The air elemental desperately climbed higher into the sky, watching as the freezing explosions rolled and raged just beneath its feet, transforming the surrounding area into a frozen wasteland of biting cold.
Frost spread across every inch of land and every living thing like a host of pale demons, trying to strip away the last traces of warmth.
[Target killed. Gained 75 experience points.]
[Target killed. Gained 208 experience points.]
[...Drow Elite Warrior hit. Constitution saving throw successful. Took 29 cold damage. Current Hit Points: 43/72.]
A wave of frigid wind swept across the battlefield. The surviving drow who had narrowly escaped death shuddered, wiped the frost from their brows, and turned to look behind them.
Their bodies immediately stiffened.
Scattered across the snow-white battlefield stood humanoid ice sculptures in every imaginable pose—some sprawled on the ground, some crouching, some frozen mid-run. Their faces were twisted in agony, while frost crystals covered their skin, mouths, and noses, making them resemble gruesome works of art crafted to showcase cruelty itself.
The battlefield suddenly fell silent.
A fierce pursuit had come to an abrupt halt.
The drow in front continued running.
The humans stared blankly for a moment before scrambling to their feet and following after them.
Only the pursuers withdrew, tending to their wounded companions while keeping their eyes locked on the air elemental overhead and the six-winged figure in the distance. Their formation spread out considerably.
'Where did all that arrogance go?'
A mocking smile tugged at Anser's lips.
These drow had captured Baldur's Gate with ease and had never encountered a truly formidable spellcaster from beginning to end. They had already forgotten the fearsome reputation of human spellcasters.
Now they were paying the price for that arrogance.
At least sixty drow had died.
The drow were undeniably powerful. Nearly every one of them was a warrior, and their proportion of adventurers far exceeded that of humans. But in the face of four sixth-level Otiluke's Freezing Sphere spells, each over seventy-two meters in diameter, how much stronger could low-level adventurers really be than ordinary people?
Unless they possessed exceptional talent and extraordinary constitutions, it was nearly impossible to keep their body heat from escaping their fragile flesh.
'The tougher opponents can be left to Mason.'
Anser descended slightly and hovered at low altitude, positioning himself in front of Valera and the others.
There was no way the humans were going to fight and die while the drow enjoyed themselves in comfort.
Valera stopped and suppressed the shock in her heart before looking up at him.
"Thank you for your assistance, Lord Drizzt."
At this point, she no longer dared call him brother-in-law.
Anser glanced at the blood-covered Delira behind her and asked calmly, "How is she?"
"She'll be fine. Just some injuries. She needs rest." Valera handed her sister over to a subordinate, took a deep breath, and tightened her grip on the holy symbol in her hand.
The man before her was completely different from the one she had met before.
His indifferent gaze settled on her like a mountain, making it difficult to breathe.
She was the Chosen.
Others were supposed to look at her with awe.
Yet when she saw the handful of companions she had left and the unease on their faces, she immediately recognized reality and waved for the others to prepare for battle.
The sound of rushing wind approached.
Mason and Jiandar arrived one after another.
Neither paid any attention to Valera. Their eyes remained fixed on Anser, as though they were meeting him for the first time.
"Young man, don't call yourself a mere Wizard next time. It gives people the wrong impression."
Stroking his beard, Jiandar spoke in a teasing tone that barely concealed the complexity of his emotions.
The stronger the spellcaster, the more deeply they understood what had just happened.
Not every high-level spellcaster could casually throw out four sixth-level spells.
Mason gave Anser a long look before raising his hand and making a sweeping gesture.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of heavy impacts shook the ground, accompanied by faint tremors that snapped everyone out of their daze.
A single Iron Golem, two Stone Golems, and two Shield Guardians appeared out of thin air and lined up side by side.
Their enormous shadows loomed over the battlefield, startling several drow into retreating a few steps.
"Kill them!"
Mason's voice was every bit as decisive and straightforward as his actions.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The golems and Shield Guardians left deep footprints with every step, the ground-shaking impacts making people's chests tremble and stirring an instinctive sense of fear.
These five giant war machines charged forward with the momentum of an army of thousands, like a tide of steel crashing toward the drow several hundred meters away.
Mason's eyes burned as he fixed his gaze on Valera.
Valera sighed inwardly. Gritting her teeth, she shouted, "Follow me! We're going back to kill them!"
Several wounded individuals remained behind to care for Delira, while the rest of the drow followed behind the golems, charging toward their fellow drow with boundless hatred in their eyes.
It wasn't an act.
The grudges between the two sides could probably not be fully recounted even after days and nights of discussion.
Mason nodded in satisfaction before taking to the air and following behind the golems at a moderate distance.
He needed to direct them in battle.
Seeing this, Anser spread his dragon wings and shot upward like a gale, quickly overtaking Mason, Valera, and the others.
'I wonder what a Chosen tastes like?'
Suppressing his excitement, he looked down at the drow who had formed a defensive formation below.
'They're not running?'
The Stone Golems and Shield Guardians were inferior to the Iron Golem, but they were still Challenge Rating 10 and Challenge Rating 7 constructs. They might look ugly, but their melee combat abilities were formidable enough to rival ordinary high-level adventurers.
'They know they can't escape and want to force us back?' he guessed.
The dark elves had crossed the river in pursuit with very few mounts, possessing only a dozen or so giant spiders.
Giant spiders excelled at climbing, but on flat ground they were only slightly faster than ordinary people. Escaping the golems' pursuit would be difficult.
His gaze swept across the battlefield before locking onto a woman and a monster.
The woman stood atop a giant spider. She wore a form-fitting priestess robe that accentuated her exaggerated curves. Jewels and pendants adorned her forehead and neck. Her silver eyes carried an air of authority and superiority.
The other creature was clearly a fusion of a drow and a giant spider.
Its upper body was that of a female drow, while its lower body was that of a gigantic spider.
'A drider!'
Anser had heard of such creatures.
Driders were not natural beings.
Lolth would summon drow who displayed tremendous potential to the Demonweb Pits to test their loyalty and strength. Those who failed would be transformed into driders.
The drow feared and deliberately avoided driders, regarding them as creatures even lower than slaves.
Yet driders were symbols of Lolth's divine power and will.
As a result, the drow's attitude toward them was deeply contradictory.
'The Chosen should be that priestess.'
While he was thinking, the golems had already closed in on the enemy.
The drow warriors raised their bows and fired.
The sharp whistles of arrows cutting through the air rang out without end.
Constructs were somewhat lacking in reaction speed and balance, making dodging difficult, but they had never intended to evade in the first place.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Iron arrowheads slammed into the constructs, scattering sparks in all directions.
Most of them could do no more than leave shallow scratches.
A handful of particularly powerful arrows buried themselves deep into the Stone Golems and Shield Guardians, some even striking their joints.
But compared to the size of the constructs, the damage was negligible.
As the distance closed further, the running Iron Golem and Stone Golems simultaneously raised their hands and aimed at the drow.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Two crimson flaming arrows and four nearly transparent force arrows flashed through the air.
In an instant, they crossed nearly a hundred meters and shot directly into the drow ranks.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The drow scrambled to dodge, but four of them were still struck.
Their bodies either burst into flames or twisted grotesquely out of shape before collapsing to the ground, screaming in agony.
Golems were golems.
Naturally, they could use magic as well!