Up until that moment, Alec hadn't realized he wasn't the one leading the charge when they left the family compound, however as he calmed down and thought about it, he realized the old man must have been in a meeting-with the City Lord and other influential family leaders.
They must have decided the Gordons would defend the weaker South Gate.
They arrived swiftly, and the clan mages scaled the walls and spread out, plugging gaps to prevent the zombies from slipping through when the time came, the younger generations were positioned at the rear along with the archers, as they watched the backs of the more experienced Mage fighters at the forefront.
High above, the Patriarch floated mid-air, surveying the scene while senior family members at the low rank realm gave out orders, it was clear from his posture that he wasn't ready to intervene at all.
Alec's eyes narrowed as a thick cloud of dust rolled toward them, a few minutes later, the haze cleared and what it revealed sent a chill down his spine.
A massive horde of zombies was charging toward the city gates.
It was Alec's first time seeing so many of the undead in one place.
Until now, the Gordons' clan younger generations had always been shielded from such horrors, but this was the price of walking the mage's path, gone was the protection now they have to live with this duty.
He glanced around, many of the younger generation stood frozen, their eyes wide with fear, this was also their first time seeing the twisted, nightmare faces of the zombies creatures corrupted by the taint of another dimension.
Training hadn't prepared them for this, no lecture could match the terror of this reality.
Alec clenched his fists, as the leader of the younger generation, he knew he couldn't afford to falter. Not now.
He needed to inspire them, fast.
Then it hit him, that actions would speak louder than words, after all strength was the language of this world.
If he could show the zombies weren't that much of a big deal, they would not be so frightened therefore lowering morale.
Tapping his space pouch, Alec summoned his eight golems, with Titan standing tall and proud at the front.
"There's no need to despair! All we have to do is crush their heads, just like we were taught!" Alec shouted, his voice ringing with purpose.
"We are warriors of the Gordons Clan! These puny zombies won't stop our charge! ATTACK!"
His words struck like a spark to dry wood, igniting the fighting spirit of the younger clan members, even the older generation that were still in the low rank realm nearby exchanged glances of approval at the boy's passionate call.
"For the clan!" Alec roared.
"For the clan!" echoed dozens of voices around him.
The zombies reached the walls in no time, climbing through cracks and broken ridges with feral hunger, however the Gordons mages weren't going to sit back and watch.
The Archers stationed on the upper platforms began loosing arrow after arrow into the horde, to them precision didn't matter at this moment, as there were way too many undead, and they couldn't be frightened, made to feel pain, or exhausted.
They simply kept coming.
"Here they come! Archers fall back while assisting the warriors!" The Patriarch commanded, his voice calm yet forceful from above as he took command of the battlefield, the archers obeyed without hesitation, retreating as the front-line Mage warriors stepped up, many of them organized into battle mage units.
[]
One of the clan members shouted as stone particles gathered around his fists, forming solid rock gauntlets through his Tier 1 mana, with a grunt, he slammed his fist into the skull of a zombie trying to scale the wall, shattering it brains on impact.
All along the wall, similar scenes played out, as warriors mages clad in Magic Rock Armour held the line, crushing skulls and hacking limbs without hesitation, with their spells bolstering their defences, they struck hard and fast, trusting their stone armour to deflect the zombies' claws and teeth.
For a moment, the tide seemed in the Gordons' favour.
Until it wasn't.
A sudden blur of motion disrupted the pattern, as a Tier 1 zombie burst through the mass, leaping high using the backs of its fallen kin as a springboard, it cleared the wall, flying past the defenders.
It wasn't like the others. Blue-skinned, fanged, its limbs long and sinewy. Its claws gleamed, and its glowing red eyes locked onto its prey with frightening clarity. A Speed Demon.
Drool dripped from its mouth as it soared over the heads of the warriors, heading straight for the archers and the younger generation beyond, it was too fast to be intercepted in time by the battle mages.
"Shit, that's a Tier One Zombie-Speed Demon! How the hell did they let it slip through? It's a known assassin of the zombie race!" one of the archers cried out in panic.
Upon hearing this, Alec didn't hesitate as his time to participate came faster than he imagined, he commanded Titan to intercept the threat and protect the archers, as his eyes scanned the battlefield quickly, realizing the Archer mages were far less prepared than the battle mages at the edge of the city gates.
He immediately positioned his seven Level 0 golems around him as a defensive ring as precaution, in case a zombie reached him, they'd serve as meat shields or distractions, buying time until he could retaliate or reinforcements arrived.
As the Speed Demon lunged for the nearest archer, claws flashing, it was suddenly stopped by a massive stone shield slamming into its path, Titan had intercepted the strike, and the resulting clash sent a sharp tremor up the zombie's arms.
The golem's shield was no ordinary one, Alec had meticulously reinforced Titan with earth-element tempering during his golem experiments, giving it both weight and resilience.
The Speed Demon recoiled, forced two steps back after losing the strength contest.
But that hesitation was its fatal mistake.
A heavy mace came crashing down, spiked and brutal onto the zombie's skull, its head caving in instantly, like a watermelon splattering black and green fluids across the ground.
[Ding!]
[50 EXP points gained. 10 System Points gained.]
Even Alec blinked in surprise. Titan's reaction time had been flawless.
He'd created other Level 0 golems and tested them in sparring matches, but none had performed with such clarity or ferocity, Titan wasn't just rare in classification, its intelligence and combat instincts seemed leagues above the rest.
Before the awe could settle, Titan spun and hurled its mace like a projectile.
As The spiked weapon sailed through the air and lodged itself deep into the throat of another Speed Demon that had nearly reached a young Gordon clan member.
[54 EXP points gained. 10 System Points gained.]
Gasps erupted along the southern wall, the clan members had expected support, but not a guardian of this caliber.
In just two swift, decisive strikes, Titan had removed two Tier 1 threats that could've easily taken several lives.
Now, they looked at Alec and his golem with renewed confidence, understanding that Titan could stand shoulder to shoulder with the clan's Tier 1 veteran mages.