Chapter Thirteen: Battle Beneath the Ground (II)

Could it really not be this guy?
Glancing inexplicably at the stranger who had suddenly intervened in the battle, Argus and Professor Hode exchanged glances. Soon after, the dark and fire elements surrounding their bodies gradually subsided, and even the spell tattoos on their faces faded slowly.
“My laboratory!” The man in the gray magic robe was furious upon seeing the devastation in the alchemy room. Pointing his wand at Argus and Professor Hode, he shouted angrily, “You two bastards! You destroyed my precious alchemical formulas… Don’t even think about leaving here alive! With the wrath of Ivo Beric, I’ll destroy you both, down to your souls!”
Hearing those threatening words, Argus seemed utterly confused.
From their earlier confrontation, Argus had realized that the man wielding fire-based magic possessed strength nearly on par with that of a grand mage. The terrifying white flames he used were powerful enough to drive back Argus’s own dark forces—a force capable of shaking the soul!
Could Ivo Beric be even stronger than that man?
How is that possible?
From the first glance, Argus had sensed the man’s immense magical power. But this guy…
No matter how he looked at it, Argus couldn’t see why Ivo Beric had the right to speak to him in such a manner. With such weak magical energy that he didn’t even bother to use it, how dare he be so arrogant?
For a moment, Argus was utterly baffled.
Of course, Argus also knew that some mages were accustomed to hiding or altering the true strength of their magical energy to deceive their opponents. But if one’s mental strength was too weak, they couldn’t resist being detected—just as even the most skilled mages could see through attempts to conceal true magical power, as it was a matter of rank difference!
Could Ivo Beric have a stronger mental strength than himself?
Perhaps others might doubt such a situation, but Argus simply laughed.
A stronger mental strength than his own?
What nonsense!
His own mental strength was even greater than that of a grand mage!
Argus was fully confident in this!
So then…

He turned to look at Professor Hodde, studied him with a complex gaze for a few seconds, then asked in a somewhat uncertain tone, “You… you’re the master here, right?” As he spoke, he pointed at the guy named Ivo Beric and said oddly, “He’s your subordinate, right? Such tricks can’t fool me…” But before he could finish, Professor Hodde interrupted him.

“Stop drawing conclusions on your own over there. It should be me who says that!” Glancing at the dark aura around Argus, Professor Hodde said with some disgust, “Compared to me, aren’t you more like his accomplice?”

Hm? Could it really not be?

Seeing the disgust in the man’s eyes, Argus was filled with surprise.

“Then… then who are you? What… what are you doing here?”

“Hodde Kendi! A professor at Riox. I heard that a village nearby was attacked by wolves, so I came to take a look… Where on earth did you come from, you bastard?” As he spoke, Professor Hodde seemed to understand something from the other man’s surprised expression and tone.

“I? I’m just an ordinary vagrant…”

“An ordinary vagrant?” Professor Hodde’s brows twitched as he sneered, “Can an ordinary vagrant reach such a level?” Even though he realized the other man wasn’t the real mastermind, the professor still found it hard to feel goodwill toward him—for a very simple reason.

That man named Argus BartClarkefield was very likely a damned necromancer!

Tch!

But after realizing the other man wasn’t a real enemy, Argus’s tone became much friendlier. Rubbing the back of his head, he laughed and said, “It seems I got it wrong, haha! Clark told me earlier that there’s a very powerful guy underground. I thought it was those ignorant, foolish, and self-important brats who were the target… It’s my fault for being so unlucky—I met those brats when I was almost starving. Since I ate a few pieces of their dry bread, I thought I’d just help them deal with that guy and that would be it… Who would have thought, hahaha!” As he spoke, that white, transparent ghost twisted around beside Argus in a strange manner, giving the impression that he was embarrassed.

