Proofread by Thomas F
Orok Uram
'Twenty-four!' I said as we finished twenty-four golems.
I had finished speaking when I saw the changes; the golems became more aggressive. Most importantly, the shield golems and the command golem are now coming toward us.
They have never done that. We have also never defeated so many golems before.
We have finished all eight of the artillery golems, nine of the eleven rhinos, six raptors, and one bird. It was not without cost; thirty-one of my people have surrendered.
'Lt. Colonel, focus on the rhinos. Mages and archers target the birds; warriors kill the raptors with everything you have, don't hold back on anything!' I have only a few seconds before shield golems appear, and I want to finish off a few before that.
I did not target the shield golems, nor the command golem, which I believe. If I defeat it, this will end it all.
I tried that last time, and it failed miserably. I won't go for the commander directly. I have to give a heavy blow to his support before going after the command golem.
I have a plan for it, but before that, I have to kill a sufficient number of golems, or it will fail like last time.
The mages and archers focused on the birds, while the warriors focused on raptors. They are fighting in raptors in groups, with each group having at least one shield warrior.
Despite that, they are still giving us a hard time.
They are fast and agile, with sharp claws and that tail, which is sharp enough to cut our enchanted gear.
Clang!
My axe clashed against the claw of the raptor before I activated Wild Parry and moved with Feral Blitz before attacking with Lion's Strength and Razorwing Edge.
My attack landed on the joints, behind its upper claws, before suddenly retreating fast.
Not fast enough, as another bloody cut appeared on my chest, even I am not immune to cuts; there are cuts all over my body.
It is too fast, too agile.
It didn't give me a chance and attacked. I defended with my axe, but it still came on, which I dodged by less than an inch, before striking across its neck.
Immediately, rhythm sang in warning, and its eyes flared.
It made me happy, but also very cautious as I put my ax in front. Defending against its claws and tail, which came at me rapidly. I defended, but not all of them.
Cuts appear across my body, and I bore them until my Predator's Eyes caught the chance I took it.
I pushed Feral Blitz to its limit and stepped left, avoiding the claw before moving forward and striking the golem, not caring about the tail.
My ax stopped as it touched my neck, and the golem froze before it withdrew its tail back and moved away.
I finished it in these seconds. Others also finished their opponents, five more, a total of six, including the one I had finished. Among them were three birds, two raptors, and one rhino.
Taking the number to thirty.
We have finished half of them, while eleven more of my men surrendered, taking the number to forty-two.
'Everyone, it's time,' I said, and could see the surprise on their faces, but they accepted. I looked at them gratefully before walking ahead.
The shield warriors had reached near us.
I appeared beside Lt. Colonel Bandstone, and she smiled. I could see the faint nervousness in the blazing battle spirit.
"I thought we would wait until the numbers reached thirty-six," she said. "We are doing it early," I replied, and the mages covered us with protective spells; we are going to need them.
The rhythm warned; it was a vague warning, but I was familiar enough with it to understand it.
'Archers ready!' informed Captain Ranbal, the leader of the archers. 'Mages, ready!'informed Hasid.
"Lt. Colonel Donil, Command is yours!" I said to the lieutenant and turned toward the shield warriors, who were second away, from attacking.
Last time, we were fooled. They are not mere shield golems, but a lot more.
It is why we must defeat these golems and get them. It would help the dominion tremendously and make it a lot more secure.
"Now!" I ordered and received it immediately. Four archers released their bows and cast their spells, combining them all in one powerful attack.
'It looked unstable!' she said, looking at the attack, which looked like it might explode before it reached the target.
'It is!' I replied with a grin, leaped forward with her. We are just behind the attack, in a very dangerous position, but we only have one chance, and we have to take it.
The attack reached the shield and clashed against it.
A deafening, massive blast rang out, its power spreading. It soon covered us and immediately began to burn through spell protection until it reached the last one.
Seeing that, I activated Wildheart's Protection, one of my inheritance's skills.
I looked at Lt. Colonel. She didn't have a protection skill, like me, but she had something else; something that came with Greltheaven.
It activated, forming a green layer around her.
Seeing that, I felt relieved when I felt it resisting the blast's power. It is powerful, and I felt even my Wildheart Protection straining against it.
A moment passed, and we shot out of the blast toward our target.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Yes!" she replied with a grin, adjusting the shield just as the aura burst from her body; the same moment it came out of mine, spreading through my body and filling my skills.
