WMT | Chapter 12

“Your Grace!”

A massive statue raised its sword. Golems are sturdy and highly lethal, but they have one major flaw—they’re dumb.

The golem couldn’t clearly identify its target and aimed for Theodore’s adjutant.

Theodore immediately drew his sword and blocked it. His sword clashed with the golem’s, causing a massive tremor.

His body couldn’t withstand the weight and was pushed back.

“What the…?”

The adjutant’s astonished voice was heard.

Wiss glared at the hand Theodore had pushed away. With no strength, he was flung around like a ragdoll.

“Get out and bring others. I’ll hold them off here.”

“No, Your Highness should leave! I’ll hold them off.”

“Can you hold them off?”

“I’ll try.”

Theodore and the adjutant exchanged determined words. The golem swung its sword like a club, pounding the ground.

It was impressive that they could dodge those blows and still have a conversation, but there was no time to be impressed.

Wiss warned.

“Another one is coming.”

A golem with a shield came thundering in, sweeping the ground with its shield. Nearby, screams erupted wildly. Chairs and tables shattered and flew, and the ground shook as if an earthquake had struck. Theodore leapt over the shield aiming for his feet and ducked to avoid the sword coming for his head.

“Another one.”

A statue of a child in a flowing outfit shot an arrow. Theodore deflected it. At the same time, he dodged a thrusting sword, slightly losing his balance.

The adjutant screamed.

“Your Highness!”

Wiss seized the moment and yanked Theodore.

“Run!”

Wiss shouted.

“What… Aren’t there people still inside?”

‘Are people the problem right now?’

Wiss was incredulous as he looked at Theodore. Was he serious?

Theodore’s expression was earnest. Astonishingly, he was serious.

Wiss gritted his teeth.

“You need to get out so they’ll follow you!”

“…!”

Theodore’s eyes widened, and he started running on his own. His speed was so fast that Wiss, whose hand was connected, stumbled.

Theodore glanced at the stumbling Wiss and said, “Excuse me,” as he moved his arm.

Wiss’s feet left the ground. Theodore was carrying him like a princess!

“…!”

“The duke is escaping! They’re going that way! Stop them!”

“…Wait, Prince Wissmia? Catch him! Don’t let him go!”

Shouts were heard.

Wiss looked back while being held by Theodore. He erased from his mind how embarrassing his position was. It didn’t help with assessing the situation.

Dozens of golems were following. Even with golems over three meters tall running, Theodore wasn’t caught.

‘Is he human?’

It was an astonishing physical ability.

Every person they passed screamed and dropped whatever they were holding. Theodore shouted.

“Where’s a deserted place?”

“That way.”

Wiss pointed in a direction. Theodore changed course without a word.

The area became noticeably deserted. Wiss confirmed that the people who had been shouting at the golems had fallen away.

Yet the golems continued to chase Theodore.

‘It’s not that guy giving the orders.’

There’s a separate sorcerer.

Theodore slipped into a narrow path between buildings. The golems, with their poor judgment, thundered past the buildings. Theodore bent down and set Wiss down.

“Go.”

“What?”

“They’re targeting me, so they won’t chase Prince Wissmia. I’ll lure them away, so find a chance to escape.”

He meant Wiss didn’t need to become a target too.

“And you?”

“I need to join the soldiers.”

“Can the soldiers destroy those?”

“I’ll try.”

With that, Theodore was about to dash out. If Wiss hadn’t grabbed him, he would have been out there luring the golems.

What kind of person was this?

One of the attackers had acknowledged Wissmia. Wiss had heard them call out ‘Prince Wissmia,’ so Theodore must have heard it too.

Yet how did he conclude not to take Wissmia as a hostage?

Of course, Wiss wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with such knights. He had one like that under his command.

‘This guy is the real deal.’

He was the type who lived by the chivalric code of protecting the weak.

As ridiculous as it was, Wiss didn’t dislike such straightforward people.

“Stop talking nonsense. If you don’t want to die, shut up and listen to me.”

