The World's Will had once asked EeDechi to take a construct away with her. She searched everywhere for the tallest thing around, and after looking into the distance, she spotted a majestic steel giant!
Stepping on corpses as she ran, EeDechi hurried toward it. Although she had used an area resurrection spell and brought many of the dead back to life, it barely made a difference amid the devastation of this ancient battlefield. Endless heaps of corpses lay in the stillness, bearing witness to the ferocity of the war five hundred years ago.
The steel giant stood motionless upon the earth, towering into the sky. Nothing else on the battlefield approached its height.
Its entire body was forged from sturdy steel. Its gleaming armor and imposing frame gave it a formidable presence. Two dark cannon barrels jutted from its shoulders, and an eerie blue light flickered through the gaps in its metal chest.
A terrifyingly huge sword was planted in the ground before it, its tip reaching all the way to the giant's shoulder.
Perhaps noticing EeDechi, the steel giant suddenly trembled slightly. Fearsome red light ignited within its pitch-black eye sockets!
It abruptly raised its enormous arm, gripped the giant sword in front of it, and pulled it from the ground!
EeDechi wasn't afraid of it at all. She immediately took out the Construct Storage Box and gently twisted it. The steel giant transformed into a dazzling blue light and flew into the box.
The Construct Storage Box now contained another rugged metal humanoid.
EeDechi cast 5th-Tier Magic: High-Tier Appraisal of Treasures on the box. A string of characters appeared in the air:
[Item Name: Construct Storage Box
Material: Unknown
Quality: Divine-class
Function One: Store Constructs
Current Capacity: 4/5
Contents:
Stone Golem "Guardian Smile"
Steel Golem "Savior Titan"
Mechanical Golem "Artillery Shieldguard"
War Golem "Lord of the Stars"
Function Two: Construct Seizure]
Lord of the Stars. That was the name of the construct she had just stored.
The old man from earlier had followed them using flight magic, and he had witnessed the entire process of EeDechi storing the construct.
"My heavens!" he exclaimed. "That's the strongest construct in our country! It's actually still alive! I'm certain it will be able to serve Her Majesty well and destroy all who defy her!"
The strongest construct!
EeDechi looked at Lord of the Stars inside the box and couldn't help feeling delighted. Their group's strength had received another significant boost!
The soldiers of the Eight Greed Kings had excellent discipline. Even though only a remnant of their forces remained, they quickly reorganized themselves.
There were currently more than 1,800 of them, including warriors, mages, archers, crossbowmen, sword-and-shield infantrymen, cavalrymen, spearmen, field medics, musketeers, artillerymen, skilled craftsmen, supply troops, pilots, and many others.
They formed neat ranks on the ancient battlefield, burning with fervent enthusiasm as they eagerly awaited EeDechi's inspection.
After thinking it over, EeDechi discussed the matter with Barrett and decided to take a small group first to find a place to settle down. Once they had found one, they would come back for the rest.
They were still at the edge of the world and needed to return to the wider lands.
EeDechi selected everyone whose Justice Value was above 10 and had them enter the Aetherial Secret Coffer. She placed great importance on Justice Value, so she deliberately separated those with especially low Justice Values into another group, intending to reform them.
Carrying the Aetherial Secret Coffer with four hundred people inside, EeDechi boarded the Apocalyptic Mourning Bell with Barrett, Franco, Cheeko, Kilua, and the lich Gray. They left the edge of the world and flew back toward the wider lands.
Before departing, they promised the soldiers on the ancient battlefield that they would return for them once they found a suitable place to settle.
The return journey was swift. The skyship broke through the clouds and soared across a vast sea of clouds, with endless stretches of land beneath it.
"The Eight Greed Kings once claimed to have an army of ten million," Barrett said. "Several million of them may have died on the ancient battlefield. If we could resurrect all of them, we'd have an incredible army!"
EeDechi shook her head. "It would take an empire to support an army that large. We don't have time to build a huge empire. The Sorcerer Kingdom should be invading other countries on a large scale right now. If an army suddenly appeared out of nowhere, they would definitely notice us."
"Makes sense. The world is enormous. Let's find some remote corner far away from the Sorcerer Kingdom first."
They flew for several days. After determining the extent of the Sorcerer Kingdom's influence, they continued westward. The Sorcerer Kingdom had not yet extended its claws this far.
