The Golem Mage

Approximately thirty minutes after that little discussion, Alec and his team were now deep underground, surrounded by sand as they used their earth element to dig further down.

Arthur kept snorting every few minutes, unable to believe how a mighty Tier 6 mage like himself had been reduced to a glorified labourer, when Alec had first mentioned stealing, this was definitely not what he had imagined in mind that he would be doing.

Alec had come up with the plan: they would take turns using earth manipulation to burrow underground, aiming to break into the mine from below and steal right under the nose of the lion pride that controlled it, and it also happens to be the first time that they were using earth manipulation in such a way, and it was far more stressful and exhausting than they had expected.

They had to carefully maintain the tunnel's shape while forcing the digging forward, and as the sand was pushed back, the other two would take turns clearing it to keep the path open behind them.

They rotated every ten minutes, and it was Alec's turn again, though they didn't realise it, however Alec had noticed with his inspect skill how this insane heist was unexpectedly improving all of their control over the earth element.

None of them had ever continuously manipulated their element under such pressure for this long, and that was why even this ridiculous venture was sharpening their skills.

"Just one thing though," Arthur grumbled.

"The part about us crawling underground like rats is to be deleted if we ever have to explain how we found this mine. I'm not letting my rep take a hit because I had to act like a damn rodent to get some treasure."

Alec simply nodded and gestured for him to stay quiet as he placed his hand on the sandy surface ahead, closing his eyes to sense what lay beyond, though it looked like Alec had simply touched the sand, however to anyone trained in the use of mental power properly they would easily recognize that he was actually spreading his mental sense through the blocked sand, carefully scanning to see if they had dug deep enough to reach the center of the mine.

When he opened his eyes, a wide grin spread across his face.

"How much closer?" Brandon asked.

"We're already here," Alec replied, his excitement evident.

"I can feel a very strong mana fluctuation just above us, if we dig just a little further from here, we'll break right into the mine." He pointed upwards as he spoke.

Without wasting any more time, Alec positioned his right hand above him as a swirling purple energy gathered, now that he was certain they were close, he abandoned the earth manipulation technique and instead cast a mid-tier gravity spell—Black Hole( mind you it's also a Dark spell).

Though not as powerful as it would be if it was casted by a dark elemental mage, however the spell was still more than capable of drilling through the sand above without letting any of it collapse onto them, as the swirling void devoured the displaced earth.

The spell was indeed overpowered for this task, but it came with a steep cost, the mana consumption was extreme, quickly draining Alec's energy and making him dizzy.

While short bursts were manageable, anything lasting over a minute would leave him dangerously fatigued, his eyes growing heavy as the strain wore on him.

--

Meanwhile, trouble had arrived above ground. Cardinal Damien of the Evil Sect hovered in the air above the mine, with five priests clad in black robes trimmed with white standing behind him.

"Turn this place into ruins and bring me the Holy Pool," Damien ordered coldly, staring down at the mining site.

"Yes, Lord Cardinal," the five priests responded in unison as they descended, even before they reached the ground, the pressure radiating from them had already alerted the lions guarding the site.

Roar!

The black-furred female lion on the left was the first to sense something abnormal.

She let out a loud roar to alert her companion as she retreated backwards, but the second lion wasn't as fortunate, before it could react, it was pinned beneath the combined aura of the five priests, each of whom were Tier 7 mages.

Their presence exuded a vile, corrupted energy, as their mana light was visibly tainted with a black hue, a sharp contrast to the pure light-blue hue of most mages, as they landed, the ground beneath them cracked under their pressure, crushing the brown-furred lion into a bloodied pulp, as its bloody scent quickly filling the air.

Roar!!!

In response, multiple deafening roars echoed from deep within the mine as larger, more muscular lions emerged.

These new arrivals were male, so their thick manes gleaming under the dim light, all seven carried the heavy aura of Tier 7 beasts.

The lead lion narrowed its eyes at the five priests, its expression sneering, but just as it prepared to attack, its gaze shifted, following the black-furred lion's eyes, that's when its pupils locked onto Damien, who hovered calmly above with his hands behind his back.

The lion's composure faltered slightly as a chill ran through it.

"You… I know you," the lion said cautiously.

"You once requested an audience with our king, why has your sect now chosen to attack a mine under his rule? You know full well whose territory this belongs to—Rimeclaw, the Overlord of Frozen Death." The male lion emphasized his leader's name, hoping it would deter Damien.

It was a desperate move, knowing full well that they stood no chance if a fight broke out.

Without a Tier 8 among them, they would be slaughtered in moments if Damien made a move, the lead lion clung to the only hope he had: invoking the authority of their king.

But the reaction he hoped for never came, and instead, the situation began to turn in a direction he hadn't anticipated.

"And so what? That greedy bastard is just a lucky beast who stumbled upon a Divine Plant and managed to break into the Tier 9 realm," Damien sneered.

"I even approached him respectfully, offering a peaceful exchange for the Holy Pool in this location, but your arrogant king acted high and mighty, rejecting my offer outright, those who refuse to bend to my will have no place in my plans. If I can't obtain it the easy way, I'll simply steal it from right under his nose, right now, he's still deep in the high regions, by the time he realizes what has happened, I'll be long gone."

As Damien laid out his plan, the lions' expressions darkened, fully grasping the severity of the situation.

"So, just die!" Damien declared coldly, swinging his hand forward as a wave of green flames surged horizontally towards them.

At the same moment, the five priests dashed ahead, weapons drawn, aiming to finish the battle swiftly before the Overlord Lion could be alerted.