Ch.437Chapter 437 – Toward the Seal of the Snow Field (4)

As if to prove the words of the sphere that called itself the workshop’s supervisor, the golems began to charge all at once.

Beatrice blocked the first attacker with her fist, and immediately Sia sliced through that golem with her sword.

Then Sia frowned slightly and said.

“…It seems I need some technique to cut through these.”

“Be careful, everyone!”

Beatrice shouted as she destroyed another golem by channeling magical power into her arm.

“They look similar, but these are stronger than the ones we saw before!”

While I frowned slightly at Beatrice’s words, some golems had already broken through our front line.

I changed my weapon to a shield and mace, deflected a spinning spear, then targeted the golem’s waist and crushed it.

It was an attack that should have shattered it completely if it were at the level we’d seen before, but as Beatrice said, it only resulted in a slight crack.

‘This won’t be easily resolved.’

I quickly glanced at Sera, and she nodded and took out Eve’s sword.

While Eve, who had already noticed the enemy’s hardness just from the traces of my attack, silently drew her sword made of dragonbone, I finished destroying the golem I was facing and then stomped on another golem’s head.

As the golem with its head blown off and the one cut in half at the waist fell entangled with each other, Sera’s magic missile pushed away a golem that was targeting my side, and I saw Eve slice off that golem’s arm with her sword.

And as the golems that weren’t completely destroyed twitched and barely managed to get up, Lizanis raised her halberd high and shouted with a changed look in her eyes.

“Die!”

The golems were smashed to pieces with a tremendous crushing sound.

With that, the golems that had penetrated our middle line were cleared out.

Thinking things had just gotten better, I looked over to help Sia and Beatrice who were maintaining the front line.

And then I saw golems with only their upper bodies embedded in the wall aiming spears in our direction.

“Chris!”

“‘Protect the young lambs!'”

As soon as I had an ominous feeling, I called for Chris, and he immediately stepped in front of me and summoned a golden shield.

The incoming spears collided with the golden shield, making a dull sound.

‘That would have been dangerous if it hit.’

The impact was so dull and eerie that it made my body shrink back slightly.

Still, thinking we had somehow endured it, just as I was about to prepare for interception…

With an explosive sound, another loud impact hit the shield.

“…Getting hit would be more than just dangerous.”

Noah, who was coming from behind, said with a dumbfounded expression.

I realized that if we blocked incorrectly, we wouldn’t just be severely injured by the spears—our bodies could literally be shattered by the subsequent explosion.

[Did you like Maria’s special explosive shotgun rotating spear? It has enough power to kill you if it hits.]

“Why is the name like that?!”

Beatrice shouted in disbelief.

And the sphere that had introduced itself as Sophia continued speaking with what sounded like a snickering voice.

[What’s scary is that it has both penetrating power and destructive force… Everyone, shouldn’t you be paying attention to other things too? For example.]

“…Kay!”

Eve quickly ran toward me with Sera.

The two immediately clung to me, and I could see Noah and Lizanis tensing their muscles.

And Sophia said in an amused voice.

[The floor, perhaps?]

The floor began to collapse.

I immediately drove my halberd into the wall while holding the two women, and I heard Noah and Lizanis skillfully kicking off the wall and landing on the floor as they fell.

As we slowed our descent and barely touched the ground, I could still see stairs going down in front of us.

And from above, I heard Chris and Beatrice’s voices.

“Master Kay! Right away!”

“Damn it, follow them down…”

[Emergency bulkhead activation]

Immediately, rocks protruding from the wall blocked the path we had come down.

Beatrice quickly used some magic, causing a loud impact, but the wall remained unaffected.

And then a voice that should have been trapped above with the others came from beside us.

[Since you all seem good at teamwork, let’s split you fairly in half. You have no right of refusal.]

“…What the.”

An identical red glowing sphere approached as if mocking us.

And following that sphere, golems slowly began to approach, aiming their spears.

Noah put his hand on his staff with a slightly tense face and said.

“Let’s check. Are those above safe?”

“They’re safe up there.”

Among our party, Sia with her superior swordsmanship, Chris with his powerful divine arts, and Beatrice who can easily handle any situation with various spells.

If the three of them work together, they’re much more likely to be fine regardless of the situation.

