Chapter 398: Death Knights

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Crimson eyes, surrounding flames, and a body made from infinite resentment. If this wasn’t a Shapeshifter, then what was it? Even an idiot in Anril would know that it might not be a prince riding a white horse, but it was definitely a Death Knight riding a Shapeshifter. Only these warriors that had immense strength in their past life while retaining their combat skills could tame a Shapeshifter, a terrifying monster that was formed from infinite resentment.

Death Knights were the most unique type of Undead creatures. Although their bodies and souls had been corrupted by the corrosive Dark Force, they still retained some things from their lifetime. For example, their combat abilities. Thanks to that, they seemingly had the powers of at least level-15 when they just emerged. Some that were especially strong could even reach level-18 or 20 and above.

This was no joke. In the history of Anril, there was some data that recorded the appearance of at least 10 level-20 and above Death Knights. These 10 Death Knights were all famous individuals, and even the worst of them had led their army of knights and razed a city. They were like scythe-wielding Grim Reapers, using blood and darkness to bring disaster to the whole of Anril.

Other than being born with immense strength, the Death Knights even had sentience…

Dark Force had corroded their bodies and souls, but it did not turn them into monsters that only knew destruction and slaughter. They still retained perfect consciousness and thoughts. Although they had been corrupted by the Dark Force, these thoughts and consciousness had long undergone a complete change.

Thoughts and consciousness were not something every Undead creature had. Only those that truly stood at the top of the pyramid of Undead creatures—such as a high-ranking Vampire like Norfeller or a Lich like Ujfalusi—would be able retain sentience under stringent conditions.

However, Death Knights already had their own thoughts and consciousness from the day they were brought into the world.

Hence, Death Knights were the most unique Undead creature.

They even overthrew the rules of classes between Undead creatures. Unless they were willing, no other Undead creature could force them to submit. Even Ujfalusi, this ex-Lich, could not summon two Death Knights to aid him in the battle at the Syer Town’s ruins.

The Death Knights were a totally separate entity amongst the Undead creatures. They were not restrained or controlled by any force. Only a Death Knight could command a Death Knight, and only those Death Knights that had broken through to level-20 could order their compatriots. They were called Retribution Knights…

Luckily, there wasn’t a single Retribution Knight in this group of Death Knights.

This more or less allowed Lin Li to heave a sigh of relief…

“What the hell, those are Death Knights…” At this point, Adelo’s complexion changed. A level-17 Archmage would naturally be able to use a spell like Warlock’s Eyes. There was no reason for Adelo to be unable to see whatever Lin Li could see.

There was a plume of dust ahead of them. The sounds of hooves were as dense as rain drops. Looking from afar, there were at least 20 Death Knights—they were all powerful existences that were at least level-15. With the addition of a Shapeshifter that was similarly level-15, it was a total nightmare to encounter them under any circumstances.

Furthermore, there were so many Vampires around them…

“How… How could Death Knights appear here?” Adelo opened his mouth; he was stunned for a minute…

Adelo wrecked his brains, but he still could not understand how those 20 Death Knights appeared. The map did not have any markings related to them, so why would they suddenly come here? Could it be that the map in his hands was inaccurate?

How’s that possible…

Adelo simply could not believe the map in his hands had any mistakes. It had to be known that this map was personally made by Mentor Cheyenne! If there was anyone in this world that dared to say they were well acquainted with the Blackstone Mountains, then that person would undoubtedly be Mentor Cheyenne. In the past tens of years, Mentor Cheyenne would come to the Blackstone Mountains almost every year, and knew every single bit of this place like the fingerprints on his fingers. If the map that Mentor Cheyenne personally made had issues, then wouldn’t men be able to give birth?

“I think this is a coincidence…” Lin Li rubbed his nose; he looked rather guilty.

Adelo didn’t know what was happening, but Lin Li had already made a guess…

Be it the Vampires or the Death Knights, it mostly had to do with him…

There was a conflict that could not be soothed between Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. Back at the Well of the Sun, when Lin Li had just obtained the Stars of Fury, the clash between the powers of light and darkness had even triggered an intense explosion. Although Holy Light was now hidden by him in the Ring of Endless Storm, just a shred of its aura being released would be able to invoke Gloomy Dark’s response…

This was actually very normal. You had brought rat poison into somebody’s house to kill them, and you still did not allow them to respond?

However, once Gloomy Dark responded, things would get very troublesome…

It could not be helped. All of the Undead creatures in the Scar of Death were born from the powers of Gloomy Dark. Once it responded, wouldn’t underlings make their way over and kill them?

Just watch. Right now, it was just Vampires and Death Knights, but if Gloomy Dark was not taken under control quickly, there might even be Liches or Humerus Wyrms appearing as well…

“Ujfalusi, I need to prepare a spell for about two minutes.”

“Yes, Master.”

The conversation between these two mages made almost everyone confused.

It was especially so for Adelo, whose heart was burning with anxiety. When he heard the conversation, he was so angry that he stomped his feet. Youngsters really knew nothing about crises and danger. Usually, they were not like this, so why did they make reckless decisions when it was a critical stage? One should know that this was the best chance to escape! More than half of the Vampires had already died, and 20 Death Knights were rushing over. At this point, if they were to run away, they would have some chance of escaping from those damned Undead creatures.

Adelo had not thought in his wildest dreams that this Felic would actually prepare a spell at such a crucial time, and he even had to prepare it for two minutes.

F*ck, two minutes… Do you think we are on a stroll now?

At this point, Adelo really wanted to ask this young mage: “Two minutes, what kind of spell are you preparing? Is it the legendary Judgment Day? Ok, ok, even if you really do know Judgment Day, those are Death Knights in full fury. They wouldn’t give you a chance to use it. Could it be that you think you would be able to hold off 20 Death Knights for two minutes just with your mage subordinate?”

