Chapter 186: Golem Fight, Ready, Go!

As the entire village watched, Julius and Eshad, a knight of the Balsham territory, began their warm-up for the first match of the first round.

With the excitement building and spectators in place, it might seem like a game, especially after yesterday’s competition, but this event held significant importance.

First, the competition helped assess basic abilities and identify strengths and areas of potential. Since they couldnt rely on a large army or a long training period, it was more efficient to utilize each individual’s strengths and assign them to appropriate roles, rather than trying to eliminate weaknesses and standardize the group.

Moreover, the mock battles allowed for an evaluation of actual combat skills. Even if roles were pre-determined based on aptitude, real battle situations rarely unfold exactly as planned. Commanders needed to be tactically flexible, and combat skills played a key role in adapting to the situation. Not only commanders, but the participants themselves needed to have a clear understanding of their strengths and weaknesses to perform well.

A skilled knight must have both confidence and the ability to assess their abilities objectively.

Additionally, this event allowed participants to gauge their strength against the magic giant golems from the Avalushi that sided with Zun, who were likely enemies. Knowing your opponents power in advance would be a significant advantage.

“Alright. Let the first match begin! Both participants, take your starting positions.”

Norman called out as both Julius, controlling the purple golem with a longsword and shield, and Eshad, controlling the yellow golem with a spear, finished their warm-up and approached the start line.

“Julius chose the sword.”

Annemarie, observing the match, commented to Felix standing beside her.

“Yes, although a spear has a range advantage, Julius is still more comfortable with the sword, as his training has mainly focused on that.” 

Felix responded, stroking his chin.

Though they werent physically moving their bodies, it was impossible to make their golems perform movements that they couldnt visualize clearly. Just like Isamu’s skill in javelin throwing, if you can clearly imagine it, you can perform similar movements even if you’ve never done it before. 

In close combat, where quick decisions are critical, its important to rely on familiar fighting styles.

Considering that Julius was the least experienced in actual combat, it was a wise decision for him to stick with the sword, which he was more comfortable handling. On the other hand, Eshad, with his extensive experience as a knight, naturally chose the spear.

“And the match begins!”

Norman declared as both combatants took their positions.

Initially, both retreated slightly from their starting positions, observing each others movements. Eshad began slowly circling Julius, holding his spear in a middle guard. Julius, with a shield in his left hand, maintained a defensive half-body stance, keeping his focus on Eshad.

The first move came from Eshad. He utilized his longer reach to launch a quick, probing thrust from outside Juliuss sword range. Julius skillfully deflected these with his shield, but the pressure from Eshads consistent strikes gradually forced him to retreat.

After about three minutes of this back-and-forth, the balance suddenly broke.

Eshads thrust, which appeared similar to his previous ones, suddenly struck Juliuss shield with much greater force, pushing it aside along with Juliuss left arm. The follow-up thrust aimed directly at the now-exposed left side of Juliuss golem. Julius tried to leap back, but couldnt completely evade the strike, resulting in a sharp metallic sound as the spear glanced off his golems armor.

“Yellow scores a hit! Return to starting positions.”

Norman immediately declared.

The mock battle rules allowed for two types of pauses: one where combat continued after a hit, and another where it stopped to reset. Today, they were using the reset rule, to avoid one-sided matches and ensure a balanced training session.

“Eshad-dono is quite skilled.”

Felix murmured as he observed the exchange.

“Julius’ shield seemed to be knocked aside quite suddenly.”

Annemarie remarked.

“Eshad-dono had been intentionally holding back his strength in his earlier attacks, repeating the same motion over and over. Then, out of nowhere, he put his full strength into one strike, catching Julius off guard.”

Felix began to explain to Annemarie, who had posed a question.

“If this were a battle fought with one’s own body, you’d be able to gauge the opponent’s level of seriousness from the impact you feel, the way they step in, or the tension in their muscles. However… with the magic giant golems, it’s probably much harder to read those things.”

“As expected of Felix.” 

Isamu added, impressed by Felix’s insight. 

