- KWAANG!

As the massive golem swung its arm, not only the Barbarians nearby but also the other squad members were hurled into the air.

"Kegh!"

"B-back! Fall back!"

Frederick hurriedly pulled his soldiers back. Even if he didn't know much, fights still needed to be between evenly-matched opponents.

In front of such a monster, numbers and whatnot meant nothing.

Barnes gestured to the soldiers following Frederick and spoke toward Erich.

"Please give the order."

"There is no order to give. Spread the encirclement wider than before. I'll take care of the golem."

Barnes nodded.

Erich raised his sword and swiftly closed the distance to the golem.

But a quick attack, uncharacteristic for its immense size, flew toward him.

- KWAANG!

The ground was gouged and dirt flew from the force of the massive attack. However, through the dust, two lines of vivid scarlet were clearly visible advancing.

- KADUDUDUK!

Erich's sword, brimming with aura, scraped the golem's arm as he forged ahead.

- KWANG! BANG!

The golem kept swinging its other arm, trying to grab Erich. But the more it did so, the more damage it sustained to its own body instead.

- CHAAAAK!

Fragments of shattered aura scattered upwards, spreading iridescent powder. The golem staggered back, clutching its deeply cut shoulder.

- CHUCK.

Before anyone realized it, Erich had landed a hit and created distance. Nevertheless, he frowned.

'... The golem's wound is regenerating?'

Before his regression, Erich had already faced many shamans who controlled golems. But unlike back then, the golem before him now could heal its own wounds.

This was unlike most shamans, who were no longer able to summon another golem once their prepared one was destroyed.

But that didn't mean he could let his guard down; generally, shamans themselves possessed considerable combat ability.

Otherwise, they couldn't become leaders of the battle-hungry Barbarians.

[You seem well accustomed to fighting golems. In that case, let me make things a little more lively. Hehehe.]

Once again, an eerie voice resounded. At the same time, the golem, having regained its balance, charged at Erich.

- THUD! BANG! THUD! BANG!

As the statue-like golem barreled forward, the soldiers withdrew in terror, further widening the distance.

Of course, Erich hadn't expected any help from them. As long as they didn't die and just maintained the encirclement, he would achieve what he wanted.

'My aura capacity has increased, but if it keeps healing endlessly like this, it's ultimately a losing battle for me.'

Erich ran toward the golem. The moment the golem and Erich clashed—

- PWEEET!

With a sonic boom, the blue aura enveloping Erich burst through the air. His sword had cut the golem's leg, causing it to lose strength.

But Erich didn't stop. His goal wasn't the golem, but the shaman.

- PWEEN! CHAAK!

Erich glanced at the blood flowing from his shoulder, then turned his gaze deeper into the cave.

A fragment of the shaman's power had, though only shallowly, wounded Erich.

'Does he have no intention of closing the distance?'

- KWAANG!

The golem, having healed its leg, brought both hands down forcefully onto Erich.

But beneath, the golem's body tilted unexpectedly.

- KAGAGAGAK!

Erich, catching the golem's twin fists with his sword, rose up from the dust. His bracers bulged, nearly bursting from his forearms, and veins protruded on his forehead.

Then, at that instant—

- CHANG!

Erich's blue aura drew an arc in the air. He cleanly severed the golem's fists.

- PWING! PWEEENG!

Green fragments of power flew at Erich. Dodging in a zigzag, he leaped forward.

Yet at that very moment—

Erich felt a powerful impact.

- KWAANG!

"Urgh!"

Something had slammed into Erich. He could sense that much. But what exactly was it?

- CHAAAK!

Erich spun once in the air and unleashed a spinning slash that would've shattered the golem behind him.

As he checked ahead, Erich's eyes narrowed.

'... There's... not just one golem?'

Now, two golems stood before Erich. Including the one in the back, there were three in total.

The reason he hadn't noticed the golems approaching was likely because his opponent, the Barbarian shaman, had melded them into the cave's walls.

In the midst of the golems, another human figure, dried and shriveled like Nicholas, could be seen.

All these golems likely operated based on human life force.

- TAK. TAK.

The shaman stepped into the faint light entering the cave.

A Barbarian in a skull helmet leaned on a staff, back hunched. But despite his ragged appearance, an immense murderous aura emanated from him.

Three golems, one shaman. Four versus one—a situation far from favorable even for Erich.

"Waaaaa!"