However, Adelo did not say anything in the end. He merely sighed in annoyance…

It could not be helped. Even an idiot would know that the right to command the advance party now lay in the hands of this mage. Be it Johnathan—the commander on paper—or Adelo—who was shouldering a secret mission—none of them had the right to disagree. At such times, ability was everything. Lin Li had three subordinates that were powerhouses level-18 and above, and his own abilities were fathomless. Who would dare to go against them?

Next, Adelo saw that the bony mage walk out from the crowd. He gripped his magic staff tightly, and his recitation came deep and hoarse, just like a form of prayer in the olden days.

What spell is this? Adelo was studying under a Legendary mage, and he himself was an Archmage at the peak of level-17. His research on magic incantations was more advanced than that of an average mage, but at this point, his mind was full of question marks when he heard it. The incantation that this mage was reciting was something that Adelo had never heard of. He could not even decipher what the characters that were used in it meant.

However, his confusion only lasted less than ten seconds.

When a black gate suddenly opened, Adelo’s face instantly turned pale…

“Tide of Death!”

At that point, Adelo really thought he was seeing things. How could this be? The legendary level-20 spell, Tide of Death, that even Legendary-realm powerhouses had no choice but to retreat from, and which could constantly summon Undead creatures to serve the caster. How could it have appeared here?

Soon, Adelo knew that he was not seeing things.

It was because he clearly saw a group of black skeletons walking out of the black gate. They were wielding rusty machetes in their hands, and their bones did not have a single bit of luster. Everything about them was exactly the same as the Skeletal Warriors on the other side of the cave. There was a thick fog surrounding the black gate, and thick yet powerful death aura was being emitted by it, which made everyone hold their breath. A large number of Undead creatures surged out of the black gate like floodwater—Skeletal Warriors, Hell Ghouls, Liches…

Adelo even saw a few bats flying into the sky…

“It really is the Tide of Death…” Adelo’s voice was like he was sleep-talking. In the face of this nightmarish scene, he even lost the ability to think. He could only stare as the black fog pervaded the area, and then watch as the two forces of Undead creatures got entangled with each other…

Although the battle between Undead creatures did not entail blood and flesh spewing everywhere, it was similarly intense. Countless Skeletal Warriors were like moths rushing towards a light. They charged incessantly, and then continuously got ripped into fragments by the numerous Vampires. The Hell Ghouls waved their bone staff and continuously shot out Deathfire Bombs. The Liches’ recitation united, and caused the magical wave in the area to surge like boiling water…

The battle between the two forces of Undead creatures were like Mars had crashed into Earth. They had just collided with each other, and it had already produced dazzling flares. At this point, almost everyone placed their focus on this intense battle. Almost nobody realized that that young mage was placing magical crystals on the ground…

Ever since Ujfalusi had been reciting the incantations, Lin Li never lifted his head once. He had been focused on positioning the magical crystals. The expression on Lin Li’s face was incomparably focused, and he placed every magical crystal meticulously as though he was afraid the magical crystal would shatter with just a tiny bit of carelessness.

The sounds of hooves that were like raindrops drew closer. When Lin Li placed down the seventh crystal, the 20 Death Knights riding on Shapeshifters finally appeared in everyone’s field of vision. Looking from afar, they were like thunderclouds that were red and black—the red was from the flames, and the black was from their armor. When the 20 or so Shapeshifters simultaneously neighed, almost everyone’s heart tightened…

“Oh my God…” Adelo’s face was completely pale as he looked at the Death Knights that were rushing over like a gale. The strength of these Death Knights surpassed his expectations: at least 10 of them had reached level-17. There were even two of them that had the strength at the peak of level-17…

This was no longer a level of strength that the advance party could resist. Just those two Death Knights at the peak of level-17 would be able to go against the whole advance party. Furthermore, they had over 20 companions as well as tens of Vampires’ assistance…

“What do we do, Brother Reggie?” Looking at the power of these Death Knights with their own eyes, a few Bandits could not help but lose their confidence. If they’d known this was going to happen, it would have been better to escape earlier. They would not even care so much if they were to face the Skeletal Warriors after retreating back into the cave. After all, although the infinite Skeletal Warriors were horrifying, it was not as bad as 20 Death Knights. “Why don’t we make use of the chaos and escape quickly…”

“Wait, Mage Felic will have a solution.” At this point, other than Norfeller and Rina, Reggie was the only one that trusted Lin Li. That night in the tent, this monstrous young mage had left too deep of an impression on him. Thus, he still believed in the other party even though they had encountered such a situation.

However, even Reggie who trusted Lin Li the most did not realize that after the Death Knights had charged into battle, that young mage still leaned forward, meticulously positioning the magical crystals. When the number of magical crystals on the ground reached 13, he finally stood up slowly and wiped the sweat off his forehead. His face actually had an exhausted but satisfied smile…

After that, the reciting of a long incantation began.

The quietness of the Scar of Death had been obliterated. The footsteps of Skeletal Warriors, explosions of the Deathfire Bomb, neighing of Shapeshifters, shrieks of the Vampires, and Liches reciting incantations… Countless noises had been mixed together, causing the Scar of Death to be like a bustling city. When 20 Death Knights charged into battle, more than 100 Skeletal Warriors had been smashed into smithereens. That feeling was like a red-hot knife slicing through butter as the latter had been cut with a sizzle…

There were still countless Undead creatures continuously surging out of the black gate that was surrounded by fog. Ujfalusi was still reciting incantations, but that abnormally pale face was now as white as a sheet. To forcefully activate a level-20 Tide of Death with the abilities of a level-18 necromancer even after taking the potions that Lin Li had given him… This type of self-harming casting method still made him be on the verge of having his mana collapsing at any time…