Chapter 140: Coldsteel Pride

The moment the command was issued, the Korlotis core hovering in midair flared with blinding light, and a deep hum spread outward as even the earth beneath their feet began to tremble.

An invisible yet tyrannical force radiated from the core, blanketing the entire wilderness as soil, sand, buried boulders, and even fragments of rusted armor from old battlefields were torn free from the ground and drawn upward against all reason.

Stones collided with thunderous crashes while twisted metal shrieked and sparked, and everyone present instinctively held their breath as they watched what looked less like construction and more like a divine act of creation.

The entire process lasted only a few dozen seconds, and when the dust settled and the elements calmed, a colossal figure stood before them.

It was a massive stone lion, nearly five meters tall and over fifteen meters long, its body formed from enormous slabs of rock that outlined powerful, sinewy musculature.

Fragments of metal armor embedded across its frame formed natural plating and razor-sharp claws, while its imposing head exhaled faint sparks of heat and its eyes burned with pure energy and destructive will.

“My… God…” Hank’s cigar slipped from his lips as he stared, oblivious to it falling.

Having spent half his life on the battlefield, he had seen siege beasts and dark constructs of the Shiva Empire, but those reeked of death and decay, inspiring only revulsion and fear. What stood before him now was different, containing only pure, primal power that evoked awe rather than dread, as if this was no longer warfare but the recreation of life itself.

“That form… it’s magnificent,” Hank muttered as he unconsciously straightened, his gaze filled with admiration, noting how it resembled the lion on Elfin’s national banner.

“What is that?!” Little Donnie shouted excitedly, waving his arms until Hank shot him a glare and barked for him to stand properly, which he did instantly out of reflex.

Only then did Hank nod in satisfaction and scold him further, though Donnie quickly protested that the golem they saw before hadn’t looked like this before and asked if it could change shape.

Nolan, hearing this, was equally surprised by the form before him, as he had seen Tyrian golems take different shapes depending on absorbed elements but had never encountered such a majestic lion.

After a moment of thought, he quickly grasped the key and explained that the golem was adaptively constructed, shaped by the dominant elements of the region—earth, wind, and a trace of fire.

Turning to Ailindel for confirmation, he found her nodding lightly as she added that a golem’s form could also reflect the subconscious of its controller.

With faint amusement, she recalled a Tyrian grandmaster whose sentinel golem had taken the form of a giant rabbit, prompting Rehanna to stifle a laugh while the others imagined the absurd sight.

Ailindel smiled at the memory and explained that while the rabbit had little combat ability, it excelled in logistics, which only made the image of a massive stone rabbit hopping across a battlefield even more comical.

For Nolan, however, the sensation was entirely different, as he could clearly feel the mental link between himself and the golem, as though it were an extension of his own body—massive, powerful, and absolutely obedient.

With a thought, he issued a simple command.

Attack the hill ahead.

The stone lion responded with a deep roar and moved at once, its motions fluid and powerful rather than sluggish, like a true king of beasts brought to life.

Lowering its body, it opened its jaws as blazing fire energy rapidly gathered into a searing sphere, which it launched after a brief charge. The blazing projectile shot forward like a cannon shell, carving an orange arc through the air before striking the distant hill. A violent explosion erupted on impact, sending earth and rock skyward as a deafening shockwave forced everyone to cover their ears.

Nolan stared in shock as debris from hundreds of meters away scattered near his feet, while the others stood dumbfounded until the dust cleared to reveal the hill partially obliterated.

The impact zone was scorched black, with stone melted into glass-like residue, and Rehanna muttered in disbelief as the blast had even blown her hair straight back.

Hank inhaled sharply, realizing that the destructive power rivaled—if not exceeded—a full volley from an entire heavy crossbow formation of the southern legion.

Nolan himself was equally shaken, as although he knew such constructs were powerful, he hadn’t expected this newly created golem to reach such an outrageous level of strength. That single attack was comparable to a full-force strike from a high-tier Gold-ranked warrior—and this was only the most basic sentinel model.

Glancing at his system panel, he saw a series of grayed-out options beneath the construct, all unavailable due to insufficient energy.

【Full-Power Construct: War Fortress】
【Energy Link: Arcane Spire】
【Matrix Construct: Small Golem Legion】

Each name alone made his heartbeat skip, as he could only imagine what would happen if the core were fully charged.

Yet the drawback quickly became apparent as well, as the energy reserve had dropped from ten percent to seven after that single attack. A full three percent consumed in one strike meant it could only fire a few more times before shutting down to recharge.

Nolan quickly understood why, as this was not an elemental plane where energy could cycle endlessly, but a balanced world where excessive consumption required time to recover. That explained why the core’s charge had stalled earlier, since the surrounding elements had already been nearly depleted.

“Energy… that’s the real problem,” Nolan said, staring at the still-smoldering hill as he assessed the golem’s output and potential.

Even with its limitations, its power far exceeded expectations, reaching high Gold-tier output at full force and at least mid-tier in melee.

“If we can solve the energy supply issue, this will become our strongest trump card.”

Despite the limitation, excitement filled the group as Vivi gazed at Nolan with shining eyes, clearly captivated by his seemingly endless capabilities. “Nolan, give it a name!” she urged.

Nolan looked at the towering stone lion standing silently like a soldier awaiting inspection, then at the hope and awe reflected on everyone’s faces.

After a brief moment of thought, he made his decision.

“Coldsteel City is our foundation and our beginning,” he said slowly, his voice firm with resolve. “It was born here, and it will fight to protect this land and the kingdom.”

He paused, then declared.

“Let’s call it… Coldsteel Pride.”