Guardian Golems. Mystic ranked spirit beasts that were almost ten meters in height and about three meters across, they were similar to their previous forms, Magma Golems, in that they were constituted of the same superheated material and had an affinity with the fire element. Almost like rock puppets, they resembled humans in the narrowest of definitions, having a head, a torso, two arms and two legs.
But that was where the similarities ended. Fire erupted from their towering silhouettes, lava oozing from every pore and setting their surroundings aflame. Each step brought with it thunder as the several-ton monsters shook the earth with their tremendous weight.
With Hei Ba still dueling the three Lava Drakes in the previous cavern, I no longer had a Mystic ranked spirit beast of my own to call upon. I could only brace myself as the eight Guardian Golems lumbered inexorably toward my position, raising their crushing fists to pulverize my position. If the blows landed, it wouldn't just crush me. The embers dancing around their rock-like hands would incinerate my relatively frail body.
However, far from discouraged, I simply smirked and pushed my glasses up my nose. That was because I still had one last trump card to play.
"My lord."
Unlike the blinding or flashy manifestations of my other summoned spirit beasts, Long Wang appeared to teleport quietly onto the scene, almost unseen unless you were looking out for him. He bowed politely before raising his head to watch the approaching Guardian Golems, a smile touching his lips.
"I'm going to need your help, Long Wang."
"So I see. I am assuming you wish to forge contracts with at least a few of these Guardian Golems for your dungeon?"
"That's right. About five of them. We'll probably have to destroy the rest, depending on the circumstances."
I was already conjuring an arrow and notching it to my bow. Without hesitation, I shot down the lead Guardian Golem, the projectile detonating against its head. For a moment, the titanic spirit beast staggered, its head smoking. Then it righted itself once more.
Damn, but the Guardian Golems were a lot more durable than I thought. Even though we were both Mystic ranked…but I was only beginner Mystic ranked while these Guardian Golems were most likely peak Mystic ranked, similar to Hei Ba. The good news was that they were a lot more docile and amenable to command, lacking the defiance and malice that an Abyssal Serpent would possess.
The problem, of course, was how I could weaken them enough so that the spirit contracts could take effect.
"Good choice." Long Wang didn't seem to mind that my attack dealt little damage to my target. He nodded approvingly, his stare far away. "Not only would they be easier to command when compared to an Abyssal Serpent, they are incredibly sturdy. It takes a lot to bring even one of them down. They are ideal for defense. If you can post five of them as sentries at your dungeon gate, then the Deep Sea Palace will be as safe as it can possibly be against most conventional threats. I dare say they alone can fend off most invasion forces from other dungeon masters."
"The problem, though, is subjugating them." I sighed in frustration. "They are too tough to weaken considerably for the spirit contracts to take effect."
"Very true. But that is precisely what makes them worth subordinating."
"How do you propose we do it?" I asked, thinking hard. Dodging a flaming punch from the lead Guardian Golem, I unleashed a volley of arrows while weaving through its pillar-like legs. The azure qi projectiles detonated forcefully across the surface of its fuming body, leaving steaming craters but otherwise not doing anything significant. "At this rate, I can shoot at one all day and still wouldn't be able to whittle it down to submission."
A second Guardian Golem struck from the side, but I flipped my body in midair and avoided the slow swipe. Planting my feet against the cavern wall, I propelled myself away just in time to evade a thunderous smack. The blazing palm left melted rock in the crater that it had just carved, and I breathed a sigh of relief at having escaped such a grisly demise.
Landing on the ground, I jumped away from another swat and slid between the legs of a third Guardian Golem. It clumsily turned around to pursue me, but by the time it finished, I was long gone.
The Guardian Golems might be extremely durable, but they were awfully slow. Honestly, it was easy for me to run rings around them all day and not get hit at all. In fact, I could probably escape if I wasn't so intent on forging a spirit contract with them and hiring them as guardians for my dungeon.
