"Where is it?"
Beyond simply preventing Acan from finding the tower, another objective had emerged:
Defeat the golem and plunder it.
And abduct the golem artificer.
It would become the foundation for building a better, stronger tower.
After hearing Berze's goal, Ernian gave several pieces of advice.
"Acan treats golems as special strategic materials. Unless it's a low-grade unit, they never allow them outside their borders, and their management is extremely strict. If a golem is destroyed, they even retrieve the fragments."
"What does that mean?"
"Unless they're pushed into an extreme situation, even if a golem is destroyed, they'll recover it and bring it back."
"That won't be easy."
However, that did not mean it was impossible.
"Logar said it looked like an orichalcum alloy, right? Then it must be an unreleased, cutting-edge model. Its strength and destructive power are unknown, but considering it's above all existing golems…"
He didn't need her to finish the sentence.
"You're saying I won't be able to win?"
"Unless my lord commits personally, it will be impossible."
He had felt the same. No matter how many orcs charged at it, every orc would simply become a corpse.
Because the Acan forces didn't only have the golem.
"Will you step in personally?"
"Impossible."
He had obtained the phoenix corpse, gained new power and status, and no longer needed to be bound by the title of Demon Lord—but the other Demon Lords were the problem.
A Demon Lord appearing outside their tower was unquestionably an issue. It directly violated the laws laid down in the Tenets.
If Berze acted, and someone survived to escape, and his deeds became rumor, the other Demon Lords would never sit still.
A report would immediately reach the Grand Duke, and consequences—one way or another—would follow.
Nor could he simply slaughter them all. Acan would not stay silent. No one knew what disaster that might trigger.
"Then there is no way."
"There is. I don't need to wield my sword just to corner them. This is Ergest."
Blades that could act in his stead were abundant.
***
"...."
Lavinia opened her eyes.
"Magic."
She rubbed her drowsy eyes and sat up.
"Princess?"
A knight guarding the tent noticed her.
"Magic."
"Yes?"
"Magic."
Woof-woof-woof—!
Right on cue, the magic hounds began barking violently. Tied to pillars reinforced with weight magic so they wouldn't break free, the hounds thrashed like mad.
Only then did the knight understand what the princess meant.
"Are you sensing magic power?"
"Yes."
"Please wait a moment. I will inform the prince immediately!"
Before long, the resting camp was awake. Kain hurriedly donned his armor and rushed to Lavinia.
"Sister, you truly sense magic?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"That way."
"It must be extremely faint."
"Yes."
"You all?"
"It's very faint, but we can sense it."
In the direction Lavinia pointed, nothing could be seen but snow. Kain himself couldn't sense any magic at all.
But he trusted Lavinia. The howling magic hounds and the heroes traveling with them supporting the same claim only strengthened his certainty.
However—
'Moving at night is not a wise choice.'
And something undetectable during the day suddenly being detected now…
That meant it wasn't a tower. A tower that simply stood still wouldn't hide its presence and then reappear.
'I've never heard of anything like that.'
In the end, only one possibility remained: a monster—or a demon.
'If a demon has appeared near the encampment in the middle of the night…'
"It's an attack."
"Everyone, take immediate defensive formation! Monsters may be approaching!"
"Yes, sir!"
Soldiers moved busily. Mages reinforced the barriers with magic, and knights and soldiers took their positions. Magicians hastily used Memorize to store spells. A soldier atop the makeshift watchtower pierced through the darkness with a magical telescope.
"No signs of approach yet!"
"Do not lower your guard!"
And so they stayed awake through the entire night.
"…?"
Far away, the Demon Lord watching all this tilted his head.
"This is far more effective than sending monsters."
Any irritation he'd initially felt — wondering why they sensed magic and still didn't follow it — had long evaporated.
***
It was unfortunate for Berze, but he couldn't use the same tactic twice.
"For now, let's follow it once."
After staying awake through the night, Kain, trading shifts with the others so they could rest, began cautiously marching toward the source of the lingering magic, which had not faded even after sunrise.
"Could this be a Demon Lord's trap?"
"We have no clues anyway. Whether that place is truly where the Demon Lord's tower lies, or whether it's a trap—we must check it ourselves."
To minimize casualties, they placed the golems at the forefront.
"Granada, do you remember this path?"
"This is not a route the hero unit took."
"Then that makes it even more likely."
Since the Demon Lord's tower wasn't at the end of the hero unit's path, an unknown route held more promise.
"Sister, you must guide us well."
"Mm."
As they moved deeper, the number of monsters grew. The terrain became harsher. Naturally, the unit's movement slowed.
"We camp here for the night!"
One day, two days, three days, four days—they walked deeper into the heart of Ergest and fought more and more monsters.
But among them, there wasn't a single demon nor even a true fiend.
The strange part was that the magic presence was still there.
The magic hounds, Lavinia Acan, and the twelve heroes traveling with the unit all agreed:
The mana was getting thicker.
