Chapter 19: Clues

“Trajan, it seems our opponent has thought of the same thing as us.” The middle-aged mage, who had remained silent since the start of the war, finally spoke.
“What do you think, Mr. Denby?” Trajan seemed to understand his words and raised his gaze. This mage sent by the Pericles Church was one of the most mysterious figures within it. Even powerful ones like Lorenzo held Denby in high regard, yet knew very little about him. It seemed this man had always stayed hidden within the Pericles Church, never appearing in public—until now, when he could finally showcase his talents before everyone.
“Weren’t you saying he’s also a necromancer? Didn’t he summon undead in the battle against Marco last time? How about we help him get another chance to fully display his skills? There’s no need to hold back when dealing with these dark scum—our only option is to drive them straight into the abyss of hell.”
Denby’s voice sounded erratic, as if coming from another dimension, but this suited Trajan’s intentions. The battle against Marco had filled Trajan with deep hatred for him, and he longed for this chance to settle things once and for all.
“Mr. Denby, I’ll obey your command. I’ll deal with the undead he summons, while you take care of him.”
“Very good. I’ve long wanted to see just how unfathomable this character is, who’s always been kept hidden according to Kent and the others.”
Denby’s lifeless eyes suddenly locked onto Kommer, who stood like a towering mountain in the distance. The Holy Guardian had been missing for years with no news, and now Elena from Vazinki had also disappeared mysteriously. The only common link was that both of them had had some kind of contact with Lord Kommer before. Lord Frenster’s suspicions weren’t unfounded—perhaps it was time to focus on this guy.
When Trajan leaped into the air, Kommer knew a fierce battle was inevitable. He had no choice but to summon the Great Bear without hesitation. Though he knew that with the Rema knights present, revealing everything he had carefully hidden might expose him completely, facing Trajan’s attack, if he couldn’t stop him, that other man, who still hadn’t moved, might doom him to certain death.

The agile and elusive figure of the Great Bear flashed before Trajan in an instant—swift as the wind, moving like a fleeing hare. With his body slightly crouched, as soon as those two glinting objects came into view, Trajan felt a chilling coldness seep into his lower abdomen.
What a vicious tactic! Those two glinting objects in the opponent’s hands were two extremely short daggers. Their dark blue blades were clearly forged from special magic metal. The emotionless, cold yellow face, combined with his rapid and ferocious movements, sent chills down even Trajan’s spine, a seasoned warrior who had faced countless battles.
Faced with this close-quarters combat strategy, Trajan simply retracted his knight’s spear, but at the same time, he spun silver-white combat energy from his sword at lightning speed. There was no need to hesitate when dealing with such undead zombies—the only way to eliminate their combat power was to tear them apart completely. Otherwise, he would have to use the power of light to destroy the dark essence deep within their bodies. Trajan preferred the more brutal method of dismemberment.
The Great Bear was no longer the same as before. As Komer continued to enhance his own magical power, he also realized just how much help the Great Bear could be in dealing with close-combat experts like knights, especially when facing opponents who included both light mages and skilled knights—wherever danger might arise. While strengthening his own power, he needed allies like the Great Bear to grow stronger as well.
Those two dagger-like objects were made of wind-polished cold iron, and with the poison from the Sacral Tree of Alsophila that had soaked the Great Bear’s body after its death, even against strong opponents like Trajan and Kent, a single touch of blood would likely strip them of their skin, if not kill them outright.
Komer also knew that the Great Bear could only hold off Trajan for a short time. But this middle-aged mage, who seemed to shrink distances at will, posed an even greater threat. Could this be the master mage sent by the Church of Pericles? Just as Michelangelo was to the Church of St. Basil?
“Lord Komer, I’ve long heard of your fame. It’s truly a rare pleasure to meet you today.”
Denebi felt extremely delighted the moment the opponent summoned the Great Bear, and his steps became even lighter. Yes, it was him—the man who had solved many of the problems plaguing the Church of Pericles all these years. That peerless warrior from the Osmanthus Gate had turned into a puppet of this guy’s. The world was indeed small. Kent and Douglas’s suspicions were correct; this guy was just hiding deeper. But now, in this life-or-death moment, he finally couldn’t hide any longer.

Seeing the joy and surprise on the other person’s face, under normal circumstances, Komer would have thought they were an old friend he hadn’t seen in years. What could have caused such an expression? Komer’s wariness grew significantly, and a badpremonition settled in his heart.

“Who are you?”

“Hehe, Lord Komer, you might not recognize me. I’m Denebi, the Archmage of the Bericle Church. But your undead pet is an old acquaintance of mine.” Denebi still couldn’t suppress his excitement—this reward was simply too great. In Lord Frenster’s eyes, his status might indeed surpass that of his competitors.

A chill ran through Komer’s heart. Though he knew this was inevitable, he hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly. Yet Komer wasn’t one to back down; since it was unavoidable, it didn’t matter.

“Is that so? Mr. Denebi, it seems you have something to say?” Komer stared at him coldly, his magical power surging as he made gestures with his hands.

“Hehe, Lord Komer, don’t be so hasty. Perhaps we still have many things to discuss together.” Denebi waved his hands repeatedly. “Let’s turn enemies into friends. Don’t you have even a little patience, Lord Komer? Or do you think you can kill me before Trajan deals with that undead? Hehe, although that warrior from the Osmanthus Gate is now invulnerable and even protected by the poison of the Sauron Sacred Tree, I can tell its crafting level is still far from perfect. Lord Komer, do you really want to watch such a perfect material for your undead mages get destroyed?”