"Look. That valley seems suitable. The trees are dense, there are hardly any people around, and it's quite far from the nearest village. Let's settle there," Barrett said.
EeDechi nodded. "Not bad. It's also close to the sea, so we could establish a navy. There's a river leading inland toward the city-states as well. If we can build powered ships, we'll be able to sail upstream and transport troops inland."
"The Eight Greed Kings must have had technology like that!" Barrett was impressed by EeDechi's idea.
The skyship landed in the valley. Four hundred soldiers climbed out of the Aetherial Secret Coffer and began setting up camp.
EeDechi said worriedly, "As our forces grow and we begin operating farther afield, word will inevitably get out. I don't know what kind of country this is, but no king would allow another army to be stationed on his land."
"We should buy some food and investigate the country while we're at it," Barrett suggested.
And so, the Last Defender of the Way adventuring party set out once again, stepping into this unfamiliar land.
They hacked their way through dense undergrowth and dispersed the deep fog. Along the way, they killed a great many monsters and collected their carcasses to feed the soldiers.
Going from a well-off adventuring party to worrying about food and shelter for several thousand people was quite a leap. It was EeDechi's first time dealing with such matters, and Barrett had little idea how to proceed either.
This was a largely undeveloped wilderness. Monsters were everywhere, and magical beasts held sway.
EeDechi suddenly stopped and said, "Someone's calling for help."
"Where?" Barrett knew that EeDechi's hearing was several hundred times sharper than theirs.
"Come on. Follow me."
The others followed EeDechi as she hacked through the thorns and charged toward a hillside.
From a distance, they saw a massive displacer beast chasing a hapless man.
Displacer beasts were extremely dangerous. By bending the light around their bodies, they could make themselves appear several feet away from their actual locations, making it nearly impossible for ordinary people to tell where the creatures really stood.
They resembled enormous cats with glossy blue-black fur. Each had six legs and two vicious tentacles extending from its shoulders, with spikes at their tips.
Before meeting EeDechi, Barrett had only been an ordinary adventurer. If he encountered a displacer beast alone, he would always give it a wide berth.
He understood the situation at a glance. The vicious displacer beast was toying with the poor man, just like a cat playing with a mouse.
Even after eating their fill, displacer beasts liked to torment their prey. They would chase their victims down and sometimes cripple them with bites, leaving them alive for their young to practice hunting.
The displacer beast pursued the poor man at a leisurely pace, its figure flickering unpredictably from side to side.
Suddenly, it stopped.
A thunderous rumble was bearing down on it, growing louder with terrifying speed!
Its animal instincts made it abandon its prey and flee in another direction.
But it was too late.
EeDechi punched it and sent it flying ten kilometers away!
The displacer beast smashed through the dense forest, tearing a blood-soaked trail through the trees. There was no doubt that it was dead.
"M-Monster!"
The blood-covered man was completely stunned. It was hard to tell whether he meant the beast or EeDechi.
Barrett came running over, panting heavily, and reassured him, "Don't worry. You're safe now! We're adventurers!"
"Th-thank… thank you." The poor man was still so terrified that he could barely speak.
Barrett noticed the adventurer's tag hanging around his neck. To his surprise, the man was an Iron-rank adventurer—the second-lowest rank.
"What were you thinking, coming here?" Barrett frowned. "You should at least know your own limits. This primeval forest is crawling with danger. You need to be at least a Mithril-rank adventurer to come here!"
"I need money. This is the only way I can earn any," the man replied, still shaken.
Whenever Barrett encountered a rookie adventurer, he liked to assume the air of a veteran and deliver a lecture.
"First, you shouldn't have ventured this deep into such a dangerous place. At the very least, you should have had an experienced adventurer with you. Second, this isn't the only way to make money. How long have you been an adventurer?"
"Five years, not counting the years I spent farming," the man said quietly.
"Five years? And you're still Iron-rank? You have to admit—you don't have what it takes to be an adventurer." Barrett shook his head in exasperation. "I've been adventuring for twenty years, and I can assure you that farming would be better for you. You'll earn less, but it's safe and stable. Adventuring means risking your neck every day. It isn't suited to you. Go back to being a farmer."
The poor man huddled in on himself, his eyes numb and vacant.
"But I can't go back to farming," he said hopelessly. "I'll only end up as a serf."
"Why?" EeDechi asked. "Have the local nobles been oppressing you?"
"No." He shook his head miserably. "It's the king."