Wiss pushed Theodore against the wall. Given the significant difference in build and strength, he had to use his entire body weight to hold him.

Theodore, pinned between the wall and Wiss, looked at him in surprise.

“You know, you can’t destroy those with a sword.”

“I can destroy them.”

“Maybe you can. What about your soldiers? As a commander, make a rational judgment.”

Even as he spoke, Wiss was incredulous. Could he really destroy them?

If he wasn’t bluffing, then the knight before him was an extraordinary monster.

“What do you suggest?”

“Golems stop when the sorcerer is eliminated.”

“…”

There were no unnecessary questions like how he knew that or why he was telling him.

Screams were heard in the distance. Theodore quickly made a decision and asked.

“Do you know where the sorcerer is?”

“Yeah. But there are golems there.”

“Yes. I’ll protect you.”

With that, Theodore picked up Wiss again.

A battlefield sorcerer always carries the risk of being attacked. Targeting the sorcerer first is the first rule of a knight’s order.

So how do you protect a sorcerer from an attack?

The sorcerer should stay crouched in the rear. No one can assassinate the sorcerer after breaking through the front lines.

…That would be the general thought, but if sorcerers survived, wars would have been easier. Wouldn’t the country with the most sorcerers always win?

In the early stages of war, such simple methods worked. Just hiding the sorcerer in the back was enough protection.

But as other countries also became accustomed to using sorcerers in battle, they began to assume sorcerers were in the rear and started indiscriminate bombardments.

Since other countries also had sorcerers, our sorcerers started dying from blind magical bombardments.

After that, bizarre methods to protect sorcerers began to emerge. Sending sorcerers into the sky or burying them underground were such methods.

However, these two methods weren’t efficient… Usually, the battlefield was set in a forest, and sorcerers were hidden in the underbrush.

Despite all these precautions, sorcerers were often discovered because the moment they used magic, they couldn’t escape the opponent’s detection magic.

‘Found it.’

Wiss blinked.

His vision blurred for a moment and then cleared. Using magic made his nose tingle and his heart pound. If he hadn’t been held, he might have stumbled while running.

“That way.”

“…There are five golems.”

Theodore set Wiss down. Then he offered his back.

“Get on. We’ll break through.”

“Through five of them?”

“Yes.”

“…”

Theodore looked as if he didn’t see the problem. Wiss climbed on for now.

It seemed the method of hiding sorcerers hadn’t changed in 300 years. The northern gate of the palace was surrounded by sheer mountains, and the magical reaction was detected from there.

‘Sitting there using magic, no wonder they needed a guide.’

The further the distance, the less precise the magic. It was understandable why they needed humans in the attack squad even with over twenty golems.

Those humans were there to give the golems direction.

‘So what are they going to do with these golems…’

Bang!

The five golems guarding the sorcerer had straightforward appearances. They all held shields, and those massive shields were shattered in half.

Wiss almost gaped but managed to keep his mouth shut.

Bang! Bang!

With a deafening sound that was hard to believe was the clash of iron swords and massive marble chunks, the marble was being shattered.

Wiss wondered.

‘Did I even need to stop him from facing them with soldiers?’

It seemed he had figured out how to destroy them after facing them a bit earlier.

“Destroying them doesn’t stop them.”

Theodore seemed troubled. Wiss wondered what this monster was talking about.

He was destroying golems while running, and naturally, the golems continued to chase Theodore regardless of their condition.

Their bodies were made of stone. They weren’t living creatures with hearts, so breaking them wouldn’t cause pain.

Their attack power didn’t diminish, and that was because the shields they held were ornamental. Even if they crushed someone with their bodies, the person would be crushed to death.

“Because the sorcerer is still alive.”

But isn’t that the problem?

If all knights were like Theodore, sorcerers would lose motivation and disappear. He was bursting such high-strength golems like tofu.

In fact, Wiss was half in awe. Golem technology had advanced this much. The sorcerers hadn’t been idle for 300 years…

Bang!

“Where should we go?”

Wiss hid his mixed feelings and spoke.

“…Further in.”