Assassin’s Chronicle - Chapter 571

The Maho Empire’s attack in the spring would be an undeniable success. Miorich, who had returned to the Sacred City a few months ago, had set off again, acting as the Chief Commander of the Northern Corps. He would be waging the final war with Marshal Baery, attempting to unify the entire continent.

The destruction of Dark Moon Magic Legion had caused the Ellisen Empire to lose many of their magic elites. Although they had used one year to recuperate and rebuild their strength, in terms of quantity and quality, it was a far cry from the Empire’s heyday. Ever since the Chief Royal Archmage, Newyoheim, had been seriously injured by Saul, he had been unable to move around. The Great Magician, Michael, had died at Anfey’s hands. Out of the four pillars of the Ellisen Empire, only two were left. The outcome of the war was very obvious.

In the center of Greenwich Island was the huge Skeleton Mountain. Bluish-green flame continuously spewed out from among the bones found there, causing great fear among the people. A few hundred necromancers stood at the foot of the mountain and looked fearfully at the bones that were being burned. Minos had changed. He used to look ordinary. Had it not been for the oppressive feeling that he inflicted on the people, he was no different from the rest of the ragged, old bones. Minos was holding onto a crystal jade bone staff. He was dressed in a long, white magic robe, and had a bright red cloak over him. The combination of the colors gave him a sinister appearance. A crown was placed on his head. There were seven greyish magic crystals, half the size of a fist each, on the crown. Minos had used a few of his precious magic crystals to make the crown. He had even destroyed a phantom dragon that was most inferior, in order to carry out this long awaited ceremony.

Minos slowly raised the bone staff in his hand. The bluish-green flame was burning even more fiercely now. The bones that had been burnt let out crackling sounds. As the bones were large in quantity, their cracklings sounded like huge waves when the sound traveled outward. Greenwich Island was not big, but neither was it small. It had the radius of about one hundred miles. One could stand anywhere on the island and clearly hear the sound.

The few hundred necromancers became groggy, due to the vibrations. However, the most powerful man in the continent, Minos, stood steadily and remained unaffected. He raised the bone staff once again, releasing again a bluish-green flame that splashed out. The flame shot up to the sky, a hundred meters high. Grey ashes that were impervious to the eyes rose up and covered the island’s Bone kekkai. The blue sky gradually turned grey, and the ashes continued to spread out across the great sea and land.

By the side of an unknown lake, Golman, who looked uglier than Minos, was looking at Suzanna. He spoke in a slow, low voice. He seemed to be both persuading and warning at the same time. “Suzanna, I have unlocked the chain to the element. But…it is best that you do not use this sword. Never use it!”

Suzanna looked at the mithril chest and did not speak a word. She did not seem to be listening to Golman. The element chain that the Grand Alchemist, Jacob, had found knotty, was nothing to the gifted Golman. To reach the peak was difficult enough, but Golman’s achievement was amazing. This had to do with the number of years he had lived. Ordinary people lived up to a hundred years, but Golman had lived a few hundred years. “The Blood Chant had too much resentment in it. From what I know, those who have used the Blood Chant ended up being evil and lost their minds.” Golman added, “Among the epic weapons, not many can harm the gods, but the Blood Chant is one of the exceptions that can do so. About one hundred angels had been devoured by the Blood Chant, and this alarmed the gods. If…you withdraw the sword, the gods will be alerted. The freedom that we have enjoyed would then be destroyed by you. Suzanna, remember, never use the Blood Chant.”

“Would I care if there is no future for Anfey and me?” Suzanna smiled sweetly. “Moreover, since you are against the idea, why have you helped me unlock the element chain?”

“Whether we will have a future, I have no answer. But if you use the Blood Chant, we will definitely not have a future!” Golman let out a sigh and said, “As long as we have hope, you have to control your emotions. I think you understand what I mean.”

Suzanna pondered this for a while, then slowly nodded her head.

As Golman was about to speak again, he turned and saw grey ashes surging from the east. Then, the entire sky turned grey. Golman shivered and said, “Finally…it has begun.”

Anfey laid on a green cow stone, in the center of the lake. He closed his eyes and seemed to be relaxing, like a shepherd taking a rest. When the sky turned grey, it made one feel suffocated. Anfey frowned and waved his hand. A gentle breeze swept across the lake and rippled the surface. As the wind got stronger, it became a tornado, speedily sucking in all the ashes. The sky turned blue again.

Although Anfey seemed very relaxed, it was not so. He had been practicing hard for a few months. He had read the Book of Life before, and it described how the world had been created. From one element, other elements had been created, and ultimately, formed the world. Anfey had not taken it to heart back then. However, after reading through Minos’ experiences, he understood now what it meant. When one gathered the different elements proportionately together, the “one” element would once again appear. That was the source of power, the power that had created the world!

This was the difference between a saint and a top level power. When a great magician released his magic, the power of the element would disperse at the appointed time. When a saint used the source of power to release magic, the power of the element would diminish over time. Take the Wall Technique for example, a great magician could only let a wall exist for more than 10 minutes, but the wall released by a saint would stay on forever. The wall would diminish over time, but it would not suddenly disappear. Saints at this stage were near to deities. They had obtained some secrets. Although they could not create the world, they could change the outlook of the world forever!

Anfey had strong mind power. He had gathered the different elements proportionately. To others, it might be a difficult task, but not to him. He had a good understanding of the different Magic of Nature. The Seed of Light that Slanbrea had left behind was in his body. He also had the Book of Darkness, which Yagor had left behind. Anfey had everything that was required for his cultivation. As for the death magic, it was a different form of magic derived from life. It did not belong to the first element.

Given Golman’s intelligence, he could not understand what the tornado meant, unlike Anfey. He was far from understanding the source of power. It was likened unto a high level magister, who would never be able to see what a great magician saw. He did not understand the source of power, thus, he was unable to differentiate.

Golman looked at the center of the lake. After Anfey had released the magic, he went into a deep sleep. After waiting for a while, Golman let out a sigh and said, “I need to go, Suzanna. You stay behind to keep Anfey company. I hope…you can make it on time.”

The grey ashes spread very quickly. In the battlefield of the Ellisen Empire, both troops felt suffocated and had stopped fighting. In the center of the city, the Great Magician of Ellisen Empire, Eregli, was having his meal. When the ashes passed over, he was shocked at first, but shortly after, became elated. He quickly swallowed his food, and as he was about to stand up, when he suddenly grabbed his throat. The food in his mouth had come alive. Before he could swallow, it had slithered down to his stomach. A cold aura surged up from his stomach to his chest.

Eregli was the number two Great Magician in Ellisen Empire. He was ranked behind Newyoheim. He had great experience in combat, and was good with physical enemies. Yet in dealing with abnormalities in the body, he was helpless.

“Master Eregli, for the future of the entire continent, let’s join forces. If you choose not to do this, you can choose instead to sacrifice your life for the Ellisen Empire.” A soft voice sounded in his ears.

Eregli was stunned. He looked around and said in a bitter tone, “Morgan…”

Throughout the year, no one in the Ellisen Empire had rested. They knew many secrets. The top level powers in the continent had joined forces against Minos, and Saul, Steger, and the rest had played a part in it. Ellisen had waited a long time for this opportunity! After Saul, Steger, Jacob, Douminge and the rest had left, the Ellisen Empire would have the upper-hand in magic. As long as they carried out a good plan, they could turn the table around and defeat the Maho Empire!

It was a pity, though, that whatever they could think of, Yolanthe had already thought of it. With Morgan joining them, it was like sounding the death knell for the Ellisen Empire. They had lost their high level power, so there was not much else they could do.

The three master necromancers stood together, watching the windswept Greenwich Island. Saul, Douminge, and the others stood behind them, watching them carefully. Despite working together, the stigma attached to necromancers still caused them to isolate the necromancers.

It was hard to say who was the leader out of the three master necromancers. Golman was well read and knew everything there was to know about the world’s history. Morgan was an incredible mage, and even his name was enough to make even the most powerful power go pale. However, because of his reclusive nature, he was not the leadership type. Desvidia was even less like a leader. He was always quiet, and rarely appeared in public view. However, that was also what made him dangerous.

To the others, Morgan was the most interesting. He was very different from what they had heard of him. Right now, his back was facing them. This showed that Morgan was confident enough in his own abilities, and confident that no one would attack him.

The archmage Eliry from Ellisen Empire glanced at Morgan and chuckled. He had fought with Morgan, and he knew that even if Morgan didn’t use any tricks, Morgan still would win. If Morgan really was as violent as the rumors said, there wouldn’t be any top level powers left in the world.

Morgan enjoyed traveling around the world. However, because necromancers were so hated, as soon as he was discovered, many top level powers would try to find and defeat him. In reality, Morgan only killed when he was attacked by others. Most people, however, were not willing to hear his side of the story, because he was a necromancer.

Most top level powers attacked Morgan, because they wanted to go down in history as being the ones who eliminated him. Another reason was that they wanted the fight to help them level up again. However, no one had succeeded so far.

Finally, Golman broke the silence. “What will you do if you see Annunciata?”

“I will not let anyone stop me,” Morgan said with a cool expression.

