I felt a sensation of my body being swiftly swept backward. The earthen snake had fully uncoiled its tightly wound body. That heavy mass made of earth slammed into the Golden Palace at a speed hard to believe it was made of dirt.
Rumble. The earth groans. Dust billows up in a hazy white. The scattered dirt clung to the wings of the homunculi, hindering their combustion process. The avian homunculi flying in the sky staggered in unison.
From within it, a single whirlwind rises, heavily laden with sand and dirt.
The wind melts everything. Fragrance, water, and even the earth. Carrying all the melted things of the world as it departs, the wind that settles nowhere is truly dignified.
The vortex of earth and sand rises high. It is as if a dragon is ascending to the heavens. Perhaps human sentiment is similar regardless of east or west, past or present, for the ancients saw this sight and named it a dragon-twister.
The Regressor was similar.
Cheongigeomgon, Serpent's Ascent.
The Regressor, holding the sandstorm like a sword, shouted toward the Golden Palace.
"I came prepared too! If you want to fight that badly, fight me first!"
After the most informal declaration of war ended, the Regressor swung the sandstorm. A roaring sound as if the world was splitting followed.
However, it would be hard to predict. That the power swung like that was simply a show to draw attention.
Of course, that attack alongside the earthen snake is certainly threatening, but if it were against homunculi it might work, it's insufficient to reach the Golden Mirror. Against a supernatural disaster like the Golden Mirror, it's better to exploit its weaknesses than to clash head-on in scale.
The Regressor knows that too. That's why they attacked with the maximum power they possessed.
To make us advance through the gap created by the clashing of their worlds.
"Now, let's go!"
Thanks to them drawing attention over there, we entered the Golden Palace bloodlessly. Now is the thief's time. Taking advantage of the gap the Regressor made, I stepped out...
"Foolish."
When I stepped out, a steel human stood before my eyes. A homunculus covered in armor from head to toe looked down at me with cold eyes.
Ah, seriously. I told you it's troublesome. Normally, I would read their thoughts with telepathy in advance and either retreat or advance. But of all things, they are all homunculi, so their thoughts can't be read. Do ordinary thieves all steal this inconveniently? I seriously respect them.
"The Golden Palace is the territory of the Golden Mirror, and the Golden Mirror is the god of the Golden Palace. There's no way it would miss a foreign substance that has entered inside."
The armored figure looked impenetrable, not even allowing a single needle to pass. No, perhaps there is no human body inside that. But what does it matter? That armor is moving.
What's important isn't a human's inner nature or essence. Whether that fist can smash me or not determines my attitude. In that sense, I must show sufficient etiquette against that armor.
Fortunately, I am fully equipped with sufficient etiquette. Because I've prepared a matching opponent for it.
The armor opened its mouth.
"Furthermore, did you think you could sneak in while possessing such a massive presence, Progenitor?"
"I kept my mouth shut because it was so ridiculous, yet you go and conclude things on your own. I simply covered my body because I dislike the sun, so what of it? Do you think I'd hide my presence just to deal with the likes of you?"
A bright red light flashed from the dark maw of the earthen snake. Originally, darkness is the absence of light, but for the Progenitor, it becomes power. Darkness flowed out from the snake's mouth like poisonous energy.
The darkness gradually occupied the space. From within it, Tyr appeared leisurely, as if out on a picnic.
The homunculi showed clear signs of wariness. None of them approached closely, only projecting their abilities forward. It seemed they were cautious of being dominated by Tyr.
Amidst that, the armor spoke.
"...Are you alone?"
What is the true intention behind those words? Are they trying to confirm Tyr's full power, or are they wary of me, who is still unseen? The former is fine, but if it's the latter, it's a bit worrying. I'd prefer they didn't pay any attention to me if possible.
Ah, seriously. Golden Mirror. If you're going to make humans, make them properly. Why did you put a defect in them so that I can't even read their thoughts? It's annoying!
As I grumbled and was about to step forward, Tyr smiled softly and rested her parasol on her shoulder.
"Oh my. Do you have the leisure to count numbers even with me before you?"
