Overwhelming Firepower Chapter 447: The Gravebound

Robert, who had arrived at the battlefield after Lucen defeated the enemy forces, looked at the fallen Bulwark Golem and said nothing for nearly a minute.

His eyes moved across the shattered chest, broken limbs, and pieces of black metal protruding from beneath its stone exterior.

Soldiers were restraining the surviving Inevirians around him. Healers moved between the wounded, while engineers inspected the damaged Fenrirs.

Robert ignored all of them. Then, out of nowhere, he shouted. "What have you done! Why would you dare destroy such a wonderful creation?"

"Well, it did try to kill me and the others," Lucen answered while shrugging his shoulders.

"Who cares about that! For the sake of progress, shouldn't we, as men of the truth, sacrifice a life or two?"

"I'm not some creature with nine lives; I only have one."

"Enough! No more excuses! I have concocted a product that can sever the link between a golem and its controller."

"Oh, you finished that already."

"Yes, if you had waited for a bit, we could have tried using it on that giant golem." As he spoke, the destruction of the Bulwark Golem once again saddened Robert.

"What's done is done, and as you always like to say, only look forward, never back, right?"

"Hmph, I guess it truly doesn't matter anymore. So now that I have made what you asked for, when are we going to get the golem you promised?"

"I have already sent out a special team that will definitely lure one team of golems into a specific area. Will capture a few; is that good enough for you?"

Robert's sorrow disappeared immediately. "Then what are we waiting for?

"I'm waiting for them to lure the prey into the trap."

"So how long will we need to wait?"

"I don't know," Lucen answered while shrugging his shoulders.

"What do you mean you don't know?!"

"They'll contact me when the time comes. So for now, as I said, we wait."

Robert scratched his head in frustration as he answered. "Fine, we wait then."

After saying those words, Robert no longer said anything else and went to look at the pieces of the destroyed Bulwark Golem.

Robert climbed over the broken slabs covering the Bulwark Golem's chest. He brushed away the dust and examined the black metal frame beneath the stone.

Later in the day, a group of dwarves and a few others came to take whatever could be taken from the mana-guns and the golems.

The battlefield soon filled with the sound of hammers and turning gears. The dwarves carefully removed the crystals from the captured mana-guns before separating the runed rings surrounding their barrels. Every piece was wrapped in thick cloth and placed inside its own crate.

Others began dismantling the surviving golems. Lucen simply sat there holding a communication orb, waiting for the signal.

***

As day turned into night, several figures were silently moving through a forest. These were the assassins Lucen had captured and forced into service through a divine contract.

Officially, the group did not exist. Among the few Norvaegard soldiers who knew of them, they were called the Gravebound.

Lucen planned to use them for missions that were too dangerous or politically sensitive for ordinary soldiers.

Officially, the Gravebound had no connection to Norvaegard. If captured, the kingdom would deny their existence, and they were forbidden from allowing themselves to be taken alive.

As long as they finish a certain number of missions for Lucen, they will regain their freedom.

The Gravebound had not been a team when they attempted to assassinate King Ragnor. They had been hired separately through different intermediaries, and some of them had not even known the others existed until the attack began.

Now, they were being forced to work together. The fifth-mantle aura user moved at the front of the group. The fifth-circle mage remained near the rear, concealing the mana of everyone around them.

Despite not trusting one another, which was normal for them because of their situation, they understood that they needed to find a way to trust one another.

They needed to believe that each one of them wanted to gain freedom as badly as the other.

Right now, they were nearing one of the Inevirian camps where several golems were located. Of course, if there were golems, that also meant at least a few fourth-circle mages and above to control those golems.

If they were unlucky, they might even run into an elder mage; these were one of the few mages that had the potential to become archmages.

They were also Inevir's highest combat power, equivalent to the Four Dukes and the Tower Mages of Norvaegard.

The fifth-circle mage suddenly stopped. The concealment surrounding the Gravebound contracted as the mage closed their eyes and sent a nearly imperceptible thread of mana through the trees.