“A brat… a little kid? An ignorant, foolish, and arrogant brat?” Professor Hodd widened his eyes and opened his mouth in shock. The image of the group of kids he led came to mind. Suddenly, it seemed he realized something. With a hint of surprise, he pointed at Argus and said, “Could it be you the one who used undead to spy on us in Rio Village?”
“Is that village called Rio… Huh?” Argus was stunned, seemingly realizing something as well. He said in astonishment, “Could it be you the powerful magician in that village?”
“…” Professor Hodd clearly hadn’t expected this outcome. He shook his head with a bitter smile, then spoke seriously again, “Even if you’re not the one who attacked the villagers, a necromancer like you who manipulates undead is still unforgivable!”
“Necromancer?” Argus looked puzzled for a moment, then stretched out his finger to tease the undead beside him, mockingly saying, “How could such a guy who plays with skull heads be compared to me?”
“You’re really arrogant… But your excuses are useless! What about those undead around you?”
“Him? Clark?” Argus pointed doubtfully at the undead beside him, shaking his finger and laughing lightly. “It’s just a contract…”
“A contract?”
“Yes! This worthless guy was originally an adventurer. He was killed by his own accomplices while searching for an ancient treasure… Then I resolved that grudge for him, and he made a contract to serve me forever. That’s all! Though he doesn’t seem impressive, he knows quite a bit, and he’s quite useful for scouting, finding food, and water!”
“…” Professor Hodd was stunned. He had heard of some dark magicians using contracts to make resentful undead serve them, as undead could penetrate any obstacle and discover things ordinary people couldn’t. As long as the contract was made on a voluntary basis, it didn’t violate the laws of magic, as it was different from the unilateral, coercive contracts used by necromancers who severely violated the laws of the world.
Looking at the writhing undead, Professor Hodd understood. Although both types of contracts could bind undead unilaterally, necromancers’ coercive summoning spells that exploited loopholes in the laws of the world made the undead stiff and numb, whereas this undead…
Besides, the spells this guy used earlier were dark magic, not necromancy. Maybe he really had gotten it wrong!

“I am very grateful for your care toward my apprentices, and… I apologize for my rudeness earlier. My name is Hord Kendi, Lord Dark Mage!” Professor Hord gently touched his forehead with his staff, using the etiquette among mages to apologize for his behavior.

After all, dark mages are also a branch of black mages. Although they delve into dark powers and sometimes even attempt to communicate with demons, their reputation in the magical world is not very good. Yet they are not as evil, detestable, and condemned as necromancers.

Ultimately, dark powers are derived from demonic forces. As long as they do not commit any heinous or outrageous acts, the empire tends to turn a blind eye to dark mages, since demonic powers are also a part of the magical system.

Of course, if they resort to practices like [blood sacrifice] using living beings, the empire will not remain indifferent.

Although necromancer powers are classified as dark, they actually originate from the forces of death in the land of death. If classified according to the standard magical system, death powers should be categorized under [life] magic. Of course, compared to the life magic of elven druids, it represents the opposite extreme.

The reason people classify death powers as dark is that both have virtually zero resistance to [holy light] magic.

“Hehe, I should have thought more about it earlier. Your mastery of fire-based blue magic is already sufficient to prove…” Now, Argus was kind, completely different from his aggressive demeanor earlier. Where was the fierce gaze he had when fighting Professor Hord?

“Hehe…”

“Ha, haha!” The two laughed as if no one else was around, and all the unpleasantness from earlier vanished in their laughter. But…

They seemed to not notice that Ivo Beric, standing by the door of the alchemy room dressed in a gray magical robe, was trembling with rage.

“Listen to me… How much longer will you ignore me? I’ll pull out your souls and roast them over fire! Fear! Scream! Cry!” Ivo Beric said through gritted teeth.

