Chapter 95: Snowsilver Swordsman (part two)
Chapter 95: Snowsilver Swordsman (part two)
I started the Leap spell that was charged into my right boot and jumped.
I don’t want to stand out much, so I kept my face hidden with a hood just in case.
Avoiding the panicking crowd, I followed the golem while jumping from roof to roof.
The golem had grown five times as big as the building in no time.
It’s still travelling towards the direction of the pier.
If it proceeds as it is, it will cross the Flask Street diagonally.
Destroying the golem itself is easy.
However, the problem is the stones in the aftermath of its destruction.
If I destroy the golem unskillfully, the stones will damage the surrounding area.
A large space where no casualties would emerge even if the golem collapses is necessary.
As I looked around, Cratonneu River caught my eyes.
The river’s width is about 20 meters. And there is no ship passing through.
Although the river is a bit far, there is no obstruction between it and the golem and there is no straggler who was late in escaping.
Alright, the strategy has been decided.
I drew a wand from my glove.
What I chose this time is the Wand of Gust.
If it is used normally, it’s a spell that causes a gust of wind that blows off the weight of an average adult male about ten meters away.
This wand has been charged 1000 times.
Setting the starting point of Gust to be in front of the golem, I made some changes to the spell composition with Wand Alteration.
I aimed at the part where the heat source is, forming an ultra-high density air compressed like a spear.
I imagined pushing the golem into the river with Gust that covers the golem entirely as I allocated the remaining number of charges inside the wand.
That golem is about 80……no, 100 tons.
If I use the entire 1000 charges, it will be enough.
I wave the wand horizontally in a straight line and activate the spell.
“—Be blown away!”
A mass of compressed air hit it directly so the scenery appeared distorted and the gigantic golem was blown away.
As soon as it was pushed back to the river bank, its large build shook violently and lurched forward, and at that moment, the additional effect started.
A spear of air pierced the golem’s chest and made a big hole with a thunderous sound.
The cylindrical coal furnace that was taken in as its heat source broke through the golem’s back and fell into the river.
After losing its power, the golem collapsed with a rattle without being able to support its large build.
(Fuuh, I guess it’s over?)
Looking at the crowd, I saw Palug in her human form who was disguised as a city guard and leading the evacuation.
Tirnanog seemed to be setting a toppled carriage upright with his human-sized form.
Surveying the scene, I felt glad that there seemed to be no major damage caused by the panicking crowd.
I switched the wand from Gust to Feather Falling with the glove function.
Waving the wand, I slowly descended to the ground as I ponder about it.
(For now, that’s one issue settled. After this, I have to regroup with the other two and leave the rest to the city guards.)
The moment I advanced towards Tirnanog and Palug, screams rose from behind.
Looking back at the workshop, I saw another massive stone golem standing up.
Apparently, a different instruction from the first golem was incorporated into this second golem.
The golem that had gotten up turned around and was moving towards the main street in great speed.
I used the Leap spell once again to follow after the second golem along the rooftops of the tall buildings.
Even though it had a large build it is surprisingly agile, and pursuing it took most of my energy.
(I can’t aim at it yet. I have to stop it from moving somehow. But, Hold won’t work on such a big golem, and if I defeat it with Gust it will cause damage to the buildings……)
When I was hesitating to attack, the golem’s body suddenly rocked with a bang.
The golem’s leg hit a bronze statue built at the crossroad, and its ankle broke due to the impact.
The staggering golem tried to put its hands on the ground due to its built-in reflexive movement.
On the other end of its left hand which was swinging down, there was a figure of a little girl who was late in escaping.
(Dangerous!)
Just as I took out the Wand of Crystal Cluster.
The very moment it was about to strike without a care, its left elbow seemed to disappear.
No, it did not disappear.
The golem’s hand which had been cut into several small parts were scattered about, as if avoiding physical contact with the little girl.
Next to the little girl, there was a figure of a person who was wearing black from top to bottom.
Over the black muffler which was hiding their mouth, they were wearing a black hooded cloak.
I guess they don’t want people to see their face.
From the height, is that a boy about the same age as me?
He is holding a long sword with a simple design in his hand.
No way, I wonder if he cut the arm of the gigantic golem with such sword in an instant.
