“A sudden idea?”
Vesta paused briefly, turning the phrase over in his mind with a flicker of curiosity in his eyes. He gave Demihov another once-over, trying to spot something telling, but ultimately couldn’t find anything.
Demihov smiled faintly, holding nothing back. He gave a concise summary of his idea:
“It’s nothing too profound, really—just some thoughts about the human body. I noticed that when cultivating ‘Qi,’ human cells seem to be triggered somehow, almost like a switch being flipped, allowing them to actually contain this power called Qi.”
“So I started wondering: do other living beings have a similar mechanism inside them? That’s what I plan to study.”
Vesta and Antina exchanged a glance, not picking up on any deeper meaning hidden in his words, and smoothly shifted the topic. They filled Demihov in on the current state of the battle.
Hearing how tense things had gotten, with the Kolk army pressing in, Demihov wiped the smile off his face and grew serious:
“With the Kolk army closing in like this, the situation really doesn’t look good. In my opinion, retreating right now wouldn’t be a bad move at all.”
Demihov believed that pitting their three hundred troops against the two thousand nine hundred soldiers of the Kolk army was nothing short of a fantasy—like throwing an egg against a stone.
“But…”
Demihov changed tack, as if he had more to say.
“If we could get more outside help, we might still stand a chance. I noticed that remarkably powerful marquis is currently being tied up by someone and can’t break away for the time being.”
Vesta and Antina both knew that well. Renith had already crossed the river and was successfully keeping the Kolk main force occupied. Otherwise, their unit would’ve been crushed by the Kolk army like ants under a boot.
“Professor, what kind of outside help do you mean…?”
Antina stood up abruptly, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Demihov, unhurried, took a sip of his coffee. Not a trace of worry showed on his face, as if everything was under his control:
“Technology, magic, or more fighting power.”
Hearing that, Antina slumped back into her seat, disappointed. Weren’t those exactly the things they already knew they lacked?
If they actually had those kinds of resources, would they even be here asking Demihov for advice?
“I know you’re short on all of these right now.”
Demihov smiled once more, a gleam of mystery flickering behind his eyes.
“But… I have them.”
“Unfortunately, my methods have a lot of limitations, so don’t get your hopes up too high. Unless you can somehow scrape together more outside help, I’d still recommend retreat.”
Demihov let his gaze sweep across the train:
“And that’s exactly what you were thinking, which is why you came to the Mobis City train station—to look for a way out.”
Vesta gave a noncommittal nod, but his mind was already churning with questions:
What exactly was Demihov doing here? It definitely couldn’t be just for research.
Just as the three of them were making idle conversation, Oseku burst in, looking panicked:
“Bad news! There’s a Kolk unit two hundred meters ahead!”
The report hit them like a thunderclap, jolting Vesta and Antina to their feet.
Vesta quickly checked his gear, making sure nothing was missing or out of place, then turned to Demihov:
“Please wait here and rest, Professor. Don’t wander off. We’ll go check it out.”
Demihov nodded, signaling for them to go ahead without worry.
The moment he stepped outside, Vesta noticed that the gunfire in the distance had thinned out considerably—and was drawing closer.
Clearly, the gangs could no longer hold back the Kolk army and were starting to retreat en masse.
Vesta shifted his gaze to the area around the station. In the distance, the Kolk troops were marching in tight, disciplined formations—far superior to the ragtag gang members, or the lazy combined forces of the police and guard units.
Using his Appraisal skill, he learned that the commanding officer was a baron.
Beyond that, there seemed to be another baron in the ranks—but this one appeared to be wounded and was being carried forward by the soldiers while unconscious.
“That baron looks kind of familiar.”
Vesta narrowed his eyes and racked his brain. Wasn’t this the same baron who’d been held up by the water golem not long ago?
If this guy and his unit had made it here, then the water golem had most likely been dealt with.
“We still have one scroll with a stored golem.”
“Miss Anna said this golem could hold its own against a viscount, and it should be able to wipe out this unit without trouble.”
With that, Vesta pulled the composite golem scroll Renith had given him from the inside of his coat. He turned to Leoro inside the locomotive:
“How’s the train? Can we get it running?”
“The coal won’t catch, and I can’t make heads or tails of the machinery in here!”
Leoro’s voice came from the engine room, laced with urgency.
Hearing that, Vesta’s heart sank halfway. So the escape plan by train was a dead end.
All they had left was to use the scroll. He could only hope that by the time the composite golem’s magic ran out, they’d have found some other means of escape. As long as they were still alive, they could keep fighting.