Golman lifted a brow in surprise. The others standing behind them could not understand him, either. It was commonly acknowledged that Annunciata and Morgan were always working together. Where Annunciata was, Morgan would not be far. No one wanted to attack Annunciata, because they were afraid that would anger Morgan. Now it was clear that Morgan and Annunciata did not have the relationship everyone thought they did.

“Do you think Minos will trust someone who cares for nothing?” Morgan asked with a small shrug.

“So you did it on purpose,” Golman said with a grin.

“As long as Minos thinks I care for her, he will think he can control me. He thinks that as long as he has her, I won’t do anything. That’s why I know things you don’t.”

“And to think, what you did to save her…” Desvidia’s voice trailed off, and he shuddered.

“Wait,” Morgan said, staring at the dark clouds over the island. “It’s starting. Desvidia, why don’t you go first?”

“This is revenge?”

“If you think so,” Morgan said. “You scared?”

“One of you is a mage, another isn’t even equipped to fight,” Desvidia said.

“I’m half a fighter. How can I turn that down?” Desvidia laughed, and his body suddenly grew a few inches. A pair of black wings sprouted from his back and he rose into the air, flying toward the island.

“Golman, stay here,” Morgan said, his tone softening. “If we fail, at least some hope remains.”

The corner of Golman’s mouth twitched, but he did not say anything. No matter what the world said about the three master necromancers, their friendship was as strong as anyone’s. Desvidia said that one of them was not equipped to fight, and told Morgan that Golman should stay behind.

Saul and Douminge both smiled bitterly, looking at Morgan. Despite the reputation that necromancers had, they could be more open than humans. In situations like this, Saul and Douminge would hold back and let someone else charge first. No one thought Morgan and Desvidia would charge first, without any arguments or discussion.

The entire Greenwich Island was shrouded by a dark fog. It became very hard to see anything. Saul and the others summoned magic shields to protect themselves. Even Morgan and Desvidia were effected. Desvidia had landed, and was walking slowly.

As if sensing intruders, the howling wind suddenly quieted down. The magic shield around the island started turning, countless bones, hanging in the air, starting spinning, until it was impossible to discern anything. The shield descended on the island.

Golman, however, did not stay behind. He followed Saul onto the island. When the wind stopped, he suddenly said, “Stop! Something’s wrong!”

By then, everyone had sensed the pressure from the sky. “Let me go see,” Eliry said, rising into the air.

Necromancers were difficult opponents, because they were rare. Everyone knew the effects of a fireball, but it was hard to say what a necromancer’s spell would do. Considering the dark fog and the unknown nature of necromancers’ magic, Eliry’s movements appeared to be a little reckless.

He rose into the air quickly. The bones that made up the shield around the island hit his magic shield and disappeared. However, Eliry’s shield disappeared as well. Luckily, he had another layer of shield inside the outer shield. Sensing something was wrong, he quickly teleported. When he reappeared on the ground, his forehead was covered by a thin layer of sweat. Saul and the others glanced at one another, shocked. Desvidia suddenly stopped, glancing around. A silvery ghost dragon suddenly appeared through the dark fog, trying to bite Desvidia.

“Jimeng!” Desvidia cried in shock, recognizing Minos’ mount. He jumped back, away from the dragon’s jaw.

The dragon snapped its jaw angrily, and swept its wings toward Desvidia. Desvidia was very fast, but the dragon was too large. Seeing that it was impossible to get away from the dragon, Desvidia raised his arms to protect his head. At the same time, he became covered by dark scales.

The dragon struck Desvidia, sending him flying backwards. However, such an attack could not hurt Desvidia when he was in this state. The ghost dragon’s eyes started glowing red. With a strong wave of magic surge, Desvidia’s body shook. Small wrinkles appeared on his forehead and were deepening quickly.

The ghost dragon hurtled toward Desvidia, clawing at his head. Morgan hurriedly waved his hand, summoning a pair of large hands from the ground. The hands grabbed the dragon’s tail, as large bone walls appeared in front of Desvidia.

However, Jimeng was an evolved ghost dragon, and was a tough opponent. Its tail slammed into the ground, smashing the hands. It dashed forward, crashing through the bone walls easily. Desvidia retreated as fast as he could, but he was under the aging spell. His speed was greatly reduced, and it was almost impossible for him to get away from the dragon.

A silvery white light shot out toward Desvidia, originating from where Saul and the rest were stationed. Desvidia ducked off speedily, barely avoiding the attack from the phantom dragon. From first being angry, Morgan soon became embarrassed. He was now alert. At the critical moment, the high priest, Stan, who was standing behind him, had released the Absolute Purification. Morgan was aware of the danger that Absolute Purification would pose to a necromancer. He nearly attacked Stan, which was why he felt embarrassed. He was alert enough to notice that the purpose of Magic of Light was meant to purify the curse of senescence on Desvidia. It would not harm Desvidia. Although this ingenious way of controlling the magic was not comparable to Morgan, it was not far removed from him either. If Stan had cultivated other forms of magic, his achievements would be comparable to Saul and Douminge.

After escaping from danger, Desvidia was enraged. He had deliberately kept a low profile, but that did not equate to having a lack of dignity. To suffer before everyone was a humiliation. Desvidia’s black pupils turned red. After a severe magic surge, the phantom dragon that had attempted to continue with the attack, froze. The gigantic body had multiple cracks on it. The aging incantation was visibly taking effect. Desvidia let it have a taste of its own medicine, as casting a curse was Desvidia’s forte.

Morgan waved his hand, and a huge bone spear appeared in the air, stabbing into the chest of the phantom dragon. The second, then third bone spears appeared and continuously attacked it. After the first bone spear exploded on the chest of the phantom dragon, the second bone spear appeared. Although the bone spear was much smaller than the phantom dragon, due to the aging incantation, the defending power of the phantom dragon had diminished greatly. The three bone spears that Morgan had released hit on the same spot, creating a big hole in the phantom dragon’s chest. Bone dust spilled down to the ground.

The phantom dragon screamed, but this was not the end. Stan performed the prayer incantation on the phantom dragon. If a Knight of Light had been affected by the prayer incantation, his attack and defense would take longer before effect. If the target was a death spirit, it would suffer harm over a long period of time.

The Grand Knight, Fernando, had broken out of the v-formation. A priest in white robe, who was standing beside Stan, lifted up his hands and released the prayer incantation. The Combat Power released by Fernando shot up, its speed becoming faster and more powerful. It was comparable to the force of the phantom dragon that was struggling in the halo of the prayer incantation.

In the next instant, Fernando sped past Morgan, like a lightning bolt, shooting toward the phantom dragon. Although a huge body had its advantages, it had disadvantages as well. Moreover, Fernando was too quick for the phantom dragon. It could only fan its right wing at Fernando.

Fernando was fearless. He lifted up his left arm with the golden knight shield, smashing down hard on the bony wing.

There was a loud bang, and Fernando moved back more than 10 steps. The phantom dragon was left with only two thirds of his right wing. Bits and pieces of bone flew out all over. It had been badly hurt. Desvidia spread his wings and flew up into the sky. At the same time, he released the Dilatory Curse and Retardation Curse. The Dilatory Curse could slow down the speed of the phantom dragon, whereas the Retardation Curse was more vicious. It could slow down the reaction of the phantom dragon. Speed in reacting was the deciding factor, when dealing with the top level power.

A deep howling sound was heard from afar, and the phantom dragon spread out its bony wings as it escaped pathetically toward the back. Fernando attacked continuously with the wheel-lock gun that he was holding on to, and Desvidia flew toward the phantom dragon and attacked it. Morgan continuously released the bone cage incantation and bone spears. He was very skillful when he released the magic. Whenever the phantom dragon spread out its bony wings and was about to leave the ground, the bone cage would pin its body down. When the phantom dragon forced its way out and spread its wings again, it could not fly. It could only run on its feet, like a clumsy low level magic beast. Morgan aimed the bone spears at the feet of the phantom dragon. Whenever its feet touched the ground, the bone spears would fly toward it and cause the phantom dragon to shift its center of gravity. It stumbled and fumbled, and was inbad shape.

Having a huge body was advantageous. Although Morgan, Desvidia, and Fernando had joined forces and attacked the phantom dragon, they could only break its bones, but remained unable to inflict mortal injury upon it. If it hadn’t been for others, they would have died on the spot.

Finally, the phantom dragon escaped into the dark. Desvidia had vented his anger and did not pursue after it. After hovering around, he landed beside Fernando. Both of them looked at each other and smiled. Their smiles encompassed many unspoken words. If they had been in a different setting, they might have become arch-enemies. However, they had chosen to join forces to combat together. This was the great spirit of mankind. There would be conflicts, disputes, conflicts of interest, and even hatred among men. However, when they had a common enemy, they would bury the hatchet and unite together. It was like the ancient times during the invasion of the ogres. These top level powers were more broad-minded than the ordinary people. They were not only representative of mankind, they were the pillars. If they had been petty and were shirking responsibilities, there would be no hope for man.

It was tough to debate on whether or not a necromancer belonged to mankind. Regardless of what others thought, Morgan, Golman, and Desvidia had their memories, yearnings, and experiences. The determination that they had exhibited was not inferior to Saul or the rest.

