Lord Frewin swung his sword vertically at the Golem. In this one attack, he had put his all. Usually, most golem weapons cannot withstand a full attack from an aggressor. It would shatter, undoubtedly giving him the advantage.
Unfortunately for him, this was a special kind of golem, not the kind he was used to. It was safe to assume that for this type of golem, this had to be the worst idea., here's why.
Barda had designed these golems to behave a lot like arcade games, with an adjustable level. The golem was designed to take note of the power and velocity of the attack.
Once recorded, the golem would stabilize its power and speed to these records. That way, it could mirror the basic stats of the trainee. This was all part of the plan to make these golems suited for all kinds of users.
As such, when the captain unleashed his full strength onto that one attack, he was spelling doom for himself.
This meant that he would have to face someone at his level whose strength and speed stats were above his since he couldn't operate at full strength all the time.
On seeing this, Barda smiled in his heart. While he had briefly wondered if this was a bug, it was always good to have the upper hand as a trainer, and the golem needed that. It was built to train, hence it was only doing its job.
Lord Frewin was shocked to see the sword hold. This made him have some appreciation for the golem, but only just. He was already moving for his next strike.
That's when things started to go wrong with him. He had followed his attack with the second swing of his sword vertically at the Golem. He wanted to turn him into two halves.
Reacting quickly, the golem struck at the incoming sword before it could gain traction. Moreover, the strength of the attack was so intense that it sent Lord Frewin's hands numb, causing him to take a step back.
The golem followed by another and another. Each of these strikes was placed around Lord Frewin's blindspots, causing him to step back every time. So far, he would be struck twice for every five exchanges.
Lord Frewin was gaining newfound respect for his opponent. He had been taking hits continuously, and if this kept up, he might end up severely injured. He still remembered Barda's warning about frostbite.
However, at the moment he did not have much to worry about, just surface wounds. This made him even madder. Just what is that SOB trying to prove?
Even as he thought all this, Lord Frewin never took his eye off the mark. As an experienced soldier, he was not going to give up on his enemy.
His men were watching him, even his King, his ward, had his eye on him. Furthermore, this is all about the prestige of his kingdom, if he gave up now, wouldn't that sink his kingdom's reputation further.
He kept eyeballing his opponent, looking for an opening in all this defense.
'I got you now!' As another attack was coming down on his thigh, the captain was waiting for it. He had noticed this move, in particular, as it was the one giving him the most headache.
The lord reacted by thrusting his sword at the enemy, almost as though to trade blow for blow. At the last second, he had evaded to stabbing attack, barely escaping the sharp icy edges.
This had been his plan, to fake an opening to lure the opponent and then strike. However, the golem did not even seem fazed as it spun around and thrust a fist at its opponent, catching him squarely on the black eye he had given him.
The force of a block of ice colliding on one's face is by no means a lovetap. This sent Lord Frewin sprawling and he landed on his cheek.
This was not his first time falling, but this was the first substantial hit he had taken. He could see stars as he got up, still holding his sword.
"STOP!" At Barda's command, the golem froze. Well, it was already frozen, just stopped moving. This shout stole everyone's attention away from the match.
"Lord Frewin, would you say you have gained something?" Lord Barda asked.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I have!" Lord Frewin was incredulous, as though that was the most unthinkable thing.
Genuinely, he had appreciated the fact that the machine exposed all his blind spots. That was how it was able to keep him on the defense. Don't forget that if he said he didn't learn a thing, then he would be proving he got a beating for nothing.
"My King, are you pleased with the result?" Barda asked with a bright smile.
That night, Lady Catalina, Lord Manga, and a few select, adding up to 10 members in all, that he had picked stood before him and stood before a golem core. Touching it would be disastrous, at least for now.
Barda had them cut their hands and bleed on the core. That way, the core would recognize its owner. This was nothing new, enchanting was known to generally use this method to secure important stuff.
Once this was done, they could hold the core. Of course, no one else could. This was a method to prevent theft.
Following which, Barda had them all drop their cores into the buckets he had prepared beforehand. Immediately, the water coalesced to form an ice golem, taking the shape and looks of the owner. These figures all had swords.
"First training golem will teach you how to handle the sword. You will train with it daily, however, be warned.
"If you fail to train before you sleep, it will attack you in your sleep," Barda chuckled lightly, as did the group. In his mind, he was thinking, 'You laugh now...' That being said, he wanted to see who would figure out that that was no joke.
***
"So, this is it?" the Queen asked with bated breath. She had been planning, obsessing, and mulling over everything. Now The day had come, and not a moment too soon.
In Lady Maara's mind, this was the ceremony to seal the Kingdom and raise her to the top of the sky, well, maybe just above all her peers.
That being said, all this was not just for her glory and honor, but for the Kingdom and the continent. She was positively glowing with pride and patriotism.
"For once, you woke up before me," someone woke up beside her looking all sleepy and groggy. She didn't know that he decided to sleep in this morning just so he can give her the satisfaction.
"Well, get up!" She yelled loudly as she sprung off the bed. "No time for slacking." The Queen had her moments, and Barda was going to let her have this day, so he wasn't arguing.
A fully-dressed, freshly showered Barda and Lady Maara got into the palace ship dock, where a majestic airship was waiting. The Queen's ship.
After the disaster of the Queen's ship during the war, a new ship was made for her. However, this was not just another airship, but a top of the line new model fully designed for luxury and majesty.
The airship was not any bigger than usual, just measuring 15 meters across and 4 meters across. However, every ounce of the ship was overlayed with pure gold. Its glistening beauty and shine made it stand out in the entire field.
The sails and the capsule had a purple and white color scheme. The shine of the gold matched well with the purple sails, making this the most majestic ship ever built.
In the bow, there was a sculpture of a beautiful woman. Barda had created this sculpture with someone in mind, the one whom the ship was named after.
Amazingly, apart from the sculpture, Barda had little else to do with the development of the ship. It was a moment of pride for Barda as well seeing how the people under him had overly performed.
The ship took to the sky and with it the cheers of the crowd. Soon after, 40 other ships took to the sky. Each of these ships was looking extremely well done, but none could reach the Queen's in terms of design and beauty.
Looking up, they saw that these were the Kings and Queens present in the Kingdom. In this party, they would lead the way.
The ships began a circuit around the city. Everywhere they went celebrations would follow. People would come out to the streets cheering at their leaders, with their Queen taking the lead.