Chapter 714 (1/2)

For several long seconds, Alta just stared at how tiny Ryal’s body looked with the hand of the Earth Golem around his neck. Then her eyes traveled up to the terrorist himself. Like all Earth Golems, his face was defined by a powerful and low hanging brow. His cheeks were flat and his eyes were hollow.

There was a certain sort of glee in his expression, but Alta could also tell that he wouldn’t be one to lose himself in the thrill of the job. He was here for a reason. There would be no chance of distracting him from this.

Although it was a long shot, Alta let go of the brief daydream where she was able to bring her way out of the scenario. Alta took a few steps back, her hand rising to her chest. Her bridesmaids clustered around behind her, while the groomsmen were scattered in a loose clump between Alta and Ryal. Half of them seemed to want to rush to her defense, while the other half were shaking as they stood before the monster that had come to claim their lives.

“You’ll be killed. Jailed for your whole life. Your family-” Alta began, but the Earth Golem interrupted.

“My family is dead. My emperor has been captured, or worse. You are a woman of means, Miss Bounty. Your company sits on a high hill of bloody gold. I do not believe you haven’t been trained for situations such as this. Walk over toward me or you all will die painfully. It is a simple request, is it not?”

“Alta, don’t!” Ryal seemed to have finally found his voice. “Run away! I can-”

Another Earth Golem pushed down a side door into the chamber, which was all the signal that Alta’s bridesmaids needed. They launched themselves forward, spreading their figures to display sharp daggers that had been tucked away in their dresses. Even the leader of the Earth Golems seemed somewhat confused as the seven women in dresses exploded into a fury of motion. Three went toward the leader, while the other four swarmed toward the door.

With a deft flick, the large Earth Golem flung Ryal to the side. He crashed into a bookshelf built into the wall and rebounded off the solid construction, seeming dazed. This bought Alta’s bridesmaids a few seconds, but it wasn’t enough.

A broad spear was retrieved from the large Earth Golem’s back, and he faced the oncoming women calmly. “My world has burned, children. All that is left for me is to charge forward, heedless. I have no other options.”

At his words, Alta’s eyes narrowed. Through her long hours of training with Creta, her teacher had covered in detail the ‘Great Skills’ that governed the world. When someone tapped into these Skills, they would be able to display a strength far beyond what a person should be capable of.

When pressed, Creta had been unable to provide compelling explanations as to why those different actions were the Skills that were powerful, but Alta wouldn’t deny the results they achieved. And from the Earth Golem’s words… he understood a very powerful one amongst these Skills.

The Earth Golem took a single step forward. The room shook. Even Alta trembled. Two of her bridesmaids were bisected by a casual thrust. The thrust spun past the attack and slashed at the Tall Earth Golem. The knife was sharp enough to leave a long gash through his thick skin, but then the terrorist sneered. He backhanded the woman, and she twisted sharply with an audible snap.

Boneless, her body fell to the ground. On the other side of the room, the four other bridesmaids cut through the group of Earth Golems that had circled around with minimal injuries. But the nearest one was very far away when compared to the large Earth Golem.

“Your name?” Alta asked lightly, surprised to find her voice was trembling. As the large Earth Golem took a long step toward her, she felt the cold metal of the resonance implant that was located at her sternum. The feeling of cold was reassuring.

“Halgr, Miss Bounty.” He rumbled. He took another step, and suddenly he was within arm’s reach. “I do not hate you. In fact, you will no doubt be something of a hero for generations to come. The woman who gave Spriggits the tools to rival an Earth Golem… But you must not continue. It has been ordained.”

“Alta!” Ryal screamed. His face was bloody, but he flew in like a hero. His kick hit Halgr at the waist, and to Alta’s surprise, the Earth Golem grunted and took a step back. Her eyebrows rose. Her fiance seemed to have some feel for the Great Skill Roundhouse Kick. That was worth noting.

But Ryal was not Halgr’s match. After the step back, Halgr’s eyes flashed dangerously. The spear was raised once again and rotated to point at Ryal.

“Fool. I would have left you alive if you had taken the coward’s way out,” Halgr shook his head once. Then he thrust his spear forward.

Luckily for Ryal, one of his groomsmen careened into him from the side. The brave fool was ripped in half, even as his best friend stumbled away, unharmed.