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Chapter 348
Chapter 291: A Confident Revenge, the Power of a Fourth-Tier Undead
Khajiit stood atop the ruinous temple, staring coldly at Tang Zheng opposite him. A wicked, cruel smile appeared on his face.
"I've been thinking about how to get my revenge, but I never expected you to deliver yourself to my doorstep, and even bring the Orb of Death with you."
"Although you ruined my original plan, as long as I kill you and take back the Orb of Death, it'll just mean I've wasted a little time."
A cold aura filled the air.
*Pat! Pat!*
Tang Zheng raised his hand and gently patted his red robe, as if brushing off dust.
"You seem quite confident, old friend."
Tang Zheng was also curious as to how Khajiit could have held back until now before deciding to make his move. Aside from wanting to uncover his true purpose, the man must have been completely confident in his ability to defeat him to act so arrogantly.
"You self-righteous fool, you can't possibly understand the might of Zuranon, much less the terror of the Alliance Leader."
Khajiit's gaze grew colder. He gripped the magic staff in his hands and slammed it into the ground, causing a dense wave of negative energy to surge forth.
"This is a new power I've mastered, a gift prepared especially for you!"
*Dong!*
A thick stream of negative energy surged from the magic staff into the ground, immediately followed by a tremor that felt like the beat of a massive drum.
A dark blue magic circle appeared at Khajiit's feet. In that instant, a roar containing a stunning effect erupted from within it.
With a great rattling sound, a completely rotten zombie monster, which seemed to be formed from a mass of undead, emerged from the magic circle. Its enormous body spanned the distance between them. It was even taller than the ruinous temple, standing over four meters high.
*Dong!*
The light of the magic circle did not fade.
Another monster emerged from it. Compared to the massive undead giant, this one was of normal height, resembling a skeleton warrior summoned by a third-tier undead-summoning spell.
However, its bones were a dark red. It wielded a dark red bone longsword and a dark red shield, and even carried a composite longbow on its back.
All three weapons emanated the faint glow of magic. It was an armed skeleton, equipped with magic items!
The magic circle's light faded, and two undead monsters, one large and one small, appeared before Tang Zheng.
Seeing these two monsters, Tang Zheng raised an eyebrow. "A Corpse Amalgam Giant and a Red Skeleton Warrior?"
One was an amalgamation-type zombie monster, the other a subspecies of skeleton warrior. Although both were third-tier undead, their true combat power was much higher, capable of reaching the fourth-tier level.
These were not ordinary undead. Normal magic could not summon these two types.
Just like the Death Knights the Bone King was so fond of using, they were generally created or summoned using a special skill.
"Arrogant bastard! Repent for your hubris!"
Khajiit felt the powerful negative energy aura emanating from the two monsters, a satisfied expression appearing on his grim face as he roared.
Khajiit hadn't spent his time in that legendary city of the undead for nothing. He had utilized the negative energy there and the Alliance Leader's power.
He had created these two undead monsters, which possessed the power of fourth-tier undead.
With his specialization in necromancy, he could control one hundred ordinary undead at once. However, his control over powerful undead was very limited, especially at this level.
Controlling these two was already his current limit.
Relying on these two undead monsters, he was confident he could kill Tang Zheng. He recalled their previous battle.
Khajiit knew that Tang Zheng's strength shouldn't be that great. Even if he was a bit stronger than him, at most he would be at the level of a fourth-tier magic caster.
With that level of strength, he still wanted to cooperate with their Alliance Leader?
What a joke!
"Kill him!" Khajiit commanded the two undead, sending them charging toward Tang Zheng as he looked on with great anticipation.
The expected panic and disarray did not materialize.
"How boring."
Watching the two charging undead, Tang Zheng raised his hand with a blank expression.
"Dragon Lightning!"
A dazzling blue light instantly illuminated the night, transforming into a surging, dragon-shaped bolt of lightning that shot out with a roar. With a flash of blue light in the air, the two newly summoned undead were instantly incinerated and turned to ash. Though most of the terrifying lightning had dispersed, it still released an area-of-effect aftershock that continued to blast towards Khajiit.