Clack. Clack. Footsteps echoed from afar. It was the overlapping sound of dozens, hundreds of footsteps. It sounded like a well-trained army marching.
However, the appearance of the legion was nowhere to be seen. Until the footsteps came within a hair's breadth.
Eventually, when the footsteps reached where Tyr was, black knights wearing steel armor stepped out steadily from the maw of the earthen snake. Ten, twenty, thirty... and continuing.
They are not black knights whose forms were merely summoned by darkness. They are wearing armor. And not just any armor, but the supreme armor created directly by the Golden Mirror.
Tools can belong to anyone. The Golden Mirror prepared them for the Ten Nations, but if we loot them, they are ours. On our way here, I gathered all the ownerless armor and handed it to Tyr.
Black knights wearing armor made by the Golden Mirror and moving by Tyr's authority. Their innate nature is that of dirt minions, so they probably aren't that strong... but if they are wearing solid armor, even minions become an immovable mountain. In the end, it's all about the gear.
"I am a legion alone. Try counting them if you can. Their numbers might increase in the middle, so you must concentrate."
"The Brand of Blood!"
The power to exercise dominance by engraving a brand with blood. It is a vampire's dominance. Vampires, whose boundaries between the world and themselves are thin, can divide themselves and exert control. In her youth, Tyr led tens of thousands of kin with this power.
Right now, it falls far short, though.
'If it were like the past, I would have commanded a legion of over ten thousand... but now, even borrowing the power of blood magic, a little over a hundred is my limit. My authority has noticeably weakened. However...'
"An opening!"
The armor shot out its fist without any warning. It's closer to being fired than a martial art. The shoulder and fist simultaneously aimed at Tyr's face.
Tyr is not the type with good reflexes. She doesn't possess the Heavenly Astrolabe like the Regressor, and having an immortal body, she lacks the crisis awareness that living creatures must have. By the time she noticed the armor's attack, it was right before her face was struck.
Getting hit wouldn't have mattered much, but it was specifically the head, so she felt averse to it. Tyr, reacting late, hastily grabbed the armor.
With a crunch, the arm was ripped off.
Tyr has excessive strength for her body weight. Because of that, she can't control her speed. The moment her arm blurred, a roar was heard, and one of the armor's arms was ripped out by the roots.
Tyr's flesh was the same in not being able to control its speed, so for a moment Tyr's arm popped out and dangled loosely... but that was literally an instant. She just needs to regenerate. Even an attack where both sides take damage is meaningless to Tyr.
"...There's no reason to hold back my strength. I need to use a bit of brute force."
Tyr pierced right through the armor. There was no one inside, but it didn't matter. Filling the inside with darkness, as she drew a brand with the blood of another homunculus... the armor became Tyr's loyal kin.
The homunculi unleashed their authorities all at once. The black knights charged. A war of foresight took place here, in the Golden Palace.
However, even this was a decoy.
'Go and return, Xiu.'
Tyr displayed her presence even more, drawing the attention of the homunculi. To bury my presence.
And 1 meter below where Tyr was fighting, I was advancing through a tunnel.
Fixed notions are scary things. Because snakes are creatures that crawl on the ground, people assume that because the earthen snake is modeled after a snake, its minute details must also be the same as a snake's.
But there's no reason why an earthen snake created by authority must be exactly like a real snake. Snakes weren't made of dirt in the first place. Keep that fact in mind.
In fact, the earthen snake the Regressor made moved half-buried in the ground. Above ground were the Regressor and Tyr, and below were me and Peru, hiding.
Magic is piercing the gaps in consciousness. Knowing the truth, it's just a trick, but to those who don't know, it's a technique more mysterious than magic. I used that technique to sneak into the Golden Palace.
Digging a tunnel is problematic when digging and exiting, but I have the means to resolve that.
Placing the Ten of Spades above my head, I gently pushed.
"Earth Technique."
The earth opened easily as if it were a lid. I made the ground above my head bulge upward and quickly climbed on top of it.
The scenery of the Golden Palace had undergone a drastic change. The Golden Palace I visited earlier was an idyllic scene of a village hall standing in the middle of a wide cornfield, but now it had the atmosphere of a battle encampment with pitched tents and erected fences.