A trap?
But it was too late to retreat now. They had come this far—they had to see what lay at the end.
Another day passed.
"…Today is rather quiet."
"There hasn't been a single attack."
That day—
Monsters didn't appear at all.
"Strange."
Even without Lavinia saying it, everyone felt it. Something was happening.
The tension peaked.
"I've found it."
"There!"
At last, they approached the source of the magic.
It was—
Grrr—
One dog.
A Hellhound, the so-called hound of hell. Over three meters tall, a fiend that devoured lesser monsters.
But it wasn't a creature that radiated magic so strong it could be sensed from afar.
"No."
Lavinia shook her head. The magic she had been following was not from that creature.
A heavy foreboding swept through everyone's minds.
"Everyone fall back! Reverse formation immediately—!"
Woof! Woof! Woof—!
The magic hounds howled wildly. Titan beat its chest.
Krrr—
The earth trembled.
And collapsed.
Crack—
The Hellhound screamed. A massive maw swallowed it whole.
Crunch—
Scarlet shreds of flesh exploded in all directions.
A hulking mass devoured everything in its jaws. Kain swallowed hard.
Its legs were solid like bedrock.
Its heavy body was a mountain.
Its head was enormous and gluttonous.
A monster that devoured all.
It was—
Behemoth.
A monster capable of devouring even ogres. Though technically a monster, its possession of mana had led some to argue it should be classified as a fiend.
Its red eyes scanned the prey before it. It gulped down the last of the meat inside its mouth. Horn-like fangs protruding past its lips glistened with blood.
"…Can we escape?"
"Behemoths, despite their size, have explosive power surpassing ogres."
Negative.
Cold sweat dripped down Kain's cheek as he bit his lip.
"If we fight?"
"We can win, as long as we don't make any major mistakes."
The commander of the Blue Meteor Mage Corps answered with pride.
Indeed, no matter how powerful the Behemoth was, it could not compare to the Demon Lords.
But the problem was—they were not a force capable of slaying Demon Lords to begin with.
No. This won't do.
Whether they could defeat it or not wasn't the real issue.
Ergest Mountain was vast, and monsters were plentiful. This was the deepest part of the range.
A fierce battle—win or lose—would wound both sides. And a wounded Acan unit would be forced into a hellish retreat.
Kain could not accept that loss.
"We drag its attention with the golems and withdraw slowly—"
Even if losing a golem was painful, it was just equipment. Sacrificing one was better than losing men. And in Ergest, no one would recover the debris to extract technology.
At that moment—
"Your Highness. Behind us…"
"…Hah."
Kain let out a hollow laugh. In the distance, hundreds of Feral Orcs appeared—blocking their retreat perfectly.
A trap after all.
"Sir Dolkin."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The commander of the White Wolf Knights answered solemnly.
"Lead the soldiers and hold off the Feral Orcs. My sister and I, the golems, and the Blue Meteor mages will slay the Behemoth. Just hold out until then."
"Once we wipe them out, I will assist Your Highness in taking that beast's head."
"We will help as well."
"Thank you. That is reassuring."
Granada's words made Kain laugh faintly.
"We must not drag out the battle."
They could handle the Feral Orcs and the Behemoth—barely. But if the noise and blood drew other monsters, that would be the true beginning of hell.
Roooaaaar—!
The Behemoth's roar snapped him back. It leaped skyward. It blotted out the sun as it fell toward the Acan forces.
"Block it!"
Grrrrk—
The golems moved frantically. They planted their feet into the ground and thrust their fists forward.
BOOOOM!
The golems staggered. But together, they halted the Behemoth's charge. And atop that—
"Fiend."
"Materials."
The Titan Chimera descended—bearing the princess glistening with greed on its shoulder.
Roooaaaar—!
Titan landed on the Behemoth's back. With a slam, the 10-meter body lurched.
Titan hammered its fists down while the golems charged from every side.
A 10-meter Behemoth versus five 5-meter golems and one Titan.
At first glance, one might assume numbers would win. But the Behemoth's terror was not its size—
but its overwhelming strength surpassing even that.
Grrrrk—
The golems clinging to it were flung off with grotesque cracks. Its massive jaws bit into a golem's arm.
Kagak—
Sparks burst. The only reason the golem endured was because its alloy was orichalcum—nothing more, nothing less.
The Behemoth hurled the bitten golem away. Then it crashed into the charging Titan.
BOOOOM—
Graaah—!
Titan screamed and was thrown aside. Lavinia fell into the snow.
"Sister!"
A stream of azure aura erupted from Kain's sword. Sharpened to its limit, it sliced toward the Behemoth's flank.
Kagak—!
A sound unbelievable for flesh meeting aura echoed. The rebound tremor shook Kain's body. At the same time, red blood splattered.
The Behemoth shrieked in pain.
A golem thrust its fist into the opening of the Behemoth's maw. With a slam, its fangs quivered.
