Chapter 555 – A Split-Second Decision

The Guardian Stone Golem, which rejected all intruders, appeared to be guarding the entrance to a large building in the plaza.

At first glance, it appeared to be standing perfectly still, like an ornament placed before the doorway.

Blue Thunder Beast took the lead and burst into the plaza. Close behind came Tauro and Black-Gold Wings to provide support, along with the twins of Silver Twin Mages. They immediately began casting physical-enhancement and defensive spells.

The Guardian Stone Golem reacted instantly to the new intruders and began to move.

Leading the charge, Jack of Blue Thunder Beast readied his magically strengthened claw sword and leapt into the golem’s guard. He struck at what appeared to be a vulnerable joint—the back of its knee—and disengaged in a hit-and-run maneuver.

The golem responded even to Jack’s quick movements, crouching and swinging a hardened fist.

“!”

The blow was astonishingly fast, but Jack narrowly evaded it and retreated.

Taking his place, the longsword wielder Longa and the battle-axe user Akku attacked the golem’s right and left shoulder joints respectively.

The golem shifted its target to the two of them.

Just as Tauro had observed, the golem seemed to switch its target to whoever had attacked it most recently.

Like Jack, the two struck once and pulled back.

The golem chased after them, swinging its fists down in rapid succession. They barely rolled aside in time to avoid the blows.

Then Bomarne, the blast-fire mage of Blue Thunder Beast, cast blast-fire magic and hurled it at the golem’s head.

The golem’s head disappeared inside a loud explosion.

“Did we get it!?”

Just to be sure, Jack once again slashed at the back of its knee to redirect the target to himself in case it shifted to Bomarne.

As the dust cleared, the golem stood there as if nothing had happened and immediately attacked Jack again.

“Tch! Hardly a scratch!”

Clicking his tongue, Jack dodged and maneuvered behind the golem while maintaining its focus.

This created a pincer formation, putting Jack and the other members in a position to attack from both sides.

With this method, they might gain the advantage.

Longa and Akku again attacked the same shoulder joints as before from behind the Guardian Stone Golem, aiming to destroy those body parts.

The golem reacted instantly.

Its upper body spun a full one hundred eighty degrees and attacked them directly.

“It didn’t do that when it fought the Olog-Hai!” Longa and Akku shouted almost simultaneously.

Caught off guard by the unexpected movement, Longa and Akku barely avoided the strike by diving aside.

Sensing the danger they were in, Bomarne immediately cast another explosive flame spell to draw the target away.

And so, they continued rotating around—taking turns drawing the golem’s focus while attacking—for about thirty minutes.

During that time, Tauro and the others focused on support, occasionally handing magic-restoration potions to Fores, the forest priest and strategist of Blue Thunder Beast, who was also supporting the frontline with magic and physical enhancement.

Silver Twin Mages did the same, taking turns providing magical support in what was clearly becoming a drawn-out battle.

As their roles became clearly defined, one concern remained: the golem’s presumed special attack—the shockwave.

Since Blue Thunder Beast was holding its attention, they would naturally be the ones exposed to it.

The question was how to act then.

Ragune possessed her prized Mirror Turtle Rectangular Shield, which could use [Magic Reflection] and [Area Defense], and those abilities had been further strengthened through training at the Dragon’s Den.

So she had absolute confidence in her defensive capabilities.

However, how effective it would be against the shockwave was unknown. Ragune considered that she might want to draw the first shockwave herself and attempt to block it.

Tauro, too, was most wary of that attack.

From what they had seen, the Guardian Stone Golem possessed excellent resistance to both magic and physical attacks. Its durability was likely tremendous given its size, so the only reliable approach seemed to be repeatedly striking the same area and gradually accumulating damage.

But that meant they would likely have to endure at least one shockwave. They would have to rely on Ragune, as well as Aeris’s powerful barrier magic, and Zion’s specialized defensive shields.

If those failed, whoever was its target—and those nearby—would suffer heavy damage.

Considering that, Tauro began to think following Blue Thunder Beast’s proposed plan might be too dangerous.

Blue Thunder Beast’s strategy was to concentrate all defensive magic in one place and have everyone gather inside it to endure the shockwave. If those defenses failed, the entire group could be wiped out.

Watching the battle unfold, Tauro concluded that for such a prolonged fight, it wasn’t worth taking that risk.

Then Jack’s voice rang out.

“It’s coming! Get ready!”

The signal that a shock wave was coming.

In that instant, Tauro shouted,

“Aeris, Zion, Ragune—defensive magic on me! Pella, go to Aeris!”

Then he used [Teleportation] to move away from the group alone. He drew his bow and immediately fired.

It was an arrow fired from a powerful bow with the strength-enhancing abilities granted by his equipment—a mighty shot.

The arrow struck cleanly into the golem’s head.

The target shifted to Tauro.

The next moment, the shockwave was unleashed toward him—just after Aeris and the others’ defensive magic had been cast upon him.

The Guardian Stone Golem’s shockwave struck Tauro with a roar that sent ripples through the air.

In the very next instant, Aeris’s proud, high-grade barrier magic shattered.

It then smashed through Zion’s barrier magic and Ragune’s defensive ability in succession.

This was what Tauro had feared most.

The possibility that the golem’s ultimate shockwave could destroy defensive magic had crossed his mind.

That was why he had ordered Pella away as well, just in case.

At the last possible moment before taking the full force of the shockwave, Tauro used [Teleportation] again, returning to Aeris’s side and narrowly avoiding a direct hit.

But he hadn’t escaped entirely.

Blood burst from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

“Tauro!”

“ Tauro-sama!”

Aeris and Zion immediately cast healing magic.

“You idiot! Don’t pull stunts like that!”

Without taking his eyes off the golem, Jack attacked the guardian, making himself the target once again before it could pursue Tauro.

“…It’s okay. I have [Super Recovery and Regeneration]. Unless it kills me instantly, I won’t go down that easily…”

“Guff!” Tauro coughed up blood as he received treatment from Aeris and the others.

“…But thanks to the leader’s split-second decision, we now know that shockwave is even more dangerous than it looks. A prolonged fight puts us at a disadvantage. Once the leader recovers, we’re joining the front line,” Ankh said, kneeling beside Tauro.

Aeris and the others nodded and hurried to continue treating Tauro.