“You definitely don’t get as much sense of touch. I suppose it makes sense from a design perspective since feeling the full pain of something like losing an arm would be pretty overwhelming.”

“It seems that’s the case.” 

Annemarie replied. 

“In that situation, it might be nearly impossible to literally feel whether an attack is serious or not.”

“Most likely. Also, since the magic giant golems don’t change their expressions or gaze, and their skin isn’t exposed, it’s harder to gauge the force behind their attacks based on those visual cues.”

“True. There are quite a few things to consider. Maybe even non-pilots should experience what it’s like to get a better understanding.”

Felix sighed softly at Isamu’s explanation. 

“It’s not ideal for a field commander to be unaware of what’s happening on the ground.”

“Let’s talk to Norman about it later.” 

Isamu suggested, agreeing with the idea. They decided to discuss the matter further soon.

As they discussed, the second round began, this time with Julius taking the offensive, having decided that he couldn’t afford to stay on the defensive after the first round.

Julius fearlessly closed the distance, compensating for the spears reach by moving in close and launching a flurry of sword strikes. Eshad countered by using the shaft of his spear like a staff to block Juliuss attacks. Although Eshad was more experienced in hand-to-hand combat, Julius’s superior skill in controlling the magic golems helped him close the gap, resulting in an even exchange.

But once again, Eshads experience proved decisive. He took advantage of a brief lull in Julius’ attacks to strike back, delivering a quick blow to Juliuss golems side, scoring a second hit.

As they entered the third round, Julius, now cornered, launched another aggressive attack, but his movements lacked the sharpness of earlier rounds. Though not physically moving, the mental strain of controlling the golem was beginning to wear on him, especially for an 11-year-old.

Sensing this fatigue, Eshad launched a counteroffensive, quickly turning the tide. Despite Julius’ best efforts to defend, Eshad’s attacks began to land more frequently, and it seemed the match was nearing its end.

Then, something unexpected happened.

Throughout the match, Julius had been controlling his golem with his cat Leo on his lap. But now, Orihime, another cat, suddenly jumped onto Julius’ lap. This disruption was transmitted through the magic connection, causing Julius’s golem to move awkwardly, and Eshad took advantage, landing a finishing thrust.

Bakin

With a dry sound, Julius’ shield broke into pieces and flew into the air.

However, in a surprising twist, Julius’ golem dodged the spear with a graceful maneuver, bending backward like a limbo dancer and narrowly avoiding the blow.

“Oh!? Matri…x!!” 

Isamu shouted instinctively.

Twisting his body even further, he placed his left hand on the ground while sideways, using the strength of both his legs and left arm to spin his body. He leaped over the spear, which had missed and was now stuck in the ground at an angle, resembling the Fosbury flop used in high jump. Rising to his feet, he swung his sword in a backhand blow across the neck of Eshad’s machine, which had momentarily frozen in surprise.

“A decisive blow from Purple! The winner is Julius!” 

Norman declared, announcing Julius’ victory as his sword stopped just short of contact.

“Whoooaaa!!” 

Cheers erupted from both the pilots and the villagers at the stunning comeback victory.

Both pilots returned their machines to the starting line and disconnected from the magic control links, bringing movement back to their real bodies in the cockpits.

“Leo, and Orihime-sensei, thank you so much.” 

Julius said, opening his eyes and patting Leo and Orihime, who were curled up on his lap as he unbuckled his harness.

“Nyaa~” 

“Funyaff,” 

Leo rubbed his head against Julius’ hand affectionately, while Orihime, with a smug look as if to say “of course,” swatted at Leo and Julius’ hands with her tail before hopping down and returning to Isamu.

“Ah, I’m defeated. I never expected such a move there…” 

Eshad walked over to Julius.

“No, it was just luck… well, more like thanks to Leo and Orihime-sensei,” 

Julius replied, standing up while holding Leo.

“What happened? As soon as Orihime sat on your lap, you started moving like a completely different person,” 

Norman asked, curious about Julius’ sudden acrobatic maneuvers, as he came over too.

