442-451

Chapter 442: Underground Maze (V)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Rhode's guesses were proven to be true after the trio entered the ruins entrance. In the huge underground cave, the remains of the Undead Soldiers were scattered visibly under the burning pale flames. It was apparent that there was a fierce, long battle.

"Why would there be traces of battle?" Anne curiously asked after noticing the hideous sight. She gripped her shield tightly and scanned the surroundings vigilantly as they progressed. "Did someone come in earlier than us, Leader? What should we do?"

"Let's see who has the guts to do so," Rhode answered without turning around. "I think Barter isn't one who would do such things behind our backs. But I can't confirm it either. Although adventurers and mercenary groups may have stumbled upon this dungeon, they can forget about snatching this mission away from us."

Although Rhode said it confidently, his expression showed otherwise. At this moment, they entered the tunnel through the entrance of the underground city. Rhode was expecting various kinds of undead creatures, however, there were all kinds of corpses instead. This definitely wasn't something that ordinary adventurers or mercenary group were capable of achieving. Only powerful guilds could deliver such standards: this discovery wasn't good news. If there really was a guild that entered before them, there would only be two possibilities. The first possibility would be the Purple Lily Guild and the second possibility would be a guild from the other regions. However, Rhode felt that the latter was impossible. The Liberty Wings had been forcefully disbanded and they had no reason to be here. The Sky Sword Guild suffered huge losses in the Midsummer Festival and it didn't make sense for them to bring trouble on themselves. But, what should I do if it was Cole Falcon or Purple Lily?

Rhode lifted his head and gazed at the city ruins. It was unlike the underground chamber below Eagle City. This entire city had sunk into an underground cavity. The roof over the city was an arc-shaped cave wall, and the pitch-dark, bottomless abyss below the city was clearly evident under the illuminating flames. If it weren't for the thick stelae supporting the city from below, perhaps the city would have submerged into the darkness of the abyss entirely.

However, this abandoned city wasn't painted in total darkness. Lanterns hung on the eaves of the buildings and both sides of the main street were lit with flames. Those flames represented the burning flames of dead souls. The flames weren't warm and were avocado in color. However, even so, this forgotten city was brilliantly lit. Looking from afar, it seemed like this city was functioning normally.

However, there was total silence.

Rhode slowed his pace as he moved deeper into the city through the granite street. The remains of Undead Soldiers were everywhere. However, for unknown reasons, Rhode was somewhat familiar with the wounds on them.

It was too strange for this place to be this quiet.

Rhode beckoned for the young ladies behind him. He refused to believe that a guild was capable of breaking through the non-stop waves of monster attacks. And if there was such a battle going on, the entire city must have been filled with war cries. Furthermore, Rhode knew about Barter's earth-shattering battle techniques that could even tear the entire city down. It wasn't Barter's nature to act like an obedient child when he entered someone's home quietly.

"Follow me," Rhode gestured.

This city ruins weren't much different from what he recalled. The path to the central area had been buried in the ruins completely and it was impossible to climb over them. The solution was to head towards the supplementary road in the north or the alleys hidden behind in the buildings. With Rhode's experience, he quickly found the road that would lead to their destination in the shortest time possible. As Rhode led the others around the corner and entered the alley, he abruptly stopped. Anne widened her eyes curiously and exclaimed softly.

A man dressed in a thief outfit laid on the wall with his back towards the trio. Sharp sword blades had pierced and nailed his body to the wall and even death wasn't able to rescue the Thief from the terrors that overtook his face.

Rhode sucked in a deep breath and approached the Thief cautiously. More doubts arose in Rhode's mind as soon as he examined the corpse. "That's odd. He doesn't seem like someone from a guild."

Rhode searched the corpse from head to toe. The headwear, belt, earrings, daggers, and boots didn't reveal anything that he wished to see, like a guild badge. A guild badge was mandatory for every guild member. The badge was capable of displaying one's identity and rank, and most importantly, it strengthened one's sense of belonging in the guild. Furthermore, almost every badge was unique and this was to avoid identity thieves. Ever since Starlight was established, Rhode had modified the badges. The Starlight Badge was shaped in a quadrilateral star with a white halo around it. Without a doubt, badges came in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Rhode's badge was a ring on his finger while Gillian's was a pair of star-shaped earrings. As for Anne, her badge was embedded on the surface of her shield. With these marks, anyone could recognize which guild they belonged to at a single glance.

However, there were no indications of this Thief belonging to a guild at all. His dagger and armor were low-grade equipment purchased from merchant shops and usually, these equipment were common in solo mercenaries or those in small groups of three or four.

A small group of mercenaries who were capable of defeating the first line of defense of the Necromancer and entered the underground maze? Who had such abilities?

"Let's go." Rhode was curious and dubious at the same time as he continued to pass through the alley.

As they advanced, the narrow alley gradually grew dimmer. In an instant, the trio stepped into the darkness once again. However, under Rhode's lead, they passed through the narrow, gloomy alley smoothly and just one more corner would lead them to the central area.

At this moment, Anne stopped abruptly and widened her eyes. "Leader, I think I heard somebody battling."

"Oh?" Rhode stopped his footsteps swiftly while Gillian twitched her ears and nodded. "That's right, they are nearby, but not too close too... They should be in the depths of the central area... And there's plenty of them."

"Great!" Rhode relaxed as his instincts seemed to be right.

In the deeper central area was the location for the so-called 'Enforcement Banishment'. That place was filled with an unending stream of undead creatures and terrifying Constructs. These creatures would patrol all over and launch attacks at any signs of life. In gamer terms, that map was the best for EXP farming. Once a player starts battling the creatures, the other masses of undead creatures in the entire city would swarm towards the player's location. Furthermore, the Undead Army would be triggered and the player had to eliminate them all before he could move on.

The only solution was to use the 'equipment' from the underground chamber to activate a defense barrier in the city so the Constructs would turn their attacks on the undead creatures instead. The defense barriers that the 'equipment' activated could also guard against the attacks of the Undead Army and separate Rhode from them completely. This way, the entire dungeon would enter the 'normal' difficulty, which made it much easier.

"Let's have a look," Rhode suggested.

Perhaps the undead creatures had all swarmed to the central area, which was why Rhode's group didn't find any of them on the way here. Without a doubt, Rhode wouldn't let this great opportunity off since this selfless person had taken the initiative to attract the attention of all the creatures. Soon, the trio arrived at the public square on the central area.

As the three of them glanced over, they spotted the masterminds. They were in battle and as expected, their enemies were the terrifying undead creatures. The undead creatures howled unbearably as they flooded towards their enemies, seeming to want to shred these intruders into bits. Rhode widened his eyes curiously at the pathetic group struggling to fend off the undead creatures.

The group was less than ten people and was clad in armor no different from ordinary adventurers. Perhaps these pitiful humans would be dead even before taking down this first wave of attacks. However, someone was the reason why they were able to stand there.

That man stood in front of his group. He held his sword with both hands and silver-whitish flames were surging on the blade, shaping into a thin layer of barrier that kept the undead creatures away. It was apparent that this barrier was on the verge of disappearing as the flames began to fade.

To Rhode's surprise, he noticed a pair of extended, white wings behind that man's back: Battle Angel.

No wonder Rhode was familiar with the wounds that were inflicted on the Undead Creatures. Battle Angels were experts in annihilating Undead Creatures with their holy flames.

A corner of Rhode's mouth lifted. "Let's go, Anne, Gillian. Go according to plan."

Chapter 443: Underground Maze (VI)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Metzel was exhausted.

The sword was never this heavy in his arms before and everything he slashed, it felt as though he was using up his remaining strength. He couldn't differentiate companions from enemies anymore. He brandished his sword innately at the black figure before him and that was his only countermeasure for dealing with this situation. Metzel fended off the enemies with his holy flames while his companions were responsible for annihilating the creatures that had broken through the silver-whitish flame barrier. However, how long could they sustain by doing this? Metzel didn't know and he couldn't grasp the elapsing time. Had one second, one minute, or one hour passed? These questions became meaningless to Metzel. Initially, these mercenaries thought that this would be the only wave of undead creatures and they would be fine after dealing with them. However, the never-ending stream of attacks had debilitated them mentally and physically.

"Argh!" A scream sent chills down Metzel's spine as he witnessed yet another companion of his dragged out of the flame barrier by a pitch-black charred arm. The companion struggled and stretched his hands to Metzel for help but, he disappeared to the other side of the flame barrier before Metzel could even react.

"Ahh!" The ear-piercing screams died under the howls of the devouring undead creatures.

"I can't hold on any longer, Metzel." The gentle voice of the Battle Angel sounded.

The Battle Angel gripped his sword tightly with an ashen expression. A young lady dressed as an archer scuttled towards him hurriedly and chanted with her arms apart. A soothing beam of radiance shrouded the Battle Angel and comforted his stricken self. However, it was an utterly inadequate measure.

"Metzel, do you have any solutions? If this goes on, everyone will be dead! Apart from these undead creatures, there are still those horrifying metallic creatures!" One of the mercenaries screamed.

"I..." Metzel knitted his brows, but his head was a mess.

The flustered young swordsman didn't know what to do to survive this life-threatening situation. Yet, as a leader of the group, he couldn't give up. Metzel was clear that no matter what, he couldn't give up his responsibilities as a leader. If not, death would find their way before they even knew it.

"What do we have left?" asked Metzel.

"Nothing left, Metzel," the young lady replied anxiously. "We do have some weapons left. I've run out of flame arrows and explosive arrows. What else can we do?"