“Minos is testing us,” Golman said softly.

“I know. That is why I did not retaliate.” The priest in the white robe, who was standing beside Stan, said with a smile.

“You have used the prayer incantation. Is that not retaliation?” Stan smiled and said.

“Let’s think of how we should deal with Minos’ Bone kekkai,” Eregli said, having now recovered from the defeat.

Stan hesitated for a while before looking at Saul. Their thinking process was different from the ordinary people. They could release the Holy kekkai to pit against the Bone kekkai. However, what should they do with Morgan and the others? They would not be able to enter the Holy kekkai. If things got out of hand, it would be wasting the magic power. Stan would not make such a silly mistake.

“Minos had used up much time and energy to create the Bone kekkai. If we use magic against the kekkai, it would be too difficult.” Saul smiled. “Let’s use our wits.” Having said that, Saul released a fissure incantation.

The fissure incantation was a middle level earth magic. It was not powerful, and had been used to attack walls that were not protected by magic kekkai. It was an inferior magic.

Seeing the deep crack before him, Jacob immediately understood what Saul meant. He took out a grey potion bottle, and as he opened the cap, the potion had transformed into glitter and splashed on the two sides of the cracks. That was the element solidification potion. It could prolong the magic’s effect.

After their first combat, they felt more comfortable with one another. Everyone moved under the crack and stood together. Although the light aura and death aura clashed and caused discomfort, as top level powers, they were able to bear it.

The gap between the lower crack line and the upper crack line was about 30 meters high. It was safe for the time being. The Bone kekkai had rotated rapidly to the surface of the ground, causing a creepy, screeching sound. Everyone was looking at the top cautiously.

“If Minos releases the forbidden spells now, we will be in hot water,” Bruzuryano laughed and said.

“We still gain. We have used a dimensional sanctuary scroll in exchange for a forbidden spell.” Saul said softly, “Moreover, I have brought six dimensional sanctuary scrolls. How many forbidden spells can Minos release?”

All of them laughed. Saul was obviously well-prepared for the war. Other than the six dimensional scrolls, he had brought other scrolls along with him. In fact, all of them had prepared well. There was no way they could lose. However, Morgan and the other two were not laughing. They had followed after Minos for a few hundred years now, and they knew how terrifying he was. Although they should be more optimistic, they were unable to relax.

“Sir Stan, is the Pope here?” Golman asked softly. If the long awaited mysterious saint did not appear, Minos’ greatest threat would be William the Pope. Golman had to know.

“Don’t worr,.” Stan nodded solemnly.

“That’s great.” Golman let out a sigh of relief. Immediately, he had a strange feeling. In the past, every pope who assumed office happened to be the enemy of the necromancers. All the priests and Knights of Light wanted to get rid of Minos. Similarly, all the necromancers had wanted the pope dead. However, they now sought for the protection of the pope, which seemed ironic.

As they were talking, the Bone kekkai at the top stopped rotating, and had raised up slowly into the air.

“I will go and take a look.” Before Mauso finished speaking, he had turned into a giant eagle and had flown upward. The gap between the two cracks was about 10 meters, but it did not affect the excellent flying skills of Mauso.

After Mauso had flown out of the crack, there was a sharp squeaking sound. Bruzuryano was stunned and anxiously said, “Let’s get out quickly!”

Seeing Burzuryano’s expression, everyone realized that something must have gone wrong and quickly backed away from the crack. In the distance, an army of skeletons was fast approaching. Steger summoned the Eye of the Sky with a wave of his hand. Due to the thinning of the dark fog, it was easy to see the skeletons.

The skeletons in the army of skeletons were completely different from what normal skeletons looked like. These skeletons had gleaming, pale heads. They were all wearing smooth bone armors that were clearly very strong. Each skeleton was equipped with a longsword that was sharp and wide. All of these skeletons were weaponized to the teeth. Normal skeletons did not have eyes, but these ones, however, had glowing red eyes.

What was even more shocking was the speed of these skeletons. They were moving so fast that it was almost impossible to see their individual legs. They were almost as fast as a master swordsman.

Mauso was called the Observer, because of his excellent senses. He already sensed coming danger, when he flew out of the crack, which was why he sounded the alarms. Morgan’s eyes widened, as he noticed the black swirl under each skeleton’s feet. Morgan, who rarely lost his composure, paled at the sight of it.

“It’s impossible,” he whispered, desperation creeping into his voice. “Impossible. The Throne… the effect of the Throne of Bones!”

Hearing his voice, everyone froze in shock. Even though Morgan didn’t say exactly what the swirls were, it was clear that Morgan was terrified. The Throne was already complete.

“We’re wrong, then…” Golman said quietly, his voice quivering. “We only thought about how strong Minos is, but we forgot how smart he is. We all know he’s the weakest now. He must have expected something.”

“So what?” Morgan asked angrily. “This can’t happen. Minos is not powerful enough to finish it before the planned date. This must be a trick.”

“Morgan, haven’t you noticed?” Golman asked quietly. “Ever since we got onto this island, we haven’t seen a single necromancer. There must be at least a few hundred on the island. Were are they?”

“Golman, are you saying that Minos absorbed them?” Desvidia asked quietly.

“I can’t think of another explanation for this,” Golman said, glancing at the darkening sky. He started to sound desperate. With the Throne of Bones, Minos was practically a god already. No one can defeat a god. Even if a supreme power appeared now, it would be too late.

“No!” Morgan said, shaking his head. “This can’t be. It must be a trick!” He was trying to calm everyone’s nerves, but he could not even convince himself with his words. He, too, sounded desperate.

Just then, a skeleton climbed out of the ground. It jumped out and dashed toward Burzuryano, who was standing in the front. Fernando called out for Burzuryano and lunged at the skeleton. The skeleton did not back away from Fernando. The two clashed with a loud thud. Fernando stumbled back a few steps, while the skeleton was thrown back and crashed into the ground. A moment later, the skeleton climbed off of the ground and dashed toward Fernando again. It was as if the clash did not do any damage to the skeleton.

Fernando raised his lance. A ball of bright light flew toward the skeleton, followed by the lance. The lance pierced the skeleton’s armor and buried itself in its chest. The skeleton let out a shrill scream. Fernando released his lance and jumped at the skeleton. He raised his shield, slamming it down onto the skeleton. With a sickening crunch, the head of the skeleton broke off of its shoulder and tumbled to the ground. The body jerked a few times before falling to the ground.

Fernando took a few steps back, staring ahead emptily. He had won, but it made everyone even more hopeless. If a Knight of Light’s lance could only barely pierce the skeleton’s armor, what would they do when the entire army reached them? What awaits them once the army arrives?

The scrolls Saul had spent days making would be useless. Even if they teleported, they would have to reappear somewhere, and as soon as they did, the skeletons would be upon them.

Another group of skeletons appeared in the Eye of the Sky. They wore similar armor as the first group, but all the skeletons in the second group were equipped with large bone shields and long knifes. Behind them was a third group, with bows and arrows. The skeletons were marching in tight formations and straight lines. These two groups were not as fast as the first group, but were just as intimidating.

The army of skeletons drew closer, and the image in the Eye of the Sky changed again. More skeletons marched into sight. These skeletons all held bone staffs, and were wearing mage robes made of smooth pieces of bones. These skeleton mages had bumps on their heads, and the red glow of their eyes were particularly vicious.

After the skeleton mages, came two dozen Knights of Death. Each one of those knights was riding a large bone horse with large wings. It didn’t matter how strong these Knights of Death were. If their mounts could fly, they would be that much more dangerous.

Lastly, came half a dozen ghost dragons, led by Jimeng, Minos’ mount. When Jimeng fled, it had been injured. Now, it was completely healed and repaired. As if sensing the Eye of the Sky, it raised its head and blew some dark fog at the Eye, obscuring the view again.

“If Minos wants to defeat us with this army, I’m afraid he will be disappointed,” Saul said. He had regained his wits, but Morgan was still staring.

“You’re right,” Douminge said with a small grin. “Let’s show him what real mages are made of.”

Steger whispered a spell and waved his hand. A wall of earth appeared. He turned and summoned three more walls, forming a small fortress. Jacob used his strengthening potion to make sure the walls held longer. In the middle of the small fortress, a tall earth spike formed a temporary mage’s tower. Everyone present was a top level power, and could immediately tell the weakness of the skeleton army. Saul summoned several Eyes of the Sky, observing the entire island.

“We need to get Mauso down here,” Douminge said to Burzuryano.

Burzuryano nodded and released the signal. Seeing the signal, Mauso circled around a few times and dove down. Douminge began chanting quietly, and an invisible magic shield began forming. The most dangerous parts of the skeleton army were the Knights of Death and the ghost dragons. Douminge was willing to use the anti-flying ward, because he knew the danger.

As long as he was alive, the dragons and knights would have to approach on the ground. Burzuryano jumped onto the wall of the fortress and waved his hand. The ground around the fortress burst into green light. Countless vines started growing out of the ground, covering the walls of the fortress.

