Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 1039. The Colossus of Rhodes

What Seth aimed to build in the advent of the coming Pythian Games was:

The Colossus of Rhodes.

In Urthan legend, the colossus once stood on the island of Rhodes, close to the Peninsula of Theta that reached into Urth's great ocean. A massive bronze statue towering over a straight that led to the bay and harbor of Rhodes.

When the bard deepened his knowledge of Olympian Mythology in the library of Chrona, he found that the massive statue of Helios was a recurring structure, more often than not described as something that protected the place it was built in.

Seth found it was not too great of a leap in logic to think that it could have also been an automaton, or an incarnation of Helios himself in some places. Either way, there was a high chance of Hephaestus being involved. The blacksmith hoped for his trait Olympian Myths to take effect, but even if it didn't, the colossus would rise in Minas Mar.

Over the next few days, Seth included Hoen, Sivri, and Tored in the planning for the mega project. After his experiences with the Slaughterer's Set, the blacksmith wanted to rework his previous design.

The blueprint of Ptah showed him that various parts with different magical effects did not have to disrupt each other, but could be used to create new overarching effects by arranging them in a greater pattern. Considering the size of the colossus, there was more than enough space for special arrangements.

As for the colossal body that would be their canvas for this project, it would be a slight patchwork. Because of the size of the colossi, the teams had not been able to bring a lot of complete bodies, with most of them being looted for parts.

The blacksmith found the undead they had collected from the lower floors not fitting for this kind of project. The teams that went up, on the other hand, brought the bisected body of the Colossal King as well as some of the knights back with them.

Obviously, the body of the royal dungeon boss of the upper levels was the best fit, but he would probably need the golem Forge to use some of the bones from the knights, to repair the places Alison had cut with her spatial magic.

With the size of the colossus, the bronze plates would be like skin cells on the massive being. With the help of the three others, they started to map out how the scales would need to be set, as well as what other scales they would need to complete greater formations.

“I have to admit, I never expected that I would be part of something this insane when I came to join you,” Tored said admiringly during one of the long evenings they spent in the workshop.

“I'm glad you like it.,” Seth countered with a tried grind.

Apart from some banter and conversation about the work, the workshop stayed silent, as they all worked on designing different parts of the colossus. Apart from Sivri, Hoen, and Seth, tored had another task apart from the enchantment.

The experienced dwarven master was occupied analyzing the Damaged Core Reactor of the Hashing Bird. If they could reverse engineer it, they would be able to put it, or several of it, into the colossus.

Although the magic collecting scales and the bronze's soul power were theoretically enough to power the golem, it was never bad to give it a power-up or have something to fall back on. If there was something Seth learned about giant golems, then that they needed a huge energy supply.

On the fifth day, their silent working atmosphere was interrupted by the vibrating of a communication orb. Someone was calling Seth. In a daze, the blacksmith answered the call.

“Vegga? Why do you call?” it was Vegga Gorz, one of the orc generals he had turned into one of his elite golems, who were still stationed in Y-City. Vegga was a case that had quickly regained a complex ego based on the one when he was alive. As a serious and capable general, Seth left him in command of most of the others.

“Master, I just wanted to inform you, that we have managed to clean the north and northern outskirts of Y-City. During the subjugation, we met a weird little humanoid who kept attacking our teams and impeding our progress. They have a weird power. Whenever we tried to catch it, it managed to flee by impossible seeming coincidences.” the orc golem paused for a moment.

“How did you catch it?” Seth asked. A being that wasn't just intelligent, but also relied on guerrilla tactics was a hard opponent for the golems, especially when it had the power to damage them. Since Vegga was talking about the north, Seth had some inkling on who it could be.

“We lured it into a trap several times until we finally managed to confine it. It seems like its luck ran out. We also caught several intelligent beings that seem to be allies of the perpetrator.”

Strik Forebone had talked about a villain in the north, one very similar to him. His name was Dumblood or something like that. Now, the blacksmith also remembered that Strik had mentioned something about a court of cronies, but he didn't explain what that meant.

“Okay, but why are you calling me?” Seth asked a little slow. He had been away for some time now.

“Master seemed interested in...”harvesting” this creature when you talked to the little man in red. I thought Master may also be interested in the others?”

Right, at the time, Seth had held an interest in Forebone's soul, but he didn't have a grudge against him. Dumblood on the other hand was a villain, and he attacked his golems. The soul of a cobbler, or well a leather worker, could be a good material to make a leather working station.

The Alchemy Station had already proven its worth. While Seth was gone, someone had continued refilling the ingredients and taking away the potions. Without him even doing anything, his level in <Alchemy> had risen to craftsman tier level 3. if he had a leather working station, it could farm proficiency for his <Blacksmith> or <Sewing>, depending on what he made.

But to get the soul, he would have to go to Y-City personally. He sighed.

“Fine, I will come over... Keep them locked up.” he finally said and ended the call after Vegga confirmed the order.

“Guys, I will have to leave for a day. I will be back as fast as I can,” he told the other three, before he laboriously stood up from his chair, stretching his tired limbs. The blacksmith quickly used <Lifestyle Magic> to wash up and called someone before he used the tower to appear at the tailor's workshop.

~ Puffles, wanna make a quick trip to Y-City? I got an errand there.~ he asked the Ivicer who had been lazing around at the tailor's place. The miniature version of the nightmare centipede looked up lazily.

~The great me, finds a simple errand not worth my time.~ Puffles refused.

~I'm in a hurry and only Puffles, the Great could possibly help me get there and back in time. We are going to look at new exotic beings that appeared with the awakening of the slumbering realm. We can also get some snacks on the way.~ he tried to placate the Ivicer. Some fawning, some motivation, and a reward did the trick.

~Fine, but only because the new things sound interesting~ the Ivicer said grumpily and entered Seth's pet space.

15 minutes later, the blacksmith appeared at the System Church in TS12 at the edge of Ypselon. Before Mark Baker or anyone else could hurry there to talk to him, Seth brought out puffles and flew off, in the direction of Y-City.

He was able to sense the rough position of his golems, so they didn't have a hard time with the directions As they flew over the desolate cityscape, Seth couldn't help but notice that it seemed a lot cleaner now.

After he and the troop of golems had swept through the city, they had gotten rid of all the monsters and corpses, now only the slowly growing moss and plants indicated that the city was completely abandoned.

“There they are. Let's land,” he called out, when they finally saw the golems, after flying for about 30 minutes. It was the right decision to take Puffles. With the Golem Griffin, the flight would have taken more than two hours.