The Golem Mage

“Am I the only one seeing this, or can the rest of you see this stone wall too?” one of the High Orc Generals with a massive greatsword strapped to his back said aloud as they rode forward.

“You’re not the only one, my only question is how in the hell did they manage to come up with a plan to build such a wall, execute it so quickly, and all without our scouts knowing about it or reporting back.”

“Though it might not look as sturdy as ours, but this is still going to make invading much harder, as scaling the walls could prove disadvantageous for us, especially since we didn’t come with any siege type weapons,” the only female High Orc General among them said.

However, the third one only laughed loudly without any restraint.

“Spare us the lecture. Grand Marshal Orga isn’t here to listen to your gibberish. We’re going to charge straight at them, breach their gates, kill their king, and take everything for ourselves.

“Even if they set up gates, I don’t believe everyone in that city suddenly became superheroes overnight, they’re still the same weak humans who haven’t even managed to produce a single mid-rank mage in years, all because they’ve never had a lord willing to stay and develop the land properly, so believe it or not, this is going to be an easy victory.”

After throwing that jab at the female High Orc General, the third general thrust his hand forward and shouted for them to advance, and the Orc units behind him immediately seemed invigorated, their momentum rising as they charged on with even greater ferocity.

_ _

A few seconds later, after Brandon read Alec’s message claiming he would be sending help, he suddenly felt something heavy drop just outside his castle.

The loud thud made him close his eyes and spread out his senses, using both his earth element and mental power he tried to figure out what it was, since he was still unable to stand from where he sat.

Just outside the castle, at a certain angle, something that looked exactly like a Space Axis, but one that was clearly far more advanced, appeared.

And the moment it finished forming, a portal activated within it, as the portal began to swirl, Butcher stepped out first, his massive thunder battle axe on his hand. Oni came out right behind him, with Hunter not far behind.

The moment they emerged, all three of them turned toward the city gate.

“They’re here. I’m heading to the front gate first to act as the vanguard, the two of you can decide which one will go inside to inform Master’s brother that we’ve arrived and will be helping him defend this city until everything is settled,” Butcher said in a rush.

Before either of them could answer, he pressed power into his legs and transformed into a bolt of lightning, shooting through the air toward the gate.

Both Oni and Hunter looked irritated, because neither of them wanted to play babysitter, though Butcher had made it sound like only one of them needed to go in and speak with Brandon, however the mission Alec had given them was simple, they were to decide who would remain behind and protect Brandon while the synchronization process continued.

Even the main golems that had stayed with Alec were sending their strongest captain-rank golems to the other six regions to keep watch over the lords there.

The reason Alec had insisted on leaving one of his main golems behind to guard Brandon was because he suspected that if the Orcs realized things weren’t going their way, they might charge straight for the City Heart in an attempt to damage the token connected to it, which in a normal case would cause the lord to lose his title and all the access to the network being a city lord gives.

Though in Brandon’s case that could no longer happen fully, since he was now a sub-lord, though his city heart could still be temporarily seized however it can’t fall under completely control due to restrictions, in order to do that, they would now have to target the main City Heart instead, which just happened to be Alec’s own.

Even so, Alec wasn’t willing to gamble on the chance that they wouldn’t still try to storm the throne room and, out of frustration, harm Brandon.

That was why he had left behind a Tier 7 golem mage.

“I’ll go ahead. You know my units aren’t suited for defense—they’re better at sweeping through the field,” Oni said before rising into the air like some sinister specter and running away too.

“The fu—” Hunter cursed as Oni shamelessly left him behind as well, he couldn’t help wondering what summoned units had to do with protecting someone in the first place.

Still, since it seems he had drawn the short straw in this round and been left on protection duty, he decided to take the task seriously.

He swung his hand outward, sending a magic circle into the air. From it, smaller circles connected, expanded and spread outward, and soon ten grim-looking iron golems emerged from them, each resembling a fully armored iron knight.

“Spread out and take your positions. Anyone who approaches with suspicious intentions, restrain them. If they resist, kill them. I’ll be heading inside,” Hunter ordered his minion golems before making his way toward the throne room with his towering frame.

_ _

Butcher was the first to reach the city gate, as soon as he arrived, his lightning-travel form broke apart and condensed back into his true body.

When the inhabitants saw him coming from the direction of the city lord’s castle, they immediately began to celebrate, believing it was their ruling lord sending out a defender for them.

A few seconds later, Oni appeared beside Butcher, who turned to look at him.

“Why did I have the feeling you weren’t any better than me?” Butcher asked, a smile spreading across his face.

“Let’s just get rid of these intruders and return to our master’s side,” Oni replied, showing little to no emotion beneath his mask, and just like that, the two of them flew out from the city gates and toward the approaching Orc army, intending to stop them before they ever reached the walls.

“Halt!!!”

The booming voice of the High Orc General wielding the greatsword rang out as the Orcs behind him came to a stop, all staring at the two figures who had appeared before them.

“Who is the master of you weak magical constructs to dare block the path of the Orc lord’s army?” the leading High Orc, the one who had called for the halt, demanded.

The moment those words left his mouth, both golems were already fuming.

“Who the hell does your lord think he is, claiming dominion over lands that will soon belong to my master?” Butcher shot back.

“You see, my second here likes talking too much, so I’ll make it simple for you all,” Oni said as he drew out his massive dark scythe.

“How exactly do you all wish to die for trespassing?”

At the same time, Butcher rested his axe on his shoulder, as they both stared at the Orcs before them with open disdain.