What to do? I'm more curious to know the answer than you! Metzel felt helpless but even so, he had no intention of giving up. No matter what, he had to hang on. "Hang on, guys! Shrink our defenses! Sir Delno, please move back a little and don't minimize the size of your barrier!"

Live on. No matter what, we have to live on and every second counts. This isn't about honor or pride, but our human instinct to survive. No matter how incomparably hopeless it seems, we must hang on to the final second. The person who gives up life first will only face death. But, if we hang on, perhaps there will be miracles.

Everyone retreated and shrunk their defense circle. This forced them to the corner and apart from the tall, thick city walls, there was nothing else to protect them. However, even the city walls had become their enemies. They had no chance of escaping and they could only rely upon their backs against their final defense and hope to continue fighting back.

"Heyah!" The young swordsman slashed his sword at the skull of a Skeleton Soldier that barged through the flame barrier. But, instead of slicing it into two, his sword got stuck in the chink deeply.

Sh*t!

Feeling a powerful pulling force, Metzel let go of his hands and the Skeleton Soldier dragged Metzel's sword out of the defense barrier instantly. If Metzel didn't let go of his grip in time, perhaps he would have been devoured by the undead creatures.

However, this struggle had exhausted the young swordsman's final bit of strength. He fell to the ground and couldn't raise his arms anymore.

"Metzel!" The young lady on the other side screamed in panic as soon as she saw Metzel fall on the ground.

The exhausted Battle Angel was unable to hold on any longer. The flame barrier once again thinned and the mercenaries couldn't contain their fears and desperation anymore. They worked so hard for this and in the end, they still weren't able to escape the claws of death?

At this moment, a bright, glaring radiance flashed.

The fascinating magical radiance flashed through the ground and deep, loud bells rang.

Bells?

Perhaps they knew that death was near, or they had already given up. At this moment, the group was no longer concerned about the creatures that were about to pounce on them. Instead, they turned their heads towards the bell tower, where the heavy, depressing bells sounded from. That bell tower is still working it seems...? This question popped up in their heads.

Then, they realized that something was off.

A magical radiance flashed by. The undead creatures stopped moving and turned around as though they detected danger. But they turned back around and gazed at their trapped prey almost immediately. Those vivid lives and the glaring fighting spirit of their souls were the presence that the undead creatures were longing to perish.

The Battle Angel finally ran out of strength as he collapsed to his knees. The silver-whitish flame barrier vanished entirely.

Is this the end?

Seeing their most reliable companion collapsing to his knees, everyone shut their eyes and awaited the death that was about to strike them.

But suddenly, someone chided them. "It's too early to sleep, isn't it?"

"Eh?" The mercenaries widened their eyes in shock and they looked up curiously to find Anne landing on the ground from above.

The young lady crushed the ground with her shield mercilessly and sent rapid shockwaves across the place. In a blink of an eye, the undead creatures were blasted away. Anne raised her shield and the green wind element emerged. She roared and pushed forward.

Boom! The whizzing whirlwind erupted from the shield and swept the undead creatures away. The densely gathered undead creatures were as though gusted away by a leaf blower and in a split second, the battleground was cleaned out entirely.

"Phew... Easy peasy." Anne observed the damage that she had done and said with a proud smile. She turned around and winked at the frightened, yet relieved mercenaries. "It seems that you guys had a hard time. But don't worry. Leader said to rescue all of you, so you can be assured now."

"Leader?" The mercenaries lifted their heads and gazed towards the direction where Anne focused her attention on. A young man in a black attire walked towards them from the other side of the square.

"..." Even though that young man was alone, the undead creatures fixated their stares on him and roared aggressively while ignoring Anne and the other mercenaries.

"This brings back memories... Alright then, I shall see how different it is to clear this dungeon the traditional way," Rhode said with a smirk.

Countless magical rays radiated from his arms and coalesced into a huge, gorgeous summoning ritual emerging beneath his feet. Numerous flashy cards appeared from thin air and formed a circle with Rhode in the center. Undead creatures darted forward as soon as they realized the incoming danger.

Rhode smacked his palms together.

Pow! The colorful cards circulating around Rhode shattered into bits. A harmony of crimson flames, mysterious mist, bolts of lightning, and flawless radiance shrouded Rhode entirely as they emerged one after another. But this wasn't the end. As the cards shivered, a golden halo erupted from Rhode's body and spread across the square in a blink of an eye.

Taboo Halo, activated.

Chapter 444: Underground Maze (VII)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

[Taboo Halo: Within the halo's range, the attack and defense attributes of the summoned spirits will be increased by 3 points. Stackable with other halos.]

The attack and defense attributes of spirits could be increased by a maximum of 3 points at once. The attack and defense attribute that these spirits possessed represented their strength and the higher their attack and defense values were, the higher their levels were. If Rhode unlocked Gillian's seal, she would be one of the spirits with the strongest levels at 20 points of attack and defense.

There were no preconditions in using this Taboo Halo to 'temporarily' increase the attribute points by three for all the spirit cards. In other words, every spirit that he summoned within the halo's range would have a +3 buff to their attack and defense attributes.

Without a doubt, due to the uniqueness of each spirit in terms of their attributes and types, not all spirits could reach the maximum 20 points of attack and defense. For a spirit with low attribute values like the Spirit Bird, it would hit a maximum of 7 points of attack and 7 points of defense after receiving the +3 buff. Although the Spirit Bird would still be stronger than most ordinary spirits, it wouldn't be superior to a BOSS.

Nevertheless, Rhode had no intentions of counting on the Spirit Bird now.

"—!" A huge, pitch-black hound dashed out from the flames in an ear-deafening roar.

The Hell Hound was no longer the same after receiving the buff. Its muscular body had become almost as tall as a human and under the burning red flames, spurs covered its body like armor. If it weren't for the familiar undulating powers from it, perhaps Rhode wouldn't have recognized this two-headed Hell Hound as his favorite 'dog bomb'.

The Hell Hound was quick to notice the fast approaching Undead Army and charged towards them aggressively. To be frank, with its newly acquired 7 points of defense, the Hell Hound wasn't that prone to death anymore. It blasted the scorching flames on its body skywards and lifted both heads to suck in a deep breath.

It howled and blasted two fiery, conical seas of flames instantly. The Hell Hound swayed its heads left and right to scorch more undead creatures with its devastating flames.

The Undead Army's movements stagnated under the immense attack. However, the Hell Hound wasn't able to stop all the undead creatures from advancing. The other undead creatures that avoided the flames of the Hell Hound launched their attacks on Rhode, but a huge figure blocked their path quickly.

After receiving the buff, it wasn't only the Hell Hound that had transformed. The Centaur Knight stepped out of the mist. At this moment, it had transformed to almost the size of an elephant. Furthermore, the half-knight now had four strong arms holding onto a shield and pike. The black, steel shield covered every inch of the half-knight while the sharp pike glittered with an ice-cold aura under the Hell Hound's sparkling flames. The Centaur Knight raised its front legs and stomped the ground before charging forward in a matchless, brutal whirlwind.

"Oh lord..." Metzel's group was speechless. They sat foolishly on the ground while gawking at the scene before them. The pitch-black knight was like a falling boulder from the mountains, charging into the terrifying undead creatures with an incomparable aggression. It trampled and pulverized every enemy before it ruthlessly. Numerous zombies sprung and pounced on the Centaur Knight, but it brandished its pike and a tornado shredded them into pieces. When these zombies landed on the ground, none of them were in perfect condition!

What kind of force is this!

But this was only the start.

A crisp screech sounded and captured everyone's attention. A huge bird emanating with holy radiance spread its wings in the air. The huge bird flapped its wings and struck the undead creatures with countless glaring bolts of lightning descending from above like a roaring thunderstorm. The dazzling radiance forced everyone to shut their eyes.

Because of this, they missed the next action.

The sparkling bolts of lightning slowed the movement of these undead creatures dramatically. At the same time, the shadows beneath their feet began to twist and distort. Countless pitch-dark, thick tentacles extended and bound the undead creatures tightly. This ambush enraged the undead creatures as they couldn't escape no matter how hard they struggled to break free. At this moment, a firm voice sounded.

"Evil undead creatures, this isn't where you should be!"

Everyone's eyes sprung open upon hearing the authoritative voice. They gazed above and were baffled. A female Angel shining with holy radiance in the darkness spread its wings with a sword lifted highly in her hands. As the young lady yelled in anger, golden, flower-patterned rays shrouded her body and swiftly coalesced into the sword in her hands. Then, the radiance from Celia's sword flourished magnificently.

After receiving the buff, there were some transformations to Celia's body. Her armor had become increasingly gorgeous, sparkling with white radiance and several golden lines appeared the edge of the lily-white armor and the blue substrate transformed into an ancient, mysterious symbol.

The Battle Angel who was half-kneeling beside Metzel revealed a flabbergasted expression. "This is the... Divine Judgement?!"

"Divine Judgement?" Metzel turned over to the Battle Angel curiously.

No matter if it was the fire-breathing black hound, the gigantic centaur knight, the white bird, or the angel that flew in the air, it gave Metzel's group a misconception that this was a battle from a legend and myth. Metzel's question wasn't answered because at this moment, Celia struck.

Her sword erupted in silver-whitish flames and engulfed the undead creatures as though a flood had poured down from above.