"We are nearing the location. There are several guards roaming around. I can't extend my mana that far, as they might alert someone."

"Then we don't have a choice. We must deal with whatever comes when they come." The fifth aura mantle assassin spoke.

"This is our first mission as a group? If we make a mistake here and meet an Elder, aren't we all going to die?" One of the other assassins spoke.

"Well, we either die by Lucen's hands, by divine contract, or by some other means. Either we were supposed to be dead long ago, but we still live, and I want to keep it that way."

"Then we'd better do our best to survive this. So before we dive into whatever comes next, how about we give our names so it will be easier to call each other."

"We don't need names; in fact, I have no name to give anymore. If you want, we can just give each other numbers, since those two seem to be the strongest among us; how about they be number 1 and number 2?"

"Who's going to be number 1?"

The second that question was asked, the two answered almost at the exact same time.

"Of course it's me."

"I'm obviously number 1."

The fifth-mantle aura user slowly turned around.

The fifth-circle mage opened their eyes and stared back.

"I have been leading the group since we entered this forest," the aura user said. "That makes me Number One."

"And none of you would have reached this point without my concealment," the mage replied. "If usefulness determines our order, then I am clearly Number One."

A small amount of aura began leaking from the first assassin. Mana stirred around the second, causing the concealment surrounding the Gravebound to ripple.

The assassin who had suggested using numbers rubbed their forehead.

"If both of you continue, the Inevirians can decide which corpse deserves to be called Number One."

The aura and mana immediately disappeared.

"Since you have been leading from the front, you will be Number One," the assassin decided while pointing toward the fifth-mantle aura user. "The mage will be Number Two. The numbers represent our positions in the group, not our strength."

"They clearly represent our strength," Number One said.

"They clearly do not," Number Two replied.

"Then there should be no reason for you to complain."

Number Two's expression darkened. "We will discuss this again after the mission."

"You may challenge my position whenever you wish."

"Enough, you two. We need to make a move soon, or we might lose the right timing."

"Fine, hey, number two, guide us through the patrols." Number one ordered.

"How about you guide us, oh glorious leader."

"Enough, you two!"

Once again being reprimanded, the two assassins quieted down. Number two then closed his eyes as he extended his mana outward to sense the nearby guards.

He could not extend too far since someone might sense his mana. Once he was clear of the positions of the nearby guards, he opened his eyes.

"Alright, follow me." Number two took the lead.

The Gravebound moved in a way that made little to no noise at all, proving their skills as assassins.

The Gravebound stopped at the camp's edge. Six golems stood motionless near its center, their glowing runes dimmed. Most of the Inevirian soldiers had retired for the night.

Some slept inside their tents, while others ate, drank, or rolled dice around the remaining fires. Only the sentries and two robed mages appeared fully alert.

"So how are we going to do this?" Number Two asked.

"We cause chaos and make them chase us to the agreed location. I'm sure you guys should be confident in your running skills, seeing as we're all assassins."

"Running isn't the problem," Number Two replied. "How do we make certain they send the golems?"

"It's a gamble then. If we cause enough chaos, making them think it's a night raid, they should send those golems to either capture or kill us." One of the other assassins chimed in.

Then let's make the gamble worthwhile," Number One said. The Gravebound separated beneath Number Two's concealment, each moving toward a different section of the camp.

Moments later, supply tents erupted in flames. A watchtower collapsed as its supporting ropes were severed, and the alarm bell began ringing.

Soldiers stumbled from their tents in confusion. Number One stepped into the open and released a portion of his aura.

"Raiders!"

The two waiting mages immediately activated three golems. "After them! The rest of you contain the fires!"

While a few Inevirian mages and soldiers stayed to contain the fire, the other mages, including two mages who controlled golems, activated them and went to hunt down the intruders.

Of course, most of the golems and their controllers stayed behind to protect the base for any potential abmbush.

Number One retreated into the forest as the golems followed. One of the concealed assassins activated the communication orb.

Lucen, who was helping the wounded, felt the communication orb connected to the assassins activate. "Quicker than I expected."