Bang!
Mark reacted quickly. The moment he sensed the Iron Golem's attack, he raised his shield to block it.
The long, thick iron arm slammed into the shield with a dull thud.
He could feel the brute force of the giant creature reverberating through the shield.
Thanks to the shield mechanic, Mark didn't take any damage this time.
"What kind of guard is this? It just looks impressive!"
After blocking the blow with ease, Mark chuckled, dismissing the Iron Golem from the bottom of his heart.
It hadn't even managed to hurt him once. How dangerous could it be?
"It looks so big, I thought it'd be strong!"
"But it's still getting spun around like a top by our Mark!"
"The golden sword does insane damage. I bet it'll die within five hits!"
"It's made of iron, so it probably has a lot of health and can take a few more hits. I'm guessing eight!"
Seeing how easily they seemed to handle it, the Free Nation's viewers began to laugh.
Once they killed the Iron Golem, Gu Yu would be next. Then—
All twenty points from the blocks would belong to the Free Nation!
But the tide of battle could turn in a matter of seconds.
Mark had just been figuring out how they would claim the blocks when the Iron Golem's heavy fist appeared before him again.
"So soon?"
The world was more realistic here, so the shield's cooldown was longer. It took two seconds.
But the Iron Golem's attack speed was under a second. In the blink of an eye, it attacked again.
Thud!
When that righteous iron fist slammed into Mark's chest, he was sent flying more than ten meters into the air.
A powerful sensation of weightlessness struck him, filling him with instinctive fear.
"What happened? Help! Save me!"
He hurriedly called for his companion, but Jeter was in no better shape.
Realizing Mark had been knocked back, he immediately charged forward with his shield raised.
His golden sword couldn't knock the Iron Golem back at all. Worse, his shield stopped working as soon as he attacked.
Thud!
The righteous iron fist came swinging. He was launched more than ten meters into the air before crashing back down.
Mark at least had his golden armor and Golden Leggings for protection. He lost six hearts, plus one more from the fall.
Jeter wore only the leather chestplate he'd picked up. He took a full fourteen hearts of damage, plus one more from the fall.
He had only five hearts left!
One more hit, and he'd be dead!
"Something's wrong with that brute. Run!"
Hearing his own heartbeat, Jeter no longer dared to stick around. He hurriedly backed away.
Mark was in better shape, but after experiencing the Iron Golem's strength, he quickly retreated too.
They moved several blocks away. The Iron Golem stood at the edge, its blood-red eyes fixed on them. In the end, it chose to keep guarding the area instead of chasing them.
"Thank goodness. We got out alive!"
Having narrowly escaped death, Jeter gasped for breath.
Only someone who'd experienced it firsthand could understand how close they'd come to dying!
If he'd been even a little slower, the Iron Golem would've gotten another punch in—and killed him!
"What the hell is wrong with that thing? It's made of iron, so why does it hit so hard?"
Mark clenched his fists, still shaken.
Being sent flying into the air so easily had been terrifying!
With his own weight and armor, he must've weighed at least two or three hundred pounds. How could that thing be so strong?
After eating a few pieces of pumpkin pie to restore their health, the two gradually recovered.
But even at full health and in peak condition, they looked at each other without daring to take a single step closer.
They didn't know how much health the giant had, but they knew they'd die if it hit them one more time!
Judging by its damage and appearance, the Iron Golem definitely had plenty of health.
As much as they hated to admit it, that was the reality.
Even with their golden gear, they'd failed to take over Gu Yu's block!
"Why didn't you kill that big lump of iron?!"
"Mark, you've really let us down!"
"Two against one, and you nearly got yourselves killed?"
"Damn you, Kyushu!"
The Free Nation's viewers were deeply disappointed that they hadn't seen the block captured.
Were golden weapons really not enough to beat iron?
"Kyushu may have warned Gu Yu in advance. This could've been a trap."
After recovering, Mark thought it over calmly.
"He knew we were coming, so he used up all his resources to make a monster like that."
"But it's fine. From what I saw, it's only strong in melee. It has no ranged abilities at all!"
As it happened, they were the only ones in the world who knew how to make a ranged weapon!
Mark looked over at the spider nearby and made up his mind.
"I'll let you off for tonight. Tomorrow, once we've made bows and arrows, Kyushu's block will be ours for sure!"
"So iron guards are really that strong?"
Dean Qi hadn't expected the Iron Golem to display such overwhelming power.
After a moment of surprise, he burst into hearty laughter.
At last, they didn't have to worry about their block being taken!
"I've seen this big guy in villages before."
Fries said thoughtfully.
Seeing one was one thing, but getting punched by an iron fist felt very different from watching it hit a zombie.
You had to face the monster yourself to understand what it was really like!
"But Mark will come back. The Iron Golem has no ranged abilities, so it can't do much against arrows."
"The resource area may be a treasure, but it's also a hot potato."
Fries furrowed his brow as he thought, but he was also a little excited.
Gu Yu had created miracle after miracle. He was eager to see what surprise Gu Yu would come up with this time!
Dawn broke.
The people of the Kyushu Nation were still celebrating Mark's defeat.
Gu Yu woke groggily and yawned, instinctively reaching for his phone to check the time.
Only after opening his eyes did he remember that he was in the Block World.
Shaking his head with a laugh, Gu Yu got up and washed his face by the water source.
"Today, I should move the iron ore over here."
Resources only belonged to you once you'd collected them in your inventory. Leaving them outside always made him worry something might happen.
Gu Yu took four gold ingots from his backpack and headed to the resource area.
He'd mined the gold ingots from the Iron Mine. They were the only Gold Ore in the block.
Four wasn't much, but it was enough for now.
"Looks like there was quite a fight last night."
As soon as he arrived, Gu Yu saw various drops scattered across the ground.
Fortunately, the Iron Golem showed no signs of cracking, so he casually replenished its health.
At the sound of fireworks, Zhu Wu arrived right on time to collect the blocks from the hopper.
"You have something that interests me."
Gu Yu put away the hopper, and Zhu Wu walked over to him, unable to resist.
Knowing exactly what the Piglin tribe liked, Gu Yu tossed him a gold ingot.
"Here, you can have this."
"Excellent."
Zhu Wu picked up the gold ingot, his eyes gleaming.
"You truly are wise and courageous, not to mention handsome!"
"As for something in exchange, let me think."
In the game, you could trade with Piglins using gold ingots. It worked here, too!
But when Gu Yu saw Zhu Wu rummaging through the junk he'd just gotten from the hopper, he hurriedly stopped him.
"Let's skip that this time. I'd rather hear some information."
"Of course. What would you like to know?"
Information counted as a kind of trade, and Gu Yu had gotten a clear answer.
He asked, "I want to know where the diamonds are in the resource area."
Diamonds were the most important material beyond iron. Finding them would let him enter the Nether and obtain a Netherite Set.
But after thinking briefly about the question, Zhu Wu shook his head.
"I'm sorry, but there are no diamonds in the resource area."
Before you continue