Celia had reached 12 points of attack and this was enough for her to release powers equaling an Elite at its peak. Furthermore, holy powers were the natural enemy of undead creatures. In an instant, half of the thousand undead creatures filling the square perished while the remaining undead creatures didn't dare advance any further. Holy powers filled with positive energy were their biggest fear and the undead creatures retreated to avoid them. However, dark tentacles emerged and bound them on the spot.

A scarlet, large ritual appeared on the pitch-black ground and overwhelmed the remaining undead creatures. Countless thorns whizzed and interlaced like steel chains, forming a huge, dense net within a few seconds. Then, a wine-colored radiance flashed and wrapped the undead creatures. Detecting an unusual danger approaching, the undead creatures struggled fiercely while wailing piteously.

Metzel's group gaped in disbelief. These weak, fragile undead creatures were still trying to take their lives a while ago. But now? These undead creatures were behaving like ants running for their lives.

As the red radiance flashed, the struggling undead creatures stopped moving and crumpled to the ground abruptly—their source of energy had been affected by an indescribable influence and had left them forever. Now, they were nothing more than just corpses.

"Hmph," Celestina lifted her chin proudly and scrutinized the corpses in disdain.

Similarly, this young lady had transformed greatly. Her fascinating charm became much more attractive and not only that, the Western-style dress clad on her was luxurious to a whole new level. She coalesced a negative energy ball at its pinnacle above her fingertips. After admiring her beautiful work, Celestina simpered and snapped her fingers to shatter the red ball of energy gracefully.

The battle ended.

Chapter 445: Underground Maze (VIII)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

The clamorous central area square returned to silence.

Other than a thick billow of smoke rising above the bombarded square, there were no signs of piled-up undead creatures' corpses or bloodbath anywhere. These undead creatures were corpses that had been dead for a long time. After losing the source of energy which supplied powers to their body, they vanished into filthy dust instantly. However, it wasn't only due to this reason that these corpses had disappeared. If one were to step in at this instant, perhaps he wouldn't have expected that there were thousands of undead creatures just a while ago.

Rhode canceled the Taboo Halo. After all, the halo needed to consume his spiritual energy to sustain itself. Previously, Rhode used Taboo Halo to analyze the performance of his spirits and he was satisfied. Celia and Celestina under the influence of the buff possessed the strength of an Elite at its peak. While the Centaur Knight and Nether Tentacles did great too, the Spirit Bird... Rhode had given up on it. Perhaps in future, he would just summon it to confine the enemies' movements.

Rhode's spiritual energy was recovering steadily.

Although his spiritual energy was exhausted by summoning all his spirits and casting Taboo Halo, only one-fifth of his maximum spiritual energy capacity was consumed.

This proved just how insane the Legion Horn was. Rhode had leveled up the talents that increased his spiritual energy's capacity and lowered the amount of spiritual energy required to summon each spirit. If he summoned spirits normally, there wouldn't be much of a problem. However, he couldn't disregard the explosiveness of the Legion Horn...

But this wasn't the main point.

Although Rhode had canceled Taboo Halo, he retained the spirits and seized this excellent opportunity to test his other halo talent: Soul Territory.

Rhode cast Soul Territory. Soul Territory could absorb the spiritual energy of the undead creatures that he had annihilated to replenish his spiritual energy. Rhode was eager to witness the benefits that this Soul Territory would bring him.

And yes, Rhode was content with the results.

These low-level undead creatures had limited spiritual energy on them, and the Soul Territory could only absorb 30% of their spiritual energy. In other words, Rhode could only receive 20 to 30 spiritual energy from each Maze Zombie. However, the thousands of undead creatures replenished an alarming amount of spiritual energy.

Through this battle, Rhode acknowledged that the Nether Tentacles and Centaur Knight were great as main tankers while the Hell Hound, as a powerful attacker, left a dissatisfied expression after not self-destructing... As for the Spirit Bird, although its lightning skills weren't powerful enough, they worked fine as a support skill. Last but not least, Celia and Celestina's overwhelming prowesses were able to put a stop to the undead creatures' advancement swiftly.

Yes... I have main tankers, a supporter, and attackers. But I'm lacking a healer...

Rhode gestured and withdrew the Spirit Bird, Hell Hound, Nether Tentacles, and Centaur Knight into their cards respectively, leaving Celia and Celestina for safety's sake. After all, the reason why this battle was so successful was mainly due to this pair of sisters. It went without saying that a Battle Angel like Celia was a natural threat to undead creatures. Whereas, although Celestina was a Demon, the spell that she cast was apparently meant to deal with the undead. No one knew more than the Demons themselves when it came to evil magic spells.

Furthermore, these two Holy Sword Cards were Rhode's most powerful spirit cards. Any equal-level Spirit Swordsman could obtain spirits like the Hell Hound and Centaur Knight, but it would be too challenging for them to defeat that many undead creatures. Only with spirits with the standard of the Holy Sword Card Deck like Celia and Celestina, in addition to their unique race and techniques, could exterminate these undead creatures.

Rhode gazed at Gracier and Madaras hanging by his waist. He was anticipating the day when these two daggers would transform into spirits. After all, their attack attributes and base values weren't inferior to Succubus and Star Mark at all. If they could transform into spirits, they would definitely be a great help to Rhode.

However, if that were to happen, Rhode could no longer use these weapons conveniently and 'freely'... Well, he couldn't have things both ways...

Rhode shrugged his shoulders and turned to Anne. who was leading the group of mercenaries towards him. Strictly speaking, it didn't matter to Rhode if he rescued these mercenaries. Most importantly, he was curious as to why there was an Angel in the team. After all, not anyone could team up with a Battle Angel for no apparent reason and moreover, these people couldn't even be considered mercenaries, so how did they get involved with an Angel? And why were they here the first place?

These pitiful mercenaries didn't know that the reason they survived was all due to Rhode's curiosity. The young swordsman bowed deeply to Rhode with respect and gratitude. "Thank you very much for your help, respected Sir."

"You're welcome; it was just out of convenience anyway," Rhode gestured and sized up the young swordsman before him. He was clad in a decent light armor and although he appeared miserable from head to toe after the battle, he behaved rather earnestly. The young swordsman didn't respond to Rhode's comments; instead, he smiled slightly.

"No matter if it was out of convenience or any other reason, the fact that Sir has saved our lives can't be changed..." The young man paused before continuing with a bitter smile. "But, to be frank, it really surprised me to meet you here."

"Oh?" Rhode twitched his brows in surprise. He scanned the young swordsman once more and realized that he did seem rather familiar... But Rhode couldn't recall where he met this man before.

The young swordsman displayed an awkward smile. "You seem to have forgotten us, respected Sir. We met once in the Stone City..."

"It's you guys..." Rhode finally remembered who they were.

Back then, Rhode and Anne were heading to the Black Pine Ruins to retrieve the Sphere of Mystery. While they were in the nearby town, Rhode met a young mercenary in the pub who was recruiting members for his mercenary group for an adventure to the Black Pine Ruins. Furthermore, that mercenary gave his mercenary group an embarrassing name: the Divine Aegis mercenary group. Rhode secretly mocked that these mercenary groups with excellent names usually wouldn't make it far and threw this matter to the back of his head afterward. However, he never expected to meet them again, especially at this kind of place.

This piqued Rhode's curiosity as to why a small team of mercenaries would have the guts to come to this 5 Star Mission location. Also, why were they with an Angel?

Metzel quickly gave an answer to Rhode's doubts.

After failing to invite Rhode to their team, Metzel didn't give up. Instead, he managed to gather enough members to begin their adventures. A small mercenary group could only accept the lowest 1 Star Missions and Metzel and his companions were strong enough to deal with them. Furthermore, it was all an accident for them to be here: Metzel's group accepted a mission to escort a group of merchants to Eagle City. On their way there, they met the Battle Angel, Delno, and his companion, Wendy, who were traveling at that time.

Although Angels had great identities, these two Battle Angels were underaged. There existed a custom in the Angel race that before an Angel grew into adulthood, they must travel to the human world to exterminate evil and protect humans. This would affirm the Angels of who the enemies were, as well as who they needed to protect. After going through this training, they would mature and become a true Angel.

Without a doubt, most Angels were able to complete their traveling journey. However, a small portion of them was unable to accept the evil side of humans' greed. They gave up all hope in humans as well as their obligations.

Delno and Wendy joined Metzel's mercenary group with wishes to experience life in the human world.

However, an accident happened when they arrived at the Castel Plateau. Metzel's group didn't know the specific location of the Castel Plateau Ruins and they accidentally stumbled into the Necromancers' land. The Necromancers ambushed and captured Wendy, along with two of Metzel's companions. Therefore, in order to rescue them, Metzel's group and Delno tracked the Necromancers, which eventually led them to this square.

But they didn't know that they had entered a nightmare.

Chapter 446: Underground Maze (IX)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Rhode finally got his answer after hearing Metzel's explanation. Although Delno was a Battle Angel in-training and the undead creatures by the entrance didn't pose a problem to them, this led these people into a dungeon which was out of their reach. Perhaps they would've retreated at the entrance if they didn't have a Battle Angel with them.

Rhode didn't doubt Metzel too much because when Rhode's group battled with the Necromancer BOSS previously, the Necromancer BOSS did summon a group of mercenary spirits and an Angel spirit against him. Yes... It seemed that they might be the captured ones...

"So then, what plans do you have next?" Rhode asked.

"I..." Metzel bit his lips.

