The Golem Mage

The hyenas redirected their attention toward Alec, holding him accountable for the attack against the Matriarch Hyena.

However, they were unable to prevent the release of Alec's second flaming bullet that was already flying towards the egg.

And despite their dislike for him, they simply couldn't reach him at that moment.

Alec had cleverly turned the Matriarch Hyena's own tactic against her pack.

As the entire group surrounded and defended him against the horde of Hyenas as he shot at the mana egg, while the hyenas were determined to tear him apart and halt his interference in their leader's evolution.

However, even as Alec's second bullet struck where the Matriarch Hyena's eyes had been, it was unable to pierce through a protective membrane shielding her.

From a distance, the Matriarch Hyena's eye stared at Alec, filled with immense disdain.

Slowly, she closed her eyes, and the surrounding wind and psychic elements in the air rush toward the damaged part of the egg.

As It was rapidly mended, frustrating Alec as the tiny opening he had struggled to create closed right before his eyes, and when he tried shooting it again the bullet bounced off as the egg seems to have gotten sturdier.

"Let's retreat!, If she breaks through, we'll be the first ones she comes after!"

Alec promptly suggested, prompting the group to pull back, However, before they could even move, two different waves of attack were unleashed upon them.

The Orc chief launched a Qi attack, exuding a powerful force that threatened to tear everything apart.

Simultaneously, the Root sent both hands into the ground, burrowing beneath the soil, As they grew larger and approached the group's location, they burst out in the form of massive wooden spikes, aiming to pierce anyone in their path.

Fortunately, the combined efforts of Agnes, supported by the Gordon twins and Lear who possessed earth elemental abilities, culminated in the creation of a colossal earth wall that covered the group.

This formidable barrier successfully halted the Orc chief's furious Qi assault before collapsing under the strain.

As for the roots, the spider babies self-destructed themselves, causing an explosion that kept the Roots spike at bay and protected the group.

The Hive Queen's rage heightened as she thrust one of her bladed legs forward, piercing the core of a plant warrior standing beside the Root.

With a swift movement, she retracted her leg, with the web attached to it.

Although one of his warriors had just been killed, the Root had no time to be concerned about a mere golem beside Alec.

His sole objective was to uncover Alec's secrets, believing that capturing him would provide access to those secrets and render his plant army unnecessary.

He had plans to create his own army of golems that would be completely loyal to him.

However, there was an obstacle in his path once again.

That obstacle was none other than the Orc chief, The two Tier 4 creatures, one from the Orc race and the other from the plant lifeform race, locked eyes with each other.

"That mage belongs to me now, I will kill him and use his blood to wash away the shame and humiliation he has brought upon my clan,"

Declared the Orc chief, hoping to reach some kind of agreement with the Root.

Although the Root had previously displayed its ruthless side by seizing a portion of the mine, but he was not overly concerned due to the fact that It knew the Root would ultimately have to return to the Divine Tree region, or else it would lose its status.

While the Orc Chief could let go of everything the Root had done in recent days, it was adamant about being responsible for Alec's death.

"It seems your senses are clouded, Last I recall, we had an agreement that he would be mine. You can kill whomever you want, but that mage belongs to me,"

The Root retorted, pointing towards Alec who stood there helplessly with his group, not sure how to retreat again.

Behind Alec were the hyenas, paralyzed by fear, unable to make a move due to the presence of the two Tier 4 overlords.

In front of Alec, blocking both his left and right escape routes, were the Orc chief and his wolf-riding Orc squad, as well as the Root and his small squad of tree vine demons.

"Since you're all still arguing, can I leave first?" Alec asked, his voice slow and exasperated.

"Shut up! Let us speak!" both the Orc chief and the Root snapped almost simultaneously making Alec raised both hands in surrender, understanding that his question had been met with resistance.

"I'll just wait here until you settle your dispute," Alec said, before turning towards Arthur and Agnes.

"What are you guys waiting for?, They obviously want me, Start harvesting power crystals from the hyena bodies."

"Don't tell me you want to leave behind free loot again this time, Last time we had to flee, but this time let's get them before we're chased," Alec added, his hands still raised in the air as if ready to surrender.

Pale + Kate + Lear = "¬"

Pale, Kate, and Lear exchanged amused glances, wondering if they were truly the ones in danger, blocked by two Tier 4 powerhouses and another demonic beast about to enter the same realm.

But when Alec noticed they were just staring at him instead of carving out the power crystals from the hyenas' chests, he became furious and shouted at them.

"What is this group doing?, Get moving and start carving, or you can forget about getting any of the loot we gather!" Alec warned, with a stern gaze

With a determined look, they all quickly joined the Gordons clan mages, who were already far ahead in the task.

They couldn't help but wonder how the Gordons mages managed to remain so calm and collected.

The comical sight of Arthur dragging his sack around for them to drop the carved power crystals into didn't even bring a smile to their faces this time.

The hyenas glared at them with anger-filled eyes, but Arthur simply waved his butt at them dismissively and continued on to collect the next set of power crystals.

The three remaining mages from Pale's group were solely focused on carving out the power crystal, as they couldn't even begin to fathom if they would make it out of their predicament alive.