Having left the open clearing, we continued to advance inward. Along the way, we encountered several forks in the path, some of which were familiar. However, we didn't recklessly proceed. While we had no intention of deviating from our planned route, we carefully checked what paths lay ahead and whether there were any threats that might trigger detection before moving forward.
As a result, our marching pace naturally slowed. Originally, we had planned to push through nonstop to the end, but now I was considering camping for a day. My companions seemed to sense my thoughts. Even without saying anything, they were acting more proactively than usual. Within the triangular light cast by Jung Ha-Yeong, Shin Sang-Yong, and Vivienne, we moved forward slowly, our visibility significantly improved.
"Hold."
I raised my right hand to signal a stop and heightened the density of my detection. At the same time, the brightness of the light orbs began to dim. If there were undead ahead, they might spot the glowing orbs and charge toward us. At the edge of my circular detection field, I sensed the presence of multiple groups, so I examined them closely before speaking.
"I've detected the presence of undead monsters about 200 meters ahead. There are five… no, roughly six of them. If we continue along this path, we're bound to encounter them."
"Is there any way to tell what kind of monsters they are?" Go Yeon-Joo asked.
I placed my hand on the ground, feeling faint vibrations travel through my palm. After confirming a few more details, I responded.
"The ground is vibrating periodically. The information coming through the outer detection is faint, but I suspect they're some kind of golem."
"Among undead, if it's a golem… it's likely a Blood Golem," Someone said.
"I think so too."
Blood Golems could be seen as monsters born from a kind of biological experiment. In simple terms, they were abominations created by magically fusing multiple humans together. They weren't easy foes by any standard, but they were still preferable to Spirit Knight. At least physical attacks would deal damage. Since this was a path we had to take anyway, I decided to confront them head-on rather than avoid them.
"Blood Golems use the bones in their bodies as weapons. In terms of offense, they rely solely on physical strength, but defensively, they have extremely high self-regeneration. Even when struck, they recover immediately using the blood coursing through their bodies. To maximize efficiency, have the mages apply suppression, then imbue your weapons with holy spells before striking."
After issuing orders one by one, I resumed the march. Since entering the Cave Of Wailing, we had only been on the receiving end, so this time, I wanted to lead the battle to victory without major issues. This wasn't just a fight for me alone but one with my companions. The caravan's morale wasn't bad, so with some luck, I felt this battle could be a turning point.
After advancing about 80 meters, we began to see five Blood Golems, their bodies dripping with blood. They were roughly the same size as typical golems, but the sight of their exposed red muscles and the pale, jagged bones protruding between them was enough to evoke visceral disgust. They looked like grotesque, oversized human monstrosities born from failed biological experiments.
The creatures were aimlessly wandering the wide passage, seemingly unaware of our presence. I turned my head slightly and fixed my gaze on Jung Ha-Yeong.
"Player Ha-Yeong, Sang-Yong. Can you cast Feedback Control magic?"
"No problem. With double casting and an empty slot in my necklace for storage, I can use it up to three times in total. As you said, Su-Hyeon-ssi, if they're unaffected by external influences like Wraiths and rely solely on internal self-regeneration, I should be able to suppress them effectively."
"I'm sorry, but applied magic isn't part of my abilities." Sang-Yong replied.
Nodding at Ha-Yeong's affirmative response, I kept Sang-Yong in my line of sight and continued.
"Player Ha-Yeong, start by casting Feedback Control on the first one on the left, then work your way through them in order. I'll handle the remaining two on the right."
"Got it. I'll start memorizing the spell for storage now."
Next, I turned my attention to Hyun, Sol, and Yun-Jung.
"Sol, start chanting Holy Striking right away. Yun-Jung, follow behind me. Don't move in first—wait for my signal after I engage. And Hyun, you're the main tank this time. You don't need to focus on dealing damage. Feedback Control lasts about five minutes on average, so just hold them off until Yun-Jung and I return."
"""Yes."""
Hearing the simultaneous responses from the trio, I turned to the rest of the group.
"Player Yeon-Joo, as always, I'm counting on you to be the Keeper. Mages and priests, once your roles are complete, focus on supporting Hyun. And…"
I always entrusted Yeon-Joo with the Keeper role. It might be a bit monotonous, but since the Keeper is the second most important role in the caravan after the leader, she didn't seem to mind too much. Seeing her make an "OK" gesture with her thumb and index finger, I concluded my orders with one final instruction.
"Vivienne, I need you to provoke the Blood Golems. Focus on slowing their movements as much as possible rather than dealing direct damage."
"Yep, leave it to me!"
Her response was a bit off the mark, but Vivienne had never let me down in combat, so I trusted her. As the simultaneous chanting of spells from Vivienne and the other mages filled the air, the signal for our battle rang out.
"Huuf. Huuf.
I could hear Hyun's tense breathing. Glancing sideways, he seemed to be feeling the pressure of being the main tank. While Yeon-Joo's presence in the rear meant we weren't at risk of being wiped out, Hyun clearly understood that if he faltered, the entire group would be in danger. I gave his shoulder a light pat and calmly reassured him.
"Don't be too nervous. Just do it like you did when we fought the Wraiths. You don't need to deal damage. Yun-Jung and I will flank and take out two of them, then come back to hit them from behind. Just hold them off until then. You can do this."
"Huuf. Huuuf. Yes, hyung. I'll hold out until then, I promise."
Encouraged by my words, Hyun took a deep breath, steadying himself.
"───. ───. ───."
"───. ───. ───."
"───. ───. ───."
White light began to envelop my and Yun-Jung's weapons, while a familiar magic circle started to form around Vivienne. The Blood Golems, wandering about 100 meters ahead, seemed to sense the flow of mana at last. One or two turned their bodies, and upon spotting us, they let out deafening roars.
