Hearing that Jin was a witness, Trist Clarot’s face twisted for the first time.
"Hmph, I see. Even so, it can’t be helped if he isn’t here. And testimony alone is hardly... well, you know how it is."
Despite the setback, his insolence remained unshaken. He continued to weave his words in an evasive, slippery manner, as if toying with Paul.
"If you intend to keep feigning ignorance to the very end, then we are prepared to take action as well."
Trist responded to the glare and the warning Paul spat out with nothing but contempt.
"Oh? And what sort of resolve does a ritter from a kingdom of cowards have?"
At those words, Paul finally snapped.
"You...! Don't you dare mock us."
She drew the longsword attached to her horse's saddle.
"So, you have drawn your blade? You were the one to strike first, then?"
This was exactly what Trist Clarot had been aiming for. He wanted to create a situation where it could be said that the Kingdom of Egerea’s side had made the first move.
That had been the instruction from Central.
"Golem squad, forward!"
In response to Trist’s command, ten of the Celuroa Kingdom’s combat golems stepped forward.
"It would be distressing to cause human casualties, after all. Why don't you bring out your golems as well?"
"What..."
Paul was leading only two combat golems. In contrast, the Celuroa Kingdom had ten.
"Ah, if you are short on numbers, shall I match yours? This, too, is a matter of the ritter's code."
While speaking in a mocking tone, Trist signaled for eight of the combat golems to pull back.
"Two against two, a fair and square match. Sounds good, doesn't it?"
Glancing sideways at Trist, who failed to show even a hint of sincerity even at this stage, Paul issued an order to her combat golems.
"Target: destroy the enemy golems. Go!"
Receiving the challenge, Trist also handed down his orders.
"Target: enemy golems. Objective: annihilation."
Thus, the battle between the combat golems of the two nations began.
Since both were autonomous types, there was no longer any room for humans to intervene. The soldiers simply watched from a distance to avoid being caught in the fray.
The combat golems of both countries were roughly the same in build, but their speeds were entirely different. The Celuroa golems moved at nearly twice the speed of the Egerean models.
In close-quarters combat, that difference in speed was massive. Furthermore, when the build and weight were similar, being faster provided a significant advantage.
The Celuroa golems struck at the Egerean golems' blind spots. They dodged the Egerean golems' charges, circled behind them, and slashed with their swords. Whenever an Egerean golem turned to swing its blade, the Celuroa golem had already moved out of reach.
The swords swung by the Celuroa golems began to leave shallow wounds all over their opponents. It was clear they were merely toying with them.
"Hahaha, how pathetic. This is what you call a difference in class."
"Ngh..."
Paul ground her teeth. Behind her, the members of the ritter corps shared her frustration.
"Captain! Please let us fight instead of the golems!" a hot-blooded subordinate shouted.
However, Paul rejected the idea. Even with the blood rushing to her head, she was still their captain.
"I cannot. Look at their golems. Eight of them haven't even moved yet. If those join in, they will crush humans in an instant. You remember the tragedy of last year's Golem Party, don't you?"
"Ugh... Then, are we just supposed to stand here and watch our golems be destroyed!"
"I am not saying that. I'm not, but... I have no plan to break through this situation."
Unlike the frustrated Paul, Trist Clarot was perfectly composed.
"If you like, you can even use those 'chore' golems over there," he said, provoking her by intentionally belittling the all-purpose golems.
Finally unable to endure the mockery, Paul issued a new order.
"All-purpose golems, combat mode. Target: enemy golems. Coordinate and destroy them!"
"Then, we shall as well. Go."
The all-purpose golems were one size smaller than the combat golems. Their armor was thinner, making them lighter and more agile. However, that difference in weight was not enough to allow them to surpass the enemy golems in agility.
"Coordinate! Coordinate! Coordinate!"
Paul issued orders in rapid succession. This triple-repetition was a specific command for three units to focus on a single target.
Receiving the command, the all-purpose golems engaged one enemy with three units. As expected, the Celuroa golem was unable to parry attacks from three directions at once and was forced to focus entirely on defense.
However, in terms of total numbers, while the combat golems were fighting one-on-one, the remainder was eight against twenty. It wasn't quite enough for a true three-to-one advantage across the board.
This meant there was one Celuroa golem capable of moving freely, and another being handled by only two units. The golem playing the role of a skirmisher moved through the battlefield with complete freedom.
Every time the Egerean units seemed to have pinned an enemy down, the skirmisher would attack from behind and blow them away, rendering their efforts a waste. The cycle repeated over and over.
The dynamic of being toyed with by the Celuroa side did not change. Furthermore, the all-purpose golems were simply inferior in raw performance. Gradually, the movements of the Egerean golems began to lag. Even as they were being played with, they were still taking hits, and the damage was slowly accumulating.
"It's about time we bring this to an end," Trist muttered.
In that instant, a dagger was pressed against his neck.
"Stop the golems."
The one who had done it was a girl—or rather, Phillip Teefor’s female automata, Dona. She stood skillfully behind Trist’s saddle, her blade held firm. She had apparently approached Trist’s horse unnoticed and waited for her opportunity.
"You..."
Trist’s composure vanished, his face twisting with malice.
"Did you not hear me? I said stop the golems."
"Commander!" the soldiers of the Frontier Corps shouted, starting to rush forward.
"Do not move. If you move, your commander’s life is forfeit."
The emotionless voice of an automata sounded eerie in the tense silence. The soldiers stopped in their tracks.
"Well?"
Threatened repeatedly, Trist finally succumbed.
"...S-Stop."
Following that command, the ten Celuroa golems ceased their movements.
"Good. Now, bring that man over here," Paul requested.
Phillip gave a meaningful look to Dona, who then forced Trist to move. Trist approached slowly, but then he took a gamble. He pulled back hard on the reins, making the horse rear up on its hind legs.
Unable to maintain her footing, Dona was forced to jump off the horse.
"Golems! Render those people incapacitated!"
Having been humiliated, Trist lost his temper completely. He issued a merciless command to his golems.
But at that moment, a scream rang out.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
A soldier behind Trist let out a cry of pure terror.
"W-What is that!?"
The ritters of the Kingdom of Egerea stared behind Trist, their eyes wide with horror. Given their reaction, Trist was forced to look back as well.
There, crawling out from the Soldrake Ruins, were countless black insects.