As the golem absorbed the stone pavement and regenerated its ankle, it stood up slowly with the support of its remaining right arm.
Strangely, the left hand slashed by that swordsman is not regenerating.
Just what exactly did he do?
When the golem stood up, it looked all around, searching for its assailant.
In response to the attack, its behavior pattern might change to search for the enemy.
However, by that time, the mysterious black-hooded figure had already retreated to a safe place while holding the little girl under his arm.
Although he looks like that, he’s surprisingly quick on his feet.
When the little girl who was paralyzed with terror was pressed against a woman who seems to be her mother, the black-hooded figure headed towards the golem once more.
He took advantage of his astounding running ability and galloped quickly on top of the ledges of the booths, to the window frames, onto the roof, and finally up to the golem’s shoulder just like that.
The golem finally confirmed his presence and raised its remaining right arm.
The black-hooded figure dived under the golem’s hand and lightly jumped to the roof of a two-storied building.
Those were unthinkable movements that seem like something right out of a game or a movie.
I wonder if he used some kind of magic or ability.
The black-hooded swordsman ran over the roofs of the buildings on the other side across the main street.
The golem also ran towards the same direction, chasing after the black-hooded figure.
Oops, this won’t do. I have to chase them too.
While chasing them using the magical effect of my boots, I started the Glam Sight spell that was charged into my lens.
I couldn’t perceive any kind of spell from the black-hooded swordsman.
I also couldn’t get any magical information from the long sword.
However, there is something abnormal on the base of the golem’s cut off left arm.
The spells and other magical structures that work as the golem’s driving force around the cut off section were completely destroyed.
(That physical ability without spells. And a special sword that cannot be analyzed with the demonic eye……don’t tell me.)
I speculated that the mysterious black-hooded boy was a swordsman from Lucanrant.
Lucanrant’s unusual powers are body enhancement and healing.
The special quality of that mysterious sword must be due to the snowsilver ore, the refining technology of which is monopolized by Lucanrant.
Snowsilver ore destroys magic and spells that it touches.
It is said that when a northern swordsman and an eastern mage fight, the power of the sword made of snowsilver ore would be fully displayed.
While I knew it as knowledge, this is the first time I have seen the secretive northern swordsmen actually fighting.
I may have seen a valuable scene before entering the academy.
The black-hooded swordsman seems to be guiding the golem away while attacking intermittently.
Beyond their direction of travel there is a bigger plaza with a fountain.
Even if they fought to their heart’s content here, the damage to the surrounding buildings would be minimized.
A good decision. I may also be able to help in such an open space.
He descended down from the roof via tree branches and stood before the golem in the center of the plaza.
The plaza was in great chaos, and the people were running away just like baby spiders dispersing.
It seems that nobody wants to be late in escaping.
I also landed on the plaza and had a wand at the ready from a slight distance and watched for the movement.
The moment the golem stepped into the plaza, the black-hooded figure kicked the ground and closed in on the golem.
He slipped under the golem’s feet while keeping a low profile as if crawling on the ground, with a sword brandishing in his hand.
He went through to the entrance of the plaza that way, and gently sheathed his sword.
There were sounds of stones scraping each other and collapse.
The ankle of the golem which was cut shifted diagonally.
The slashed section was as smooth as a mirror.
The golem that had lost its balance collapsed toward the fountain.
Although the golem tried to support its body with its remaining right hand, this time it couldn’t bear its own weight and collapsed.
Maybe that’s because of the scratches it got while heading towards the plaza?
He already anticipated it and attacked the golem with this in mind, huh?
A big crack appeared from the head of the collapsed golem to its abdomen.
From its broken chest, the cylindrical coal furnace that was emitting smoke fell.
The coal furnace was submerged in the fountain and seemed to stop burning.
(What a relief. Without power, it can only collapse……huh?)
The golem was still moving slightly, and started to regenerate little by little.
When I checked it with Glam Sight, it had lost its heat source, but the spells that make up the golem were still working.
As I looked closer, I could see the built-in structure using magical powers.
An idea came to my mind.
There should be a magical pump to operate the fountain over there.
The golem must have absorbed parts of it to receive the magical power from the ley line.
When the path of magical power from the nucleus to the new power was completed, the rest went smoothly.
The fountain and stone pavement were absorbed and the golem stood up again.
