Chapter 36: The Necromancy-Specialist Mage

“Damn it!”

Constantine cursed inwardly.

A mouth right in front of one’s face could sometimes lead to wild imaginations, but the sight before Constantine now could only make one feel disgusted—this wide-open mouth was almost at a one-hundred-eighty-degree angle! Two rows of inch-long teeth were completely unlike a human’s; they were cone-shaped and shone with a metallic luster, appearing even more terrifying than a canine’s! Thick saliva dripped from the unnaturally stretched corners of the mouth, carrying a strange stench and accompanied by a deafening roar. Fortunately, the young man had just managed to unroll a Mage Armor scroll he had copied earlier. This first-tier spell could provide the spellcaster with a layer of force field protection that ordinary swords could not easily pierce. Although the claws and teeth of this monstrous servant were sharp, they were still just human organs after all, and naturally could not break through that layer of magical protection.

But this was only temporary. Human bite force was surprisingly strong. With a series of cracking sounds, the force field created by the magic was already halfway penetrated!

Luckily, this brief moment was enough for Constantine to draw his scimitar. The youth exhaled sharply and stabbed down!

Extremely close distance was not suitable for a scimitar thrust, so his strike went between the arms that were pinning his shoulders.

Unfortunately, this person’s skin had somehow hardened, seemingly even tougher than aged cowhide. Although the Adamantine Scimitar was quite sharp, Constantine could not exert much force. With a fierce pull, the blade produced a grating, screeching sound against the skin but failed to cut it open completely!

Luckily, Constantine still had magic.

He suddenly pressed one hand against the opponent’s chest, and with a bang, the ram-headed force field smashed into the opponent’s torso! It immediately sent the foe flying away like a kite with a severed string! The tremendous impact instantly shattered the poor carved wooden door behind him, along with parts of the wall debris, hurling him straight into the hallway!

“Who are you? What do you want…”

The youth agilely stepped back twice, growling in a low voice. But he stopped halfway through his sentence… because the creature in front of him no longer seemed like a suitable target for communication—this spell was named Battering Ram, and its power matched its name. Using it on an ordinary person was actually overkill. Constantine’s gaze swept over the unfortunate fellow and noticed his body was twisted in a deformed shape; he estimated at least half the bones in his body were broken.

But what concerned the youth more was the person’s current appearance…

Though he still maintained the servant’s form, he now looked fundamentally different from a human—even after receiving such a powerful blow, the servant was still struggling, trying to get up… his wrists and one leg were broken, with pale bones protruding from flesh and blood, yet he seemed to feel nothing. Through the grotesquely twisted and gaping mouth, one could clearly see his upper and lower rows of teeth had elongated. On his bent hands, claws of the same material extended from torn skin! Combined with his bloodshot, crimson eyes, the bulging veins on his head and neck, and beast-like barking, he looked even more frightening than a low-tier monster!

“What kind of spell effect is this?” Constantine was shocked… The servants in the Duke’s Mansion were all brought from the Western Frontier by that stepmother. The possibility of one or two hidden spies among them, while unlikely, was still within the realm of normal thinking. But this current state… Just like in those cliché zombie movies, did the zombie effect spread? Then how to explain his normal state just before opening the door?

“Kid, I must say, you must have been specially noticed by the Goddess of Misfortune…” The Soul Amulet let out a series of dry chuckles: “This situation… looks like the trouble this time is quite significant again.”

Constantine frowned tightly and did not respond to his unscrupulous magical advisor’s teasing—after struggling for a while, that guy actually stood up again! Although his broken limbs made movement difficult, his killing intent did not diminish at all. After adjusting his posture slightly, he crouched down again, ready to pounce!

But the next instant, a black figure abruptly flashed in the hallway!

“Hehe, little brother, were you scared? Your powerful older sister is here to save you! How about it, were you scared? Do I need to find you a new pair of pants?” The figure carrying the stench of decay… heavily collided with the floor! And the Blood Elf clad in black was already standing before Constantine… The servant’s corpse lay headless on the ground, its head completely separated from its neck. Constantly spurting dark red, thick liquid splattered across the wall, emitting a disgusting, bloody stench, but not a single drop stained the female Elf’s large maid uniform.

“Logically speaking, when encountering such danger, a woman should probably scream and hide in a man’s arms, right?” Constantine glanced at the corpse whose head and body were separated but still twitching. Clearly, this Miss Rogue was more vigilant, and Elves’ much shorter sleep compared to humans was a natural advantage. With her martial skills, an opponent of this level was not worth her concern.

“That kind of subtly emitted feminine dependence can stimulate a man’s protective instinct and stir up a rare fighting spirit. But Miss, your performance only gives me the impression of having no femininity at all.”

