Chapter 011: The Killing Formation

Du Fan slowly stood up straight and stretched lazily. After a moment, he glanced at Feri and said, “What’s the matter? Do you think my actions just now… were a bit beyond imagination?”
Feri was utterly embarrassed, not knowing whether to nod or shake his head.
Du Fan smiled, walked over, and patted his shoulder. “I didn’t expect our Temple Knight Feri to be such a naive young man. But don’t worry. Once things here are settled, I’ll take you to the pleasure houses in the capital. I guarantee our beautiful ladies will make you unable to resist.”
“As for now…” Du Fan touched his nose. “I’ll have you take care of Miss Kris. Her current state is rather unsightly. As a gift for Aldas, we can’t just settle for this!”
Feri glanced at the unconscious Kris and asked doubtfully, “Lord Du Fan, given Aldas’s character, would he possibly be manipulated by a woman?”
Du Fan shook his index finger gently. “Feri, you don’t understand… The old Aldas certainly wouldn’t give up anything for a woman… But now… As long as Kris is in front of him, I guarantee he’ll be willing to give up everything…”
At these words, Du Fan sighed deeply, his expression filled with profound desolation. “Love… really comes suddenly… and drives people mad… Aldas… Don’t think you can just kill me here with Alfred and Nicholas by your side… Have you never considered… what would happen if Kris fell into my hands?”
…
In the sacred palace of the ancient underground city, there was no longer any trace of the holiness from thousands of years ago. What should have been filled with holy light was now covered in deathly stillness.
Countless undead creatures: zombies, skeleton soldiers, abyssal beetles, corrosion monsters…
Their severed limbs covered the ground, and greenish-black blood flowed through the cracks in the marble tiles. Dust had long blown away from the old seats and statues, revealing the wear and tear from years.
At the center of the sacred palace, on the altar, the giant statue had lost its upper body, leaving only its lower half emitting a faint glow.
On top of the altar stood a small stone platform, with a faintly glowing mass on it.

Ordas’s gaze pierced through the dense swarm of death creatures in the temple, as well as the thick stone pillars surrounding the sacred altar. A glint flashed in his eyes as he murmured, “Is that the Origin of Gods?” Before he could finish speaking, several more zombies rushed toward them. Ordas grunted, raising the spear formed from his combat energy and sweeping it through the air, cutting those zombies into pieces in an instant. Once again, a gap of emptiness appeared between Ordas and the death creatures.

The surrounding death creatures, seemingly sensing Ordas’s murderous intent, didn’t dare to attack first.

Nicholas let out a low sigh. His divine power was already depleted to a large extent; he was now no different from a cripple. If it weren’t for Alfred’s affection and his willingness to protect Nicholas even at the cost of his own injuries, Nicholas would have died countless times by now. Although divine spellcasters were natural enemies of death creatures, that was only true in one-on-one battles. But when three people faced such a large number of death creatures, even if they all reached the Saint level, they might not stand a chance—let alone since their strength was still far from the Saint level.

“This can’t go on,” Nicholas said with closed eyes. “The aura of death is extremely strong right now. Unless we can kill all these death creatures in one strike, they will keep multiplying. Staying here will only waste our strength. The Origin of Gods is already so close…”

A hint of greed flashed in Nicholas’s eyes at those words. If only he could obtain the Origin of Gods…

Ordas grunted and said, “I do have a way to reach that sacred altar directly. It just depends on whether you have the courage.”

Alfred asked in confusion, “What way?”

Ordas glanced upward. Dozens of bone birds were circling in the sky. Every time they approached, they spat out a flame-like breath. Though not very powerful, it was extremely annoying.

“If we go from above, we might have a chance. If I risk my life, I have at least a 50% chance of taking care of those birds in the sky. Then we can take advantage of that moment to rush upward. But… if we fall along the way… the consequences…”

Everyone knew what would happen if one fell from the sky into a pile of death creatures. Although Alfred and Nicholas could be considered decisive, this matter involved their own lives, leaving them hesitant for a moment, unsure of what to do. While the three of them were hesitating, the death creatures had somehow retreated a few steps, creating three one-and-a-half-meter-wide paths among the densely packed ones. In the depths of these paths, three Death Knights, their bodies ablaze with hellfire, were slowly emerging on their bone horses.

These three Death Knights were composed entirely of shattered bones, even their bone horses were the same. Yet any mage with even a basic understanding of necromancy knew that these bones were incredibly solid—far harder and more durable than ordinary skeleton soldiers. The thick black armor covering their bodies, along with the great swords in their hands that burned with deathfire, were all made of pure death energy, their power comparable to that of sacred artifacts.

Many necromancers spent their entire lives striving to summon such a Death Knight, yet here three appeared at once—whether this was good luck or not for Aldas and the others was hard to say.

The Death Knights slowly made their way to the open space between the crowd and the death creatures. Their bone horses’ flaming hooves pounded the ground, and flames erupted from their mouths and noses, seemingly capable of melting anything. Then, all three Death Knights raised their great swords at once, the hellfire on them as if trying to burn through the entire sky.

Aldas and the others instinctively sensed a murderous intent, a chilling aura that made their backs tingle. This time, they dared not delay any longer. Aldas gave a slight wave of his hand, and his combat energy spear vanished instantly. He then slowly drew the long sword from his waist, with earthy yellow and silver combat energy surging upward. The edge of the sword grew several feet long, radiating immense power.

It seemed the three Death Knights had been waiting for this moment. Their three bone horses let out simultaneous screams—screams that were not audible to the ear; they were an innate instinct of death creatures, capable of reaching directly into the minds of their opponents, serving as the most effective form of mental attack.

Unfortunately, Aldas was still Aldas. Even under such mental attacks, Alfred and Nicholas wavered slightly. But he, as if unharmed, simply raised his sword and charged at the three Death Knights first.

The Death Knights raised their hands, and the three Bone Horses spontaneously formed a triangular combat formation, charging straight at Ordas. As they charged, countless bone spines extended from their bodies, a pair of fangs grew from each Horse’s mouth, and thick layers of dark mist curled around their horns. Finally, Ordas collided with the Death Knights, his blazing sword meeting that triangular formation…

Boom—

A deafening explosion echoed through the thick rock walls, tearing through the air and reaching high into the sky…

Crack—

Everyone’s hearts pounded violently. The soul flames of the undead creatures flickered, and those with weaker soul powers instantly turned into pure death energy. Time seemed to stand still at that moment. Ripples of power spread from the point where Ordas’s sword met the Death Knights’ formation, even distorting the air itself. Wherever those ripples reached, chaos ensued—countless undead creatures were flung into the air, their soul flames flickering out before going out entirely. The Bone Birds flying in the sky turned into clouds of dark mist upon touching those ripples. In just that instant, over half of the undead creatures in the palace reverted to their primal state. Even Alfred’s combat energy dispersed, leaving Nicholas struggling to hold on. Such a powerful confrontation was beyond his capacity to withstand.

The entire underground ancient city seemed to awaken. The spreading ripples shook people’s hearts, as countless reptiles emerged from the soil, as if sensing something.

“This is power…”

Du Fan stood alone on the steps in front of the palace. The several magic shields surrounding him shattered under the impact of the ripples. Fortunately, he hadn’t faced them head-on, so he managed to cope. Du Fan spread his hands, and several magic scrolls appeared. He attached them to his body one by one. Only after colorful magic shields reappeared around him did he sigh softly and say, “Do I have to wait until they finish fighting before going in?”