"Kraaaaaagh!"
"Kraaaaaagh!"
The creatures reached for the pale, jagged bones protruding from their bodies, yanking them out with a grotesque motion before charging toward us. The disturbing sight of them pulling out their own bones caused some of our group to grimace. The Blood Golems thundered toward us, their heavy steps shaking the ground. But by then, Vivienne had already completed her summoning spell.
"Come forth! Petrify! Eternal darkness that rules the 53rd Legion!"
Vivienne's clear voice rang out, followed by her shouting, "Unleash! Petrify!" A cool breeze brushed past me from behind, engulfing all the charging Blood Golems. The ensuing scene proved once again that Vivienne never disappointed me.
"Krrrk! Krrrk!"
"Krgh! Krrrk!"
The bodies of the Blood Golems, struck by the breeze, began to gradually turn ashen. The creatures, which had been charging with fervor, suddenly slowed, their bodies twisting violently. The ashen parts crumbled away like grains, revealing their original red hue once more.
But the summoned Petrify's attack wasn't a one-off. The moment the petrification wore off, another gust swept in, turning different parts of their bodies ashen again. It would've been ideal to cast this after the Feedback Control spell, but since the golems had spotted us and were charging first, slowing their momentum was the only option.
At that moment—
"Change Sand! Change Mud!"
I had thought Sang-Yong specialized in wind and lightning magic, but recently, it seemed he had some proficiency in earth magic as well. With the manifestation of a spell that turns soil into mud, the ground beneath the golems transformed into a sticky quagmire, reminiscent of a swamp.
The golems, which had been pushing forward, plunged their feet into the mud and staggered heavily. It was a bit disappointing that the mud didn't engulf them up to their waists, but it was still a success. This bought us more than enough time.
And finally, the moment I'd been waiting for arrived—Ha-Yeong's spell erupted.
"Feedback Control!"
Preparing three spells at once had made her a bit slower than usual, but for an average player, it was still impressively fast. (Feedback Control is a high-tier spell even among applied magic.) True to Ha-Yeong's nature, blue-glowing orbs of light shot toward the three golems I had designated, leaving long, watery trails in their wake. Without wasting another moment, I lightly grabbed Yun-Jung's hand and darted to the right, planning to deal with the two golems her spell hadn't reached.
After bypassing the swamp and taking position behind the golems, the nearby ones turned their heads toward me. As expected, the three farther away began crossing the swamp directly, while the two closer ones turned again, pulling their feet from the mud. I instructed Yun-Jung to strike as soon as I gave the signal, then slightly twisted my sword in my grip.
Up close, the golems' bodies were undeniably repulsive. Yun-Jung, clearly nauseated, kept spitting behind me. The lingering effects of Vivienne's magic were still visible—parts of their bodies petrified, only for reddish blood to bulge out, causing the ashen grains to crumble away in a repeating cycle.
The first golem to fully escape the swamp let out a furious roar and swung its bone club. I calculated its trajectory, sidestepped easily, and charged in.
Even in peak condition, these creatures wouldn't have been at their best, and with Vivienne's magic restricting their movements, their actions were heavily limited. Dodging the bone club, I noticed the incoming left hand moving sluggishly. Seizing the opportunity, I raised my sword's flat side to strike the hand. Since cutting with the blade would only trigger immediate regeneration, delivering a bursting impact was the better choice.
Boom!
As I forcefully struck the palm pressing toward me, the golem's left hand exploded, its arm bending sharply backward. The creature's body twisted halfway from the impact, and before it could regenerate the shattered hand, I dove in and landed two more blows.
Boom! Boom!
The bone club flew off, embedding itself in a corner, and the right thigh muscle ruptured. Their regeneration wasn't infinite. The mana within their bodies tried to restore them quickly, but multiple simultaneous strikes inevitably slowed the process. Seeing the golem stagger back a few steps, I figured I'd done enough and activated my Third Eye. Then, I gave Yun-Jung her first instruction.
"Blood Golem, three centimeters left of the torso's center, horizontally!"
There was no reply. Instead, Yun-Jung's hair fluttered as she dashed past my right side. I clicked my tongue and turned my body. Her reaction time had improved, but her battlefield awareness was still narrow. Another Blood Golem was approaching from the right, which meant moving to the left would've been safer—especially since the spot I'd told her to strike was on the left.
I'd address that later. For now, the golem was attempting to intercept Yun-Jung mid-movement, so stopping it was the priority.
The latecomer golem, seeing Yun-Jung pass in front of it, swung its bone club down without hesitation. Yun-Jung glanced sideways and tried to calmly twist her body, but as I deflected the attack, she maintained her speed and charged in.
"Haaat!"
With a spirited cry, she thrust both her dagger and Sculepf into the exact spot I'd indicated. Infused with her own mana on top of the holy spell, her dagger easily pierced the golem's skin, striking the mana core within precisely.
"Uooargh!"
The Blood Golem, struck in its core, let out a scream that echoed through the dungeon. Stepping back to assess, I confirmed its self-regeneration had indeed stopped. The left hand had regenerated, but the areas I'd hit with my second and third strikes were still gaping open. As the creature's body began to tremble violently, I checked its status with my Third Eye and urgently shouted to Yun-Jung.
"Yun-Jung! Get back!"
"…Huh?"
Yun-Jung seemed to sense something off and tried to pull back, but because she'd struck the mana core so cleanly, the golem's collapse was happening rapidly.
Pop! Pop-pop! Ssssshh…
An unpleasant sound of bursting flesh rang out, and Yun-Jung, standing too close, was caught in the full brunt of the aftermath.
"…"
After a brief moment, the shower of blood subsided. Standing there, lips tightly shut and covered in blood and flesh fragments, was Yun-Jung.
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