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If he could make them believe that an iron puppet really was moving autonomously, as part of some incredibly elaborate reactive trap system, then that might just scare the living crap out of these motherfuckers. And theoretically, he'd be able to launch attacks with it, too, if necessary.

He materialized the puppet right in front of them, wanting its appearance to be obvious. For its design, he didn't have long to dwell on it, so he just based it on something he'd seen once before. A rock golem from the Undercrust. The one that he'd seen fighting a feldeath in Himmekel.

This iron golem wasn't nearly so huge, though. He made about twice the height of an average person, feeling that was more than enough. And he gave it molten globes for eyes, too, so that it would have a glowing, menacing stare.

All in all, it was just a big lump of iron, one that happened to look humanoid, if rather bulky and too tall.

Hector held his breath as he waited for Abolish's reaction. If they realized that it was essentially nothing more than a scarecrow, then this was going to get very messy very quickly.

Hector could sense Roman and the others moving up behind him, all carrying Amir-9s with them. He held a hand without turning around, wanting them to wait. They all seemed to understand.

The Abolishers, meanwhile, still weren't moving. Hector could sense that all their heads were pointed straight at the golem, watching it intently as they were perhaps wondered if it was about to attack them. But they weren't taking the initiative. They weren't attacking it first or backing off, either.