Instead of farmers holding scythes, guards holding weapons were patrolling around. Even though it was still daylight, they had lit bonfires and were guarding the fences in pairs. From the large tents, soldiers, clearly more than the capacity, were walking out in lines. Well-maintained equipment gave off a cold gleam.
Armor. Spears. Shields. And soldiers. It's a scene that could be in a textbook. It's probably a reproduction of the war the Golden Mirror imagined.
In a good sense, it's orthodox; in a bad sense, it's too rigid. No matter how many infinite resources you have, if you lack flexibility, you're bound to be exploited.
But you never know what will happen if they fight a military nation. Because humans are creatures that learn.
Being homunculi, they might not be able to learn.
"Anyway. I have to break through there."
Is it possible? It looks difficult even with telepathy, but of all things, the thoughts of those soldiers can't be read either. Compared to Tyr, they are just minions, but my combat power excluding telepathy is on a similar level to theirs. Let alone the strength to smash that armor.
Is this all that happens even with the Regressor and Tyr drawing attention? Tch. What do I do.
"...Impossible."
"Oh? Peru? You followed me?"
Looking back, Peru was crawling out of the hole I made. I thought you wouldn't come, but here you are? Since you're a launchpad for your unique magic, it would be fine to stay safe inside, though.
"Did you come to help?"
"...I came to get in the way."
"If you're going to get in my way anyway, could you at least use your unique magic?"
"...There's no need for that. If I just scream, they'll notice you."
Thinking about it carefully, that's true. Huh? Really?
I thought it would be empty with Tyr and the Regressor drawing attention. I thought I could plant a flag in an undefended land and claim victory. I didn't expect them to have reserves.
Or is it? It is empty, but am I so weak that I can't even pierce an empty barrel?
"I'm sorry, but that's not much of a threat. It's close to impossible to get in there without being caught anyway."
"...If you retreat, I'll keep my mouth shut."
"That's for later. After I use my last resort."
Attacking an impregnable fortress is a foolish act. At times like this, you have to hide inside a Trojan Horse and get in. Having made up my mind, I stood up abruptly. As I pushed through the bushes and revealed myself, the tips of the soldiers' spears all pointed at me at once.
Wow, their reaction is fast. I raised both hands to signify that I wouldn't resist.
"Wait a minute. I am a messenger bringing their demands..."
"Enemy. Kill."
"I said wait! Killing someone with their hands up is foul play! I surrendered!"
Trojan horse my foot. They immediately thrust their swords at me. I hastily stepped back, but the soldiers repeated the same words over and over, gradually pressuring me.
"Enemy. Kill."
"Enemy. Kill."
"Enemy. Kill."
Not a shred of reason could be seen in their eyes. Their voices were monotonous, without inflection. Could these soldiers be ordinary human homunculi, not modeled after the Cult Leader?
Tch, it seems it's true that their forces are concentrated on the Regressor and Tyr. Considering the Cult Leader isn't here. The problem is that I can't even break through ordinary homunculi!
The spearheads gradually closing in. There's nowhere to escape. Tents have already sprung up in the back, and soldiers are crawling out from there. What kind of tent is a human factory? Humans go into tents, why are humans coming out of tents.
A desperate situation surrounded on all sides where even telepathy doesn't work. Even if I take down a few right now, it's obvious I'll be crushed by the sheer numbers swarming in after.
However, I prepared for this moment. The strongest Trojan Horse.
I called out my last card at the top of my lungs.
"Elik! Come out! I have something to discuss officially!"
As if my shout was in vain, my voice was quickly buried amidst the clashing of the soldiers' armor. A situation where the only way out was the hole in the ground.
'...As if he'd come out. If you give up around this point, I might be able to save you...'
It was then that the sole audience member felt pity.
"-Halt."
A single, low command. The soldiers touched by that voice stopped. A completely different reaction from when I shouted.
The soldiers stopped literally like stone statues. From among them, 'Elik' pushed through the soldiers and slowly walked out.