Morgan watched the mages at work, and was very impressed by how well they worked together. He looked at the mages and said with a long sigh, “It is my honor to be fighting with you all today.” He was terrified, but he was proud. If he was to die, he would die fighting.

“It is our pleasure to be able to combat with you,” Stan said with a smile.

The atmosphere became weird. If it had been someone else who had made this comment, it would have been different. As the high priest of Holy See, Stan should be an arch-enemy of Morgan. However, he had taken the initiative in agreeing with him. This change in attitude took everyone by surprise.

The many years of animosity shared was no laughing matter. A man must be able to adapt to his circumstances. This was easier said than done, but Morgan and Stan had proven it to be possible.

In the next instant, Stan flew up into the sky. His chants spread out in every direction. As his feet landed on the shabby mage tower, a bright curtain came down from the sky, covering the small city with holy light.

Eregli had released a mini magic kekkai. He had alienated Morgan, Desvidia, and Golman, to prevent them from being illuminated by the holy light. Golman nodded at Eregli with a smile to show his appreciation.

The Sea of Bones had smashed against the city wall. The wall, which was about 30 meters high with a width of more than 10 meters, suddenly shook violently. It was like a wriggling earthworm. Broken branches and leaves spattered all over, and very quickly, new ones sprouted out. The earth element continuously fell apart, and deeply rooted vines welded the earth element together once again.

From far in the distance, the entire city wall looked shaky, but it did not collapse.

Everyone was right to be cautious. If Steger had not completely released the Wall Technique, Jacob had not solidified the earth element, and Bruzuryano had not used the vines to add on to the protection of the wall, the city wall would have collapsed. The Grand Knight, Fernando, had challenged a mutated skeleton, which required much strength. The power of the mutated skeleton was comparable to a high level professional. To be blunt, the mutated skeleton army could wipe out the entire continent!

Stan continued with his chanting, and the holy light became brighter. The dark spirals beneath the mutated skeletons grew dimmer under the holy light. The movements of the mutated skeletons became slower as well. When the dark spirals finally vanished, the skeletons that were on the frontline turned into ashes.

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. They realized that the Magic of Light could kill most of the death spirits. The death spirits had received their destructive powers from the Throne of Bones. Given time, they might even have the chance of winning.

There was a hoarse scream, and the mutated skeletons that were banging crazily against the city wall hurriedly backed away. The skeleton archers that were standing some distance away, drew their bows and aimed at the figures on the city wall. They then shot out multiple arrows.

But the top level powers were not intimidated by such attacks. Saul and the rest were worried that they would be surrounded by the Sea of Bones without any protection. Should this happen, they would be devoured by the death spirits. The skeleton archers were smart. They were targeting Stan, who was standing on top of the mage tower. When the skeleton archers drew their bows, the Hawk King Mauso had perceived who they were targeting. He spread out his wings once again, and brought Fernando up to the top of the mage tower. Fernando held up his knight shield and stood in front of Stan to protect him.

After a futile attack, the skeleton archers gave up trying and spread to two sides. A few hundred skeletons with staffs in their hands moved up from behind them to the battlefront. Douminge and the rest held their breath and waited patiently. They were not afraid of the mutated skeletons. Logically speaking, when more than 10 middle level professionals joined forces, they would pose a threat and could kill a top level power. However, in an actual situation, it was not always so. A top level power was highly skilled in killing. They would not stand still in one spot and fight with the opponent. There were many ways to combat. Although the combat force of the mutated skeletons was powerful, a simple Wall Technique was enough to reduce their attacks greatly. The difference was not only in terms of strength, it also involved intelligence and experience.

As the skeletons with staffs moved closer, even Morgan became anxious. They knew that the middle level mutated skeletons and the few phantom dragons were a threat to them.

After walking 600 meters, the skeleton mages stopped moving. The gems on their foreheads emitted a dim light. The element surged crazily between the heaven and the earth, giving one a suffocating feeling.

“Oh no…” Douminge gasped.

“Golman, how do these skeleton mages replenish their magic power?” Saul, who had been busy, placed the last magic crystal on the magic array. As he spoke, he clapped his hands and stood up.

“From the Throne of Bones.”

“Do they take long to replenish?”

“At a moderate speed,” Golman said softly, “But their mind power and magic power are very limited. They can only do a few attacks.”

“This is the best piece of news that I have heard today,” Saul said with a smile.

There was a sudden silence in the heaven and the earth. A black ball flew out from the staffs of each of the skeleton mages. The balls kept expanding and merging together, and ultimately, formed a powerful black current that rushed toward the city wall.

Stan lifted up his hands, then let them down again. He had wanted to release the Holy kekkai, but the attacks of the skeleton mages were too astounding. There were too many of them. The Holy kekkai would not have much effect on them, and it would be a waste of the magic power.

The black current hit the city wall, and the greens on the wall immediately withered. The wall fell apart and collapsed.

As the chanting was going on, a mirror appeared in the air. From the front view, it was dozens of meters large, but from the side view, it was not visible at all. The black current hit against the mirror and disappeared miraculously. The Dimensional Mirror released by Saul was very powerful. For weak magic, it would bounce back when it hit the Mirror. For powerful magic, the Mirror would bring it to an Extradimensional space. The Dimensional Mirror had its weakness, which was its long cooling time. Otherwise, no one would be a match for Saul.

“Get ready, we are shifting,” Saul said slowly.

All of them knew what Saul meant and moved toward him. Stan had left the mage tower, and Fernando jumped down now.

The Knights of Death were ready to charge. Although they had lost the ability to fly, due to the influence of the Throne of Bones, they were very quick in launching their attack on land, which stunned Fernando. One after another, black dots charged forward, and as they came nearer, one could clearly see their ferocious looks. Behind the Knights of Death were two phantom dragons. Their bodies were huge, and every step they took allowed them to traverse more than 10 meters. 600 meters to them was insignificant.

Saul was very firm and steady. He stood motionless. When the first Knight of Death approached the fallen city wall, and the skeleton mage released another round of magic, he then released the magic scroll in his hand.

A white light flashed across, and Saul and the rest disappeared. It was difficult to kill a Great Dimensional Magician! Moreover, Saul had not only brought the magic scrolls for shelter, he had brought along the Dimensional Door and the Great Dimensional Sweep. Even if they were no match for the opponents, they could at least escape.

The intelligence of the death spirits was limited. When they saw that the human beings had disappeared, they were stunned. At this moment, a strange fire shot up to the sky. The entire Greenwich Island shook violently. A mushroom cloud, formed by sand, stones, dust and bones, whirled up to about a thousand meters high. It created a big hole,—a width of about a few miles wide—in the Bone kekkai, which was on the upper part of the island. The shockwave, which was previously targeted at the small city, dispersed all over. The mutated skeletons, skeleton archers and skeleton mages, including the phantom dragons, had all been encompassed by the shockwave. It was like the leaves in the strong wind that had been threshed and thrown about. The small city that Steger had created had disappeared, leaving behind a big hole about 50 meters deep and 500 meters wide.

Saul and the rest had appeared on the other side of the island. A shockwave, about 100 meters high, was moving toward them from the distance. Saul released the fissure incantation. This was the second time that he had released it. Not that he liked this incantation, but it needed the least magic power, which made it the most appropriate for the current situation. Without saying a word, the rest speedily hid themselves within. The last to enter was Steger, who released the Frozen kekkai and sealed the cracks on both ends with solid ice.

Before Steger could reach the lower end of the crack, the shockwave had swept over the icy surface. The solid ice started to crack, and bits and pieces of ice fell down together with the sand and stones. Douminge released a kekkai that enveloped everyone.

“Beautiful!!” Morgan took a deep breath. With his sharpness and experience, he knew what Saul was doing, but he had never expected such a good result.

“We should thank Anfey,” Saul said with a smile. “He had mentioned the power of the Chaotic magic array. Jacob and I had taken note of it. During this period, we have been thinking of ways to increase the power of the Chaotic magic array. But…I have never expected it to be so powerful.”

“Saul, how many magic crystals have you used?” Douminge asked softly.

“48 top grade crystals.”

“48 pieces? Top grade?” Douminge was shocked.

“Yes.” Saul nodded and said, “I have intended to present this as a gift to Minos. It is a pity…although I can use the remaining magic crystals to set up a few more Chaotic magic arrays, the quality was not as good, so the magic arrays will not be as powerful.”

At this instant, a hoarse scream was heard from the center of Greenwich Island. It sounded eerie and sent shivers down one’s spine.

“Minos is angry…” Golman commented.

After the shock wave, Greenwich Island had become a mess. Not only was the skeleton army on the ground affected, the bone kekkai was affected as well. In several places, the kekkai was almost broken.

Minos’ skeleton army was almost gone. Over half of the Knights of Death and the ghost dragons perished in the explosion. The ground was littered with broken pieces of bones. Only a few ghost dragons were left on the field, including Minos’ mount, Jimeng. Jimeng’s wings were missing, and its body was riddled with holes.

A dark figure rose into the air and flew toward the battlefield. The figure was very small, but as it approached, everyone felt a strong sense of pressure. Jimeng pressed its head to the ground and whined loudly. The other ghost dragons were not even able to move under such strong pressure.

