Chapter 171 – The Age of Golem (01)

“I’ll contact you when you arrive. There are people from Alfirio at the Golem Factory, so you can contact them there.”

Alphyrio gave me a document written by himself, and I entrusted it to Inori and kept it in the [Shadow Pocket].

I had already taken out the weapon and stored it comfortably as there was some space left. I shook Hollyo’s hand and let go before he started crying.

‘I wasn’t that anxious to begin with.’

True to his characteristic of [Exemplary calm], Hollyo was a model student and calm, able to stably operate the upper level in any crisis situation and open a store at all costs even just before his allies he was annihilated.

But now, he was feeling quite weak, probably because he thought he had lost his close friend, but the good thing was that the guy who had not married and remained single until the end of the war was now happily married.

“Richard protects them well.”

“Are you okay if I do it alone?”

“First of all, nominally, the communist soldiers can’t attack that place. And the same goes for this side.”

I heard that the area around the golem factory has been declared a neutral zone, so neither the duke faction nor the royal faction will send any live troops.

If I had to take the thieves anyway, it was obvious that they would grab my ankles rather than serve as an escort, and I couldn’t take Richard with him because he was a royalist heavy armorer.

So, I sent him back to the [Shadow Family] And decided to go in instead, disguised as a merchant dealing in rare gemstones.

“Can I bring a sword?”

“That’s a little bit troublesome… But anyway, if Aren makes a mistake, she throws her sword and fights with her fists, so isn’t it okay?”

“That’s a story from my school days, when I didn’t have to die.”

“You can put the sword between the stones. The blade may be sharpened into a mess, but it’s better than nothing.”

If it is an ordinary sword or a famous sword, the blade will not be damaged if it is buried among rare gemstones and struck, but in the case of the ‘Assassin’s Straight Sword’ or ‘Sword of the Duke of Renellian’ that I have , the durability is so low that it does not cause any damage. There was a risk of it breaking even with a knife.

“I understand. I’ll just take care of it.”

Anyway, if you leave it to Inori, he will put it in a [Shadow bag] And smuggle it out, so there was no need to worry.

* ​ * ​ *

The road to the golem factory.

In fact, on the road from the capital to the Golem Factory, several people who appeared to be merchants flinched and glared at each other, but did not fight or fight.

In the first place, most of them were not guards but just merchants, so they only carried self-defense weapons such as daggers or rings containing attack magic.

However, they were transporting metal items in their bags while whining. They were transporting rare metals or iron ore used to make golems, or tools to be used for enchanting. As I watched them, they were carrying their bare bodies lightly without any bags. Me walking would be unique.

‘Because I put all my luggage in the [Shadow pocket]’

Of course, my [Shadow Pocket] Was almost full with a wooden sword, so I put it in Inori’s [Shadow Pocket].

Instead, since I couldn’t hide in my shadow because I was expanding my [Shadow pocket], I came out next to him and walked with him.

Originally, I said I was going to hide in my shadow, but now that no one else noticed and there was no reason to assassinate or attack other merchants anyway, I just took it outside and the two of us are moving around and looking at the scenery together.

‘If a battle breaks out, you will have to immediately throw the rare gems in the [Shadow Pocket] And fight.’

Well, it wasn’t a perishable food or a breakable item, and even though it was a rare metal, it was a gemstone obtained from a mine or other place, so even if it broke a little, there was no problem.

It is said that if you just match the quantity and give it to the golem factory, the dwarves will extract the contents there and provide you with a golem equal to that amount. The strange thing is that they ‘provide’ the golem.

‘For that matter, there were no golems in the troops?’

If you save Melissa in the original route 1, she will climb on the shoulder of the golem she created for her battle and join her as a member.

If Melissa dies, Golem No. 2 will join her as a member, which was the end of the Battle Golem.

Even if it is a golem factory, most of them provide labor golems for use in mines or dangerous areas. Siege golems are mobilized when the war is in full swing and the main base is attacked, but they are only used to improve the durability of the castle walls or to give debuffs to the opponent. So, the only people who actually controlled the golem were Melissa and Golem No. 2.

Even if you attract the [Golem Factory] Forces to your allies, overall production increases and it plays a supporting role in providing weapons or reducing repair costs… When entering the area of ​​​​​​​the Golem Factory.

‘What is it?’

Near the sign that said Golem Factory’s private property, you could see merchants belonging to the Royalist or Alfirio factions gathered in one place in fear, and on the other hand, Peasant merchants entering inside with grinning faces.

The sound of a golem pounding could be heard from afar.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s already annoying, but who are you…”

When I showed the paper handed over by Hollio to a merchant belonging to the Alphyrio caravan, he suddenly bowed politely and began to explain.

“The royalists cannot go in now. We are defeated.”

“Defeat?”

