novelraw Chapter 45: Combat Alchemical Golem, Earth-Rending Centipede
Chapter 45: Combat Alchemical Golem, Earth-Rending Centipede
Garoth stood on the highest point of the Iron Fir Hills, his gaze sharp as a blade sweeping across the ground.
The tunnels once frequently used by the Earth Spiders were eerily silent, not a single Earth Spider in sight.
This was very unusual.
Driven by their natural reproductive instincts, the Earth Spiders would never disappear without reason, let alone collectively defy orders.
Garoth used his claws to sift through the empty black oil barrels, his mind heavy and contemplative.
Over the past few months, the small oil field soil that the Earth Spiders had been bringing daily belonged to the Blackrock Duchy, a dwarf kingdom and part of the Lothrian Federation.
A contingent of the Blackrock Duchy’s army was stationed at the oil field, and Garoth had observed them from a distance.
Overall, it was far smaller than the Kamel Black Oil Field of the Lothrian Kingdom he had glimpsed before, but still not to be underestimated.
The heavily armored infantry alone numbered over two thousand, and since they were tasked with guarding the perilous wilderness oil field, each was an elite, clad in full rune-enhanced heavy armor, equipped with battle axes, large shields, and other fine gear.
The Rockplate War Ram heavy cavalry exceeded two hundred in number. Garoth had seen them train on the battlefield—when the heavy cavalry charged, they kicked up countless clouds of dust, the iron hooves causing the earth to tremble and moan. Their ferocity and military discipline far surpassed the goblin wolf cavalry he had encountered before.
Each dwarf heavy cavalryman wore even finer rune steel full plate armor and carried lances several meters long, along with curved tower shields.
There were also lightly armored scouts and rangers responsible for reconnaissance along the oil field’s outer perimeter, all equipped with heavy crossbows, grappling hooks, and smoke bombs laced with poison. Their mounts were wind-like magical beasts with blue manes.
As for the rarer spellcasters, Garoth had not seen them directly, but they certainly existed.
Yet none of these were the most formidable.
The true core of the Blackrock forces were their war machines and alchemical golems.
Each massive, rock-hard alchemical golem stood motionless in place but radiated an oppressive aura warning all to stay away.
In short, compared to such a sizable force, Garoth was alone and weak, currently unable to confront them.
If a young dragon was discovered and its location exposed, the Blackrock forces stationed near the oil field would have no hesitation sending soldiers to hunt the young dragon for some unexpected resources.
The dwarven alchemists were numerous.
They had a great demand for top-tier alchemical materials.
On a dragon’s body, its scales, flesh, bones, claws, and fangs were all excellent materials. Capturing and raising young dragons in captivity to continuously harvest these materials provided a steady supply of high-quality alchemical ingredients.
“The amount of oily soil the Earth Spiders have brought over these months isn’t small. Though it’s just soil from the outskirts, anyone paying attention would notice something’s off.”
Garoth flicked his tail, knocking a few small stones aside.
At that moment, the usual Earth Spider tunnel entrance suddenly cracked and bulged, as if an underground creature was burrowing toward the surface.
“Are the Earth Spiders back? No, that’s not right!”
First, an Earth Spider crawled out of the tunnel, but it had barely moved a few steps when an invisible shockwave swept over it. The soft organs beneath its shell were damaged, its body suddenly going limp and collapsing to the ground.
Garoth’s eyes narrowed slightly as he saw a triangular, flat head protrude.
Immediately after, a massive, elongated body burrowed entirely out of the ground.
Its shell glimmered with a cold, hard luster, resembling black metal. Tens of segments of steel limbs were linked into its long body, densely packed like folded battle blades. From its joints extended limbs that continuously contracted and expanded.
It was exactly the alchemical golem Garoth had seen in the Earth Spiders’ memory fragments—the underground guardian of the oil field.
It measured 8.2 meters in length, with a torso diameter of 1.5 meters, resembling a steel centipede.
The Earth-Rending Centipede.
A subterranean osmotic alchemical golem, also a combat type.
Its body was stained with patches of green Earth Spider blood. This Earth-Rending Centipede first easily tore apart the remaining Earth Spider fragments, then slightly raised its head to survey the surroundings. Two metal antennae resembling tendrils on its triangular head continuously shook, seemingly analyzing and assessing the environment.
Crunch! Crunch!
The ground cracked and bulged again.
Two more Earth-Rending Centipedes burrowed out, probing the area. Their lengths and torso diameters were identical, as if cast from the same mold.
“The loss of oily soil over these five months attracted attention. Originally, these alchemical golems were only guarding the black oil, but after killing the Earth Spiders, they pursued them through the underground tunnels.”
Seeing them confirmed Garoth’s suspicions.
“This day has finally come.”
He thought to himself.
Being discovered was inevitable, and Garoth had long anticipated it. While training his flight and soaring daily, he also surveyed from above to monitor any approaching forces that might ambush him.
At the same time, red light flashed across the heads of the three Earth-Rending Centipedes, as if they sensed something. They simultaneously raised their heads and looked toward the red iron young dragon perched high in the Iron Fir Hills.
The red young dragon Samantha, who was closer to them, was ignored.
The reason was simple: they detected a more dangerous high-energy reaction on Garoth and classified him as a threat, whereas Samantha was not worth their caution.
“They’ve found me.”
Garoth’s inner alertness rose, but he showed no panic. Scanning the distance from where he stood, he saw no sign of the Blackrock forces.
“At this point, let’s test the strength of these alchemical golems.”
These Earth-Rending Centipedes were clearly very different from the Giant-Arm Miners.
Their cold, hard colors gave off a dangerous, icy feeling. At first glance, they looked like weapons, unlike the Giant-Arm Miners, which were mining tools.
“Samantha, Mobel, stay back and don’t interfere.”
Hearing Garoth’s command, Samantha, though eager to fight, did not disobey. Her wings flapped as she flew up high, circling far from the ground, while the Earth Rampage Bear Mobel hid behind an iron fir tree.
At the same time, Garoth leapt from the hilltop and dove at high speed toward the three Earth-Rending Centipedes.
Countless branches and trunks were slashed aside. The fine scales on his wing membranes rubbed together, sparking and scattering like embers, as if pulling out a faint, ember-woven cloak.
Facing the red iron young dragon’s high-speed assault, the Earth-Rending Centipedes extended their battle blade-like limbs with a swish, vibrating at high frequency. However, instead of meeting the fierce collision head-on, they dove underground, their bodies swaying as they disappeared beneath the surface.
Boom!
As Garoth landed, a huge deep pit appeared in the ground. Stones scattered like bullets, and dust was swept up and spread by the shockwave.
His dragon wings lightly flapped, dispersing the murky dust.
Garoth narrowed his eyes, scanning inch by inch, but saw no sign of the Earth-Rending Centipedes.
They seemed to have fled.
No.
They hadn’t fled.
Garoth felt subtle tremors from underground intensifying. The Earth-Rending Centipedes had only burrowed into the ground to avoid the overwhelming force of his first attack, not to escape.
These combat alchemical golems did not have an option in their system to flee before fighting.