massive?
It didn’t seem like a golem made by conventional means…
I suspected it had something to do with the secret arts of the Venizelos school he claimed to have stolen.
Thunk-thunk-thunk!
While I was still observing, the golem tore a watchtower off its own shoulder and hurled it at me.
This time, instead of blocking it, I chose to dodge.
Using powerful telekinetic magic, I pulled the rock toward me.
Accelerating too early, the tower flew past and soared right over my head.
It crashed down outside the lord’s castle, carving a deep, thick brown line across the farmland where the wheat was just ripening.
Boom—crack!
“Joseph.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Did you notice anything strange?”
“Please explain.”
“The enemy’s attacks are far too simple. Even though he’s a mage.”
The golem itself was undoubtedly top-tier.
But it wasn’t complete.
If that were truly an autonomous magical machine, then the Venizelos hound should have left the golem to attack on its own while using offensive magic himself.
But not once so far had he used any magic.
“He’s in no condition to use magic.”
“Is that really true?”
“Probably. At least while he’s controlling the golem.”
In that case, the course of action was clear.
“Bind the golem’s movements and rush him at once.”
Up until now, he had a hostage, so I couldn’t directly attack the fortress golem, and I had to be cautious approaching it in case he cast a spell.
But if he was currently unable to use magic, the situation just got much easier.
“Get ready to run.”
Crunch!
Once again, I heard the sound of stone breaking.
This time, the fortress golem tore off the portcullis, the large iron grating used as the castle gate, and attacked with it.
Perhaps it had learned that throwing didn’t work, because now it swung it straight down.
Perfect opportunity.
Just before the large weapon slammed into the ground, I activated the spell I had prepared.
[Casting Cypress’s Secret Art – Millennium Prison.]
Woooooom!
Deep blue mana spun into the form of a ring.
One on the ceiling, one on the floor.
The fortress golem, caught between the two rings, suddenly froze in place.
A secret spell specialized in sealing an enemy’s movements.
It was the very same spell that had worked so well against the high priests and seers of the demon cult last time.
But with an opponent of this size, binding an entire fortress drained a tremendous amount of mana all at once.
[Remaining mana: 67.87%]
Still, with this, he won’t be moving for a while.
“Joseph!”
“Yes!”
“To the stairs!”
“The stairs? Where on earth… wait—no way!”
Joseph let out a gasp of realization.
The enemy’s arm, frozen mid-swing with the massive weapon, formed a slanted wall that was, in fact, a staircase.
A part of the golem’s body was now acting as a stairway leading directly to the main keep of Winslet Castle where the Venizelos hound was located.
“Hurry. Before the spell wears off.”
“Understood!”
Joseph broke into a run.
I followed right after.
Climbing what used to be the outer wall of the fortress was a strange sensation.
But then, the distance between Joseph and me started to grow.
A few seconds later, Joseph looked back.
“Young master, I do believe you should hurry…”
I know.
I know…
[Warning]
[Willpower and Health have temporarily decreased.]
[Activated Trait: Always Elegant]
– Elegant even in death. Restraint is the true mark of nobility.
– Permanently increases Dexterity and Charisma by one level.
– When engaging in rigorous activity that causes shortness of breath or sweating, Health and Willpower temporarily drops significantly.
Even in the middle of a battle, this damn Trait won’t let me run.
Of course, there was no time to explain all that right now.
“Go on ahead.”
“What about you, young master…?”
“You can’t see it, but that bastard’s magic is attacking me. I’m doing everything I can to resist it. So I’ll leave the rescue of the hostages to you.”
I said it boldly, without shame.
Even though, honestly, I wasn’t doing anything…
“Go, Joseph! Now!”
“Understood, young master. I wish you the best of luck. I will rescue the Count and the young lady no matter what!”
With a determined expression, Joseph declared his resolve and took off running.
Leave a Reply