The Golem Mage

Alec had yet to confront the Ghouls, but he had already killed 40 to 50 of them by throwing boulders.

Just as he was about to unleash his third salvo, he noticed the two Tier 4 Ghouls rushing towards him with increased ferocity in their eyes, determined to stop him from killing any more of the remaining Ghouls without any chance of retaliation.

So alec attempted to stand on top of his horse, waiting for the Ghouls to lunge at him, then, he leaped off the horse towards them, weapons drawn.

Knowing that he would be at a disadvantage fighting on horseback against two Tier 4 Ghouls, Alec decided to confront them on the ground where he was more comfortable.

With a clang, the sound of his weapons blocking the Ghouls' clawed attacks echoed as Alec landed on the ground and the Ghouls fell beside him.

Even though Alec had a student army approaching, the Tier 4 Ghouls ignored them, just as he had predicted.

He understood that the top Tier undead were focused on going after those the Lich deemed dangerous.

At the forefront of the student army, Alec's golems clashed with the Ghouls army, resulting in a massacre.

The Ghouls were unable to keep the golems in check, and the golems including Titan, Legion, Butcher, Oni, Sword Saint, and Magnito, painted the ground with fresh Ghoul blood.

The golems appeared even more bloodthirsty than the humans, lacking any emotions at the moment. While Titan and Oni summons contributed greatly to the kills as they have all reached the Tier 2 realm.

The golems proved to be untamed, efficient, and an ideal counter against the undead, as they remained unaffected by the Ghouls' necrotic aura.

Spearheading the attacks, the golems filled the rest of the student army with heightened morale, causing them to launch their assaults with reckless abandon, taking the Ghouls off guard,

Meanwhile a space was cleared for Alec and the two Tier 4 Ghouls to engage in their battle, as the Ghouls encircled Alec from both sides, creating a tense atmosphere.

Alec's body was swiftly enveloped in the protective red Salamander spirit equipment, even as he had clashed against both Tier 4 Ghouls he was able to survive due to his well-balanced physical attributes.

However, Alec recognized that if he truly desired to overcome these intelligent and savage undead predators, he would need to unleash his full strength and hold nothing back, despite the Ghouls' just being low Tier 4 lifeforms.

Yet it still didn't change the fact that the Ghouls' were Mid Rank life forms and that made them ten times more treacherous and stronger than the ordinary Tier 3 Ghouls that Alec could effortlessly dispatch with a few swings of his weapon.

Alec assumed a formidable stance, his canine teeth protruding, while his hair transformed with streaks of red and brown replacing the black, as the black colour was relegated to the tips of his hair.

As the first Tier 4 Ghoul closed in on Alec, he prepared to strike, but the Ghoul, movement have been nothing but a feint, as it attempted to drive its claws deep into Alec's sides.

Yet, a small pillar of Earth rose to block the claw, shattering a moment later, although it provided Alec with a brief respite, as it allowed him enough time to shift his Changdao into a reverse grip, effectively defending against the attack as the second Ghoul approached him from behind.

As its jaw expanded beyond its natural size, it attempted to chomp down on Alec, who was still entangled with the first ghoul.

"Damn it!"

[> Low Tier Spell – Gravity Surge <]

In that moment, Alec didn't care about the consequences as he unleashed his gravity powers, and a forceful gravity field, spanning 16 meters around him, erupted with him at its epicentre.

Even the ghoul that sought to gnaw on his flesh was repelled by the intense pressure, only managing to halt its backward flight after it had passed the 16-meter radius from Alec.

Meanwhile, the other ghouls that had entangled Alec were now pinned to the ground, rendered vulnerable and easy targets for Alec to dispatch.

But before Alec could drive his blade into the skull of the grounded ghoul, he spotted massive dark claws streaking towards him courtesy of the escaped Ghoul attacking to save it's second.

Dodging swiftly, allowed the deactivation of the gravity surge, which freed the immobilized ghoul.

"I thought this was going to be tougher, but you disappoint me, warm-up's over; come and get your brains diced," Alec taunted.

The ghouls, seemingly understanding his words, displayed a kind of fury on their faces as they charged once more, leaving blurs in their wake, Alec also dashed forward, creating blurs of his own.

[> Low Tier Skill – Iaido <]

As Alec initiated this skill, his movements became slightly slower than the ghouls', and he was now visible to naked yes, with what appeared to be an afterimage trailing behind him.

Executing precise footwork and holding his bone katana in a reverse grip, Alec slashed at the chest of the first ghoul, exploiting an opening, before thrusting the Blood Changdao into its heart region.

All of this unfolded in less than a second, although the ghouls had perceived Alec's speed to be slower than theirs and believed they could finally overpower him, they paid dearly for their miscalculation, as even though he seems slow they couldn't keep up with his attack or defend against it.

Alec executed another maneuver, evading the second ghoul's attack by using the first ghoul's body as a shield.

The first ghoul collapsed to its knees in agony with the Changdao still plunged in its heart, as Alec sheathed his bone katana after removing blood from it using the scabbard in a swift motion and as he turned to face the second ghoul,

He was clawed at his left cheek, when the second ghoul lunged again with its second hand, Alec sidestepped, allowing the attack to narrowly miss him while he grasped the ghoul's head with both his hands.

Pulling the ghoul toward him, Alec delivered a head butt followed by a knee to its face, the crunch of its nose breaking echoing through the air.

As the ghoul staggered backward, Alec, without hesitation, drew the Blood Changdao from the first Ghouls chest with one hand.

The blade ignited with a flaming aura , its lethal intent palpable, as Alec brought it down in a sweeping arc, severing the left leg of the ghoul.

The creature's cries of pain filled the air as it collapsed onto its remaining leg.

Before anyone could process the events, Alec had already positioned both his Changdao and his Katana at the kneeling ghoul's neck, crossed over each other.

With an upward slice, he decapitated the ghoul, ending its life.

Alec drove both blades into the Tier 4 ghoul and looked down at his hands, feeling his blood thirst for more combat.

The battle skills he had demonstrated were all a testament to his improved blade and swordsmanship.

The movements felt instinctive, as if they were a part of him all along, He smirked, noticing a persistent notification alert that he couldn't dismiss.

As the realization hit him: that he had slain two mid-rank lifeforms, and he needed only eight more to enhance his blade and sword techniques.

Driven by a desire to discover the extent of his abilities, Alec yearned to vanquish every Tier 4 lifeform in the fray.

As he retrieved his weapons from the now pallid corpse that slumped to the ground, drained of both blood and bone by his lethal weapons.