"I'm willing to surrender! Please spare my life!" Khajiit cried out in a choked voice full of terror. Realizing the cold and deadly gaze of the undead before him, his heart pounded like a war drum, and he immediately shouted his unconditional surrender.
This was a wise and instinctive decision for survival.
The Skeleton Mage paused for a moment, considering the offer, then with a cold wave of his hand, he lifted the control magic he had placed on Khajiit.
Khajiit staggered out of the dark magical mire that had gripped him and collapsed back onto the cold ground, looking utterly ashamed and terrified with cold sweat soaking his entire forehead.
Tap tap tap! The sound of the Skeleton Mage's approaching bony footsteps made Khajiit's body tense up instantly. With a clear mind and the instinct for survival, he wisely knelt on the ground, lowering his head deeply.
The jet-black magic staff and a pair of white bone feet appeared in his limited field of vision. The cold and emotionless voice of the skeleton mage sounded right in his ears. "Your foolish challenge just now has reduced the preferential treatment you were supposed to receive. Now, I will give you a task. If you can complete it satisfactorily, I might grant your wish and make you a great undead magic caster like me."
Great Undead Magic Caster! Khajiit looked up with an expression of surprise mixed with hope. He didn't know how the Skeleton Mage could have seen through his hidden intentions, but he understood that this was a golden opportunity to realize his ambitions and also the only way to save his precious life.
Thus, without the slightest hesitation, he immediately agreed in a tone full of hope and obedience. "Thank you for your immense generosity, Lord! I will try my best to fulfill your request, whatever it may be!"
The Skeleton Mage didn't seem to care about his oaths and promises. He reached his bony hand into the empty air before him and pulled out a very delicate and detailed skeleton figurine. The figurine depicted a human-shaped skeleton sitting upright on a small throne, with a strange crown perched on its head and a royal scepter inlaid with several shimmering magic gems in its bony hand.
The Skeleton Mage handed the figurine to Khajiit, who respectfully received it with both of his trembling hands. "This is a magical item containing the quadruple activation of tenth-tier magic, [Scourge of the Undead]. With this item in your possession, your burning desire to transform this mortal E-Rantel into an eternal city of the dead can be easily realized," the Skeleton Mage said in a cold yet authoritative tone.
Tenth... tenth tier! Khajiit's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the skeleton figurine in his hands. His hands even trembled slightly with excitement and disbelief. He had never expected that he could obtain such a powerful holy object in his entire life!
"My request is simple," the Skeleton Mage continued with a sharp, piercing gaze. "You are only allowed to summon the undead army after I give you clear instructions. Before that time comes, you must not act rashly or make any plans of your own. Do you understand?"
"Ah? Yes! I... I will definitely remember all your instructions carefully, Lord!" Khajiit replied quickly after snapping out of his shock. He nodded repeatedly with enthusiasm, and his fear of the Skeleton Mage deepened. The other party casually took out such a powerful mystical artifact. The other party's origin and strength were probably far more terrifying than he could have imagined. This kind of existence was definitely not someone he could afford to offend.
The Skeleton Mage stared at Khajiit for two seconds that felt like an eternity, then reached out his hand and grabbed Khajiit's head. A powerful negative energy once again invaded Khajiit's body, paralyzing him in an instant. The exact same treatment he had given Clementine a moment ago.
After doing this, the Skeleton Mage released Khajiit as if discarding useless trash, then disappeared into the darkness without leaving a trace.
Only two figures remained lying powerlessly in the empty and cold underground space, their bodies still twitching weakly from the residual effects of the terrifying magic.
Perhaps due to his deep study of necromancy and his better resistance to negative energy, Khajiit was the first to fully recover. With great difficulty, he reached for the skeleton figurine that had fallen to the ground nearby, looked at it for a moment with a gaze full of ambition and fear, then staggered towards Clementine who was still lying not far away.
…
In the dark forest outside the city of E-Rantel, the surrounding space fluctuated strangely, and the figure of the Skeleton Mage suddenly appeared from the void. Under the pale moonlight, another figure slowly materialized before him. Without the slightest hesitation, the Skeleton Mage bowed deeply to that figure. "Lord!"
"Well done, your work is quite efficient," said a gentle yet authoritative voice. The figure before him wore pure white robes trimmed with a faint golden shimmer, his bare feet were wrapped in white bandages, and his entire body appeared to be suspended in the air without touching the ground. Who else could it be but Kael?
