The mud golems outside the light shield were all drawn to EeDechi. They lumbered forward on their massive, mud-caked feet, not too fast or slow, their two long, ape-like arms of mud swinging at their sides like heavy lead hammers.
The stone golem faced them in a standard boxing stance, like a beefy fighter taking on a bunch of drunks single-handedly.
The impact of stone smashing into mud was like a hammer cracking an egg, and since this spot was on the desert's edge, the soil was pretty dry. Once pummeled, the mud golems shattered straight into a mess of damp and crumbly sludge, with no chance to reform from the muck.
EeDechi leaned on her sword as she stood there, realizing she was starting to feel bored out of her mind too. It was just like how Barrett and Franco usually had nothing to do when she charged into the fray—now, unexpectedly, she was the one twiddling her thumbs.
This lazy, do-nothing vibe... it felt amazing!
EeDechi pondered it over. Looked like she'd need to collect a few more construct golems in the future, snag some dependable heavy hitters.
After mulling it over, EeDechi pulled out her Constructs Storage Box—a powerful artifact left over from the Eight Greed Kings era. The Constructs Storage Box had a dark gold frame all around, and in the five compartments divided by crystal panels, a steel statue gleamed with an icy sheen.
EeDechi cast her spell: 5th Tier Magic: Artifact Appraisal. A string of characters flashed across her vision.
[Item Name: Constructs Storage Box
[Material: Unknown
[Quality: Divine Artifact
[Function One: Store Constructs.
[Currently stored: 2/5, as follows:
[Stone golem Guardian Smile (in combat),
[Iron golem Savior Titan.
[Note: Think of it like a storage box for robot models or action figures. Except these "figures" have a basic will of their own, can grow huge, and can kill. Now you can carry massive killing machines with you! It's a total must-have for home or travel.
[Function Two: Seize Constructs
[Note: It can forcibly seize others' constructs and tamper with their command wills, making the storage box's holder the new master of the constructs.]
Beyond that, etched into the dark gold base of the box was a passage in the common tongue:
"Imperial Year 1339, the Great Expedition began.
"I followed eight emperors, with no chance to turn back. Elsa, I leave this small toy for our child yet to be born.
"Goodbye, my love, do not wait for my return."
EeDechi let out a long yawn, her mind wandering as she thought about how she'd been hustling through most of the night and really needed to catch some solid shut-eye soon.
Suddenly, from inside the light shield, a guy who looked like a mage yelled out, "Watch out, Sandstorm Stalkers incoming!"
EeDechi glanced up lazily and spotted several tornado-like Sandstorm Stalkers whipping toward them.
These horrifying creatures that had wrecked the Golden Aquarius caravan—killing off troops and forcing everyone to hole up in the light shield—were no big deal for EeDechi, total child's play. She jumped right into the sandstorm, her giant sword whipping through the air like a gale, swings broad and powerful.
In just a few seconds, those charging Sandstorm Stalkers scattered like dust in front of EeDechi's fan, vanishing completely into thin air.
Once she confirmed no enemies were left, EeDechi slung her sword over her shoulder and stood outside the light shield, rapping on the barrier as thin as a cicada's wing, signaling the two mages they could drop the protective spell.
The two high-level mages' eyes widened dramatically in shock, totally baffled at how EeDechi had wiped out the monsters outside the shield so effortlessly. After all, they'd been hunted down relentlessly by that pack of Sandstorm Stalkers, left with no choice but to cower in the shield and wait for death.
The light shield faded away, dust sprinkling down into the heaped-up mounds of cargo. EeDechi shouldered her sword and headed toward her teammates, only to notice the whole caravan staring at her like she was some kind of freak.
Especially the members of the Burning Blade adventurer team—after spotting the orichalcum metal badge on EeDechi's chest, they couldn't help but hang their heads in shame, sighing over how the gap between one orichalcum-level and another was even wider than the chasm between adamantite-level and copper-level.
