Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 459 Negative Energy Impact

The simple tactic of "capture the king first" has been repeatedly employed by people from other worlds, and the golems, who exist as assassins and shadow guards, are also proficient in this principle.

The skull's eye sockets glowed red. This time, the Shadowsteel Golem did not retreat into the shadows to hide itself. Its body trembled slightly, and smoke rose from its insides. Its entire body crouched and curled up, looking like an athlete at the starting line.

The opponent had already made such a show of force, and their intentions were now completely undisguised. The Shadow Demon, who had already taught the opponent several lessons, was getting a little angry when he saw that the opponent was still not giving up.

Nevinmore's anger surged with raging flames, which swirled from beneath his feet, whipping up a roaring fire dragon that instantly filled the once spacious passageway.

Having already gauged the Shadowsteel Golem's magic resistance, the Shadow Fiend didn't hold back much. His raging Shadowflames roared as he pounced on the golem, like a ferocious beast unleashed to devour its prey.

Almost simultaneously, the Shadowsteel Golem completed its energy charge, stretched its body, and launched itself into the surging flames in a single step.

"Stupid metal crawler, you're asking for death!"

The Shadow Fiend sneered, mocking the construct's ignorance and brainlessness.

Yes, Shadowflame is indeed a soul-targeting weapon, and its effectiveness against inanimate objects is significantly weaker. However, this does not mean it can be equated with ordinary fire, nor should its power be underestimated.

The blazing demonic flames spewed mist and scorched the shadows, their power even greater in the shadow planes, where the stone floor paved with flames faintly glowed red under their licking.

"My Shadowsteel Golem, mine!"

These were, of course, Master Zhang's true thoughts, but it was inconvenient to say them aloud. The enemy was no ordinary foe, and it would be too reckless and unreasonable to force Shadow Fiend to hold back.

They could only hope that the other person could hold out in the fire for a while longer, so that they wouldn't end up with nothing.

It's understandable that Zhang Yuan was hesitant. Putting aside the technology and craftsmanship behind the Shadow Steel Golem, the golem itself was rare and precious.

To put it simply, even the construct workshop of Archmage Tyrande does not contain this item, which shows just how rare it is.

This is certainly not because the Grand Master's wealth is insufficient, nor because his technical skills are inadequate; the reason is simply that he is not worth it.

The cost alone wouldn't be enough to deter a great mage, but the manufacturing process for this thing is extremely demanding.

The Shadowsteel Golem can only be completed entirely within the Shadow Dimension. If any stage of its creation is carried out outside the Shadow Dimension, then…

Well, it's not a big deal. By the way, congratulations on successfully creating a Steel Golem, a Steel Golem whose cost is almost double that of the Shadow Steel Golem.

This is a real problem. Normally, for an archmage with his own mage tower, elemental forge, and construct workshop, creating a golem would be a piece of cake and not a difficult problem. But what is this?
To build a complete golem production facility in the Shadow Dimension just to acquire a Shadowsteel Golem is an act that is tantamount to setting up an armory just to acquire a piece of armor—it seems far too extravagant.

This is the fundamental reason why powerful assassin constructs like the Shadowsteel Golem eventually disappeared from mainstream combat and almost vanished from history. In fact, most of the Shadowsteel Golems that still exist today either originated from that era when arcane magic was highly developed, continuing to silently and faithfully perform their duties as tomb guardians, or they were the work of Shadow Wizards.

Of course, as a city that combines the strengths of both, the City of Shadows is probably the most skilled in this area, and few can rival it.

That said, it is precisely because of the various production limitations of the Shadowsteel Golem that it is so rare and mysterious. If one could obtain one to study or repair and improve it, that would be truly wonderful.

As for why we still need to study the Shadowsteel Golem when there are already chess pieces?
Who would complain about having too few cards to play?
While the expensive and complex Shadowsteel Golem is unlikely to be a mainstay in troop battles, it is a formidable assassin—capable of both stealthy assassinations and direct, head-on attacks for perfect infiltration.

Moreover, the more technological accumulation one has, the better; it's not necessarily true that future alchemy and construction plants won't need the advanced technology from Faron.

As various thoughts flashed through his mind, the mage looked at the golem engulfed in flames, and a trace of regret and heartache inevitably appeared in his eyes.

Pfft~
A pair of large black hands tore through the fiery waterfall. What broke free from the fire tornado was not the silver-gray figure from before, but a dark entity that resembled a giant shadow.

It did it! It succeeded!
The Shadowsteel Golem's abilities seemed even more powerful than the mage had hoped. Its pitch-black body was like a cloak of shadow, blocking most of the power of the flames. Although it would only take a breath to disintegrate under the scorching heat of the Shadow Flame, it was enough to allow it to pass through the flames and reach the enemy chieftain instead of turning into charred iron slag.

Seeing the "enemy chieftain" charging right in front of him, he was somewhat surprised but not flustered. Although he hadn't expected the Shadowsteel Golem to be able to use a high-level spell like Shadow Cloak, he wasn't without a backup plan.

Seeing the opponent's body covered in black soot like a mottled pattern, yet still moving swiftly and fiercely, the mage secretly praised him. Without hesitation, the shock ring on his finger, which had not yet been activated today, emitted a bright red light, and an invisible force field was formed in the blink of an eye. With a whooshing sound that stirred up the air, it crashed straight into the enemy.

As long as the golem's charge can be slowed down, with the Shadow Fiend coming to intercept it and his subordinates helping him, taking down the opponent intact seems to be no problem.

Almost simultaneously, a gray light flashed across the chest of the Shadowsteel Golem. At the same instant as the force field impact struck, the golem revealed another of its trump cards.

Having heard a little about the description of the Shadowsteel Golem, the mage could roughly guess the opponent's tactics at a glance. He only had time to give a general order to his half-ogre brothers and dwarves who were guarding him to go berserk before drawing Akalena from his waist to face the incoming negative energy impact head-on.

It wasn't that he was arrogant or that he truly considered himself an indestructible legendary monk; the problem was that he simply didn't have any protective spells to defend against the invasion of negative energy in such a short time.

The protective negative damage buffs from the two Drow priests accompanying the mage had already ended during the journey from the dungeon to the crypt hall, leaving only the natural artifact in the mage's arms to give him much more confidence.

It's just a negative energy explosion anyway, and given my physical constitution, I shouldn't be too afraid of it.

The gray beam of light emanating from the chest of the Shadowsteel Golem erupted in a cone shape, and the impact of the battering ram field did not alter its trajectory at all. The two proceeded towards their respective goals with almost no interference.

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(End of this chapter)