Minos floated in mid-air, observing the destroyed army. The bone kekkai shook as he approached, showing how angry he was. Minos had been focusing too much on completing the Throne of Bones, and did not pay attention to other things. He ignored the top level powers that were present in the world, and did not think they would be able to find him. If he had managed to eliminated some of the top level powers, he could have sat upon the Throne without anyone trying to stop him.

Of course, Minos did not have any reason to worry. He did not expect anyone to find the island, and with the Throne, he was practically a god himself. With that kind of power, there was no reason for him to worry about mere mortals, even if they were top level powers. He absorbed the power of the necromancers residing on the island, and finished the Throne before the planned date. He had hoped that the skeleton army was enough to hold off any attacker for a few days, so he could have time to properly recover. Once he recovered, no one could stand in his way anymore.

Minos raised his hands and chanted, “In the name of gods…” A strong wave of magic surge swept through the battlefield. Dark grey light radiated out form Minos. The broken bones touched by the light suddenly regained their vitality and started moving again.

As Minos revived his skeleton army, four newcomers appeared in the center of Greenwich Island. The leader of the small party wore a long robe and a crown of thorns circling his silver hair.

The old man was followed by Ernest and two glowing Knights of Light. As soon as he stepped through the portal, Ernest drew his sword and formed into a triangular formation with the knights, protecting the old man.

The mountain of bones Minos had built had now disappeared, what remained was a large swirl. The swirl was slowly spinning, and the center of it was right below the center of the bone kekkai.

“But, didn’t he open the gate?” the old man asked curiously.

“Maybe he’s not powerful enough to overpower the master of the Land of Repose,” Ernest said with a frown.

“Luckily for us, he won’t have the chance,” the old man with the crown of thorns said. He raised his hand and summoned a glowing shield that protected all four men.

In the distance, Saul and the others had fled the crack. They turned around and saw that a large pillar of light had pierced the bone kekkai. The pillar of light dissolved into countless sparks, both red and gold, which fell down through the air.

As the sparks fell onto the bone kekkai, the kekkai began to dissolve. Even though the kekkai could regenerate, there were too many sparks. The rate the sparks were dissolving the kekkai was too fast, and the rate of regeneration could not match it.

The skeletons, ghost dragons, and Knights of Death Minos had just revived let out a wave of shrill screams. As soon as the sparks touched the skeletons, the skeletons crumpled to the ground. Creatures created with death magic could not block the effects of the Judgement.

Minos let out a distorted scream. Even though the red sparks didn’t do anything to him, the gold sparks could attack his soul. Necromancers were immortal, because they had gotten rid of their bodily restraints and relied solely on their souls. Even though Minos had summoned a shield, it was still not enough to block out the gold sparks.

As the shower of sparks came to an end, the top level powers stepped out of the dimensional sanctuary Saul had created and began heading toward the center of the island. The Judgment did not weaken Minos power. Instead, it seemed to have grown stronger. It was confusing, but now was not the time to think. They must reach the pope as soon as possible.

Pope William closed the Book of Doom. After he used the spell, he appeared older, and his face was flushed. He bent over and coughed a few times.

Pope William knew that the Throne of Bones was much more than a mere chair. It was something that could enhance the power and all creatures of death. It could also open the gate to the Land of Repose. This was why he needed to destroy the chair and prevent Minos from summoning creatures from another dimension.

Because of the pope’s spell, the swirl was becoming unstable, and started spewing dark fog. As the pope was deciding his next move, he suddenly sensed something. A skeleton suddenly appeared in front of him, its eyes glowing intensely. Despite not having expression, it was clear that the skeleton was angry.

“Minos!” William said with wide eyes. He hurriedly waved his hand and released a shield of light.

Minos raised his hand and summoned a large bone lance. Before the lance even reached William, the magic attached to it pierced through the shield of light.

The bone lance crashed into the shield of light. The shield flickered a few times and disappeared. The knight to William’s left raised his lance to stop the bone lance. The bone lance clashed with the knight’s lance and threw the men backwards. Ernest lunged over and grabbed William, pushing him out of the way. The lance left a cut on William’s robe and struck the ground, leaving a large crater.

The Knight of Light struggled to his feet. His lance was broken and his shield had a large dent in it. His left arm was clearly broken. He tried to use his shield to block the attack, but Minos was too powerful.

Saul and the other top level powers, who had just arrived, witnessed this as well. Everyone felt a sudden wave of despair. Minos was more powerful than they had ever anticipated.

“It’s the Throne,” Golman whispered hoarsely.

Morgan and Desvidia both sighed. They could feel their own power growing significantly as well. If their power has grown this much, how powerful must Minos be now?

“So you’re all here now,” Minos said coldly. Even though he was angry, he had lived long enough that he knew how to conceal his emotions. He raised his hand and summoned hundreds of black balls of light, sending them hurtling toward William.

In the distance, his army of skeletons reappeared, and was heading toward them quickly. The skeletons created with the Throne of Bones were stronger and smarter than normal skeletons, and much more loyal. Minos couldn’t risk William destroying his army again.

When Minos attacked, Saul and the rest immediately reacted. Saul had released a Dimensional Mirror before William the Pope. Jacob let out a magic scroll, and a Tin Man, about 20 feet high, appeared in the air. It opened out its arms and protected William, who was behind it. Eregli chanted a curse and pointed his magic staff at William. A dazzling stream of fire enveloped William. It was the Flame Shield. Under the different defense magic, its power was secondary to the magic shield. However, since no one could add on to the power of the magic shield, Eregli had chosen to use the Flame Shield instead.

Everyone was on their feet. They had a taste of Minos’ power. To defeat him, they needed the power from William. Should anything happen to William, they would be in grave danger.

The Dimensional Mirror that Saul had released directed part of the black ball into an Extradimensional space. The remaining black balls hit the Tin Man and created a loud bang. The death magic could do great harm to any living organism, but not to a soulless Tin Man. The Tin Man shook for a while, but other than some cracks on the chest and shoulders, it was not badly hurt.

William turned over his right hand and released the Light kekkai. Following that, the Book of Doom raised up from his hand again.

Minos let out a shriek of laughter. He raised the bone staff up high. Black vine-like plants speedily sprouted up from the ground at the feet of William, twirling around him. The Light kekkai had been utterly destroyed by the black plant. Ernest, who was five meters away from William, wielded his long sword and dashed over. William had been covered by the black plant, and without guidance from him, the light from the Book of Doom dimmed, now only hanging quietly in the air.

“It is the Death Coil! Be careful, Minos is going to attack us!” Golman exclaimed aloud. As an experienced necromancer, no one was more familiar in death magic than him. The Death Coil was a forbidden spell in death magic. It could trap an individual and harm it continuously. William would only be harmed by the Death Coil. All other attacks, including Minos’, would be blocked by the Death Coil. It was impossible for Ernest to save William.

The speed at which Minos attacked was too fast for Golman to warn the rest. Before he could finish speaking, Minos had sent three attacks within a super short period of time!

The first bone spear hit the waist of the Knight of Light, who had been injured. Although the spear was not sharp, the powerful shockwave cut his waist in half. The second and third bone spear hit another Knight of Light. Although the Knight of Light had lifted up his shield, the force was so powerful that he flew off like a stone. He crash-landed on the ground after flying 100 meters. He was still alive, but was unable to stand.

Minos did not bother himself with Ernest, but dashed toward Saul and the rest. He was sharp in his judgment. He knew who would pose a threat to him. As long as he could kill the Priests of Light and Knights of Light, the rest would be easy to handle.

Minos and the Sea of Bones were approaching. It was a good opportunity for Saul and the rest to destroy the entire army of mutated skeletons. However, against Minos, all the tricks that they used were useless.

Jacob took a deep breath and disappeared. In the next instant, he reappeared in the air, on top of the skeleton army. Livid silk threads spread out from him in all directions. When the mutated skeletons touched the livid silk threads, they turned into statues. However, given their inertia to attack, they hit on one another and broke down into pieces.

Jacob released the top level Alchemy magic, Solidification! The Grand Alchemist could create artificial magic crystals, whereas Solidification had the magic power required for creating the artificial magic crystals. As Solidification could solidify all living and non-living things, a Grand Alchemist could put together the same element that had drifted away to form a magic crystal. Since the magic power could last only a few seconds, Jacob had to strike at the right time. However, he did not have sufficient time to fully release the magic power. Minos had already turned around and pointed the terrifying bone spear at Jacob.

The dictum incantation! After Minos released the Dark Force and Death Coil, he released another forbidden spell. The last three magics had been released, one after another!

Jacob’s body had turned black. Not only had he been trapped, even the magic power of the forbidden spell that had backfired, had been trapped. The effects of the Death Coil and dictum incantation seemed similar, but there was one vast difference. The dictum incantation was harmless. The crucial thing was that Jacob could not move, but the others could!

In a split second, Jacob was killed by the Sea of Bones. A few bone swords flew around and cut his body into pieces.

But no one had time for sorrow, as Minos had not stopped his killing. With a backhand, he threw another bone spear toward Stan.

