The Golem Mage

768: Assassination Competition.

768: Assassination Competition.

The second wave of boulders hurtling through the air completely annihilated what remained of the thousand zombies that had charged toward the Gordons, in doing so, the Tier 1 mages under Alec had unknowingly set a new record, the shortest time taken to eliminate a thousand enemies.

But the devastation didn’t stop there, the massive rocks continued their deadly trajectory, crashing into the Low-rank zombie horde, forcing them to break away from their clash with the city guards and the other clan mages.

In an instant, what was left of the twelve-thousand-strong zombie horde completely shifted its focus toward the Gordons, and ignoring the other human forces they had previously been attacking.

This reaction only confirmed Alec’s suspicions that there were definitely mental-type 1 zombies hidden among their ranks, because there was no way a horde of over twelve thousand mindless undead could suddenly decide that one group of humans was more dangerous than the others, unless something was actively influencing them.

His hunch was proven even further as he observed the zombies spreading out just before the boulders reached them, though there were still casualties, but the overall impact was significantly reduced, as many of the remaining zombies had managed to reduce having their numbers thinned out, strategically positioning themselves to limit the damage.

Even more telling was the appearance of high numbers of evolved Strength-type Tier 3 zombies, these creatures rushed forward, using their enhanced body and power to physically intercept the massive stones, some sacrificing themselves in the effort to slow down the projectiles and finally they provided the horde with an effective counter to the Gordons’ lethal long-range assault.

Yet, as Alec watched their coordinated reaction, a grin spread across his face.

The Type 1 mental zombies might be sharp tacticians of the zombie race, but they had just walked right into his trap.

“Legion, Endrick—your turn.”

At Alec’s command, Legion stepped forward, reaching behind his back to grip something as metal components began shifting and reshaping rapidly.

The initial form of a rifle took shape, but Legion wasn’t finished, with a precise motion, he attached a secondary extension to the weapon’s barrel, lengthening it into a sniper rifle.

And then came the final touch to the weapon’s rails.

With one last modification, a high-tech scope assembled itself in an instant, locking into place with mechanical precision.

Without waiting for anyone, Legion dropped to the ground, taking position at the front, as the Tier 1 golems instinctively shifted to make space as he passed.

“Oh god, nanotech is so cool,” Alec murmured, watching as Legion constructed the sniper rifle known as Sagittarius, he recalled purchasing the weapon blueprint from the system store, and now, seeing it come to life before his eyes, he couldn’t help but admire its design.

While Alec was lost in thought, Legion had already loaded a flaming bullet cartridge into the weapon, ready to fire.

But Legion wasn’t the only one making a spectacle.

As Endrick wasn’t left out either, his left hand glowed with a vibrant green light, and within seconds, a spirit bow materialized, its emerald energy shimmering dangerously, the weapon radiated a powerful, natural aura, both beautiful and deadly.

Alec hadn’t had much time to focus on Endrick or Sophia in the training phases, as both wielded different elemental affinities than the Gordons, still, he hadn’t neglected them.

They, too, had made significant progress under his guidance.

One of Alec’s key contributions to their development had been helping them acquire specialized weapons that would grow alongside them.

He had always believed that a warrior should feel connected to their equipments , so he had given them a choice:

A full spirit equipment set or a custom spirit weapon of their choice.

Sophia had chosen the spirit equipment set, but Endrick hadn’t hesitated, as he chose the spirit weapon, or rather, multiple weapons.

When Alec asked which weapon he specialized in, he quickly realized that Endrick was proficient in a bow, a crossbow, and even a short sword.

And not just proficient, his mastery levels were impressive.

His bow and crossbow skills were already at Intermediate Level 3, while his short sword technique had just reached Intermediate Level, that was when Alec truly recognized the talent in front of him.

Using beast materials of the same element as Endrick and paying the necessary fees, Alec had helped forge three weapons tailored to Endrick’s abilities despite the fact that the offer was for one weapon, he made sure each one enhances and amplifies Endrick’s attacks.

But the real masterpiece in all these?

Was the fact that Alec had created one of the most dangerous Tier 5 spirit bow weapons and placed it in the hands of a marksman whose only limitation had been a lack of proper equipment.

Now, with his skills and weaponry perfectly aligned, Endrick had become a marksman far beyond his current Tier.

So Hunting down the scattered mental-type 1 zombies hidden within the spread out horde was a simple task for them, as the moment Endrick raised his wooden bow and drew back the string, a light green glow flashed, forming an arrow.

He then took aim, steadying his breath, ready to release his first shot—

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

But before he could let his arrow fly, three gunshots rang out in quick succession, each spaced two seconds apart.

Legion fired calmly, his shoulder jerking slightly from the recoil, yet he barely flinched, the recoil pad cushioned the impact, and despite lacking a muzzle brake, he didn’t seem to need one, his cybernetic left arm absorbed the force effortlessly.

For a Tier 6 cyborg golem, such a recoil was nowhere near enough to bring it down, despite the weapon being a fusion of magical and advanced technological manufacturing.

But the results were devastating.

The caliber rounds shot from Sagittarius blazed through the air like flaming nails, and in an instant, three zombies with slightly enlarged heads dropped dead, their brains pierced clean through, the insides looking like it had been cooked.

The sheer power of the bullets carried them forward, continuing in a straight, deadly path—piercing through multiple other zombies before finally losing momentum.

“That’s what I call collateral damage,” Legion muttered, already repositioning his rifle toward a fourth target.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger—

Thud!

Through the scope, he saw a flash of green.

His target had been impaled straight through the head by an arrow.

Endrick had struck first.

Legion quickly adjusted, moving to eliminate the next mental-type 1 zombie—

But again, he was too late.

Endrick had executed a lightning-fast quick-draw, releasing three arrows simultaneously, and that is why by the time Legion shifted his gaze to even aim, the zombies had already been silently taken down as the arrows had been shot even before he picked his target.

Now, only one last mental-type zombie remained.

It was positioned deep within the horde, hiding at the very edge.

Endrick’s arrow was already on its way, slicing through the air, but the distance was too great, it hadn’t yet reached its target.

Seeing an opportunity, Legion adjusted Sagittarius and fired.

The bullet burst from the muzzle, leaving a visible streak of light as it soared forward.

At that moment, time seemed to slow, as the bullet met the arrow a few meters to the target.

The arrow and bullet raced side by side, both locked on the same unfortunate zombie, competing for the final kill.

And just then—

“AHHHHHH!”

A piercing scream echoed across the battlefield, drowning out everything else.