“Well, I suddenly felt Orihime-sensei on my head, and it surprised me…” 

Julius began explaining as everyone gathered around to listen.

Apparently, Orihime had forcefully inserted herself into the magic control link, with Leo acting as a mediator to provide support. As soon as that happened, the resistance Julius felt while controlling the magic giant golem drastically decreased. In the heat of the moment, he had dodged the spear and mimicked a move he’d seen the captain of the knights use during a practice match against a spear, and the golem moved in a way that was very close to that.

“I think Orihime-sensei was showing Leo how to support me. Once the battle ended, Orihime-sensei’s presence disappeared, but Leo’s support still made the machine feel a bit lighter.”

“I see… I’ve never heard of a cat teaching another like that, but it really happened. Isamu-dono’s cat is truly something else.” 

Norman said, crossing his arms and nodding thoughtfully.

“As expected of you, Hime. Thank you.” 

Isamu said, gently stroking the back of Orihime’s ears as she lay in his arms.

“Nyaa~,” 

Orihime purred contentedly.

“Sensei!! Can you please teach my Kiki as well!?” 

Tiramisu, who also had a kitten named Kiki as her partner like Julius, edged closer to Orihime with a plea. Just like Julius earlier, Tiramisu hadn’t yet experienced the full support power from Kiki.

“Nya… Nya-nya-naf~” 

“Mya-mya-myaa,” 

Orihime, peeking out from Isamu’s arms, meowed something in response to Tiramisu’s request, and Kiki meowed back in reply.

“Nyaff,” 

Orihime let out a small chuckle-like sound and buried her face back into Isamu’s arms.

“S-Sensei? What kind of reaction is that!?” 

Tiramisu, now being ignored, had Kiki gently patting her head.

“Huh!? Is this… is Kiki comforting me!?”

For some unknown reason, it seemed that Orihime had denied Tiramisu’s request. 

“Well, Hime isn’t the type to be mean just because it’s you, Tiramisu-san. There must be some reason behind it.” 

Isamu reassured Tiramisu while patting Orihime, who was nuzzling against his chest.

While Isamu and the others were having this conversation, Norman and the villagers were inspecting the magic giant golems for any issues. Eto, Willem, Mizeroi, and Liddell, who were not pilots, were also assisting in the checks. Since even a basic knowledge of maintenance made a big difference, they’d been learning the essentials of golem upkeep since the second day of training.

“Alright, both machines are all clear! Let’s begin the second match!” 

Norman declared after the inspections were complete as Marcella and Sir Gable, a knight from House Bisseling, headed toward their cockpits.

Both being seasoned knights, the match became a tight contest, with each landing one successful strike. However, Marcella, who had a knack for reading her opponent’s habits, soon took control, landing two more decisive blows and advancing to the second round.

The third match, between Drexler and Sarah, followed. Since the tournament had 12 participants, this was the second round of Block A, with the winner set to face either Julius or Marcella in the next match.

Drexler, a seasoned veteran knight with a high mana pass score of 7, was up against Sarah, who, despite her youth, was well-versed in handling magic giant golems with the help of her cat partner. The match started in Sarah’s favor as she skillfully controlled the golem, keeping Drexler off balance with well-timed feints and securing the first hit early on.

For the second hit, Sarah incorporated a tricky jumping maneuver, further bewildering Drexler and landing another decisive blow.

“She’s amazing. To be able to move like that…” 

Isamu said in awe, watching Sarah’s golem leap and dash with agility.

“Haha, she’s been playing with those things since she was little. It’s like a toy to her.” 

Greg said with a proud smile.

“But Sarah doesn’t know what real combat is like…”

*Crash!*

Just as Greg muttered those words, a loud sound echoed through the arena. Everyone turned to see Sarah’s golem fallen on the ground, with Drexler’s golem poised above it, spear pointed at the downed opponent.

“Yellow’s decisive blow! The winner is Drexler!” 

Norman’s voice boomed, declaring Drexler’s victory.

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