The Golem Mage

735: Bonding Grand – Father & Son.

735: Bonding Grand – Father & Son.

It had been a day since Alec and his group returned back to the clan, but the news of their arrival had already spread like wildfire to nearly every clan and organization in the city.

For many of the newer clans who were unaware of Alec’s past exploits, the stories began circulating with renewed vigour.

Alec’s achievements, which had faded from memory during his absence, resurfaced back as people speculated that he had returned to join the Gordons team who would save the city from its losing streak against the invading Second Dimensional races.

While some were optimistic about his return, others dismissed the tales as exaggeration, a few skeptics even claimed that Alec might not survive the war if he wasn’t careful.

In a city where everyone had an opinion, the Gordons clan’s silence only fuelled the speculation, locked away with no interaction with the outside world, no one from the clan stepped forward to defend Alec’s honour when his name was dragged through the mud by cloud-chasing juniors from the new clans in the city all eager for attention.

Meanwhile, a different perspective emerged from the younger generation of the Lanzt clan, unlike the naysayers, they welcomed Alec’s return, anticipating that his mysterious tactics would once again ignite the battlefield and bring hope to their cause.

Despite their curiosity, attempts to confirm whether Alec and his group would be joining the war efforts proved futile, as the Gordons wasn’t receiving visitors, the only concrete news was that the Gordons clan had officially agreed to participate in the upcoming Blood Moon War, forfeiting the one-month exemption they still had left.

To clans familiar with the Gordons’ strength, this decision came as a relief, as they believed the Gordons’ presence would make victory more achievable, however, others continued to downplay the clan’s abilities, pointing to the still-damaged outer region of their estate as evidence of their vulnerability.

Rumours spread that the Gordons clan had been attacked and left in shambles, leading some to question whether their strength was as formidable as claimed.

What these ignorant gossipers failed to realize was the true scale of the attack and the devastating retreat their enemies had been forced into to avoid complete annihilation.

But definitely such news would never be allowed to see the light of day by the city lord, as idolizing the Gordons clan further could disrupt the delicate balance of power in the city for him.

Instead, he ensured the real information was suppressed, replacing it with fabricated rumours to mislead the public.

For someone in his position, manipulating narratives was among the simplest tasks, yet, despite the swirling rumours and misinformation, the Gordons clan remained silent.

Their inner gates stayed firmly closed since the kids came back, and the entire clan continued its seclusion from the rest of the city.

This isolation brought the city lord some relief, knowing they wouldn’t defend their name or counter the rumours, allowing him to focus on repairing the city gates in preparation of what was to come.

This behaviour of the city lord mirrored the struggles of the royal family against the ancient clans, those in power often feared individuals or groups with real strength.

The potential of such entities rising to challenge or surpass them in power left those at the top wary, leading to strategies of suppression and restraint to maintain their control.

—

While rumours and speculations swirled about the Gordons clan, particularly the grandfather-grandson duo, the two were far removed from the city’s chatter.

Deep within a secluded forest in the core of the Gordons clan’s territory, Alec and his grandfather remained oblivious to the discussions.

Not that they would have cared.

Alec lay sprawled on the ground, panting heavily, his arms and legs spread wide as he trembled from exhaustion, his face was marred with black spots, and his bruised body bore clear evidence of consecutive beatings since his arrival the day before.

But despite his battered appearance, his eyes gleamed with satisfaction as a small, triumphant smile crept onto his lips.

[Intermediate Swordsmanship has reached Max Level (5)]

– To evolve your sword technique to the Advanced Stage, you must either:

1.

Slay twenty High-Rank lifeforms using your sword technique, or

2.

Accumulate fifty million experience points through sword usage.

– Choose an option: Option 1/Option 2.

He could hardly believe it.

Alec had anticipated his grandfather would punish him severely for his past misdeeds, and while the old man did deliver quite the thrashing, he had an entirely different form of discipline in mind.

It was less a punishment and more of a hellish training regime, where Alec sparred for over 24 hours against none other than the patriarch of the Gordons clan, an Advanced Earth Mage, an Advanced Katana expert, and a battle genius.

From the beginning, Alec struggled immensely, even though his grandfather restrained himself, yet, every clash of blades was a lesson.

With each loss, Alec could see and feel his swordsmanship improving at an astonishing rate due to the system’s help, and it only fuelled his determination to push harder.

He knew opportunities like this were rare, sparring against someone so formidable, someone who wouldn’t hold back yet wouldn’t aim to kill him.

Causing Alec to realize that the higher his opponent’s level, the faster his own skills grew, and he was determined to exploit this opportunity to its fullest.

“Alright, we need to return to the clan now, the Grand Elder, my brother will be growing restless and irritable by this point,” the patriarch finally said, seated cross-legged with his katana floating beside him.

Unlike Alec, who used manipulated gravity to achieve similar effects, the patriarch controlled his blade effortlessly with his Qi not having to waste a single mana.

This mastery stemmed from more than his advanced realm; he had reached the state of one with the sword, in this realm, every move he made could be likened to drawing a blade, a level of skill even Legion had achieved with his spear.

However, Legion lacked the same Qi control and wasn’t an Advanced Spearman, making him no unable to match the patriarch’s air sword.

“No, one more battle.

I’m close,” Alec insisted, steadying himself with his Changdao as his bone Katana, which had been crushed during their last exchange, began to reconstruct itself under the flow of his mana.

The patriarch gazed at Alec in surprise, unable to fully comprehend his grandson’s relentless drive, while Alec had improved remarkably, the patriarch worried that pushing himself in such a battered state would do more harm than good.

What the patriarch didn’t know, however, was Alec’s real goal, and that was to push his blade mastery to the peak of the intermediate stage also as it was close.

“Alright then, come.” The Patriarch said, his voice calm but firm.

Alec showed faint signs of exhaustion as he swayed slightly left and right, but he wasted no time, as In a split second, he burst forth with shocking speed, closing the gap between them in an instant.

Approaching from the left, Alec rotated his body mid stride and swung his bone katana with calculated precision.

However, the Patriarch moved with practiced ease, grabbing his own katana and shifting his right hand to deflect the strike.

But Alec was ready, with a deft feint, he swiftly switched to the right, his footwork fluid and precise, bringing his Changdao into the fray, as he aimed a slicing strike at his grandfather’s exposed side.

Just as Alec thought he would finally land a solid blow, a sharp clang echoed through the air, the Patriarch had extended his left index finger which was free, its tip reinforced with sword Qi, stopping Alec’s blade in its tracks.

“Never think I’d go easy on you just because you’re my grandson,” George said, his tone firm yet tinged with approval, with a slight push of his finger, he sent Alec stumbling back.

But he Used that momentum, Alec leapt into the air, lunging downward with both his Changdao and katana, their edges glowing with Qi energy, the Patriarch, unfazed, swung upward with his katana to meet the dual attack head-on.

The clash was explosive, sparks and streaks of elemental light erupting from the point of impact, as the three weapons ground against each other in a battle of force and skill.

As the sparks raged around them, grandfather and grandson exchanged smiles, a mutual acknowledgment of each other’s expertise.