It is the first time we have used our aura in all three trials.
First, we didn't use it as a caution, but later kept it as a trump card. Last time I nearly used it, before stopping, knowing we would not win it.
This time, we are giving our all.
The command golem had reacted, swinging its staff toward us. Lt. Colonel is ready to take the strike.
I hope she does.
I had experienced the power behind the attack, and it was immense. This time, it is even stronger. The last time I had fought it, we finished twelve of the golems; this time, it is over thirty.
The staff reached near the shield, and I activated Arial Adjustment and leaped toward it.
The staff clashed against the shield a moment later. Creating a deafening clash and shockwave. She stilled in the air for a moment before crashing toward the floor.
I am worried about her, but she said she could handle such an attack, and I trusted her and focused on my task.
I reached near it and swung my ax with Lion's Strength and Razorwing Edge. Pushing as much aura into the skills as I could. A small part of the concentration formed a fractal.
My aura control had reached the required level a few weeks ago, and Knight had begun teaching me the aura methods.
They are incredibly powerful, and I have been trying to understand for weeks. Practicing every day, but it is elusive. Despite thousands of tries, I feel no closer to it than I was when he taught me the first time.
It is incredibly frustrating, as the Knight had said, I had to keep practicing.
Though I really wish I understood it now. Given its power, it would have been incredibly useful.
My ax struck against a gap in its shoulder. I attacked it with all my strength, but it didn't even budge. Instead, the golem turned its head toward me and swung its staff.
Instead, I activated Ariel Adjustment and Feral Blitz and dodged it barely before I attacked again.
The staff nearly reached me when Lt. Colonel Bandstone appeared between us, while I leaped forward toward the command golem with aerial adjustment.
Once more, trying a fractal.
Things have become intense, as I fought here. Eight Shield Golems moved toward my men, finally revealing the swords that were behind their shields.
With the remaining raptors, birds, and now shield golems, my men are now under intense assault.
Donil had brought out his aura; it wasn't long ago that he awakened it during the fight with shardmaws. He is learning fast, but he couldn't harness enough power to give me confidence.
Their purpose is not to defeat these golems, but to stay on the battlefield long enough.
As long as they are present, the golems will be there facing them. The moment they surrender, the golems will come at us, and we will lose all chance to defeat this command golem.
It wouldn't be easy, given how intensely they are attacking. Under that intensity, my people are rapidly surrendering.
I pushed those thoughts and focused on my attack, which landed on the neck of the command golem. I looked at the energy film covering it, and aside from a little, there is no change.
The golem attacked me, and once more, I pushed the aura into my skills and dodged before Lt. Colonel Bandstone appeared in front of me to take the attack, while I leaped toward the golem for another attack.
'This lump of metal is very powerful!' she said.
'You can bear it, right?' I asked. I feel guilty about making her a punching bag. Especially given her condition, which the general had only mentioned a few minutes before I entered the screen earlier.
'Don't worry about me, Colonel. Focus on finishing it!' she replied.
Once more, I attack, this time directly at its head, but it barely seemed to have any effect. This time, though, I could sense the faintest change in the film covering it.
The change is so faint that I feel like I am hallucinating it, but it gave me hope, and I pushed even harder.
It continued for nearly a minute when suddenly that massive golem's eyes shone.
'Thirty-six!' rang out in my mind.
Though I barely had time to care for it, as the massive staff appeared in front of me. I hastily brought my ax forward and pushed as much aura into the skills as I could.
The staff crashed against my ax, and I felt like someone had thrown a hill at me.
The first thing I heard was a cracking sound. I thought it was an ax, but they were my bones that cracked before I set them back. If not for Arial Adjustment, I would have thrown back like a broken hall.
While I was moving back, it attacked again, but this time, Lt. Colonel appeared in the front with her shield.
It struck hard, sending her back, before it attacked me, but Lt. Colonel had enough time to stabilize, and I leaped forward with all my strength, avoiding the staff.
I moved to attack, but the command golem brought its staff forward.
My ax clashed against it, and once more, I got thrown back with more broken bones. They sent waves of pain through me, and I bore as I moved back while it launched another attack.
Like before, Lt. Colonel appeared in front of me to defend.
I saw her condition, and it was terrible.
She was more injured than I had thought. Blood streamed from her orifices, and her arms trembled beneath the weight of the shield. Her bones were broken, and even her internal organs had taken damage.
I had known it would be hard on her, but seeing her like that still shook me.