Daring to gamble at critical moments is both Tyler’s strength and his weakness.
Gazing at the Granite Golem embedded in the rock wall, Tyler felt a mix of fear and excitement.
“I’ve been put in check,” he thought, “but not yet checkmate.”
Quickly surveying the valley floor, he saw the Gudetown Cavalry had formed their ranks, and the rolling boulders had stopped, taking on a humanoid form as rock golems.
“Elle, the situation has changed. We must join the cavalry,” Tyler said, making room for her.
Elle peeked out and immediately noticed the rock demon guarding the area above, understanding why Banning had changed plans.
“What if it attacks us while we’re climbing down?” she whispered as they descended.
“The cavalry is making more noise, so it’s likely drawn by them and its own kind. As long as we don’t make too much commotion, we should be safe.” Tyler didn’t directly answer her question, as there was no good response: If the rock demon attack them while climbing down, they could hardly escape from death.
However, he believed it was worth the risk.
At the bottom of the gorge, seven cavalry members formed a circle, surrounding the nearly three-meter-tall Granite Golem.
“Stay calm! It has a slow startup! Use hit-and-run tactics to gradually weaken it!” ordered Laidell, the Cavalry Captain.
He led by example, hoisting his lance and spurring his steed to charge.
The lance gleaming holy luminescence struck the Granite Golem’s flank, and Laidell swiftly changed direction, evading the golem’s counterattack. He then returned to the outer encirclement, adjusting his course to prepare for another assault.
Tyler and Elle, who had already descended to the valley floor, hid in the shadows of the cliff, witnessing the scene. Tyler clearly saw the Granite Golem’s status change.
(Life Energy dropped from 2950 to 2890, inflicting 60 points of damage.)
(With a holy luminescence, so it appears to be a skill…)
Tyler confirmed his suspicion by monitoring Laidell’s magic energy: that strike was likely Laidell’s most potent attack.
While 60 points of damage would be a terrifying fatal blow to Tyler or Elle, it was merely one-fiftieth of the Granite Golem’s 2980 total health, akin to scratching an itch through a boot.
Upon being attacked, the Granite Golem began pursuing Laidell. Laidell slowly retreated, continuing to draw the Granite Golem’s attention. Seizing this opportunity, several daring rookie cavaliers imitated Laidell’s earlier charge, each inflicting damage on the Granite Golem.
(11 points of damage…)
(9 points of damage…)
(These two rookies are far behind Laidell’s level.)
Though the soldiers’ attacks were hardly impressive, if the seven of them could cooperate like this, Tyler believed that defeating the Granite Golem wasn’t impossible.
Meanwhile, through observation, Tyler discovered that the Granite Golem would only swing its arms to strike, stomp its feet, kick, or curl into a ball and roll to chase enemies.
(59 points of damage…)
(12 points of damage…)
(10 points of damage…)
(If they can maintain this delicate balance of offense and defense… perhaps victory is possible after two hours…)
Tyler felt nervous for the Gudetown Cavalry, as the Granite Golem might not be so cooperative as to be toyed with for two hours.
Indeed, in less than five minutes, the Granite Golem revealed a new offensive tactic: it leaped high into the air, then crashed down heavily!
The tremendous impact caused the ground to tremble, halting the horses. Seizing this opportunity, the Granite Golem rushed towards the nearest soldier, killing one with a single punch, leaving only six cavalry members.
Worse still, its assault attracted another Granite Golem from the cliff…
“C-captain! There’s another one on the cliff!”
The panicked cavalry noticed the unusual noise from above, their voices breaking in fear.
Tactical failure, the emergence of a second Granite Golem… the soldiers were plunged into despair.
“Don’t panic! Spread out!”
“Maintain the encirclement formation!”
“Lure the second one into the center to eliminate them together!”
Laidell was the only one in the team who still possessed the will to fight. Though evil, he displayed the professionalism expected of a captain in this life-or-death moment.
Expanding the encirclement formation would not only draw the second Granite Golem into the fray but also reduce the impact of their ground-shaking attacks.
(However… a quantitative change leads to a qualitative change…)
Tyler could no longer view the battle optimistically. Although in his vision, the Granite Golems’ health was indeed decreasing, the cavaliers couldn’t see these values. In their combat experience, both golems seemed unyielding and impervious to their attacks.
Tyler understood this overwhelming sense of bewilderment, akin to being lost in a vast ocean.
In the past, he was suggested by a friend to play “Monster Hunter.” Without a health bar display, he hunted a molten dragon with a light crossbow, an experience of despair he would never forget, as if attempting to fill an ocean with pebbles.
Tyler believed that if he didn’t do something, the Gudetown Cavalry would soon perish, making it even more challenging for him and Avril to escape the canyon.
“Elle, stay here; I’ll help them.” Elle was about to say something, but Tyler had already charged into the fray.
Though the situation was dire, defeating the two Granite Golems would yield tantalizing experience points.
Tyler saw his participation in the battle as a high-stakes gamble. Anyway, he had a trump card to use in a worst-case scenario.
“Captain Laidell! I’m a hunter from Ira Village! I’ll fight alongside you!”
Tyler claimed an unclaimed warhorse and swiftly joined the Gudetown Cavalry’s encirclement. Though not a powerful ally, the newcomer immediately bolstered the cavalry’s morale, and Tyler began to make a difference.
“Captain Laidell! This bloodstained Golem has been weakened; please concentrate your attacks on it! I’ll lure the other one away!”
Laidell wasn’t sure how the hunter deduced the weakened state of the Granite Golem, but having someone distract one was excellent news.
Laidell immediately ordered the soldiers to cooperate with the hunter’s plan. Subsequently, Tyler successfully lured the Granite Golem that was initially on the cliff away from the group.
To distinguish between them, he called this one the Unharmed Golem and the other the Bloodstained Golem.
The Bloodstained Golem had blood on it from recently killing a soldier. Its current status was: 𝗈𝑽𝑙xt.𝓬𝑜𝑚
Health: 2510/2980
Endurance:320/620
Magic Energy:250/300
By comparing the basic information of the two Granite Golems, Tyler noticed several things:
The level, age, and every status value of the two Granite Golems were identical.
Although neither Golem had skills, their magic power was continuously decreasing with each action.
Whenever their magic energy decreased, their endurance would correspondingly increase.
These seemingly insignificant details, when combined, led Tyler to a possible strategy to defeat the two monsters.