Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Jupiter was charging alone towards the Golden Gargoyle, while the rest of the party members stood rooted in their places, flabbergasted by the abrupt shift of events.

I shouted out in desperation.

"Hey, Jupiter! What are you doing?! Stop!"

"..."

"Jupiter! Come back, Jupiter!"

Thats when it happened.

"...Gold."

Drooling profusely, Jupiter yelled out.

"Its goooold!"

...What did she just say?

I gazed anxiously at the Gargoyle.

It shimmered brightly, sprinkling a radiant golden light all around.

"...Hold on a second."

Could it be that her Gold-Fever trait had just kicked in upon seeing that?!

"Are you out of your mind, Grandma?!"

However, regardless of my outburst, Jupiter had already dashed in front of the boss Gargoyle.

The Golden Gargoyle, taking its time, raised the weapon it held.

A terrifyingly large mace...

"This is insane, seriously!"

Pulling at my hair in frustration, I quickly ordered Lucas and Evangeline.

"Charge, guys! We cant afford to let the old lady die here!"

"Understood, Lord!"

"Get a grip, Granny Mage!"

The two knights bolted forward like bullets. I turned my head towards Damien.

"Its not going to be easy this time either, Damien! Draw out your magic gun!"

Before I could even finish, Damien had already drawn his Black Queen and was taking aim.

Jupiter was now right in front of the Gargoyle.

"Twenty years ago, it was the Hundred-Year Chief, ten years ago, it was the Hundred-Year Chief..."

A deep, humming voice flowed from the face of the Golden Gargoyle.

"Am I to live my life always chasing after the Hundred-Year Chief?"

Then, a low hum-!

Immediately afterward, the mace held in the Gargoyles hand fell downward.

Lucas and Evangeline were still too far away.

Damien could attack the Gargoyle directly, but

Even if he kills it with a single shot, if he gets it wrong, Jupiter could die!

Sure, the Black Queen was an incredibly powerful spear, but killing a robust Gargoyle boss in one blow was too much to ask.

Even if he did kill it, the mace falling towards Jupiters head wouldnt simply disappear.

I clenched my jaw. There was no choice!

"Damien, shoot that bastards weapon!"

"Yes!"

Damien promptly corrected his aim and pulled the trigger.

With a deafening blast, the muzzle spat fire. Damien, unable to withstand the recoil, fell backwards.

The magic bullet whacked the side of the mace.

But the mace only slightly changed its path, still falling towards Jupiters head.

Then, even while tumbling backward, Damien continued to fire his magic gun.

Two more hits and finally, the maces trajectory shifted, stabbing into the ground right next to Jupiter.

With an earth-shattering thud, the massive mace slammed into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust.

"Waaargh?!"

Jupiter, screaming in an ungraceful manner unfitting of her age, sprung off the ground. Oh, Grandma...

"Ugh, what am I doing here...?"

"Retreat, Lady Jupiter!"

Lucas had caught Jupiter in her daze and swiftly retreated.

Evangeline held up her shield on the front line and yelled out.

"Hey, you shiny gold dung beetle! Look at me!"

It was the Shield Knights common passive skill, the [Battle Cry]. (TL Note: Changed Roar of the Battlefield to just Battle Cry)

The effect? Taunting all enemy units in range and buffing allies!

The golden gargoyle that had been aiming its second strike at the retreating Jupiter suddenly jerked its gaze sideways.

Its enormous mace descended upon Evangeline in an instant.

Boom-!

Evangelines shield emitted a dazzling white light as it absorbed the attack.

"Ughhh!"

Despite the weird noise she made, Evangeline held her ground. Good job!

Just then, Jupiter returned to my side. I gritted my teeth at the sight of this damned mage.

"Jupiterrr...!"

"I-Im terribly sorry, Your Highness..."

At least it can deal damage more stably than Lucky Strike.

Like a conductor leading an orchestra, I briskly waved the magic wand in my hand.

With that movement, the magic blades struck.

Crash! Crash! Crash-!

The Magic Power rapiers cut through the air in succession, marking the Golden Gargoyles body in several places.

The Gargoyle, having low magic resistance, had its golden armor shattered whenever the magic blades grazed it.

As the armor was peeled off, its relatively weaker body was exposed, and Lucass sword and Evangelines spear did not miss that chance to strike.

"If only Id worked inside the fortress, Id have gotten a promotion by now. One wrong move and Im stuck in this damned outpost for life..."

The Golden Gargoyle was again mumbling something I couldnt understand.

Why do all the local boss monsters babble to themselves like this? If theyre going to divulge their backstory, at least make it understandable!

Whoosh-!

My blade of Magic Power struck the Golden Gargoyles armor for the fifth time. As the chest piece shattered, my three Magic Power blades also disintegrated into nothingness.

Five times, huh. Its durability isnt high.

I was about to summon another blade of Magic Power, but there was no need.

Thud! Thump-!

Most of the Golden Gargoyles armor was already destroyed, and through the gaps, Lucas and Evangelines attacks exploded in quick succession.

Lucass Soul Strike and Evangelines Damage Payback radiated in a bright flash, ripping the Golden Gargoyle to shreds.

"If only Id gotten promoted, and had the chance to wear cool armor like that statue..."

The movement of the Golden Gargoyle, who was swinging his mace with his dilapidated body until the end, suddenly stopped.

"What is this..."

And then, slowly looking up at the sky,

"Why is the rain... black...?"

It blabbered something like that.

Flash-!

Lucass powerful strike cleanly severed the gargoyles neck.

The body of the headless gargoyle staggered forward and backward before collapsing awkwardly to the side.

Thud! Thud...

The heavy gargoyles body fell to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust in all directions.

Lucas, who was carefully examining the fallen gargoyle, turned to look at me. And then he nodded vigorously.

"We did it!"

"Hua..."

I let out a long sigh of relief.

And then I signaled to Jupiter, who was standing next to me at attention.

"Jupiter, write a report when we get back."

"Yes..."

"And deduct a weeks worth of wages from your salary. Put it into the city development fund."

"Wha-! Your Majesty, thats too..."

When I glared at Jupiter as she tried to argue, she immediately bowed her head.

"Thats a fair punishment. Ill do as you say."

I didnt really want to rebuke Jupiter heavily. Everyone makes mistakes, after all.

But if the same mistake is repeated, it needs to be punished.

As the leader of the army, rewards and punishments need to be strict. Even if the person in question is a valuable mage.

"...Jupiter. I dont understand why you lose your mind every time you see something shiny."

I said quietly to Jupiter.

"Werent you a soldier of the Everblack Empire before you were a mercenary living and dying for money?"

"..."

"I hope you remember the pride within you, before your greed."

The trait Gold-Fever was irremovable, impossible to fix artificially, and not the kind of abnormal state that my passive [Unyielding Commander] could block.

In the end, all I could do was hope that Jupiter could resist it herself.

Jupiter stared pensively at her gloved hands.

"...On the path that the young must tread, the old should not become a burden, let alone be of no help."

Jupiter looked at me with a grim expression.

"If such an incident happens again, Ill take responsibility with my life."

"No need to go as far as your life..."

"Then Ill take responsibility with a sum of money equivalent to my life."

"Ho, how much would that be?"

"An amount equal to my weekly salary...?"

"..."

"..."

I stared at the old money-grubber for a moment, then smirked and nodded.

"Lets go."

Lucas and Evangeline were retrieving the loot from the fallen golden gargoyle.

"That armor looks expensive. We should take a bit of it."

"Ive been waiting to hear those words!"

As soon as I finished speaking, Jupiter dashed towards the golden gargoyle. Hey! Were you even remorseful?!