Chapter 195: Battle

"Borrowing a corpse to return the soul?"

Rod knew this world had 【Resurrection】, a spell that brought the dead back into the world.

But that was an extremely advanced spell, requiring a great deal of casting time and casting materials — it was absolutely not something one could pull off in a single stroke the way he had.

Caliste: "Interesting. This is the first time I've seen a spell like this."

Even the interdimensional spellcaster Yu Wuyan doesn't know it?

Rod: "Will he still be human?"

"Most likely he's already become some undead creature like a ghoul or a zombie. Fire and lightning would work even better against him."

Fire and lightning… well, they probably don't know either.

The tree spirit goes without saying — Vivian hates fire spells most of all, and lightning that can kindle fire falls in the same category; neither of them can use it.

Zombie Selina and ghoul Pan Ni need no further mention — after their transformation, they were innately resistant to reactions involving those two elements.

"Vivian!"

Rod called up to the tree spirit in midair, "Come back first."

This plague caster was not an opponent one could kill easily; it might well turn into a long battle.

Using a big move like 【Tree World Descent】 that burned through massive amounts of spiritual essence wasn't really appropriate anymore.

Vivian could see the situation clearly too, and obediently canceled the state of 【Tree World Descent】, quickly coming to Rod's side.

Seeing that she didn't seem to have let anger cloud her head, Rod smiled and pinched her cheek.

"Good work, but we need to watch our spiritual essence consumption — we'll still need your spiritual-control art later."

The tree spirit nodded and stood there obediently.

At this moment Caliste, up above, said:

"The 【Death-Return Array】 has been canceled. He wants to take control of the undead legion on the ground — send your ghoul Young Lady to take back command."

Pan Ni hadn't gone far and heard what the elf said.

Still, she waited for her master to give her the eye before acting.

Don't ask — ask and the answer is that as a slave, one must have the awareness to know who ranks above whom.

Since Pan Ni already had the skill 【Undead Legion】, the army's ownership belonged to her in the first place, and within moments she easily took back command.

The plague caster Amel was at this moment possessing a tall rat-man corpse.

His brow furrowed.

He glanced up at the elf Caliste, whose face was cold, in the sky.

He gave a cold snort, straightened his body, and said: "Since my body is already destroyed, I can only let loose and fight a proper battle."

From the side, zombie Selina sent an ice blade flying at him; he didn't even look at it and rapidly chanted an incantation.

A stone wall rose with a rumble, trying to block the ice blade.

But the wall's strength was limited, and it was quickly smashed through. The moment the rubble hit the ground, Amel had already fired off a 【Withering Ray】 that shot straight into Selina's body.

The zombie's form in midair stiffened slightly, and she immediately fell into the negative status of exhaustion.

The price Amel paid for hitting her, however, was being sent flying by the great owl bear that had charged in.

His spell shield shattered in an instant, and he cut through the air like a kite with a broken string.

But after reincarnating as an undead creature, his physique hadn't necessarily grown stronger — yet his perception of pain had dropped considerably.

Amel immediately got to his feet and cast 【Amber Coffin】 and 【Deep Freeze】 in quick succession.

A massive crystal coffin materialized in midair, trapping the owl bear; the frost of 【Deep Freeze】 then took the chance to creep upward from its feet.

The effect of this spell triggered slowly, but if it was completely frozen by the frost, it would trigger instant death — not even a resurrection spell could save it.

Rod, meanwhile, covered the distance in three quick strides and smoothly entered the fray, catching Selina as she drifted down.

"Sorry, removing the spell effect takes five minutes."

The zombie said it flatly, without expression.

"Good work. Take this chance to rest a bit."

Rod carried her to the rear.

Then he returned to the front.

He drew his sword, flashed aside to dodge an arc of lightning and freezing mist in quick succession, and in one stroke cleaved the 【Amber Coffin】 apart.

The owl bear had been wedged inside and couldn't exert its strength — it really couldn't break free just now. Now freed, it incidentally shook off the effect of 【Deep Freeze】 as well.

