The Golem Mage Chapter 1065: He Is Back 1.

The confrontation between Ember Citadel and Shinsei Academy erupted without delay, turning this bout into a fierce rivalry between supporters of the Southern Kingdom mages and those backing the Eastern Kingdom mages up in the stands.

Regarding the remaining three kingdoms, their observers largely stayed impartial viewers; they saw no reason to shout cheers for either competitor, particularly with no Northern Kingdom academy in the mix, which failed to stir up the same thrill and kept them from rousing the northern enthusiasts they enjoyed provoking so much.

Nevertheless, plenty of folks still wagered bets and voiced their predictions on the likely victor.

To the majority, it seemed like a straightforward triumph for the Eastern academy—largely thanks to Hoshino Ren, captain of Shinsei.

Numerous people clung to the prejudiced notion that nobody on the Ember Citadel squad could rival or halt him, thanks to his Tier-7 spirit, while conveniently overlooking that this was a group fight, not a one-on-one showdown.

Ember Citadel, on the other hand, received low regard, chiefly due to their Southern Kingdom origins, a key factor that disadvantaged them heavily; plus, all other southern academies had been knocked out already, making Ember Citadel the sole survivor for the Southern Kingdom.

Compounding this was the persistent bias toward their deeper skin tones and traditions, with many presuming the judges themselves would avoid advancing what they unjustly deemed “barbaric” or “local” mages any deeper.

_ _

Yet after just ten minutes of combat, the whole stadium hushed in disbelief, as nobody could fully grasp the scene unfolding before them.

Shinsei Academy lay utterly vanquished, and Babatunde towered above Ren, sprawled unconscious on the combat platform; to the onlookers, the sight remained utterly surreal.

Bare-chested, Babatunde revealed intricate totem-style tattoos covering his frame, mimicking an innate suit of armor, while his fiery bracers blazed fiercely, with subtle vapors ascending from his form as though his might continued to emanate strongly.

He gazed upon Ren’s limp figure with a cunning grin, serene and collected amid the astonishment his success provoked.

#Ten minutes ago.

As soon as the judge signaled the match's commencement, Babatunde's initial action was to swing his massive sword at Ren positioned up front, the blade infused with such tremendous might that it generated a thunderous shockwave slicing through the atmosphere toward Ren across the field.

That one swing effectively prevented Ren from calling forth Akagami, since the weapon descended upon him relentlessly.

Shun, one of his comrades, swiftly intervened to shield him, positioning himself in front as Ren hastily withdrew from the approaching blow.

Shun lifted his arms upward. In contrast to Ren, he had started channeling his beast essence right at the match's onset, allowing him to respond promptly when he sensed his leader's peril.

Dark fumes enveloped him, manifesting a shadowy spirit barrier ahead, its face carved with the visage of a vivid Oni; upon spotting the shield, various spectator mages swiftly linked it to the hazy demonic form they had caught in the billowing dark mist.

Bang!

The blade connected at last. Shun's limbs instantly went numb, and he inwardly swore at the colossal strength driving the assault, pondering how any mage could possess such extraordinary physical prowess to deliver that degree of force.

Yet as he dwelled on such musings, the sword bounced back and returned to Babatunde's grasp, who was already charging ahead; Babatunde seized it effortlessly, twisted around once, and launched it anew.

On this occasion, the toss packed even more power, affording Shun scarcely a moment to comprehend before the edge hurtled closer, while the Ember Citadel participants consisted of Kwame, Olumide, Obi, and finally Asha.

Kwame, Obi, and Olumide surged forward right after Babatunde, whereas Asha held the rear position, swiftly weaving hand gestures that conjured blazing runes and symbols encircling her.

Before long, fiery familiars resembling wild creatures took shape, totaling three, though the final one to emerge proved most striking—a lion crafted wholly from flames.

In that instant, Babatunde’s enormous sword hammered down once more, and Shun, far less ready to endure the crushing impact this round, soared through the sky.

His form collided with Ren, positioned several paces back and attempting anew to invoke Akagami; witnessing Ren’s effort broken for the second straight time, Babatunde erupted in hearty laughter as he and his allies promptly shifted positions.

Clearing a path for the fiery lion spirit freshly summoned, which bellowed toward Shun and Ren’s location, unleashing scorching circles of flame that surged at them.

Now, yet another Shinsei mage interposed to intercept the onslaught—Seishō Suijin.

He pressed his palms as one, conjuring roughly five spirit shields in his path, all oriented toward the approaching blaze.

Three shields fragmented right upon touching the roar, yet the fourth endured steadfastly.

Suijin had nearly exhaled a breath of ease when fissures abruptly raced over the pale-green shield.

On this go, a different fire spirit inflicted the harm; a gigantic woodpecker forged from flames had zipped in with astonishing velocity that Suijin missed until it loomed nearby, pecking relentlessly at the weakened barrier.

Although the jabs came fast and unyielding, it required under a second for the leftover shields to crumble entirely; by then, every observer could plainly discern Ember Citadel’s tactic.

They recognized Hoshino Ren as their primary barrier to success, so prior to his evocation of Akagami, they aimed to remove him at once.

Under usual circumstances, bringing a spirit forth wouldn’t demand so long, yet Akagami’s domain faced suppression due to his bearer.

With Ren not yet entering the high-rank stage, summoning Akagami—a High Rank Spirit—proved much more challenging.

The invocation spanned dozens of seconds, roughly 40 to 45, and any disruption forced a restart from scratch; had he reached high ranks, this wouldn’t apply.

However, stuck in mid ranks, he suffered those constraints, and Babatunde had astutely observed this vital weakness.

This drove him to assault Hoshino Ren full-force to incapacitate him before any opportunity to call his contracted spirit arose; though Babatunde trusted his ability to prevail anyway, he refused to invite avoidable strain when early removal lay within reach.

_ _

In the meantime, in another part of Estonia City, the space axis got fully mended and resumed function with a humming whirl.

“Hurry and dispatch someone to the clan house to notify the young master that the teleportation axis is operational once more,” a mage directed his subordinates.

Without delay, they bolted from the city hall at top pace, keen to relay the update to Alec, who awaited word that the repair was complete.