Chapter 17: The Offer part 2

Lord Roriksten started laughing, his laughter filled the entire room. His family even joined in, giggling to match the patriarch. Soon, even the servants chimed in, except for Vulcan and Jess. Once the mocking laughter subsided, the lord fixed his gaze on the party.

"You better explain yourself well, otherwise I believe a life time in my dungeon won't be enough to punish you for spouting such nonsense and disrespect in my home. So please, indulge me in why our powerful kingdom and his great Majesty would need the help of someone of such poor pedigree. I'm only allowing you to live out of courtesy for saving my wife, mind you. So make it quick before you waste any more of my time," he said, glaring at Geppeto.

Geppeto was unfazed by the mockery and threats. "Words are empty, my lord. I believe real tangible proof is a far better way of showing you," he replied calmly.

As Geppeto finished, every sentry except Geppeto and Jess began to undress, causing alarm to everyone in the room. "What is this! Guards, seize them before they undress in front of my own family..." the lord ordered, his words trailing off as he saw the true identity of the party called 'Dark Sentry'.

Everyone in the room saw in full display the Sentries' real bodies, the shining metal exterior and glowing purple eyes. They looked even more menacing without their disguise. As the guards drew their swords, Geppeto began his speech.

"This, my lord, is how I plan on aiding the kingdom in its war plans. These Golems I have built are undeniable proof of that. I have sent them to this town to show you how effective they are. In one month, they have worked any job in this town ranging from simple cleaning to fighting. They have improved the livelihood of the town and reduced the crime rate while the guards have been in low manpower. To top it off, they have the fighting strength of a middle bronze stage to low Iron stage fighter," Geppeto said, pausing to allow the lord to speak his mind.

Lord Roriksten, as well as his family except for his wife, who was pouting, and his servants, were in awe. Collecting himself, the lord signaled for his guards to stand down.

"You speak the truth, craftsman. I had heard about how versatile these Golems of yours are, but to be as strong as a low Iron stage fighter is simply too hard to believe. Why don't I have my best knight, who is a real low Iron stage fighter, test your creation? If it can survive one attack of his, then your claim will be true. But if not, you can forget about leaving this place," he said, looking down at Geppeto.

"Please, by all means, my lord. I have not said a single lie. Let the facts speak for themselves," Geppeto replied without sounding fazed.

The lord scoffed at his lack of fear and signaled a tall imposing knight from the right. The knight began to walk up slowly, and a steel sentry copied him by meeting him halfway.

"Don't blame me if I break your golem, magi-craftsman," said the Knight as he launched a punch straight at the chest of the golem.

Bang. The impact of something hard could be heard, and the sentry that was hit slid a few meters away. His chest cavity had the dent of a fist imprinted on it, but overall it was still standing.

Geppeto knew the sentry was fine and could still function, but he could tell that a couple more direct hits would destroy it. Meanwhile, the knight who attacked wore a stunned expression.

"Raphael, you didn't hold back in that attack, did you?" asked the lord to his best fighter.

"No, my lord. It seems the magi-craftsman's words hold true," said the knight, turning to the lord with a serious face.

Seeing no lie in his words, the lord told him to go back to his position. He had witnessed the attack, and it would be fatal to anyone of lower strength.

"It seems you have been telling me the truth, magi-craftsman, but I have a question. Why have I never seen such exquisite golems; the ones I have seen are large, bulky pieces of metal and would take a magi-craftsman of higher talent large amounts of resources to build one of even middle bronze stage strength. How were you, someone I have never heard about, even able to produce such golems while even the king's own personal magi-craftsman can barely produce one of lower quality?" asked the lord, eyeing Geppeto suspiciously.

"It is true, my lord, I am not as capable as the craftsman in the capital. I failed with my poor talent, so I decided to retire to a small village. I believe you know this village; it is the one south of this town, deep in the desolate forest," Geppeto said, noticing the lord talking to his steward.

"That's impossible; that village has probably already been destroyed by a goblin horde. So you are a spy!" the lord accused, while the knights went on alert again.

"Allow me to explain a little more. A village having a magi-craftsman would be a boon for them, which is why I had moved there for my retirement. But when I had arrived, I heard stories from some of the locals about a strange cave nearby that had strange writing on its walls. I have researched ancient ruins of the ancient Empire of Kalibor in my free time. So I set out to this cave and found that it was a real ruin of the ancient empire. Deciphering its texts, I discovered a hidden door and inside I found the production methods of these golems. The ruins even held a working workshop and its tools, so I began working to bring it back to life. Everyone knows that the ancient empire, from which all of the kingdoms on this continent descended from, had created marvels of creation that far surpass our own. Years I toiled and finally was able to bring to life a relic of a time long lost. One day, a hunter from the village came to ask for my assistance," he gestured to Jess next to him."She asked if I could build some weapons to aid the village in their time of need, but I had a better idea. Seeing the opportunity, I led my new golems to attack the goblins, and they effortlessly slaughtered them all."

"Is what he claims true?" asked the lord. Jess didn't back down from his gaze. "It is true; the golems are as strong as you see. If he hadn't taken care of the horde, then the goblins would already be attacking this town by now," explained Jess.

The lord was impressed. He had already begun plans in case the goblins attacked the town, but now that the golems dealt with the problem, he was relieved. The craftsman interrupted his thoughts.

"I planned on having you, my lord, present these fine golems to his Majesty at the royal banquet. A promotion to Viscount or Earl rank is not out of reach if his Majesty approves," he explained, beginning to make the lord happy.

Vulcan knew that the lord was a big supporter of the crown but too stupid to think of using the golems to usurp the throne. The lord began to imagine the amounts of land he would be given. Other nobles would seek favors and gift him things just to be on his good side. His noble house would increase in power overnight.

"Hmph, you are correct, magi-craftsman. The king would be pleased with this. The only problem is the amount you can produce. We are fighting the Oros Kingdom, who have a higher quality of soldiers than our own. We would need a sizable army of golems to even have a fighting chance," the lord said as he explained the problem.

"This is why I have come to you, my lord. Currently, I have only 1,000 golems ready, but the amounts of metals and resources I need have run out. I was hoping you would help me procure more iron as well as some more rare metals," Geppeto answered. He had more than 1,000 golems, but this was just a way for him to get the resources he needed and maybe some rare metals to form a rank 3 metal sentry body. This way, his strength would increase, as well as his safety. He didn't need to build the medium-sized factory on top of a metal ore vein; he could set the settings to bring in outside materials for production.

"1,000 golems! That is quite the number. Alright, I will reach out to retrieve the necessary materials, but I believe his majesty will help as soon as he sees firsthand what your creations can accomplish. In the meantime, I want you to get these golems ready to be sent to the capital. I will arrange everything so that you won't face many complications on the way," explained the lord as his steward took down notes.

"Thank you, my lord, but before we continue, I have other things to show you," Geppeto gestured for the knights who had been holding their weapons as well as a large wooden box that had beautifully carved symbols. The knight opened the box, revealing a metal staff. It had symbols of strange design that nobody knew except himself. The body consisted of metals such as silver and gold, while the top of it held a metal spine connected to the top was a sentry head he had removed from its main body and was still able to work. He carefully experimented with how much he could remove for it to still function.

"This staff I hold before you is what gives me the ability to have complete control of the golems. Although the golems have enough intelligence to follow orders separately, if someone were to use those golems against the wielder, then what is the point? This way, whoever holds the staff holds absolute power over the golem army. This beautiful staff will be given to his highness along with the golem army."