[Gained Experience: 3721]
[Gained Experience: 3907]
[Experience Bar: 1,112,322 / 410,000]
"Fifth-tier magic..."
"Lightning Attribute Defense!"
Khajiit's sunken eye sockets trembled. He stared in disbelief at the terrifying lightning filling his vision, his previously composed expression vanishing as he let out a terrified cry.
*BOOM!*
"Ahhh—"
Khajiit's position was engulfed in lightning. With a wretched scream, the figure standing on the steps of the ruinous temple was sent flying, crashing onto the graveyard ground.
The blue lightning dissipated.
Khajiit lay sprawled wretchedly on the ground. Thanks to his Lightning Attribute Defense and the fact that it was merely the aftershock of Dragon Lightning, it appeared he hadn't suffered any severe injuries. However, his exposed hands, face, and neck showed numerous burn marks.
"How... How could you possibly possess such immense power?"
Khajiit propped himself up with his hands, miserably lifting his head to look at Tang Zheng not far away, his voice trembling with fear.
The man was clearly a powerful magic caster who had mastered fifth-tier magic, so why did he use a disguise like Angel Summoning back then?
With the terrifying power of that magic just now, he could have easily killed him.
The corner of Khajiit's eye twitched. He couldn't understand it, and an indescribable sense of frustration welled up inside him.
This bastard!
To possess such great power, yet still be so careful—no, overly cautious!
*Shasha~ Shasha~*
Footsteps approached him.
"Failed again," Khajiit wailed internally, suddenly finding his own overconfidence laughable.
Am I going to die?
Khajiit knew the Alliance Leader might permit him to fail once, but would never allow him to fail a second time.
How infuriating!
All of his efforts had ended in him losing to the same person twice.
Tang Zheng walked up to Khajiit. Looking at the figure who had given up all resistance, he suddenly asked, "Do you want to become an undead?"
Khajiit, who had been preparing for death, looked up at Tang Zheng in a daze.
"I originally wanted to cooperate with your Alliance Leader. Since you also know the Spiral of Death ritual, cooperating with you isn't out of the question," Tang Zheng said.
Khajiit's despairing and dejected expression slowly faded, replaced by an unusual light in his pupils.
"Why?" Khajiit asked in disbelief.
"As I've said, my interest in Zuranon is the Spiral of Death ritual. I want to confirm if this ritual can truly turn humans into undead."
"Since you want to become an undead so badly, that's perfect. I can use you to verify it."
Tang Zheng said with a cold smile, not bothering to hide his intentions.
His words fell on Khajiit's ears like a god answering his inner resentment. The hopeless situation had been completely reversed.
Overcome with excitement, Khajiit scrambled up from the ground.
Even when faced with Tang Zheng, the enemy who had killed him once before, it was nothing compared to his profound desire to become an undead.
The mysterious person before him was very strong. By relying on his power, perhaps he could make up for the time he had wasted, and even accelerate the completion of his original plan.
"You're really not joking." Khajiit's hands trembled, still finding it hard to believe.
"What do you think?" Tang Zheng took out the Orb of Death, and by channeling his magic power, a massive magic circle appeared at his feet.
The next moment.
*BOOM!*
A roaring Bone Dragon flew out from the magic circle, hovering above the two of them. Its white bones shimmered faintly under the moonlight.
"A Bone Dragon!"
"You... how did you do that!" Khajiit stared blankly.
He had spent over a year collecting negative energy and still hadn't met the conditions to summon a Bone Dragon, yet how long had the Orb of Death been in this person's hands?
No wonder this mysterious man was so confident about cooperating with their Alliance Leader. Relying on the Bone Dragon's abilities, aside from the Alliance Leader himself, none of the other High Disciples would be a match for him.
He looked at Tang Zheng before him, completely wrapped in a red robe, who seemed to be watching him quietly.
Khajiit bowed slightly, a wicked, excited smile on his face. "I will tell you everything I know and assist Your Excellency with all my strength to complete the Spiral of Death ritual."
As the weaker party, Khajiit needed to display more of his own value.