Logically speaking, since he was lucky enough to survive the ordeal, the best choice would be to return home safely. However, humans were greedy creatures, so Metzel hesitated after meeting Rhode's group. After all, he was a young man who just started his adventures and his honor and responsibilities hadn't been ground with harsh life experiences. If a seasoned mercenary were in his shoes, perhaps he might have left immediately after expressing his gratitude. After all, the one and only life important was his and there was no need to risk it for someone else. Furthermore, he wouldn't be dumb enough to not escape from this dangerous place now that he had the chance.

However, Metzel didn't choose to do so. He knew what the best choice was, but his companions were drained and they had nothing more to offer in this place. But what about the companions that the Necromancer had captured? Those companions listened to his order to visit Castel Plateau and he was responsible for their dire situation. So was it right for him to give up?

An irresponsible leader was indeed a headache for most. However, a leader with a strong sense of responsibilities wasn't that good either. Rhode remained silent as he read Metzel's mind through his hesitant expression. After all, Metzel's decision wouldn't matter to Rhode.

After a few moments, Metzel seemed to have decided. He shut his eyes and took in a deep breath before lifting his head. "Pardon my rudeness, Mr. Rhode. May I know why you are here?"

"I guess perhaps you guys aren't aware that this is the Castel Plateau Ruins, which is a dedicated 5 Star Mission for guilds. We're here to complete this mission in the name of Starlight," Rhode answered.

"5 Star Mission...!" Metzel was flabbergasted and color drained out of his face. Although he was just a leader of a small group of mercenaries, he was still aware of the mercenary missions and a 5 Star Mission was a presence out of his reach. Initially, he felt that this underground ruins wasn't that simple and now it seemed that it was tougher than he had imagined.

Metzel gnashed his teeth and gazed at Rhode. "Mr. Rhode, I have a request..."

"I know what you are going to ask." Rhode interrupted Metzel's words without hesitation. "But this isn't my problem. You can do whatever you want as long as you don't hinder us. We won't take special care of you and we definitely won't stop you from throwing your lives away."

Metzel's eyes glinted as he bowed to Rhode respectfully and turned around. "Shirley."

"Metzel?" A young lady treating her companion's wounds stood up hurriedly. "What's the matter?"

She was clad in a light leather armor with a wide bow behind her back and an exquisite dagger in her belt. She seemed to be a proper Ranger. The young lady named Shirley arrived at Metzel's side and gazed curiously.

Metzel pondered for a moment before retrieving a coin pouch from the fold of his clothes and placing it on Shirley's hand. The young lady accepted the coin pouch in confustion as she gazed curiously at Metzel. "Shirley, I will continue our task by myself, so bring the others back to the city. This coin pouch has all the money that we have accumulated to date. I initially planned to expand our team and apply as an official mercenary group. However, it is all meaningless now. Bring the guys back and split the money with them. Then disband our team... As for our fallen companions, I will need to trouble you to compensate their families... This is all that I can do for them."

"What are you talking about?" The young lady widened her eyes in shock as she couldn't believe her ears. "Metzel, are you crazy? You want to stay here? Didn't we suffer enough!?"

"But..." Metzel paused.

"I know what you are going to say, but Metzel, this isn't your responsibility. No one knew that there would be this powerful Necromancer that even Battle Angel Sir couldn't defeat. So, what's the point of you staying in this place? I understand that you have a strong sense of responsibility, but not only do you need to think of our captured companions, you must think about us too! Initially, everyone agreed to your calling and gathered for adventures together as a mercenary team. And we promised and made it very clear that we wouldn't repent if any of us were to die. But now... you choose to abandon us?" Shirley exclaimed.

Woah... This sounds like a good 8 p.m. soap opera.

Rhode was so engrossed in their argument that he had leaned against the wall to admire the show. At this moment, Anne hopped her way to Rhode's side and tilted her head as she gazed curiously at the two of them. "Leader, what are they doing? Are they quarreling?"

"Shhh... Shut up and watch the show. This is quite interesting." Rhode feigned ignorance as he placed a finger by his lips.

Anne piqued her curiosity and nodded with her mouth sealed. She began to concentrate on the TV drama.

This was a true blue soap opera and a third-rate one at best. There was nothing to describe the dispute between the two of them. Although the young lady named Shirley objected violently, the bullet-headed Metzel didn't seem willing to give up on those captured companions. According to Metzel, he wouldn't give up regardless of if his companions were alive or dead. Even if they had been transformed into monsters by the Necromancer, he needed to see it to believe it. To Rhode, their debate was really boring. However, since there was a live romantic soap opera before them, it would be a waste not to watch it. On the other hand, Anne watched eagerly and it went to show that as long as one was a female, some things would never change no matter the place or time.

"This is the duty of a leader." Metzel said righteously.

"Idiot!" The young lady snarled and slapped Metzel on his cheek.

Pow! Rhode and Anne couldn't help but shrink their heads as the clear, crisp slap echoed throughout the space. Shirley turned around and stomped off to her other companions while Metzel stood red-faced as this tight slap seemed to have left a deeper wound than the Undead Army had managed to. He awkwardly stroked his cheek as he gazed rather reluctantly at Shirley's back .

Today's episode has ended. Please watch the preview for more information on the next episode.

Rhode lifted his shoulder in a half shrug and decided to leave. As he turned around, a tall figure blocked his path: the Battle Angel who was previously with Metzel's group. Rhode had heard from Metzel that this Battle Angel trainee was named Delno .Although Delno was still a trainee, he felt that this Battle Angel was much more experienced than Celia, an official Battle Angel. If Rhode were to compare a Battle Angel's age with a human's age, perhaps Delno would be in his middle years. Delno placed his right hand on his chest and bowed respectfully.

"I'm deeply grateful for your help, human," Delno said with a stiff voice and emotionless expression.

However, even so, Rhode detected a sense of danger in his tone. He squinted his eyes and carefully examined the Battle Angel before him. Delno lifted his head immediately after expressing his gratitude with sharp radiances in his eyes and questioned solemnly. "But human, why would you be with an evil Demon?"

This question finally made its way here.

Rhode knitted his brows as he expected the Battle Angel to question this. After all, the anti-undead spell that Celestina cast was loaded with a sinister aura that even humans would feel was strange, not to mention, a Battle Angel who was extremely sensitive to Demons. To be frank, it was very courteous of the Battle Angel to not declare war with Celestina instantly. If it were any other Battle Angel, perhaps they would have attacked without any signs of warning.

However, before Rhode could answer, an aroma spread from behind him.

"This is Master's choice. What has it got to do with you, a chicken with wings?" Celestina raised her head proudly and gazed at the Battle Angel with spiteful eyes.

She tugged the thorny whip on her hands and lashed out at the ground. This action reminded Rhode of an adult-rated scene that wasn't suitable to be made known to others... Okay, back to the fight. Celestina spread her pitch-black wings apart widely to provoke the pitiful Battle Angel.

"A small, little-underaged chick has the guts to talk trash before my Master? Who do you think you are?!" Celestina reprimanded furiously.

"Evil presence!" The Battle Angel burst into a fit of rage.

He sprung backwards and lifted his sword. Soon, holy flames began to burn on the blade. Although this Battle Angel was exhausted from the previous torment, he decided to ignite his life energy to exterminate the evil presence.

However, this 'glowing chick' before Celestina was no threat at all. She swung her right arm and lashed out a thorny whip. In a blink of an eye, the thorny whip extended swiftly and bound the Battle Angel's hands and legs before he could even reacte. The burning flames on his blade extinguished and faded, replaced with thick pitch-dark mist.

Celestina's evil powers were far beyond Delno's holy powers. This Battle Angel had no chance in fending off Celestina's ambush. His face began to pale and his hands started to tremble. Furthermore, rays of darkness stained his pure sword blade.

"You, this... evil..." the Battle Angel's expression sunk at the sight of the darkness on his sword.

He gritted his teeth and replaced his painful, hesitant expression with wrath. He snarled and the extinguished white flames once again erupted on the sword. However, this time, the holy flames seemed like a shivering small flame under the blizzard.

Everyone was dumbfounded. Metzel's group stood foolishly on the spot as they watched the confrontation between an Angel and a Demon. After all, as humans, they lacked the hatred towards evil that the Angels had. Furthermore, Celestina was a high-level Demon and even though she had dwindled her enticing powers, she was a gorgeous young lady in their eyes. Humans were always lied to by their eyes. It was hard to believe that such a stunning young lady was a sinister and terrifying Demon. However, there was no doubt that the pair of pitch-dark wings behind Celestina's back proved that she was one who belonged in the eternal evilness and darkness.

Furthermore, these people were the ones who rescued them from the undead creatures and these newbie mercenaries wouldn't even dare to rebel. However, Delno was also their benefactor and if it weren't for him, perhaps they wouldn't have held on until Rhode's group was here to rescue them. So which side should they help?

While the mercenaries were hesitating, Anne was clapping her hands and cheering on as though she was watching the continuation episode of the soap opera. However, not everyone was that amused.

Shing! A glaring white radiance flashed by and split the thorny whip in half, releasing its bind on the Battle Angel's sword. Delno lacked the strength to support himself anymore and he fell to his knees.

"That's enough." Celia sheathed her sword and gazed at Celestina in censure. "Now isn't the time for this. We still have to eliminate threats for Master. It's better to stop wasting time here."

"Hmph." Celestina held back a little and swept a glance at the half-kneeling Battle Angel. "Celia, I can understand your feelings and reparations for your foolish Angel companion. But to me, this profanity is an unforgivable felony. Not to mention, he tried to threaten my Master. Only death can apologize for such a disrespectful sin!"

