Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 458 Shadowsteel Golem
This is truly a wonderful thing. To be honest, it is not as good as the two great treasures, the Adamantite Golem and the Mithril Golem, and it cannot be compared with the legendary Neutron Star or the Divine Abomination Golem, but its value far exceeds that of ordinary constructs.

While retaining considerable defensive capabilities and mobility, the Shadowsteel Golem possesses almost the best mobility, agility, and stealth among all mass-produced constructs. Moving like a master rogue, it camouflages itself exceptionally well in shadows or dimly lit environments, launching its deadly attack at the crucial moment.

They are the perfect assassins, killers, and…

The tomb keeper.

However, nothing in this world comes for free; superior performance comes from expensive costs.

As the name suggests, the key to the Shadowsteel Golem lies in the magical metal Shadowsteel.

It is not a naturally occurring resource like adamantite or cold iron, which is nurtured by mineral veins. Simply refining and forging the ore will produce the finished product. Fundamentally, so-called shadow steel is a product of high-quality steel that has undergone special enchanted alchemical treatment. It is a man-made composite magical material.

Refined steel is immersed in an alchemical potion called "Shadow Fluid" as soon as it comes out of the furnace for forging and quenching. After initial hammering, rune circuits are inscribed on it, and it is then enchanted and forged again with Shadow Fluid and specially prepared inscriptions. Only in this way can the precious Shadow Steel raw material be obtained.

Each Shadowsteel ingot can be considered a crystallization of alchemy, a magical item of considerable value.

The high cost and complex process are worth the price. While retaining the hardness of steel, Shadow Steel greatly improves its toughness and ductility, as well as the more crucial magical conductivity and shadow affinity properties.

It is precisely because of this characteristic that golem makers were able to unleash their skills and apply various techniques to this deadly weapon.

When Shadowsteel undergoes a series of casting, enchanting, and assembly processes to become a golem, it is endowed with special abilities and even spell-like powers such as stealth, swift movement, anti-gravity, negative energy touch, and negative energy blast.

Possessing melee capabilities comparable to the Iron Golem, coupled with its unique characteristics and functions, this thing can be considered a true Death Guardian.

The tomb owner was also cunning, deliberately opening a hidden compartment at the end of the passageway near the main hall of the tomb so that the Shadowsteel Golem could hide there. He was waiting for the tomb raiders to break in, be distracted by the scene in the hall, and be awakened to ambush them from their escape route.

Ordinary tomb raiders would likely lose their lives in this situation.

However, Master Zhang did not consider himself a tomb raider, much less an ordinary one.

The Shadowsteel Golem's surprise attack from behind failed, thanks in large part to the Shadow Fiend's vigilance and shadow perception.

When the golem is dormant and unawakened, it is difficult to detect even the most acute senses. However, when it awakens and launches a backstab at the intruder, even if it uses shadows to conceal its form, it still cannot escape Nevinmore's spiritual senses.

If the Shadowsteel Golem is like a giant fish in the River of Shadows, rising from the depths of the abyss to leap out and devour its prey, then the Shadow Demon is the whirlpool in the center of the river, with the surging, turbulent currents lurking beneath its surface at its fingertips, and even the smallest details cannot escape its perception.

Death burst forth from the shadows, its fingertips poised to strike with deadly intent, but was immediately blocked by the Shadow Demon's outstretched arm. The sharp, steel-like fingertips gripped the two dark red short blades, leaving faint cuts.

That was the Annihilation Blade attached to the Arm of Shadows, capable of making even a magical metal like Shadowsteel suffer a setback, truly deserving of its title as a minor divine blade.

The Shadow Demon, having intercepted the approaching enemy, grinned maliciously. The previously restrained shadow flames around its body suddenly erupted, leaping and swirling like a bound fire spirit ready to burst forth. Nevinmore, not one to mince words, immediately prepared to unleash his power to smelt the demon into molten iron.

"Leave the complete structure intact, don't burn it."

At the crucial moment, he heard the mage's request again. Although it was troublesome and unpleasant, Shadow Demon still held back. He twisted his arms and suddenly sprang up and swung them out, like scissors crossing each other. The four Dark Blades were unstoppable blades, sharp enough to cut through gold and jade.

The Shadowsteel Golem clearly possessed a certain level of intelligence and combat wisdom. Instead of recklessly relying on its steel body to confront the opponent head-on, it retreated with a backward leap. Its movements and jumps were not like those of a construct golem that was over three meters tall and weighed several tons, but rather like the gliding steps of a nimble cat or the acrobatic flip of an old ape.

In just a moment, the Shadowsteel Golem, which had been withdrawn from the shadows, suddenly dimmed and became hazy, about to blend into the twilight.

At that moment, the Shadow Demon extended its left claw, its fingers curled like hooks, and lunged forward to grab.
The surging demonic flames erupted like a gushing spring, causing the golem, which had concealed itself, to stumble and fall out of the shadows, once again revealing itself to the crowd.

However, those with keen eyes could see that apart from some charred marks, the other person's body was mostly unharmed.

This is not entirely unexpected, after all, the Shadowsteel Golem's spell resistance is no joke, and ordinary elemental energy would probably not even leave a trace.

While Shadow Fiend's Shadowflame is powerful, its strength lies more in binding, burning, and stripping away the soul and life, which the opponent, as a construct, cannot withstand.

Furthermore, the mage's instructions made the Shadow Demon somewhat hesitant to go all out, and the Shadowsteel Golem quickly regained its balance and charged forward as if nothing had happened.

However, the target was no longer Shadow Fiend. With a push of its feet, it leaped up, and the huge steel giant seemed to have no weight at all as it slid past the tunnel wall, heading straight for the mages and others behind Shadow Fiend.

Despite all that has been said, the events unfolded in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, everyone who entered the tomb was very alert and reacted immediately. The ogre brothers and dwarves drew their weapons, raised their shields, and formed a battle formation.

However, it was all in vain; the Shadowsteel Golem's attack still failed to break through the obstacle of Nevenmore.

The experienced Shadow Demon guessed the opponent's intentions at a glance. He extended his long arm, which was already slender, and stirred the intense flames of the demonic fire and dimmed the dark red edge. He struck the golem's shoulder first.

This sudden turn of events clearly caught the Shadowsteel Golem off guard, forcing it to halt and barely manage to parry the attack, thus avoiding the fate of having its limbs severed.

Even so, two deep cuts were still imprinted on its shoulders, the thick shoulder armor was cut open, and the broken armor at the crack faintly emitted a red glow, and a burnt smell like a short circuit in the wires emanated from it.

Despite the severe damage, the golem did not flinch. Its skeletal head with pointed jaws turned and scanned the area. After a moment of intense observation, the red light emanating from its eye sockets fixed its gaze on the mage who was surrounded by layers of guards.

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(End of this chapter)