Mauso shrieked out, and in a side-sweeping motion, he spread out his huge wings and flew toward the bone spear. He knew the power of the bone spear, thus he did not block it upfront. He had only wanted to change the direction of the bone spear. As the huge wings and bone spear hit against each other, Mauso seemed electrified and dropped down to the ground. His right wing was now deformed, and multiple feathers rained down.

Bruzuryano released the transfiguration incantation. A huge polar bear blocked the bone spear, waving its right arm against it.

There was a loud bang, and only those who were sharp enough would notice that the bone spear had changed its course. However, the change in Bruzuryano was even greater. His right palm bounced up high, having been torn by the bone spear. As the bone spear brushed past his shoulders, a big piece of flesh had been cut off, causing a fountain of blood to spew out.

Desvidia roared. He dashed up at the crucial moment and punched on the bone spear. Due to the influence of the Throne of Bones, his combat force had increased tremendously. The bone spear nearly went through Stan’s chest, but at the crucial moment, had been diverted by the punch from Desvidia.

“Well done…” Minos said coldly, before throwing his bone staff at Desvidia.

As everyone was moving toward Desvidia to support him, Saul, who was about to attack, suddenly felt his body harden. It had turned black, just like Jacob’s. Following that, three bone spears shot toward him.

The dictum incantation was a terrifying kind of magic curse. The dictum incantation released by Minos was even more terrifying. If they had fought with him individually, everyone would have been killed within seconds!

The Magic Guard, Light kekkai, Flame Shield, Frozen Armor, and other magic halos all lit up on Saul’s body. Those who could attack, had struck. No one wanted to see Saul being killed, but they were unsure of what the outcome would be. All of them had lost confidence, and were now struggling to put up a fight.

At this moment, a dazzling fire sped toward them from the distance. The moment that they sensed the magic surge and saw the fire, it was already before them, hitting against the three bone spears. The trio then smashed into pieces and flew all over in the burning fire. Saul was engulfed by the shock waves of the explosion, but he had been protected by the multiple defense magic that he had put on. Such attacks could not harm him.

The wind disappeared suddenly, and the clouds stretched out quietly in the sky. The rugged Bone kekkai stopped rotating, and even those mutated skeletons that were dashing over had stopped moving. The few phantom dragons had carefully kept their bony wings. All between the heaven and the earth was total silence.

A man in white appeared in the air. Minos turned, and both of them looked each other in the eye. Minos and the man remained motionless.

“Is it Anfey?” Steger found the back of the man to be familiar.

“It is Anfey!” Ernest said confidently.

“He…seems to have changed.” Golman was hesitant. As one moved higher in the air, the wind should be stronger. However, Anfey was at absolute rest, and even his clothes were not moving, seemingly molded to the sky.

“Yes, he is different. I cannot even sense his presence,” Morgan said. He could see Anfey, but he could not sense him. He felt strange. It was as though he saw a person beating the battle drum, but could not hear the sound.

“You can only release death magic. Minos, you have lost the source of power. You are just a pseudo saint.” Anfey’s voice was very soft, but everyone could hear it clearly.

“Hoho…” Minos laughed hoarsely. He pointed at Anfey, but at this instant, Anfey punched with his right fist. A magic surge flashed across, as Anfey had withdrawn his fist. A few residual bones speedily disappeared. Seeing that the bone cage had been destroyed by an unknown force, Minos’ voice changed.

“Who…are you?”

“After I have removed your mask, I will let you know.” Before Anfey could finish what he was saying, he had turned into a streamer, shooting toward Minos.

Minos’ speed was very fast, as well. He raised his wand and aimed it at Anfey. Minos’ greatest strength was his ability to use forbidden spells, without any cooling periods. He was most skilled in curse-based forbidden spells, which were almost impossible to block. Even though there were two powerful Priests of Light present, who could cancel out the effects of any spell, it may not be enough.

Anfey suddenly disappeared and reappeared several hundred feet away from Minos. He waved his hand and summoned a few firebirds. The white-hot firebirds streaked through the air toward Minos. As the firebirds flew past, the air became distorted by the heat.

Minos’s mental focus was cut off, but that wasn’t enough to make him panic. He summoned a bone shield as the firebirds drew close. The firebirds crashed into the shield, shattering into bright sparks, obscuring Minos’ figure.

A few bone lances appeared in mid air and flew toward Anfey. Anfey quickly jumped in his direction to avoid the bone lances. His speed increased and he came slowly toward Minos. When he was a few hundred yards away from Minos, he raised his hand. Lightning poured down from the sky and struck Minos, breaking his shield.

It was a very strange lightning spell. Normally, serial lightning had a set range and would strike everything in it. The serial lightning Anfey had just summoned struck only Minos. The lightning formed a large cone as it streamed toward him.

Anfey flew foward, through the lightning. Two firebirds joined the lightning, as they flew toward Minos. Minos could not react in time, and was struck by the firebirds.

Anfey was getting very close to Minos. However, he suddenly hit an invisible wall and almost stopped. The white robe he was wearing turned into a dark grey. Minos had set up a trap that was very hard to detect, even with the Heart of Nature.

Anfey only hesitated for a second before pressing on toward Minos. Anfey knew very well when he should back off and when he should risk his life. Now was a time he deemed reasonable to risk himself.

Anfey’s right fist burst into light. The light grew larger and stronger, and finally became a ball of pure light elements. Anfey thrust his right fist forward, sending the ball of light elements flying toward Minos. The ball of light flew true and struck Minos’ chest.

Light magic was a necromancer’s worst enemy. Being struck by such powerful and pure light elements had caused Minos immense pain. He opened his mouth and let out a distorted scream. As he was struck by the light magic, the numbing effects of the serial lightning disappeared.

Dark vines appeared from the ground and flew toward Anfey. Above Anfey, dozens of large white bones appeared and started extending downwards and trapping Anfey. As soon as Anfey as trapped, a dozen bone lances appeared in midair and flew toward him. At the same time, wrinkles started to appear on Anfey’s cheeks.

Anfey disappeared from where he was and reappeared a few hundred yards away. He could not teleport as far, because of the effects of the spell. Perhaps it was because of the aging spell, but it took him much longer to reach to Minos.

Minos roared as he summoned another bone lance and threw it at Anfey. Anfey jumped aside and smashed his fist into the bone lance. The lance was smashed into pieces and Anfey was thrown backwards.

“Thanks!” Anfey called with a laugh.

Minos spat in anger, realizing he had missed a chance, as Anfey flew out of the range of his kekkai. The fight had temporarily ended. The entire fight started with Anfey approaching Minos, and ended with Anfey getting out of the range of Minos’ kekkai. It was very fast, and was over before any of the top level powers could interfere. Both Minos and Anfey were injured, and neither was winning.

The top level powers watched with wide eyes. Even though they were top level powers and had years of experience, they had never witnessed anything like this.

The priest next to Stan was the first to react. He raised his hand and Anfey burst into light. He had used a cleansing spell to cancel out of the effects of the aging spell, and the prayer spell to increase Anfey’s ability.

Stan raised his hand as well, and chanted a spell, healing his wounds and replenishing his stamina. The others soon followed suit. They all started chanting spells, summoning protective shields around Anfey. Countless spells appeared around Anfey. The light from these spells was so bright, it was almost impossible to see the man who was in the middle of it all.

Anfey raised his hand, and a large crack appeared in the ground below him. The crack created a barrier, making it impossible for the skeleton army on the ground to cross it. The ghost dragons could cross it, but they could feel the strong magic surge coming off of Anfey. Without Minos’ order, they would not try to attack him.

“I’m filled with strength,” Anfey said, landing on the ground. “This is the advantage of having friends, you see. You’re so alone, Minos. Don’t you feel sad about it?”

“Sad?” Minos repeated mockingly with a chuckle. “No. I do not need friendship from the likes of you. You cannot understand my greatness.”

“I don’t need to understand your greatness,” Anfey said. “All I need to understand is how to end your miserable life.” He landed on the ground and pushed off, shooting back into the sky. He sliced through the air as he hurtled toward Minos.

Everyone came from afar to Greenwich Island to save mankind. They did not want to be heroes and would not reject additional help. Seeing that Anfey’s power was comparable to Minos’, their morale was greatly boosted. After taking care of Anfey, they turned to Minos. Saul, Douminge, and Eregli started to chant. They wanted to release the forbidden spell. Mauso and Bruzuryano had released the Shape Shift at the same time. One of them approached Minos from the sky, and the other, on land.

Anfey did not wish to be a hero either. He did not reject help from the rest, but tapped into the extra strength and attacked fiercely. His hands were flipping like a butterfly. Every time he flapped his hands, a phoenix would shoot out. As the frequency was very close, the phoenix soon became a huge beam, penetrating toward Minos.

The Throne of Bones allowed Minos to recuperate quickly. However, as compared to the instant result of the Magic of Light, it was still inferior. Moreover, Anfey’s power had increased tremendously. It would be to his disadvantage to take on Anfey at the moment. As Minos moved backward, he released a defense kekkai and bone shield to buy time.