Then the Blue Meteor Mage Corps unleashed their spells. Razor-sharp ice crashed into the Behemoth's hide. They didn't pierce its tough skin, but its flesh jolted.
"A marvelous sight."
Berze, watching from afar, burst into laughter.
A battle of beasts over 5 meters tall—a rarity even in the Demon Realm. He never imagined he'd witness such a spectacle in the mortal world.
"As expected of orichalcum…! Not a single scratch even from a Behemoth's fangs!"
"It's not just that there's no scratch."
"On top of that, even being pushed around that violently, they don't break or malfunction! Acan's magi-engineering truly is the finest on the continent!"
…He should ignore that.
Berze's gaze returned to the battlefield.
No sooner had the monstrous clash begun than the Feral Orcs collided with the knights on the opposite side.
Krutu and the royal guard unit engaged the White Wolf Knight Order. The remaining orcs crashed into the soldiers.
The battle was fierce—and the orcs were losing.
Krutu was being pushed back by the White Wolf Commander, and the royal guards could barely hold their ground against the knight order. The ordinary orcs were faring no better against the soldiers.
In every respect, the orcs were inferior.
As expected of Acan's elites.
It showed clearly how much expectation Acan had placed on this operation.
But Berze was not disappointed. He had already anticipated as much, and the orcs' purpose was not to annihilate the enemy.
At that moment—
BOOOOM—
A golem sent flying by the Behemoth crashed into the center of the smallfolk's battlefield. Several orcs and humans crushed beneath it died without even screaming. Their formation collapsed, and chaos erupted.
Simultaneously, Krutu and his guard unit began to sprint forward.
Their target: the golem artificers.
Knights rushed to intercept them, but Frost Wolves—hidden in the snow in advance—lunged out from all directions, toppling the knights.
"No!"
The prince—Kain, was it?—screamed as he spotted the orcs.
The collision followed immediately.
Focused entirely on fighting the Behemoth, the golem artificers and mages were struck down defenselessly.
Yet the golems did not immediately stop functioning. They weren't highly intelligent beings, but they possessed ego. They carried out their current orders fully until new ones were given.
In other words, from now on they would fight without hesitation—whether the Behemoth died or they themselves were destroyed.
Furthermore, a golem artificer was not merely someone who issued commands.
They supported the golems with magic, making them more adaptable and effective. Once the artificer was gone, golem combat power dropped sharply.
This manifested instantly.
BOOM—
A golem staggered. The Behemoth flung aside three golems at once and rampaged.
Even Titan, charging head-on, was pushed back, its massive body carving a long trench into the snow.
And in that moment, Krutu sounded the retreat horn.
The Feral Orcs began withdrawing in perfect unity. Acan's forces tried to pursue—but the raging Behemoth before them was far more urgent.
"Hold back the Behemoth!"
"Knights! Protect His Highness!"
"Leave the orcs!"
The White Wolf Commander, Dolkin, ground his teeth. He barely restrained his instinct to chase the orcs. His top priority was to protect Kain and Lavinia.
The knights charged toward the Behemoth.
Dolkin's sword released a massive aura nearly 3 meters long. It carved a deep wound into the beast's back as it gnawed on a golem's head.
Roooaaaaar—!
The horrific scream made several soldiers collapse in terror.
Damn it. Nothing is ever easy.
Granada clicked his tongue as he whispered to the Red Falcon Attack Unit, who were hesitating.
"If you run now, you'll be branded trash. At least strike once before you try to protect yourselves."
"O–of course!"
Bark hurled himself at the Behemoth. Before his aura-hardened blade could even reach the hide, the Behemoth's tail slammed into him. His body vanished beneath the snow—and did not rise again.
He would likely stay that way until the battle ended.
The Red Falcons followed after Bark.
…Idiots, all of them.
Granada clicked his tongue.
The battle raged on for a long time.
***
"Huff… huff…"
Kain spat the blood that had entered his mouth.
With a heavy thud, the Behemoth's massive body collapsed. A small avalanche of snow rolled over the exhausted Acan forces.
"Are you all right?"
The defensive barrier deployed by the Blue Meteor Mage Corps surrounded them. The commander approached Kain.
"…I'm fine. Assess the casualties."
"Yes."
Soldiers moved quickly, working to restore order.
"There were some losses among the mage corps and the golem artificers during the orc ambush, but not severe. The real issue is that three golems were completely destroyed—beyond repair."
"Hmm."
"The casualties among the knight order and soldiers are smaller than expected. Because the orcs retreated."
"That is fortunate, at least."
He didn't know why they retreated, but thanks to that, their losses were far smaller than such a fierce battle should have caused.
"Retrieve the remains of the dead and secure the Behemoth's corpse. We leave this place immediately. Ah, but…"
Kain looked around.
"Where is my sister?"
Neither Lavinia nor Titan was anywhere to be found.
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