Celestina smirked, followed by a taunting gaze. "Sure, I can forgive him. But, he has to apologize to me... Yea, by licking my boots clean! How about that?"

"You...!" Celia exclaimed and the air around them froze.

Even Metzel's group could sense the dark, evil, yet alluring aura leaking from the demonic young lady. It was as though an incapacitating agent was baiting them into the abyss and even though they knew they would perish in the end, they continued to pursue with no second thoughts. They would be humiliated and ridiculed by kneeling before her, however, as soon as they noticed her slender legs, they would lay on the ground uncontrollably to do anything for her. As long as they could get on intimate terms with her, even they would be willing to commit suicide.

However, this deadly lure was the source of sins to the Battle Angels.

"You, this evil..." Delno muttered furiously.

"Sister!" Celia detected the aura that Celestina released on purpose and yelled hopelessly.

"Why? Wanna go against me, Celia? Under such circumstances?" Celestina smirked and taunted.

"Under such circumstances, I think you two better stop." Suddenly, a nonchalant voice sounded and Gillian emerged between the both of them in a puff of smoke. "Master didn't summon you two here to watch you fight. Stop right now."

Chapter 447: Underground Maze (X)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

"What a surprise..."

The Necromancer's pitch-black eyes glittered with flashes of maroon radiances as he turned away from the crystal ball. He was clad in a dark robe while terrifying scars exposed on his bony face glaringly. However, the grin on his face was his most frightening feature. It wasn't a kind, delightful smile. Instead, it was a Necromancer's signature smile of death.

"Someone actually activated the defense system of this city ruins. I would have gone over to greet them myself if I weren't too busy now... Ah, what a pity. I have an important guest with me now..." The Necromancer giggled and shifted his attention to the pure, white Angel who was bound at the side and staring at him stubbornly: that was an unexpected gain he had gotten.

"Argh...!" The Battle Angel shuddered as the Necromancer stared sinisterly.

However, she lifted her chin hurriedly after realizing her cowardly reactions. She gnashed her teeth and gazed at the Necromancer obstinately. At this moment, the Battle Angel's armor had been stripped entirely, exposing her naked, voluptuous body under the pale spirit flames. Steel chains bound her body while she hung with numerous splinters nailing her angelic pair of wings to the wall. Even though fresh blood dripped and stained her pure, clean feathers, she didn't let out a single sorrowful moan. From the very start, this scheming Necromancer had ambushed her and Metzel's companions. In the end, she failed to inflict any damage to this sinister presence and she was kept captive in this horrifying ruins.

"Ah, the holy powers... just like the dazzling flames. Makes me wanna pounce on it... and vanish gracefully. So beautiful..." The Necromancer approached the Battle Angel in small steps and caressed her cheek so ever gently.

Sensing his ice-cold touch, the Battle Angel stared furiously. However, the Necromancer revealed a wide, enjoyable smile.

"Don't worry, I know what you're thinking. Your companions are fine... You see?" The Necromancer chuckled while he snapped his fingers.

Two figures emerged behind him and the Battle Angel was dumbfounded because they were the other two mercenaries who were also caught by the Necromancer.

However, they had lost the entirety of their human form. Their swollen, pale-green bodies were filled with rotten gashes that revealed their internal organs and bones while flesh-colored tentacles extended from within. There were no longer any signs of life in their eyes and only the darkness of death and the eternal sufferings remained.

"You evil presence! How dare you treat the living beings this way!" The Battle Angel snarled furiously.

However, the Necromancer displayed a vibrant smile once again.

"I am a Necromancer and this is the way I treat the living beings. But... to be honest, I have thoughts of refining you into my Undead Keeper and I will then have more powerful troops with the powers of a Battle Angel — However, it's a pity that those intruders look rather troublesome. Although I don't know who he is, not just anyone can activate the defense system in this city ruins..." The Necromancer paused and turned towards the crystal ball.

The Necromancer's heart had sunk after realizing that the defense system of this city had been activated. He suspected that the intruder might possibly be deeply related to this city because he had been in the Castel Plateau Ruins for many years and knew the history of this place inside out. Moreover, he had also investigated the strength of the past civilians of this city and if they were back to reclaim this city now, their strength definitely wouldn't be as weak as the group of idiotic mercenaries. Furthermore, the intruders were able to eliminate all the undead creatures he had planted in the central area.

The Necromancer knew that this city possessed a powerful defense system which utilized the Construct Guards. However, these Construct Guards wouldn't listen to his commands as their duties were to protect the entire underground city and annihilate any signs of life. The Necromancer wasn't threatened by the Construct Guards because they couldn't pick up on his presence (as he was already dead(. The Necromancer had tried to capture a few Construct Guards as his own gatekeepers because, Constructs were the favorite playthings of all Mages and Necromancers were was no exception. However, these Construct Guards weren't that accommodating. Although the Construct Guards had no reactions to undead creatures, they retaliated as soon as they were attacked. Furthermore, these ancient Construct Guards possessed powerful battle strength. The Necromancer had attempted a few times but reaped nothing in return. This was why he gave up the idea of messing with the Construct Guards. Moreover, although the Construct Guards didn't obey his commands, they did remove a lot of trouble on his behalf.

But now, the Necromancer realized that a big trouble was ahead.

Although he didn't know who the intruders were, he realized that the Construct Guards had begun to 'wipe out' the undead creatures. It was apparent that they had received an order. If not, these brainless Construct Guards definitely wouldn't do such a thing.

Although these Construct Guards were extremely powerful, the Necromancer didn't spend years of his life operating this place for nothing. This declaration of war brought huge losses to both sides and without a doubt, the Construct Guards weren't afraid of death. Furthermore, it was their duty to defend this place, so it didn't matter to them at all. However, the Necromancer's undead creatures were annihilated steadily, which definitely wasn't a good sign.

Since that's the case, I should...

The Necromancer gazed at the Battle Angel. "You should feel proud. After all, I have no intentions of using a precious spoil of war like you as a 'vessel'. But I am getting curious. What if I present a pure Angel as a reincarnation artifact for the Lich? What powers would I get?"

"!!" Terror held the Battle Angel like a vice-like grip and her beautiful pair of eyes permeated an unexplainable fear as soon as the word 'Lich' sounded in her ears. She couldn't budge as the steel chains flowing with negative powers had sealed her strength. All she could do was to witness the Necromancer vomiting before her.

A hand-sized oval shape stuck out from the Necromancer's chest and wandered around before finally going up his throat. The Necromancer let out an uncomfortable roar as he lowered his head.

Fright overtook the Battle Angel's face as soon as she witnessed the object that was in the Necromancer's mouth. "I have never kissed anyone, and I didn't expect that my first kiss would be given to an Angel. How ironic..."

The Necromancer relished in the Battle Angel's horrified expression as he approached the Battle Angel with a smirk. The Battle Angel had her back against the ice-cold rock wall and she had nowhere to escape with the steel chains and splinters all around her body. The Necromancer pointed his finger and a chilly, dark aura shrouded the Battle Angel entirely.

At this moment, the terrifying Necromancer arrived at the semi-conscious Battle Angel's face. "Come on, little cutie, let me give you an affectionate kiss."

"..." The Battle Angel refused innately.

However, the Necromancer grabbed her cheeks and forced her mouth open to accept his stained, wicked lips.

"Argh...!" The Battle Angel widened her eyes in horror as soon as she sensed the deadly aura emitting from the Necromancer.

An ice-cold object filled with a burst of negative energy entered her mouth and her body while the Battle Angel twisted her body and wings to get away from this petrifying threat.

However, her body began to weaken. Her eyes rolled white and the fighting spirit in her soul faded gradually. Her spotlessly white skin turned ashen and in a few seconds, she drooped and dangled like a hanging corpse.

At the same time, her pure, beautiful feathers fell like gentle snowflakes.

Chapter 448: Undead Keeper

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

There wasn't a single sound along the quiet corridor.

Rhode sighed at the sight of the corpses because he heard that clearing this mission according to the mission flow would be easier. Now, it seemed that it wasn't only easier, it was extremely easy!

In the game, when Rhode's group first arrived at Castel Plateau Ruins without the 'equipment' from the chamber, their experience told them that this dungeon was between the range of level 55 to level 60. It was too difficult to handle the never-ending stream of undead creatures and Constructs and if it were another player group, they definitely couldn't eliminate them. After receiving the 'equipment' from the chamber, it seemed that this dungeon was filled with creatures at only about level 50. Furthermore, the Construct Guards fought against the undead creatures in their respective areas. Without a doubt, there was still an abundance of undead creatures roaming around; however, this was considered very little compared to the never-ending swarm of them. Rhode thought that there would be similar ambushes from the undead creatures like before. In the end, they had traveled all the way from the central area to the administrative district and didn't meet any attacks of a large scale. What remained were very ordinary undead creatures which normal player groups could defeat... This finally cleared a doubt that had been on Rhode's mind. Initially, when Rhode reclaimed the Castel Plateau Ruins in the game, they received high-level equipment. However, ever since the other players cleared the Castel Plateau Ruins, Rhode wasn't able to obtain equally high-level equipment. It seemed that due to the difference in levels and difficulties, the dungeon had a different range of equipment drops.

