Chapter 174 – An Outcast!?
After climbing the steps of the temple-like building, we rushed inside.
“MAPPA!”
My voice echoed throughout the vast, golden hall.
Two rows of golden pillars stretched out from the entrance and went all of the way to the far back.
…And at the end of the room, was a man, leaning on his elbow as he sat on a chair with a shameless expression.
“Mappa! What do you think you’re doing coming to a place like this!?”
Haines, who had reached Mappa first, shouted.
However, Mappa just looked at him and grinned.
“Hey, old man! Don’t you know how worried we were for you! What are you doing!?”
Fule joined in the shouting. It was rare to see Fule looking this angry.
But we had all been so worried, and so it could not be helped that emotions were on the rise.
And so I walked up to Mappa and said to him,
“Mappa… I suppose this place is related to you?”
Mappa closed his eyes and nodded solemnly.
“I knew it…”
In other words, it was Mappa’s homeland…
This was no surprise, given the amount of dwarf statues, and the height of the buildings. This was probably the city that Mappa had been raised in.
And seeing him sit on this throne now…was Mappa part of the royal family?
While it was hard to not feel a little annoyed at his proud manner as he sat deep in his seat, I had to admit that it seemed fitting, somehow.
And there was one more thing that I noticed.
Suddenly, I detected magic energy coming from the walls on both sides.
“Mappa… Surely, you aren’t going to…”
He wouldn’t kill us.
However, it was possible that he was trying to capture us.
What if he was holding a grudge against us for calling him ‘Mappa’ all of this time… No, it couldn’t be that.
“…Hey, Mappa. What are you going to show us? I suppose it must be very amazing?”
I asked. Mappa smiled mischievously. He then pressed a button that was near his elbow.
Just then, the walls to the left and right suddenly opened up.
“Wh-what are they!?”
The figures who appeared from the walls were big and heavyset, much like dwarves.
And they were covered completely with golden armor, and held battleaxes. They were warriors.
However, they were at least three times larger than the average human.
There were about ten of them. Were they guardians of this place?
But I doubted that they were living creatures. They were likely Golems.
Mappa raised one hand and signaled to them.
And then the Golems came closer to Mappa.
The Golems lined up obediently in front of him. Mappa looked delighted by this.
“Old Mappa. This is what you wanted to show us…?”
Fule muttered in an exasperated voice.
So he just wanted to show off some soldiers that moved at his command… No!?
I quickly cast Shield on Mappa.
One of the Golems had suddenly raised its axe.
The blade of the weapon bounced off of Shield, and a dull ring echoed throughout the hall.
As for Mappa, he looked quite frantic.
He was furiously pressing the square button on his throne, as if in a desperate attempt to fix things.
So he had assumed that he would be able to control the Golems.
Red lights began to flash on the heads of the Golems, and then a loud voice rang in the air.
<>
I didn’t understand what they were saying.
However, that’s what we had heard. It must be some kind of magic.
But we couldn’t just stand here. We had to help Mappa.
Before I had even given out any orders, Ashton and Haines had unsheathed their scimitars.
“Tsk. Mappa really is still just a child!”
“And we still have to wipe his arse!”
They kicked the floor and launched themselves into the air, severing the heads of the Golems around them.
At the same time, Fule used fire magic to attack them.
“Taran! Get Mappa!”
Fule shouted. Taran jumped to the ceiling and then shot her webs towards Mappa’s head. Once Mappa had been wrapped up and tied, she raised him up into the air.
But the Golems were tough.
Fule’s magic was not effective. And the Golems that had lost their heads continued to attack Ashton as if nothing had happened.
“Are they immune to attacks?”
The attacks from the scimitars were one thing, but Fule’s fire magic should be able to melt their armor, which was made of Orichalcum.
Were they using magic to cast Shield as well? However, it didn’t look like they were using magic stones.
In the past, we had faced Golems in Sheorl’s underground who were also immune to magic attacks.
But they had done it with Magic Defense Stones and Magic Absorption Crystals.
We had eventually defeated them with pickaxes…
Right now, I was the only one who had a pickaxe. But I didn’t even know if it would work until I tried hitting them.
Besides, while Fule and the others could defend themselves, it would be difficult to fight while having to protect the guardians. Ogus was able to fight, but his attacks were also ineffective.
In the meantime, Taran succeeded in bringing Mappa back to our side.
“Tsk… We’ll have to retreat for now! Taran! We’re retreating to the roof!”
I shouted. And Taran nodded.
And then she ran outside with the other Cave Spiders.
“The rest of you, go outside!”
“Lord Heal, we’ll take up the rear!”
Ashton said. And then he and Haines started to run around the Golems.
“Thank you, you two!”
And so I cast Shield on them and then ran outside.
We then grabbed the spider’s webs that dangled just outside of the entrance, and the Cave Spiders pulled us up.
The guardians followed us, and then Ashton and Haines, who had distracted the Golems, were pulled up onto the roof as well. Here, we breathed a sigh of relief.
And while the Golems were still ringing their warning bells, they seemed to be unaware that we were on the roof, and so they scattered in every direction in the city.
