The Golem Mage Chapter 1137: Tower Defense 3.

Though this wasn't his City Heart, it still maintained a connection, acting as a conduit that allowed him to communicate with its true location. This connection was precisely why he knew what he could achieve and that his current actions were far from his absolute limit.

"Now, you will lead me to where his City Heart is. Since he's dead, that means the token is available for the taking," Alec stated to the mage, whose injured hand still throbbed with pain.

"Huh?"

The mage simply stared at Alec, his mind reeling. He had secretly been hoping Alec would overlook the matter of the token. His plan was to claim the token of his deceased colleague, sacrifice it for energy points, and use that to construct adequate defenses and summon troops for protection when the horde eventually arrived. If any energy remained, he might even have managed to heal his hand.

Having encountered a madman like Alec on his very first foray, the mage had zero intention of venturing out again. With his hand in its current state, engaging in combat would be exceptionally difficult. Even if he managed to hunt Tier 5 beasts, he doubted he could gather sufficient points for survival.

Thus, he had been clinging to that sliver of hope. Now that Alec had brought it up himself, the mage was utterly dumbfounded.

Alec, on the other hand, typically wouldn't concern himself with pursuing such items. However, with the rough stone walls now encircling his territory, his City Heart had alerted him: any life signature detected within five hundred meters of his city would trigger a system alert.

Furthermore, considering the resilience of these walls, an ordinary Tier 6 mage would require considerably more time than usual to breach them and gain access to his cube.

"My lord, you see... I wish to propose something. Would you consider taking me under your protection? My hand is already ruined. I'm not trying to place blame, but in my current condition, survival is practically impossible..."

"Will you guide me to his City Heart, or shall I simply kill you and search for it myself? From my assessment and the speed with which you two located my base, your own base cannot be too far from here. I don't mind making the journey. My defenses are already quite formidable, you know," Alec remarked, lightly nudging his bone katana upward with his left thumb.

"No problem!! I'll take you there," the mage responded, realizing Alec was becoming agitated by the presence of the blade.

_ _

Twenty minutes later, Alec returned to his base. As he approached, the gate opened autonomously, and he proceeded towards the cube. With a sweep of his right hand, the bodies of demonic beasts and a circular golden lord token materialized before him, resting upon at least three Tier 6 corpses and five Tier 4 demonic beast carcasses.

"Convert to energy," Alec commanded.

[+ 805,000 Energy.]

"Woah..." Alec breathed, surprised.

He swiftly began calculating mentally. He already knew that a Tier 6 body was worth approximately one hundred thousand energy. Based on this, he deduced that a Tier 5 body should be worth at least ten thousand energy.

However, he hadn't brought back any Tier 5 corpses—only Tier 4s. This implied each of them was likely valued at about a thousand energy.

After performing the subtraction, he reached a singular conclusion: the lord token alone had been worth at least half a million energy. At that point, even Alec couldn't entirely fault the pair for attempting to steal his token.

Their only misstep was targeting someone more powerful than themselves. In this realm, much like on the Five Kingdom Continent, only the strong possessed the inherent right to determine what was just or unjust.

This principle had always fueled Alec's conviction that power was essential if he ever wished to continuously safeguard those he cherished and live a life free from worry. The recent events only served to reinforce this belief even more profoundly within his heart.

[Status]

Energy: 897,000

Army: -

City Heart: (1000/1000)

"Upgrade the walls to Level Two, add four arrow towers at the city wall extremities, and construct a mid-rank army barracks for me," Alec began issuing orders while browsing the available purchases in the store, as only a few minutes remained before the anticipated wave commenced.

Lacking his golems, he was determined to ensure his defenses were fully prepared.

In truth, a primary reason he hadn't permitted the man with the burned hand to remain was his unwillingness to reveal abilities that defied conventional understanding.

It was only after reaching the deceased man's base and observing the stark contrast between it and his own that Alec realized something was amiss.

He had immediately turned to the injured mage, demanding an explanation.

The man was again forced to recall that this was meant to be Alec’s inaugural visit. The instant the thought resurfaced, he swore under his breath, contemplating the sheer misfortune he had encountered.

While others encountered naive novices fumbling about, he found himself confronting an individual who felt more akin to a demon.

Although he had never undertaken such an act before, the deceased had coerced him into it. He had only acquiesced under the strict condition that they would forgo direct confrontation, content with merely pilfering the token and making a swift exit.

However, reflecting on his actions now, their sheer absurdity struck him. He couldn't help but deem himself profoundly foolish. Had their plan succeeded, they would have borne indirect responsibility for a life extinguished.

Nonetheless, he proceeded to enlighten Alec, explaining that each base was unique, meticulously crafted to align with its associated lord. It was at this juncture that Alec comprehended the man's lack of astonishment when rough stone walls instantaneously erupted from the earth. Upon completion, Alec casually presented three Tier 6 demonic beast corpses.

This revelation caused the man to collapse onto the ground in a state of abject prostration, tears streaming down his face as he offered Alec profuse gratitude repeatedly. Recalling this now, Alec surmised that the man must have perceived him as some kind of saintly figure. This misconception stemmed solely from the man's ignorance of Alec's improvisational approach; had he known the token's value was a mere 500k energy, he would not have relinquished three!

Nevertheless, when Alec remembered the man's afflicted hand and his role as a guide, clarifying all points of confusion, he ultimately resolved to let the matter lie.

After all, his own standing remained significantly superior to that of the mage.