I had best keep that weakness in mind when appointing them as sentries for the Deep Sea Palace, though. Any conquering enemy would find a way to exploit such a vulnerability.
For now, though, I focused on the task at hand. The Guardian Golems made a great wall, highly resistance to both physical and elemental damage. Their attack power was off the charts too, judging from the deep impressions they left in the cavern when they tried to attack me. It was only their speed that let me down, but everything else about them made up for it. These traits made them ideal guards for my dungeon.
Just when I thought that, the central Guardian Golem paused. It patiently waited for me to shift toward the front, my maneuvers forced by its comrades as they swiped at me clumsily. Once I was directly in front of it, though, it raised both hands.
At first, I believed it was going to punch or swat me away like its brethren. That notion was completely destroyed when twin torrents of fire erupted from its molten hands to combine into a raging, flaming whirlwind that engulfed everything ahead of it.
My eyes widened and I dropped to the ground, realizing that I had no way of escaping. The fire was everywhere, the inferno too immense to evade. I had to stand my ground and defend myself. Keeping my bow, I drew my sword and cleaved the flames with a watery strike from Flowing River Clear Sword. Reading the flow of fiery qi, I pinpointed a place where the blazing currents were the weakest and struck there. At the same time, my azure qi ballooned and enveloped me in a watery bubble that evaporated instantly into steam the moment the flames came in contact with it.
"Ugh!"
Scalding vapor hit my skin and turned my flesh red. I hissed from the pain, my eyes filling with tears as I almost recoiled. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to endure, my sword still cleaving the flames apart. And then, almost as suddenly as it began, it ended. My skin still stinging sharply from the heat, I staggered for a second before I hurled myself to the side in reflex. Just as well, for a flaming fist hammered into my former position, leaving a molten crater in the dirt.
"Phew."
Adrenaline driving most of my actions, I rolled across the ground and sprang up. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that Long Wang was executing similar maneuvers, dodging and weaving through the Guardian Golems' attack patterns. Occasionally, he would swing a hand and blast his assailants with tidal waves, but the water would boil into steam upon contact. Despite their smoldering forms, the Guardian Golems continued attacking, not feeling any pain at all.
Just what did we need to do in order to bring them down?!
"Any suggestions?" I asked Long Wang when I landed beside him, unable to keep the tension out of my voice. The Deep Sea King nodded as he jumped back, surfing a tsunami that he conjured and sweeping the both of us away. Another Guardian Golem opened fire with that same long range fire technique, but Long Wang countered it with a titanic stream that extinguished the inferno. Even so, most of the water boiled away into steam before miniscule droplets splattered ineffectively against the front of the Guardian Golem.
"Yes, actually. I have a method that might subdue them, but I will need you to buy me the time to set it up, my lord."
"What kind of method?" I asked, trying not to sound skeptical. "I mean, I trust you, but I'm just curious. Maybe I'm negative, but I simply can't see a way out of this."
"A spirit array." Long Wang grinned as his hands etched a runic pattern in the air. Another tidal wave crashed against the titanic silhouettes of the inexorably advancing Guardian Golems, boiling to steam and enveloping them in a superheated fog. "Your enemies have evidently been deploying spirit arrays of their own to enact whatever schemes they want. Why not we do the same?"
"You know how to set up a spirit array?" I asked, astonished. Long Wang nodded.
"I possess the knowledge of several spirit arrays. Given enough time and the necessary materials, I can set up one anywhere." He grinned. "Don't forget that I'm a dragon. And among the ultimate species, dragons are second best at magic."
"…did you just say ultimate species?" I gaped at him. He nodded before taking a deep breath and exhaling a gigantic whirlpool from his mouth, much like a red-haired dragon girl from a certain anime. I rolled my eyes. "Am I going to encounter a cat spirit next? A cute girl with cat ears and physical strength?"
"Cat spirits aren't an ultimate species. What are you smoking, my lord?"
"I don't want to hear that from you! Who calls themselves an ultimate species?!"
