The Golem Mage

Deep beneath the cave lay an undiscovered underground mine that no faction had stumbled upon yet, except for the Orcs of the village settlement.

They had been exploiting it to its full potential, explaining why their village seemed stronger than it should be.

While the highest strength a village of their size was supposed to possess was Tier 3 Orcs , they already boasted a Tier 4 Orc and countless Tier 3 Orcs due to the power mine.

This mine was no ordinary one; it was a power mine, where naturally occurring and unattributed power stones could be mined and directly absorbed.

This explained the rapid increase in the village's strength, even though they were a newly settled community.

The Orcs were desperate to keep the mine a secret, for if word got out that a small Orc family village was attempting to control such a valuable resource, they might face annihilation from larger Orc villages who coveted the great income that came with owning a power mine.

The leader of the thirty Orcs glanced around, gradually realizing that the Orc who had gone up for a shift change had not been replaced, nor was there any news from above.

He decided to wait and listen for sounds of a struggle, praying that their operation remained concealed beneath the guise of a hunting expedition.

After waiting for over ten minutes and hearing no signs of the Orcs, he reluctantly turned to the five Orcs nearby who were focused on mining the power stones.

As they slammed their pickaxes against the hard mine walls, he called them over.

"Hey, you five! Go up there and check what's going on. If you sense that something bad is happening, one of you needs to rush back and deliver a message,"

the leader Orc commanded, as He wished fervently that their presence in the mine had not been discovered.

Even though the village had been gradually growing stronger, they had not yet reached a level where they could compete with mid-sized villages.

The five Orcs cautiously carried their weapons as they made their way to the entrance of the cave.

They Whistled waiting for a response, but they were met with silence, which surprised them.

They started to realize that their leader may have been right after all.

"You two, take the angles, and you two support from different sides," the Orc who happened to be the fastest gave the commands.

They had agreed to let him take charge since he was the most useful for the mission at that moment.

The fastest Orc stayed behind while the others moved forward, ready to head back to the mine to alert their leader if anything went wrong.

As they approached the large trees where Alec and his gang were hiding, Lucas, who stood close to Alec, kept whispering. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

"When should we attack?, Is it now?" Lucas asked eagerly.

Alec could only shake his head, feeling frustrated that Lucas was becoming a troublemaker and causing him anxiety during this crucial mission.

He suppressed his irritation and replied in a hushed voice,

"Not now, Lucas. Wait a little longer."

The Orcs came closer and closer, but without a signal from Alec.

Knight, Lucas, or Brandon, continued to wait as They all looked towards Alec's outstretched arm, waiting for his orders to attack.

However, Gabriel couldn't contain himself any longer.

He stepped out of his hiding spot and walked out into the open, completely unarmed.

He slowly approached the Orcs, and as they noticed him, they deduced that his presence might be related to the disappearance of their Orc comrades.

This made them Gripped their weapons tightly, as they prepared for a confrontation.

Gabriel stared at them defiantly and smiled, knowingly disobeying Alec's command to stay hidden until they saw the signs.

"What are you doing?" Alec asked, clearly taken aback by Gabriel's disregard for their plan.

"It's simple, I'm tired of taking orders from an ordinary Tier 3 Mage who can't even handle a bunch of pests,"

Gabriel replied, turning his attention towards the four approaching Orcs, He raised his hands forward, preparing to cast a spell.

[< Low Tier spell – Frostbite >]

With his experience as a Tier 4 Mage, Gabriel was able to instantly cast low-tier spells.

His first choice was to cast the Frostbite spell.

A chilly gust of wind swept across the area, coating everything in a thin layer of frost.

As the temperature dropped, and everyone caught in the spell started to feel numb.

Alec cursed Gabriel's lack of teamwork and invoked a small flame, creating a circle of warmth to protect themselves against the effects of the Frostbite spell.

Grace, on the other hand, seemed unaffected by the spell.

Alec wondered if Grace's resilience was due to her strength or if Gabriel was intentionally targeting them.

The four Orcs who had been targeted found themselves trapped.

The ice on their skin slowly crept up, making it difficult for them to move as the ground beneath them became incredibly slippery.

"Arrrgh, kill!" One of the Orcs erupted, releasing a blast of Qi energy that disrupted the spell.

His colleagues were freed from the frost, and the ground around them returned to its normal state.

However, he appeared significantly weakened by the effort.

Witnessing this sacrificial move, the remaining three Orcs dashed towards Gabriel, who still stood with his hand outstretched.

"Hmm, what a bunch of savages. Even if you escape this, I'll just have to cast another spell," Gabriel said confidently.

[< Low Tier Spell – Crystal spike >]

Upon hearing this, the three Orcs' expressions turned serious, It was clear they were aware of the impending Crystal Spike spell.

But only one of them reacted in time to jump up high, yet he still didn't seem safe as sharp crystal shards started shooting out randomly from the frozen ground caused by the Frostbite spell.

It became evident that both spells complemented each other, and Gabriel had skillfully used this to his advantage.

The first casualty turned out to be the fourth Orc who had drained his Qi energy in freeing his teammates.

Gabriel relentlessly impaled his head as he battled the ice shards that pinned him down from different directions.

when he was through with him, He inflicted various leg injuries on the other two Orcs, hindering their movements and making it easier for him to kill them by sending shards through their hearts.

The entire group watched in awe as Gabriel transformed Low-Tier Spells into lethal moves.

The only Orc who managed to escape unscathed was the one who reacted quickly and jumped out of harm's way.

Filled with anger over his fallen comrades, the Orc swung his sword as he descended, intent on taking Gabriel down to avenge his friends' deaths.

And Gabriel simply swung his hands sideways and cast another spell.

[Mid Tier spell – Ice Retribution]

A wide shield made of ice materialized, absorbing all the Qi in the Orc's weapon before he even made contact.

A bright light flashed around the shield, unleashing a powerful Qi attack toward the still-airborne Orc.

The shield had absorbed and amplified the attack of the orc before sending it back to the Orc, causing severe damage as he was sent flying.

Unfortunately, the Orc met his demise as his body was impaled by a sharp tree branch he was flung into.

"Now that's how you take care of pests!" Gabriel proclaimed, turning away.

However, his triumph was short-lived as Alec's flaming fist covered his face, delivering a powerful punch that sent Gabriel flying.