The roars of these huge stone monsters were utterly terrifying. Inside the cave entrance, there were at least three hundred adventurers, and more were still entering with supplies, weapons, and what looked like camping gear.
But everyone stopped in their tracks when they saw those two massive stone monsters being bound by golden chains, with Prince Gilgamesh standing at the forefront. Just moments before, many considered him a nuisance.
Bolt, who was in charge of the adventurers not part of any group, walked up to Rodolfo and asked him seriously, "You bastard, how come the exploration team didn't make contact with the enemy? We're at the entrance, right at the entrance! Without Prince Gilgamesh's help, we would have died without even knowing what hit us. Wasn't that your job?"
Rodolfo looked at the enormous monsters and said, "It's not my fault. How were we supposed to know there were enemies right at the dungeon entrance? It wasn't even in the reports. The scouting team made no enemy contact, and neither did my group, which was supposed to be the vanguard. Don't blame me; you would have made the same mistake."
"Don't give me excuses! You've been causing trouble since long before we entered the cave. This incursion is cursed, all thanks to your stupid arrogance," shouted Bolt before releasing Rodolfo, who had no right to be angry.
"Quiet down and watch. These types of monsters are classified as guardians and are protecting the dungeon entrance!" Gilgamesh turned his head and asked everyone to remain silent. Then he looked at Roxy, who was still somewhat dazed, and said, "Their bodies are primarily composed of rocks. Do you have any spells that can damage their chests?"
Roxy, who had recovered from the initial shock, nodded and raised her staff. She murmured an incantation out loud and shouted, "Compressed Water Sphere!"
Right in front of her, a massive water sphere formed, but its size began shrinking rapidly, compressing itself into a much smaller ball. After the spell finished, she launched it towards the chest of the first stone golem.
Boom!
The water sphere smashed against the stone golem's face, destroying it into a thousand pieces. This prompted those who had believed these enemies to be invincible to calm down. They watched as the head of the stone golem began regenerating in less than five seconds.
"These darned monsters..."
Watching the stone golem regenerate its face, many adventurers wondered how to kill this thing while a chill ran down their spines. There weren't many records of stone golems, beyond the fact that they could be summoned by powerful, high-level mages. But since the First Human-Demon War, they had become rare, as if this spell had disappeared altogether. As guardians, these monsters were classified as a special kind, akin to wild dragons.
"Can that thing really do that?"
"It's a monster summoned by a mage or a kind of spirit that feeds on magic to regenerate its body. If it's not destroyed entirely, like mythical ogres, it can regenerate."
"How do you expect us to destroy that massive giant?"
"We need to find its power core, which is primarily located in its chest or stomach. Eris, try hitting it hard in the stomach." Gilgamesh wanted to somehow train Eris so that small things like these wouldn't shake her heart, which should be achievable through the experiences they have on this journey.
Eris took a deep breath and said in a determined tone, "Leave it to me, I'm going to split it in two!"
What can a little girl do? That's what a normal person would usually ask, but everyone swallowed those words when they saw Eris draw a beautiful crimson sword that shimmered with a deep red hue.
"Calm down, calm down, you can do it, Eris!" Eris thought to herself as she controlled her breathing and prepared to use her ultimate technique that she had been perfecting all this time, Lion's Jaw.
This was a ultimate technique of the Golden Lion Sword Style, where the swordsman concentrated all their power into a single strike, transforming the sword and the wielder's body into a giant golden lion's jaw that could devour the enemy, crushing them with a single blow.
"If you join the Uruk Tower, all of you can learn this fighting style, so see first how powerful you can become!"
"Golden Lion Sword Style, Lion's Jaw!"
Oom!
Eris's body exploded with a golden aura, her hair rose towards the sky, and the ground beneath her sank under the pressure. When she murmured the technique, her body shot forward, leaving a residual silhouette, and she swung the blade of her sword horizontally across the huge stone golem's body.
Boom!
The ground shook, the air felt the pressure of that powerful attack, and the stone golem, which had been hit by this massive blow, was destroyed from its core. Every part of its body seemed to lose life, its hands were destroyed, and the light in its eyes dissipated.
"I did it, hahaha!" Eris went to celebrate with the astonished Roxy, who was deeply impressed by the attack she had just witnessed from someone smaller than her.
"What in the world is this incredibly strong sword style?"
The adventurers, at least those who were convinced of their fighting abilities, were severely affected by witnessing a demonstration by a young girl who could easily be the child of anyone in the cave. It was challenging to accept these results at first glance.
Many, instead of feeling awe, felt fear deep within their hearts. Could they themselves learn that sword technique if they joined one of the Uruk Towers?
That sword style wasn't something regular; it was an extremely fierce art! If Gilgamesh hadn't been here from the beginning, everyone or the vast majority of them would have been crushed by an enemy that wasn't even the main threat in the dungeon.
Of course, no one knew that the golems weren't invincible beings, only an enemy whose capabilities were unknown, and the element of surprise would have disrupted their battle formation, causing hundreds to die upon first contact.
"Do you want to give it a try?" Gilgamesh directed a glance at Brutus, who was standing in front of everyone. He nodded and drew his sword.
"Northern God Sword Style!" the man yelled while attacking the center of the stone golem's body at a speed that, for everyone, was not much inferior to Eris's. He successfully hit the core and destroyed the entire body of the golem with a single strike, which was indeed his ultimate move.
"As expected of a Sword King!"
Praise came quickly. Eris, who observed the awed men, whispered to Roxy, "Strength is truly not something unattainable for everyone. Gilgamesh has good methods to make you even more incredible than the mages of the time, although it's strange that he never mentioned having a magic master like you. He must have been very apathetic because he missed you."
Roxy smiled slightly and thought to herself, "He wouldn't remember me until he saw me; that's what he told me when we were kids, and I can say with certainty that he was right. Although it's not uncommon, some people are born with the ability to see the future, but being able to see into the past was unique to him."
"Now that the enemies are dead, we should wait for all the adventurers to enter and get ready." Gilgamesh could go alone, but that would be unwise on his part, considering that he was merely a guest from his perspective. Besides, he wanted to experience this journey into the unknown with Eris and now Roxy, his former mentor.