Chapter 247

And so, Mari’s group and Arisa’s group barely managed to finish the battle against the golems guarding the ancient ruins.

At one point, they almost died, but in the end, they each found their own way to exploit the golems’ weaknesses and secure victory.

And even during that precarious battle, Kurt didn’t help them.

To be precise, he couldn’t help.

He didn’t have the calmness to do so.

Damn it.

Even in the midst of the urgency, I somehow managed to squeeze out some calmness to assess the battlefield situation.

Even if I didn’t matter, this golem would be a formidable opponent for the rest of the group.

And when I turned my gaze to check the situation, the battlefield was as grim as I expected.

Karina and Aila seemed to be holding their ground against the golems at the front, but they weren’t exactly fighting on equal terms.

At best, they were buying time.

And no matter how much time they bought, there was no clear way to deal significant damage to the golems, against whom magic was ineffective.

If they couldn’t deal significant damage to the golems even while buying time, it was all just futile struggling.

If I don’t hurry and defeat this golem to go help them…!

I felt the anxiety gradually rising.

But even as I felt that anxiety, I couldn’t recklessly go to help them.

The reason was…

At that moment, a sword aimed at my shoulder stabbed towards me.

Swoosh!

“Tch…! Just because I took my eyes off you for a moment, you think you can get through…!”

I immediately twisted my upper body to dodge the attack, and the blade that had aimed for my shoulder descended vertically as if it had been a downward slash from the start, moving mysteriously in mid-air.

Against such an unconventional attack, I couldn’t just keep dodging, so I had no choice but to wrap aura around my right arm, which I hadn’t extended, and strike the side of the vertically descending blade with the back of my hand.

Then, using the rotational force from deflecting the blade, I closed in on the guy and struck him with my right shoulder, putting my weight and strength into it.

But as if he had anticipated that I would block the attack and counter, he had already raised his shield and taken a defensive stance.

Thud!

An impact sound, too heavy to believe it was just a human back hitting a shield, echoed through the cavern, and the guy skillfully deflected the damage, barely affected, and created distance again.

And then, as if he wasn’t tired at all, he immediately charged at me again with his shield leading the way.

At a glance, it seemed like he was trying to perform a shield charge to strike me with the shield, but I noticed the subtle differences in his stance and weight distribution, realizing that the shield was just a feint, and the real target was the blade hidden behind the shield.

And just before the guy and I clashed,

He swung his shield a beat faster, and from behind the swung shield, another sharp blade came tearing towards my body.

But such a feint only works if the opponent doesn’t notice.

I used the back of my hand to slightly push the side of the sword, completely twisting the trajectory of the thrust, and as if I wouldn’t miss this time, I pushed my palm forward to leave a handprint on the guy’s chest armor.

But at that moment, the guy’s shield emitted a pure white light.

Simultaneously, a semi-transparent white barrier appeared a few centimeters away from his chest armor, and my strike was blocked by the suddenly appearing barrier, unable to advance further.

Tch.

It was a counterattack I had put my heart into, but since it was blocked, it was my turn to retreat.

Confirming that my attack was blocked, I didn’t hesitate any longer and stepped back, creating distance from the golem.

“That shield keeps making me miss opportunities. If only I had proper equipment……”

Even as I said that, the sword-wielding golem in front of me was clearly not an opponent I could easily handle even if I had proper weapons.

Certainly, the greatsword-wielding golem and the spear-wielding golem that Mari and Arisa were dealing with were both incredibly powerful enemies.

But the sword-and-shield-wielding golem I was facing was on a whole different level.

Not only was it slightly faster and more powerful than the other two, but it also had an artifact that could create a barrier, not just a simple shield.

Perhaps this individual I was facing was some kind of command unit controlling the other two golems.

“I don’t know why I ended up with this guy. My luck is just terrible.”

No, in this case, maybe it’s a good thing that I’m the one dealing with it.

If it were anyone else in the group, they wouldn’t have been able to hold out as hard as I am now.

It’s best that I, who can handle it, am the one dealing with it.

Even as we continue to face off, time is gradually passing, and the anxiety of not being able to help the others keeps rising, but I can’t just leave this high-performance guy behind and join the others.

Making a hasty decision out of anxiety.

That’s exactly what he’s aiming for.

I didn’t think golems had self-awareness, but looking at this guy persistently trying to hold me back, I felt that intention.

In the end, the situation wasn’t good.

Even if his performance was superior to the other two…

The battles of the other group members were teetering on the edge, as if they could collapse at any moment, and as I felt anxious, the guy noticed and persistently followed me.

He knew what I wanted, and he understood that hindering what I wanted was the path to victory.

Suddenly, I felt my mind, which had been heated with anxiety, cool down.

Because I felt a strange familiarity in his actions.

Right…

He was acting like a hunter.

Slap!

Ugh…

Even for a transcendent, slapping my own cheek hurts.

But thanks to that, I came to my senses a bit.

“Daring to mimic a hunter in front of me… Fine. Then I’ll properly deal with you.”

Creating an unfavorable situation for the opponent and continuously dragging it out to make the prey excited and make reckless decisions.

That method is the very basics of a hunter hunting prey with stronger abilities.

Daring to treat me as prey?

“Alright. Let’s clearly decide who’s the hunter and who’s the prey.”

Until now, I hadn’t been able to fully demonstrate my strength because I was simultaneously concerned about the safety of the others and dealing with the golem.

Honestly, I had been looking for openings to break away from the golem I was facing and join the others.

But because of that, I couldn’t properly go to help due to the golem persistently following me, nor could I decisively defeat it, dragging out the situation.

In that case, I’d rather defeat this guy in front of me as quickly as possible.

Having made up my mind, I deliberately limited my senses and focused all my nerves on the golem in front of me.

At the same time, all the sounds in the cavern, which had been as clear as if they were right next to me, instantly turned into meaningless noise, and with a feeling of my vision expanding, every move of the golem in front of me became clear.

I’ll stop worrying about the others.

But that doesn’t mean I’m giving up on them.

On the contrary.

To save them as quickly as possible, I decided to pour all my strength into dealing with the golem in front of me.

So now, I can only trust that they’ll hold out well.

With that, I felt my pupils elongate vertically as I charged at the sword-and-shield-wielding golem.

Swoosh!

No longer thinking about supporting anyone else, I poured everything into my strike, leaving no reserves.

The guy hurriedly raised his shield to block my attack.

But the impact I put into that strike was incomparable to previous attacks.

Unable to fully deflect the shock of my all-out attack, the guy staggered.

His posture slightly broken.

If it were me before I steadied my mind, I would have immediately broken away from him and tried to help the others.

But now is different.

I’ve decided that defeating this guy is the fastest way to help the others.

There’s no hesitation.

I spread the fist resting on the shield and used my palm to push the shield away, then drove my other fist into the guy as the shield’s wall disappeared.

At that moment, the guy’s shield emitted a white light again.

A barrier appeared a few centimeters above the guy’s body, and my fist was blocked by the barrier, unable to advance further.

The first strike was blocked by the shield, and even if I broke through the shield, the consecutive barrier formed by the artifact’s power would stop me.

This guy is really troublesome.

No wonder I initially thought about giving up on defeating him and supporting the others.

But after exchanging blows with him several times, I had realized something.

This guy’s barrier…

At that moment, the guy, perhaps seeing an opportunity with both my hands blocked, thrust his sword at me.