"A pleasure doing business with you." A smile formed on Tang Zheng's lips behind his black mask. On second thought, cooperating with Khajiit would be much more reassuring and far easier to control.
The Spiral of Death?
Others might not know, but how could Tang Zheng be unaware of the true origin of this magic ritual? It was simply impossible for Khajiit to succeed.
Even if he could perform it correctly, it would take at least several years.
"A pleasure doing business with you, old friend," Khajiit said with a grin, humbling himself completely. The scene from moments ago, where he had wanted nothing more than to kill Tang Zheng, now seemed like a mere illusion.
*Thud!*
Khajiit suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.
Tang Zheng picked up the unconscious Khajiit and vanished.
...
Meanwhile.
The Holy Kingdom.
Holy Princess Calca and Kelart had secretly dispatched a ten-person exploration squad without alerting any of the high nobles. After an anxious wait, news had finally arrived.
These ten people were all experts in ranger and thieving techniques, elites recruited from the scout units of the Holy Kingdom's various forces. When it came to gathering information, no one was more suitable than them.
Yet, such an elite team had been nearly wiped out, with only a single survivor.
When he was found, he had been on the brink of death. If not for his tenacious will that allowed him to hold on until he was rescued by a sea vessel, the entire team would have likely been annihilated.
Inside the royal court.
Holy Princess Calca confirmed that the young man had regained consciousness after being treated by several Priests and felt relieved. "It's good that he survived."
At the same time, she felt a pang of guilt and sorrow.
The other nine had all died in the Abelion Hills, and it was likely that not even their bodies could be recovered.
"Your Majesty, you need to rest properly." A middle-aged secretary-maid with impeccable etiquette stood to the side, reminding her with a serious expression.
"You know the current situation. We must deal with it as quickly as possible." Hearing the stern voice beside her, a helpless smile appeared on Holy Princess Calca's fair cheeks as she gently explained.
"You do not need to explain yourself to a servant." The middle-aged secretary-maid's voice remained rigid. Her Highness the Holy Princess was perfect in every way, except that she was far too kind and gentle.
(end of chapter)
Khajiit stood atop the ruinous temple, staring coldly at Tang Zheng opposite him. A wicked, cruel smile appeared on his face.
"I've been thinking about how to get my revenge, but I never expected you to deliver yourself to my doorstep, and even bring the Orb of Death with you."
"Although you ruined my original plan, as long as I kill you and take back the Orb of Death, it'll just mean I've wasted a little time."
A cold aura filled the air.
*Pat! Pat!*
Tang Zheng raised his hand and gently patted his red robe, as if brushing off dust.
"You seem quite confident, old friend."
Tang Zheng was also curious as to how Khajiit could have held back until now before deciding to make his move. Aside from wanting to uncover his true purpose, the man must have been completely confident in his ability to defeat him to act so arrogantly.
"You self-righteous fool, you can't possibly understand the might of Zuranon, much less the terror of the Alliance Leader."
Khajiit's gaze grew colder. He gripped the magic staff in his hands and slammed it into the ground, causing a dense wave of negative energy to surge forth.
"This is a new power I've mastered, a gift prepared especially for you!"
*Dong!*
A thick stream of negative energy surged from the magic staff into the ground, immediately followed by a tremor that felt like the beat of a massive drum.
A dark blue magic circle appeared at Khajiit's feet. In that instant, a roar containing a stunning effect erupted from within it.
With a great rattling sound, a completely rotten zombie monster, which seemed to be formed from a mass of undead, emerged from the magic circle. Its enormous body spanned the distance between them. It was even taller than the ruinous temple, standing over four meters high.
*Dong!*
The light of the magic circle did not fade.
Another monster emerged from it. Compared to the massive undead giant, this one was of normal height, resembling a skeleton warrior summoned by a third-tier undead-summoning spell.
However, its bones were a dark red. It wielded a dark red bone longsword and a dark red shield, and even carried a composite longbow on its back.
All three weapons emanated the faint glow of magic. It was an armed skeleton, equipped with magic items!
