Thom dropped and smashed the ground with his soles, then quickly looked back. Soldiers and monsters were fighting each other on the streets of the now-chaotic Pontya, and although little could the puny humans do against the terrifying orcs, the fights between hobgoblins and humans were more on par than what Thom could have expected.

He stood not too far from the gates. There were a dozen men guarding the gates with their polearms ready, but their bodies were trembling uncontrollably. Thom felt slight rejoicing in how quickly they had come to fear him, but also felt pity at how easy it would be to kill them and be done with it.

His skin hardened in a second as he began walking towards them, and their faces became even paler than before. One of them was about to drop his weapon and run, but another man held his shoulder, and looked him in the eye as if trying to inspire him. Thom furrowed his brow, crossed his arms, and smiled as he stopped only a few feet from them.

"I'm not a merciful man." He stated as if trying to make of himself someone important, making his voice mighty and powerful. "I will you all five seconds, and then I will snap my fingers. If you are still there, I will kill you. I need to take over this entrance, you see."

Several of them gulped down, looking at each other. They seemed to be stranged at the fact that he had engaged in conversation before directly attacking them. Little they knew, it was not an act of courtesy, but rather, the gallantry of a man that had begun to let power get to his head. Thom was well aware of how ridiculous his little scene looked with a battle behind his back, however, he wanted to grant mercy to this little group of people while dozens died at his back, as if he was trying to create a grotesque juxtaposition to heighten his crushed ego.

"Three. I'll start with three." He raised three fingers. "Then I'll begin to count down. I won't kill you if you flee. I mean, I won't."

Awkward gazes were thrown between the soldiers, as if they couldn't believe the state of Thom's actions. He just sighed and lowered two fingers instead of one. The soldiers took a step back and gripped their weapons tightly, which made the black-haired man even angrier. He bitterly smiled, lowering a final finger, and then arched his brow. "Well then. I guess that settles—"

Crack!

A gargantuan punch suddenly smashed him against the side of a tower, breaking his four limbs and twisting his body into a messy array of bones and tissue that showed the contour of a rough, heavy blow. His disastrous body fell to the ground together with crumbling stone, his face looking towards the direction of the sudden punch.

Standing several meters away from him, a corpulent machination crafted out of pure stone was showing the broad side of its fist. Arms heavy and massive like pillars came out of a torso that could only be a collection of boulders mashed together, standing atop a pair of legs robust like trunks. A single stone with two apertures stood at the very top of the figure, as if to simulate a head whose eyes had been replaced by holes that went from one side to another.

"H..." Thom let out a weak sound as his bones punctured his lungs, making him unable to speak. Luckily, the [Deep Steel Skin] had kept the bones from coming out of his body, but the immense pain he was feeling right now kept his mind from gathering information coherently in any way. All the bleeding he had received was internal, but he could feel the red liquid of the precious healing potions dripping out of his crude satchel.

What is that...? I didn't feel it... I can't believe it... I could not sense even the slightest bit of it...

The massive figure recoiled itself after standing for several seconds in the position in which it had struck that fist. As if it was already assuming that Thom was dead, it turned its head to the right, where it met the hundreds of gazes of the petrified monster army.

The human soldiers took it as their cue, and desperately began running towards the stone giant, hiding behind it.

"Hahahaha!" A nervous soldier let out a disgusting laugh. "Let's see how you fight against this, freaks!"

"Turn them into soup! Mash them, mash them!"

"I want to see it painted red!!"

On the other side, the monsters gulped dry after seeing their leader get so easily obliterated like that. They knew well he wasn't dead, but even knowing this, their brittle illusion of power had broken together with Thom's bones. Only Clung planted his staff on the floor with an unyielding face, and looked at the monsters surrounding him.

The black hobgoblin didn't move or say a thing. Neither did the rest of the army, or the stone monster. The battle seemed to have entered a sudden halt, as both parties observed each other for the next move. Should any of them really move? How would such a thing even be defeated?

Clung sighed sharply. Without a doubt, it was one of the golems that Valta had talked about. A heartless, emotionless, and lifeless construct whose only purpose was to follow the instructions of its master, guided by the intricate and complex magic systems that were engrained in its body. Since the circuit was completely sealed and the use of earth magic to move it was restrained to the processed magic energy inside it, it never ran out of power, or got tired, or deteriorated. It was a deathly machine, a weapon to win a war in one setting. And Pontya had five of such weapons.

