Chapter 6: Wolf Attack

Adrian and his followers hadn’t expected Neo to share their hardships, but Neo’s swift and merciless escape was still hard for them to accept. Even the straightforward sergeant York changed his battle cry to, “Damn you, wolf pup!”

The demonized undead were the monsters created by the dark cultists when Neo was on the verge of death while rescuing Eros and Char in the city—by consuming dark potions. Such low-grade potions couldn’t save lives, but they could intensify all emotions and vitality at the moment of death into forces for growth, turning people into evil, immortal monsters.

The demonized undead ambushing Adrian were stronger than those Neo had encountered, as they hadn’t transformed instantly but had been raised by necromancers over time. They had no heartbeat or body temperature, their muscles were as tough as rubber, and their combat strength rivaled that of level 3 warriors. Some even possessed spell-like abilities—making them the true weapons in the necromancers’ hands.

Adrian’s followers were well-trained. Faced with this sudden ambush, they didn’t rush forward in desperate fury but quickly united as one. Yet, one unlucky sergeant was targeted by three demonized undead at once and couldn’t escape their grasp, being torn apart by simultaneous attacks.

“Ah! Ah…” The screams came from another sergeant, Mork. His misfortune was that he happened to be standing on top of one of the demonized undead. A claw ripped a huge hole in his leg, and he collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony.

The knight’s squire, Lance, rushed forward, using his sword to drive back the demonized undead, then pulled Mork by his coat toward his allies. A demonized beast as swift as a jaguar approached from the side, ready to pounce on Lance. Just then, Anqiro’s arrow arrived. Its cutting edge sliced a wound the width of a finger along the side of the beast’s neck—almost half the width of its neck. Filthy, foul-smelling green blood gushed out, but as a green light shot at it, the wound began to heal at a visible speed.

It was the necromancer. This guy had kept his strength intact. He might be a low-level mage, but he was level 3. Necromancers were known for their bizarre spells and growing strength with each battle. This dark ray required little energy, was not very lethal, but it healed the demonized undead instantly.

“Ha!” At this moment, Adrian was the only mobile fighter in the squad, operating independently. With a low growl, his sword glowed brightly as he charged bravely, using his sword as a spear. He transformed into a radiant stag of light, charging at the necromancer. The stag was the guardian beast Adrian had chosen long ago.

Boom! One reckless demonized undead tried to stop him, only to be sent flying. Its upper body collapsed and shattered like it had been hit by a giant hammer, with filthy blood spraying everywhere.

Boom! The large tree that the unlucky necromancer had used to conceal himself exploded violently, sending wood shavings flying. A heroic charge was the knightly equivalent of a charge, embodying an unstoppable momentum. The protective form created by burning combat energy was also extremely fierce. Just as it seemed about to hit the necromancer, he sneered and unfurled a magic scroll, instantly flying away. This scroll not only had the advantage of lowering the requirements for use and eliminating the need for incantations but also allowed those who normally couldn’t cast such spells to do so temporarily.

Blue wind element energy formed four wings behind the necromancer. Though it was only for a brief moment, it was enough. The necromancer leaped into the air and landed on the top of a cliff over ten meters high. Then, treating Adrian as nothing, he discarded the remaining parts of the magic scroll and immediately began chanting a spell.

By this point, the team composed of knight servants and sergeants was under immense pressure. But Adrian gritted his teeth and decided to try again, hoping to kill the necromancer. After all, it was obvious how foolish it would be to let a spellcaster wreak havoc unchecked.

With a whoosh, the Light Deer turned into scattered light. As a knight at the peak of level five, Adrian still couldn’t control his combat energy freely—basically, he could only release it, not retract it. If this strike missed, his combat energy would cease burning, and his transformation would end.

With a light leap, Adrian dodged the attack of a corrupted undead. He roared again and rushed forward like an arrow of light, heading straight for the cliff where the necromancer was.

Unbeknownst to him, the necromancer had been preparing. As soon as Adrian jumped, a group of zombies on the cliff leaped at him one after another. Though they weren’t very strong, they could act as obstacles to slow Adrian down.

Left with no choice, Adrian swung his glowing blade to cut through the undead. Finally, in desperation, he unleashed a sword slash from the air, but it was still blocked by the continuing attacks of the undead. The necromancer remained unharmed.

This delay not only trapped Adrian behind them among the corrupted undead but also allowed the necromancer to finish chanting. He scattered phosphorescent poisonous dust—plague mist!

The magical light mixed with the poisonous dust, turning into a poisonous mist in the area where Adrian’s team was, worsening the already dire situation.

