The Golem Mage

King Charles was displeased that his words were being questioned, but he recognized the need to provide an explanation, especially since the inquiry had come from the patriarch of the Dragonmir clan.

The patriarch of the Dragonmir clan was widely acknowledged as the most powerful mage in the Northern Kingdom.

Although there were rumours of the Royal clan possessing mages of even greater strength than him, but the patriarch of the Dragonmir clan was still given respect, as his power was undeniable.

"Well, if you are truly interested, I am willing to provide a detailed explanation, the seal does not prevent entities from passing the gate; rather, it restricts those who emerge from the Peak space gate as high-rank mages would become be dropped to the peak of the Tier 6 realm," King Charles elucidated.

"Similarly, those who emerge as mid-rank mages are confined to the peak of the Tier 3 realm, this restriction applies to monarchs as well, regardless of their realm or power," he continued.

"Their abilities are limited to their previous rank, and we have achieved this through the use of the guardian's life force to activate the seal," King Charles concluded.

"This seal was created to give the mages of the Northern Kingdom the opportunity to develop and grow stronger, safeguarding us from the imminent threat posed by the Abyss monarchs, The guardian sacrificed himself for the sake of the generations that would follow after his passing," King Charles explained.

"I understand the aspect of using his life force to create a spell that diminishes the realm of the Abyss races, but that alone may not be sufficient to dissuade them from attacking the palace," the Dragonmir patriarch interjected.

"Furthermore, it is perplexing that you are sharing this information with us now, given that the Royal clan has traditionally deemed such knowledge beyond our purview, it is evident that there is another issue for which you require our assistance, prompting you to divulge this information," he continued, challenging the king openly.

As King Charles frowned, he acknowledged that only the Dragonmir patriarch possessed the audacity to confront him so openly.

"The reason the Abyss has refrained from launching a direct assault on the palace is because, even in their initial incursions, they encountered a formidable mage and the royal guard team we trained, despite their prestigious Abyssal bloodline lineage, they were no match for this mage," King Charles revealed.

"This mage hailed from the ancient Blaze Clan and was unmatched even within the Tier 9 realm, despite the monarchs being confined to the Tier 9 realm, the Abyss races believed that their experience and knowledge it would enable them to easily overpower any of the Tier 9 mages we sent," King Charles explained.

"However, this mage managed to eliminate numerous monarchs whose realms had been restricted, This loss was a significant blow to them, and they have chosen to refrain from attacking until they find a way to nullify the seal, Only then will they seek retribution for what they perceive as our treachery in orchestrating the deaths of their monarchs," he continued.

"If I am not mistaken, you are referring to Rae Blaze, the prodigious mage of the Blaze Clan who is rumoured to have perished, I find it hard to believe that even the Blaze Clan was privy to this information," the patriarch of the Zero Clan remarked coolly, attempting to incite the other patriarchs against the Blaze Clan patriarch seated across from him.

However, it seemed that everyone was already familiar with the behaviour of these two rivals and paid little heed to their rivalry.

"I am unaware of why the Royal Palace summoned Rae, He had returned with severe injuries and subsequently perished later due to the injuries," the Blaze Clan patriarch declared angrily, slamming his hand on the chair handle as the space around him began to distort and heat up.

"And here we have the ever-temperamental Blaze Clan, always quick to anger, i suppose that's what happened to Rae; he must have been truly arrogant after he slew some Abyss monarchs and got provoked getting injured in the process," the patriarch of the Zero Clan needled.

"That's my son you're speaking of, and while I have never questioned the Royal clan, it doesn't change the fact that Rae is a hero among men, Show some respect for him," the Blaze patriarch retorted, struggling to maintain his composure and not fall into the trap set by the Zero Clan's patriarch.

"Yes, because you respected his memory enough to reject his child, your own grandson, simply because the mother was from a low-tier clan. It's quite amusing how that clan managed to ascend to a mid-tier status when no one was looking!" the Zero Clan patriarch fired back.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're more concerned about what happens in my clan than in your own?" the Blaze patriarch countered.

"Enough! Both of you, we have more pressing matters to discuss than to indulge in your squabbles over which clan is superior!" King Charles interjected.

"As I was saying, it is now common knowledge that the guardian is nearing the end of his lifespan, and not only that, our talented mage who was the sole survivor of that attack has perished."

"Now, we suspect that they have managed to develop a reverse spell that could potentially seal us our powers as well, subjecting us to the realm curse like them, and It appears that they have been studying the seal for an extended period now," King Charles revealed.

" given the state of the guardian, we believe that they are making progress in deciphering the seal with each passing Blood moon, as the guardian no longer possesses the strength to prevent them from gaining further insight," he continued.

"While we are uncertain of when they might launch an attack, we deemed it prudent for you all to be informed of this development, the day they succeed in devising a spell to counter the seal, they will likely initiate an assault, for now, their options are to either discover a means to counter the seal or bide their time until the guardian's passing grants them unrestricted access through the gates with their full powers," King Charles concluded, expressing his deep concern.

"So, regardless of the outcome, we will soon find ourselves facing them," the Dragonmir patriarch remarked with a heavy sigh.

The minds of all the patriarchs were filled with thoughts, but not all were bold enough to openly voice their opinions in front of the king.

"I still believe this is not the reason you wanted to discuss with us," the Blaze patriarch remarked, eyeing King Charles, who wore a mischievous smile.

"Well, I have a plan to impede their progress in developing the reverse spell, however, for this to succeed, I propose that the inter-academy final competition take place here at the palace!, rest assured, as a reward, the winning academy will have the opportunity to cultivate in the underground spring pool for a full six days," the king declared, leaving the patriarchs shocked and unsettled.

The patriarchs were taken aback for several reasons, firstly, the Royal clan rarely granted access to the spring pool to anyone, and they doubted that hindering the development of the reverse spell could be as straightforward as hosting the inter-academy final competition at the Royal Palace.

They suspected that there was something more significant that the king was concealing from them, akin to the typical behaviour of the Royal family.