The projectiles fired by the golems slammed into the Holy Staff army without mercy.
Soldiers spurted blood as they toppled one after another.
Those who were unlucky took rounds through the forehead, scattering their brains as they died instantly.
Those who hadn't been hit dragged their wounded comrades into the shade of the trees.
The golems lowered their arms and resumed marching in lockstep.
The inorganic weapons steadily closed the distance to the Holy Staff army.
(That was gunfire... had it been built into the golems' fingertips?)
I focused my attention on the golems' hands.
Faint wisps of white smoke rose from their fingertips.
The result of firing, no doubt.
At first glance you wouldn't notice, but it seemed every finger was a barrel.
The golems weren't unarmed.
The weapons were built right into their massive bodies.
There was no need to carry anything in their hands.
Not being able to identify weapons from their appearance was a tremendous advantage.
From the enemy's perspective, they had no way of knowing what kind of attack was coming until the very last moment.
That made them naturally vulnerable to surprise.
Even among humans, there are those who conceal hidden weapons.
The golems' guns could be considered an advanced evolution of that same concept.
The Holy Staff army desperately counterattacked.
They launched long-range attacks using magic and arrows.
The golems countered with defensive magic to weather the assault.
Before those sturdy barriers, nearly all of the Holy Staff army's attacks were neutralized.
From time to time, the golems unleashed volleys from their gun-fingers.
Each time, piles of corpses accumulated.
Their volley fire was precise, reliably cutting down soldiers who hid among the trees.
The spellcasters in the fortress were probably controlling them remotely.
I could feel what seemed to be links of magic power connecting them.
What's more, soldiers from the Magitech Nation were pressing the attack from the fortress with crossbows and ballistae.
That was what prevented the Holy Staff army from counterattacking.
Their coordination with the golems was masterful.
You could tell they had practiced this many times over.
Overall, the Holy Staff army was being forced into an inferior position.
They gradually retreated, unable to do anything but add to their casualty count.
Without closing the distance, there could be no victory.
But they had no room to push forward.
Even from a distance, you could tell their morale was flagging.
"Uoooooooh!"
A battle cry echoed across the battlefield.
It came from one of the Holy Staff soldiers.
That soldier dodged the gunfire with beast-like agility and leaped at the nearest golem.
He slipped past defensive magic deployed in an instant and brought his raised longsword crashing down.
The golem's head cratered under the blow, a single crack running through it.
But that was all it did.
The golem moved as though nothing had happened and seized the soldier's ankle.
It then smashed him against a nearby tree.
The soldier's upper body tore loose and went flying.
His scattered innards drenched the golem.
Similar scenes were erupting all across the vicinity.
A golem's fist exploded a soldier's head.
Others were pinned underfoot and shot at point-blank range.
All of them were soldiers who had attempted close combat.
Having roused themselves in the face of dire odds, they met a more gruesome end than anyone.
The golems' bodies were made of metal.
And designed with warfare in mind.
Judging from the exchange, these were probably built more sturdily than standard golems.
They were plenty tough even without defensive magic.
On top of that, the golems possessed superhuman strength.
Approach them carelessly, and that was how you ended up butchered.
However clumsy they might seem, they were more than capable of catching soldiers at close range.
To disable a metal golem, you had to destroy the internal magic circuits with a single powerful blow.
Rendering them nonfunctional as magical constructs.
Absorbing and draining the magic power that served as their energy source would likely be effective too.
In any case, half-hearted physical attacks would only invite greater danger.
"One-sided, isn't it..."
"Can't be helped. The opposition is too strong."
Responding to Grom's murmur, I observed the golems.
Gradually, the magic power contained within them was decreasing.
The drain was especially heavy when they used defensive magic.
Probably because all their functions depended on magic power.
The more magic they cast, the shorter their operational time became.
The Magitech Nation's golems appeared ill-suited for prolonged combat.
That said, they weren't about to shut down any time soon.
For a battle of this scale, they had been charged with enough magic power to last until the end.
If anything, given how many capabilities they packed, their magic consumption was remarkably low.
Other nations would almost certainly be unable to replicate it.
Considerable ingenuity must have gone into their internal structure.
As expected of the Magitech Nation.
(The outcome has been decided.)
The remnants of the Holy Staff army finally began their retreat.
They used magic to keep the enemy at bay as they fled deeper into the forest.
The direction away from the fortress — back into Holy Staff territory.
The golems did not give chase.
At this point, the Magitech Nation's victory was assured.
It seemed they had no intention of being greedy and were ready to call it here.
Pursuing carelessly would only result in unnecessary losses.
The Magitech army understood that.
"It seems the battle is over. What will you do, sir?"
"We're heading back. We got what we came for."
There was no point in lingering any longer.
Being discovered by the Magitech army would be troublesome.
I activated teleportation magic and in a single step arrived at the audience chamber in the Royal Capital.
Just as I returned to the familiar room, Grom made a dramatic gesture.
"Oh my, could this possibly be..."
Where his gaze fell, a single golem lay toppled over.
Its torso was split wide open, its head cleaved in two, exposing the internal mechanisms.
The magic circuits appeared damaged, causing total malfunction.
"My Lord, this is..."
"Of course it's a golem from the Magitech Nation. I brought back one that was destroyed on the battlefield."
In the earlier battle, the Holy Staff army had fought bravely despite being outmatched.
As a result, they had managed to destroy a handful of golems.
This was one of them.
I had been happy to help myself to the fruits of their efforts.
The Magitech army would surely notice that a golem had been taken.
I didn't mind that one bit.
They would probably assume the Holy Staff army had captured it in the chaos.
It would never occur to them that the Demon King had been lurking on that battlefield, and after reconnaissance, stolen a golem.
I had to admit, even by my own standards it was underhanded.
But I am the Demon King, so no matter.
The Holy Staff Nation would be blamed for a crime they didn't commit, but they had started this conflict out of selfishness in the first place.
I figured they could tolerate a little payback.
I intended to provide this golem to the laboratory.
I would have the researchers analyze it and, if possible, produce an imitation model.
Since I could also use the magic for golem creation, once we had a base template, the rest would be easy.
Being able to produce golems of this capability would be extremely convenient.
They would serve as a fighting force quite different from the undead.
And that technology should be applicable in other areas as well.
It could prove to be an essential specimen for the current laboratory.
As for the Magitech Nation, I would continue to limit my involvement to surveillance.
This war had been instigated by the Holy Staff Nation's tyranny.
In other words, since it was the Holy Staff Nation that disrupted the peace among humans, I had no intention of imposing any sanctions on the Magitech Nation.
Even so, the Magitech Nation possessed technology beyond what I had imagined.
They appeared to be hiding things like these golems in areas that even the Demon King's spies couldn't fully probe.
I should assume that various other developments were also underway.
As things stood, the Magitech Nation's intentions were unclear.
Were they planning to bolster their forces and invade Demon King territory?
According to my spies, their response had been ambiguous — not enough to make a definitive judgment.
If they were building more golems and the like for defensive purposes, I would leave them be.
But if they intended to invade Demon King territory, they should be prepared to suffer the consequences.
To prepare for that possibility, I needed to come up with a plan of my own.