v2c22: The Necromancer’s Secret Quest
“Kill her, Master,” Eugene said to the necromancer beside him.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The necromancer nodded, his expression impassive, seemingly devoid of any emotion towards taking a life. With a flick of his fingers, the sharp bone spikes hovering in the air shot towards Lannis’s house. They pierced the walls effortlessly, like swords through paper, turning the entire structure into a sieve. Eugene could see through the countless holes, straight to the other side!
But the screams he had anticipated didn’t come. He spat on the ground, his voice filled with frustration. “Damn it, she’s hiding in the basement!”
“Go in and kill her,” the necromancer said, gesturing with his hand. The bone spikes that had riddled Lannis’s house flew back, attaching themselves to him and Eugene, transforming and merging, forming two suits of white bone armor.
Eugene, feeling emboldened by the armor, struck the ground with his cane, issuing orders to his men. “All of you, stay here and watch for any movement. If those Black Hats try to rescue Lannis, do what you must! No one slacks off until Master and I return with her corpse!”
“Yes, sir!” the Goat Eyes gang members shouted in unison, dispersing quickly, surrounding Lannis’s house. Their lack of training and discipline was evident in their haphazard movements, but they were still a formidable force.
“Alright, Master, help me kill that damned halfling! I’ll reward you handsomely!” Eugene said, his voice brimming with anticipation.
The necromancer, unfazed by Eugene’s enthusiasm, simply nodded, his voice cold and detached. “Agreed. But remember our agreement. I’m not here just for the money. Lannis is mine to deal with.”
“Of course,” Eugene said, a hint of disappointment in his voice, but he agreed nonetheless. “Let’s not waste any time. Let’s go inside.”
The two figures, clad in bone armor, approached Lannis’s house. The walls were riddled with holes. The necromancer chanted a spell, an invisible shockwave slamming into the wall, creating a large opening. They stepped through the rubble and entered the courtyard.
Boom!
Before they could take a few steps, a deafening explosion erupted behind them!
Lannis had planted more explosives underground! The Goat Eyes gang members, caught off guard, their vigilance relaxed after assuming victory was certain, were thrown off their feet by the blast. Several lost their legs, their screams echoing through the air. In an instant, half of the men surrounding Lannis’s house were incapacitated.
“Hahaha! Eugene, you old fool! Come closer! Come closer!” Lannis’s laughter boomed from the magical amplifier.
Eugene struggled to control his rage. He wanted to scream, even though he had been carefully cultivating an image of a refined gentleman since becoming wealthy.
But the bone armor, a gift from the necromancer Master, calmed him. Yes, this necromancer was a powerful eighth-tier mage! Lannis’s bombs were no match for his magic! This was the insurmountable gap between a mage and an ordinary human! No potion could bridge that chasm!
A humble gang leader, commanding a high-ranking mage! He had been incredulous when he encountered this dark mage who had traveled all the way from the Shadowed Depths the previous night.
The mage had offered to eliminate his rivals, the Black Hats, in exchange for Lannis, whom Eugene had captured and imprisoned in his factory. What a profitable deal!
Even though he had received news that morning that Lannis had vanished along with the factory’s child laborers, the patient necromancer hadn’t seemed concerned, even promising to resolve the situation flawlessly!
Eugene didn’t care about Lannis’s secrets. He just wanted to make money. He wasn’t interested in what this corpse-loving mage desired. It held no value to him. Money was all that mattered! Heaps of imperial coins, more women for his pleasure, more children to exploit for cheap labor!
So what if he was angry? He just had to follow this Master!
Eugene strode towards Lannis’s house, his fear replaced by a sense of invincibility. Lannis, seemingly aware that their bone armor protected them from explosions, hadn’t detonated the remaining explosives in the courtyard. She was waiting for something.
But the necromancer wasn’t concerned. He walked up to the front door and casually sliced it open with his bone-clad hand.
Then, he stepped inside.
“Lannis, come out. You have no chance of winning,” the necromancer’s voice, muffled by the bone armor, echoed through the house.
“Hahaha, necromancer, I don’t even know you. Do you think you have the authority to negotiate my surrender?” Lannis’s voice, amplified by the magical device, replied.
The necromancer, tired of her games, chanted a spell. Several bone spikes shot from his body, homing in on the source of Lannis’s voice, destroying the magical amplifier.
He then located the basement entrance. He chanted another spell, a wave of magical energy emanating from him, probing the basement. It returned a moment later, carrying information—a rapidly beating heart, clearly belonging to an agitated halfling.
“Rebecca Viper… Share with me the secrets you know about Shadow Demons…”
The necromancer muttered these words, then gestured with his fingers. Numerous bone spikes detached from his and Eugene’s armor, swarming into the basement!
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