The magic circle's light faded, and two undead monsters, one large and one small, appeared before Tang Zheng.
Seeing these two monsters, Tang Zheng raised an eyebrow. "A Corpse Amalgam Giant and a Red Skeleton Warrior?"
One was an amalgamation-type zombie monster, the other a subspecies of skeleton warrior. Although both were third-tier undead, their true combat power was much higher, capable of reaching the fourth-tier level.
These were not ordinary undead. Normal magic could not summon these two types.
Just like the Death Knights the Bone King was so fond of using, they were generally created or summoned using a special skill.
"Arrogant bastard! Repent for your hubris!"
Khajiit felt the powerful negative energy aura emanating from the two monsters, a satisfied expression appearing on his grim face as he roared.
Khajiit hadn't spent his time in that legendary city of the undead for nothing. He had utilized the negative energy there and the Alliance Leader's power.
He had created these two undead monsters, which possessed the power of fourth-tier undead.
With his specialization in necromancy, he could control one hundred ordinary undead at once. However, his control over powerful undead was very limited, especially at this level.
Controlling these two was already his current limit.
Relying on these two undead monsters, he was confident he could kill Tang Zheng. He recalled their previous battle.
Khajiit knew that Tang Zheng's strength shouldn't be that great. Even if he was a bit stronger than him, at most he would be at the level of a fourth-tier magic caster.
With that level of strength, he still wanted to cooperate with their Alliance Leader?
What a joke!
"Kill him!" Khajiit commanded the two undead, sending them charging toward Tang Zheng as he looked on with great anticipation.
The expected panic and disarray did not materialize.
"How boring."
Watching the two charging undead, Tang Zheng raised his hand with a blank expression.
"Dragon Lightning!"
A dazzling blue light instantly illuminated the night, transforming into a surging, dragon-shaped bolt of lightning that shot out with a roar. With a flash of blue light in the air, the two newly summoned undead were instantly incinerated and turned to ash. Though most of the terrifying lightning had dispersed, it still released an area-of-effect aftershock that continued to blast towards Khajiit.
[Gained Experience: 3721]
[Gained Experience: 3907]
[Experience Bar: 1,112,322 / 410,000]
"Fifth-tier magic..."
"Lightning Attribute Defense!"
Khajiit's sunken eye sockets trembled. He stared in disbelief at the terrifying lightning filling his vision, his previously composed expression vanishing as he let out a terrified cry.
*BOOM!*
"Ahhh—"
Khajiit's position was engulfed in lightning. With a wretched scream, the figure standing on the steps of the ruinous temple was sent flying, crashing onto the graveyard ground.
The blue lightning dissipated.
Khajiit lay sprawled wretchedly on the ground. Thanks to his Lightning Attribute Defense and the fact that it was merely the aftershock of Dragon Lightning, it appeared he hadn't suffered any severe injuries. However, his exposed hands, face, and neck showed numerous burn marks.
"How... How could you possibly possess such immense power?"
Khajiit propped himself up with his hands, miserably lifting his head to look at Tang Zheng not far away, his voice trembling with fear.
The man was clearly a powerful magic caster who had mastered fifth-tier magic, so why did he use a disguise like Angel Summoning back then?
With the terrifying power of that magic just now, he could have easily killed him.
The corner of Khajiit's eye twitched. He couldn't understand it, and an indescribable sense of frustration welled up inside him.
This bastard!
To possess such great power, yet still be so careful—no, overly cautious!
*Shasha~ Shasha~*
Footsteps approached him.
"Failed again," Khajiit wailed internally, suddenly finding his own overconfidence laughable.
Am I going to die?
Khajiit knew the Alliance Leader might permit him to fail once, but would never allow him to fail a second time.
How infuriating!
All of his efforts had ended in him losing to the same person twice.
Tang Zheng walked up to Khajiit. Looking at the figure who had given up all resistance, he suddenly asked, "Do you want to become an undead?"
Khajiit, who had been preparing for death, looked up at Tang Zheng in a daze.
"I originally wanted to cooperate with your Alliance Leader. Since you also know the Spiral of Death ritual, cooperating with you isn't out of the question," Tang Zheng said.