“It’s dangerous! It hasn’t stopped yet!”
The golem’s fist swung down and cloud of smoke whirled up.
A bit late, the black-hooded figure popped out of the smoke.
The gaze of the black-hooded figure who was running this way matched my sight.
Strong determined eyes with black or bluish tint could be seen through the shade of his hood.
He was doing a movement with his left hand so as to protect his flank.
Perhaps he was lacking in judgement, his movement appeared to have grown dull.
“Are you hurt?”
The black-hooded figure shook his head when I asked.
Then he corrected his posture as if nothing was said.
However, he seems to be breathing painfully causing his shoulders to go up and down, no matter how I look at him, he’s an injured person.
“You……”
I stop thinking about hounding him for a moment.
He has an attitude that shows he himself doesn’t care, so I will go along with him.
Besides, right now we still have to manage that golem.
“It has absorbed another power source. Aim for the core. It’s likely somewhere in its head.”
The black-hooded figure compared the golem and me with his eyes and nodded a little.
Suddenly his eyelids narrowed down.
Leaving the afterimage of a facial expression reminiscent of a sharpened blade on his retina, the black-hooded figure headed towards the golem like a released arrow.
The black-hooded figure was trying to climb up the golem’s shoulder again while diving under its attack.
However, it seems it wasn’t quite successful this time.
The reason is that there is no building to use as his foothold and the fact that he is injured on his side.
And it also depends on the learning ability of the golem.
The regenerated golem had thicker legs and longer arms than before.
Furthermore, its body surface was somewhat smooth.
Because of that, the black-hooded figure’s sword which was aimed at the golem’s leg didn’t reach the inner spell and was hampered by its arm even though he was aiming from behind.
It doesn’t seem like the black-hooded figure is about to lose soon, but this matchup is not good.
If one makes a small mistake in a drawn-out battle, the battlefield will easily be overturned.
I need to assist him.
But what should I do?
An attack that will convey my intentions even without advance arrangements with the black-hooded figure.
After thinking briefly, I decided to have the Wand of Crystal Cluster at the ready.
I waved the wand aiming at the moment when the golem showed its back.
Using the capability of the Wand Alteration, it generated large crystal pillars around the golem.
The golem was surrounded by crystal pillars and was neither able to move nor swing its arms.
I shot Crystal Cluster three times at the back of the trapped golem.
Now then, the rest depends on a skillful coordination.
I felt that the black-hooded swordsman looked at me only for a moment.
At the next moment, his figure disappeared from my field of vision.
Parts of the crystal pillars shattered into shining fragments that fell as if dancing about in the air.
Their dance drew a picture of someone rushing up from pillar to pillar.
The crystal clusters on the golem’s back were crushed.
The next moment, I could see the black-hooded swordsman.
With both hands holding the long sword, he stabbed the back of the golem’s head and at the same time as braking, he used the charging force to cut it open and gouge it.
After cutting its head into two, he kicked the barely connected left-half.
From the crack which reached down to the base of its neck, I saw the exposed core.
The black-hooded figure also noticed it and added the last blow.
The moment he broke the core, the golem’s large build began to crumble.
While smashing the crystal pillars, the stones that were absorbed by the golem were crumbling down.
The end of the runaway gigantic golem was abrupt, and it quickly became beeswax-colored debris just in time.
The black-hooded swordsman has left unnoticed.
Oops. I also have to hide myself.
The city guards are about to arrive at the scene.
As expected there is no third golem, and even if there is one, I’ll leave it to the city guards.
By the time they investigate the details, the crystal clusters will have already disappeared, so I don’t need to destroy any evidence in particular.
“But, he’s an absurd person, that swordsman……”
I helped somewhat, but he took down the gigantic golem almost all by himself.
Even if he’s a talented person from Lucanrant, unlike Aurelia, he shouldn’t be used to handling golems.
I guess he has high pure fighting abilities.
Suddenly, I remembered his eyes.
He also helped a little girl, so he doesn’t seem like a bad person.
If he is a resident of Lindis, we may meet again.
While thinking about such things, I looked around the surroundings to regroup with the phantom beasts.
Oh, at the edge of my sight, there is something square that has fallen on the ground.
“……A book?”
I picked it up right away, brushing off the dirt on it.
It was a notebook with golden binding and red leather cover.