Chapter 3: Necromancer Warriors
With anger shining in his eyes, the calmness from before had vanished entirely. Malon was truly furious. He hadn’t expected the opponent’s successive attacks to all aim at killing him. Especially that wood-based magic spell filled with dark malice proved this guy was indeed a magical genius—able to seamlessly blend dark magic with elemental magic. If not for his vigilance, that pervasive pus would have infected his body, turning him into a skeleton. Even so, to resist that highly invasive, almost living-like pus, he had to use the Holy Light Shielding Technique. This defensive spell, reserved for extreme situations, drained a great deal of mana, and his mana wasn’t yet strong enough to ignore such costs. So as soon as those living vines retracted, Malon quickly withdrew the shield.
He couldn’t continue defending passively—he had to attack! Without hesitation, Malon clasped his hands together, then separated them sharply. A massive sphere of light emerged between his palms and instantly transformed into a torrent of glowing orbs that rushed like a storm toward Comer across the field. The powerful beams of sacred light trapped Comer, clad in a gray cloak, within their web.
Comer, who was prepared, knew the opponent wouldn’t just sit idle. After his corrosive vines failed, he had silently recited spells in preparation. When he saw countless glowing orbs forming in the purple-robed priest’s hands, he immediately pricked the tip of his index finger. A dark red blood droplet expanded infinitely the moment it absorbed the curse from the spell, forming a huge, semi-transparent purple-red barrier that slowly rose in the air, looking eerily sinister.
The orbs, brimming with sacred light, struck the Demonic Sky Cocoon like a transparent membrane. These two completely different types of magic collided, causing an intense reaction—like pouring cold water into boiling oil. The purple-red light membrane instantly fractured into countless ripples that spread outward. Space began to warp violently at that moment, and the glowing orbs vanished after colliding with the membrane carrying immense dark devouring power.
Komer’s face turned extremely pale in an instant, while the redness on the purple-robed priest’s face showed signs of exhaustion after using this highly powerful “Sacred Light Illumination” spell. Seeing the priest’s condition, a cold smile appeared on Komer’s fair face—it seemed he had to be ruthless. A strange rune appeared in his hand, and his fingers moved swiftly in intricate patterns, causing two eerie figures to emerge before the purple-robed priest.
Two two-meter-tall skeleton warriors appeared out of nowhere in front of the priest. One held a rusted iron spear, while the other carried a massive tower shield and a curved sword with a blackened metal chain. Their dark eye sockets stared blankly at the priest, whose expression suddenly became serious. With creaking footsteps, they stepped closer and closer to him. A strong stench of corrosion filled the air, and as magical power surged, the skeleton warriors became more agile, constantly swinging their spears and shields as if preparing for an attack. Black mist constantly emerged from their dark mouths and spread around, seemingly even affecting the surrounding bushes, causing spots to appear on their leaves and them to fall off.
“As expected, your true nature has been revealed, Baron. It seems I won’t be able to leave here unless I show some real skill today.” The purple-robed priest’s expression was grave, but his voice carried no trace of tension. “Perfect. Let me see what wonders necromancy has to offer.”
“With the Red Snail within, rise!” A red glow, like rising flames, slowly seeped out from the priest’s body as he chanted the spell. An orange-red light spun rapidly around him in a vortex-like pattern, with massive tower-shaped shields forming layers around his entire body. At the same time, Malon became extremely agile. A half-human-tall staff slipped out of his wide sleeves, and with a light touch, a fist-sized fireball formed above the crystal at the top of the staff. As his finger swept across the fireball and he pointed forward, it suddenly shot into the air, transforming into countless golden sparks that rushed at the spear-wielding skeleton warriors. The skeleton warriors, unable to dodge, were enveloped in sparks, their bones glowing with a faint blue flame—yet this did not diminish their attacking power.
Faced with the wildly charging skeleton soldier, though the eerie blue flames engulfing its body made it screech in pain, it was clear that this skeleton soldier had been specially trained. It could endure the invincible holy fire from the heavens for so long without collapsing; not only that, but it seemed even more ferocious and agile. Its rusted iron spear swung with a whooshing sound as it lunged at the priest, forcing Malon to use simple spiritual evasion techniques to avoid the physical attacks. At the same time, another sword-and-shield skeleton warrior completed its initial preparations and joined the battle with its sparse skeleton.
Under the simultaneous attack from both skeleton soldiers, the priest in purple robes clearly hadn’t expected these undead creatures to fear his “Holy Fire of Soul Redemption.” The holy fire, capable of purging all darkness and evil, had burned on this skeleton for so long without completely destroying it. This made Malon doubt his own mastery of sacred power. If it weren’t for seeing the spear-wielding skeleton finally collapse and turn to ashes under the holy fire’s burn, Malon would have truly doubted his own eyes.
Regretting the sight of his carefully trained skeleton warriors falling to ashes, Komer had to admit that the priest’s sacred power was indeed formidable. He had thought that the skeleton warriors, trained with both dark magic and elemental forces, should be able to resist this so-called holy light or fire from the heavens. But to Komer’s disappointment, even so, the skeletons with innate dark attributes still couldn’t withstand this innate enemy. Yet, seeing these skeletons, which usually turned to ashes at the slightest touch of heavenly holy fire, hold out for so long, Komer felt that his efforts weren’t entirely in vain. If he could choose better materials for training and equip them with armor that resisted light-based attacks while enhancing their dark magic defenses, he believed he would eventually create undead creatures capable of resisting these self-proclaimed guardians of heaven.
The sword-and-shield warrior was once again enveloped by the Holy Fire Net as it approached the priest in purple robes. This skeleton warrior was clearly inferior to the one with the spear earlier. Just two rounds later, it collapsed amidst the blazing white flames, and the battlefield returned to its starting point.
Their gazes met in the air once more. The priest’s eyes were filled with contempt and pity, while Komer’s eyes held cold murderous intent, devoid of any emotion, causing the priest’s heart to contract involuntarily.
“Hehe, Lord Malon. It seems we won’t be able to end this battle unless one of us dies. Well then, let Lord Malon witness my abilities for the first—and last—time!” Without any unnecessary words, Komer finally withdrew his icy gaze, and a simple pocket slowly appeared before him. Under the vigilant eyes of the priest in purple robes, a corpse leaped out of the pocket. In the blink of an eye, it multiplied exponentially in the air; after two remarkable folds, it transformed into a human-sized figure. Its golden skin revealed that the corpse had undergone some strange experience during its lifetime, while its elaborate and refined attire indicated that this person was by no means ordinary. The indifferent gaze in its eyes sent chills deep into the heart of the priest, who had never known fear before. “Lord Malon, I greatly admire your sacred arts. Of course, my companion from the dark underworld is even more eager to see your supreme sacred powers. I hope you’ll be kind enough to teach us.” With a sinister smile, Komer casually dismissed any need for explanation. He simply pointed with his finger, and his mental energy was sent straight into the corpse, which still seemed to be in a trance-like state. “Go ahead, let Lord Malon from the Holy Church of Light give us a proper lesson.”