Elemental Wood Golem

A single Wood Golem on its own wasn’t that strong.

It could easily handle simple bandits, sure—but against skilled adventurers or aptitude users, it would be taken down in an instant.

Relying solely on Wood Golems for village defense would be… problematic.

However, there was a way to solve that problem—through the Crossbreeding skill.

Just as the House Tree changed in form depending on what kind of tree it was crossbred with, the Wood Golem’s strength changed depending on the tree it was fused with.

Simurg-san had once said that a golem’s strength depended on its material and environment, and he had been completely right.

I experimented with various trees, but the strongest result came from combining them with Element Trees.

So, I activated my aptitude, planted the base trees, and used crossbreeding to merge them.

To make things easier to explain—and more impressive—I decided to summon all four types at once.

“This is the first transformation stage—Element Wood Golem.”

“Element…?”

“Wood Golem…”

Before the eyes of the villagers stood four massive figures:

The Fire Wood Golem, its entire body engulfed in flames.

The Water Wood Golem, its wooden surface shimmering with a film of flowing water.

The Wind Wood Golem, surrounded by swirling gusts.

And the Earth Wood Golem, covered in thick soil, looking almost identical to a Clay Golem.

Even Simurg-san seemed genuinely astonished at the sight.

“Woody has finally… gained the ability to create new monsters, it seems…”

He shook his head as though at a loss for words.

Indeed, depending on how one looked at it, I had effectively created a new type of magical creature using the Wood Golem as a base.

My power was undeniably growing stronger, more sophisticated with each evolution.

All the more reason I couldn’t afford to let word of my Tree Planting aptitude spread throughout the kingdom anymore…

Before, it had merely been about producing food, but this new Wood Golem development directly involved military strength.

“Amazing… the golems are burning…”

Nadja’s words snapped me back to reality.

It was time to test their power.

“These Element Wood Golems are roughly equivalent to a C-rank adventurer party in strength. Of course, C-ranks vary widely, but a group like White Silver Wings could probably defeat one without much trouble.”

“And if all four attacked at once?”

“Then the Wood Golem army would likely win. Let’s do a quick demonstration—fight!”

At my command, the Element Wood Golems paired off and began combat.

Each one wielded the element it embodied—using primitive, instinctive elemental attacks that were more like magical bursts than formal spells.

For instance, in the duel between the Fire and Water Wood Golems—

The Fire Wood Golem drew back its right arm and threw a punch.

In that instant, the arm burst into a roaring flame.

“Wooooahhh!! That’s awesome!!”

“Yeah, that’s seriously cool!”

“The fiery punch—yes, that’s Fire Punch!”

The Divine Beasts were completely enthralled.

It was almost like watching excited children cheering at a play with their parents.

And somehow, the attack had been given an official-sounding name.

It was just a flaming punch—but naming it made it feel like a heroic special move.

The Water Wood Golem countered, raising both arms high before slamming them down.

A torrent of water cascaded down like a waterfall upon the Fire Wood Golem.

“Wooooooahhh!! Water!!”

“Hey, don’t go over there, it’s dangerous!”

“Then that attack shall be called… Waterfall!”

The Divine Beasts were as ecstatic as ever.

Catherine-san was doing her best to keep the children from rushing toward the battlefield.

Parenting looked exhausting.

Even the ribboned lady guinea pig was happily naming the attacks.

Simple, but charming.

I’d thought she might dislike fighting, being a refined lady and all, but her puffing cheeks and excited squeaks said otherwise—she was clearly enjoying herself.

She really was adorable… maybe I could ask to pet her later.

The Fire Punch and Waterfall clashed.

“Wooooooahhh!!”

The Divine Beasts’ excitement seemed contagious—soon even the villagers were hyped up, cheering loudly.

The fiery punch met the heavy mass of water and fizzled, losing its momentum.

But the Fire Wood Golem pressed forward regardless, thrusting its fist again.

The Water Wood Golem met it with a punch of its own.

Their fists collided.

“Wooooooahhh!!”

A fierce brawl erupted.

Since their magical attacks weren’t particularly destructive, the most effective weapon they had was… their fists.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Blow after blow landed, with no regard for collateral damage, both sides smashing each other back and forth.

No technique—just pure strength versus strength.

“Wooooooahhh!!”

And that was precisely why everyone was utterly captivated.

The desire to witness something extraordinary was the same for both humans and Divine Beasts.

Their bodies gradually dented and cracked from the relentless blows.

Finally, the Fire Wood Golem’s right arm was knocked clean off.

It seemed its durability had reached its limit after so much trading of punches.

The Fire Wood Golem stepped back.

I commanded the Water Wood Golem to halt its pursuit.

The Fire Golem retreated to the nearby Fire Tree I’d placed beforehand.

Using trees to heal itself, the Fire Wood Golem instantly regenerated its lost arm—eliciting another round of cheers from the crowd.

They fought, healed, and fought again.

Meanwhile, the battle between the Wind and Earth Wood Golems raged just as intensely.

It was a complete success.

The Wood Golem exhibition had gone perfectly, and the villagers now fully accepted them.

With this, the new settlement would have nothing to fear from the sight of Wood Golems.

Crossbreeding with Element Trees had elevated them one stage further.

They still had another transformation ahead… but everyone seemed tired, so that demonstration could wait for another day.