The Golem Mage Chapter 1111: Ways Of The Sword 3.

Although the Kage of Silent Night appeared vexed by the situation, another individual was equally fixated on the War God representatives: the Dean of the Bloodline Academy.

The previous day, following his team's defeat by the War God mage squad, he had suspected Alec might be employing a vampire bloodline. While not entirely certain then, the mere thought of navigating the War God representatives to speak with Alec personally induced a headache, prompting him to abandon the idea.

He had chosen to let it pass. Even if his suspicions proved true and Alec possessed a vampire bloodline, the War God Mage Academy wouldn't simply relinquish their most prized disciple, the very one who had garnered widespread attention, both positive and negative, from nearly every young mage in the Northern Kingdom.

But witnessing Alec Gordon now exhibit werewolf abilities ignited a strong suspicion that Alec might actually be a hybrid bloodline mage. At this juncture, he cared little for the opinions of the War God Mage Academy's leadership.

He resolved that as soon as the match concluded, irrespective of the outcome, he would approach Alec for a personal conversation without fail.

His intense, darkened gaze towards the two War God representatives stemmed from genuine frustration. They had harbored a hybrid bloodline mage within their academy, one that had no affiliation with Bloodline, and he felt they had concealed him.

Instead of directing him to the Bloodline Academy, which he believed possessed the appropriate resources and expertise for Alec's development, they had kept him for themselves.

From his perspective, it appeared they acted solely out of a desire to retain such an exceptionally talented student.

He mulled over these thoughts, entirely oblivious that even Old Man Alderic and the Dean present could only maintain their composed expressions because they had preemptively practiced for such scenarios.

This preparation was necessitated by Alec consistently revealing an abundance of surprises, whether in terms of moves or abilities. Through this practice, they had managed to preserve their composure to avoid public embarrassment.

Their stoicism was far from natural, especially after being subjected to so many unexpected revelations, forcing them to devise countermeasures.

_ _

As Takeda closed in on Alec, he unleashed his mana, intending to create a minor tremor to disrupt Alec's balance and alter his attack trajectory.

However, Alec remained composed as the ground beneath him held firm and unyielding, while he propelled his hand forward.

In the crucial instant before the strike could land, Takeda swiftly raised his left leg, directing the claw to embed itself there instead.

A groan of pain escaped him, yet he deemed the sacrifice worthwhile, as he simultaneously broke free from the shadowy grasp.

His fingers moved with lightning speed, forming a series of shinobi hand seals before thrusting both hands toward Alec.

The moment Alec recognized the signs, he retreated several steps, having no intention of falling into a trap.

While withdrawing, he conjured a blood scythe with remarkable swiftness.

He unleashed a swing with the blood scythe, now imbued with fiery energy, shattering the seal mid-air.

But before he could raise the weapon again and assume a defensive stance, a chilling chain ensnared it.

Concurrently, a highly compressed water projectile shot towards him. Alec attempted to deflect it with an earth shield, but as the water bullet neared, he detected a subtle dark hue within it.

Upon impact with his hastily erected earth shield, the barrier disintegrated, and his blood scythe was violently ripped from his grip. Alec deliberately withdrew the mana sustaining the weapon, causing the blood energy to disperse harmlessly, as he refused to let his own weapon be turned against him.

Alec’s slightly bulkier form was propelled backward by the water's force, even though he managed to raise both arms to brace himself. Nevertheless, he maintained his composure.

To the onlookers, it was evident that he had sustained no significant injuries, as the water bullet's impact had already been attenuated by the earth shield.

A few superficial scratches marked his hands, but crucially, he was already regenerating.

By the time he lowered his arms, Takeda stood directly before him.

Takeda immediately launched a jab with his left hand, the one equipped with the claw mechanism.

As the attack approached, Alec's immediate thought was that Takeda was finally losing patience.

Alec wasn't sure about Takeda's peculiar behavior, but he was fully committed to prolonging their confrontation as much as possible.

Instead of backing away, Alec closed the distance. With his right palm, he deflected Takeda's incoming strike, simultaneously launching an upward palm thrust towards Takeda's face with his left hand.

Takeda reacted with lightning speed, bringing his right hand up to parry his own deflected attack. However, the instant his hand moved, a concentrated gravity cutter coiled around it like an unseen, grinding tool.

A cry of pain escaped Takeda as he immediately attempted to headbutt Alec.

Yet, Alec merely tilted his body back slightly before sweeping his own claws in a horizontal arc.

This time, the blow landed true, gouging deeply into the side of Takeda's neck.

Takeda began to gag, but he still resolutely refused to disengage. He unleashed a palm strike, which Alec deflected by raising his free hand into a high guard.

Although Takeda failed to inflict significant damage on Alec, he managed to force him back a step, re-establishing a measure of separation between them.

Quickly, Takeda placed his free hand, now ablaze with flames, over his wounded neck to staunch the flow of blood, while retrieving his katana with his left.

The sword, not having traveled far, soared through the air and returned to his grip.

Witnessing Takeda tending to his injuries only intensified Alec's resolve. He lunged forward, aiming to conclude the fight swiftly.

A flurry of blows were exchanged in rapid succession, Takeda unleashing sword swings as Alec nimbly evaded each one.

Alec would then counter with raking claw strikes, which Takeda managed to block. But as the fierce exchange wore on, Alec discerned a crucial detail: Takeda's movements were becoming sluggish.

Another clash between Alec's claws and Takeda's blade sent them separating once more.

This time, Alec drew the bone katana sheathed at his side.

Throughout their earlier engagement, he had observed with keen attention, and now he had grasped the key. Despite Takeda's formidable power, Alec felt a surge of confidence that his superior swordsmanship could secure victory.

He could perceive numerous openings in Takeda's attack patterns, especially with his energy eyes activated. It felt as though these eyes were pre-cognitively mapping Takeda's intended strikes the moment his sword began to move, deciphering the flow of mana before the attack even manifested.

“Ahhh!”

Takeda bellowed, swinging his sword forth, but Alec, holding his bone katana in an inverted grip with his right hand, guided Takeda's blade to slide harmlessly off his own.

Concurrently, Alec was already low-crawling across the ground. Just as he fully slipped past Takeda, he executed a sharp, decisive U-turn, and plunged a small dagger held in his left hand deep into Takeda’s right thigh.