Chapter 174 – An Outcast!?
After climbing the steps of the temple-like building, we rushed inside.
“MAPPA!”
My voice echoed throughout the vast, golden hall.
Two rows of golden pillars stretched out from the entrance and went all of the way to the far back.
…And at the end of the room, was a man, leaning on his elbow as he sat on a chair with a shameless expression.
“Mappa! What do you think you’re doing coming to a place like this!?”
Haines, who had reached Mappa first, shouted.
However, Mappa just looked at him and grinned.
“Hey, old man! Don’t you know how worried we were for you! What are you doing!?”
Fule joined in the shouting. It was rare to see Fule looking this angry.
But we had all been so worried, and so it could not be helped that emotions were on the rise.
And so I walked up to Mappa and said to him,
“Mappa… I suppose this place is related to you?”
Mappa closed his eyes and nodded solemnly.
“I knew it…”
In other words, it was Mappa’s homeland…
This was no surprise, given the amount of dwarf statues, and the height of the buildings. This was probably the city that Mappa had been raised in.
And seeing him sit on this throne now…was Mappa part of the royal family?
While it was hard to not feel a little annoyed at his proud manner as he sat deep in his seat, I had to admit that it seemed fitting, somehow.
And there was one more thing that I noticed.
Suddenly, I detected magic energy coming from the walls on both sides.
“Mappa… Surely, you aren’t going to…”
He wouldn’t kill us.
However, it was possible that he was trying to capture us.
What if he was holding a grudge against us for calling him ‘Mappa’ all of this time… No, it couldn’t be that.
“…Hey, Mappa. What are you going to show us? I suppose it must be very amazing?”
I asked. Mappa smiled mischievously. He then pressed a button that was near his elbow.
Just then, the walls to the left and right suddenly opened up.
“Wh-what are they!?”
The figures who appeared from the walls were big and heavyset, much like dwarves.
And they were covered completely with golden armor, and held battleaxes. They were warriors.
However, they were at least three times larger than the average human.
There were about ten of them. Were they guardians of this place?
But I doubted that they were living creatures. They were likely Golems.
Mappa raised one hand and signaled to them.
And then the Golems came closer to Mappa.
The Golems lined up obediently in front of him. Mappa looked delighted by this.
“Old Mappa. This is what you wanted to show us…?”
Fule muttered in an exasperated voice.
So he just wanted to show off some soldiers that moved at his command… No!?
I quickly cast Shield on Mappa.
One of the Golems had suddenly raised its axe.
The blade of the weapon bounced off of Shield, and a dull ring echoed throughout the hall.
As for Mappa, he looked quite frantic.
He was furiously pressing the square button on his throne, as if in a desperate attempt to fix things.
So he had assumed that he would be able to control the Golems.
Red lights began to flash on the heads of the Golems, and then a loud voice rang in the air.
<>
I didn’t understand what they were saying.
However, that’s what we had heard. It must be some kind of magic.
But we couldn’t just stand here. We had to help Mappa.
Before I had even given out any orders, Ashton and Haines had unsheathed their scimitars.
“Tsk. Mappa really is still just a child!”
“And we still have to wipe his arse!”
They kicked the floor and launched themselves into the air, severing the heads of the Golems around them.
At the same time, Fule used fire magic to attack them.
“Taran! Get Mappa!”
Fule shouted. Taran jumped to the ceiling and then shot her webs towards Mappa’s head. Once Mappa had been wrapped up and tied, she raised him up into the air.
But the Golems were tough.
Fule’s magic was not effective. And the Golems that had lost their heads continued to attack Ashton as if nothing had happened.
“Are they immune to attacks?”
The attacks from the scimitars were one thing, but Fule’s fire magic should be able to melt their armor, which was made of Orichalcum.
Were they using magic to cast Shield as well? However, it didn’t look like they were using magic stones.
In the past, we had faced Golems in Sheorl’s underground who were also immune to magic attacks.
But they had done it with Magic Defense Stones and Magic Absorption Crystals.
We had eventually defeated them with pickaxes…
Right now, I was the only one who had a pickaxe. But I didn’t even know if it would work until I tried hitting them.
Besides, while Fule and the others could defend themselves, it would be difficult to fight while having to protect the guardians. Ogus was able to fight, but his attacks were also ineffective.
In the meantime, Taran succeeded in bringing Mappa back to our side.
“Tsk… We’ll have to retreat for now! Taran! We’re retreating to the roof!”
I shouted. And Taran nodded.
And then she ran outside with the other Cave Spiders.
“The rest of you, go outside!”
“Lord Heal, we’ll take up the rear!”
Ashton said. And then he and Haines started to run around the Golems.
“Thank you, you two!”
And so I cast Shield on them and then ran outside.
We then grabbed the spider’s webs that dangled just outside of the entrance, and the Cave Spiders pulled us up.
The guardians followed us, and then Ashton and Haines, who had distracted the Golems, were pulled up onto the roof as well. Here, we breathed a sigh of relief.
And while the Golems were still ringing their warning bells, they seemed to be unaware that we were on the roof, and so they scattered in every direction in the city.