Anfey suddenly disappeared, and in the next instant, reappeared behind Minos on his right. He had a huge battle-ax in his hand, which he swung at Minos’ neck. Although Anfey had grasped hold of the source of power, he could not continuously release Instant Transportation. However, the recovery incantation released by Stan had not only allowed Anfey to regain his strength, it had nullified the cooling period of all the magic power. This had allowed Anfey to have free play.

Anfey’s attack was quick and fierce. His angle was also tricky. Logically speaking, a magician would find it hard to avoid such a lightning attack. However, Minos waved his bone staff backhandedly, and at the critical moment, blocked Anfey’s battle-ax.

There was a loud bang, and Anfey bounced off. Minos fell down from the side. At this instant, a dark hole appeared behind Minos, and like a floating mirror in the air, quietly flew toward Minos. A thunder flashed across the sky, and a huge Lightning Ball dropped down speedily. In the twinkle of an eye, it was approaching Minos. There was a time difference between Saul’s Great Dimensional Sweep and Douminge’s Wrath of Thor. However, as they were experienced top level powers, they acted in concert with each other, and were able to attack at the same time.

Minos had suddenly become a skeleton that was brandishing around. Before the Great Dimensional Sweep had released its power, Douminge’s Wrath of Thor had blown the skeleton into pieces. A cold husky voice came out from the Sea of Bones a few hundred meters away: “Scummy mice, do you think you can defeat me?”

Golman and two other Great Necromancers smiled wryly. It was the Replace Puppet. As long as there were death spirits, Minos could continuously get a replacement, until he had used up his magic power. Although a large amount of magic power was required to perform Replace Puppet, it would take a very long time for Minos to use up his magic power.

After everyone had stopped the attack, Anfey remained in the sky. Eregli was the only one who was still chanting. He waved his magic staff, and there was a violent element surge. A fire man, towering more than 10 meters tall, appeared before him.

The Fire Tyrant, according to a legend, was a difficult dragon to handle. It was formed by a pure flame. It was fearless of any physical attacks and had defense power over different kinds of magic. Using fire magic against the Fire Tyrant would give it additional power. Earth magic, electric magic, and other magic could reduce its effect. However, water magic would cause irreparable destruction to the Fire Tyrant. Just a small spring of water would also inflict much suffering on the Fire Tyrant.

Eregli had used his magic power to summon the Fire Tyrant. He knew that Minos was unable to release high level water magic. Under his control, the Fire Tyrant roared and dashed toward the Sea of Bones. The bones on the ground turned into ashes as the Fire Tyrant passed by them. The ground cracked, which showed the intensity of heat released by the Fire Tyrant.

“Since you are so diligent, I shall present your gifts to you in advance.” Minos laughed eerily. He looked upon the ferocious Fire Tyrant with disdain.

Anfey looked quietly at Minos. He knew Minos had backup plans.

More than 10 streamers flew out from Minos’ hands, and as they flew higher, the light that they emitted became brighter. In a thunderous bang, a huge screen appeared in the air. It was majestic and extensive. No one knew the area that the screen had covered, including Anfey. His range of senses had been engulfed by the screen.

The different magic and halos that were glittering on Anfey’s body had disappeared. Mauso suddenly took the form of a man. Without his wings, he was unable to remain in the air and had dropped down to the ground. From a polar bear form, Bruzuryano had now become human. The black vines had disappeared and William the Pope staggered out. He looked baffled. The Fire Tyrant that was about to jump over the cracks had turned into ashes before it could even cry out. The skeletons that were hanging in the air rained down and smashed to the ground. The black whirl in the distance had been blocked. Under the coverage of the screen, all the related magic elements had lost their effects.

“It is the Antimagic Terra!” Golman let out a desperate cry. Those top level powers, who were here to fight Minos, were magicians. The Antimagic Terra immediately made them redundant. Although Mauso and Bruzuryano were warriors, they needed the Shape Shift to help them. Other than Ernest, who had combat force, the rest of them were in dire straits!

“Morgan, Golman, Desvidia, my beloved students, do you know? My martial art was comparable to my magic!” Minos laughed out loudly, as he was confident of winning. He said, “Although I have not gathered the pluck of all the gods of war, this would be enough for me to kill you umpteen times! Hahaha…”

“In this case…you should have told me earlier!” Anfey nodded, and then shook his head. His expression was weird. One could not tell whether he was crying or laughing.

“What?” Minos did not understand what Anfey meant.

“You should have told me that you intended to release the Antimagic Terra, and I would have helped you.” Anfey turned over his hand and displayed a white stone. Under the light of the screen, the stone had released a warm glow. “This is my baby. I have held on to it for quite a while. What a waste of my feelings.”

Seeing the stone in Anfey’s hand, the red light in Minos’ eyes suddenly stopped flickering.

“Did I hear you saying that your martial art and magic are trash?” Anfey rested the battle-ax on his shoulder and slowly walked forward. “How about performing for me? Don’t worry, I will not laugh at you.”

“How dare you!” Minos shouted. He could not understand why Anfey could remain so confident under such circumstances.

“Don’t blame me for being too direct. The years of loneliness have made you stupid.” Anfey patted his battle-ax. “See? Do you not know why I am holding on tightly to my battle-ax? The fact is, I do not like magic. Although magic is convenient, quick, and powerful, only close combat can give me a sense of fulfillment. Minos, what you are doing suits me perfectly. You have released the Antimagic Terra before my eyes…do you know how a pig dies? It dies of stupidity!”

“I am not interested, and have no wish to know how a pig dies. But I know how you are going to die.” Minos lifted up his hand and said, “You will die drowning!”

Minos had intended to wait for the magic effect on Anfey to disperse before attacking. He had deliberately listened to Anfey’s nonsense, and spoken rubbish to him in response. The crack, a width of about 30 meters and three to four miles in length, was still present. It had blocked the way of the skeleton army. Minos knew that his opponent was a saint who had grasped the source of power and could change the world, so he did not want to wait any longer.

The Sea of Bones that had stopped moving suddenly started to move around again, like a landslide. The mutated skeletons on the frontline fell into the crack, and those behind rushed forward. The long crack was like a hungry mouth, swallowing up all the food. There was a huge amount of death spirits, and when almost half the mutated skeletons had disappeared, they filled up the ground, spanning almost 200 meters long. Many mutated skeletons stepped on their comrades and dashed forward. Minos must have singled Anfey out as a formidable opponent, as all the mutated skeletons wielded their bone swords at him.

Since the Throne of Bones had been destroyed, the speed of the mutated skeletons, defense, and combat power had been greatly affected. They were not even comparable to the ordinary death spirits. The death spirits and the flame monarch were alike. They were the products of magic. However, the death spirits derived from magic and had their own life. Although the power of the spirits of the mutated skeletons had been reduced, they could continue to exist. However, for the latter, it had been summoned. With the appearance of the Antimagic Terra, it had been destroyed.

The mutated skeletons were large in number and posed a threat. The once top level powers, Saul, Douminge, and the rest, had now become helpless. Ernest and Fernando had great physiques. Even if they had lost their Combat Power, they still had combat force. However, they could not possibly deal with the large number of mutated skeletons!

Anfey took a deep breath and wielded his battle-ax fearlessly at the frenzy of bones. As they came before Anfey, more than 10 mutated skeletons were hacked and sent flying away. The god of war was not actually a god, not as man had thought. The legendary Arie Archilles was a barbarian. When he released his territory, the powerful barbaric army could effortlessly destroy any race. To be exact, Antimagic Terra was the barbarian’s ultimate forbidden spell!

Anfey’s internal strength had nothing to do with magic, and was not affected by the Antimagic Terra. After he grasped the source of power, he had become a true sacred level power.

Anfey’s speed was extremely fast. One moment he held the huge battle-ax in front of him, and the next, he had it behind him. Beside him were multiple illusions. Anfey was too powerful. Without the battle-ax touching his opponents, he had thrown off the mutated skeletons simply with the force from the battle-ax as he wielded it.

Anfey was like a lawn mower in the field. He was unstoppable. There were streams of mutated skeletons before him, and behind him were piles of broken bones.

The death spirits were the world’s most courageous warriors. Although Anfey had hacked a few hundred mutated skeletons within a short period of time, and his attacks were unstoppable, they continued to flood to the front and blocked Anfey. The distance between Anfey and Minos was getting closer.

With a roar, a phantom dragon opened its big mouth to bite Anfey. Minos had released the Antimagic Terra, as he had wanted to use the large amount of mutated skeletons to kill the top level powers. Moreover, he still had a few huge phantom dragons. They were big enough to crush the people to death.

However, Anfey acted unexpectedly. He revolved and easily moved away from the dragon’s mouth. He wielded the battle-ax and hacked on the strong bony leg of the phantom dragon.

Although the phantom dragons could survive on their own, their power had been greatly reduced under the Antimagic Terra. A powerful spirit of the phantom dragon would be most affected. The clear bone armor had become extremely rough. There were holes like beehives on it, like a deteriorated, dried, old bone. If it had been Ernest and Fernando who had lost their Combat Power, they would not be able to deal with the phantom dragon. Although the phantom dragon had been decapitated, the huge body was still before them. What they could do was to break a few more pieces of bones.

