His spear movements grew increasingly fluid, as Alec came to a realization: relying solely on the system to implant the skills of his golems into his mind wasn’t enough, true mastery came only through repetition and real combat experience with the said set of skills.

“Kill!” he roared, charging at the zombies instead of waiting for them to draw near.

He slashed, swept, and thrust with deadly rhythm, even using the base of the spear to knock back incoming undead, creating just enough room for clean finishing strikes.

Titan soon joined the slaughter, while Agnes rallied the other younger members of the clan to join in the battle.

“We can’t let Alec claim all the glory! Let’s kill some zombies too!” she shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos, reigniting the morale of the younger generation. 

She wanted them to fight, not just watch, and to be remembered alongside Alec for defending the wall so he doesn’t take all the glory.

As someone from Alec’s generation, Agnes refused to stand in the shadows of his achievements, she was determined to match him, or at least push the rest to fight by his side, but soon, harsh reality hit them—these zombies, although slow, were unnaturally strong.

Even a Tier 1 mage could fall if surrounded by enough unclassified zombies, let alone if they faced a true Tier 1 zombie type.

The younger Gordon warriors were stunned to find themselves overwhelmed, some flinched just at the sight of the undead’s grotesque, twisted faces. Their hesitation, fear, and diverted gazes led to poor reactions and clumsy movements.

Yet before any zombie could land a fatal blow, arrows flew through the air, striking true, as the family’s archers, now redirected their support to the younger fighters, as they picked off the zombies just in time before any harm could be done.

Their improvised strategy—was using the rookies to draw in the undead while they delivered fatal shots, which swiftly turned the tide of the battle in their favour, while many of the younger generation struggled to hold their ground against the zombies, a few stood out—Arthur, Knight, Agnes, and a particularly short boy wielding a great sword forged from earth elements.

Despite his small frame, the boy fought with reckless abandon, prioritizing offense over defence, swinging his heavy weapon with surprising ferocity, it was an odd sight for someone so small brandishing a sword nearly as tall as himself, yet he held his own with brutal efficiency.

Alec’s eyes drifted toward the group of younger fighters who had pushed forward to reinforce another section of the wall, as a faint smirk tugged at his lips as he watched them finally join the fray.

He began to wonder why they had been brought to witness the battle so closely, but the answer revealed itself when he noticed how drained the nearby clan defenders were becoming. 

These warriors weren’t Elites, most were only at the High Tier 1 mages realm, with no one at the peak of the Tier, and a few were even Mid Tier 1, their role clearly wasn’t just to protect the wall, it was to test the resolve of the next generation.

This was a deliberate setup, Alec realized. 

The elders must have wanted to see whether the younger ones would step up or cower in fear, and judging by his grandfather’s relaxed posture, it was likely that they were also being used as bait to lure out the Tier 5 zombie, while also giving the younger generation a real taste of war.

This battlefield was relatively calm compared to what was coming. 

Soon, when the scent of blood in the air was becoming thick, the older generation were aware that the stronger enemies would eventually start to pop out, and in such a situation the zombies would devolve into mindless flesh-hungry monsters, more frenzied than ever.

That’s why the clans and the City Guards wanted to ensure every last zombie was cleared out before the zombie leader showed up, because they knew that a Tier 5 zombie was still in command, hidden somewhere on the battlefield, recovering from old wounds and waiting for revenge. It was lurking, camouflaged among the horde, biding its time for the perfect strike.

“Is that guy even human? We’ve been fighting together, but we still can’t keep up with his kill count,” Arthur said, panting as he wiped the blood from his blade. 

“It’s like he was born to slay zombies.”

“I thought you said you didn’t have a weapon,” Alec said, raising an eyebrow after hearing Arthur’s words.

“I’m using my mana to materialize this weapon; it’s a Tier spell of the metal element. I learned it recently, but it drains mana to maintain, so I was hesitant to use it,” Arthur explained.

“Oh,” Alec responded, visibly surprised, he had never taken the time to study metal-element spells, so realizing that Arthur’s gleaming blade was actually conjured magic left him momentarily speechless.

“I guess I still have a lot to learn. So, what do you think? Will the Tier 5 zombie attack or retreat? We’ve almost cleared out the horde on this side,” Alec asked, glancing at Arthur, who was still dealing with a lingering zombie.

“You know, you’re the only person who can sound so casual in the middle of a battlefield,” Arthur muttered, finally cutting down the zombie with one clean strike, his gaze drifted toward Alec’s secure spot, where Titan stood firm, ensuring that no threats breached their line.

“The situation here is almost completely under control,” Agnes chimed in, wiping sweat from her brow. 

“Even if we sat back now, the remaining zombies wouldn’t cause much trouble.”

“It’s great that we’re all here, fighting side by side,” Knight added. 

“We’ll probably grow up to be the next pillars of the family, backing Alec all the way.”

The short boy wielding the earth-forged great sword gave a firm nod, remaining silent but clearly in agreement.

Suddenly, a city guard rushed in, panting and flustered. 

“Urgent message! The North Wall has been breached! The City Lord requests a small elite group of the Gordons Clan move out and support the Lanzt Family.”

“Hmph, why hasn’t that old man handled it himself?” the Gordon Patriarch said, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

“From what we’ve gathered, the zombie leading the assault has advanced to a Tier 6 Brain Commander, that promotion has caused most of its army close to it to evolve into Tier 2 zombies, because of the mana overflow” the city guard reported grimly.

“Currently, the Gordons Clan is the only one holding their wall steady. We’re honestly shocked at how efficiently you’ve been clearing the horde, especially with the number of unclassified zombies that were sent your way,” the city guard added, his voice sounding both impressed and desperate.

“Send word to the City Lord,” Alec’s grandfather said calmly, his voice radiating confidence. 

“I’ll deal with the zombie commander. In return, he’ll owe me a favour.”

“I shall relay your message to the City Lord,” the city guard said respectfully, bowing before him.

“Alec, Brandon, Arthur, Agnes, and Knight—I want you to head to the North Wall immediately and support the Lanzt family squad in eliminating the unclassified and Tier 1 zombies, or help them retreat back here any one you feel is the best option. Alec, can I trust you to lead them?” the patriarch asked, making it clear he was assigning Alec as their leader.

“But, Patriarch, we can still fight. I don’t think there’s a need to send the younger ones, we can handle this ourselves,” one of the Gordon clan members who had been fighting alongside Alec protested. 

He had seen Alec’s golems in action and only wanted to help.

“You still want to fight? Don’t make me laugh,” the patriarch scoffed, waving off the objection with a look of disdain.

“I’ll take care of it,” Alec affirmed, 

“But what about the Tier 2 zombies and above?”

“Good question,” the patriarch said with a nod. 

“Don’t worry—just as I’m sending you, I’ve already deployed others to deal with the stronger ones under the Brain Commander, they won’t interfere with your battles. You’re free to go all out.”

He paused before adding, “Use this opportunity to sharpen your strength and gain real battle experience.”

“Understood. I won’t disappoint,” Alec replied, his voice firm with resolve.