Khajiit's despairing and dejected expression slowly faded, replaced by an unusual light in his pupils.
"Why?" Khajiit asked in disbelief.
"As I've said, my interest in Zuranon is the Spiral of Death ritual. I want to confirm if this ritual can truly turn humans into undead."
"Since you want to become an undead so badly, that's perfect. I can use you to verify it."
Tang Zheng said with a cold smile, not bothering to hide his intentions.
His words fell on Khajiit's ears like a god answering his inner resentment. The hopeless situation had been completely reversed.
Overcome with excitement, Khajiit scrambled up from the ground.
Even when faced with Tang Zheng, the enemy who had killed him once before, it was nothing compared to his profound desire to become an undead.
The mysterious person before him was very strong. By relying on his power, perhaps he could make up for the time he had wasted, and even accelerate the completion of his original plan.
"You're really not joking." Khajiit's hands trembled, still finding it hard to believe.
"What do you think?" Tang Zheng took out the Orb of Death, and by channeling his magic power, a massive magic circle appeared at his feet.
The next moment.
*BOOM!*
A roaring Bone Dragon flew out from the magic circle, hovering above the two of them. Its white bones shimmered faintly under the moonlight.
"A Bone Dragon!"
"You... how did you do that!" Khajiit stared blankly.
He had spent over a year collecting negative energy and still hadn't met the conditions to summon a Bone Dragon, yet how long had the Orb of Death been in this person's hands?
No wonder this mysterious man was so confident about cooperating with their Alliance Leader. Relying on the Bone Dragon's abilities, aside from the Alliance Leader himself, none of the other High Disciples would be a match for him.
He looked at Tang Zheng before him, completely wrapped in a red robe, who seemed to be watching him quietly.
Khajiit bowed slightly, a wicked, excited smile on his face. "I will tell you everything I know and assist Your Excellency with all my strength to complete the Spiral of Death ritual."
As the weaker party, Khajiit needed to display more of his own value.
"A pleasure doing business with you." A smile formed on Tang Zheng's lips behind his black mask. On second thought, cooperating with Khajiit would be much more reassuring and far easier to control.
The Spiral of Death?
Others might not know, but how could Tang Zheng be unaware of the true origin of this magic ritual? It was simply impossible for Khajiit to succeed.
Even if he could perform it correctly, it would take at least several years.
"A pleasure doing business with you, old friend," Khajiit said with a grin, humbling himself completely. The scene from moments ago, where he had wanted nothing more than to kill Tang Zheng, now seemed like a mere illusion.
*Thud!*
Khajiit suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.
Tang Zheng picked up the unconscious Khajiit and vanished.
...
Meanwhile.
The Holy Kingdom.
Holy Princess Calca and Kelart had secretly dispatched a ten-person exploration squad without alerting any of the high nobles. After an anxious wait, news had finally arrived.
These ten people were all experts in ranger and thieving techniques, elites recruited from the scout units of the Holy Kingdom's various forces. When it came to gathering information, no one was more suitable than them.
Yet, such an elite team had been nearly wiped out, with only a single survivor.
When he was found, he had been on the brink of death. If not for his tenacious will that allowed him to hold on until he was rescued by a sea vessel, the entire team would have likely been annihilated.
Inside the royal court.
Holy Princess Calca confirmed that the young man had regained consciousness after being treated by several Priests and felt relieved. "It's good that he survived."
At the same time, she felt a pang of guilt and sorrow.
The other nine had all died in the Abelion Hills, and it was likely that not even their bodies could be recovered.
"Your Majesty, you need to rest properly." A middle-aged secretary-maid with impeccable etiquette stood to the side, reminding her with a serious expression.
"You know the current situation. We must deal with it as quickly as possible." Hearing the stern voice beside her, a helpless smile appeared on Holy Princess Calca's fair cheeks as she gently explained.
"You do not need to explain yourself to a servant." The middle-aged secretary-maid's voice remained rigid. Her Highness the Holy Princess was perfect in every way, except that she was far too kind and gentle.
(end of chapter)