The youth’s theory, however, only earned a mocking laugh: “That’s because you don’t understand women. Women only pretend to be delicate and weak when they have a man they like nearby, giving them a chance to show off. Otherwise, no matter the situation, women can handle things easily.”

Constantine snorted and didn’t answer this unreasonable question. There wasn’t much time for bickering now, but through this exchange, he felt slightly more at ease.

So-called Rogues in this world included branches like assassins and scouts. Overall, these people were most skilled in stealth, assassination, and reconnaissance; their combat power was clearly weaker than warriors of the same level. But in this pitch-black mansion, an excellent Rogue was obviously more than twice as valuable as a warrior.

“Humans claim Hayton is a pure land, yet filthy Undead still appear… But those so-called great Nobles, don’t their residences more or less have protective Magic Circles? How come this prestigious Western Frontier Governor’s Mansion only relies on these few unfortunate people for defense? And monsters have even infiltrated it?” The youth’s silence clearly did not satisfy the Blood Elf. Her crimson eyes shifted, and the young lady raised another question.

“Miss, do you know how much money and Gemstones it takes to set up a Magic Array? We are not permanently stationed here; this is just a temporary, palace-like residence. How could it be worth that kind of effort? Moreover, for a Magic Array to function, an operating Mage is essential. Would we waste a Mage guarding a place that’s uninhabited year-round?” Constantine rolled his eyes in annoyance. It was said that, except for Drow Elves, all Elves and their subspecies held considerable hostility towards the Undead. This was not only due to their inherent fastidiousness but also because Undead violated natural laws… But judging by Miss Nightingale’s gleeful expression, she seemed to only treat this as an interesting event. “They might explode into corrosive, highly toxic substances after death. If you don’t want to turn into meat soup, shut up honestly and be careful to hide…”

“In that case, when you came here, you should at least have brought a Mage along, right?” The Blood Elf never agreed with the youth’s words. In fact, this young lady always tried every way to make the youth feel embarrassed.

“Who could have predicted something like that? If we had known Hayton would be this chaotic, I don’t think my father would have come so easily!” Constantine snorted coldly—Hayton was reputed to be one of the Continent’s major cities, yet its public order was unexpectedly messy. He had been here less than ten days and had already encountered so many troubles. He didn’t know if it was truly due to Phoenix’s effective propaganda work or really, as the Lich said, his own luck was extremely bad.

Complaining was necessary, but under the current circumstances, moving to a place with more people was undoubtedly the right thing to do. Constantine frowned and glanced down both sides of the hallway. In his current vision state, the darkness-shrouded hallway looked no different from one under noon sunlight. But the youth ultimately retreated back into the room—the narrow hallway was lined with doors, unsuitable for sudden combat needs and prone to unexpected ambushes; it was definitely not a good evacuation route.

The window seemed more suitable—although the Duke’s Mansion buildings were not as short as the so-called standard rooms in his memory, with ceilings over ten feet high, he could still use a Feather Fall spell. As for the Blood Elf, it was even less of a problem—on her first appearance, this young lady had directly climbed in through that very window.

“Above!” Just as he neared the window, the Lich suddenly sent a warning!

The youth immediately and sharply retreated several steps before noticing the figure clinging to the ceiling… Immediately, Constantine felt goosebumps erupt across his back and scalp!

This creature seemed different from other zombies… Although it had limbs and a torso, its form bore little resemblance to a human, leaning more towards some kind of fierce beast—the ends of its limbs, parallel to the ground, bore foot-long, bone-like hooked claws! It was currently clinging to the exquisitely carved ceiling near the window using these claws!

This Undead’s flesh had completely rotted, presenting a purplish-brown color, with an even deeper shade on its head and neck. The surface covered in decaying skin no longer showed any facial features; even the eye sockets were covered with rotting flesh. But it had a complete brain exposed outside, grayish-white brain matter wobbling slightly with its twisting movements, as if pondering something…

“Wh-what… what is this thing?”

The Blood Elf, also seeing the monster clearly, let out an uncontrollable scream—girls obviously had little resistance to such disgusting things. However, Miss Tinuviel’s way of expressing fear differed from the meaning of her name… At the same moment the scream rang out, a series of sharp gusts shot from Miss Nightingale’s hands!

With dull thud sounds moments later, seven or eight weapons were embedded in the Undead’s head and neck! The Undead, with its exposed brain pierced, uttered a sound like a bursting skin sack and fell directly from the ceiling! It hit the ground with a heavy thud!