Rip!
Vesta tore open the scroll decisively. A massive golem—far larger than any they’d seen before—rose slowly from the ground.
Standing a full seven meters tall, this golem was assembled from four elemental forces: water, fire, earth, and wind. A delicate balance had been struck within its body, and a soft glow emanated from it, as if it carried boundless power.
Because of its towering size, it immediately drew the attention of the Kolk forces. Everyone in the army—except for the unconscious baron—now knew that Vesta and his group were holed up here.
But for the moment, no one dared to move forward. They all understood how formidable golems could be; charging in recklessly would be suicide.
What’s more, this golem was three whole sizes bigger than the ones they’d faced before, and it shimmered with an unfamiliar radiance—clearly no ordinary construct.
Everyone in the Kolk army reached the same conclusion:
This thing is strong!
The baron gave his orders swiftly. Against such a behemoth, grenades were still the most effective option.
Rows of soldiers stepped forward in orderly fashion and began hurling grenades at the golem.
The deafening explosions slowed the golem’s advance while draining its magical reserves at a rapid pace.
“Use ranged attacks!”
Oseku, anxious on the sidelines, asked Vesta for control of the golem and took the helm himself.
He commanded it to use Wind Cutter. Invisible blades of wind swept across the battlefield, reaping the lives of Kolk soldiers.
The baron in charge understood what was happening at the front—and realized this golem could manipulate the wind.
But his men already had a response: spread out and take cover inside buildings.
That would reduce the wind golem’s effectiveness, but it also disrupted the rhythm of their grenade throws, weakening the damage they could deal to the golem in return.
“Crush!”
Seeing everyone hide indoors and refuse to come out, Oseku ordered the composite golem to start smashing the buildings.
The soldiers huddled inside had nowhere to run, and one by one, they were crushed beneath the golem’s feet.
Screams echoed across the battlefield. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere.
It was only then that the Kolk soldiers realized why this golem was so different from the previous ones—this monstrosity could use all of the abilities from every golem they’d encountered!
The baron spat in frustration, cursing under his breath.
He quickly pulled the small canister attached to his grenade and launched a flare into the sky. It burst into a vivid red bloom.
The baron and his remaining troops fell back in rapid retreat. He knew that to deal with this thing, they’d need a viscount!
With the army pulling back, the enormous golem lowered its head and rested to conserve its remaining magical power.
The first clash had clearly gone in Vesta’s favor. But no one looked happy.
After just a few exchanges, the composite golem’s magic had already dropped to two-thirds of its capacity. If they had to fight two more engagements on the same scale, the golem would completely break apart.
And that flare the baron had launched before retreating meant that it wouldn’t be long before fresh Kolk forces surrounded them.
The golem wouldn’t last through a war of attrition.
On a side note, there was a worker in their group who had some experience working on trains and moving supplies. He knew a bit about the train’s structure—but he had no idea what kind of key was needed to start it, nor how to operate the advanced instruments in the boiler room.
Leoro and the worker had been scratching their heads for ages without coming up with a solution. It looked like the train escape plan was most likely a no-go.
“What do we do, Vesta? Do we pull back?”
A gang member nearby asked.
Vesta was pacing back and forth, brow furrowed.
Pull back? Pull back to where?
Mobis City had no city walls to use as a stronghold. They could retreat westward—and if they were lucky, maybe link up with Lance and the others.
Just then, Antina delivered more bad news:
“Thanks to Miss Anna’s golem, the gangs managed to kill five enemy barons—but we lost two of our own, too. The defensive line we set up earlier has been overrun. All that’s left is the gangs’ main stronghold.”
Hearing this grim report, everyone fell silent. A suffocating weight hung in the air.
The gang’s territory was in a precarious state—looked like that was out of the question.
“Everyone, check your gear! We’re heading west!”
Vesta had made up his mind.
No one objected. They quietly began gathering their belongings—though in truth, there wasn’t much to carry, just a symbolic check of their equipment and weapons.
Vesta was about to say more when a figure suddenly dropped down in front of him, blocking his path.
“Oh? In such a hurry to leave?”
A cold, sinister voice rang out. Vesta instinctively jumped back two steps, eyeing the person who had appeared before him without a sound.
The figure wore the conspicuous green uniform of the Kolk forces.
When did he get here?!
Vesta was an ordinary man with no special sensory abilities—but the Appraisal skill Renith had given him now displayed detailed information about this man.
“A viscount…”
