26. Guardian of the Gods
Crash!
Irrena was finally pushed back to the corner.
Among the crumbling bricks of the collapsing barrier.
“Cough, cough.”
Facing the wheezing woman, the soldier ant with its wide open jaws charged toward her.
Seeing this sight, Zion, gripping his steel sword, rushed over.
“Sister!”
“Don’t come, Zion!”
In the next instant,
There was a presence that had leapt ahead even before them.
Kwang!
It forcefully pushed the soldier ant aside with its large frame and stood facing it.
“What the…?”
Blocking her path was a hefty shadow.
Zion blinked in confusion at this unexpected sight.
On the field of snow, two beings confronted each other.
One was the soldier ant, the other a large and fierce giant.
The ant raised its menacing jaws to bite, and the giant struck it with force.
Meanwhile, in front of Han, who was observing the scene, the status window of the golem appeared.
[Please select Earth Golem’s mode.]
[Combat / Defense / Guard]
“Combat.”
With Han’s setting, the golem began to move more aggressively.
The earth golem, filled with large surrounding rocks and dirt, started moving, aiming its massive fist at the designated soldier ant and struck it down.
With a sound resembling steel bending, the ant’s body crumpled.
“…!!”
The earth golem charged towards the ant with a movement akin to a castle.
Even Han, who was watching, was shocked, his eyes wide in amazement at the fierce display.
It was a sight filled with a madness that seemed to have consumed even the painter’s mind.
Until now, the golem had a dull image, but that perception needed to be revised.
“-!!”
With all its might, the earth golem swung its arms, fiercely striking down the soldier ant.
It was a ruthless and unmatched spectacle.
Thud, thud.
Han called out to Irina with all his might.
Her eyes, bewildered by the scene before her, turned to Han.
“God, Lord?”
(Swish.)
His finger pointed towards the direction of the earth golem, which was crushing the ants with full force.
As if trying to convey something.
“No way….”
Finally, as if realizing something, Irina’s pupils widened.
“Is that what the gods have called upon?”
Nod. Nod.
Her hand nodded up and down, affirmatively.
“Quickly, bolster your strength, Irina.”
Currently blocked by the golem, but that alone was insufficient.
The decisive blow was lacking.
The final strike was only Irina’s arrow of light.
It was the only effective blow that could break through the tough shell and penetrate in one strike.
“…I understand, gods.”
Soon, as if realizing this fact.
Her bow was imbued with determination.
More intense and radiant than before.
It was the moment when the arrow, charged with divine power to its limits, was released.
Thwack!
Finally, the powerful head of the giant soldier ant shattered, collapsing onto the snowy ground.
Victory in battle.
***
“Indeed, to defeat the ants, the strength of the golem is needed.”
It was a matter of inherent balance.
The main weapon of the elves is the bow.
No matter how enchanted with divine power, arrows ultimately cannot pierce through the thick carapace of these creatures.
It was due to the arrows’ inherent weak destructive power.
In the case of worker ants, their small size meant their carapace was shallow, allowing for effective attacks, but this was impossible with soldier ants.
However, with his earth golem, it was possible.
The powerful blows of the bulky golem, leveraging its hefty weight and size, provided a remarkably effective supplement to the elves’ limited firepower.
He could understand why summoning the golem was now possible.
“Was this from the beginning intended for this purpose?”
In Han’s eyes, the image of the earth golem was captured.
In the center of the square.
The immobile earth golem.
With arms outstretched, standing guard, its previous appearance nowhere to be found.
“Wow.”
Zion was gaping up at the earth golem.
The golem, much larger than himself, easily surpassed 2 meters in height at a glance.
Yumina had long been hiding behind Irina and hadn’t even shown herself.
She looked terrified.
Irina was the same.
She too, still with a wary gaze, was staring at the earth golem.
Even though there was Han’s guarantee, the tension was a reality separate from that.
He displayed such a fierce appearance that it was natural not to easily relax.
Meanwhile, the Earth Golem remained motionless like a statue.
At that moment, finally, after a long wait, an hour had passed.
300 points were accumulated.
Pop!
As if waiting, Han brought out a large hand in front of the elves.
Holding a lunchbox in his hand.
“God?”
The elves’ gaze turned towards him.
He extended the lunchbox to the elves.
“Here. Take it, guys.”
His lunchbox had the effect of restoring energy.
It was enough to relieve the fatigue of battle or minor injuries.
Just like how it had restored Irina when she was on the verge of death.
“To relieve those who have suffered, just a meal isn’t enough.”
In fact, the reason he hurriedly used the points was because of this.
***
“Wow! It’s delicious!”
Sion and Yumina widened their eyes.
They put a piece of tonkatsu in their mouths.
They started eating eagerly, not even noticing the rice stuck to their lips.
“It seems like in the world where God lives, they eat this every day!”