“This side might actually be in more danger.”

Without Beatrice, we had to rely entirely on Sera’s tools or magic for magical attacks.

Without Chris, to defend against enemy attacks, I would have to somehow block them myself, or hope that Sera had appropriate tools or knew the right spells.

Literally, the burden on Sera had become too great.

‘At least fortunately, everyone can attack golems without problems…’

Especially in Lizanis’s case, with her destructive power alone, breakthrough should somehow be possible.

Of course, assuming that we only face enemies and traps at the level of the golems we’ve encountered so far.

“Then, shall we somehow climb up and rejoin the others?”

“This isn’t a labyrinth or a dungeon, so if we just hold out or climb up, we could certainly rejoin them.”

Eve responded to Noah’s suggestion, not hiding her tension as she spoke quietly.

“But I don’t think the golems will leave us alone.”

“Couldn’t we try talking? You seemed to know each other.”

Noah looked at Sera with a slight smile.

And Sera gathered her breath for a moment before looking at Sophia and speaking.

“You said you knew me earlier! So…”

[I said I knew you, but I didn’t say I wasn’t hostile, Miss Seraphina Medimaker.]

Sophia spoke in a respectful voice as if observing proper etiquette.

[She commanded me. Protect that item at all costs. Protect it from anyone. The future depends on it, so don’t easily hand it over even if my granddaughter demands it.]

Sophia said in a serious voice.

[Please don’t expect to rely on the fact that you are Maria’s blood.]

It was a voice that drew a line, as if refusing to talk anymore.

Immediately the golems charged again, and Noah used his staff to alter the trajectory of a golem’s weapon, then drew his sword and cut down the enemy, while Lizanis swung her halberd with one hand right in front.

And the moment I saw a golem with only its upper body protruding from the wall aiming a spear in our direction, Eve shouted.

“Kay! As you thought! Miss Sera, please wait a moment!”

While I had already changed my weapon to a shield before I could even think, Eve’s voice reached me.

I deflected the golem’s spear with an upward strike.

And as if realizing I would deflect the spear, Lizanis grabbed a golem’s foot with one hand and threw it into the air.

The thrown golem collided with the spear and exploded, scattering rock shrapnel that destroyed the surrounding golems.

Fortunately, we were outside the range, so no one was injured, but…

“Kay, reinforcements are appearing from above!”

As if determined not to let us go up, golems began to descend from above.

It was a blatant move to prevent us from climbing up or staying here.

“No choice.”

We didn’t have various means of attack.

We had no reliable means of defense.

The terrain favored them, so holding out was difficult.

“We go down!”

If we stayed here, we would only be crushed by their numbers.

It was better to break through and go forward.

Everyone seemed to have the same thought as Noah and Lizanis exchanged glances, and Eve and Sera clung to me.

As I embraced the two of them and looked at Lizanis, she shouted loudly.

“Move aside, move aside, move aside!!! Don’t block our path!!!”

Gripping her halberd with one hand and swinging it along with her fist, she advanced like a tank.

“Anyone who blocks us gets smashed!!!”

The golems were hit and sent flying by her all-out charge.

I jumped in with Sera and Eve in my arms, and Noah ran behind us as if guarding our rear.

And from behind, a voice sounded pleased.

[Yes, it’s better not to stop. If you stay here, you’ll only be crushed.]

A voice that seemed to praise our choice as the correct one.

But it wasn’t a voice cheering for us.

[Let’s prepare the next gift~.]

Sophia’s sly voice echoed.

+

The capital of the Bear Tribe.

A few days after Kay’s group had departed, having barely overcome the tribe’s crisis, Jusha was stretching.

“I worked hard today too.”

Jusha, who had been sitting at her desk for a while, rose with a satisfied smile.

On the massive desk that seemed too large for her build were numerous documents.

Disputes within the tribe that couldn’t be easily resolved, plans for the tribe’s future operations, a letter bearing the seal of the Magic Tower of the Mikea Kingdom that had suddenly appeared on her desk a few days after Kay’s group left.

And a book containing knowledge about magic, gifted by a witch.

Except for the books for her personal study, all were issues that had passed through her father’s hands and had been referred to her as well.