"Don't mind the small details. I thought you knew about the light novel. You were just watching the anime adaptation a couple of months ago."
"How do you know about that?!" I threw my hands up in despair, even as I vaulted over another stream of flames and spun away from another fire punch. Yeah, the Guardian Golems were so slow that I had the luxury of engaging in banter while dodging their attacks. "Never mind, I'll buy you the time you need. Take cover and stay out of sight. I'll draw their attention to me."
Good thing I had summoned Long Wang. I knew he would have a way out of this. The only problem now was how I could divert the attention of eight Guardian Golems to me and evade their concerted attacks indefinitely. As slow as they were, Long Wang was drawing away half of their number earlier. Now I had to double my pace when more of the enemy pursued me.
Gathering as much qi as I could, I swapped my sword for my bow. Azure light glowed from my fingers as they connected to my gleaming bow in thick threads. A second later, a tempestuous rain of azure arrows bombarded the Guardian Golems, pockmarking their hard surface and throwing up countless gouts of steam from the areas of impact.
As sturdy as they were, even the Guardian Golems didn't completely weather the barrage unscathed. They staggered and stumbled, and the lead golem that took the full brunt of my attack fell to its knees, planting its burning knuckles against the ground.
"I don't believe I can't even slay a single one of you," I said, trying not to pant. Landing somewhat awkwardly on the balls of my feet, I bounced backward while drawing more of the Guardian Golems to my position and away from where Long Wang was. Coalescing most of my remaining qi into a single focal point, I created the most powerful arrow I could and took aim. Without any hesitation, I sniped the lead Guardian Golem, obliterating the top half of its body with the howling projectile. A blue freezing explosion billowed outward, almost resembling an icy mushroom cloud, crystalizing everything in the vicinity in frost that melted a few seconds later, blanketing the region in steaming moisture.
The remaining Guardian Golems didn't seem impressed by the display of power or fazed by the demise of one of their brethren. They continued marching onward, showing no expression on their blank, dome-like heads. Only pairs of black slits served as eyes, their stubborn gaze riveted on me.
"Huff…huff…"
I heaved and gasped for air, exhausted. Perhaps pouring all of my qi into that single arrow attack wasn't a good idea. I might have brought down one of them after much effort, but seven remained with only mere scratches. Nonetheless, I had personally proven to myself that I was capable of defeating a peak Mystic ranked spirit beast on my own, and furthermore, I had guaranteed that the surviving spirit beasts had their attention focused entirely on me.
That was all I needed for now. Fortunately, evasion didn't require as much qi. I forced myself to move swiftly, my burning lungs and aching body crying out in protest as I propelled myself away, and then right under powerful limbs and streams of fire. Hopping from side to side, I occasionally let loose a volley of arrow here and there to prick their skin and annoy them further. My targets shuddered, but they otherwise shook off the relatively minor impacts and reached out for me.
I simply darted away. Each movement was sapping the strength from my drained body, but I persevered. I believed in my summoned spirit beasts. Long Wang said he had a spirit array that could deal with the Guardian Golems, and I trusted him.
"Whoa!"
Just as I ducked under a swat that reduced a portion of the cave wall to rubble and crashed inelegantly near its foot, rolling away from a deadly stomp that would have flattened me, I heard the words that reignited the hope I thought I hadn't lost.
"I'm ready, my lord. I'll be activating the spirit array now."
"About time!" I yelled as I continued rolling away. Desperately springing to my feet, I bent my knees and launched myself to the side, sparking what was left of my meager qi to propel my body across the cavern. Confused by my sudden change in trajectory and my unpredictable patterns, the Guardian Golems were slow to react, lumbering about as they struggled to keep up with my position.
Ignoring them, I hit the ground next to a kneeling Long Wang, who pressed his palm against the ground. The next instant, blue formations glowed to life and the interior of the cave descended into mayhem as an ocean of water poured out from nowhere and flooded the entire place.