A Castel Plateau Ruins without its defense system activated wasn't able to threaten Rhode. And now, this Castel Plateau Ruins with a lowered difficulty all the more wouldn't pose any difficulty to Rhode at all. The undead creatures had lessened and Rhode wasn't by himself. Anne advanced with her shield on hand while Celia and Celestina followed behind her closely. Every time Anne crushed the undead creatures, Celia and Celestina would eliminate these chaotic creatures immediately without leaving any remains. On the other hand, Rhode walked leisurely as though he were strolling in the windy spring weather because apart from casting Taboo Halo and Soul Territory occasionally, he didn't need to do anything. Gillian follows suit as she chatted wittily with Rhode. However, this wasn't because Gillian was lazing around. Instead, Rhode stopped her from attacking as a safety precaution. After all, the Necromancer was the most difficult target in this entire Castel Plateau Ruins.

However, on the other hand, it was a totally different scenery for some others.

"This... This..." Metzel widened his eyes in disbelief.

Although this mercenary team captain had decided to move on to search for his companions, he knew that he wasn't capable of dealing with the undead creatures by himself. Even though he had mentally prepared himself for possible death, this scene still exceeded his expectations.

Anne was fearless as hundreds of undead creatures presented themselves before her. It was as though the young lady had found rare treasures every time she encountered these disgusting creatures as she bounced forward. Metzel was concerned for this adorable young lady who leaped into the swarm of undead creatures by herself. But Metzel realized that his worries were totally unnecessary.

Every time Anne darted towards the creatures, it felt as though she were a gigantic boulder crashing from the mountains. All Metzel heard was a loud bang and the undead creatures were blasted away. Then, the angelic and demonic young ladies would charge forward while flapping their contrasting wings. In the blink of an eye, the undead creatures were wiped out cleanly.

"So powerful..." Shirley couldn't help but mumble as Anne once again charged into the undead creatures.

Although this Ranger slapped Metzel furiously for his foolish decision, she eventually stayed to support him. At this point, Shirley and Metzel were equally flabbergasted. After all, they were still inexperienced mercenaries compared to Rhode's group, which belonged in the ranks of the guilds. Furthermore, even though these mercenaries knew about Rhode's Starlight. as they also hailed from Paphield, they didn't expect Rhode's guild to be this powerful. In addition to Rhode and Gillian, there were only five of them, but the five of them had defeated more than a thousand undead creatures together! Oh lord, are we dreaming? Or are the guilds really this powerful?

Although Metzel could argue that Rhode had the help of an Angel like Celia, his group was defeated miserably even when they had Delno with them. When they detected the trap that they were about to fall into in the central area, they had considered massacring their way out of the underground city. But their strength wasn't enough to allow them to, which they were eventually trapped by the undead creatures. On the other hand, the three of them fought the undead creatures so comfortably as though their enemies were just ordinary wild monsters.

Delno was equally astonished. However, he wasn't astounded by the strength of Rhode's group. Instead, this tall and sturdy Battle Angel had been dumbfounded ever since he heard Celia addressing Celestina as "Sister". Perhaps as humans, Metzel and Shirley would feel curious about the relationship between Celia and Celestina. However, for a Battle Angel like Delno, this came as a bolt from the blue because he had never thought that he would ever see an Angel and an evil Demon addressing one another this intimately.

Could it be that she is a fake Battle Angel? This possibility was excluded because Delno had seen for himself the Divine Judgement that Celia had cast. That was definitely a Battle Angel's technique and it was impossible for a Demon to possess such powerful holy powers. But if she is really a true Battle Angel, why didn't she eliminate the evil Demon?

He shifted his attention to Rhode. Although this man never attacked even once ever since they had met, Delno realized that both Celia and the evil demon were addressing him as "Master"... What exactly is going on? Demons are always proud and mighty, so how is it possible for her to acknowledge a human as her master? As for the Battle Angel, shouldn't her master be the Light Dragon? Why did she abandon her beliefs to devote herself to a human?

What is so worthy of this human for them to do this?

Almost there.

Rhode gazed at the ruins before him and advanced according to his memories — The remains of the undead creatures and Construct Guards were getting lesser, which meant that they were getting closer to their destination. However, this wasn't the problem Rhode was worrying about.

As he scanned both sides of the dilapidated buildings, a few deep crashes sounded out of the blue.

Boom! The resounding crashes echoed throughout the quiet city ruins. Anne hurriedly erected her shield and began to scan the surroundings vigilantly. Celia readied her sword for the incoming enemies while Celestina squinted with a nonchalant attitude.

As Anne was about to charge forward, suddenly, a hand pressed down on her shoulder. The young lady turned around curiously to find Rhode beside her.

"Leave this to me, Anne." Rhode drew out his twin daggers.

At this moment, a gigantic figure emerged from behind the buildings slowly.

This is...

Facing this terrifying monster, even Anne held her breath. This large monster was three meters tall, with an obese body made with countless corpses. As the monster turned over, its two skulls exposing revolting, scorched brains. The muscles on its face contracted along with the movement. Meanwhile, its four thick, enormous arms each held a heavy sword while repulsive green liquid oozed from its body.

"W-What is this thing, Leader?" Anne exclaimed.

"That's an Undead Keeper. We're getting closer to our destination." Rhode stepped forward while lifting his chin at the monster before him. "Anne, leave this to me."

Chapter 449: A Walking Corpse

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Rhode had his reasons to be extremely vigilant against this Undead Keeper. Ordinary undead creatures were mainly weak in their defenses as their bones were usually hidden under a thin layer of skin. Although some of the zombies had thicker fleshes and were tougher, this Undead Keeper was on a whole new level. It had an extremely thick and hard body that consisted of countless corpses. Ordinary blades would get stuck and couldn't be retrieved after slashing into it. Furthermore, fire attacks wouldn't be effective against it due to repulsive green blood flowing under the disgusting flesh. The Undead Keeper would squirt the venomous blood from its body to extinguish the flames. However, this would make matters worse as once the blood evaporated in the flames, the venomous fluid would turn into mist instantly.

Apart from these features, the Undead Keeper possessed great strength. Although its four arms seemed large and clumsy, the sharp blades it held were huge threats. The only flaw this Undead Keeper had was its slow movement speed. However, the Undead Keeper had a magical steel chain which would capture its prey as soon as it sensed an enemy taking advantage of his slow movement. Not only that, its twin heads could spurt ice breaths and it had strong magical resistance.

In the game, Rhode's formidable group failed a few attempts in this Castel Plateau Ruins. One of the attempts failed miserably under the hands of this damned monster. As soon as Rhode's group faced this monster, he subconsciously laid out a perfect anti-undead creature formation. However, instead of blasting this monster to bits, its blood evaporated into a mist that enveloped everyone. The venomous mist defeated a large portion of Rhode's men in the blink of an eye. Then, before Rhode noticed, this monster had lashed its steel chain at their Healer and devoured her entirely. Yes, if Mini Bubble Gum were beside Rhode right now, perhaps she would be as eager as Rhode to seek revenge.

The Undead Keeper's strange abilities and characteristics along with the powerful venomous mist exceeded the expectations of Rhode's group. Other than these, the Undead Keeper had a ruthless, earth-shattering move. Not only could it deal physical damage to the enemies around it, the giant, black sunken ground it left would release a never-ending swarm of undead creatures that even Rhode wasn't able to defend against. Their first attempt ended in tragedy. But this one mistake was definitely enough. For their second attempt, everyone utilized freezing and lightning spells to curb the Undead Keeper's movements before blasting it entirely with everything they had.

Due to this, this monster left a deep impression on Rhode's mind. To be frank, if the Country of Darkness had such a monster in their army, perhaps Rhode would have a difficult time dealing with them. However, apart from the Castel Plateau Ruins, Rhode had never met a monster similar to this. Rhode suspected that this might possibly be a monster that was created by the Necromancer.

However, this Undead Keeper was much easier to deal with now because Rhode couldn't sense the mightiness it had from the game. Its miserable body was filled with fresh wounds. Furthermore, judging from the metal blades and pikes stuck in the Undead Keeper's body and the remains of Construct Guards scattered across the ground, it wasn't hard to guess how badly it had been damaged.

This was a great opportunity for Rhode. The reason why he didn't want Anne to attack was because this monster was truly a troublesome one. Rhode didn't have the time to explain the strategies in detail because the Necromancer was bound to be aware of their whereabouts. While Rhode would be dealing with the Undead Keeper, Anne would be responsible for the critters that would appear from the Undead Keeper's tricky 'earth-shattering attack'.

"Anne, take note that once the Undead Keeper raises its arms high, you must retreat instantly. Also, you must be careful because many undead creatures will emerge from the sunken ground it smashes. I'll leave those undead creatures to you. Remember to keep a distance from it." Rhode spoke from his rich experience.

In the game, many of his men had forgotten that this underground city was actually hovering in midair and falling in the sunken hole of the abyss eventually led to their utter defeat. Although Rhode wasn't worried about Anne's reflexes in battle, he was worried that this young lady would charge forward blindly.

"Okay, Leader." Anne nodded and got into position.

Although Anne didn't experience everything Rhode had, she felt that this situation was rather unusual from Rhode's tone. As for Celia and Celestina, Rhode had notified them using their spiritual connections of the critters that would appear later. Then, Rhode focused his attention on the Undead Keeper before him.

At this moment, the Undead Keeper discovered Rhode's group. It turned around and howled furiously while taking slow, wide steps.

After its battle with the Construct Guards, the Undead Keeper's staggering movement was even slower than usual. However, Rhode continued to stay watchful because he knew that it wasn't its speed that dominated.

It was its strength.