"Five tons of pure stone... Their bodies can move as fast as a charging boar and its hits are unsurvivable. The only way to defeat it is by breaking the ancient magic energy processor in the cores, or by killing the one who controls it. A golem..."

Clung whispered to himself, remembering every bit of information he had been told. However, before he could muster up a plan, the golem took a sudden step forward, and launched itself against a group of hobs like a flash.

It smashed their bodies against a wall and turned around while surrounded by screams, then landed a kick that broke the skulls of several monsters in a single blow. The golem slowly accommodated its body, slathered in blood, making the uncomfortable sound of stone sliding against stone.

"Amazing." Clung nervously laughed as he saw how quickly ten of his kind had been turned to corpses. He had immediately understood why golems were such a feared force, and why had Valta warned them so specifically about it. He saw the thing move, and before it launched itself forward again, Clung ducked and threw himself to the ground, letting the golem strike the people behind his back. He rolled and then dashed towards Thom, seeing how the Golem did not chase him.

Clung slid to the ground and stopped in front of Thom's mangled body, and looked him in the eye. "Greetings. You okay?"

"H..." A small wail escaped Thom's punctured lungs.

"Good enough." Clung said, and placed the end of his staff in the poodle of red liquid, presumably the remnants of the broken potions. He inflated his chest and began reciting an enchantment as screams sounded behind him. "From cold and vibrant waters to the life that creates the valleys, come forward from the dew of broken leaves..."

A mechanical sound echoed between the buildings as one of the orcs managed to land a good cleave in the golem, but was promptly turned to crumbles with a single counter-attack from the construct. Clung didn't pay it any mind, and finished his enchantation.

"...To the rhythm of a soft breeze, elevate and let me drink. [Water Manipulation]."

The red poodle floated up and congealed into a small sphere of crimson liquid, which Clung quickly directed towards Thom's mouth. He swallowed, and his eyes moved. They had set on the very center of the golem's chest area.

Clung sighed. "Seriously, how did you get ambushed like that?"

"That..." He spoke, his regeneration already acting together with the potion. "Thing... Ah... Doesn't have... Huf... Aura."

"It operates using magic." Clung looked back at the golem demolishing the streets and their soldiers. "It seems as if there is a [Magic Concealment] enchantment of sorts coating in its body, but my [Superior Magic Detection] goes right through it. We need to pierce it 30cm below the neck conjunction and then stab it a second time 40cm below that. Then it's only a matter of time until the entire magic fluid escapes and the inner systems collapse." He calmly explained

"You're... a pain in the ass, but you sure are smart... For a monster." Thom smiled with teeth covered in blood, and Clung smiled back.

"We're gonna need you to pierce through it. Our blades are flimsy compared to half a meter of solid stone."

"I can't..." Thom popped his shoulder back in place, and lifted his broken arm to show his hand still gripping to the sword. "I don't have my titite blade..."

"Goddamnit." Clung clicked his tongue. "How long will it take you to use your brain? You've got such an immense aura and you only use it for show! Aura slashes from afar look fancy, but they'll never match a real attack. You've even felt it, so get on with it!"

As soon as he finished his sentence, the body of a hobgoblin came flying towards him, and smacked Clung hard enough to send him flying towards the ground. He wailed slowly, putting a smile on Thom's face.

"Aye... I get that, I get it." Thom said, and then rolled around to land on his face. His other arm popped into place, and with a big sigh, he finally managed the strength to stand on his knees and push his ribs into place so they began properly regenerating. His [Great Ooze's Regeneration] already made every wound heal 25 times faster, so the usual instant healing of small wounds thanks to the potion was greatly amplified.

As soon as his army noticed he was once again standing up, they quickly began running away from the golem and scattered into all directions, making it smash against civilian's houses, bursting through the walls and revealing the terrified people inside.

Thom wobbled up and finished popping things into the right place, feeling everything slowly stitch itself together. Of course, the wounds were still there even if they had begun to heal, so another hit from the golem would probably mean his death. Still, he couldn't let his army be massacred any further. With that in mind, he released a great burst of aura, breaking the cobbled street below his feet.

The golem turned around with murderous intentions, and without a second to think, it launched itself towards Thom, rousing up a cloud of dust where it jumped.

