The People's God: Sacrificing Trillions to Ascend-Chapter 396 - The Gnomes’ Hatred

All 1,400 Gnome Warriors entered the ancestral grounds and froze at the sight before them. Han Wu had easily managed to slice open the stone gates, each several meters thick, with Ju Que. The cut surface was unnaturally smooth, proof that Han Wu’s weapon had a terrifying edge.

The Gnome Lord had removed most of his heavy armor and was leading the army. He looked at the sliced stone gates and understood how dire the situation had become.

They ran down the corridor of ruined stone gates until they reached the ancestral grounds. There, the Gnome Lord saw Han Wu controlling the Transmutation Golem.

“You damned human! How dare you touch our race’s sacred treasure!” the Gnome Lord demanded.

The Gnome Lord’s fury was justified. The Transmutation Golem was a treasure crafted through the lost arts of alchemy. Legends claimed that it rivaled a Great Dragon in strength. Aside from the Gnome Lord, only a handful of gnome nobles knew of its existence. The rest of the Gnome Warriors had no knowledge of what it was or why such a precious treasure lay hidden beneath the great hall.

Han Wu ignored the Gnome Lord and focused on learning how to pilot the golem. He controlled the golem and guided it toward the exit.

A gnome shouted, “That human is trying to escape. All warriors, throw your bombs and kill him!”

The Gnome Warriors yanked the bombs from their waists and tossed them at Han Wu. Each bomb was coated in a sticky substance that clung to almost any surface before exploding.

As expected, the bombs latched onto the golem’s surface without slipping off. Han Wu tried prying them loose, but the adhesive held fast, and several bombs stubbornly stuck to the golem’s fingers.

Before he could rid himself of them, the bombs went off. The first explosion triggered the rest, unleashing a chain of violent explosions that engulfed the golem completely.

Unexpectedly, they proved useless. The golem strode out of the dense smoke without so much as a scratch.

Even the Gnome Lord, who had read about its powers, was stunned. He regretted not using the Transmutation Golem to crush the rebellion in the mine from the start. Now the situation was spinning out of control.

“You despicable human. Release the golem, and we will let you leave in peace.” The Gnome Lord fought to keep the Transmutation Golem within the kingdom at any cost, even if it meant placating Han Wu.

Han Wu flipped the bird at him. The Gnome Lord didn’t know the gesture’s meaning, but he had a feeling that it was an insult.

With a roar, the Gnome Lord swung his giant hammer at Han Wu. The weapon struck the golem with full force, but instead of damaging it, the hammer itself dented. He kept swinging at the golem, and more dents appeared on the hammer. Meanwhile, the golem remained unscathed and had instead grown one centimeter taller.

Inside the cockpit, Han Wu noticed that the golem was actually absorbing the hammer’s metal to expand its body. At the moment, it was only five meters tall.

He wondered how strong it would become if it absorbed even more metal. To test it, he charged straight at the Gnome Lord.

The Gnome Lord fell back while several Gnome Warriors rushed forward to protect him, only to be struck away.

Han Wu seized the Gnome Warriors’ weapons, and the runes etched into the golem’s body flared to life. A stream of energy poured from the weapons into the golem. Within seconds, the weapons crumbled to dust, and the golem grew taller again.

Han Wu finally understood the golem’s true power. It could keep growing as long as there was metal to absorb.

The Gnome Lord panicked. As the gnomes’ leader, he knew of the Transmutation Golem’s unique properties. Its creation had once sparked a huge war among the gnome nobility, and the last surviving noble family sealed it to prevent another civil war. Ironically, the Transmutation Golem had become a weapon turned against the gnomes themselves.

“Destroy it! Do everything you can to break it!” the Gnome Lord hollered.

Sadly, not even the combined strength of 1,400 Gnome Warriors and twelve powerful gnome nobles could do anything to the golem’s impenetrable defenses, let alone wound Han Wu. On the other hand, the latter seized many of their weapons and absorbed them. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The gnomes were stunned. They couldn’t defeat or blast it apart. Despair gripped them as they watched the Transmutation Golem their ancestors had created now wielded against them. They hated their ancestors for creating a golem too durable to destroy.

With the battle turning hopeless, the Gnome Lord ordered a full retreat. Until they found a good solution, their only choice was to cut their losses.

Han Wu kept tinkering with the golem rather than chasing after them. He remained in the ancestral grounds and practiced various moves to grow accustomed to controlling it.

By the next day, the Gnome Lord was still in distress, unable to devise a strategy to stop the golem.

After practicing through the night, Han Wu finally grew familiar with the golem. He piloted it out of the ancestral grounds and appeared in the great hall’s ruins.

The gnome nobles were all glaring at him with hatred. After all, he was piloting their most prized creation, the Transmutation Golem. How could they allow a mere human to tarnish it?

Han Wu ignored them and headed toward the exit. Along the way, more gnome nobles and Gnome Warriors glared at him, but none dared to stop him.

“I’m leaving,” Han Wu said. “I also promised to release the gnome noble after my tour. I will fulfill my promise once I return.”

None of the gnomes rejoiced, even though one of their own would soon be freed. Their hatred for Han Wu burned hotter than any joy could. Still, they could do nothing to stop him. They could only watch as he carried off their treasure.

After leaving the palace, Han Wu ran toward his mine. He needed to get back as quickly as possible.