Chapter 128: Summoning the Golem
The lurking shadow demons in the darkness were scattered by Wade’s charge. Facing over a dozen shadow demons simultaneously, Wade burned more of his soul fire.
He transformed into a white storm, the hurricane from his Charge howling through the air. His enchanted Viking sword finally proved strong enough to shatter the shadow demons’ carapaces. The demons torn apart by the storm shattered into fragments, their black shells falling like broken eggshells as green fluids stained the snow.
The shadow demons hadn’t sensed Wade’s approach. As long as his steps remained light, these insects couldn’t detect a skeleton.
Wade used Starfire to attract flames, illuminating the insects before delivering a fatal strike that scattered them instantly. His black robe whipped violently in the wind as he came to a stop, holding only half a Viking sword – the weapon had broken during his last attack.
Nearly half the insects had been sliced apart by Wade. Drawing two new swords, he wielded one in each hand, alternating Sweep attacks to cleave through the remaining creatures.
Jessia couldn’t recognize which skeleton this was – to her all skeletons looked alike. She only saw it using powerful combat techniques to shatter shadow demons that she couldn’t even scratch.
The sight filled her with excitement, making her clench her fists and cheer.
But the surviving shadow demons fled toward the edges, disappearing into the darkness. They emitted piercing shrieks again, the sound carrying tremendous penetrating power. This time, Jessia didn’t feel any headache – the sound wasn’t an attack, but a summoning call!
Goosebumps spread across Jessia’s entire body as something seemed to surge through the darkness like tidal waves.
A shape emerged from the thick darkness – something had arrived through the shadows. It was a short, obese figure – a gnome.
“Oleg,” Jessia recognized the gnome.
That creature had haunted the northern lands for years. Jessia had met Oleg before she even founded the Black Cat Society.
That was over a decade ago. Oleg always wore formal attire, carried a cane, and dressed like nobility while frequenting taverns and ports.
Wherever Oleg appeared, laughter followed. People often mocked the gnome’s outfit since his belly was so round he couldn’t even button his coat, yet he never got angry – just smiled while peddling his wares.
He sold everything: magic scrolls, potions, information, even weapons and combat techniques. His inventory was vast and eclectic.
No one knew his origins, but he always knew what you wanted.
The elusive gnome was hard to find, yet would suddenly appear when you needed something to sell to you.
After over a decade, Oleg hadn’t changed at all – no signs of aging, same appearance, even wearing the same black tailcoat.
Some speculated Oleg was a bored mage; others said he was one of seven brothers all named Oleg.
No one knew Oleg’s true nature. He always cleverly avoided fights, never engaging in conflict. Even when people poured drinks on his hat while mocking him, he never fought back – though no one ever succeeded in actually getting alcohol on his hat.
Today Jessia finally saw Oleg’s true form – black wings sprouted from his spherical body.
Oleg wasn’t a gnome at all, but a demon worshiper whose essence couldn’t be called human anymore. Perhaps he once was human, but after embracing demon worship, he’d been transformed.
He was the one controlling these shadow demons, issuing their kill orders.
Years before Jessia came to Dragon’s Spine, Oleg had already been a demon worshiper, using his merchant guise as cover.
Jessia stared dumbfounded at the levitating figure as Oleg hovered midair, locking eyes with her.
When Oleg ascended, all flames extinguished.
Under the full moon, his rotund figure aligned with the lunar disk. The shadow demons melted into darkness as if vanishing, yet Jessia could still sense their terrifying presence.
“Poor Jessia,” Oleg said. “I never imagined our final meeting would be under such circumstances. How regrettable. It seems I won’t have the honor of sharing wine with you again.”
“Let me personally send you off then.” Oleg’s black wings spread, eclipsing the moon. “I’ll try to give you a sweet death. May you dream well, poor Jessia.”
“I still remember our first meeting – you bought a honey cake from me. You crouched in a corner eating it like a starving wild dog, saying you’d do anything for food.”
“What a pitiful, wretched gaze you had. I quite fancied you. If you weren’t catfolk, I might have collected you.”
The demon worshiper rambled incomprehensibly as ratfolk collapsed to the ground around him.
They fell into deep slumber as if affected by a sleep spell, their snores accompanying blissful smiles.
Others began struggling against drowsiness as tidal wave-like sleepiness overwhelmed Jessia. Catfolk without sufficient willpower all fell asleep.
Wade noticed the sleeping figures wore the same smiles he’d seen at the harbor – they seemed to be having wonderful dreams.
Their torches dropped before them, the oil-soaked flames flickering in the wind.
“A follower of Gimnori?” The dragonkin resisted drowsiness, propping herself up with her sword to glare at the floating demon worshiper.
“Oh? Someone here knows of Lord Gimnori?” Oleg studied the dragonkin with amusement.
“The legendary demon duke Gimnori who comprehends past and future,” the dragonkin said. “Only his followers can control nightmares. You’re killing demi-humans for Gimnori’s prophecies? They say he manipulates causality itself, bending unrelated causes to his desired effects.”
“Such a learned dragonkin.” Oleg clapped. “Accept your reward then.”
With his clap, shadow demons emerged from darkness to coil around the dragonkin’s feet.
A hundred shadow demons had arrived with Oleg, their carapaces stained with blood from recent killings elsewhere.
As the demons pounced, the dragonkin involuntarily closed her eyes.
Yet she felt no tearing pain – only wind pressure.
When she opened her eyes, a colossal figure stood before her.
A massive, mottled stone golem covered in frost patterns and scorched cracks now surrounded her like a fortress. Its enormous arms swept aside both shadow demons and snow alike.
The swordsman stood before the golem, light particles drifting from his hands.
The golem attacked the shadow demons like a loyal servant, digging an ice boulder from the ground and hurling it at the floating demon worshiper with force surpassing any catapult, smashing him from the sky.