Chapter 40: Ghoul

On the open ground at the edge of Shuangzhi Mountain.

Several fresh, massive pits marred the ground, leaving behind unstable spiritual and magical residues.

Broken swords and corpses.

Overturned banners and a reeking stench rising to the sky.

Dimea closed her eyes and focused her mind, her hands releasing magic that spread throughout the magical prison.

She attempted to dismantle the spell through magical deconstruction.

But this was never an easy task.

The witch’s face was pale, her golden hair dimmed slightly.

There was a blood hole in her abdomen.

Though witches do not die from internal organ damage, this still inflicted serious harm.

In the first round of attack, she had held the upper hand against the half-werewolf.

As a witch, she learned spells far faster and possessed considerable mastery over control spells that countered melee warriors.

At first, she even thought this would be another swift and perfect victory.

Unexpectedly, a sixth-rank shadow mage and a stronger sixth-rank beastman suddenly appeared.

Caught off guard, Dimea was severely wounded.

She was quickly trapped by the enemy mage’s Shadow Prison.

The soldiers deprived of her spell support soon collapsed under the sixth-rank beastman’s assault.

What puzzled Dimea was this:

They showed no intention to pursue the fleeing soldiers.

In the past, the Ruins Brotherhood always charged relentlessly the moment they gained even a slight advantage.

A year ago, Dimea had learned the tactic of feigning weakness to lure them into prepared ambushes.

This trick had always worked perfectly against the Ruins Brotherhood.

Now, the Ruins Brotherhood’s strength far exceeded their usual level.

Even more unusual was their lack of the usual recklessness.

“Hey, mage, is she breaking your spell?”

The half-werewolf Cassidy asked.

The shadow mage glanced at her indifferently, then couldn’t help but praise:

“No wonder she’s a witch—her understanding of magic is astonishing.”

“So she’s going to escape?”

Cassidy grew tense.

Capturing this witch had taken some time.

And her magic was powerful and stubborn—she was barely sixth-rank, yet nearly turned her into mush.

Amy slammed her blade into a rocky slope, her battle spirit blazing.

“Let her out! Amy will beat her!”

She declared she hadn’t had enough fighting.

The shadow mage and Cassidy glanced at the beastman, then both decided to ignore her.

"Relax, Miss Half-Werewolf, my spell isn't that easy to break."

He stepped back into the shadow beneath a tree.

A mature shadow mage should always remain within shadow.

Cassidy looked at him with disdain.

“You know, mage, a little sun won’t hurt you—look at your face, it’s as pale as a vampire dead for three years.”

“Don’t vampires turn to ash when they die?”

The shadow mage blinked, confused.

Cassidy rolled her eyes dramatically.

“It’s a recent joke from the Snow Hill Evening News, you idiot,” Amy mocked.

“Even the beastman knows it.”

The shadow mage averted his gaze, awkwardly laughing twice: “I don’t read newspapers.”

Then he suddenly grew serious.

He stared toward the distant mountain path.

“There’s movement over there.”

Cassidy looked that way; spiritual fluctuations rippled through the air, fading gradually.

The strongest witch was already trapped.

Shiying Town had no one left who could threaten them.

Yet for some reason, the half-werewolf’s [Beast Heart] remained taut.

“That’s Pan Ni’s area,” she said.

“Who’s Pan Ni? Is she strong? Amy wants to fight her,” said the beastman Amy.

“Oh! She’s a ghoul mage—you won’t like her, Amy,” the shadow mage warned.

Cassidy hesitated, then said:

“I need to go check.”

“Don’t leave! You have to help transport this witch!”

“Isn’t there a beastman here?”

“She’s no use for labor—she’s got nothing but muscle in her head!”

“That’s right, Amy’s head is all muscle too,” the female beastman nodded in agreement—muscle was the highest praise for a beastman.

As they neared the central battlefield,

Luo De sensed a needle-like prick through the spiritual breeze.

He instantly went alert and moved forward swiftly.

In the next instant, a figure burst from the ground where he had stood.

Immediately, mounds of earth rose and crept forward from nearby.

He drew [Sword of Devotion] and split an incoming [Corrosion Orb] in two.

Who is this?

The stench of decay in the air was unmistakable.

Ghoul.

Not far away, a slender woman in white, holding a lantern, floated gently to the ground.

Her hood was caked in mud; her dry, filthy black hair cascaded like a waterfall, completely obscuring her face.

A tattered belt, its gems removed, cinched her slender waist, accentuating her full chest.

Unfortunately, the rot visible on her exposed arms and feet proved her to be a hideous female ghoul.

“A sentient ghoul—rare indeed.”

Her ability to cast spells alone proved she possessed intelligence.

Luo De advanced, but had not yet reached her.

Four ragged male ghouls burst from the ground, surrounding him in attack.

“Only fourth-rank.”

Luo De activated all his buffs instantly.

He was far from the trees—[Tree Armor] offered no special bonus.

Hss!

One slash.

Three ghouls had their heads severed simultaneously.

The fourth, slower, barely dodged the blow.

Then, ghouls kept crawling endlessly from the ground.

These ghouls were low-ranked, none higher than fifth-rank beginner, but they outnumbered him.

They surged forward, surrounding Luo De.

This tactic might work against ordinary human warriors.

Their endurance was limited; even a sixth-rank warrior would fall under the assault of a horde of rotting, poison-laced ghouls.

But unfortunately for them,

[Tree’s Blessing] granted infinite regeneration, and [Second Heart] bestowed extraordinary stamina.

Falling became impossible.

The only pity was that Luo De lacked a wide-area spiritual attack—killing them was simply too slow.

At one point, he even considered attacking from within [Seal of Eternal Darkness] to trigger a larger explosion.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.

Gradually, Pan Ni realized something was wrong.

Because the low-rank ghouls could not halt his advance.

As a ghoul mage specializing in summoning spells, she finally realized that her opponent was not to be trifled with.

She winced inwardly.

If she hadn’t lost her only sixth-rank ghoul servant to an explosion during her battle with the witch, she wouldn’t be in such a desperate state.

In this situation, she was at a disadvantage.

Watching Luo De darting about, her servants were rapidly dwindling in number.

She no longer hesitated.

From her mouth hidden behind her hair, she spat out several complex incantations.

The blue flame in her lantern flared violently.

Then,

a group of ghoul servants’ eyes glowed red, gathering together and piling into a small mound.

As Pan Ni’s incantation grew more intense,

magic flowed over the flesh of the ghoul servants, gradually stitching their skin and muscle together.

The lifeless flesh writhed.

Soon, it fused into a single ghoul over three meters tall.

Its spiritual aura had reached the sixth rank.

Meanwhile,

Luo De suddenly noticed the corpses beneath his feet merging, forming a slime-like mass that began to trap his feet.

The fused ghoul had reached his side and raised its massive hand—its palm bearing a face—toward him.

A violent gust of wind slammed into his face.

“Die, human!”

(End of Chapter)