"[Flash Move III]." Thom moved out of the spot in the blink of an eye while elevating himself with his aura, letting the golem's fist burrow deep into the stone. Thom focused his aura around the blade of his sword as if he was about to launch a ranged attack, but instead compressed it, surrounded the blade, and made it glow with the color of a dying fire.

"Almost there." He whispered.

The golem suddenly turned its head around and spotted Thom, then plucked its hand out of the ground to haul a massive stone at him. Thom quickly jumped out of the way and used the air as a platform to launch himself at the golem, creating a wave of aura that rippled as he darted towards the construct.

"Hyah!"

He used [Flash Move III] once again to dodge a heavy smash coming from the side, and used the aura he had accumulated up until now to slash at the arm of the golem, successfully shattering the joint of the arm. Thom snickered as he jumped back to avoid a follow-up from the other arm, and landed several meters away from the golem. His own bones creaked slightly, but they had already congealed well enough not to cause any further issue while moving. At least, if he didn't move too much.

"Well, well." Thom narrowed his eyes. "I had been told you golems were a bunch of army-wreckers. Kulkus' armies might be a bit easy to bring down if that's the case!"

Boom!

The golem jumped forward and slammed both fists on the ground, breaking apart the one that had been cut before. Thom was already in the air, gliding across the street, when he felt a bit of his strength leave his body.

Damn... That last dodge was harder than the first. He thought. The energy he had spent on his dodges, regeneration, and keeping the [Deep Steel] skin working were beginning to weigh down on him. Memories of his fight against Miel began coursing through his head, and his jaw became tightly clenched.

His aura exploded in the air, like a beacon of light in the cloudy sky. He held his breath and directed all of it towards his sword, turning it a bright red color that spun along the edge of the blade like a spinning flame. As if his mind had been lost, Thom's eyes focused on the blade for a short moment, and then, like a glimpse of inspiration had suddenly dawned on him, his eyes opened wide.

"A blade." He blinked. "It can become a blade. Of course. When it envelops the blade it's no longer part of me. It's there... Untied to me... Of course."

He dispelled the overflow of his aura while focusing on the feeling that coursed through his palm, and suddenly, every small strand of crimson gas that was exuded from him turned into formless blades that danced through the void, cutting the air.

This aura... Why have I been treating it like it's just part of my presence? It's borrowed, and mine, but is it just that? How stupid am I not to notice...!

「Learning successful. The aura combat art skill [Aura Blade] has been acquired. The weight of blades now infused with aura can increase their weight and durability while infused an amount equal to the weight of the aura infused. Sharpness will decrease an inversely proportional amount as the thickness of the blade becomes larger.」

"Hahaha!" Thom laughed and brandished his weapon, painting a red streak across the sky. "I should have noticed as soon as Valta explained to me what this aura was!"

He bolted down like an arrow towards the golem, then squirmed to the side as he dodged a hit and finished severing off the golem's right arm.

「•Upon further understanding of the skill from the user's side and the passive effect of [The Luckiest], the combat art skill [Aura Blade] has been upgraded to [Superior Aura Blade]. The density of the aura blade can now increase twice as much and loose half as much sharpness.」

He jumped back and slid across the ground, throwing back his body as he straightened his spine. Those pair of pitch-black eyes set on the golem's body, and then, Thom's aura flowed out of his body like a tide. He opened his palm, and hundreds upon hundreds of slashes suddenly appeared on the golem's body, chipping away at its stone, sending sparks flying everywhere and burying deep into the cracking rock of the construct.

「Learning successful. The dormant attribute [Combat Aura] has been acquired. The user's presence has acquired the ability to manifestate physical interpretations of his will, acquiring a deeply-imprinted intention that is close to the user's soul. Combat auras that have been profoundly developed and meditated upon are easier to use and require less energy to deploy.

Learning successful. The combat aura [Myriad Swords] has been acquired. Upon activation, the user's aura will be as sharp as swords, all dancing as they are controlled by the user.」

Bam!

The golem was sent back flying under the pressure of Thom's attack, but it managed to stabilize itself and stand on its feet. It wasn't for long, however, as out of thin air appeared several razor-sharp blades, impacting on the golems knees and shattering it to a thousand pieces.

Without means to stand, the golem fell on its hip and encrusted its body in the ground. Thom sneered, and then pointed towards the construct that uselessly tried to recover itself and stand on its only remaining arm. However, before it could even move, a lightning-fast strike came from the front, accompanied by a terrifying sliver of red.

