“That Hillmane household golem looks strange…”

“Yes, it doesn’t seem like they are taking this seriously…”

Two nobles that were sitting in the VIP booth conversed with each other while staring at the two large golems in the even larger arena.

Zhang Dong’s mecha-inspired golem was not in line with the esthetic perception of the dwarves here. Its design was sleeker and less bulky while also having more radiant colors of blue, red, and white. It made some of the old nobles uncomfortable to look at, some of them were even thinking that the Hillmane household was making a mockery of this serious day.

“I hope the Blackhelm house makes quick work of those fools, truly a disgrace to the noble dwarves!”

From everyone's perspective, the side Zhang Dong was fighting for looked to be not taking things as seriously as the rest. He could clearly hear some of the antagonistic shouts of the masses that were coming his way.

‘I guess I should have gone with a different design…’

The outer shell didn’t matter to him that much as what was on the inside of this machine was the important part. If he knew that the dwarves reacted like this, he would have made a more grayish golem.

“Let us begin the first match, Hillmane vs Blackhelm!”

A large gong resounded throughout the arena and indicated the start of the battle. The golem on the opposite side started swinging that chained spiked ball with its hand and began charging towards Zhang Dong’s direction. Each step it made caused the earth to rumble and the people to cheer out loud.

Then the opponent's side that hailed from the Hillmane house did something strange. Instead of using the giant shield to defend themselves, the golem threw it to the side. The light sword remained strapped to the golem's hip while it took on a strange position.

The golems palms were moving forward while its legs spread out into a wide stance. The people didn’t know what was happening as the golem looked a bit too light to be a close-range brawler.

“What are they doing… is the operator an idiot?”

The noble dwarves asked while scratching their heads. The operator was how they called the main golem pilot and in this case, it would be Zhang Dong. They didn’t need to wait long for a resolution though as the two machines collided with each other.

While charging forward and gaining momentum the golem from the Blackhelm house swung its weapon. The chained ball flew at its target with force and it looked like it was over for house Hillmane.

Then it happened, the white golem’s palm started glowing in a blew light and with amazing speed, it collided with the hardened spiked ball. Instead of the hand exploding into tiny chunks of metal the heavy ball was slapped to the side while also losing some of its spikes in the process.

This wasn’t all as the white golem moved forward and stepped into melee range. The way it stomped its foot created spider web-like cracks in the arena floor. While using the momentum of the step-in, Zhang Dong’s machine delivered a clean palm strike to the other golem’s torso. This was also backed by an energy-filled palm which caused a large amount of damage to the opponent’s machine.

House Blackhelm’s golem was sent flying while chunks of its armor peeled off. A massive palm print was embedded in the chest while the robot fell backward. The technique that Zhang Dong performed was a basic one but thanks to how this golem was made he was able to utilize the combat techniques from his own world. This golem was like an extension of his body with which he could perform most of his own battle techniques.

“Impossible!”

The nobles called out, their eyes bulging at the sight of the larger golem being damaged by just one hit. It didn’t look like the golem from the Hillmane household would be able to produce this much force but somehow it did.

“You see that you old coots, Hillmane will be victorious!”

A loud voice was heard by the nobles which caused them to look back. The man that was cheering and happy was the old head of the household that Zhang Dong had healed. He was ecstatic while looking at his side winning over a house that he didn’t like that much.

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The other nobles looked in surprise at how energetic this old man was. They all heard rumors of him being on his deathbed but now he was here. The old dwarf was even throwing punches as he looked at his golem approaching the downed opponent.

“That’s it, finish him off!”

Zhang Dong could hear his ‘sponsor’ getting into it which made him chuckle inwardly. The golem that he was fighting against didn’t give up quite yet as it started to slowly stand up. It used a last-ditch attack by launching its clawed hand towards him.

The giant claw connected with his forearm while he pulled it up. The claw was still attached to the rest of the golem’s body. The opponents were now trying to pull him in for a close-range grappling battle while probably thinking that they had the strength advantage.

