Two Flame Archangels?!
The confident smile vanished from Khajiit's face, replaced by a frown of genuine concern.
Two? That's not right. He had assumed the summoning of dual Guardian Angels earlier was thanks to some rare magical relic. But summoning two Flame Archangels at once? That threw his theory right out the window.
Which could only mean one thing—this man was at least on par with him in power. And if he had an accomplice lurking in the shadows? That could get dangerous.
Khajiit narrowed his eyes. "So… this isn't a fluke."
"You've been targeting me from the very beginning, haven't you?"
He gripped the Death Orb tightly as his voice dropped to a chilling tone. "Only members of the Holy Theocracy are capable of summoning two Flame Archangels simultaneously. Who the hell are you people?"
Lyle ignored the question entirely. With a casual wave of his hand, he commanded, "Clear out the trash around us."
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The two Flame Archangels moved like wolves into a flock of sheep, diving into the horde of lesser undead with blinding speed.
Even Guardian Angels could easily wipe out low-rank undead. Flame Archangels? It was like watching a flamethrower in a hayfield.
Khajiit's eyelids twitched violently, a side effect of channeling too much negative energy. His precious undead were being wiped out in droves.
"You dare to act so smug, you ignorant fool!"
He raised his staff, the Shadow Wand, and shouted, "Did you think you were the only one with tricks up your sleeve? I told you, I'll show you what true power looks like!"
Dark magic pulsed from his body as a cold aura settled over the battlefield.
"Third-Tier Spell: Summon Undead!"
Hummmm...
A pale blue magic circle formed beneath his feet.
From it, a skeleton warrior rose, unlike any typical brittle bone pile. This one gleamed with a metallic sheen, its entire frame exuding a threatening aura. Draped in a tattered blue cloak, its shoulders bore red leather pauldrons, and in its hands were an iron sword and shield.
A Third-Tier Undead—Bone Warrior!
"We're not done yet!"
Khajiit wasn't slowing down. With another incantation, he roared, "Third-Tier Spell: Create Undead!"
Sticky, tar-like black magic surged out, devouring several low-tier zombies nearby. The mass wriggled and churned before coalescing into a second Bone Warrior.
Lyle remained calm, unsurprised. He already knew Khajiit had specialized in necromancy. Summoning two third-tier undead? Entirely within expectations.
No wonder the organization "Zurrernorn" had taken an interest in him.
However—
Lyle's expression finally shifted when he saw what happened next.
"You think that's all?" Khajiit cackled manically, lifting the unassuming orb in his hand—the Death Orb.
What once looked like a dull rock now glowed with a fierce, black iron light.
"Summon Undead—Enhanced!"
"Create Undead—Enhanced!"
BOOM!
A surge of terrifying black energy blasted outward, sending a pulse of power across the field.
A pale blue summoning circle flashed again, and a third Bone Warrior stepped out.
Another wave of black magic consumed even more of the weaker undead and birthed a fourth Bone Warrior.
And just like that, there were four fully-armored third-tier Bone Warriors on the battlefield, their metallic forms radiating raw danger.
Lyle's eyelid twitched slightly.
Wait a minute. In the anime and novels, Khajiit never showed this kind of power!
Well… in fairness, when the bone dragon came into play later, there was no need for bone warriors. And his opponent back then was the battle-maid Narberal Gamma—summoning four Bone Warriors wouldn't have helped anyway.
"Heh heh heh… You see now?" Khajiit laughed darkly, his voice crawling across the battlefield like a centipede.
"This is the difference between you and me. Now—sink into despair!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Bone Warriors moved as one, dashing toward the Flame Archangels with surprising agility.
CLANG! CLANG!
The two Flame Archangels swung their flaming swords, clashing against the first two Bone Warriors' shields in an eruption of sparks.
Before the archangels could react, the other two Bone Warriors had flanked them—iron swords slicing across their flanks.
A shrill metallic screech rang out!
The two Flame Archangels were forced back. With a beat of their wings, they soared into the air, quickly regrouping at Lyle's side.
Khajiit's eyes narrowed. "They survived that? Their strength is higher than standard…"
He muttered to himself, then sneered, "Fine. Let's crank it up!"
"Lesser Spell: Muscle Enhancement!"
A shimmering blue aura enveloped all four Bone Warriors. Their presence surged.
"Armor Reinforcement!"
A second pulse of blue light layered atop the first, reinforcing their already tough defenses.
"And finally... Deathflame!"
Hummmm...
A cold, pale fire ignited atop one Bone Warrior—then spread rapidly to the others, coating all four in spectral flame.
This wasn't ordinary fire. Fueled by negative energy, it was designed specifically to deal extra damage against divine or celestial entities.
Now, the Bone Warriors radiated so much menace they could've passed for mini-bosses in a raid dungeon.
Lyle exhaled softly and offered an honest compliment.
"Impressive. Very impressive."
"Hah! It's too late to beg for mercy now!" Khajiit scoffed and raised his hand to launch the next attack.
"No."
Lyle's voice was raspy but calm, and he slowly shook his head.
"What I meant was… this is the best you've got, right?"
"In that case—my turn."
Underneath his black cloak, his fingers moved rapidly, forming arcane gestures.
Thud. Thud. Thud...
Beams of radiant light appeared overhead, and—
In the blink of an eye, six more Flame Archangels descended, surrounding Lyle in a holy ring of fire and light. The sheer divine presence they exuded burned away the stench of rot in the air.
Khajiit's eyes bulged as if they were about to pop from their sockets.
He took a step back in shock, his expression twisting into pure disbelief.
"Impossible!"
Even with all his necromantic training, Khajiit could only summon two creatures of equal tier at once. Without the Death Orb, even four Bone Warriors would've been a pipe dream.
There was no way Lyle also had something like the Death Orb... right?
"You... how did you do that?!"
"No—this... this isn't how faith-based summoning works!" Khajiit's voice cracked with hysteria. "There's no chanting, no prayer, no channeling time—this isn't summoning!"
This is cheating!
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