In a blink of an eye, Rhode darted forward in a string of afterimages and arrived at the Undead Keeper's feet. Rhode sprung into mid-air while the slow-moving Undead Keeper just lifted his swords and crushed the ground.

But the Undead Keeper's dominance in strength proved itself because Rhode felt a powerful stream of air sweeping towards him as the sword brandished downwards, which forced him off his balance and blew him away.

"Ahh!" The group screamed in fear.

However, Rhode was ready for this. As he was swept away by the powerful stream of air, he extended his arm with a card in his hand. Rhode crushed the card and held the fragments to his chest.

A pair of translucent spiritual wings emerged on his back and forcefully flapped against the powerful stream of air. Then, Rhode turned into a bolt of lightning and darted towards the Undead Keeper.

"What's that?" Delno widened his eyes in astonishment.

As an Angel who could see through someone's spirit, Delno discovered that there were two spirits in Rhode's body! Furthermore, these two spirits were fused perfectly as though they were one!

How is this possible? Why would such a silly thing happen?

As these questions popped up in Delno's mind, Rhode had arrived at the Under Keeper's side while gripping his daggers. Perhaps since the Undead Keeper had detected the holy powers of the Spirit Bird that had fused with Rhode, it reacted much quicker this time. The Undead Keeper snarled furiously and brandished its sword upwards. Rhode dodged the whizzing sword blade like a nimble bird and pierced his daggers into the Undead Keeper's arm. Then, Rhode fluttered his wings and soared, dragging two deep gashes across the Undead Keeper's body.

Perhaps any living creature would have collapsed from this pain, but undead creatures had lost their ability to sense these things. The Undead Keeper twisted its body and slashed its other three swords.

Rhodes's expression sunk slightly because he knew what it was up to. Sometimes, keeping things simple was the best solution. Although the Undead Keeper's slow reactions gave Rhode space to maneuver, its powerful strength could crush any armored knight, not to mention a Spirit Swordsman like Rhode.

Rhode rolled to dodge its attack and retreated swiftly. At the same time, the other three swords smashed the ground.

Boom! The powerful crash shook everyone's feet while filthy dust dispersed and enveloped everyone. At this moment, a thick arm extended out of the smoke towards Rhode.

But all of a sudden, a shadow whizzed and bound the Undead Keeper's arm tightly.

Chapter 450: Hidden Technique

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

"Celestina! What do you think you're doing?" Rhode recognized the thorny whip as he dodged to the side, at the same time, angrily reprimanding the demonic young lady. Rhode had decided to defeat this Undead Keeper by himself while Celia and Celestina would join Anne in cleaning up the critters. However, Celestina chose to disobey his command and attack the Undead Keeper instead?

"I'm trying to help you, of course. Master, just this pig alone is enough to make you so miserable. How weak..." Celestina said in a self-righteous tone.

"Idiot, release your whip!" Rhode blew his top at Celestina's suicidal approach because he knew how strong the Undead Keeper was. Although he wasn't sure how powerful Celestina would be once she regained her true powers, at this moment, she didn't stand a chance against this formidable Undead Keeper!

Celestina furrowed her brows and barely spared a glance for Rhode. "Master, it's just a weak little undead creature, you must be exaggera-... Ahh!"

The Undead Keeper perked up its bound arm and flung Celestina into the air instantly. However, as a mighty demon was not to be trifled with, Celestina released her whip hurriedly in midair and chanted a strange, muffled curse as she placed her hands on her chest. Then, she pointed a finger and projected a red light beam which struck the Undead Keeper's arm immediately.

The Undead Keeper's thick, swollen arm exploded from the inside-out due to Celestina's unknown spell. In an instant, its flesh spattered and the repulsive liquid splashed towards everyone.

"Dodge!" Rhode was feeling awfully hopeless at this point in time.

Fortunately, Anne with her rich battle experience, raised her shield to protect herself as soon as she smelled the stench. On the other hand, Celia and Delno weren't any worse either. In a blink of an eye, two defense barriers flickering with radiance emerged before them. Gillian, on the other hand, was in a safe position as she stood the furthest away after Rhode instructed her to not get involved with this battle.

Everyone reacted quickly except for Celestina, who was in midair. She flapped her wings innately to dodge the venomous fluid splashing towards her. The Undead Keeper was surprisingly unconcerned about its injuries and it extended its bombarded arm towards Celestina!

"...!" Celestina was stricken into silence as this revolting arm reached for her. As she turned around to flee, another arm swatted over as though it were swatting a mosquito. The demonic young lady flipped over sideways to evade the Undead Keeper's striking palm. She wasn't expecting the Undead Keeper to be this strong and although she wasn't captured by it, the stream of air that its moving arms brought along had flung her away instantly. Celestina shrieked in horror as she was thrown in the air.

However, in a blink of an eye, Rhode shifted his position to behind her and neutered the strong airflow while clutching her.

"Phew..." Rhode heaved a sigh of relief before glaring at Celestina instantly. "Why are you disobeying my orders?"

"I meant well! Human, how would I know this fat pig would be this troublesome?!" Celestina turned around and berated stubbornly. "I never thought that a piece of crap like that would make me so miserable. If it weren't for Master's incapabilities, would I even end up in this foolish state? You..."

Before Celestina could complete her sentence, she snapped and puckered her forehead. "Master! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Eh?" Rhode twitched his brows slightly as he realized that his right palm had cupped over Celestina's warm, round front. As Celestina barked, Rhode shifted his index finger and thumb along the smooth, rounded surface to find the soft, protruding tip. After locating the delicate, soft tip, he gave it a hard pinch.

"Ah!" Celestina shrieked at the sharp, painful sensation.

"That's your punishment. Get down and deal with the critters now. If you dare disobey my orders again, you'll have it rougher." Rhode darted to the Undead Keeper without glancing back while Celestina hovered solitarily in midair, folding her arms around her ample chest to protect them. The demonic young lady glared at Rhode's back with an ashen expression before letting out a groan and joining the others back on the surface.

Although Celestina's attack had crippled one of the Undead Keeper's arm successfully, it gave Rhode more trouble as he had to proceed with more cautious to evade the venomous liquid squirting to the air. This made him all the more furious over Celestina's disobedience, as it increased the difficulty level of dealing with this dangerous creature. The Undead Keeper brandished its sharp blades at Rhode while he evaded at the most opportune time and tore apart the flesh on its body with his twin daggers.

Rhode knew how terrifying the Undead Keeper's blood was and he wasn't that foolish to attack its arm directly as Celestina did. Now, he had to avoid triggering the Undead Keeper from releasing its venomous mist.

Although the Undead Keeper was also an undead creature, it had a large body mass and required more strength to support its movement. Even though Celestina's disobedience gave Rhode tons of trouble, the damage she inflicted on the Undead Keeper was impactful as it slowed down gradually. However, Rhode didn't let his guard down. Instead, he rose his spirits.

"—!" As expected, the humongous creature groaned furiously after Rhode slashed two more gashes on its body. Then, it grabbed the steel chain by its waist with two arms and tossed it towards Rhode!

Now's the chance!

Rhode lifted his twin daggers above his head in a criss-cross stance. Dazzling white radiance gleamed on his blades as he charged forward.

The blades erupted with light, flooding and overpowering the flinging steel chain. Not only that, it forcefully struck out and pierced the Undead Keeper's stomach without any resistance. Bloody, rotten internal organs disgorged from the meter long wound.

However, this wasn't enough to stop the Undead Keeper. It bellowed, raised its arms, and smashed the ground!

Boom! Anne and the others dodged as the powerful impact shook the surface. The fissures before the Undead Keeper started spreading apart at lightning speed and in a blink of an eye, the ground ruptured and fell completely into the bottomless abyss.

"Kacha... Kacha..."

A burst of subtle, bone-chilling noises sounded everywhere as though a frightening phenomenon was about to happen. Anne, Celia, and Celestina leaned their backs against each other while Delno, Metzel, and Shirley scanned the surroundings and anxiously ran towards the three young ladies.

Dozens of undead creatures climbed out of the enormous hole with their white, dried-up arms. Their lifeless eyes observed left and right before finally locking onto the vivid lives before them.

"What a nuisance!" Rhode gnashed his teeth.

If it weren't for Celestina's attack, the Undead Keeper wouldn't have smashed the ground that quickly!

But now...

Rhode gazed at his daggers hesitantly. Suddenly, laughter rang in his ears again.

"Huhuhu..."

"Hehehe..."

Rhode discovered that the attributes of these two daggers had a sudden transformation. Previously, the magical radiance shimmering on the blades was dim and bleak. And now, the daggers laid in complete stillness with their dusky blades.

At the same time, a system prompt emerged before him .

[Hidden Technique Activated — Dawn Destroyer]

"—!" The dagger in Rhode's hand abruptly extended and transformed into a dusky, pitch-black blade.

Chapter 451: Chaos Blade

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

What in the world is this?

Rhode widened his eyes curiously at the twin daggers in his hands lost their original form and transformed into energy blades. Furthermore, the blades were no longer pure black as they spun in a dusky hue continuously. The strange blades extended to Rhode's wrist. Perhaps Rhode would have thought that the blades had blended with his arms if he couldn't feel the hilts.

Rhode was so flabbergasted that he could no longer read any data relating to the daggers after they had transformed!

However, this wasn't the time to care about something unimportant this.

"Heyah!" Anne pounced on the ant-like undead creatures that crawled out of the abyssal hole, brandishing her steel shield in her right hand.