And all were matters that had already been decided.

Especially regarding issues that might be related to diplomacy, Jusha had made decisions only after checking two or three times and getting firm commitments.

‘We can’t have the same thing happen again.’

Jusha smiled gently as she recalled a tribe member’s mistake—what was meant to be a polite invitation appeared as provocation to outsiders.

Fortunately, the other party had been understanding, so while they hadn’t achieved the best outcome, they had at least avoided the worst relationship.

She was quietly drinking honey tea to find peace of mind as she recalled that situation.

‘…I wonder if there was some mistake. Why would such a letter…’

While she had dreamed of studying at the Magic Tower, she had never had any direct connection with it.

If she had to specify her connection to the Magic Tower, it was only the witch who had promised to build a bridge for her.

As yet, there was no reason for the Magic Tower to reach out to her.

‘Some kind of error? Or did I satisfy some condition?’

Surely the news couldn’t have reached them yet, but was magic capable of sending a letter precisely to where she was?

Jusha was studying that aspect for her personal curiosity and future, through the book that the witch had gifted her.

‘Magic is amazing.’

Thinking that it was indeed something to admire, Jusha took a sip of honey tea and smiled slightly.

Then she quietly fell into thought.

‘…The Emiris Order’s evil deeds…’

In truth, the Emiris Order was something unfamiliar to Jusha, who had lived safely within her tribe.

No matter how much she wrote an exposé, from her distant perspective, it would only amount to acknowledging that such things happened.

But a letter bearing the Magic Tower’s seal, delivered by magic no less, wouldn’t have been sent as a joke.

She had decided to gather more information to verify the facts, and if Kay’s group returned to the tribe after completing their mission, she would definitely inquire about this matter.

‘After all, they are the parties involved.’

Jusha thought quietly as she glanced at the letter.

‘The White Dragon.’

Though it sounded unfamiliar at first, Jusha knew this term referred to Kay.

She was particularly aware that recently, lizardmen had been using this name, almost worshipping him like a god and chanting it in battle.

Of course, from Jusha’s perspective, having met Kay directly, she knew it was just the lizardmen’s one-sided adoration.

Although there were many violent incidents, she had seen firsthand that Kay himself didn’t prefer to resolve everything with violence.

‘…If he had truly been someone who resolved everything with violence, Father would now be…’

Jusha remembered the mercy he had shown then.

That’s why she could conclude it was the lizardmen’s one-sided adoration.

Taking another sip of honey tea, Jusha organized her thoughts again.

‘…Anyway, the White Dragon refers to Kay. This letter is related to him. If we cooperate with them wholeheartedly…’

They might be able to build the good relationship she had originally planned.

That’s why Jusha wanted to decide for certain after they returned.

Separately from this, the Bear Tribe was preparing for battle.

The reason was the decision Baren had made during the meeting.

‘You said it was ominous.’

Jusha recalled her father’s face during the meeting about that letter.

Normally displaying a kind face, her father had worn a warrior’s expression throughout the meeting as he looked at the letter.

Someone asked if something was bothering him.

And Baren said there would be a battle.

When asked why, he said it was a warrior’s intuition.

‘Normally, I would have told him not to put on airs unnecessarily…’

Having read that letter, Jusha somehow felt that Baren would be right this time.

There was no logic to it.

Just a feeling that told her so.

That something big was going to happen.

That’s why the Bear Tribe was preparing for a large-scale battle just in case, while waiting for them.

And having finished the last sip of honey tea, Jusha’s face relaxed with the sweet aftertaste.

Thinking that sweet things were indeed good, she resolved to study a bit more before going to bed.

And as she moved slightly to approach the window…

She discovered something flying in the sky.

“…as… my… friend…!”

It was human language.

Perhaps due to the distance, the words weren’t clearly audible.

But she could tell it had human-like limbs with large wings attached.

And Jusha could also sense the madness infused in the human language.

“A demon?”

Uttering the name of a race she had only believed in as a child, Jusha stared blankly at the sky.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the demon was just flying straight ahead.

Leaning slightly out the window, Jusha looked in the direction the demon was flying.

“Toward the snow fields…”

The snow fields where Kay’s group had headed.

An ominous feeling ran down Jusha’s spine.