Chapter Thirteen: The Great Bear

Komer’s judgment was correct. As the lightning-based power was unleashed, streams of fire snakes suddenly formed a dense web of flames in space. Driven by the swirling forces of the lightning realm, these flames spread rapidly, like a golden sea of fire intent on reducing everything in space to ashes.

Komer’s body suddenly bent, shrinking by half to minimize the impact area of the magical arrows and focus his strength to counter their force. The Heavenly Demon Shield had already been activated, but mere defense was no longer enough to withstand the combined assault of magical and physical forces. Komer had to take a risk.

At the last moment before the magical arrows reached him, the Heavenly Demon Shield shattered violently. Wild energy surged out through every pore of Komer’s body. By gathering all his magical power in one burst, he managed to save his life. For a mage, such sudden attacks—especially those with physical force—were the hardest to defend against. No mage could withstand such attacks unprepared. Even summoning magical power required some time to prepare, but his opponent clearly didn’t intend to give Komer that chance.

Yet, Komer’s long-developed intuition saved him at the last moment. The Heavenly Demon Shield alone couldn’t counter the magical arrows, but combining it with the eruption of dark primordial energy was enough to deal with this disaster.

Thousands of magical arrows scattered under the combined effect of the Heavenly Demon Shield and the dark primordial energy, but a few still managed to penetrate this powerful defense. Komer, already on the verge of being defeated by that final strike, became even more unstable. The web of flames and lightning continued to swirl in space, while the knightly swords in the hands of the three swordsmen who had already taken to the air emitted blue light as they charged at Komer.

Blood trickled from the corners of Komer’s mouth and eyes as he inwardly smiled bitterly. His opponent’s plan was too perfect—the magical arrows had almost taken his life. Clearly, his opponent regarded him as the greatest threat. If it weren’t for him forcing the activation of the dark primordial energy along with the Heavenly Demon Shield, the magical arrows would have pierced him like a beehive. Not to mention the fire and lightning spells that still targeted him, plus those three master swordsmen now.

Komer, who had collapsed to the ground, forced down the raging blood in his chest. With his last remaining strength, he pulled out hisThe Qiankun bag bag to cast a spell—his survival now hinged on this single hope. Komer didn’t ask for much; he only hoped to hold on long enough for Sorenberg and Lebrí to arrive in time. The back garden wasn’t far from the main buildings of the lord’s estate, a distance that could be covered in an instant. It all depended on Sorenberg and the others’ speed.

Seeing their target slump to the ground with a deathly pallor, Qilongba, Selinger, and another companion exchanged satisfied glances. The three knight swords simultaneously emitted brilliant light. In a second, the target would become a corpse. By then, Selinger could already hear the rumbling sound of thunder magic being activated in the distance. Clearly, the target’s reinforcements had also noticed the anomaly and were rushing over, while their own hidden magicians were doing their best to stop them.

But it was all meaningless now. The target was already locked in. By the time they arrived, their lord would have long gone to hell.

Yet when Selinger saw the strange smile appearing on Komer’s lips as he lay on the ground, he realized something was wrong. A figure appeared almost out of nowhere in front of Komer, blocking the three beams of brilliant sword energy. Selinger never expected such a bizarre occurrence at this moment. There was nothing in the surrounding three zhang—nothing but the web of fire and lightning tightly surrounding Komer. Yet this figure before him was definitely not an illusion!

Selinger and his companions had no choice left. At this point, anything in their path could only be torn apart. The sword energy, amplified to its extreme, emitted a hazy glow, while the knight swords resembled magnificent columns of light. Their blades even made a ringing sound due to slight vibrations.

The sword energy surged, and the three swords pierced into that figure without any resistance. Such intense energy could turn even the strongest iron into dust with a single strike. But Selinger and Qilongba both felt as though their swords had sunk into a sticky quagmire—or rather, as if they were piercing into an impossibly thick wooden post. The immense force of the swords was completely nullified by that frictional resistance.

In shock, they saw a blue shadow shoot up suddenly. A keen sense of danger made Selinger and Qilongba perform a quick somersault in midair. A cold aura rushed past their backs like lightning, lifting the edges of their clothes.

The other companion, clearly, was not so lucky. A dark blue blade flashed through the air, accompanied by a shrill scream and an overwhelming scent of blood. In an instant, the other swordsman was split in two mid-air, his internal organs spilling out as blood sprayed everywhere. The once serene garden had now turned into a battlefield of chaos.

It was only then that Selinger and Qilongba, having regained their composure, truly saw what was happening. Their companion had been torn apart by a dark blue crescent-shaped sword held by the expressionless, yellow-faced giant before them. There were three fist-sized holes in his chest and abdomen, yet no blood flowed out. Selinger and Qilongba could even clearly see the muscles frozen in those wounds, as if his body had been paralyzed, devoid of any sign of life.

A zombie!

Its lifeless eyes stared straight at Selinger and Qilongba, as if trying to pierce their hearts. The crescent sword in its hand had an ancient and strange design. As it raised its right arm slowly, the zombie’s movements appeared stiff but powerful, filled with force. A dark blue glow flowed along the blade, while a chilling aura spread down Selinger and Qilongba’s spines.

“Big Bear, take them out!”

Before Koemer’s hoarse voice could finish, the silent yellow-faced giant lunged forward. The dark blue blade shot upward, swirling along the ground, and a violent gust of cold wind instantly enveloped Selinger and Qilongba.

Though shocked by the zombie’s ferocity, as knights of the Bohemian Magic Knights Order, life meant little compared to honor. The trials they had endured had hardened their resolve like iron. Faced with such sudden chaos, their determination wavered not at all. Undead were nothing to fear, and they certainly didn’t think a mere zombie could stop them.

Their two knightly swords transformed into two spinning orbs of light, rolling rapidly forward. The intense combat energy made the air feel suffocating. Just before touching the dark blue blade, the orbs suddenly darted apart. The zombie, realizing their intent, performed a graceful backflip, its crescent sword sweeping downward like a rainbow.

Selerger and Qilongba were horrified. The zombie’s rapid reaction speed already shocked them, but the fact that it could discern their plan to divide and attack meant it possessed intelligence and judgment!

This is simply appalling and unbelievable! In shock, Salinger and Zilomba were forced to retreat, forgetting even to continue their attack. Their bewildered eyes wandered over the expressionless figure before them—with a huge wound on its chest and abdomen, no blood seeping out, a rigid face, and dull eyes. It was clearly a zombie, not a being with vital signs. But zombies or undead might have some level of reactive ability in crisis, yet they should never possess wisdom or judgment—this was a fundamental principle of the magical world that could not be overturned! So how could all this be explained?! The figure had keenly perceived their intentions and managed to thwart their surprise attack at the last moment. Staring at each other in confusion, Salinger and Zilomba even forgot what their mission was. It wasn’t that they hadn’t faced many challenges before, but the scene before them was too bizarre—if zombies could be intelligent, then wouldn’t skeletons be able to live like humans? Komer was glad for this development; he hoped time could be stretched out, preferably until reinforcements arrived. The Big Bear surely couldn’t withstand two opponents. Even though his unique physical structure made him fearless of death, if the others could merely slow him down or control his movements while the other struck, he would be doomed. Right now, he was no different from a baby. At this moment, both swordsmen seemed terrified by the Big Bear’s strange behavior. Every second counted in such a situation—perhaps just one second could determine his fate. Komer silently vowed in his heart: These despicable scum dared to do this to him! No matter who was behind this attack, he would retaliate a thousandfold. Whether it was Julius or the King of Orcs, he would never let them go!