Chapter 66: Undead, Foreign Mage

He turned his body and stared at Aiwa in utter shock, "This is—an Undead?!"

Without waiting for Aiwa to answer, he then carefully observed this black-robed "person."

Just now, from an opening in the black-robed "person's" clothing, Xia Duo had seen ghastly white bones; he didn't even need to enter a state of Spellcasting Focus to check if there was any residual Negative Energy on this black-robed "person" to be almost certain that this was an Undead.

Aiwa had just said the situation was a bit special, and what could be more special than an Undead? Coupled with the words he had said before entering the room, it made Xia Duo even more convinced that this was an Undead.

Of course, a formal confirmation was also necessary; Xia Duo immediately entered a state of Spellcasting Focus. The skeleton before his eyes, shrouded in a black robe, was slowly but continuously emitting wisps of Negative Energy.

Only when he was close did Xia Duo realize that the aura of decay and rot he had smelled earlier came from this black-robed "person." As Xia Duo drew closer, he felt the air seem to grow a bit colder.

This was indeed an Undead.

Of course, it was now truly and thoroughly dead.

"Mage Xia Duo, we should leave." At this moment, Aiwa gave a tactful reminder.

"Oh, right, right, leave."

Xia Duo also realized something was wrong and dared not move anything in the room at all. He walked quickly toward the outside of the house. Just as he stepped out, his heart suddenly felt lighter; he had never felt the early winter sun to be so warm.

"That was close!"

Xia Duo couldn't help but feel a lingering fear. In the room just now, he had actually been unknowingly affected by the Negative Energy; it was just that such subtle influence was impossible to guard against.

If not for Aiwa's reminder, he might have even wanted to study the remains of that Undead.

In that case, he would have been eroded by the Negative Energy even more severely.

……

Returning to the team, Xia Duo ordered everyone to set off immediately.

As the small team drew closer and closer to Savile Town, Xia Duo felt slightly relieved. Previously, he had guessed that the attacker might have been brought by Lao Nier, but after knowing it was an Undead, Xia Duo was filled with doubts.

With Lao Nier being just an ordinary person running an inn in the South District, it was hard for Xia Duo to connect him with an Undead.

This made the assassin's motive become very bizarre.

Xia Duo felt he had been in Savile Town for nearly a year, always keeping a low profile; how could anyone send an Undead to kill him?

What kind of grudge or hatred was this!

Can't figure it out, can't figure it out!

Moreover, apart from the very few who awaken on their own, Undead generally have a master who can effectively control them, and this master is usually a Mage.

So the question arises: Xia Duo doesn't even provoke ordinary people, so how could he have provoked a Mage?

Recalling the few Official Mages he had interacted with, was it them? Or their rivals? Or perhaps just a passing Mage who didn't like him and deliberately left a skeleton to deal with him?

Then, after the skeleton failed, why didn't the person behind the skeleton jump out to continue killing him?

Too many doubts made Xia Duo's mind unable to process them for a moment.

"Xia Duo."

"Xia Duo!"

"Ah?!" Xia Duo whispered. His train of thought had just been interrupted by Dien. He said irritably, "Dien, is there something you need?"

Dien leaned toward Xia Duo and whispered, "What was up with the assassin earlier? Why were you and Aiwa gone for a while, and then you've been absent-minded ever since you came back?"

Xia Duo did not intend to spread the news of discovering or even killing the Undead everywhere, so as not to provoke that unknown Mage. He planned to report it quietly to his superiors after returning.

In any case, being assassinated by an Undead could be considered a life-and-death matter, and reporting it to his superiors was a safer approach.

No matter what the unknown Mage's considerations were, if they were lurking in the dark and eyeing him like a tiger, the only help he could seek was the Mage Tower.

As for Dien's inquiry, Xia Duo brushed it off, "The tracks left by the assassin were a bit strange, Aiwa asked me to go over and take a look."

Dien was half-convinced by this answer, but he couldn't find any reason to continue asking, so he had to let it go.

After being noticed by Dien for his absent-mindedness, Xia Duo then pretended to be indifferent. It was just that the pressure from that unknown Mage made his mood particularly heavy, forming a sharp contrast with the ease he felt when setting off.

……

On the other side, at Old Neil Inn, on the second floor.

Lao Nier, who had already been cleared of suspicion by Xia Duo, was currently receiving a middle-aged man dressed in merchant attire very respectfully. Although this middle-aged man was dressed as a merchant, every move he made revealed a strange air of distinction.

With Lao Nier's experience, he naturally could not distinguish that the person in front of him was deliberately imitating an Arcanist from the Core Area of the Empire. Although the movements were slightly affected, in Lao Nier's eyes, they appeared extremely brilliant, far surpassing any Mage within the Territory.

His attitude became increasingly respectful, "My lord, I wonder what instructions you have for calling me here?"

"Hehe. Do you know that because of your incorrect intelligence, I lost a servant?"

Upon hearing this, the expression on Lao Nier's face went blank for a moment. The next second, he knelt on the ground, explaining incessantly, "My lord, that kid is really just an Apprentice who has only joined the Mage Tower for a few months. He only had some ordinary soldiers with him; the elites had long been transferred away by the Lord."

"Is that so? Then do you know that he also had a High-level Rogue by his side?"

No anger or joy could be heard in the middle-aged Mage's voice, but this made Lao Nier even more terrified, "A—a High-level Rogue? This—this is definitely an accident. I know that kid; he is an outsider and it is absolutely impossible for him to know any High-level Rogue."

"So, you think I am lying?"

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare." Lao Nier shook his head hurriedly. Although he did indeed suspect that the middle-aged Mage was lying, he dared not say it directly. When he brought this Mage back from outside the day before yesterday, he had experienced the Mage's power—

With just a wave of his hand, a group of Goblins charging at them instantly fell to the ground, turning into a pile of terrifying dried corpses.

If possible, he would rather have never met this very dangerous foreign Mage.

"I need compensation."

Hearing this, Lao Nier finally felt a sense of relief. He took two deep breaths and hurriedly agreed, "Yes, yes, I will definitely give you, my lord, satisfactory compensation."

Lao Nier calculated in his heart, wondering how much he would have to bleed this time! There wasn't much money left at home; should he go and borrow some?

"I want the necklace around your neck!"

The middle-aged Mage's cold words instantly brought Lao Nier back to reality, and the mention of the "necklace" made Lao Nier subconsciously touch his chest, and words bordering on questioning blurted out.

"My lord, how did you know—"

But immediately, Lao Nier stopped speaking, his gaze sweeping back and forth on the floor. He hated it in his heart, but he could not bring himself to say the words of refusal.