Anfey’s combat force maintained at its peak. He waved the battle-ax and easily chopped off the bony leg of the phantom dragon. The phantom dragon let out a cry and dropped to the ground. As it fell, it crushed around 100 mutated skeletons that were flooding forward.

Anfey was surprised to find that the phantom dragon was so weak. Minos was finally afraid. He felt trapped in his own devices, but it was too late for regrets. He could control the time that he released the Antimagic Terra, but he could not control the time to close it. Anfey hit the phantom dragon as though he was hitting a housefly. The phantom dragon soon lost its combat force. It was a disaster fighting with Anfey! Minos waved the bone staff in his hand, and the mutated skeletons that had crossed over the crack divided into two groups. One group continued to surround Anfey, and another group dashed toward Saul and the rest.

With the help of Fernando, William the Pope, who was panting heavily, stood up. When he saw the mutated skeletons dashing toward them, he immediately knew what Minos was up to. “Quick, tell Anfey to kill Minos and not to bother about us! He must kill Minos!” William used all his strength and shouted.

Fernando widened his eyes in astonishment, and Ernest took a deep breath and shouted, “Anfey, don’t turn around. Even if we have to die here, don’t turn around! Kill Minos!”

Anfey paused for a while and did not turn around. He continued to dash forward, hacking away with his battle-ax. As a Knight of Death lifted up his gun, he had been hacked into two parts by Anfey. Before the rest of the Knights of Death could surround Anfey, he had dashed out, getting closer to Minos.

Minos kept moving backward. The Antimagic Terra was supposed to be his last resort, but at this moment, he wished for it to disappear. The attack of the death spirits was getting more lively. Even the skeleton mages wielded their bone staffs and moved forward. They could not release their magic in the Antimagic Terra, thus the only way was to sacrifice themselves in order to block Anfey. The skeleton archers drew their bows and shot out the bone arrows aimlessly. However, Anfey was too quick, and the bone arrows were far behind him. Minos was in grave danger, but Saul and the rest were in a worse situation. They could only depend on the three warriors: Ernest, Fernando, and Bruzuryano. Mauso could only be a little help. To attack the mutated skeletons, and protect the magicians and priests at the same time, was tough for these few people.

Although the speed of these mutated skeletons was not as fast as the vampires’, the speed of Saul and the rest was even slower. They had used up all of their energy, and those who had been injured needed to be helped. The mages who had lost their magic power became extremely weak. In order to not be a burden to Anfey, they kept retreating. However, after retreating a few hundred meters, the mutated skeletons had caught up with them.

When Anfey heard the screams at the back, his gaze went past the few phantom dragons and fell upon Minos. He seemed to be smiling, but had a scornful look. If Minos had not attempted to run for his life, he would have remained cautious. However, his cowardice had revealed that he was at his wit’s end.

Anfey leaned backward and howled out loud and clear. More than 10 mutated skeletons that had flooded toward him immediately turned into broken pieces of bones. Following that, many mutated skeletons were blown away by a great force. A few hundred mutated skeletons toppled down. Although the Antimagic Terra had trapped the power of the element, sound could still be transmitted. With transcendental strength, Anfey had released a roar that was many times more terrifying than a lion’s. The seething bones had formed a tall bone wall and were surging and ramming forward, toward the front.

Minos cupped his head and was groaning. Like a lightning flash, Anfey dashed out from the bones frenzy, leaving a residual shadow in the sky. As he dashed past Minos, he saw that Minos’ arm was being chopped off. His cervical vertebrae had been cut in half by a sharp weapon. After struggling for a while, Minos fell weakly to the ground. The death spirits that had been attacking fiercely, now suddenly turned into ashes. Without Minos, the Empire of the Dead had met its doom.

Minos was eliminated, and the Maho Empire had united all the nations, but peace did not follow as expected. Despite the religions’ leaders working together closely, the conflict between the Church of Light and the followers of the Goddess of Nature had worsened.

However, the leaders of the religions did not let the petty conflict between the followers bother them, and still maintained a close friendship. Stan, who had recently became a cardinal, walked into a small bar in Sacred City. Inside, Mauso was already waiting for him.

“You’re late,” Mauso remarked.

Stan grunted. “Wester dropped by my place to give me the invitation to his wedding. I couldn’t just send him away.”

“I got it too,” Mauso said. “Are you going?”

“Are you?” Stan asked, lifting a brow.

The two glanced at each other and chuckled. After Anfey defeated Minos, he had disappeared without waiting to claim his glory. However, disappearing didn’t mean he stopped existing. No one can promise whether he would reappear or not, which was why, when it came to Yolanthe’s heir, both the Church of Light and the druids were hesitant to interfere and publicly support anyone. Even Baery and Miorich did not declare an allegiance. Even if they didn’t support Christian, they wouldn’t support Grandon or Wester.

Christian was clearly the best candidate. After several years of ruling, Alice was widely acknowledged as the ruler of the Shansa provinces. Even an order from Yolanthe himself had to go through Alice first, or else it wouldn’t mean anything.

She was a very effective ruler, and almost single-handedly put an end to the corruption of the noble class. Because of this, she was well-loved by the people. The nobles did not dare to do anything with her in office.

The people were very easy to please. Whoever made their lives easier would win their support. Alice had made their lives a hundred times better, and people who wanted to take Alice out of office became a threat.

Some people felt threatened by Alice’s growing power and presence, and tried to create rumors about her. However, Yolanthe knew that Alice had achieved everything he wanted to achieve, and he admired her for it. Therefore, he did not believe in any of the rumors he heard.

Not only did Christian have Alice backing him, he also had a more loyal army. The army on the northern front would follow Yolanthe’s order, but Kumaraghosha’s army would more likely follow Christian’s order.

Christian also had support from the Country of Mercenaries, now called the Free Autonomous Province. After the war, Anthony and Hui Wei became the leaders of the Country of Mercenaries. They were able to create a magic crystal monopoly, making them some of the wealthiest people in the world. After everything they’d been through, the League of Mercenaries was now very loyal to Anthony. One time, the merchants teamed up and tried to block all sources of grain supplies. However, Anthony soon made a deal with Alice and bought all the grain he needed from her province at a low price. It was apparent that, unless the merchants teamed up with Yolanthe, it would be very hard to take Alice and Anthony out of office.

Other than these advantages, Christian also had Anfey in his corner, and that, perhaps, was the most effective endorsement. No one knew where Anfey was, or what he was doing. It was clear that Anfey was very powerful, and there was no use being his enemy.

In the palace, Yolanthe was sitting on the throne and looking at Christian lovingly. Christian was frowning, deep in thought.

“Tell me what you think,” Yolanthe said softly.

“We’ve only united the world for a short time,” Christian said, slightly hesitant. “We need stability. If you pick me, I will send my brothers away to live out their lives in peace.”

“You will imprison them,” Yolanthe said.

“I know you won’t be happy with my answer,” Christian said with a grimace. “But they are my brothers. They won’t be happy that I got the throne, and that, sooner or later, would create instability. I have to control them for the good of the nation. But I don’t think I can…”

Yolanthe pursed his lips but did not say anything.

“Father,” Christian said, looking up at the throne. “May I go now?” No matter what happens, he did not regret his decision.

Yolanthe looked at him for a few seconds then nodded. Christian stood and bowed. Yolanthe leaned back into his throne, looking at his son as he walked out of the throne room with light steps. The old man that had always accompanied him appeared next to him.

“Do you remember how Grandon answered?”

“He said he would work with his brothers and work for the prosperity of the nation,” the old man said.

“Christian’s right, you know. This nation only needs one ruler.”

“I think perhaps His Royal Highness was only trying to please you, Your Majesty.”

“I’m his father,” Yolanthe said. “I raised him. If he can lie to me, how can he be true to anyone else? If he lied to me, I cannot make him my heir. If he didn’t lie, I cannot make him my heir, either.”

“It was a white lie,” the old man said. “He did not want to disappoint you.”

“Disappoint,” Yolanthe said with a sigh. “How old was he when he started courting Niya?”

“Around fourteen.”

“What do fourteen year olds know of love?”

“I can’t say for sure,” the old man said.

“That is why I say Christian is stupid,” Yolanthe said with a sigh. “He doesn’t understand how marrying Niya would give him a significant advantage.”

“Surely he knows that,” the old man said.

“But he didn’t do anything,” Yolanthe said. “He lives with Saul. He is constantly around her. He has a much better shot with her than Grandon. Not only did he not try to court her, he didn’t even try to sabotage Grandon’s relationship with her. He just doesn’t care. He doesn’t want to use anyone.

“Did you see the way he looked when he left? He’s relieved,” Yolanthe said. “He told me exactly what he was thinking, and left the decision up to me. I must say, out of my three sons, I like him the best.”

The old man sighed. He knew what Yolanthe was thinking. Compared to Wester and Grandon, Christian was the most experienced and the most qualified. If Yolanthe picked someone else, it may cause a huge conflict. It would be impossible for Yolanthe to eliminate opposition if he picked someone other than Christian. He can’t get rid of Alice or Anthony, and Anfey was a constant threat in the back of everyone’s minds. If he picked Grandon or Wester, what kind of life would they lead?