The Golem Mage

The Bearman general called out to his companion, whose gaze was locked entirely on the two ash bodies in the distance, it was clear that he abandoned the remaining two ash bodies that were right beside him.

He had believed they were mere duplicates not worth wasting time on, convinced that his only concern was figuring out which one of the two in the distance was the main body.

However, since he was blinded by the assumption that they were only meant to confuse them, he hadn’t even realized that the two ash bodies at his flank were already swinging their solidified ash blades at him from different angles.

After trying to warn him, the Bearman general realized it would be too late for the Were-Tiger general to react, so he simply decided to help out with the current spell he was casting.

However, he altered it, shifting the spell from the attack model it was into a defensive one, which was specifically targeted at the Were-Tiger general.

That was how stone pillars erupted from the earth below and shot into the sky at a blinding speed, they were clearly following the motions of the Bearman general’s hands.

In an instant, after they had risen into the air they swirled around the Were-Tiger general, intercepting the ash blades swung by the two duplicates.

“Ehhhn!” The spell of the Bearman general finally drew the Were-Tiger general’s attention, however it was also at this moment that the two other ash bodies he had been keeping his eyes on moved.

However he had already shifted his eyes toward the ones attacking the stone pillars around him, when he noticed those two ahead had moved he couldn’t help cursing out, because he felt like it would now be even harder for him to tell which was the real body of Alec.

After striking the stone pillars, the two ash duplicates were repelled backward by the force of the barrier, the moment this happened, the Bear general spread out his hands, and the stone pillars that once surrounded the Were-Tiger general in a defensive position sprang free, levitating in place while rotating slightly.

While this was going on, their edges began to grow sharper and sharper, as a force seems to be sharpening them.

“Go!”

After about two seconds of having their tips sharpened, while facing the direction where the other two ash bodies were coming from, the Bear general didn’t waste a single second as he pushed his hands which were coated in his overbearing Qi forward.

In response to his hand motions, the stone pillars shot toward the two ash bodies. While the generals were sure that one of the figures they were staring at had to be Alec, they just couldn’t tell which was him and which was his duplicate.

And that was because their actions were so much in sync that it looked like they were programmed together. However, just before the stone pillars could pierce through them, one ash body moved forward, acting as though it were trying to save the other.

Though this was a simple action, however; seeing one of the ash bodies break formation made both generals instantly conclude that the one being protected truly had to be the real body.

With yellow lightning coursing wildly through his body, the Were-Tiger general was closer to the two ash bodies flashed forward in a blur.

His focus remained entirely on the ash body behind, even as he bypassed the other ash figure attempting to block the stone pillar, he barely spared it a glance.

However, the moment he passed the figure that had been acting like a controlled puppet, something bizarre occurred, the ash body began to transform.

The cloud of ash veiling its skin and face dissolved into thin air, revealing Alec, who raised his right hand in a high defensive guard, Alec instantly materialized a round earth shield in front of his arm.

“Blast!”

As the stone pillar surged past him, a pulse of purple aura erupted from his earth shield, violently knocking the pillar off course and redirecting it on a straight trajectory away from him.

Witnessing the entire turn of events, the Bear general opened his mouth to shout a warning, eager to alert the Were-Tiger general that the true Alec was standing right behind him.

Yet, even without the warning, the Were-Tiger general was already sensing that something was terribly wrong, because the ash body ahead of him had also begun to dissolve into thin air.

This vanishing act coincided precisely with the dissipation of the ash shroud around Alec’s body, all this was caused by the skill’s duration reaching its end.

It was an active skill from the Tier 6 Infernal Sovereign equipment set, specifically bound to the cape on his back, designed primarily to produce deceptive duplicates to mislead opponents, the effect lasted for a brief eight seconds.

Had Alec not been attempting to determine which of the duo generals posed the greater threat, Alec would have lunged directly into combat from the very beginning.

Yet, he had finally obtained the answer he sought, and he could confirm now that the Bearman general was undeniably the more dangerous adversary.

“It’s useless,” Alec remarked, clearly discerning the Bearman general’s desperate attempt to warn his companion. However, the feline general had never been his intended target.

For the first time since intercepting them in mid-air, Alec sank into a low combat stance, planting his feet firmly in mid-air as though he was anchored to solid earth.

With a deliberate slowness, he shifted his grip on his weapon, swapping his left hand which had been pressing down on the guard of his changdao since with his right hand, which was now wrapped in searing crimson fire.

Ordinary flames radiated a common amber (orange) light, however Alec’s mastery over his elemental fire had reached a realm where he could infuse it with other elements or things he had epiphany on, and the blood killing intent which he had mastered from his Changdao blade was what he had directly into his flames manifestation.

The instant his right hand, which was wreathed in flames made contact with the weapon’s hilt, a low, resonant hum echoed outward, as though the blade itself was awakening from a deep slumber.

Along the scabbard, crimson bloodline patterns began to glow faintly, igniting in sequence from the hilt down to the tip.

Yet this was merely the beginning; as he settled deeper into his stance, he extended his left arm slightly forward, positioning it just below his line of sight.

Reaching into the empty air, dark, swirling flames suddenly erupted across his left hand, starkly contrasting the fiery crimson of his right hand. Within moments, dense clouds of ash coalesced before his palm, solidifying rapidly until a short wakizashi took form within his grasp which he was wielding inversely.