When my wives left for Vanushka, I was worried but I couldn't let my unease upset them. I was overprotective and I knew it but I couldn't force myself to change it. However, I did need to constantly pay attention so my overprotectiveness wouldn't change into something worse and those I love wouldn't suddenly feel that I did not trust them. That's why, when Dauntless' battle group teleported, I wasn't using one of my denizens to spy on them. Instead, I returned to the war I had, admittedly, neglected for the two weeks. The front was oddly stable but nothing in our reports suggested that Vestargo changed his approach. If anything, he was biding his time while needing to train more sophisticated bugs. The fact that he wasn't using monsters from the other Dungeons under his control was odd but not surprising. There was a strange kind of pride in that Core. In a sense, using the reinforcements from the other Dungeons would suggest that he couldn't beat me on his own. That might communicate that he could be beaten and spark rebellion in the conquered cores and he, certainly, wouldn't be able to keep them under his rules. Unfortunately, I couldn't sense any way of exploiting it but I made a note and sent it to my wives.

  The front line stabilised once the terrain became wetter and my ground forces found a large marsh that spread for kilometres in each direction. That, effectively, stopped my forces and forced Galahad to entrench the key position. Fighting the bugs in the swamps was annoying and Galahad decided to attack in a wholly different direction. Unexpectedly, the bugs defended their position so fiercely that we had to reconsider our approach. My problem with the current situation resembled a typical game of Civilisation when you forgot to upgrade a few of your units and your cavalry was charging into battle alongside tanks. My situation was similar, however, it was much harder to fix. First of all, magic barriers proved extremely effective against ranged attacks, which made melee a viable combat strategy. More than just that - in the case of Arcadian shields - entering a melee range was the only way to bypass the formidable protection they provided. Shields were why close-quarters combat wasn't ever going to change. Between cold steel and the wonders of magic, a mundane gun was simply a novelty. The equivalent magitech was cheaper to produce, it never ran out of bullets or damaged barrels, and was far quieter.

  I quickly checked the reports about production status and new recruits’ training and I, happily, smiled. Thanks to the influx of new recruits for the army and navy, the bottleneck I faced earlier had disappeared altogether. John Terion wasn't waiting for anyone, that was sure. Ten new destroyers were about to leave his shipyards in the next two weeks, which was incredible news. With the production of destroyers and corvettes moved to Everlight, the shipyards and workshops of Arcadia were freed to work on other tasks. A keel for a brand-new battleship with improved armour, weapons, and systems was laid down today and, once ready, will temporarily replace Dauntless as the Arcadian flagship. Once Dauntless receives its upgrades, we would upgrade Valiant and, over time, the rest of the fleet. Fortunately, the upgrade process wasn't as time-consuming as I feared and it would only take two weeks in dry dock before returning to active duty. Magic was incredibly convenient. Plus, the workshops had finally obtained resources and began production of self-propelled artillery. Good news for everyone, except my enemies.

  The doors to my office opened, letting in a smiling Luna, whose expression immediately turned to horror, her ears flattening in extreme alert as her eyes widened. At the same moment, I received a brief warning from Sentinel: a cryptic and distressed 'run!'. Without a second thought, I blinked but, despite that, I felt an extreme pain in my left arm. It was as if a fire was spreading in my arm; however, as I grabbed it, I felt it was cut off right under the elbow. I appeared standing in front of Luna who I pushed out of the room with my right hand and closed the door with the mental order. Behind my office chair stood two golems. One of them was kneeling with both its hands on the floor and observing me. It was quite simple and bulky without any visible weapon. The second one was slender and fairly tall. It was made of a white clay that looked like marble, was laced with gold, and clad in armour of strange pattern. It was holding a bloodied khopesh sword and a buckler.

  "Son of a bitch..." I looked at the thing and poured a potion right on the wound to stop the bleeding and summoned a Doom Stick.

  If anything could work on golem that certainly was going to be my fabled weapon made by Bjorn. I had commissioned it to use against Zephyr if he tried to seduce my wives but, in the end, I never really used it. However, Ertu confirmed for me that it would hurt Eternals. If it was good enough to hurt beings that called themselves gods, it was good enough to smash a glorified plant pot.

  "Assessment process... begin." The kneeling golem announced with the typical hollow machine voice. "The subject must defeat the Guardian of Succession."

  I narrowed my eyes as I begun to suspect how and why it was here. I blinked once again and appeared next to the white golem. I swung the bat at its head but it managed to block my hit with his buckler. While I put some force behind the swing and wasn't holding back, my attack was simply pathetic. I swore angrily under my breath as I blinked back and swapped my weapons. Doom Stick was useless for me in any serious confrontation just because it wasn't a bladed weapon. Both of my classes, Blade Master and Doom Blade, were fairly self-explanatory in terms of the weapon-type skills they offered. I chose the wrong weapon out of shock after losing my forearm. I focused on the enemy and ran through a list of bladed weapons that would be useful against such an opponent with just one hand. The golem wasn't going to wait for me and dashed towards me with a speed and grace I wasn't exactly expecting.