“Don’t panic! Fight blindly with your eyes closed, hold your breath, and evacuate in an orderly manner in the direction the wind is blowing!” Adrian ordered loudly as he slashed at the corrupted undead while moving toward his team.

Adrian’s command was effective, but the problem was that there were countless fierce and brutal corrupted undead, and the plague mist had no effect on them. The gap in combat strength between the two sides was now enormous. Four of the six sergeants, including the one with a leg injury earlier, died instantly, leaving only York, who was the most determined. Though his arms and legs were covered in wounds, none were life-threatening, and he managed to escape the misty area.

One of the four knight servants, Kay, was also injured while trying to break through. His injury was in his chest and abdomen, looking quite serious. If blood wasn’t stopped quickly, his life might be at risk.

Although Adrian managed to support his minions at great cost in terms of energy, what was even more disheartening was that the necromancer’s next spell was Dark Gale, which caused the Plague Mist to chase after everyone. The mist was heavy and not good at climbing slopes, but there were the most demonized undead on this side of the slope, making it difficult for them to attack from lower ground up the hill. To keep up with the advancing mist, the group had to exert all their strength just to succeed.

As soon as the necromancer’s control over the wind ended, he immediately began chanting the next spell. Under such circumstances, not to mention his minions, even Adrian felt despair.

At this critical moment, the roar of a firearm broke the silence.

The necromancer’s second arrow-shielding shield had already run out of energy due to the two arrows fired by Anqiluo. He never expected that, even with undead guardians around him, someone could still harm him. The necromancer wasn’t stupid either; he quickly realized it was that damned wolf-rider who had sneaked back.

The firearm didn’t actually injure the necromancer, but the shattered shield and the loud noise startled him, causing him to interrupt his spell and nearly suffer backlash from it.

The necromancer was quite skilled—he could roughly determine the location of the firearm based on the sound alone. He turned, shook his Bone Staff, and released all 12 Dark Evil Energy Arrows stored within it (equivalent to the lowest-level fireballs and ice arrows) in less than 2 seconds, creating a powerful area attack. The energy arrows exploded, snapping three trees thicker than human legs, and dark energy spread over an area of over 10 square meters, corroding everything in its path.

“Damn it!” By the time he used the latter half of his staff, the necromancer had already realized something was wrong. He issued a command to switch spells, but it was too late. Without hesitation, he threw away his staff and crushed one of the rings on his left hand to use the emergency spell “Phantom Shift.” Amidst a series of illusions, the necromancer slipped away like a highly agile sixth-level warrior.

His experienced combat reflexes saved him once again. Just as he had moved away, the wolf pounced from the side. If he had been half a second slower, he would have been torn apart—though only the illusion was torn this time.

The surprise attack wasn’t over yet. While the necromancer was dodging, Nio on the wolf leaped forward and threw his black iron sword.

“Damn it!” Forced into a desperate situation, the necromancer activated another instant spell: “Dark Armor.” He gritted his teeth and knew he would surely take a punch from Nio, but surviving a punch wouldn’t kill him, whereas being hit by that swiftly thrown black iron sword would surely be fatal.

“As long as I survive this time, I’ll show you what I can do!” The necromancer resolved to endure Nio’s punch. He formed seals with his hands, chanted spells, and used both spells simultaneously—either one of them would be enough to deal a heavy blow to Nio.

Boom! A dark flash erupted in front of the necromancer as the black iron sword fell to the ground. Nio arrived, delivering a domineering overhead punch just as he got close.

Pfft! That punch shattered the necromancer’s upper and lower front teeth, driving them straight into his mouth. Driven by the momentum of his leap, Neo swung his arm forcefully, tossing the necromancer like a torn sack and slamming him to the ground.
Ghk! The necromancer was thrown hard, and Neo’s fist struck deep inside his mouth. Even though the snow and soil were soft, his lower jaw and throat were severely damaged. Yet this necromancer was still a fierce opponent—up to this moment, his hands continued to form magic seals. With dark energy swirling around him, it seemed he was about to complete a spell.
“Ha!” In a fury, Neo used “Life Siphon” again. Under full force, the necromancer began to wither at a visible speed; the brightness in his eyes finally dimmed. His withered fingers failed to complete the final seal, and his magic power dissipated, leaving him motionless.
Rolling aside to avoid one zombie’s attack, Neo grabbed his sword and severed another zombie’s leg. Just as a wolf rushed toward a nearby zombie, Neo leaped onto it. The wolf carried him as it jumped off the cliff, heading straight toward the corrupted undead fighting Adrian and the others.