The Golem Mage Chapter 1129: First Invasion 2.

Brandon remained on his throne, a cascade of system notifications alerting him to alien energies encroaching upon his domain, cautioning him against potential hostilities.

Yet, when he attempted to rise, his body remained inexplicably immobile. In the ensuing moment, he accessed the Lord Chat, bypassing the general regional and kingdom-wide channels to directly enter the private chat designated for lords under Alec's command.

Having been placed under Alec's jurisdiction, he and the other lords were now part of an exclusive group for seamless communication.

[Brandon:] I suspect the orcs the elder warned us about are initiating their advance. My systems just detected incoming foreign energies, and I'm completely immobilized.

[Alec:] Stand by for a few moments. I am dispatching golems to handle the intrusion.

[Arthur:] I'm unable to move either.

Brandon reread Alec’s message. 'Seconds?' he mused, but his own paralysis left him with no recourse but to trust.

His only recourse was mental communication. Following Alec's prior guidance, he had been among the first to return to his territory to relay information.

The reality was, his aptitude for leadership was minimal. Upon receiving initial data from his city heart, his sole thought was to depart once more and head directly to Alec's city.

He hadn't even lingered long enough to address the representatives of his newly acquired populace; his urgent desire was to delegate the responsibility to Alec as swiftly as possible.

His primary interest lay in discovering if this place, so lauded and spoken of with reverence, would indeed facilitate their ascent to higher ranks, as his experience thus far had been one of stark deprivation and hardship.

However, after meeting with Alec and observing his clear competence, Brandon found a measure of calm. He was one of the few who had developed an unshakeable faith: as long as Alec was present, disaster was unlikely.

Thus, upon his return, he utilized his mana to amplify his voice, addressing the inhabitants of his own settlement.

Prior to his arrival, some had already convinced themselves that the crumbling stone walls were the work of demonic powers, designed to ensnare them for nefarious purposes.

Whispers circulated, such as, 'Our new lord has already forsaken us, so why should we remain? We should escape while we still have the chance.'

Yet, a minority held the belief that these events were connected to the new city lord. Consequently, when they witnessed Brandon suspended in mid-air, they naturally halted their actions and paid heed.

After a brief period, he succeeded in articulating the complete situation to the city's residents, assuring them of his unwavering presence.

He explained that he had pledged their city as a subordinate entity to his elder brother, a figure of considerably greater strength who now held the position of main city lord. This elder brother, he clarified, was also responsible for the protective stone gates.

He elaborated further, detailing how the stone ramparts were erected to fortify against future incursions by orcs into human territories.

This explanation not only diffused the growing anxiety among the citizens upon learning the walls were for their protection but also stabilized the burgeoning panic within the city.

Nevertheless, shortly after he had reassured them of their safety under his protection, the danger materialized at their gates.

Upon the city's ramparts, some residents, particularly the men who had served as impromptu defenders before their new lord's arrival and the subsequent enhancements, had climbed to maintain their watch, their faces still alight with relief.

At that precise moment, however, their gaze caught sight of something in the distance—rising plumes of dust.

The very kind of dust that signified one thing: a substantial force was advancing directly towards their city.

Upon this realization, they hastily descended, only to be met by elders urgently commanding them to hasten to the castle and inform the mayor of the impending assault, enabling him to issue necessary directives.

_ _

Three Tier 7 High Orc generals had been tasked with the mission to invade and eliminate all the newly appointed human lords situated in the cities bordering the territory currently under Orc dominion.

The Orcs clearly still coveted those cities. Their only hesitation to seize them was the Orc lord’s belief that the time wasn't right, coupled with a shortage of manpower. He was unwilling to claim a city without enough Orcs to manage it, fearing a riot from rebellious humans.

Despite not having sufficient forces to control all the cities yet, the Orcs resolved never to permit a human lord to govern peacefully.

The Orc king intimately understood the consequences of leaving human territories unchallenged, allowing them to flourish. In his view, delaying their dominion would lead to a costly loss of Orc soldiers when the time eventually came to claim those cities—a price he refused to pay.

This was precisely why he dispatched a force: to eradicate the emerging human lords before their city garrisons could strengthen.

Each High Orc general was mandated to command a hundred Orc warriors. However, the ongoing war meant not all their units were at full complement.

Two units remained at maximum strength, while one had sustained losses on the front lines during the Orcs’ recent military actions.

Nevertheless, they were confident in their ability to handle the new lords without significant difficulty. Typically, the mages assigned to these territories began at Tier 6 or Tier 7, and those sent to the Wilderness Region were reputedly the least talented among them.

This factor also contributed significantly to the Orcs' prolonged success within human territory.

Previous weak human lords had failed to expel them, enabling their growth until their current leader finally initiated an assault. He annihilated numerous human lords of that era, establishing his dominion in the city he intended to be the symbol of his conquest over the entire human Wilderness Region.