“Originally, in the case of the Golem Factory, they were able to remain as a neutral force by saying that they should not wage war within their autonomous region and that they would cooperate with the opposing force if any force invaded first.”

I knew that story.

Of course, there were a few areas that declared neutrality, such as the Golem Factory, but most of them were wiped out by the Peasant or Royalist faction. In the case of the Golem Factory, if they were wiped out, pilots who could control the golem or technicians who could repair broken or broken golems could not be obtained. Didn’t you say that if you formed a defensive line with golems, you would be in a state of trouble with no way to break through with a decent amount of troops?

“So, both the royal and ducal factions tried to contact each other, and they said that if you brought them the materials they needed, they would manufacture a battle golem for a fee.”

This was a story I had heard up to this point. So, did you say that they are called merchants of death, meaning that they only reveal money and materials and sell both sides?

“But, that battle golem…”

The merchant pointed the way up the mountain with a frightened expression.

“Up until now, the materials brought by the royal faction and the duke faction were similar, and as soon as the battle golems were manufactured, the royal faction golems were supposed to attack the duke faction and the duke golems were supposed to attack the royal faction, according to their respective manufacturing specifications.”

Neither the Royalists nor the Dukes were fools and would have confirmed the performance they wanted, that is, the performance of the golems fighting against the enemy.

Since I was satisfied in my own way, I guess I carried out a new way of competing by providing materials.

“At first, both sides saw the usefulness of the battle golems and sent soldiers, but the golems ignored them all and only attacked their own soldiers, causing damage and forcing them to retreat.”

Well then. Neither the royal faction nor the ducal faction could maintain neutrality. I guess it’s because the battle golems made at the golem factory are so strong that they couldn’t be eaten in any one place.

‘I was wondering why the Golem Factory was protected as a neutral zone by the Duke faction, the Royal faction, and other people who ignore promises like nothing else…’

A large number of battle golems were mobilized to wage war, and there was no way to properly stop them with ordinary soldiers, even if they were destroyed by mobilizing siege weapons.

Of course, it could be overturned by mobilizing a large number of excellent strongmen and soldiers, but the damage would be significant, and as I said before, even if you try Golem Duke, it was a plan that would not yield very satisfactory results.

Next, since there were no armed soldiers within the autonomous zone of the Golem Factory, they started attacking each other…”

“Ah.”

The moment I heard that explanation, I knew what was going on here.

The royalist golem attacks the ducal faction. However, since there are no Duke soldiers inside the autonomous zone, it attacks the Duke golem.

Duke golems attack the royal faction. However, there are no royalist soldiers inside, so attack the royalist golem.

In other words, a proxy war was taking place within the autonomous zone of the golem factory, with golems from each faction fighting each other as soon as they were created.

‘This is a commercial tactic’

As a result, both powers must compete by pouring in huge amounts of metal and materials. At the same time, it does not directly antagonize each power and maintains neutrality.

It was quite an exquisitely planned plan.

“However, not long ago, ducal soldiers gathered on the road leading into the autonomous region, but as the royalist soldiers retreated, the royal faction’s top group was unable to enter… As a result, the inside is now filled with ducal golems .Status.”

In other words, as the supply line was cut off, the balance between the golems of the royal faction and the golems of the ducal faction collapsed.

“Already, our power is being pushed back little by little, so the movement routes are increasingly limited. If the duke golems completely dominate this area, we will no longer be able to supply supplies, and if the duke golems completely dominate this area, the royalists will be defeated. We will find them, get out of the autonomous region, trample on and destroy our royalists!”

In other words, the Golem Factory was on the verge of being completely robbed of its leadership.

And the reason was that Duke Davin recruited his soldiers by claiming to be the king’s descendants.

‘You’ve made a complete mess from start to finish.’

“But don’t golems attack merchants?”

The merchant shook his head at my question.

“That’s right, so far it’s just been pushed down in priority because the royalist golems are the ones dealing with it. What if it’s made to attack royalist merchants as well? I don’t want to get killed in a place like this.”

Opposing Soldier 〉 Opposing Golem 〉 If the opposing merchants were supposed to attack in that order, it was reasonable for the merchants to be scared and unable to move.

“Couldn’t we test it? I could run away right away.”

“Also, if there is no Royalist golem, there is no way to stop it even if the duke faction deploys soldiers. Either way, their lives are in danger.”

From what the merchant said, I was able to roughly guess the situation here.

‘In other words, it has already been eaten by the communist faction or is on the verge of being eaten’

From one to ten, there is no easy task.

“Then I’ll go in and open the way. For safety’s sake, come up when the noise subsides.”

“It’s reckless! Even excellent knights couldn’t guarantee their lives against a battle golem…”

“I win.”

Watching the merchant’s fuss, I drew my foot over the shadow and took out a wooden sword from within the [Shadow pocket].