  I took out a sabre and parried its attack. The golem wasn't as heavy as I expected which allowed me to push it back. Unfortunately, the bastard was equipped with a personal shield. Something that, I swear, I will start using in passive mode even deep inside Avalon. My cut was significantly slowed down by its shield allowing it to dodge in time. He kicked me painfully in the stomach but I tanked the hit and tried to hit it in the face. Fortunately, I swung with my left hand which was now ‘a hand’ too short. If I had hit that bastard, it might have hurt me more than it. The second golem was just observing the fight and was constantly scanning me with its laser sensors. The doors behind me snapped open and closed, allowing Sentinel to join us in person. I noticed the worried faces of my wives, who were waiting on the other side, and I smiled at them. The observing golem switched its gaze to Sentinel and buzzed.

  "Do not interfere with the fair duel."

  "Fair? You are a damaged, defunct, and mad, golem, if you believe that attacking someone in surprise is a fair fight." Sentinel activated his glaive.

  "He proved to be strong enough to avoid getting killed in an ambush. The Balantican protocol is to not interfere with." The golem rose from the ground while the white one took an idle stance. "It's your last warning before you will also lose your claim to Amber Na'laar. Then you will be executed."

  "Sentinel, give me a hand," I said coldly, with growing fury. That was it. Now they got it.

  Without a word, Sentinel grabbed his left forearm and threw it towards me as I raised what was left of my left arm into the air. It attached neatly to a cut and I felt the fingers once again. In the meantime, Sentinel copied the kneeling stance of the observer golem who returned to observation without a word. The white golem took once again the combat stance and rushed at me but, now, I was back in the game. I summoned a large decorative buster sword which was, however, made of a very good quality steel and swung it at the golem. It tried to parry the blow which was a poor choice on its part considering the weight of the sword pulled me behind the swing. Its khopesh bent and the heavy, overgrown, and overweight club in the shape of a sword struck its arm. The clay cracked but held, however, the force behind the swing sent the golem flying.

  "Error. Unexpected variable. Error. The Guardian of Succession in danger. Error." The observing golem warned.

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  I sensed the mana surge and the first runes of the teleportation spell. With a grin, I silently ordered Stella to seal Avalon. "You are going nowhere."

  "Error!" The white golem spoke its first words, making me smile. "Transport runes and spells sealed! Unknown error!"

  "You chose the wrong opponent," I said and dashed towards the golem that tried to dodge my blow.

  My buster sword was like a living thing with its own thoughts and I was only able to swing it in the general direction I wanted. I was almost like a hilt decoration dragged around by the inertia of the heavy lump of steel. Being super strong was all fine and good, but everyone seemed to forget about the second and third law of dynamics. While I was super strong, I wasn't super heavy. That's why that sword, so far, was only a badass decoration over the fireplace until I needed a sword-shaped club. The golem, however, was unable to use that to its advantage. I was sure using a normal sword would be pointless against that thing. It was sturdy enough to withstand a few direct hits which seriously worried me. On the other hand, it was quickly losing parts of its armour and the second victim of my attack was its buckler. My strength wasn't enough to crack the Balantican construct but it was enough to inflict serious damage. Without any doubt, that thing was made to make its opponents believe they were facing a fair trial while, in fact, the duel was rigged. Well, the scythe hit a stone. Sentinel's arm was working flawlessly and I could focus on my opponent.

  "Warning. Anomaly detected. Error. The Guardian of Succession cannot terminate the target. Error." The golem complained as I landed another clean swing that sent it flying towards the wall.

  It slammed into the enchanted stones so hard that, if it was alive, it would have certainly died. Its breastplate was cracked and I could see the furnace inside it.

  "Warning. The target is abnormally strong and fast. Warning. The Guardian of Succession cannot flee."

  "Scene of massacre. Act two: Shattering Earth." I used the skill that enhanced my strength even further.

  Thanks to the gifts I obtained from Mia and Tia after our marriage, I had gained much finer control over my skills. I was finally able to use it selectively and keep it active for a lot longer before my grasp of the technique slipped. My strength was amplified nearly ten times and it slowly rose even further. Each swing of the buster sword was like the whirling and buzzing of an angry beehive but, this time, I was able to continue the swing and redirect it into a violent and devastating cut before I was dragged by the momentum. However, my tactic paid off - with each successive hit I sheered a fragment of the golem's armour and further shattered its frame. The golem moved only in defence and its annoying expressionless face observed me constantly. It jumped back and raised its arm. Without warning, a large fireball flew at me and would have exploded in my face if I hadn't activated my shields.

