"How will the knights even see it in the dark?" Welf asked in a choked whisper. "I'm surprised they didn't pull back before nightfall. But what if they're more determined than we thought?"
The closer they got to loop back on the mountain road, the less confident he seemed to be.
Stella couldn't blame him. She felt the same, second-guessing herself with every step.
But the early nightfall wasn't the main reason for the unease.
It was a narcissistic idiot.
"Don't worry, blacksmith. They'll see what they need to see," Nimrod scoffed as he overtook him, leaning against his staff. "People will sing about my gigantic golem for generations."
Stella did her best to suppress a groan, but it proved to be impossible.
"Can we get on with it, then?" she sighed before she caught herself. "We're far behind them now."
She hated this, almost more than she hated herself.
Not the idea—the plan was hers, and it was one of her better ones, too.
But this shaman was insufferable.
Ever since Konrad defeated the Inquisitor and stopped her in Halaima, she felt odd. Inferior. Weak. Like someone who didn't belong—no, didn't even deserve to live.
An imposter. An abomination.
And yet, when she was with Nimrod?!
Despite his obvious powers, his attitude made him the most repulsive man in the world. Next to him, she could feel like a good person again. Or at least a person, and not a cursed monster.
How the hell could the tribes even stand him, let alone elect him as their unified leader?
"Are you sure?" Nimrod asked with a sneer. "Once I summoned it, even you can't—"
"For the love of the saints, do it already," Stella moaned.
The best she could do was not to rake her nails across her face.
Overreaction? It could have been. But when she compared him to the Prodigy, it made this bastard's self-image seem even more inflated. And since they looked so much alike—
"Well, don't complain if it goes out of control and crushes you," the shaman pouted.
If he meant it as a joke, it was a terrible one. And if it was a threat—
"You boasted a second ago about how powerful you are," Welf pointed out. "A stuff of legends. But you're worried about keeping your own summons under control?"
Ah, no, the blacksmith didn't get his meaning. But it was better that way.
Golem or not, Stella could've killed the shaman in the blink of an eye.
The fact that she could do it scared her, because it had almost happened by accident already.
And while it was easy for her to ignore most of this idiot's provocations, if Welf pointed them out, she had to react. For everyone involved, it was better if she didn't.
"All right, look down on me all you want, but you'll see," Nimrod fumed.
But a moment later, he would finally start praying for his spirits. Palms pressed together, eyes searching the night sky. He sat by the roadside, balancing his staff across his lap.
Seemed like it was a whole ordeal.
It made Stella wonder whether she could have tried the same.
Her blessing—if she could even call it that—worked without any divine intervention. In fact, it worked so well that she would only have needed such intervention to stop her in time.
Although when she went out of control, a prodigy was also enough.
Too bad, Konrad wasn't here. And if his twin made one more remark—
"Awaken, oh, spirits of the mountains, fuse your essence with these boulders and heed my call."
The road rumbled below their feet, and their two towering guards had to take a few steps back.
It was one ominous spell, but all she could think about was—
How lame it was to announce your move to the entire world?!
For a proper mage in a duel, this could have meant death. When she fought alongside Konrad against the Demon Lord, all she could hear were the impacts. It was terrifying. Fast. Deadly.
There was no way the spirits had demanded an audible prayer from their shamans.
So, unless he did that on purpose to appear more grand—
Yeah, he was idiotic enough to do that.
Either way, the rumbling got stronger, and a distinct shape started to rise above the road.
To say it was big would not have done it justice. Not even huge. Gigantic. Enormous.
The mountain road was wider down here, but it took up the entire width by standing alone.
And the height? Even before it straightened its back, the head disappeared into the clouds.
Mind you, this high up in the mountains, it wasn't rare for the sky to touch the road itself, but—
It had to be at least a hundred feet tall.
And its eyes? They glowed deep crimson, cutting through fog and darkness alike.
"I guess you were right," Welf muttered, straining his neck to look up at the ginormous beast. "It would be hard to miss this thing. But won't it break the road below?"
As if to feed his suspicion, the monster took an earth-shattering step forward.
They had to hold onto something, or they would have rolled down the quaking mountain.
"No, why would it?" Nimrod asked, looking at his creation with pride. "It's made of the same material, but it's hollow on the inside."
"Uhhum, like it's master," Stella let it slip, earning herself a glare.
She had to admit, though, this thing was already impressive by its looks alone.
To pull something of this size out of the stone in seconds?
"How long can you make it stay?" she asked, leveling the Demon Lord's staff at it.
If it went out of control—no, that was a stupid threat against her. He wasn't that dumb, right?
"It'll stay until it dies," Nimrod claimed, looking unsteady. "It will never attack me, either. But to command it, I'll need to use a lot of my essence. And it only takes simple orders, one at a time."
So even if this idiot were out, they would still have a gigantic scarecrow.
That was exactly what they needed at the moment.
"Tell it to advance up the road, then," Stella said. "Only stop before it reaches the barracks, and don't worry about the rest. I'll keep recharging its vitality, but if it attacks our men, I'll crush it."
She wasn't sure she could do it, but she could definitely deal with its master, and that had to do.
Nimrod grunted something, closing his eyes and raising his hands.
The golem took another huge step, shaking the mountain below.
"Once we're past that switchback, Helena's men will see it," Welf muttered, struggling to keep up with it. Those two behind her no longer seemed that tall with this thing around.
"If the nomads don't surrender right away, we'll be ready to cut them down," Kade added.
The rest was up to the princess and Bor to command the Rogue Rejects. Konrad might've had a dragon, but from a morale perspective alone, this golem was even better.
"Let's go then, and send a message to everyone still near the pass," Stella said. "The road's closed."