The Golem Mage

With a subtle shift, a massive segment of the shadow fog looming behind him surged toward his palm, manifesting a violent suction vortex fueled by raw shadow essence.

As the darkness coalesced around his arm, the misty particles utilized for the invocation grew increasingly dense, their hue deepening into a profound, absolute black hole void.

The radiant golden flames of the Golden Wyvern that had previously illuminated the surroundings were swallowed whole, vanished as if they were mere flickers; however, in the blink of an eye, the localized black hole dissolved into nothingness.

It was clear then that the consumed black hole vapor would not be returning.

“Zenith, return to my side.” Alec shouted a command to his soul beast, who kept its gaze transfixed on the dark figure that had neutralized its offensive with such terrifying ease.

Through that singular display, Alec deduced that the figure was a Tier 8 mage, specifically one at the low stage—yet, unlike the Tier 8 adversaries he had recently defeated, the sheer proficiency and the aura of lethality radiating from him suggested that a direct confrontation by giving everything he had would make them match in battle prowess.

While David had managed a desperate flight earlier, Alec found himself unable to envision a path of escape from the three monstrous presences now blocking his way, one of them might have been possible if he couldn’t win but three just looks like too much of a hurdle to him .

Evaluating the remaining two figures based on the actions of the first, he deduced that the second black-clothed guard individual would likely possess an equal or superior cultivation realm to the one that had just acted.

While the figure positioned in the center was undoubtedly their leader.

Although Alec preferred to believe that the leader was weaker than the two companions acting as his guards, but his instincts warned him against making such a dangerous assumption.

“This may be our first face-to-face encounter, but my shadows and I are already well-acquainted with your reputation,” the man in the center remarked.

This statement left Alec visibly perplexed, as he on the other hand knew nothing about the mage before him, he had already spread his golems across the area, though the Hive Queen was consistently urging him to flee while they provided a distraction.

However Alec refused to retreat and insisted on uncovering their true motives.

“State your identity and your purpose here,” Alec demanded, sensing that the confrontation had not yet turned entirely hostile.

He reasoned that if their objective was his execution, they would have seized the advantage and struck while they were able to creep behind him.

In truth, despite their physical presence right in front of him, Alec’s mental perception failed to register them.

Had his own eyes not confirmed their existence, and had one of them not just executed a move directly before him, he would have suspected he was falling prey to a hallucination.

Yet this was no illusion, that much he was sure off.

Observing Alec’s interrogation gaze, the figure positioned in the center merely allowed his grin to widen.

“To begin with, you possess absolutely no authority to demand answers from me,” the central figure declared.

As the words left his mouth, an oppressive weight descended upon Alec, intensifying a thousand times over, it mirrored the crushing force of gravity, yet differed fundamentally, as it lacked any perceptible energy fluctuations.

Even when Alec attempted to employ his own gravity manipulation to mitigate the force, with purple like hue surrounding him as he hoped to secure enough reprieve to draw breath, his efforts proved entirely futile.

Throughout the entire ordeal, the man maintained his continuous smile, utterly unbothered by the fact that he was on the verge of shattering every single bone in Alec’s body.

“Conversely, it is I who shall propose the questions, which you will answer accurately. Should your responses capture my interest, I may deign to disclose my identity. How does that arrangement sound to you?” the man in the middle asked.

“Boss, you’re killing him,” one of the dark-cloaked men who had just intervened pointed out, and the central figure’s expression shifted as he noticed Alec gritting his teeth, struggling against the overwhelming pressure he had unleashed.

“Ohhh, shit,” he muttered as the crushing weight suddenly vanished, he assumed an innocent look, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his aura had been actively pressing down on Alec.

Alec, however, didn’t buy the innocent act for a single second, he recognized the display as a calculated performance designed to establish a clear power hierarchy.

Given that the man appeared to be executing an errand, Alec reasoned there was no actual intent to kill him.

Even so, he had no intention of pushing his luck. Despite the man’s deceptive lack of a perceptible aura, Alec strongly suspected he was dealing with an exceptionally powerful adversary—at the very least, a peak Tier 8 mage.

It had been an exceptionally long time since Alec experienced such an intense degree of suppression, and the sensation was far from pleasant. Yet, as he evaluated the casual figure standing before him alongside his guard, he could not help but see a reflection of his own path at a certain level.

Unlike the vast majority of humans who relied heavily on external resources and spent tedious years cementing their cultivation realms, he required no such crutches.

He was fully aware that by merging with Zenith, he might possess enough power to contend with one of them. However, even if he succeeded, he would still be left facing two remaining monsters, with this in mind, he refrained from acting.

He understood that by keeping his true power hidden until a genuinely critical moment when it was most needed, he could land a decisive strike that they would never see coming.

Meanwhile, the effortlessly relaxed lord observed Alec with a growing sense of satisfaction, he had intentionally unleashed his presence as a deliberate trial.

He had heard from the wilderness king himself about a plan to elevate Alec as his fourth great king. Such an endorsement implied that the king was prepared to sponsor Alec’s advancement until he successfully matched the level of the weakest great lord currently serving under him.

Consequently, upon meeting Alec face-to-face, the lord had opted to adopt a mischievous demeanor to gauge his worth, reflecting on the outcome, he found himself thoroughly pleased with the composure and manner Alec had displayed.

”Apologies for that, I was merely playing around,” the casual-looking lord remarked.

”By the way, where are the twin lords?”

”Well, I killed one, and the other managed to escape,” Alec responded without hesitation.

”Hmm, that is unfortunate. Although the king explicitly ordered that you shouldn’t kill lords under him anymore, however we cannot entirely ignore the fact that they ambushed you first,” the casual lord murmured.

He placed a hand on his chin, feigning deep thought for a brief moment before turning back to Alec.

”Here is what we will do. Taking their cities under your control is out of the question, especially given the vast distance. Doing so might make it appear as if you are trying to usurp the king’s own territories. Instead, I will permit you to claim the Lord token so you can reinforce any lesser city under your command.”

”This will delay the king for a while, since he will have to expend his own energy to conjure a replacement lord token. Still, it is a fair compromise. What do you think?” the casual-looking lord asked Alec.

Alec was thoroughly surprised by the lord’s unexpectedly amiable demeanor, it was a complete change from how he had acted earlier.

However, recognizing that the powerful figure before him was not someone he could afford to antagonize, he simply nodded his head.

”Two additional lords have perished during this sequence of events. I intend to retrieve their lord tokens as well, would that be permissible?” Alec inquired, now fully Aware that the figure standing before him was an emissary of the wilderness king’s direct will.

”Naturally, though, you must act with haste. We shall take our leave for now,” the Lord said after consenting to his requests.

At his word, one of the accompanying guards unsheathed a blade, carving a jagged rift into the very fabric of the dimension they occupied.

”By the way, I am known as the shadow lord of the wilderness, one of the king’s three great lords. There were once four great lords under the king, but death left a vacant space among us. From my observations, the king has designated you as the prime candidate to fill that void. Do not fall short of his expectations; furthermore, do not expect such leniency from the other two. I simply happen to be a lazy man.”

These were the final parting words of the formidable entity who identified himself as the Great Shadow Lord before he vanished into the void.

The revelation that he had been selected for a position he knew nothing about left Alec stunned, yet he refused to let the distraction cloud his judgment.

Once the Lord had fully departed, Alec shifted his focus back to the immediate surroundings.

After securing the remains of the two fallen lords within his inventory, he prepared to descend and claim the Lord tokens, the rightful spoils of his brutal victory.