The large, pitch-black shield whizzed under the glittering wind elemental radiance and swept the undead creatures away. In an instant, all the limbs scattered throughout the place. However, the undead creatures continued to advance without the slightest scruple even after Anne's attack slowed their movements.

It was finally Celia's and Celestina's turn to strike.

The Battle Angel brandished her silver-whitish sword while fluttering her wings under Anne's protection. She streaked through the air and along with her movements, a long line burning holy flames rendered the ground as though a fire serpent was slithering under Celia's guidance. The pitiful undead creatures were devoured by the scorching flames entirely.

Celestina stood behind both of them, feeling indignant. She gritted her teeth while gazing at Rhode with a dull expression. After a few moments, she stomped her foot and lifted her thorny whip. Then, the whip in her hand formed a circle that enveloped herself. The demonic young lady's left hand stroked several strange characters while she chanted softly. She opened her eyes as soon as she completed the final stroke with a downward swipe.

A huge scarlet ritual circle appeared above the abyssal hole. As though a saucepan lid, it sealed the opening that the Undead Keeper had created. The undead creatures shuddered as soon as they touched the ritual circle as though they were electrocuted. Then, white smoke began emitting from their bodies and the undead creatures let go of their hands and fell back into the bottomless abyss.

However, this only lasted temporarily. Although Celestina had sealed the abyssal hole, the Undead Keeper was charging towards them in large steps. Even though a portion of the undead creatures that crawled out of the hole were eliminated by Celia and Anne, the majority of the undead creatures continued to surround them. Meanwhile, the undead creatures's corpse piled up all around disgustingly like locusts.

"Be careful! Don't leave my side!" Although Delno had been following the group, he hurried;y stood up and fought the dangerous undead creatures alongside Celia. On the other hand, Metzel and Shirley stuck close to Delno and confronted the undead creatures that had passed him.

Metzel's abilities were rather decent. Although he was still a newbie as an adventurer, this young man's scrupulous attention to detail in battles and the radiance emanating from his blade showed how harsh his swordsman training was. At this moment, he brandished his sword to support Celia, who couldn't budge as she was maintaining the ritual circle.

Rhode had decided to not be in this tangle anymore. Although he wasn't sure of what his daggers had transformed into, any hidden technique wouldn't be a bad thing based on his gaming experience. Furthermore, he had to take things seriously in this current situation. In the game, although undead creatures would vanish as long as the Undead Keeper was defeated, who knew what would happen here?

Rhode charged forward swiftly and arrived at the Undead Keeper's side.

The Undead Keeper was surprised to find its prey at its doorsteps. It bellowed before swinging its blade to crush Rhode into bits.

And this was the worst flaw of an undead creature: it was brainless.

Rhode predictably its attack and evaded. Perhaps Rhode would be concerned about the Undead Keeper's 'earth-shattering' attack if he were on the ground all the time, but since he had fused with the Spirit Bird's powers, the Undead Keeper was less threatening to him.

Rhode streaked a perfect arc with his left dagger which was emanating with light and slashed into the Undead Keeper's arm.

However, he realized that something was amiss.

It was no longer the sensation of cutting into solid flesh; instead, Rhode felt as though his dagger was cutting through butter. At the same time, Rhode felt a strange suction from his dagger blade.

This odd suction was the same he felt during his fight with Barter in the Midsummer Festival.

The gash on the Undead Keeper's arm twisted violently as though it was sucked by a gigantic vacuum cleaner. The arm whizzed and whirled at the same time before finally twisting and shrinking. In a blink of an eye, it disappeared into the unlimited void of its blade entirely.

What exactly is this?

Rhode widened his eyes in astonishment. He had played Dragon Soul Continent for many years and he had never seen such amazing powers on a weapon. No, this isn't a weapon anymore. This is more like a product of a certain spell. Could this be the unique technique of this pai r of daggers?

However, the current situation didn't allow Rhode to think further as the Undead Keeper snarled fumingly after realizing it was missing an arm. It flung its other blade horizontally towards Rhode, but Rhode flew up and eluded its attack. Rhode repositioned himself and pierced his right dagger into the Undead Keeper's other arm.

Similar to before, there wasn't any resistance and the Undead Keeper's palm was absorbed swiftly. Even its powerful arm was ripped apart by the powerful suction and in the blink of an eye, it vanished into the chaotic, boundless darkness.

No matter what it is, it seems really powerful.

At this moment, three of the four Undead Keeper's arms had been completely scrapped. Two of its arms had disappeared due to Rhode's while the other arm was bloodied and damaged from Celestina's attack. The Undead Keeper who had lost its three arms seemed less threatening now and the strong suction on Rhode's daggers forced it to move a few steps forward. However, it wasn't enough to lure it into the abyssal hole that it had created.

An idea popped up in Rhode's mind as he witnessed the Undead Keeper's unstable movements. He gripped his twin daggers and laid them across one another in a cross-shape. Then, a faint dark hole emerged at the intersection of the daggers and at the same time, these two dagger blades became much more transparent as though the duration of their hidden technique was ending.

Rhode raised his daggers high while gazing at the Undead Keeper. At this moment, the Undead Keeper lifted its head and snapped its mouth wide open. It let out an ear-deafening roar before blasting two ice breaths from its mouths, enveloping Rhode instantly.

"Ai yai yai..." Gillian shrieked softly while Anne and Metzel exclaimed in concern.

"Leader!?"

"Mr. Rhode!!"

The raging cold breaths disappeared gradually.

Rhode continued to hover in midair, but the twin daggers had returned to their original forms without any magical radiance or strange flowery-patterns as though they were just ordinary weapons.

Rhode lowered his head and scanned the Undead Keeper before him. It was maintaining its stance from blasting the ice breaths. However, there was a cross-shaped gash that had punctured its body through its chest. Of course, such an attack wouldn't be lethal to the undead creatures.

The Undead Keeper extended its final arm towards Rhode gradually while Rhode analyzed its wound quietly.

There was a dark, circular hole about the size of half a palm moving continuously in the center of the wound.

"—!" It took place in just the blink of an eye.

The Undead Keeper's body twisted and shrunk in size abruptly as though a shapeless, gigantic hand was kneading a dough. Furthermore, its limbs and body were flattened before finally swirling and disappearing into the dark, circular hole. After a few moments, the Undead Keeper was nowhere in their sight.

"W-What was that...?" Metzel and Shirley gawked in disbelief. They thought that they had seen the world after being mercenaries for such a long time, but this scene had as though turned them into country bumpkins.

Compared to the two of them, Celia and Celestina had complex expressions. Celia heaved a sigh of relief while Celestina gnashed her teeth and gazed at the twin daggers on Rhode's hands with an ashen expression, as though they were the murderers of her father.

"That's cheating," Celestina mumbled fiercely before turning around in resentment while Gillian approached her with her usual, unreadable, and elegant smile. As for Anne, she was just glad to see that Rhode had defeated the Undead Keeper.

"Aiya? What's wrong with cheating? This shows that they love their Master a lot, so isn't that a good thing?" Gillian said casually.

"What's so good with that rude, vulgar, and perverted human." Celestina glared at Gillian before covering her chest with her arms. It was still hurting and if it weren't her master, she would've killed him without any hesitation.

The omnipresent undead creatures began to retreat. They didn't disappear on the spot just like in the game; instead, they cowered in fear and shuddered as they fell back.

And what is this all about?

Rhode landed on the surface and sensed an odd occurrence. He gripped his daggers while scanning the surroundings with puckered brows. At this moment, a strange silence filled the entire city ruins instantly. Then, the ground began to tremble while a bone-chilling aura spread.

This is illogical and something is definitely amiss.

According to the game, there shouldn't be any abnormalities after defeating the Undead Keeper. But now, these entire ruins seemed strange and Rhode had never experienced such an odd atmosphere in the game before. Rhode gestured and Anne strode forward with her shield, followed by Celia and Gillian. Celestina hesitated for a while but finally complied unwillingly and without sweeping him a glance. Although Delno refused to battle alongside a demon, this unexpected;y dangerous situation left him without a choice. Metzel and Shirley gathered towards Rhode's group under Delno's lead.

The earthquake stopped.

But only for an instant.

Boom! Several sharp, white bone splinters as huge as stelae rose from the surface abruptly. Everyone dodged and barely avoided the attack. However, they quickly realized that these lofty, sleek splinters weren't ambushing them. Instead, they formed into a solid bone wall that shrouded everyone.

Did we fall into a trap?

At this moment, a sinister and disturbing laughter sounded.

"Heh heh heh... So you are the ones who defeated my creation... Who would've known..." A figure clad in a black robe appeared before their eyes as it hovered behind the bone wall while gazing with a pair of flickering, ominous red eyes.

"Angels and Demon. What an interesting combination. But I'm surprised that there are so few of you... And I don't know how you people managed to defeat my lovely Undead Keeper. But before that, allow me to welcome you to my city. Please relax and enjoy your time here... Heh Heh Heh..." the figure that was hidden under the robe burst out in a creepy and giggly laughter. Everyone except Anne frowned as she covered her ears with her palms to block off the unbearable laughter that was worse than nails scratching on a blackboard.

"I-It's that Necromancer!" Shirley recognized its presence and pointed hurriedly.

However, Rhode puckered his brows and shook his head as he gazed at the floating dark figure. "That's not a Necromancer."

"Eh?" Metzel and Shirley were baffled.

Rhode's next sentence sent them into the deepest abyss. "It's a Lich."