Constantine scratched his head, suppressing the hair-raising sensation. Those hidden weapons were the same small daggers she had used to threaten him before—palm-sized gadgets with very short handles, seemingly only suitable as surprise weapons. Yet these small items had deeply pierced the zombie’s body, even severing the neck bone! As the Undead’s head tilted to one side like a deflated ball, only a bit of rotting flesh connected it to the body!

This Plane also had similar hidden weapon techniques, but maintaining such accuracy and possessing such power indicated the Blood Elf had quite a unique method. Constantine couldn’t help but feel secretly relieved he hadn’t angered this young lady. Otherwise, if she gave him one of those, given his own skills, he could only obediently accept the fate of having a few decorations added to his body.

“What kind of Undead is this?” Constantine glanced at the thing still spasming and flailing.

“Never seen this type of thing… seems like a modified version of some kind of zombie.” The diamond-shaped pupil on the amulet shifted as the Lich mused, “…But that’s not strange. Every Mage specializing in the Necromancy school would have some creations of their own, depending on their abilities and preferences. This thing seems specifically designed to climb walls!” As if feeling embarrassed for not providing a correct answer, he hurriedly added two more sentences. “Most fellows simulate a soul-like energy core using their own Magic Power. Undead created this way generally have average combat strength but don’t consume much power and can follow simple combat commands. Another method is to collect a living being’s Soul and attach it to an Undead. Undead formed this way have combat strength closely related to the living Soul, possessing a certain level of intelligence. If it’s a strong Soul, it can create a very powerful Undead.”

But Constantine showed no interest in mocking the Lich who always boasted of vast knowledge… because he noticed the Lich had upgraded the opponent’s title to “Necromancy-specialist Mage.” This situation was clearly very troublesome… If the opponent was truly a proper Necromancer, who knew how many Undead of what types they had? Was the mansion already surrounded now? With just these few combatants and a dozen or so servants, women, and children, could they hold out until the Temple Priests and Paladins arrived?

“This thing is absolutely disgusting! If I catch that guy, I’ll definitely chop him into pieces!” On the other side, Miss Nightingale was clearly not satisfied with her results: “Damn it, these specially crafted short swords are masterpieces, costing a gold coin each! How long will it take to clean them…” she complained angrily.

“Didn’t you just say you could handle any situation? Then hurry up and finish off these things! Short swords or whatever, I’ll have some made for you later!” The youth’s eyelid twitched as he interrupted her complaints. He had noticed two more similar Undead climbing in through the window. Clearly, the opponent was aware of his presence and intended to cut off his retreat.

“Can’t do it, those were the last few just now… I suddenly feel like emitting some feminine dependence, to stimulate your protective instinct and stir up a rare fighting spirit. What do you think?” The Elf’s red eyes shifted mischievously.

“Damn it! Is this a time for jokes?”

“You were so calm just now… no need to be so tense… young master, didn’t you hear? Our reinforcements are here.” The Blood Elf seemed quite satisfied with Constantine’s frustration. She playfully blinked her eyes and teased with a laugh.

Constantine was stunned, then noticed faint clanking sounds of armor friction coming from the hallway—those were likely the movements of Griffon Knights. But one had to admit Elven hearing was very sharp. Without her reminder, amidst the noise from outside and the two monsters nearby, Constantine hadn’t noticed these slight sounds at all.

“Young Master Constantine, please forgive our lateness. Are you injured?”

In an instant, two Knights had rushed into the room. The leader was the Scorite squad captain. Swinging his long sword, two crossed arcs of blade light later, the two zombies were split into four pieces! Only then did he salute Constantine.

He was still fully clad in heavy armor, revealing only his blood-red pupils. In the darkness, he looked more like a high-level Undead than those actual Undead. Behind him was the long-faced Knight from the trio.

“It’s fine, I’m not injured…” Constantine let out a long sigh. Actually, from the Undead’s appearance until now, only a short sand mark of an hourglass had passed; converted to time he was familiar with, it was less than ten minutes. But it felt much longer… But before he could fully relax, a sharp, hollow voice suddenly rang out in the room. Following it was a heavy, monotonous thumping sound.

“Hehehe… Of course you’re not injured. If you died, I’d have a big headache…”

Following the voice, a ragged figure slowly emerged from a patch of darkness in the room. He was wrapped in a large Black Robe, with a hint of crimson light in the eye sockets hidden within his hood’s shadow. Under everyone’s gaze, the faintly trembling glow pulsed like the rhythm of a heartbeat.

“Clang!”

Neither of the room’s two exits had shown any abnormality. So when did this person appear there? Before the question could flash through Constantine’s mind, a sharp metallic clash reverberated beside his ear. The youth turned his gaze in surprise and noticed the two Griffon Knights’ swords had clashed together right beside him!