The Golem Mage

#Estonia City

The array veil that had covered the entirety of the Gordons’ outer region finally shattered, giving way for the Army to finally invade without fear of an unknown attack.

The sound was like glass breaking, echoing across the mages that waited patiently, and the army the City Lord had gathered at last saw the full view of the Gordons’ territory without any barrier concealing it.

The three Tier 8 mages present were responsible for attacking first and weakening it before the Tier 7 mages struck down the array; they clearly had realized that the array had already grown weak, which was why the City Lord decided they would lead the charge.

And they truly lived up to that role, as the three Tier 8 mages soared into the air and unleashed the first wave of attacks. After that, more than fifteen Tier 7 mages followed up with a second barrage, completely erasing the barrier as the army surged forward.

With the array gone, there was no longer any swirling distortion limiting their vision, they could now see the entire outer region clearly: long sword scars carved across the land, shattered grounds, and partially destroyed buildings.

All of it was the result of the constant battles that had taken place day after day.

Yet, even in its ruined state, they couldn’t help but feel that the outer region was far more beautifully designed than most clan territories, that was because the one responsible for its layout and architecture after its first destruction was Alec himself, someone who carried knowledge from a far more advanced world.

With the assistance of the system, even though he hadn’t been able to fully recreate the modern structures he envisioned, they had at least captured the essence of what he tried to describe.

As they began to move through the outer region, many of them soon caught sight of the Gordons’ Auction House. Instantly, a wave of swallowed breaths spread through the crowd.

The Gordons’ Auction House had already turned into something of a legend, as many of them had heard about the high-level equipment that had been sold on the night it debuted.

Despite their burning desire to rush toward it at full speed, they restrained themselves, because they were all well aware of the warnings from their superiors.

That place was a restricted zone for every one of them.

Many of them clicked their tongues in annoyance, unaware that those orders from their superiors might have been the very thing that saved them from a gruesome death, because despite the fact that the array formation of the outer region was broken the Auction house itself had its own formations.

Soon after, their attention shifted forward, and they realized that the gates leading into the inner region were wide open, the sight was strange to them.

After dealing with the Gordons for several days, they had never known them to be the type that would welcome invaders with open arms. Yet, without a doubt, the gates stood open. Seeing this, many of them hesitated to cross.

Then the higher ranks finally moved to the front, they advanced through the gates with their heads held high, led by the City Lord, with his Branch clan member in the Tier 8 realm close behind him.

Not far behind them followed the Tier 8 mage he had hired from the Dark Guild, but as the City Lord reached the entrance, he suddenly stopped, he looked up and smirked.

“Child’s play!” he said, then struck his right hand through the air, as a distortion rippled outward from his motion.

In the next instant, the scene before them changed drastically, what had looked like an empty compound transformed into something entirely different.

Immediately, many of the mid-ranked mages in the City Lord’s army saw the real scene hidden behind the illusion, and at that moment, they truly wished that the empty compound they had first seen was the real one.

As much as they hated to admit it, they dreaded the thought of fighting the Gordons Clan head-on, many of them had secretly hoped that the Gordons would find a way to disappear, escaping through some hidden passage or secret backdoor.

But there they were.

Clad in full battle armor, weapons drawn, standing shoulder to shoulder, banded together like an unbreakable wall, and looking ready to fight to the very last man.

“Finally, you’ve all crossed into the final stage,” George Gordons said, standing at the front with a smile on his face as he stepped forward slightly.

“We’ve been waiting for your army for quite a while now. What took you so long?”

Behind him stood the Grand Elder and the other elders of the Gordons Clan, following them were the enforcers of each elder, and behind those enforcers were the few older mages who had chosen to stay and fight, believing they had already lived long enough.

They did not fear death. To them, the younger generation were the true hope of prosperity. If sacrificing their lives meant the younger ones they had helped escape would survive and grow stronger, then it was a price they were more than willing to pay.

The City Lord, looking at the Gordons’ Patriarch, couldn’t help but feel surprised, this was not a sight he had expected to witness.

Yes, he had always believed the Gordons were stubborn and would fight to the end. In fact, he had wanted them to do exactly that so he could erase them completely.

But the confidence they were displaying now and the fact there were no kids or women made him uneasy because it meant they had been able to smuggle them out of his own city without him even finding out.

“Seems to me you’re all ready to die for your sins against the city,” the City Lord said, but George simply yawned in response.

“Come on, now. We’re not kids here. It’s high time you drop that pretentious righteous act. Let’s just fight it out, shall we?” the Gordons’ Patriarch said as he slowly levitated into the skies.

The Grand Elder followed, then the Second Elder, the Third, the Fourth, the Fifth, the Sixth, and finally the Seventh Elder.

The moment the City Lord saw this, his expression darkened, he silently thanked himself for never being arrogant enough to think he could handle the Gordons Clan alone with just the city forces.

It was a well-known fact that the City Hall forces of every city were far stronger than any single clan within their city and could easily annihilate any clan under their jurisdiction.

The capital always made sure to send reinforcements to the city hall of a city if any certain clan under them ever grew too powerful for the city to control, they believed authority and balance were never to be left to chance.

But right now, the City Lord was seeing eight individuals from the Gordons Clan, all of them radiating high-rank mana.

And among them was one exception: a figure still in the Tier 6 realm, seated calmly atop what was unmistakably a Tier 7 golem, And he realized that the public belief that the Gordons Clan only possessed four Tier 7 mages had always been nothing but nonsense, because as he suspected that is what they wanted to portray outward.