The Golem Mage Chapter 1072: Unpredictable 1.

Bang!!

As Alec unleashed the shot, Ren twisted his head aside just in time, the projectile whizzing past by only a couple of inches. At the same moment, he exerted his power to hurl Alec away, his feet carving deep grooves into the earth as he skidded along.

“Alec!!!” Cheers for Alec exploded even more intensely, causing Ren to look over his shoulder with a sinking dread rising inside him. In that spot, he witnessed the bullet from Alec slamming directly into the forehead of one of his own teammates,

dropping him instantly with one hit. It hit Ren then that Alec's true mark was never him to begin with.

The shot was meant for the teammate from the start; Ren had simply blocked the path, but Alec fired anyway, fooling him into believing he was the main aim.

Obviously, Alec banked on Ren dodging the bullet by turning his head at the crucial instant, which he did. Ordinarily, Ren's natural combo strike would have severely wounded the mage if it didn't finish him off outright. Yet Alec had shaped the bullet's tip flat for impact damage rather than penetration.

He also reduced the force right before launch to prevent serious harm. While Ren mulled over the clever mechanics of Alec's maneuver, even amid their clash, it sent shivers down his spine.

He observed Alec weaving around almost in a dance, grinning as he evaded the barrage of spells flung at him by the remaining three on Ren's squad.

“Brilliant,” Ren whispered.

Clang!!

Over on the other flank, Lucas couldn't hold back his swear as he grasped that Alec had totally disregarded the Blade clan fighters, dumping them all on him.

Now, he faced both Aeron and Kealus head-on, and things weren't going smoothly at all. He was getting pummeled harder than ever, and as frustrating as it got, he couldn't pin down their combat approach.

Their lack of coordination was the issue; they attacked him like rivals vying for the fatal strike.

Honestly, the sole factor keeping him in the fight so far was their apparent bickering among themselves.

He'd parry a thrust from Kealus’s Aether blade, only to meet a slice from Aeron’s short swords. If he chose to block Aeron’s short swords, then Kealus’s Aether blade would slice him instead.

Knight, Brandon, and Arthur, however, appeared to be holding their own far superiorly in their individual fights. Even though Lucas always thought his clan ranked top in battle prowess, not just him but the entire audience was stunned watching the three Gordons clansmen trade blows evenly with the Blade clan warriors.

Truth be told, the Gordons even showed signs of overpowering, indicating their edge in the skirmishes.

Darius and Brandon exchanged cuts blow by blow, where Brandon not only excelled in Qi control but also unleashed Earth Lock spells to pin Darius down and make him absorb strikes whenever he attempted to pull back.

Knight faced off against Sora Blade, a pairing that stirred up part of the spectators. Each time Sora swung his Tonfa Blade weapon, a burst of compressed air rocketed out like a projectile,

potent enough to spark minor air burns, while his cuts enveloped his Qi-coated weapon in wind, fanning out as if casting a Wind Blade spell.

Yet all of this failed to touch Knight, who evaded every peril with ease; using his Shadow Jump and Shadow Travel spells, he could teleport between positions via Sora’s own shadow.

And upon appearing each time, his priority was striking lethal spots on Sora’s form. His assault style suggested indifference to the extent of harm, stemming from his faith that the tournament's medical crew would mend any grave wounds to a decent level.

Lastly, Talon Blade and Arthur Gordons clashed with raging fists. One's blows trailed scorching fiery blasts, the other's rang with resonant metal impacts as they bounded across the limited space, but Arthur held the advantage by fusing with his Golem for fire resistance while the mage struggled against his punches boosted by keen Metal Elemental qi.

From the side of his vision, Alec quickly checked on them, and after verifying they were managing fine, he turned his full attention back to his fight.

“Alec, you bastard! I only said I wanted to face one, why are you not summoning support?” Lucas yelled at his leader, since he sensed plainly that if things dragged on, he'd be the first eliminated.

But Alec ignored the outburst. Instead, he surged ahead at Hoshino Ren, now encased in crimson Qi armor mimicking ancient Japanese warlords.

[> Mid Tier Spell - Reverse Gravity. <]

Alec invoked the spell while tilting his head up, then shifted his right hand across to his left, unsheathing his Bone Katana, now gripping dual blades.

During this, the onlookers saw Ren, still several meters distant, suddenly wobble off balance. He was flung skyward, his form spinning in the ascent.

Before he could gather his Qi to break the violet gravity aura enveloping him and propelling him headfirst into the heavens, Alec had already reached the last three from Shinsei Academy.

Spotting his bold rush toward them, Kurogane Oni, Shinsei Academy's vice captain, chose to intercept by charging to clash with him.

He had called forth his Black Iron Spirit shield, etched with a demonic visage, hoisting it ahead as he barreled forward in a shield bash attempt on Alec.

But prior to closing the gap, flames erupted under Alec’s feet, launching him aloft via the blaze. As he neared, he drove his right foot down like aiming for Kurogane’s skull.

This forced the vice captain to lift his shield high for defense.

However, Alec then bounced off the shield to gain even more momentum, rocketing away faster than before, his boots blazing red while his blades gleamed with dark fire.