Cheers went up from the rear. Seemingly, as the golems had moved deeper into the cave, Frederick had started mopping up the remaining Barbarian remnants outside.

'Frederick made a good decision. There's nothing to worry about on that side... The problem is right here. How is that guy controlling so many golems at once?'

Erich knew enough about shamans. And he knew they grew weaker when leaving their home base where shamans were created.

So, it felt odd that his opponent could control multiple giant golems and still cast spells.

'A shaman of this caliber... is here?'

From the Empire's point of view, barbarians appeared as a single group, but in reality, their society was comprised of countless competing tribes.

By the nature of Barbarian tribes, the farther from the Great Wall, the stronger the tribe; the closer to the Great Wall, the weaker.

The weaker tribes were gradually pushed southward.

Simply put, those who ended up here would have had it so bad, they'd resort even to cannibalism.

Yet—

'Even with this kind of power... they were driven south from the north, forced down right to the Great Wall?'

Erich quickly shifted his gaze to the golems and the shaman.

It was clear that these enemies had 'become strong after arriving here.' He concluded they could never have wielded such power originally.

- WOOOOONG!

Erich sharpened his eyes' focus further. Blood vessels rose around his eyes, pulsing with headache and dizziness.

But the more he did so, the brighter his eyes burned. Were it not for having increased his aura through training with Mikhail, this would've been impossible.

- KWAANG!

Another assault from the golems. But instead of trying to cut them down, Erich wove strange paths among their bodies.

He intended to use the golems' huge bodies to block the shaman's attacks.

- KWANG! KAGAGAK!

As Erich anticipated, in such a cramped cave, the golems obstructed each other's movements with their swinging attacks.

- PAAANG!

They even collided on occasion. Of course, only Erich could slip through such narrow spaces with such skill.

[You're like a rat!]

- PWING! PWEEENG!

The shaman's spells didn't let up. But most missed Erich or were blocked by the golems. When the golem was struck by its own master's attack, it staggered and lost its balance.

- KWAANG!

As a golem's body collapsed, Erich observed it closely with his heightened focus.

Bit by bit, he started to discern a faint flow of power.

'... Is that it!'

A human figure embedded at the golem's core. Within it, something subtle radiated a lustrous energy.

It appeared to be similar in nature to the aura Erich wielded.

That energy spread throughout the golem's body and even reached the shaman in the rear.

It seemed that whatever was embedded inside the golem served as its core. However, Erich realized he lacked the aura output to break it.

- CHUCK.

Erich gripped his sword tightly.

'If I lack output, then I'll just have to borrow some.'

- KWAANG!

A golem's fist crashed down where Erich had just been. But he narrowly dodged it,

- KADUDUDUK!

deflected the next punch with his sword, and as he closed the distance to the golem—

- WOOOONG!

Erich's eyes burned even brighter, as if flames blazed from his gaze.

- SHHHHH!

Simultaneously, aura condensed around Erich radiated in all directions, a faint, shimmering blue light.

Before long, the cave was filled with light emanating from Erich. But there was a place that resisted the glow: the area around the golem itself.

- SZZZT!

The power of Erich's spreading aura clashed with the mysterious force similar to aura within the golem, producing sparks.

Erich didn't miss that gap.

Dodging another golem strike, Erich swung his sword upward from below.

- CHAAK!

Erich's sword traced precisely along the point where his aura and the golem's energy met.

With a bright flash from the blade, blue aura surged forth.

Continuing the rotation, Erich's strength, together with the golem's own power, were drawn into the sword.

- SZT. SZTZZT!

The glow that had been a mere haze around the sword now shone much brighter, and when Erich again sliced toward the golem's core—

- KWAJIK!

The blow, pulling in power from the surroundings, completely shattered the golem's core.

- KWAJIJIK!

Even after breaking the core, Erich's sword, still radiating blue aura, slashed through another golem's core in succession.

- KUDEDUDUK.

"Huff. Huff."

Erich steadied his breathing and righted his stance.

And at that instant—

- WARRRRK.

The two golems whose cores he had struck collapsed completely.

A godlike feat—disrupting the balance by slicing the point where his aura and the enemy's force converged, momentarily channeling even the enemy's power into his sword.

Attempting such a technique would be unthinkable for anyone but Erich, who, having reached the pinnacle of a Swordmaster, had already handled aura to its utmost limits.

Erich pointed his sword at the shaman—as if to say, you're next.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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