The Golem Mage

“Don’t you think it’s really time to move the mages of the clan?” the fourth elder eventually asked Alec the moment Marcus left.

He was genuinely concerned that the city’s forces might be wiped out if things continued this way, but Alec simply shook his head.

“Definitely not. It’s not time yet. I’m still observing their formation, trying to learn more about them so I can craft the perfect tactics when we finally engage them in battle.”

“I’m sure you can also tell that this set of goblins is much stronger than the ones we used to face, but they’re still not an impossible army to defeat,” Alec added, eyes still fixed on the battle unfolding below.

After hearing Alec’s reasoning, the fourth elder didn’t press further, and the third elder hadn’t cared to begin with, Alec had already promised he’d get the chance to fight to his heart’s content, and that was enough for him.

As more time passed, the high-rank human mages started to realize that the Gordons high ranks might really not be joining them in the air.

—

High above the air near the space gate, the high-rank goblins and hobgoblins levitated in formation, facing the human mages across the sky.

They were led by Red, who is clad in what appeared to be full spirit armour, and his massive red battle axe was strapped across his back.

Nineteen other high-rank goblins and Hobgoblin flanked him, though Red acted as leader, everyone knew he held that position only because of his half brother, the Hobgoblin Goten—who had returned recently after marrying into the Wind Goblin Clan, a group huge land of goblins that ruled over the smaller goblin settlements in that region of the second dimension.

It was a long story, that same hobgoblin had led the goblin army against Estonia City in the past, among his forces was a young Wind Goblin he had once saved, and in return the wind goblin decided to fight for him in that battle, Unfortunately, that young goblin had died in battle (killed by Alec, in his first blood moon battle).

So when the Wind Goblin Clan came to retrieve their kin and learned of his death, they demanded Goten in return.

Due to their father having far too many children, he had no qualms about sending one of his sons away in hopes of quelling the anger of the Wind Goblin Clan, unfortunately, that plan fell apart when the hobgoblin son fled the clan, believing he was about to be killed.

What happened after that was murky, but somehow, he returned, this time having earned the favour of the very Wind Goblin Clan that had once captured him after he Flee.

Now at the peak of the 7th realm, he had enough power to replace their father as leader of the small Goblin settlement.

Yet, instead of seizing control, he chose to strengthen the settlement, negotiating a deal where the settlement would act as his proxy for resource collection, as they were required to give him a 50% share of everything harvested after every victory.

As an official envoy of the Wind Goblin Clan, he wielded enough authority to make those demands—and with their father being spineless, he accepted the terms without resistance.

Red was initially unhappy about the arrangement, but since their settlement was often bullied by the neighbouring Zombie Domain, and his half-brother began supplying food, weapons that they lack now and even high-rank goblin instructors to train their forces and teach the importance of class mastery, Red couldn’t deny the results: the settlement was becoming significantly stronger as Goten didn’t let them deteriorate.

Following his brother’s advice, they held back until the perfect moment to strike the zombies.

Now, Red felt like he was on top of the world, he had taken the warrior path after lessons, gained countless combat skills linking to the path, and was put in command of a powerful unit of Tier 7 goblins and hobgoblins.

And now, they were crushing the same human army that had previously defeated the zombies—it all felt too good to be true.

“If this is the best they have to offer, then my brother, Goten Hubris, won’t have to wait much longer to start collecting the returns on all his investments in us,” Red said smugly, arms crossed, watching the battle unfold with an arrogant smile.

“You need to rein in your excitement, remember what my master said—there’s still that one clan we need to worry about. As long as they haven’t been taken out of the equation, Master asked that we proceed with caution,” Fizzle, who once served as a Tier 6 Goblin retainer under Goten, reminded.

But Red simply snorted in response.

Fizzle and Griz—now both Tier 7 Goblins, had previously served under Goten before being reassigned when he flee.

As two of his most loyal retainers, Goten ensured they were well taken care of upon his return, and both had now reached the mid-Tier 7 realm.

“Just so you know, every time we’ve lost a battle, it was because of that clan. But… it seems they’re not among the gathered forces this time.” Griz said, scanning the human mages,

His words trailed off as his gaze locked onto the far right flank—where the Gordons Clan stood, unmoving.

“That… that emblem. It’s them. They’re here!” Griz exclaimed, pointing them out.

At once, Red, Fizzle, and the rest of the high-rank goblins and hobgoblins turned their attention toward the Gordons.

“What’s all the fidgeting for? They’re just a bunch of mages. At most, maybe fifteen hundred strong. Send a group of low and mid ranks to force them into battle,” Red ordered casually.

“No—we should preserve our forces, they don’t seem likely to attack, and it’s best not to provoke them.” Fizzle cautioned.

“Who’s the leader here? Don’t forget your place,” Red snapped, his rage flaring.

Seeing that, both Fizzle and Griz fell silent, suppressing their concerns.

Meanwhile, one of the high-rank hobgoblin shamans quietly sent out a message to a unit below, instructing a portion of the goblins to move toward the Gordons mages stationed atop the hill.

This was how they’d been discreetly issuing commands to the lower ranks all along.

As a group of low and mid-rank goblins skilfully separated from the main force and began advancing toward the right side, Red couldn’t help but grin widely, eagerly anticipating the chaos his subordinates were about to unleash.

But while all this was happening, someone from the Gordons’ side had already turned toward the direction of the high-rank goblins and spoke to Alec.

“Those two goblins… they may have changed and grown stronger, but I remember them clearly, they were responsible for the death of a female mage from the Coral Clan in the past, she clearly had some history with Draco,” the Third Elder said, no longer at ease as he looked at Alec.

“Tell me, boy—how much longer are we going to wait? Can’t you just unleash your chaos now? I swear, I only want the heads of those two. They escaped last time… let me make sure this is their end,” the Third Elder urged.

“Soon, Old Third. Look—they’ve already noticed us, which means the first phase of my plan will have to begin regardless,” Alec replied calmly.