“Oh?” Stopping his laughter, Professor Hord turned his head, staring coldly at Ivo Beric, and said in a deep voice, “Before that happens, I’ll burn you to ashes first, to comfort those innocent villagers!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Argus also said to Ivo with a mocking expression, “I wonder if you’re crazy?! Can’t you see the gap in our levels? You worthless scum like you—I don’t even feel like moving a finger to deal with you! I don’t know what gives you the audacity to speak in such a tone!”
In fact, not only Argus thought so; even Professor Hode was highly skeptical. The strength of the magical fluctuations from this guy was even weaker than that of his preferred apprentice, yet he still had the nerve to speak so arrogantly. Could it really be that “ignorance breeds courage”?
Actually, both of them were right. This man named Ivo Beric wasn’t actually a proper magician at all—he was a pharmacist. His mastery of magic wasn’t much better than that of Jiang Zhe or Lavia. But that didn’t mean he was ignorant. On the contrary, he knew exactly how powerful these two men were. He said those things only because he had an ace up his sleeve!
“Two powerful black magicians? It’s a shame to use them as wolf food! Hahaha!” Cackling wildly, Ivo Beric shouted, “Come out!” As soon as his words faded, more than a dozen lycanthrope puppets emerged from behind him… no, rather, crawled out, limbs moving.
“Hey!” Argus shook his head mockingly and said in a tone filled with pity, “What a pitiful guy. I thought you had some advantage… turns out it’s just these…” He shook his head in disappointment.
“Hmph!” Ivo Beric snarled angrily, pointing his wand at Argus and saying firmly, “These are the achievements I’ve been proud of these past years. Don’t compare them to those inferior werewolves! Tear him apart!”
“Roar!” At his command, the lycanthrope puppets, with poisonous saliva dripping from their mouths, roared like beasts, leaping at Argus.
“Oh?” Argus gave a casual glance at the puppets charging at him, a scornful smile appearing on his lips. Just as he raised his right hand to deal with them, there was a loud “boom”—a burst of blue flames suddenly appeared in the air.
Amidst miserable screams, the dozen or so lycanthrope puppets fell from the sky and crashed heavily to the ground. After convulsing for a while, they lost their breath.
“Hey,” Argus glanced at Professor Hode and chuckled lightly, “I was about to say this… you’re almost there, right? To that thing?”

Obviously, Professor Hode understood what Argus meant. With a deep sigh of regret, he shook his head and said, “Although I’ve had several moments when I felt I was on the verge of success… Hah! It’s like ordinary people can never reach the heights of gods. Such things… even if you regret it, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Can’t reach the heights of gods? Hmph!” A strange, sinister smile appeared on Argus’s lips as he clenched his right fist and said maliciously, “If by gods you mean those legendary deities… then use your own hands to pull them down from their thrones!”
“Pull them down…” Professor Hode was stunned. He looked at Argus with confusion and surprise, feeling a vague sense of unease—this man of immense strength seemed to carry some inexplicable danger.
“If they could be pulled down so easily, how could they still be called ‘gods’? Gods are eternal! They will never fall!” Shaking his head to dispel the absurd thought, Professor Hode said.
“You’re right,” Argus paused, his eyes filled with an inexplicable excitement. Clenching his right fist, he whispered, “But conversely, those who can fall don’t deserve to be called ‘gods’ at all! If gods truly exist in this world… hahaha, I really want to try pulling those so-called gods down from their lofty thrones! Such a thing…” As he spoke, he even trembled with excitement.
Daring to challenge gods? What a madman…
Professor Hode shook his head and turned to see Ivo Beric still standing at the door. Letting out a soft sigh, he said coldly, “Though I’m not a priest of the Church, I must say this—accept punishment! I’ll bear the pain that those innocent villagers have suffered!”
Faced with Professor Hode’s murderous intent, Ivo Beric’s expression grew tense, his breathing even more rapid.
“Are you ready? Do you need to leave any last words? Screaming? Crying? Fear? The power you gain by harming others is as worthless as that of your so-called werewolves when faced with a true magician!”
Looking at Professor Hode’s murderous gaze, Ivo Beric swallowed hard. Suddenly, as if he’d spotted something, he smirked wickedly and said, “Is that really the case? Honorable magician, haven’t you heard a rumor? Some werewolves turn into another kind of creature after death…”

