Chapter 252: Khatefi

Apart from some spells that remained unconflicted from their mortal lives, liches, upon becoming undead, gain powerful negative-energy spell talents along with abilities typical of other undead creatures. For example, they are immune to cold, toxins, curses, and illusions, but they also inherit the weaknesses of undead—fear of positive energy, fire, and lightning.

This applies to ordinary liches. However, powerful liches at the legendary level are even more formidable than ordinary legendary warriors. When it comes to combating such undead entities, priests and celestial beings are the most skilled. Although mages also have powerful methods to deal with undead, the incomplete transmission of spells across different schools makes them less effective compared to those dedicated to divine magic.

Donald hadn’t mastered many spells from the necromancy school—not because he couldn’t learn them, but because necromancers, who specialize in manipulating the dead, are generally seen as dark and evil beings, leading to persecution. Few such spells have been passed down, and most practitioners hide in secrecy. Thus, Donald had no way to learn necromancy spells and could only master a few that are more acceptable to ordinary mages—skills he learned from the witch Hentia.

When the legendary lich appeared, it surprised Donald and his allies by dismissing its subordinates and stepping forward alone to confront the invaders. Under the orders of this powerful undead warrior, the numerous undead obeyed like machines, ceasing their frenzied attacks and instead surrounding the living beings.

“Poor mortals! The great undead Khatefi offers you a chance at redemption. If you worship me devoutly, I will grant you eternal life. Otherwise, I will turn you all into the lowest-ranking skeletons, forcing you to suffer endless pain under the flames of the undead!”

Looking at the towering legendary lich and hearing its words, Donald suddenly felt a sense of absurdity and sorrow.

“Eternal life? Such immortality is something no living person would choose. It’s ridiculous that this undead lich still aims to gather faith to become a god!” Vincent and the others agreed. They couldn’t understand the human language of the Totem Continent, but the lich, lacking vocal cords and other vocal organs, communicated through psychic impulses emitted by its soul fire. Any intelligent being, whether human or magical beast, could “hear” it.

Donald spoke in a disdainful tone again, “Even a demi-god-level undead lich cannot fully restore a living being’s physical body. Without breathing, touch, or the pleasure of eating, trapped in that withered and decaying shell all day long—such existence can’t be called living. What’s the point?”
“This guy has already begun to gather faith, which means he must possess divinity within him. Once he officially becomes a totem god, his combat strength will surely increase by more than ten times! Thankfully, we arrived at just the right time.”
The others nodded in relief. Neither a legendary undead creature nor a legendary totem god was something they wanted to face. In their own territories, a legendary totem god could exert power on par with that of a demi-god!
Seeing these suddenly intruding living beings not only show no sign of submission but also display pity and mockery, the legendary lich Katerfi immediately burned with rage, even causing the color of his raging soul fire to change.
He immediately let out a shriek from his soul and attacked those annoying celestial beings and living beings across from him.
Katerfi had once been a god, a powerful mage-type totem god skilled in witchcraft. At the demi-god level, he was quite famous on the Totem Continent and considered a ruler who dominated a region.
Unfortunately, he was later defeated by a stronger opponent and forced to abandon his divinity. Having lost his totem god status, he was left with only gold-tier strength and was seriously injured, barely alive. He fled the continent to overseas, hoping to use the might of the Ocean Lord to avoid his pursuers.
After successfully escaping and entering the sea, Katerfi lost his way and eventually succumbed on a strange island.
Yet fate spared him. That isolated island was originally the habitat of a group of carnivorous sea beasts, filled with the bones of countless prey after they were devoured. It was also a place with strong negative energy, which over time became a favorite death realm for undead creatures.
Due to the residual divinity in his body, coupled with intense resentment and hatred, his soul was trapped within his corpse. Thus, after being infected by negative energy and transformed into an undead creature, Katerfi did not lose his sanity and retained some memories from his life.
However, his soul was eroded by negative energy, along with his resentment over his tragic fate and his hatred toward living beings as an undead, causing his personality to change drastically, turning him cruel and vicious.

Originally, the island only had some incomplete carcasses of sea beasts. But over the following hundred years, the Golden Corpse Witch Katerfi gradually hunted down many sea beasts, piling up their corpses on the island to artificially cultivate undead creatures. Within a few decades, the place became a nest for undead creatures. Katerfi rose from a Corpse Witch to a Lich, with her power continuing to advance toward legendary levels.

Corpse Witches are typically undead creatures formed from spellcasters who died accidentally. They are regarded by most mages as the precursor to Liches, with their souls trapped in corpses, retaining only a small portion of their spellcasting abilities, and their strength generally not exceeding the silver rank. In contrast, Liches are powerful undead beings whose souls are condensed after a transformation ritual, allowing them to transfer to other bodies at will. As long as their soul remains intact, they cannot die.

Liches usually have a secret container to store their soul’s essence, known as a Soul Box. This can be a box, a weapon, or even a gemstone. As long as the hidden Soul Box remains undiscovered and undestroyed, a Lich can resurrect itself within it even if killed. Of course, this resurrection is not unlimited. But given a Lich’s formidable physique and strength, which make them hard to kill in the first place, and the ability to resurrect after death, many evil mages prefer to abandon their mortal lives and transform into powerful Liches instead.

This is because the rules of the main world are strict with few loopholes to exploit. To become a powerful, immortal demi-god, one must spend countless years cultivating step by step. Even ordinary professionals rarely achieve even one in ten million success rates. Thus, the option of achieving instant immortality at a cost is highly attractive to those spellcasters with weak wills.