"Breaching! Secure the Sorcerer at once!"
Bareya led the elites of the Aiwood Kingdom Army as they stormed the magical fortress. It was a crude, utilitarian structure fashioned from sand and earth, yet the interior proved far more intricate than its outward appearance suggested.
They entered a spacious, hall-like chamber where a phalanx of stone statues stood as if waiting for them. Each statue reached a height of two meters, carved in the likeness of armored warriors gripping massive greatswords in both hands.
"Not a soul in sight, and yet..." Bareya tensed.
"Ooooooooooh!"
A low, resonant rumble began to echo through the chamber from all directions. The stone figures scattered throughout the hall shuddered to life. Emitting heavy, bass-like groans from somewhere deep within their stony frames, they advanced on the intruders with their greatswords raised.
"Magical constructs... Golems!" Bareya tightened his grip on his spear.
Golems were autonomous dolls given life through sorcery. While some were mere servants built for chores, others were forged solely for slaughter. The massive, armed statues before them were clearly the latter.
"Intercept them! To arms!" Bareya roared.
"Yes, sir!" the soldiers cried in unison.
The elite unit fanned out, meeting the stone titans with a flurry of blades and spears.
"Ugh...!"
"Watch yourselves! These things are fast!"
The soldiers shouted warnings as they clashed with the blade-wielding constructs. Every man present was an elite, a veteran capable of besting ten ordinary soldiers single-handedly, yet even they found the golems to be formidable opponents. Each swing of a stone greatsword carried bone-shattering force, delivered with a speed that defied their rocky composition.
"Don’t falter! These are no ordinary golems!" Bareya barked. He lunged, driving his spear deep into the chest of one of the constructs.
"Goh!"
The golem merely raised its sword to strike back. Being a heartless machine, a strike that would have pierced a human’s heart and dropped them instantly was little more than a nuisance.
"Burst!" Bareya triggered the enchantment at the tip of his spear.
An explosion ripped through the golem’s core from the inside out, shattering the statue into a cloud of stone shards.
"Mere common soldiers. We cannot afford to dally here," Bareya declared.
Nearby, another golem was expertly carved into pieces, its remains raining down upon the floor.
"Almacain Blade Dance Arts: Scattered Petals."
The one who had dismantled the golem in an instant was the Woman-hating Sword Saint, Wilhelm Lyubase. He muttered in his usual dispassionate tone, his eyes cold beneath the veil of his long bangs.
"If I play around, that man will leave me in the dust once more. I refuse to be left behind."
"Ooooooooooh!"
A second golem swung at his back, only for Wilhelm’s blade to flash in a blinding arc.
"Fragment."
A single silver line etched itself into the air. The construct was cleaved in two, greatsword and all.
"Incredible!"
"Don't let them show us up! Charge!"
Inspired by the prowess of their leaders, the soldiers surged forward. The tide of battle shifted as the unit began systematically dismantling the golems. It was a testament to the old adage: Under a fierce general, there are no weak soldiers. These men, already the best of the best, pushed beyond their limits to match the momentum of their commanders.
"Good, that’s the last of them!" Bareya surveyed the room. "Now to find this Sorcerer and—what!?"
The group froze. A chorus of guttural groans rose from the floor.
"Ooooooooooh!"
"The golems... they're regenerating!?"
Before their eyes, the pulverized stone began to pull back together. Severed limbs and shattered torsos reconnected as if hoisted by invisible strings. Though thin cracks marked where they had been broken, the statues stood tall once more, swinging their greatswords with renewed malice.
"Are they being repaired from afar, or is there an auto-repair function built into the dolls themselves?" Bareya ground his teeth, parrying a heavy blow.
The enemy had constructed a fortress of sand with the durability of steel and the power of self-restoration. Now, they faced a small army of golems that shared that same immortality. The level of magical mastery required for such a feat was staggering.
"It seems we underestimated the scale of our foe!"
The situation spiraled once more. Despite their skill, the kingdom’s soldiers found themselves forced onto the defensive. While there were no fatalities yet, the attrition was beginning to show as some began to sustain injuries.
"This is bad. At this rate..."
"Kill them all!"
"Ngh...?"
Unexpected reinforcements burst into the hall. Warriors wielding massive clubs crashed into the golems, smashing the stone statues with primal fury.
"Ogrekin!?"
The true identity of the reinforcements was a band of Ogrekin who had been attacking the castle from a different direction. The very warriors Bareya had used as a diversion for their infiltration had managed to breach the walls, striking the golems from the rear.