Duke Pendragon

“Hoo…”

Eltuan let out a hot breath, and Ellaja, who had been walking right behind her, approached her and asked.

“Brother, don’t you think it has been getting hotter?”

“I know. It has been like that for a while.”

Eltuan wiped the droplets off her forehead. The other elven warriors, including Ellaja, continued to wipe the sweat from their necks and faces as well.

Raven, who had been walking silently until now, looked back toward them and spoke.

“We will take a short break.

“Phew!”

“Ha…”

As soon as he spoke, the elven warriors all crumpled down onto the ground.

“Pendragon, why is it so hot in here?”

She was used to the heat, being born and bred in the Great Forest, but the current atmosphere was suffocatingly hot, unlike anything else she had experienced before.

Raven replied. Thanks to the White Dragon armor protecting him from any heat or cold, he wasn’t sweaty at all.

“The guardian of this floor is the golem. Its body is made of granite, which is formed from hardened lava. Moreover, lava flows inside of its body instead of blood. The heat is only natural.”

“Ha… How can we take care of such a creature?”

Its body was granite, and its blood was lava. It was truly unbelievable.

“Your role will be important.”

“Hmm? Us?”

Eltuan’s eyes grew a little larger, then a pleased expression appeared on her face.

“Tell us whatever you need. We will do our best.”

Including her, the elves had not been able to provide proper help since entering the labyrinth. Even though they fought against the low-grade monsters, Raven had always taken care of the most important issues, suffering great repercussions every time. They felt quite apologetic.

Hearing that they could finally play an important role as well, Eltuan welcomed the development.

“Its body is made of stone. It will be difficult to break, but it will continue to reconstruct its body unless we destroy the core. However, the core will continue to move endlessly inside of its body. But the stone is the creation of the Earth God. Beings born in the presence of the Earth God’s sacred tree can prevent the golem from rebuilding its body.”

“Ah…!”

Eltuan let out a gasp after realizing what Raven was getting at.

Raven nodded before continuing.

“That’s right. Your strength is essential in order for me to destroy the golem’s body, find its core, and destroy it.”

It was one of the most important reasons why Raven had brought the Red Moon Valley elves here in the first place. Although they were of considerable help in other battles, their capabilities in dealing with the golem as the children of the Earth God was critical.

When Raven had faced the golem in the past, they were able to emerge victorious thanks to a priest of the Earth God. Even though magic was ineffective against the golem, one with the blessing of the Earth God could disrupt the reconstruction of its body with prayer.

The knights spared no effort in smashing apart the body of the golem with iron maces, and as the priest of the Earth God delayed the reconstruction, the core of the golem had been located and destroyed. Naturally, numerous knights and soldiers were sacrificed in the process, and the priest of the Earth God perished immediately after the battle. Due to the excessive channeling of divine power, the priest had drawn his last breath after aging to a gray-haired old man.

Quite a few elven warriors would be sacrificed this time as well.

“You may have to risk your lives. Remember, the golem is the last hurdle remaining before we can face the Troll King.”

“I got it.”

Eltuan nodded her head with determined eyes.

***

Kwaa…

At the end of a long passage, a wide, elongated space of 800 feet wide and 200 feet long greeted Raven and the elven warriors.

“This is…”

Eltuan looked around with nervous eyes, and she noticed that both the floor and ceiling were made of granite and engraved with complex patterns.

Booom!

The stone gate crashed down, blocking the entrance and the exit of the chamber. Raven had already forewarned them, but it felt quite suffocating to be sealed within a confined space.

The door would not open until the owner of the space was defeated.

“It will appear soon. Everybody, prepare yourselves.”

Eltuan and the elven warriors quickly moved at Raven’s words. As if they were marching, they formed three long lines behind Raven. It was an unsuitable formation for battle.

Booom!

The entire space started to tremble, and the rocks in the floor and the walls cracked and escaped.

“Ugh!”

Eltuan and the elves staggered.

However, they managed to stabilize themselves without falling, relying on their superior sense of balance.

Kwakwakwa!

Dozens of stones started to move as if they were alive, before soon forming into a gigantic mass. Red lava spilled out of the cracks on the surface of the giant figure and obscured the fine cracks.

Amid the heat, a red giant appeared from the thick smoke.

Boom!

The rock giant was 30 feet tall, and the floor shook when it took a step. The entire space was filled with smoke, and when the ground started shaking as well, the elves were unable to come to their senses. The piercing smell of sulfur mixed with the smoke caused them even more distress. A normal human would have already lost their minds and collapsed.

However, the elves were more resistant to poison than humans, and they only frowned at the headache-inducing smell. They held their ground.

“Everyone get it together! Cover your faces with cloth like I said!”

Raven let loose a shout imbued with spirit. The elven warriors hurriedly raised the cloth hanging on their necks to cover their noses and mouths.

Whoosh!

The Spirit of the Dragon diluted the effects of the smoke. However, Raven unleashed the spirit to procure minimal visibility, as he could risk collapsing during the battle if he recklessly unleashed the spirit.

“Keep an eye on the surroundings! You may not be able to see very well because of the smoke, but the golem is slow! Assess your positions with sound!”

Boom! Boom!

The loud reverberations of the ground entered their eardrums. However, due to the nature of the confined space, it was not easy to grasp the situation and direction by sound. Raven narrowed his eyes and observed the surroundings.

