The Golem Mage

While Titan’s evolution was still ongoing, it was Legion and his squad of cybernetic golems who were now responsible for his protection.

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Though Hunter, Butcher, and Saint were the ones Alec had initially placed in charge of ensuring that Titan was safely moved into the Ice Region which would allow him to complete his evolution.

However, unlike the Unique Region whose entrance was usually empty, the same could not be said for the Ice Region.

The moment they arrived, they encountered a group of low-rank Ice Yetis, the creatures immediately locked their gazes onto the massive evolution light enveloping Titan and attacked without hesitation.

To them, Titan was nothing but a walking treasure, as they felt if they could devour him, not only would their bloodlines be purified, but they might even be able to achieve a minor breakthrough in their current realm if not two minor breakthroughs.

There were five Ice Yetis present, and in that instant, all of them became silent competitors, as each one of them wanted that chance for evolution, each one wanted to be the one who consumed Titan.

Before this, they had lived together as a loose family and hunting group, none of them truly commanded the others; they simply survived and hunted together.

But now, faced with something that could push them to a higher realm, their cooperation started to flicker, what now remained was raw greed and ambition.

Against the five Yetis, Hunter, Butcher, and Saint sent their summoned units forward to delay them. In truth, it was nothing more than a desperate attempt to buy time.

Butcher was left behind, using his mental power to drag the levitating Titan deeper into the protective barrier which was slow because he no longer had the support of the other two.

On the other hand Hunter and Saint moved in coordinated silence, preparing to assassinate one of the Yetis, though it took time, but after nearly two minutes of calculated strikes and evasive maneuvers, they finally succeeded in killing one.

However, when they turned to check on their summons, their expressions darkened.

Every single one of them had been destroyed.

It had all happened far too quickly, they had clearly instructed their summons not to engage the Yetis’ directly, but only to harass and distract the Yetis, to buy a little time.

Yet against creatures in the Tier 7 threshold, even that had proven to be an impossible task.

Clearly, they had been hoping the Yetis would be the type whose aggression they could draw with such tactics, but that expectation failed completely.

Instead, the summoned golems were smashed apart like worthless scraps of metal.

Seeing the four remaining Yetis filled both Saint and Hunter with a deep sense of dread, it was not fear of death that unsettled them, but the fear of failure.

They did not want to fail in protecting Butcher, they knew that if Butcher could successfully step into the Tier 7 realm, then it would mean their own evolution would not be far behind.

As they felt having a Tier 7 golem among them would make things a lot easier, they knew for a fact that if they had a Tier 7 Golem right now then defending Titan would have been far easier than this desperate struggle they were going through.

That was why, without hesitation, they threw themselves directly in front of the four Yetis.

It was a cruel setup: four Low Tier 7 Ice Yetis against two peak Tier 6 golems, the difference in power was overwhelming, and they knew it better than anyone. Still, neither of them retreated.

With sheer stubbornness and unyielding resolve, they managed to hold on for five full minutes before being violently flung aside, their bodies broken, their cores unstable, and their movements sluggish.

They were exhausted to the point where continuing the fight felt impossible.

Yet even then, they were prepared to rise again and die alongside the Yetis if it meant buying Butcher and Titan the time they needed, by that moment, Butcher had already succeeded in dragging the evolution light housing Titan beyond the protective barrier.

The instant Titan was pushed inside, a massive whirlpool formed above the evolution light, drawing all the ice mana in the surrounding environment toward it.

At this stage, Butcher no longer needed to support Titan with his own mental energy in order to move the evolution light surrounding him, as the Ice Region itself had begun to nourish the evolution and keep him floating in the air.

Frost slowly crept across Titan’s form, as layer by layer of ice particles merged and solidified, turning him into what looked like a colossal floating ice sculpture, yet instead of sinking, the sculpture rose higher, continuously absorbing the surrounding mana.

The sight triggered a chain reaction in the battlefield.

It was as though Titan himself had become the center of the Ice Region’s will, a beacon that even the Yetis could no longer ignore.

And just like that, Hunter and Saint dragged their tired, almost crumbling bodies back to their feet and moved to support Butcher, who had already summoned his two-handed Lightning Axe, hoping to stop the Yetis’ advance.

But the leading Yeti leapt into the air, and the moment it landed, a terrifying shockwave burst outward, rippling through the battlefield with it at the center.

Every golem was sent flying—except Butcher, he was still full of energy which allowed him the chance to plant his feet firmly into the ground on time, while spinning his axe with both hands as he was also using his wind control, using it to restrain the force of the shockwave from pushing him back.

The wind howled around him, and when the shockwave finally cleared, a cloak of compressed air had wrapped itself around his body, all the wind he had blocked had been bent, tamed, and bound to him.

The Yetis’ attention shifted immediately, the fact that he had survived made him their primary target, to them, he had become the obstacle that must be removed before they could fight over the massive sphere of ice mana floating in the air.

“Butcher… I’m sorry I couldn’t support you any further,” Saint said weakly.

“Me too,” Hunter added, his voice strained.

It sounded like a farewell, as if they were offering their last words before the end, then they heard it.

A sharp swoosh tore through the air.

Every head turned upward, including the Yetis’.

What they saw made their eyes widen.

Ten Captain-ranked Cybernetic Golems descended from the sky, all in the Peak Tier 5 realm, the one in front bore a Number 1 colored emblem across his body in a stylish pattern, immediately he dragged the Nade Launcher weapon (massive grenade launcher) across his back.

Two others flanked him, while the remaining seven spread out into a combat formation.

And before anyone could react—

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Explosive grenades rained down on the four Yetis.

But they didn’t stop at that as they continued, until they had all emptied their launchers in rapid succession, firing all eight grenades in their magazines without hesitation.

The battlefield erupted into thunderous detonations as fire, smoke, and shockwaves swallowed the area.

The Yetis were forced backward, their massive bodies rocked and staggered by the relentless bombardment.

When the explosions finally settled, the Captain-ranked golem at the front turned toward Butcher and smiled.

“My master told me to apologize for not arriving sooner. We’ll hold the line until he comes,” Number One said.

Even as he spoke, he and the two golems beside him were already reloading their grenade launchers, their movements swift and professional.