Previously, Kael had used tenth-tier magic, [Complete Unknowledge], to conceal his presence beside and control the actions of the [Great Sage of the Undead], allowing the undead he summoned to successfully complete the task of subduing the troublesome Zuranon duo. However, unlike the [Legendary Knight Carlon], the [Great Sage of the Undead] was summoned by the Mercenary Summoning Book for permanent existence, and its level was also as high as LV90. Letting that powerful undead deal with two weaklings like Khajiit and Clementine wouldn't pose any problems at all, even without further instructions from Kael.
"Everything is over here. Return and continue monitoring in the city. Inform me immediately if you discover any relevant targets," Kael commanded in a calm tone.
"Yes, Lord," the Great Sage of the Undead replied respectfully, then used flight magic to disappear into the darkness of the night.
After watching his summon leave, Kael took out the Church's secret treasure, the Crown of Wisdom, which the Great Sage had snatched from Clementine, from his item box. "[Superior Item Appraisal]!" With the powerful feedback effect of the magic, Kael easily understood the detailed information about this artifact's creator, its complex magical effects, and some basic principles of its production. Suddenly, a hint of disgust appeared in his eyes. The effects of this Crown of Wisdom were indeed quite good in enhancing magical abilities, but the usage conditions and side effects were too terrifying, making it seem like a useless and disgusting object to him. First of all, this equipment had strong limitations and not everyone could safely wear it. Moreover, after wearing it, the wearer would be deprived of complete self-awareness and become a passive magical medium like a living human pillar. Through this terrifying 'living magic amplifier', others could unleash high-level magic that they originally couldn't master. In the original storyline, through Nfirea, who had the ability to equip and use all kinds of magical items, Khajiit wore the Crown of Wisdom and summoned a large number of uncontrollable undead, which triggered a large-scale undead riot throughout E-Rantel.
"Forget it," Kael murmured indifferently. "It's not a big surprise anyway. Maybe I can use this thing to exchange for some benefits from the Church in the future, so this trip won't be a complete waste." Kael threw the Crown of Wisdom back into his item box and looked up at the crescent moon hanging in the night sky. "I wonder how Enri and the others are doing now. Although they are still novice adventurers, they have the strong support of the Adventurers' Guild and the strength of experienced Orichalcum-ranked adventurers on their side, so they should be fine, right?"
Before he went to the cemetery, he had received a short message from Enri reporting their progress. After the Adventurers' Guild verified Enri's extraordinary magical power and learned about the potential fighting strength of the unique Carne Village residents, they provided very strong support policies for these tough novice adventurers. One of them was to assign retired adventurers in the guild and some adventure teams willing to accept combat support to act as seniors and lead the small teams of villagers to complete their respective assigned tasks. As long as they gained valuable experience on their first commission, Kael believed that the Carne Village residents would be able to quickly complete their role transformation and become a qualified and solid group of adventurers.
"My family, you must work hard," Kael whispered, conveying his expectations to all the Carne Village adventurers through the moonlight in the sky. Then, he activated teleportation magic and disappeared, returning to their base in E-Rantel in an instant.
…
In the dark and silent wilderness, several makeshift tents were set up beside a dancing bonfire, illuminating the tired faces of the adventurers. Around the campsite, a simple safety net consisting of four sturdy wooden poles and ropes stretched between them was erected, with small bells hung on it. Although it looked crude, the bells hanging on the tether had been enchanted with low-level magic, allowing the user to feel subtle vibrations when touched by foreign creatures. Based on the experience of the leading adventurers, this method of temporary campsite construction was relatively sound and safe. At the very least, they would be able to react quickly when encountering monster attacks at night.
"So, the Lord is truly kind! I envy you for having such a wonderful opportunity," said the lean young ranger with a slightly flippant tone, looking at the Emmot family with an admiring gaze. The ordinary-looking, more experienced warrior captain immediately reprimanded him with a sharp look. "Lukrut! Stop talking such impolite nonsense!" Then, he turned to the family of three across the campfire with an apologetic look. "Please forgive my companion's rudeness, Mr. Emmot. He didn't mean any harm."
"Oh, it's alright, it's alright," replied the middle-aged man named Rhodes Emmot with a friendly smile, gently stroking the head of his daughter, Enri, who was sitting beside him. "Actually, what Mr. Lukrut said isn't entirely wrong. Although I've experienced death once and come back to life like this is also a kind of extraordinary luck for me and the family. Back then, when I was young, I also had a dream of becoming a brave adventurer."
"...Mr. Emmot," a young woman asked in a hesitant and curious tone. Hearing the question, Rhodes turned to the speaker, who turned out to be Ninya, the magic caster in the Swords of Darkness team responsible for the output of their magic weapons' power. "Is it true that Miss Enri, who can use such extraordinary sixth-tier magic, is really your daughter? Did she really receive the direct blessing of the gods and grow so powerful in just a few short days?"
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