  "Warning. The target is using advanced technology. Warning. Anomaly. Warn-" I blinked in half of a swing and appeared right next to it, slamming the golem so hard that my buster sword was dented.

  The golem smashed into the wall again so hard that half of Triskelion shook from the impact. The enchanted stone wall withstood the hit, once again proving how much power was needed to destroy it. I looked in shock at the large dent in my sword and shook my head. Unfortunately, I had no more swords like this at my disposal. I stored it away and summoned one of my newest mithril alloy swords. I swear if that fucker destroys my new toys, I will grind them into powder, add that powder into clay or concrete, and make a toilet out of the mix.

  "How fucking much does it take to destroy you, fuckers?" I asked angrily. "Blade of Doom: Gram."

  A menacing red lightning started dancing on the edge of my sword. The transformation took a few precious seconds but the golem was looking at the sword with shock.

  "Warning! Destruction is imminent! Warning! Requires assistance! Warning!" The white golem started to back away but it was stopped by the wall it just impacted.

  "Error. Data error. Warning. The Guardian of Succession can't be defeated. Data error. Target should accept its demise and perish!" The observing golem slowly stood up and looked at me with its red eyes.

  However, before it could help the battered and damaged white golem, I blinked and cut across the white golem's chest. Gram dug into the ceramic body with ease and annihilated everything in its path. However, when it touched the remaining piece of back armour, it bounced back violently. But the destruction was already done. The flame within the white golem died out and it dropped to the ground. Without its flame, all its parts were scattered across the room and its core rolled out of its ruined frame. I turned towards the observer golem and raised my sword.

  "Fuck you. I will destroy you. Then I will destroy anyone who tries to take Amber away from me. You will submit or perish. I will erase every trace of Balantican's legacy if you choose to fight me!"

  "Data error... The Guardian of Succession cannot be destroyed. Data error..." Golem repeated but its voice was uncertain.

  "Nothing built by one man can't be destroyed by another," I said, and the golem's eyes suddenly turned green.

  "Anomaly explained. Hero detected. The Guardian of Succession destroyed. Trial... Passed." The remaining golem announced with an angry voice.

  It lowered itself to take the white golem's core but I grabbed it faster. "Not so fast. That thing is my spoils of battle."

  "Unacceptable!"

  "I will return it to you once all my wives safely return home from Vanushka," I said with satisfaction and ordered Stella to unseal Avalon.

  The golem, which was much weaker than the Guardian of Succession, stared at me with its golem equivalent of begrudging acceptance and, finally, backed down. I was sure it would have attacked me if I was more wounded than I was. However, those few scratches and bruises I earned during the fight hardly count. If not for the lost forearm, I was practically intact. It slowly relented but I could almost feel the calculations running through its head.

  "Acceptable..." The golem's eyes dimmed and he activated its teleportation spell.

  The circle was small and even more inefficient than our teleportation. Once the golem disappeared, I slowly dropped to the ground. I mentally opened the doors to my office, letting in my wives and Lanka who instantly began to heal me.

  "I fucking hate those golems," I announced before anyone could say anything, making my observing wives chuckle.

  "Amber is furious with these golems and worried sick about us," Luna informed me with a slightly angry voice. "Why the hell did you push me away from the room?! I could help you!"

  "It was an instinct! I wanted to protect you, Luna." I explained myself.

  "I can fight, Theon."

  "I know, but who knew what those crazy clay pots would do. If I were their only available target, it was better to stay that way. The last thing we needed was to make you a target for them."

  "On one hand, I love you for how you carry about me... us." She looked at Lavender and Cahrona who smiled. "On the other, I'm furious that you always fight alone. You always say that you despise Heroes but, when it comes to the moment, you act just like them!"

  "Maybe I am a hero, after all?" I chuckled but she simply huffed. "Most of the damage they could inflict was already done."

  "My Lord... Your hand." Lanka was pale as she held her hands on Sentinel's forearm I borrowed.

  "Ah, yes... It should be somewhere." I looked around, trying to downplay the fact that I lost half my left arm.

  "It's here, my Lord." Sentinel waved at me with my floppy limb, making me snort.

  "Thank you!" I chuckled while my wives looked at me in shock. "What? It was hands down my worst office experience so far."

  Their reaction to my poor joke varied from rolling their eyes, sighing, and straight-up face-palming but, finally, the tension left them.

  "At least, it looks like the Balantican golems, begrudgingly, accepted me as Amber's husband." I shrugged as I stood up. "One thing is sure. Til Na'laar was a particularly crazy asshole to create a flawed system and leave it unattended. It is just asking for trouble. I wonder how many good people have been killed by golems throughout the ages..."

  Thank you all for reading.

  I wish you all a great day and as always I wait for your comments.

  A big thanks to who edited the chapter!

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