Chapter 50: Scarlets' Research 4 (2)

"Normally, the Guardians left behind in these temples, tombs or other religious sites would be designed with more symbolism! They tend to look human, or be decorated with expensive ornaments!"

"This would have the effect of intimidating thieves, showing the authority of the deity they worshipped or the person buried, while also potentially boosting magical potential. So there were tons of benefits to doing so. Isn’t it strange they didn’t?"

"No, perhaps they were stingy with the resources used—"

"That's impossible! They had the technological and financial power to use an alloy like mithril as a material for golems. An authority that gave birth to such a civilisation would definitely be more elaborate in its decorations! If they couldn't do that, they would have downgraded the golem's material and armed it with mithril products instead. Even at the expense of performance. The simplicity of this mithril golem was unique enough on its own!"

"So what is the point you are making......?"

Gerald urged him in a tired voice. His lethargy came not just because of exerting his life energy into his weapon, he thought.

But the narrator continued, indifferent to the matters at hand.

"According to the hypothesis I have just formulated, this golem is..."

He tried to continue, but,

"Hm!? Get down!"

"—aaaaaaah!?"

They were interrupted by Gotsch’s warning and the sudden falling of spears from above.

There were four shadows that appeared from above. Their shapes were almost identical to the destroyed golem. The only difference was that they were not cut in two. In a matter of seconds, the golems killed all four of Ars Longa members.

"......I see. In other words, these golems were made in numbers? "

Gerald readied his stance as he roared out.

In short, it was a mass production type. It would be laughable for soldiers to be decorated like generals. So there was no need to be elaborate with their design.

"Holy shit...... There are still so many of them?"

Gotsch's expression was tense.

The grade of these golems was about B+ to A-. But that's only if it was just one of them. It was a nightmare for even A-rank adventurers to encounter them in packs.

In addition, the other side had ambushed a thief as talented as Gotsch without being detected until the very last minute. Were they using some sort of a passageway hidden by advanced magic technology? Or was it spatial teleportation that they were using? In any case, it became a hot potato for them.

"We have no choice but to do it!"

Cedric stepped forward. There were four enemies. It was very likely that there would be more reinforcements, as they suddenly appeared from the ceiling. Then, it would be a foolish idea to place Gerald at the front and fight like before. No matter how outstanding their swordsman was, it would be the end for him if he were to be surrounded and skewered from all sides. Cedric, the party’s tank, has no choice but to stop their combined attacks and cut open an exit.

"O Lord, I humbly present myself..."

Ninon began her prayers for healing. For the Scarlet Shield, whose trump card was exchanging physical strength for improved equipment, recovery magic that could regain lost vitality was a matter of life and death. The number of times she could use the heals were limited, but she couldn’t afford to hold back now.

The brawl began.

※ ※ ※

In the midst of the melee, the two surviving members of the Four-headed Dragon fled the scene.

The majority of the alliance had been eliminated and their party itself had lost half their members. In addition to that, they could only at best be a hindrance since they were swordsmen who had lost their swords. The leader of the Four-headed Dragon made the call to escape with tears in his eyes — of course not.

"Hehehehe! It was a shitty job, but at the end of the day, luck turned out to be with us!"

"Hehe.....!"

The two men each carried a lump of metal in their arms. You might think that they would be too heavy to move a load of metal, but they were adventurers, and most B-class vanguards would at least possess the strength of a dozen ordinary men. They could lift and carry iron ingots and gold ingots with their hands without any trouble.

This was especially true if the metal in question was mithril, which was known to be one of the lightest alloys.

Yes, they left everything to the Scarlet Shield and were running away with the parts of the golem.

After all, mithril was a legendary alloy. Even if they sold it at discounted rates, they could probably fetch 5 times its size of gold. That's how much it was worth. If they could bring back such goods, then they would be able to live comfortably for a while. Then that was sufficient. It was foolworthy to continue with the exploration.

They felt no guilt about abandoning their fellow adventurers. They might all be adventurers, and they might have higher rank than they did, but in the end, they were all competing for the same pie. Even more so since they were incredibly pissed at being ordered by them ever since taking up this request. They had reason to kick them off the cliff from the back, but there was no reason that they save them or die together with them.

We, or at least I, must survive and thrive at all costs. This was the reason why the leader of the Four-headed Dragon chose to flee.

(Serves you right! Serve you all right, you bastards! I'm the one who will survive. I'm the one who will be moving ahead. I'm the one who wins in the end!)

The mages of the Apostles of the Dawn were snobbish. The Ars Longa was a group of useless people with nothing better to do but argue. The Scarlet Shield cheekily looked down on him. And the subordinates of the Four-headed Dragon were not even useful as pawns.

He scoffed and ran for the exit.

Even though they were a group of battle-specialised swordsmen, the Four Headed Dragon was a party that has risen to the rank of B. The leader of the group would have of course, acquired a minimum level of searching techniques. He had an approximate mental map of the dungeon. The only thing left to do was to hide their presence, and avoid encounters with monsters while escaping down the mountain. It was a race for his life and death, but with the help of consumables like scent removing potions, he should be able to pull it off.

It was an overly optimistic plan backed by little evidence, but it was important to believe in the plan. In a desperate situation, it was possible to bring out one’s hidden strength as long as there was hope. So be it if it was false bravery. That was how he had come to survive in the numerous crises he faced in his life.

But...

".................."

Who knew? There was a golem waiting at a T-junction near the exit for any intruder who tried to escape.

It was a monster that wouldn’t be damaged by any simple sword or spear, and was almost completely resistant to magic. There was surely no way they could hope to challenge since the leader had lost his weapon in the previous battle, and his final subordinate was actually the worst in skill among them.

However, that is an assumption.

This might be sudden, but what is the most important quality for an adventurer?

Most people would claim that it is ability. Physical or magical strength, skill in exploration, depth of wisdom, decision making skills...these were all skills that were crucial for adventurers. So in some sense, ability is indeed the most important quality.

Those who know better would say it's madness. Putting it in other words, it's the belief in oneself and mental strength. When adventuring in a foreign land, or fighting an enemy of unparalleled wickedness, a normal mindset was too fragile. Only by armouring your mind with madness would you be able to find a way out. In a sense, this was also the right answer.

But it was not the right answer to this question.

I apologise for not revealing the answer yet, but the answer will be clear as day as the confrontation develops.

So, back to the scene.

The golem, following its duties, proceeded to attack the escaping Four-headed Dragon.

"Opus 01 to higher command. Stop golem 6 immediately. ...... Over."

Suddenly, somebody speaking could be heard and the golem stopped.

A few moments later, the remnants of the four-headed dragon took off for the exit, ignoring what might be hidden in the darkness.

"...... Hahaha! That's the exit! I got away from these damn ruins!"

"A-a-are we saved?"

And then, they ran down the mountains as fast as their legs could carry them. They didn’t even try to look at the ruins behind them. Of course, they were oblivious to the entity that had stopped the golem who was observing them.