#Meanwhile, at the Patriarch’s house—
“Old man, where are you? Your grandson has come to ask for a favour!” Alec’s voice echoed through the estate, carrying all the way into the inner hall.
Inside, the Patriarch was still in the middle of a serious discussion with his two disciples, Draco and Zack, with their cultivation realm, such enhanced hearing wasn't a problem for them, and they were able to catch every word they spoke about clearly.
The Patriarch’s mouth twitched when he heard Alec's voice and the way he called him, he still remembered how the brat had borrowed a Tier 6 realm Metal elemental demonic beast crystal from his hand a few days ago and hadn’t returned it yet, now Alec was back again, already asking for something else.
Just thinking about it brought a headache creeping in on him, as he felt Alec’s requests were somehow managing to get more unreasonable each time he came to him.
“I guess this meeting is coming to an end, Patriarch. I’ll take my leave before that little brother comes in,” Zack said, already halfway to escaping before Alec could lay eyes on him.
Draco only sneered.
“Why the rush, Zack? Last I checked, the Patriarch wanted to adopt you as his son even before Alec was born back then, though there is no official ritual between us to him, sure—but you’re more of a son to the Patriarch than I am.”
He then tilted his head slightly, as his voice sharpened with amusement.
“And considering he is like a father to you… don’t you think it’s time you met your nephew?” Draco completed his sentence.
Zack’s expression fell, though he might be comfortable around Draco and the Patriarch, but that didn’t change the fact that he was a loner, and he had no desire to get familiar with Alec, who is the so-called scammer the Patriarch never stopped complaining about.
“Now that I think about it… you haven’t seen that boy since he was a child, aren’t you being a little too cold?” The Patriarch rubbed his temple, then sighed after he finished adding to draco claims.
He stood up abruptly.
“Come on. Let’s go meet that troublemaker before he steals some of my wine again.”
With that, the Patriarch strode out toward the courtyard, moving fast—almost like he was the one being chased.
-
Alec watched as his grandfather stepped out, with two people at his sides, he immediately noticed Draco on the left, but the man on the right gave him a faint headache the moment Alec tried to place his face.
He was sure he knew him, yet every time he reached for the memory, all he found was fog.
He tried again, failed again, and finally gave up, the impression was there, buried among the suppressed memories of the old Alec, and he started to feel if he couldn’t access it, then he clearly wasn’t strong enough yet to uncover whatever this man represented.
“Greetings, Seventh Elder. Greetings, Senior… Old man, I need a favour.”
Alec greeted Draco first, bowing and cupping his hands in proper respect, as for the other man, he couldn’t risk guessing, so he simply called him Senior, because he felt anyone who could stand beside the Patriarch like that was definitely important.
He also noticed the senior was also wearing the Gordons’ clan robes, pure black, with brown edging, marking him as one of their own.
But what stood out more than the robe was the bloodlust rolling off him.
It wasn’t even deliberate, yet it pressed against the air like an invisible weight. Still, Alec didn’t flinch, he too had been on battlefields soaked in death, battlefield deaths where he’d been responsible for most of it.
He had his own killing intent too, even if it couldn’t compare to the man’s aura, at the very least, Alec wasn’t some fool who would be crushed by intimidation alone.
And while Alec was sizing the man up, the man was doing the same, quietly studying Alec, as if trying to understand what kind of person would dare call the Patriarch “old man” to his face.
He had followed the Patriarch longer than anyone, long before even Draco, the only reason he was still one realm behind Draco was because of the restriction tied to his golem techniques; otherwise, he would have reached Tier 6 mage realm long ago even before Draco.
And over the years he had been following the Patriarch, he had come to know of one small taboo that had become common knowledge, and that was the fact that calling the Patriarch “old man” was the fastest way to get yourself beaten to stupor.
He had even witnessed it once, an argument the Patriarch had with another Tier 6 mage back when he was still in the Tier 6 mage realm, the mage had called him “old man,” and the Patriarch responded with a beating so brutal it became a lesson for everyone.
His golems swarmed the man, harassing him and pounding his face until he was left unrecognisable.
That was a long time ago, since then, the only person who had ever gotten away with calling the Patriarch “old man” was Draco, and even then, Draco usually mostly did it behind his back, and less to his face.
“Alec, meet your uncle, his name is Zack, the one I’ve personally asked to protect you if anything unexpected happens during the blood moon war,” the Patriarch said with a smile.
“I thought it was the Third Elder is the one leading the Gordons clan mages this time. I’ve heard some names participating in the expenditure this time, I do have small connections too you know,” Alec sneered.
“Well, yes. I did tell that drunkard to watch over you,” the Patriarch admitted,
“but he isn’t reliable, you have to understand that I don’t trust him, he is the type to get drunk on the battlefield and forget to protect you when the real war starts.”
“What about Sir Draco? I heard he’s participating too,” Alec asked, his expression turning pale.
Zack’s lips twitched, as he felt the urge to smack this kid getting stronger by the second, as he felt like Alec was casually dismissing him due to his realm being lower
“Alec, I think you’re mistaken,” the Patriarch said calmly.
“Draco is the only responsible Tier 6 I’m sending to the Blood Moon. As for the Third Elder…”
He sighed.
“It would be best if you forgot he’s even coming with you, don’t rely on him making a move, he might not even join the fight at all, he’s my brother, and I know him best, he’s only stepping onto the battlefield because of the benefits I promised him.”
Alec fell into deep thought after hearing all that.
Zack, on the other hand, was clearly annoyed by Alec’s careless attitude, like Alec was acting like he was openly shopping for a Tier 6 protector without a shred of respect, but he wasn’t about to jump into the conversation.
“I already know what you’re worried about,” the Patriarch continued,
“but you’d have to be stupid to underestimate Zack. He’s someone I once tried to adopt, so you have to know I wont try to adopt a weak mage right.”
“What—an old man like you tried to adopt him? No wonder you got rejected,” Alec shot back.
The Patriarch’s face darkened almost immediately as if asking what do you mean by that with both Draco and Zaxk looking at him too to understand his feeling about what Alec said, but he still kept talking.
“He is the most talented Battle Mage I’ve ever trained. Draco might be the most talented when it comes to mana control, but Zack has an innate battle sense that makes him—”
His gaze sharpened.
“—superior to even me, and we haven’t even talked about his unique golems, i can assure you, if Zack truly decides to protect someone, not even a peak Tier 6 mage can kill that person, do you understand how terrifying he is now?” the Patriarch asked, his tone turning dangerously cold.
Alec’s expression stiffened.
ALEC: “¬”
I think I fucked up again, Alec admitted inwardly as he noticed Zack’s face was no longer as neutral as it had been at the start.
And he thought he’d brought this on himself.