It wasn't just Fred who had reached this conclusion.

Arial watched it all unfold. His eyes remained fixed on the Silver Golem, still walking slowly behind the Iron Golem's line…

It hadn't attacked. But it was getting dangerously closer.

He turned to his team.

"We're pulling back."

Torren looked up. "You sure?"

"We're not stopping this…" Arial said. "Not here. Not like this."

In the meantime, Mark also had similar thoughts. He could also tell the situation from the signs. The knights were slowly retreating, the mages were drained, and their mana guns were no longer effective…

And the Iron Golems were still coming!

"Fall back…" He said to his team after seeing the Knight's slow retreat…

"Just controlled retreat! Don't run… rotate and cover!"

The knights, mages, and adventurers began to withdraw, moving in pairs, shielding each other as they stepped back toward the secondary barricade.

The adventurers were a bit slower as they dragged some wounded, while others were covering the retreat with arrows and spells that barely slowed the enemy.

"We can't stop them here… Collapse the path to slow their advance!" Mark said to remind Carlo of the Arcanum Circle.

Carlo also thought of this as the last resort and nodded.

After everyone had finally retreated, he raised his staff one last time, to cast his final spell…

"Oh earth that bears the weight of war…

Earth Collapse!"

The ground beneath the narrow passage rumbled.

Soon, cracks spread like veins across the stone, and with a final surge of mana, the terrain gave way.

The slope collapsed inward, dragging barricades, debris, and shattered golem parts into a deep trench. A cloud of dust and gravel surged upward, momentarily obscuring the battlefield.

In this collapse, dozens of Iron Golems were caught and buried by the earth. It was a huge damage.

However, there were still more than a thousand Iron Golems that halted at the edge of the collapse.

They didn't roar or react and just stopped as if ordered by someone…

They simply stood there, probably processing the new obstacle.

But the defenders didn't wait to see what they would do next.

"Move!" Mark barked. "We've bought some time… Retreat!"

The retreat continued in waves. The Crown Prince's soldiers fell back in formation, covering the flanks. The knights moved with discipline, helping the wounded and reinforcing the rear. The adventurers, though scattered, regrouped quickly under Arial's direction.

Torren and Jiya supported a limping mage between them, while Edward fired his last few arrows into the dust cloud, more out of habit than hope of killing a Golem.

***

In the meantime, Fred fled with his knights in a different direction to get their horses…

Mark and his private army didn't have enough horses, but they had a few wagons to carry the higher officers and those injured…

As for the Mages of the Arcanum Circle, they also brought their own carriages, so their retreat wasn't too far before they managed to board them…

In the meantime, the Iron Golems hadn't moved.

But the Silver Golem had.

It now stood at the edge of the collapsed path… No one knows how it managed to climb past and pass through the numerous Iron Golems, but the Silver Golem did it, and it seemed too easy for it…

It means that this Golem was actually capable of attacking them in the outpost just now, but didn't do so for some reason.

As they looked at it, they noticed that the golem didn't immediately attempt to leap down…

It simply raised its arm. Then it lowered it again.

And the Iron Golems resumed their march… It started slowly, methodically, as they climbed the blocked path…

"They're not stopping," Mark muttered.

Carlo frowned at the sight but there was nothing they could do. They needed the wall of the city to defend.

Since they were facing golems anyway, the cannons and catapults of the city should be good enough to deal with these.

"Still… That bought us time," he said…

Soon, Fred ordered a few scouts from the Adventurer Guild to monitor the movement of the Golems.

"If they find another way around, we'll need to warn the city…"

Well, if the golems chose a different path instead of heading straight to Hesa City, it would be a huge problem for them…

Fred even considered provoking the slow golems to follow them.

***

Just like that, the main force had retreated.

Knights, mages, adventurers, and soldiers were now en route to Hesa City, regrouping behind its fortified walls.

The wounded were being tended to in wagons and carriages, while commanders issued rapid orders to prepare the city's defenses.

The cannons were being loaded. The catapults were being aligned. The city's militia had already begun to mobilize.

But not everyone had returned…

Several of the Adventurer Guild's scouts accompanied by Magicblade Knights, were hidden overlooking the collapsed valley. Their orders were simple: observe the golems, track their movement, and report immediately if they diverted from the main path.

They kept their distance, using enchanted lenses and detection crystals to monitor the terrain.

The Iron Golems were still climbing.

Slowly, they scaled the broken slope and were able to pass through it…

"They're not spreading," one scout whispered. "They're still heading straight for the city."

"Good," another replied. "That means the wall defenses will be ready."

But then, something changed.

One of the detection crystals pulsed.

A faint shimmer appeared on the far side of the valley… just beyond the collapsed trench.

At first, they thought it was a trick of the light.

But then another shimmer appeared… And another… And another.

Within moments, the scouts realized what they were seeing.

More Silver Golems.

Not one. Not two.

At least seven of them!

They emerged from the far side of the valley, walking in perfect silence…

They didn't know when they had come out of the dungeon! If they didn't stay here for a while, they would be completely clueless about these additional problems!

"We need to report this… With their current strength, even the Hesa City might be in trouble…"

***

In the meantime, while this was all happening, the black sludge that clung to Rayven's boots slowly pulsed…

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