Chapter 4: Demonized Combat Qi
The priest in purple grew extremely serious. Of course, he knew that if the opponent dared to send such a necromantic creature even after two skeleton warriors were destroyed by his divine fire, they must possess considerable confidence. The creature before him was likely a zombie. Essentially, there was no significant difference between zombies and skeletons, especially for priests who revered light. Yet this did not mean Malon was unaware of the fundamental differences between them.
For dark mages or sorcerers, it was much easier to create skeletons. Not only were the raw materials easy to obtain, but since there was no need to control or maintain their bodily organs, simply applying simpler puppetry spells from dark magic was sufficient to take control of them. With further training using nightmare magic, an ordinary skeleton could be turned into a skeleton warrior. Of course, there were also significant differences among skeleton warriors—their innate qualities, the proficiency in puppetry spells, and the level of nightmare magic all played key roles in determining their strength.
However, compared to skeletons, which were also necromantic creatures, creating zombies was far more difficult. As a result, although there were quite a number of researchers in dark magic across the Azure Continent, especially in remote areas, mages who could create zombies were extremely rare. Most of those who tried did so out of research purposes, rarely using such necromantic creatures in actual combat. This was because the selection of materials for zombies was highly restricted—the best materials required the corpse to have died within an hour, otherwise the death energy within it would gradually dissipate as body temperature dropped. Additionally, the corpse’s original cultivation level and abilities also influenced the quality of the resulting zombie. An ordinary corpse could become a decent skeleton, but it could never be turned into a proper zombie.
To create an excellent zombie, the subject must have been a martial arts master in life. The combat strength, experience, and even wisdom of the corpse during its lifetime have a significant impact on its cultivation. In other words, the stronger the corpse’s overall abilities in life, the higher the requirements for the cultivator and the greater the difficulty of cultivation. Yet once successfully created, its power increases exponentially. It is said that zombies at the pinnacle of cultivation can communicate mentally with their creators, allowing various mental commands to be instantly transmitted to them without any spells, enabling precise control—those who achieve this level are considered masters of the dark arts.
With a blank gaze fixed on the target ahead, the zombie seemed to be recalling something, which made the priest in purple even more cautious. It was clear this guy was probably fighting for the first time, and his rank wasn’t as high as he had imagined—at least the zombie’s vacant eyes revealed this. Malon felt slightly relieved and, without hesitation, cast two spells in succession. A pure white holy flame erupted from his body, enveloping the priest in purple. The rippling light waves acted like a shield surrounding his body, trembling slightly, while his staff, usually not used lightly, instantly doubled in size. With a slight shake of the star-patterned Zichen Wood Staff, a dazzling white arc shot from tip to tail, heading straight for the still dazed zombie.
The white light penetrated the zombie’s body without any resistance. The zombie trembled violently for a moment before returning to calm. Clearly, the light had caused damage—its numb face twisted, and its tightly closed mouth finally opened to release a puff of zombie breath, which quickly formed a small cloud of white mist in front of it.
Komer watched nervously the undead creature he had painstakingly created for the first time. Although it was still far from his goals, it was a good start. It would be a shame to waste such a high-quality material or see it fail halfway. He didn’t want to witness that.
Muttering spells to enhance the focus of his mental power, the zombie’s movements became much faster. It dodged the second attack launched by the priest in purple robes, leaping lightly into the air. With a bizarre and eerie void claw, it sent a strong stench of decay through the air as it rushed at the somewhat flustered priest. As the zombie approached, the rippling light waves exerted their sacred protective effect, as if blocked by some barrier. When the zombie’s claws collided with the holy light, a brilliant white glow surged instantly, transforming into a dazzling light net that swept forward.
Faced with the onslaught of the light barrier, the zombie remained expressionless. It waved its arms wildly, and a bluish-gray aura gradually spread across its body. The two auras finally collided, striking the zombie like lightning. It tumbled to the ground in a spectacular flip, while the sweeping holy light net vanished under the force of the opposing aura.
“Battle Qi?!” The priest in purple robes finally paled in shock. A zombie could actually wield Battle Qi, a capability reserved only for warriors or knights of a certain rank in the human world. Moreover, that bluish-gray Battle Qi clearly carried dark magical power—how was that possible?! His terrified gaze turned to the still-smirking opponent. Malon felt as if he had been doused head to toe in ice water in the dead of winter, his blood even freezing solid. The chilling sensation penetrated deep into his soul.
“Lord Malon, it’s still waiting for you to teach it a proper lesson. Go!” Glaring coldly at the priest in purple robes, Komer felt an indescribable joy. The frustration he had endured at the hands of the Light Church in the forest was finally released at this moment.
Seizing the command, the zombie seemed to realize that this priest was not so simple. It began spinning rapidly around him, its footless flying skills astonishing. From time to time, its demonic claws would lunge out in lightning-fast attacks before retracting quickly upon encountering resistance. The priest’s forehead was already beaded with sweat. He hadn’t expected this zombie to be so powerful and to have mastered Battle Qi. Although its demonic nature was acquired later by the practitioner, this kind of Battle Qi ability was something one must possess during life. Without it in life, no amount of cultivation later on could endow a undead creature with such abilities.
Seeing the opponent panting heavily from the struggle, the zombie rose into the air, ready to descend. But then it saw the solemn-faced priest waving his hands frantically. Countless tiny runes flashed from the middle of the priest’s purplish-black staff, forming an orange-red light band. “In the name of the gods of light, grant holiness to your faithful believer!”
The sky darkened abruptly; daylight seemed to turn into night in an instant. Amidst the rumbling thunder, silver-white lightsabers sliced through the dark sky, and a massive lightning strike descended, sending slender golden arcs along with fiery balls of light pouring down. Caught off guard, Komer was struck by two such arcs in quick succession. The magical armor beneath his cloak shattered instantly, his body covered in smoke, his hair standing on end, and blood streaming from his eyes. The light of the holy radiance pierced through him, breaking into Komer’s mental space where dark magic was at its peak. The searing pain burned his entire body, and his head ached so much it nearly drove him mad.
Unprepared zombies were also surrounded by countless fireballs at the same time. Their innate dark nature made them perfect targets for the holy flames from the heavens. Almost all the lightning arcs and fireballs struck their bodies. Protected only by dark magic, the zombies could not withstand these formidable holy flame attacks. Terrifying screams filled the air. Even though they tried to dodge with ghostly speed, they still couldn’t escape these omnipresent heavenly attacks.
Such holy flames from the heavens were an excellent means to deal with dark creatures, yet even ordinary mages could not master them despite dedicating their entire lives to it. It was unexpected that the priest in purple robes, on the verge of despair, possessed such a skill and used it to turn the situation around. As he desperately tried to avoid the onslaught of fireballs, Komer cursed the priest who had doomed him. His only option now was to kill him. His original plan to use the priest’s power to strengthen the zombies was completely abandoned. He hadn’t expected the priest’s strength to be so overwhelming, far beyond his expectations. If things went wrong, he might himself lose his soul and become another zombie. Komer could no longer afford to be careless.