(Note: Adventurer ranks from lowest to highest: copper, iron, silver, gold, platinum, mithril, orichalcum, adamantite)
"Is this really orichalcum-level strength?" a gray-haired mage whispered to his companion.
"This could totally qualify for adamantite-level," the mage with the red cloth wrapped around his head muttered in quiet awe.
EeDechi didn't give a damn about the chatter around her. A middle-aged guy stepped forward on his own initiative.
The middle-aged man was dressed in a finely tailored striped shirt, his feet shoved into dusty cowhide boots. If you overlooked those swollen eye sockets from his anxious, sleepless nights, he actually looked pretty decent.
He introduced himself as the leader of the Golden Aquarius traveling merchant caravan, named Steve Damon. He rattled off a long string of thanks to EeDechi, and finally, in a roundabout way, invited her—hoping the Last Defender of the Way adventurer team could join his caravan.
Barrett stood off to the side and said to Steve, "Our captain went through a lot of trouble saving you all. We spotted your distress signal and made a special detour to get here. By the way, do merchants do charity work?"
"You've really gone out of your way for us," Steve said, waving it off. "Merchants don't do charity—it's all just for show. If it's about dodging taxes, then yeah, I might think about it."
"So, do you figure adventurers do charity?" Barrett asked pointedly, eyeing Steve with a smirk.
"Oh~" Steve got it right away. He clapped his hands and told the guy next to him, who had a curved sword hanging from his waist, "First mate, go grab 300 gold coins to thank these three adventurers for saving our asses!"
"Right away, captain." The man known as the first mate, Bill Hades, hurried over to the camels, rummaged through a travel chest to pull out 300 gold coins, packed them into a wooden box, and handed it to Barrett. Barrett accepted it without a second thought.
"Helping folks out is its own reward, Barrett. Don't take money so seriously." EeDechi poked Barrett in the chest.
"If I didn't take money seriously, our adventurer team would've gone bust ages ago. What doesn't cost money on the road? Eating, staying at inns, buying gear, stocking up on food and water, getting horses and wagons—which one doesn't burn through cash?"
Barrett's spiel left EeDechi with nothing to say.
EeDechi scratched her head. "Don't we still have two or three thousand gold coins?"
"Spending a bit here and there, it'll all run out eventually. And you and Franco are both big spenders—you're always handing out coins to beggars left and right, Franco's chasing girls with fancy flowers and high-end clothes, and Cheeko needs one or two crystals a month to munch on."
Barrett crossed his arms, shaking his head helplessly, and summed it up in one line: "You're all a bunch of spendthrifts. The key thing is, finances are only healthy when income beats expenses."
Franco was standing off to the side, eyeing the surrounding women like a sleazy predator scanning for prey. EeDechi reached out and yanked his handsome face, snapping irritably, "From now on, this guy's dating expenses come out of his own pocket. Don't even think about dipping into the team's funds."
"Ow, ow, that hurts." Franco's face got stretched out like a flat pancake as he quickly defended himself: "I just took an advance on my future wages, that's all—it's my own money."
"How much of an advance did you take?" EeDechi asked, tugging on Franco's cheek.
"Let me think... forty months' worth... no, maybe fifty months'. It's not that much, anyway." Franco grimaced through gritted teeth.
"It's at least sixty months or more—I'd have to check the ledger to know for sure," Barrett said.
"And you just let him run wild like that?" EeDechi pulled Franco's left cheek into a sharp-angled triangle.
"Relax, everything's under control." Barrett smiled confidently. "We've got plenty in surplus; our finances are rock solid."
"Meow." Cheeko rubbed against EeDechi's pant leg, then picked up a thin stick in its mouth and scratched stroke by stroke into the sand: {I'll only eat half a crystal each month from now on}
EeDechi let go of Franco's face, squatted down, and ruffled Cheeko's head. "You're such a good one! But you'll never go without your crystals."