"[Torrential Slash]!"

Thom's blade cut from the top of the head to the very bottom of the golem's body with a loud crack, shattering both cores in an instant and sending an absurd amount of magic energy flying across the air.

Pieces began crumbling and falling to the ground, and the golem was no more. Thom raised his head and accommodated the strands of his hair that had become loose, sighing as he did. He took a glance back where his army was, and saw hundreds of dumbfounded eyes. Lacking a proper response, the man simply gave them a thumbs up. "Hey." Making the arm erupt into a roaring celebration.

They threw themselves forward and chased down up until the last one of the remaining soldiers as people observed in terror from the destroyed houses, losing their hope entirely.

Thom walked up to Clung, who was still under the body of another hobgoblin, and touched him on the head. "Hey, it's dead."

"Ah..." Clung opened one of his eyes. "No more playing dead then."

He threw the body away and stood up, grabbing his staff and cleaning his bloodied robes. "Well, that was way more worthy of a king than I expected. Thought you would get thrashed around a little, my Lord."

"Very funny..." Thom smiled. "Now, if you don't mind, could you catch me?"

"Eh?"

Thom fell down face-first, but Clung managed to grab him and put him down safely. Thom sighed as he let go of his sword, and looked up at the sky with a very disappointed look.

"I can't feel my limbs."

"I see."

"Don't take this as a joke."

"You're probably tired. Rest for a while and you'll feel better."

"... Guess I'm still bad at administering energy. " Thom couldn't help but close his eyes and blame himself. "I wonder if the girls are okay... If they had to fight something like that too, they might be in danger."

"Oh, well." Clung raised his shoulders. "Don't give it much thought."

On the southern side of the city, Suu ran hastily with Erina on her arms. The army was behind his back, and the gates were quite close. From a hundred meters away she could already see a dozen men standing in front of the gates with their spears pointing forward, but they looked brittle enough that they wouldn't pose a problem.

"Almost there."

"I don't think any reinforcements can come through that side tho..." Erina whispered. "Why were we even sent here."

"Why so sure? Has there ever been an invasion here?" Suu pondered. "I can't imagine it, though. If it wasn't for Thom's world-breaking ability, no regular army could have even put a dent in this city."

"Well..." Erina raised her eyebrows. "The reason why the crown passed down this land to a duke was that it was unsafe. I guess they were right in the end, but for a hundred years there have been very few attacks on this city. Especially from the south... It's too much of an open field."

"Better to have an easy outpost, no?" Suu snickered. "Don't worry, we can play ca—"

Suu felt her world shift slightly, and she immediately pushed her feet as hard as she could against the floor and jumped back, evading a massive fist that came towards her with the sole intention of breaking her and Erina into pieces. The fist fell flat against the ground, demolishing it. Everyone recognized the golem as soon as it appeared on scene, striking fear in their hearts.

"Fly me to it, keep it tight!" Erina said, falling beside Suu after escaping her arms.

"Yes!" Suu pushed down and roused up all of her magic energy, then centered her eyes on the golem. "[Earth Binding]!" The limbs of the golem were quickly entangled by mud-like tendrils of stone that immediately froze, but that wasn't it. Before they even finished wrapping around, she cast once more: "[Earth Binding]! [Earth Binding!]" She yelled, further trapping the golem.

Two orcs handed Erina her sword, and she rapidly ran towards Suu's side. "Up!" She yelled, and Suu quickly caught up.

"[Earth Shift]!"

A platform explosively lifted off from the street, throwing Erina into the air. The girl readied her weapon and held it with two hands, yelling "[Torrential Slash]!" Right before landing the blow on the enemy.

The street was split into two parts as the golem broke into a million pieces, the two cores in its body reduced to nothing but smithereens. Pieces of houses and rooftops began falling down as all the soldiers in a hundred-meter radius dropped their weapons, raising their hands. "N-Nice to see you again... Miss Erina." They said in a whispering tone.

Erina brought the hilt of the weapon to her shoulder and sighed deeply as the dust dispelled, then was tapped by Suu on the shoulder.

"You attacked twice in a day without passing out..." A visible tear of pride was on her face. "Good job!"

The army behind them took quick care of the remaining soldiers, and began taking control of the nearby towers and outposts.