As he spoke, the once lifeless werewolf puppets suddenly stood up again, undergoing a series of transformations. Their long, thick fur gradually fell off, their wolf-like heads reverted to human form, their hunched bodies straightened out, and their skin color changed from gray to white—no, pale! Their dark pupils emitted a terrifying glare, and an ominous dark aura surrounded them.
“This… what is this?!” Not only Professor Hode but even Argus was shocked by what he saw. He murmured, “Gang… Gangro?! The legendary special vampires formed from dead werewolves, almost immortal Gangros? Impossible! Not all werewolves can turn into Gangros after death!”
“Oh, does this Dark Mage also know about them?” Ivo Beric, who had taken the chance to hide behind two vampires, sneered. “So, this is my prideful creation over the past few years! Oh, I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself. I’m Ivo Beric, an alchemist-apothecary!”
“Gangro…” Professor Hode stared in shock at these dozen or so special vampires, whose names could only be heard in legends. Suddenly, he raised his right hand and pointed at one of them.
“Boom!” A blue flame erupted, instantly engulfing that vampire. When the flame subsided, the Gangro was completely shattered.
“Tsk tsk tsk, useless…” Ivo Beric shook his right index finger triumphantly. With his movement, the shattered Gangro turned into black blood and, under the solemn gazes of Professor Hode and Argus, reshaped itself into a human form…
Professor Hode’s magic had no effect at all?
“Hey, hey, that legend can’t be true, right?” Argus tilted his head, looking at these immortal creatures with disbelief in his eyes.
“Boom! Boom boom boom!” With a series of violent explosions, the entire alchemy room was soon engulfed in blue flames. Except for the two vampires in front of Ivo Beric, all the others were consumed by the flames.
But…
“Useless, esteemed Mage!” Ivo Beric said mockingly from behind the two vampires.
As expected…

After the flames died down, the black blood flowing on the floor inside transformed back into human forms once again. Immediately afterward, they were blown apart by the flames, only to reform, be blown apart again, and reform once more…
“How many times do I have to say it? It’s useless!” Ivo Beric sneered, but his eyes said otherwise.
“Legend has it… Gungro possess bodies that are almost immortal, but not truly immortal, right?” Argus teased in a low voice, running his hand through his messy hair. “Let me guess how many times they can ‘die’… Ten times? Twenty times? Thirty times?”
“If that’s really the case,” Professor Hode said calmly as he continued casting fire spells, “I’ll make them die ten times, twenty times, thirty times!”
“…” Ivo Beric fell silent, then said in a somewhat hysterical tone, “It seems you’ve forgotten something.”
“What?” Professor Hode paused mid-spell.
Looking at Professor Hode and Argus in the arena, Ivo Beric said with a mad expression, “Do you know that after being bitten by a werewolf, it takes one to twenty-eight hours for a person to transform into a werewolf? During this time, the soul hasn’t actually separated from the body; there’s still a special connection. So, those who are bitten to death and have their blood drained will, after transforming into werewolves, simply shift from one form of life to another. Their soul will return to the body, and the body will recover at an extremely fast pace to its state before being bitten. Of course, if the head is severed, survival is impossible—even werewolves die if their heads are cut off…
But Gungro, who transform after death, are different. Even if their bodies are shattered, they can still survive. Unfortunately, out of a thousand werewolves, only about three turn into Gungro vampires. But I found a special potion in an ancient recipe that can turn all werewolves into Gungro after death. Sadly, as a price, the resulting Gungro cannot reach the legendary level. They can only understand the most basic commands because the soul is consumed as a medium in this process. They’re just living, immortal corpses. But that’s enough…”
“What exactly are you trying to say?” Professor Hode asked, frowning.

“It’s simple. I just want to say that I’ve basically mastered the whole process. I’m kindly reminding you that it takes one to twenty-eight hours for a human to turn into a werewolf, and it’s roughly the same for a werewolf to turn into a Gorgon… If you’ve been able to get in, it means those werewolves guarding the tunnel have already been dealt with by you. Hehe… Judging by the time, it should be about right, right?”
“You…” Professor Hode was shocked.
Could it be…
“Hey, what kind of joke is this?!” Argus’ expression turned serious.
Could there really be four or five hundred Gorgon vampires with almost immortal powers?