Combat Alchemy Golem, Earth-Splitting Centipede

Garos stood atop the highest point of the Iron Fir Hills, his gaze sweeping the ground like a blade.

The tunnel entrances where Earth Spiders usually came and went were silent. Not even the shadow of an Earth Spider could be seen.

This was highly unusual.

Driven by their innate urge to reproduce, these Earth Spiders would not disappear without reason, much less collectively defy orders.

Garos pawed at the empty Black Oil barrel, his mind heavy with thought.

Over the past few months, the small oil field the Earth Spiders visited every day had belonged to the Black Rock Principality, a nation of Dwarves and a member of the Lothern Federation.

A unit of the Black Rock Troops was stationed at the oil field. Garos had once observed them from afar.

Overall, they were far smaller in scale than the Carmel Black Oil Field of the Lothern Kingdom that he had glimpsed before, but they were not to be underestimated.

Their heavy infantry alone numbered over two thousand. Since they were tasked with guarding an oil field in the dangerous Wilderness, every one of them was an elite, clad in rune-reinforced full plate and equipped with fine weapons such as battle-axes and great shields.

The Rock-Armor War Ram Heavy Cavalry numbered over two hundred.

Garos had once watched them drill on the battlefield. When the heavy cavalry charged, they kicked up clouds of dust, and their iron hooves made the earth tremble and groan. Their strength and military discipline were far beyond anything the Goblin Wolf Cavalry could compare to.

Every Dwarf heavy cavalryman wore even finer rune-steel full plate and carried several-meter-long lances and curved tower shields.

There were also lightly equipped scout cavalry responsible for reconnaissance around the outermost perimeter of the oil field. At minimum, they carried powerful crossbows, grappling hooks, poison smoke bombs, and other gear. Their Green-Maned Horses were magical beasts, swift as the wind.

As for the rarer spellcasters, Garos had not seen any directly, but they certainly existed.

And none of that was even the most formidable part.

The true core of the Black Rock Troops was their war machines and Alchemy Golems.

The heavy, hard Alchemy Golems stood motionless like boulders, yet simply remaining where they were gave off an oppressive aura that warned all living beings to keep away.

In short.

Compared to such a well-organized force, Garos was alone and currently unable to contend with them.

If a Hatchling Dragon were discovered and its location exposed, the Black Rock Troops stationed near the oil field certainly would not mind sending soldiers over to hunt it and earn some unexpected resources.

Dwarves had many Alchemists.

They also had a tremendous demand for top-grade alchemical materials.

Dragon scales, flesh, bones, claws, and fangs—all of them were excellent materials. By imprisoning and raising a Hatchling Dragon, then harvesting it continuously, they could obtain an endless supply of high-quality alchemical materials.

"Over the past few months, the Earth Spiders have brought back quite a lot of Oil Soil. Though it is only soil from the outskirts, anyone paying close attention could notice that something is wrong."

Garos flicked his tail, sending several stones flying.

Just then, one of the Earth Spiders' usual tunnel entrances suddenly cracked and bulged, as though some underground creature were burrowing toward the surface.

"The Earth Spiders are back? No, that's not right!"

An Earth Spider crawled out of the tunnel first, but before it could take more than a few steps, an invisible ripple of vibrations swept past it. The soft organs beneath its carapace were damaged, and its body suddenly went limp as it collapsed to the ground.

Garos narrowed his eyes as he saw a flat, triangular head emerge.

Then.

A huge, elongated body burrowed completely out of the ground.

Its shell had the cold, hard sheen and texture of black metal. Dozens of steel segments formed its long body, while countless blade-like limbs extended from its joints, contracting and unfolding without cease.

It was the Alchemy Golem Garos had seen in fragments of the Earth Spiders' memories—the one guarding the underground of the oil field.

It was 8.2 meters long, with a torso diameter of 1.5 meters. It looked like an iron centipede.

An Earth-Splitting Centipede.

A subterranean anti-infiltration Alchemy Golem, and a combat model as well.

Green blood belonging to Earth Spiders stained its body. The Earth-Splitting Centipede first stepped forward and effortlessly tore the remaining Earth Spider to pieces. Then it raised its head slightly and surveyed its surroundings. Two antenna-like metal feelers on its triangular head swayed constantly, as if examining and assessing the environment.

Clack! Clack!

The ground bulged and split once more.

Two more Earth-Splitting Centipedes emerged, investigating the surroundings together. Their body lengths and torso diameters were exactly identical, without the slightest difference, as if cast from the same mold.

"The loss of Oil Soil over these five months drew attention. The Alchemy Golems that had originally only guarded the Black Oil killed the Earth Spiders and followed their underground tunnels all the way here."

The moment he saw them, Garos confirmed his suspicion.

"This day has finally come."

He thought.

Being discovered was only a matter of time. Garos had anticipated it long ago. While conducting his daily flight training, he had also been surveying the land from high above, watching every direction in case troops approached to ambush him.

At the same time.

Red lights flashed atop the heads of the three Earth-Splitting Centipedes. As if they had detected something, they simultaneously raised their heads and looked toward the Red Iron Dragonet high in the Iron Fir Hills.

Samantha, the Red Dragonet closer to them, was ignored.

The reason was simple. They detected a more dangerous high-energy reaction from Garos and classified him as a dangerous target, while Samantha was not worth guarding against.

"They found me."

Garos became alert, but he did not panic. Looking into the distance from where he stood, he saw no sign of the Black Rock Troops.

"Since it has come to this, I'll test the strength of these Alchemy Golems."

These Earth-Splitting Centipedes were obviously completely different from Giant-Arm Miners.

Their cold, hard coloring gave off a dangerous, frigid impression. At first glance, they looked like weapons rather than mining tools like the Giant-Arm Miners.

"Samantha, Mobel, move farther away. Don't interfere."

Upon hearing Garos's words, Samantha was eager to fight, but she did not disobey. Flapping her wings, she flew high into the sky and circled far from the ground, while Mobel, the Earth Violent Bear, hid behind an Iron Fir.

At the same time.

Garos leaped from the height of the hills, diving down at extreme speed toward the three Earth-Splitting Centipedes.

As countless branches and trunks were severed, the fine scales on his wing membranes scraped against one another and scattered sparks, as though dragging behind him a hazy cloak woven from firelight.

Faced with the Red Iron Dragonet's lightning-fast attack.

The Earth-Splitting Centipedes snapped open their blade-like limbs one by one, making them vibrate at high frequency. Yet rather than meeting his imposing ramming slash head-on, they plunged into the earth and vanished underground, their bodies swaying as they burrowed.

Boom!

As Garos landed, a massive crater opened in the ground. Shattered rocks scattered like bullets, while dust spread outward in the wake of the blast.

With a light flap of his dragon wings, he dispersed the murky dust.

Garos narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings inch by inch, but saw no trace of the Earth-Splitting Centipedes.

They seemed to have fled.

No.

They had not fled.

Garos felt the faint tremors from underground gradually intensifying. The Earth-Splitting Centipedes had burrowed beneath the ground only to evade his first overwhelmingly powerful strike, not to run away.

These combat Alchemy Golems had no option in their systems to flee without fighting.