Wise lifted its massive arms to block the oncoming attack, seeing as how it was too dizzy to properly move out of the way. However, that did little to stop Lucius's attack.
The speed with which he had launched himself basically made him a bullet, and as tough as a golem's skin was, it wasn't stopping his claws.
With a thump, Lucius pierced into Wise's skin, the momentum from his launch enough to push the latter back. Coupled with its dizziness, it lost its balance, and this was all that Lucius needed.
He jumped off Wise's body as the latter attempted to regain its balance, before using his tail to pierce into Wise's ankle and using his claws to grab onto the ground.
With a tug, he performed a pseudo-judo throw, slamming Wise into the ground.A cloud of dust erupted into the air like a mini-hurricane, effectively creating a smoke screen.
By the time it had subsided, Lucius was onto Wise's body, his claws millimeters from the latter's eyes, and his tail wrapped around its neck.
"I-I yield," Wise whispered reluctantly.
"Impressive. I Guhron will take on the tiny warrior next," Guhron chuckled in amusement.
Lucius slowly let go of Wise before getting off. He attempted to call out his solar crux in order to heal Wise, however, he could still feel the burning pain, so decided against it.
"I apologize for injuring you so badly," Lucius said, as Wise stared at the goring holes that Luicus had left on its arm.
"These wounds are nothing, I was the one who asked for a duel. It seems there is much I have to learn," Wise replied, before pulling out a herb from its waistband and rubbing it on its wounds. It then twinkled its finger, and slowly but surely the wounds began to close up.
~So they have healing magic, huh? However, it doesn't seem to be as effective as Solar Cleanse,~ Lucius thought to himself, noticing that there were now 8 scars where the wounds had once been.
"I am not certain whether you really are Havon or just a very strong creature. However, Wise is a Behemoth of its word. I shall tell you the whereabouts of the prince," Wise said before sitting down.
Lucius followed suit, sitting in front of Wise before the latter began speaking.
"Crenog has ventured to seek aid from the High-Behemoth races, it has been a week now since he left. I am unsure when the prince will return."
"High Behemoth races? Then you mean the higher tiers?" Lucius asked.
"Indeed. However, I do not think they will come to our aid. We are barely behemoths ourselves, and even then Behemoths aren't the kind to stand in solidarity. Only weak creatures band together, as we say," Wise replied in sad spite.
~So that's the kind of creatures they are,~ Lucius thought to himself. However, it wasn't surprising, seeing as how they seemed to value power over everything else.
"And they will be right to do so. Guhron does not think we need help. Guhron alone has killed many of these rotten creatures, why does Crenog fear them so much?" Guhron asked from where it was standing.
From the sigh Wise let out and the expression on its face, it was clear that this was a conversation the two had gone through many times before.
"Tell me, tiny warrior, do you know anything about the king of those creatures?" Wise asked, pointing towards the pile of rotting flesh just a few meters away from them.
Lucius took a moment to think about this, after all, he didn't want to reveal too much. He still needed them to need him.
"I know a lot, but I cannot say much without speaking to Crenog. However, I can say that you lot won't be able to defend against them alone. From the corpses spread around, I can tell that only the smallest units were sent here," Lucius replied, remembering the massive creatures that the necromancer had put to work at their main base.
"You underestimate Guhron," Guhron replied stubbornly.
"Perhaps you would be willing to talk to our king instead? We are uncertain when Crenog will return, and I fear what you say is true. Already we have begun to lose warriors, and though most do not see it, Wise can tell that it is only the beginning," Wise said after some thought.
~The king, huh?~ Lucius thought to himself. If the golems used the same system as the Chames, that would mean their king was an evolved version of them, a guardian just like Shavak, Avankor, and himself.
That would also mean that the king would be the strongest creature, after the necromancer and dragonkin, that he had met thus far. A risk he was uncertain of taking, especially since they were complete strangers.
"Where is your king?" Lucius asked after a moment of silence had passed.
"His den is below the Grand Mushroom, at the foot of the Behemoth Mountains. Wise can speak to him to arrange an audience," Wise replied.
Still, Lucius was hesitant to accept the invitation. After all, the resistance still favored the golems, so at this point his promises meant little.
"If you had to say, who is stronger between your king and me?" Lucius asked thoughtfully, to which Wise's expression turned to one of hesitance.
Guhron however did not have the etiquette to hide his amusement and began laughing uncontrollably.
"Grenovarish is the strongest golem that has ever lived. Even during the Shu'kahan Grenovarish sat as an equal among the high behemoths," Guhron said in between laughs.
"Guhron will admit you are strong. But you are nowhere near Grenovarish," it continued.
~Hmm, so that means that he is significantly more powerful than the version of myself I presented to these two,~ Lucius thought to himself. Of course, if he pulled out all the stops, he would be at least two times more powerful than what he had shown, and in addition to that, his magic would make him quite dangerous.
However, this Grenovarish also had magic. And there was no telling what kind of items he had access to, as the king of a semi-high tier race.
"That is only to be expected. Strong as you are, you cannot escape the limitations of your tier. Our king is 8th tier, and from what I can tell, you are fourth tier correct?" Wise asked.