“hahahaha, seems like it.”
“If you eat it, does your body really become healthier and stronger like in legendary stories?”
“Well, I’m not sure, but I did feel that way. Every time I ate, I felt better.”
“Wow!”
Yumina’s eyes sparkled like never before.
Food of the gods.
Come to think of it, there might have been something similar in Greek mythology.
Perhaps it was nectar and ambrosia?
Surely, it was a kind of food that granted longevity or made one immortal when consumed.
“Come to think of it, it’s somewhat similar, albeit very slightly.”
Han’s lunchbox had a similar effect.
Except, compared to those in mythology, his lunchbox’s effectiveness was overwhelmingly inferior.
It only slightly restored the body’s energy and healed minor wounds.
…Now that he thought about it, it seemed a bit modest to call it divine.
However, its effectiveness was sufficient.
It was so potent that swallowing it immediately felt intimidating.
After observing the elves for a while, Han now turned his gaze.
“Well, since the elves seem to be recovering, shall we try moving the Golem now?”
[Would you like to activate the Golem?]
“Of course.”
Grumble.
The earth golem, which had been stationary until now, began to move.
With the sound of rock joints rubbing together, the golem started moving unexpectedly.
The relaxed elves, who had been tense, looked in surprise in that direction.
Thud. Thud.
Whether they liked it or not, the earth golem slowly began to approach.
“Hey!”
Startled Yumina screamed and hid behind Irina in a panic.
Even the young dire wolves, in an instant, tucked their tails and lowered their heads, seemingly frightened.
Irina and Zion were the only ones still watching its approach.
While everyone else remained tense.
The approaching earth golem eventually seemed to lower its stance next to the elves and then entered a standby mode.
“…Huh?”
“Suddenly… why is this giant behaving like this?”
Confused elves.
The golem remained in a position with its arms outstretched, just standing guard beside them.
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In fact, this was all due to the escort mode activated now.
“Ah. With this escort function, it’s possible to focus on a specific individual.”
It couldn’t be anything but a convenient feature.
***
[Currently in escort mode.]
[Status: Guarding individual ‘Irina’…]
[The target for escort can be freely changed at any time.]
“Huh?”
The earth golem began to silently follow Irina from behind.
Its lumbering presence following resembled that of a large guard dog.
Initially, she and the elves were quite tense, but as it continued to follow without any signs of hostility, they gradually relaxed.
Now, half a day later, they would simply glance back occasionally.
“Then what about defense mode?”
They tried changing the golem’s temperament mode.
Instantly, a message appeared before them.
[Select a defense radius.]
“Oh… is it like this?”
There were various ways to enable defense.
Designate a specific area to defend, or have certain areas patrol back and forth to create a protective barrier.
Of course, it could also guard specific individuals or areas.
Such as small plants like the world tree.
Thud.
This time, with the defensive settings, the Earth Golem approached the edge of the world tree’s domain and stood tall.
Quietly lifting its head, its gaze was undoubtedly a boundary towards the surroundings.
“This function is truly amazing.”
A smile appeared on Han’s lips.
“With this, even when the elves are asleep at night, they can effectively guard the boundaries of the square.”
Monster attacks are not forewarned.
They can happen unexpectedly.
Just like humans, the elves also sleep.
Therefore, it was a natural consequence that if they did not get proper sleep, fatigue would accumulate.
However, this Earth Golem was a perfect inanimate being.
Since it was not alive, there was no fatigue to be felt.
There was no need for separate recovery.
It could continue to guard without rest at any time.
Obtained a guard that could be used 24 hours a day.
[Current damage rate less than 1.45%.]
[Currently in automatic recovery…]
Goooo-.
Under the Earth Golem’s feet,
The faint pieces of rock and piles of dirt around rose like dust, gradually settling on the golem’s weathered surface.
In this way, the Earth Golem could automatically recover its damage over time.
“By the way, why was there damage? We didn’t receive a proper attack.”
[Damage was self-inflicted.]
“Ah. Just because you swing your fist doesn’t mean you won’t hurt yourself.”
It wasn’t particularly strange.
People were the same.
When you swing your fist, not only others but your own fist can get hurt.
Sometimes, when you hit too hard, the one who hit might end up hurting their own fist more than the one they hit.
“It’s convenient to be able to check the damage rate. In many ways, it’s convenient.”
An efficient non-living combatant.
Perfect to be a good ally to the elves.
Of course, in a similar situation, it could also serve as a substitute for Han’s thoughts.
Han changed the Earth Golem’s settings.
From guarding the surroundings to protecting a person.
“Guard setting. Come here.”
With his settings, the Earth Golem lifted its head.
It began to move with heavy steps, eventually reaching and standing in front of Irina.
As if trying to block her way.
Truly reliable to no end.
If one were to describe it,
“A kind of tank, you could say.”
Roughly speaking, that would be accurate.