He had already experienced this situation in the past.

After making countless sacrifices, nearly 2,000 people had arrived in this place. However, the stone gate had come crashing down before all of them could enter the space.

About 30 percent of the troops who successfully entered the compound collapsed due to the sulfur smoke. The rest fell to the attacks of the golem in the midst of the confusion – their vision was robbed due to the smoke and loud noises had distracted them from all sides.

Although the golem’s attacks were very simple, it proved most effective in this environment.

Shuaaang!

Along with a loud shockwave, something flew towards the group from the smoke.

“Three steps to the left!”

As soon as Raven’s voice was heard, the elven warriors at the front of each line quickly took three steps to the sides. They were the warriors with the best vision and reflexes out of the group. Then, the warriors who stood behind them imitated their movements.

Kwakwakwa!

A black object roared past where the elven warriors had been standing a moment ago.

Boom!

The object shattered against the wall. It was a rock around the size of a small carriage.

“Five steps to the right!”

Raven roared once more, and the Elven warriors moved as he commanded. As expected, a huge rock swept past their previous location.

This was the golem’s simple but effective method of attack. Large rocks would continue to fly across the confined space. The entire space was obscured by sulfur and smoke and there was nowhere to run.

Eventually dozens of people had been crushed to death by large rocks without realizing. In addition, the damage was even greater because so many soldiers were gathered into various formations in the past. In the end, fewer than 500 people were remaining when the sulfur smoke finally lifted.

‘But…’

It was different now.

He was not as helpless as before, and thanks to thorough preparation, not a single elf had died yet. Above all, the thick smoke was slowly being lifted. It seemed that the golem realized the futility of its attacks. It would soon resort to another method of attack.

Raven already knew what was to come.

“It’s coming! Change the formation!”

At Raven’s commands, elves dispersed from their lines and spread to the sides. Through the thinning smoke, Raven saw a flashing red light. It was clearly the light of lava emitted by the golem.

“Here we go!”

Raven began to charge towards the golem after giving a loud shout.

Woosh!

A rock flew towards him.

Focusing the spirit on his blade, Raven cut and slashed in the shape of a cross while letting his held breath explode. There were no elves around him, so he did not care that the rock would shatter into fragments.

Shuah!

The blade of light slashed through the air.

Granite was known for its smooth texture and rigidity, but there was nothing that the Dragon Blade could not cut.

Boom!

The large rock split into four pieces and small fragments flew towards him.

Thud!

Small and large fragments struck the White Dragon Armor. Quite a big shock was delivered, but Raven paid it no attention and ran through the thick stone dust. A huge shadow cast over Raven, and he stopped running and looked up.

Gwwwaaaauhh!

The gray rock giant roared loudly, lava dripping down its entire body. An extraordinary heat flooded Raven. It was a temperature that normal humans could not endure, but Raven was equipped with the White Dragon Armor. It felt warm to Raven.

Boom!

The golem stomped with its pillar-like leg. Cracks appeared on the ground and the entire area shook. At the same time, a huge fist flew towards Raven, but it was pitifully slow compared to the other monsters he had faced thus far.

Raven lowered his posture and took a deep breath. He swung his sword.

The golem’s arm was separated from its body.

Boom!

The granite arm fell on the ground. However, the golem felt no pain as a creature of magical creation. Moreover, all the rocks in this space could become its body.

Kwakwakwa!

Lumps of stones soared from the cracked floor and began to form a new arm. Raven’s eyes glimmered at the sight, and the Spirit of the Dragon covered his whole body with light.

“Suaaaaa!”

Raven released all of his bottled energy at once. His body moved so fast that two or three afterimages were left behind in his wake.

Shuaah!

The illuminated blade sprayed dozens of rays.

A silver-white net of light, which contrasted sharply with the color of lava, covered the golem’s lower body.

Booom!

The golem’s lower body was cut into dozens of pieces, and it fell down. Amidst the rush of smoke and dust, lava splashed onto Raven’s body.

Fwoosh!

A portion of the White Dragon Armor started burning. However, the armor made from Soldrake’s horn did not melt completely even when it came into direct contact with lava.

“Keuk!”

Raven clenched his teeth as the heat threatened to boil the skin inside the armor. He looked at the golem.

Kwakwakwakwa!

The stones on the floor began flocking together towards the remains of the golem. It would soon reconstruct its body. Raven shouted as loud as he could.

“Eltuan! Now!”

Eltuan and the elves had been concentrating on the situation from afar. They raised their voices simultaneously at Raven’s shout.

Starting with Eltuan, the prayers of the Earth God’s worshippers rang high.

The movements of the stones that were gathering towards the golem’s lower half slowed significantly. Raven endured the breathtaking heat and jumped over the remains of the golem. He swung his sword nonstop towards the fallen creature.

Granite broke apart and lava splattered like blood.

His fine, golden hair melted and disappeared, unable to overcome the flames, and the leather portions of his armor melted and became etched to his skin.

The hand that held his sword had already fused with the leather wrapped around the handle. The face contained inside the helmet was slowly deforming as well.

“Keugh!”

An unspeakable terrible pain covered him, tearing down his body and mind. However, Raven’s eyes were still radiating a vivid light despite the pain.