Amel wasn't surprised, and tossed two 【Command Blindness】 at the two front-line warriors.

The result was that both were resisted.

He clicked his tongue.

【Soul Snare】【Dread Brand】【Mass Hold Person】【Nibo's Stern Rebuke】.

He flung out every kind of debuff aimed at melee warriors, but the result made Amel's face turn extremely ugly.

The owl bear at least gave him some face, going stiff for a moment or two.

But what was the deal with this forest warden?

These spells would get a reaction out of a rock, and you act like you didn't even notice — what is that supposed to be?

By now Rod had smoothly closed in, and a 【Giant-Form Slash】 heavy with momentum had finished gathering.

With a whoosh, 【Heart-Flame Infusion】 was layered on, and it instantly became a massive flaming greatsword.

The buff skills within 【Devoted Body-Sword】 — 【Killing Intent Pervades】【Power Detonation】 and the rest — were pushed to their limits.

The next instant, it transformed again: a wisp of pink-purple resentment climbed upward, and in a flash the pink-purple flame force was raised to another level.

Ten spiritual seeds swallowed would never be without effect.

Rod dared to say that with this one slash, even the seventh-tier winged folk and demons that had attacked Shi Ying back then, stacked together, wouldn't be able to take it!

Amel's mouth twitched at the corner.

【Bronze Wall, Iron Barrier】 【Bio-Field】 【Energy Damage Buffer】 【Sapphire Veil】 【Greater Resistance】 【Weapon Dispersion】—all of them were shattered by this single strike.

The strength and constitution of the person before them far exceeded Sixth Tier, and posed a far greater threat than even the Seventh Tier Druid beside them who had transformed into an owlbear.

"Do not engage him head-on."

The flames dissipated.

He watched as Amel's kobold body split in two, then was burned to ash by flames that clung like a rotting bone-fever.

But Rod did not relax.

He swiftly turned his head and saw a body rising up from the ground.

This time it was not an undead creature, but a stone elemental.

Moreover, it was enormous in size, nearly matching the owlbear form of the Druid.

"It's not a possession-resurrection. This guy is way too hard to kill."

Rod said helplessly.

He retreated continuously, pulling out of the combat circle, leaving the Druid and Pan Ni to handle it.

Given that this fellow could not be dealt a fatal blow, he ordered Tally, who was lying in ambush, to stay hidden and not emerge until the critical moment.

After all, the two of them were more than enough to handle this person; it was just that the spell of infinite resurrection made him a nuisance.

"Lady Kali, is there any way? Can you pull him into the Tree Realm like you did with the demon Atu?"

Lady Kali shook her head: "It's not the same totem school as the demon Atu's. The source of his power isn't in his flesh; simply trapping the body is meaningless."

The implication was that even if pulled into the Tree Realm, he could still resurrect in the real world, and might even use the chance to escape.

Rod sighed.

Are Seventh Tier mages this broken already? Then how are ordinary spiritual warriors supposed to play?

This guy is far more tenacious than the previous Seventh Tier winged one and Seventh Tier demon combined!

Having said that, Lady Kali flung a 【Ray of Enfeeblement】 and 【Transmute Rock to Mud】 at the battlefield.

Amel's stone elemental body immediately softened, and within moments he couldn't even stand steadily.

The owlbear seized the chance, and with a horizontal swipe, slapped the stone armor on the surface into a puddle of mud, sending him flying backward.

【Transmute Rock to Mud】 couldn't turn him entirely into mud, but it could weaken his constitution by several tiers.

It might even render him unable to cast certain spells that required a constitution check.

Amel took the hit and did not die; with a flicker of magical power, he dispelled 【Ray of Enfeeblement】.

But just as he was about to dispel 【Transmute Rock to Mud】, Lady Kali cast 【Spell Permanency】, locking his muddy state in place permanently.

Amel glared angrily at the elf in the sky.

(End of chapter)