The Golem Mage

595: Earth Manipulation 4 595: Earth Manipulation 4 “And the winner is Alec Gordons!” the referee announced quickly, after realizing that Omar had lost consciousness the moment his mental energy passed by the Quick sand again.

Without wasting even a split second, he rushed toward the quicksand and plunged his hand in, dragging Omar Khan out to prevent any further injuries.

Alec, who stood nearby, could feel the oppressive aura that was emanating from the referee’s body directed towards him, attempting to pressure him into kneeling.

The referee was furious with Alec’s defiance and had been looking for an opportunity to teach him a lesson.

And now, he saw a chance to exert pressure on Alec without anyone suspecting, as the crowd of spectators would probably blame Alec falling due to his injuries and bloodied appearance.

However, his plan backfired; not only did Alec refuse to kneel, but he was now staring at the referee with a displeasure that was even more intense than before.

Alec was aware that the referee held a bias against the War God Academy team, but he never expected the referee to openly attack him like this.

Even if the attack was subtle, the fact that a Tier 7 Mage had attempted to make him kneel was undeniable.

Any suspicions Alec had held about the referee’s prejudice against their team were now confirmed.

Alec couldn’t explain why he hadn’t knelt at the last minute, despite feeling the immense pressure bearing down on him.

Deep within him, Alec could have sworn he heard a sneer, a defiance that refused to submit to anyone.

It was that inner strength that allowed him to stand firm and maintain his honour despite the referee’s underhand move.

Surprisingly, the referee exhibited no reaction on his face as if nothing had happened.

He didn’t even show a hint of displeasure at Alec’s ability to withstand his pressure.

The referee knew that displaying any signs of bias would give the VIP section an opportunity to punish him.

Since they seem to be letting him off the hook after Alec’s struggle gave him out, he decided to leave it at that and avoid causing further trouble.

Meanwhile, the Vajra Academy’s reserve team quickly retrieved Omar’s body from the battle ring stage.

As the referee turned his attention to Alec, who appeared injured, he was surprised to see Alec still focused on the orbiting sand ball in his left hand.

“Do you plan to continue fighting, or will you step down and allow another member of your team to take the battle ring stage?” the referee asked, even before the Vajra Academy had chosen their next participant.

But all eyes were fixed on Alec, including the crowd eagerly waiting to hear his decision so they didn’t really notice the out of order way the referee had done.

Alec may have impulsively entered the second round of the match, but now they forgot all that as what everyone saw was him single-handedly taking out two members of the Vajra Academy team, and levelling the playing field for the War God Academy team to make a comeback of he could defeat the captain of the Vajra Academy team.

However, he appeared injured and worn out, making the spectators doubt his ability to face the Vajra Academy’s captain in his current state.

They eagerly awaited Alec’s response, wondering if he would continue to defy expectations or he would succumb from the high pedestal that had been set for him by the influential figures who now seemed genuinely interested in his fight.

“I will continue,” Alec replied to the referee after a brief moment of silence.

He gave his response without even looking at the referee’s face, his intense focus still fixed on the orbiting sand ball in his hand.

The crowd wasn’t surprised by Alec’s decision to press on as they all believed he would want to face Yama before stepping down to give his team a chance, but they were curious to see if he could truly create another miracle and defeat Yama in his current condition.

Yama, determined to reclaim the lead for the Vajra Academy declared,

“I will crush this Alec boy and restore our advantage!” However, before Yama could make a move, the monk’s hand gently tapped his shoulder, forcing him back into his seat, as his whole body became weak again.

“You can’t face him just yet, I want him to tire out, although he appears exhausted, but it wouldn’t hurt to test if he truly is at his limits.”

“ Remember, he has come back from a disadvantageous position to win before,” the monk advised using Omar Khan’s defeat as an example.

But Yama couldn’t contain his anger any longer, and was frustrated by the monk’s cautionary words instead.

“You don’t have to lie to me, it’s obvious that you don’t believe I can defeat him,” Yama blurted out.

“It’s baffling to me because even though Alec has had a good run, I am still confident that I would be able to defeat him, so why am I still not given the chance to fight?

.” Yama continued

However, the monk remained silent, ignoring Yama’s words.

It was true that in a one-on-one battle, Yama seemed to have the advantage.

He held a higher rank than Alec, not just as a peak Tier 5 Mage, but also as one of the captains of the Great Eight Academy, Yama possessed talent that surpassed his peers.

But despite the crowd’s eagerness to witness the match between Alec and Yama, and regardless of the odds favouring Yama’s easy victory, the monk still felt that something was amiss after Alec’s element affinity evolution.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Alec might still have a hidden move up his sleeve that could turn the tide in the match.

If Alec were to defeat both the vice captain and the captain of the Vajra Academy, it would give the War God Academy team a significant advantage.

Being an over thinker, the monk couldn’t help but consider all this possibilities.

“Bodhi, you’re up next, your task is to tire him out, don’t engage him directly, try your best to move around in circles, and if you see an opportunity, take it,” the monk instructed.

He gazed at Bodhi Reed, who had risen from his seat and was prepared to walk toward the battle ring.

“Next fighter for the Vajra Academy, Bodhi Reed, a low Tier 5 Mage,” the referee announced.

But the fans of the Vajra Academy were no longer screaming or chanting names like they previously did, they remained calm instead as they clapped for Bodhi.

They really hoped he would be able to defeat Alec and ease their minds.

However, they lacked confidence that Bodhi would be able to match up with Alec.

They still believed that Yama would have been a better option to permanently rid them of the threat that Alec posed.

“Begin!” the referee’s voice resounded through the arena, signalling the commencement of the match.

Without hesitation, Bodhi unsheathed his sword and launched a swift slash attack towards Alec as the sword Qi multiplied while hearing for Alec , Bodhi did all this while still maintaining distance between them.

Upon Bodhi’s initial move, Alec finally raised his gaze, focusing his attention on his opponent.

However, Bodhi had already moved from his initial position, his hands positioned behind his back as he moved like a shinobi.

Alec raised his right hand up in the air, as the earth element particles responded to his will, and five earth lances emerged from the ground, facing upward and mirroring the motions of Alec’s right hands, as if taking his hand for a remote control.

“Fall!” Alec declared, swiftly bringing his right hand down.

And the earth lances transformed into homing missiles, effectively intercepting the blade Qi slashes that Bodhi had launched towards him the moment the battle began.

Explosions echoed in the air, captivating the awe-struck crowd, who eagerly witnessed yet another captivating performance executed by Alec.

Even throughout the chaos, Alec’s gaze remained fixed on Bodhi, who darted around the edges of the battle ring, looking for any space to launch a sneak attack.

Meanwhile, Alec’s left hand still remained occupied, exerting pressure onto the sand that hovered above it.

In that very moment, the colour of the sand appeared to be gradually transforming from brown to black, signifying the mounting intensity of whatever Alec was trying to do.