‘I will have to disappoint you but this golem I created is a lot stronger than you might think.’

Everyone outside expected to see Zhang Dong be pulled in and squashed by the larger golem but instead the one being pulled in was the Blackhelm house machine.

Even when it used its larger frame and legs it slid towards Zhang Dong’s golem. He was just using his hands to pull it in as if he was in a tug of war contest. The golem he was using was glowing in a dark orange light. He was utilizing another technique that increased his strength and allowed his smaller golem to win out over the bulkier model.

With one last pull, the damaged golem was lifted off the ground. Almost at the same time, Zhang Dong jumped into the air while leaving a hole in the ground. The people were stupefied by this display as jumping at this weight class was almost impossible.

A swift kick was delivered to the Blackhelm house golem which turned it into scrap metal. He could only do this as the pilots decided to eject themselves to safety. Otherwise, he would have had to lower his kicking power.

A scrap of parts descended on the ground after Zhang Dong’s perfectly placed burning flying kick. His whole foot looked like it was covered in plasma and the moment it collided with the opponent it exploded.

“T-the victory goes to… the Hillmane house! Please give a round of applause!”

The announcer called out and was met with crickets as no one expected a turnabout of this magnitude. The opponent Zhang Dong was facing was even highly rated in this tournament and not someone that was trying to lose.

The white golem lifted its arm up into the sky while making a fist. The moment it did the people in the audience burst out in cheers.

“That was a stunning show of power!”

“What is that golem design, what were those peculiar movements!”

They cheered him on as he returned to the place he came from. A lot of the craftsmen that were gathered here were already trying to analyze how this golem operated. There was clearly more to it than what met the eye. Its reduced size didn’t make it any weaker than the other machines.

Due to this, the old man that was proudly holding his hand up in the air and mimicking the golem was now being barraged with questions. All the nobles were interested in the new design and how it operated.

This was something made by Zhang Dong though and he didn’t leave any crafting schematics behind. Even if he wanted to make a profit from this golem he wouldn’t be able to do it in this way. It would also be impossible for other people to pilot it as it was made for Zhang Dong and his two summoners.

“I think that went well for a test ride, how are you two feeling?”

Zhang Dong asked while slowly walking back to their hangar. There wasn’t much damage done to the golem he made but he still needed to check it before the next battle.

“I feel fine, how about you Isabella”

“Yes, I feel like we could have continued for a bit more.”

The two girls inside chuckled at each other while Zhang Dong gave them a scan. They were his power source so after this battle he had an idea of how long this golem could operate.

‘Not that bad, the use of puppet technology and this mana engine is working wonders. I wonder if my sect could utilize this technology when I return…’

He started imagining an army of large mecha golems that were even larger than his model. With the better alloys and materials that his world had to offer he would be able to improve on this design even further.

“That’s good to hear.”

They managed to return to their garage and only heard the other golems leaving after they closed the door behind them. There weren’t that many fights as there were a limited number of golems.

This was also the only day that this tournament was taking place. Due to this people needed to take the longevity of their golems into consideration. They needed to last till the very end and if they broke between fights it was over.

This was also seen as part of the king’s test. Only a wise king would be able to think ahead in this kind of situation. While this was a nice notion in reality the one that had the best technology or most funds won.

“You two relax while I perform some diagnostics.”

While waiting for the next match Zhang Dong split into many tiny versions of himself. He started performing all kinds of tests while ironing out some battle scars. Even though he wasn’t hit even once he delivered some hard hits with his feet and hands. These spots needed to be rechecked for any breaks and then fixed accordingly.

“How many opponents will we have to contend with?”

Asked Beatrice while looking at the small group of Leigongs.

“Not that many my lady, there are only about thirty contestants in total and the fights never take that long.”

A dwarf from the household answered while the work was being performed on the mech. The two girls had some time to relax but not for long as soon they would need to go into battle again. Thankfully the other fights would be taking a while, there was enough time to rest and even see all the other opponents that they would be facing later.