Smash the Statues

The ducal guards fighting the statues were holding their ground, but not without casualties.

Ordinary swords were simply outmatched against stone constructs.

Mages behind the line were hammering the statues with spells, but to little effect.

The statues were massive and hard.

Their sheer movement alone was a threat to human life.

Azu circled behind one of the statues and wordlessly raised her sword above her left shoulder.

She used the momentum of her sprint to kick off the ground and leap.

When she reached the height of the statue's neck, she twisted her body to the right.

With each rotation, two, three times, her spinning speed increased, and the moment she closed in on the statue, she channeled centrifugal force into her swing.

"Hss!"

She exhaled sharply from her lungs as she put everything into the strike.

At the instant the blade connected, a rainbow shimmer flickered through Azu's right eye.

A momentary activation of the Apostle's power kept the drain to a minimum.

It was a technique she'd developed through training with Alexia.

The Apostle's power was still too much for Azu's body.

It was powerful, but sustained use would quickly leave her unable to move.

When Azu had said she wanted to find a way to use it more effectively, Alexia had told her that rather than forcing sustained use, she should control it in brief, precise bursts.

The results were devastating.

She severed the statue's head clean off.

It hadn't worked against the Dragonslayer, but the power was more than sufficient here.

The headless statue buckled at the knees and collapsed.

"Who goes there!?"

The man commanding the guards called out to Azu, weapon raised in caution.

That was when Yohane and the others caught up.

Lady Anatia stepped in and introduced them to the guards.

The men immediately snapped to attention.

"She's an ally. Report the situation."

"Lady Anatia! … Thank heavens you're safe. A short while ago, these statues smashed through the gate and forced their way in. We dispatched a messenger to you, but it seems they didn't make it through. Our apologies."

"There's nothing to apologize for. You did your duty. Do you know anything about a man in a red hood?"

"No, my lady. We've been engaged with the statues the entire time."

"I see. There are more of them, aren't there? Coordinate with these people and stop them."

At Lady Anatia's words, the guards glanced at Azu and the others.

There was a moment of hesitation at the idea of accepting help from adventurers, but weighing the current situation against Lady Anatia's command, they chose the latter.

The guards fighting the other statues were sustaining mounting casualties even now.

There was no time to hesitate.

"That was impressive work. Please continue to assist us."

"Of course. Let's clean this up quickly."

Yohane nodded and sent Azu and the others toward the next statue.

"They definitely feel weaker than the one we fought before."

"They're more like knockoffs, wouldn't you say?"

"Maybe that first one was just exceptionally well-made."

The three who had fought a statue before exchanged observations as they moved.

Their impressions were broadly the same.

They found the second statue.

The damage was severe.

The reinforced guard squad drew its attention while Elza treated the wounded.

Many had sustained serious injuries, though none appeared to be fatal.

Some wept with gratitude at Elza's healing.

In situations like this, a cleric truly did seem like a messenger of God.

"If you're wounded, please gather over here."

With a smile befitting a saint, Elza administered her healing miracles.

By the time Alexia felled the second statue, the last one came charging their way.

Azu and Alexia had just finished their kills and were a bit too far away.

The guards whose wounds had just been treated grabbed their weapons and formed a wall in front of Elza and Lady Anatia to protect them from the oncoming statue.

"Oh, come on. I just healed you. Sit back down and rest."

Elza seized the guards by the shoulders and forced them back to the ground.

The men stared in bewilderment, wondering where a cleric who looked so frail could possibly be hiding that kind of strength.

"I need to show off a little too, you know."

With that, Elza took up her mace and went to meet the statue head-on.

The statue gripped a stone club in its hands. One blow from that, and a human being wouldn't stand a chance.

The guards scrambled to their feet to stop her.

But they were too late. The club came swinging down at Elza.

She batted it aside with her mace.

The steel mace, backed by Elza's strength, shattered the stone club to pieces.

Without breaking stride, Elza raised the mace high and brought it crashing down on the statue's right leg.

After a dull thud, the statue's right leg crumbled and its head dropped to Elza's eye level.

"Yep, definitely flimsy. Not even enough for stress relief."

With that, Elza smashed the statue's head apart.

The guards stood frozen in disbelief.

"All done!"

She spun around and flashed a beaming smile at the group.

"Good work."

Being strong was never a bad thing. Her tendency to get aggressive when it came to the Church of the Sun God was something he'd long since gotten used to.

And so far, it hadn't caused any problems.

All of the statues had been reduced to rubble.

They were supposedly modeled after the Sun God, but in this state, they inspired no particular reverence.

The critically wounded were given priority access to Elza's healing miracles while Yohane surveyed the surroundings.

He couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't over.

"If you don't mind my asking, where is the Duke?"

"He has taken the Earth Elemental Stone to the northern agricultural district."

"And who knows that?"

"Only his personal attendants and myself. It should not have leaked."

Yohane had suspected this might be a diversion with the Duke as the real target, but apparently not.

The red-hooded man who'd vanished was still a concern, but if he'd fled, then so be it.

But things that seemed to be going well had a way of falling apart.

The man in the red hood reappeared, this time with two companions in tow.

The wound Azu had dealt him was already healed.

It would've been easier if he'd just run.