Chapter 96: Dead Moon Orb

Nine-ring Conjuration spell—【Gate of the Otherworld】!

The incantation ends, and the Conjuration spell at the mortal world's pinnacle is successfully released.

This powerful spell can let the Spellcaster traverse other planes, or summon a powerful otherworldly creature not higher than his level, provided the other party consents; therefore, when summoning, the reason and reward must be prepared in advance.

Fortunately, the demon before Naimi Xisi is the being most despised by the good‑aligned creatures, and an otherworldly divine attendant ranks just below a blazing celestial attendant; any otherworldly divine attendant is at least a level‑17 angel, and when facing a demon, even without reward, many otherworldly divine attendants will scramble to aid the Spellcaster.

A massive gate of light opened in the sky; behind the gate appeared several silhouettes that seemed to be vying with each other, and finally a strong figure bearing a pair of wings squeezed out.

Radiance descends upon the mortal world.

A tall man with smooth green skin stood in the void; behind him were a pair of massive wings, his wrists adorned with golden bracers etched with magical runes, his hands gripping a great sword that shone with golden light, dazzling holy radiance enveloping him like a huge sphere of light.

But that was not all; Naimi Xisi, having reached level 17, temporarily gained the exemplar power of Conjuration—【Dual Summoning】, and the spell spontaneously summoned another gate, opening it; from it stepped a tall otherworldly divine attendant, while two powerful angels flew across the sky, looking down at the demon below.

He instantly cast another 【Force Wall Technique】, blocking the demon's teleporting attack; Naimi Xisi hurriedly flashed into the sky. The wolf‑snake demon saw the two summoned angels charge at it, snarled, and pointed at the sky‑borne dragon; the power of 【Malicious Transmutation】 enveloped the dragon, attempting to turn it into a rabbit that would fall from the heights and be crushed to death.

Unfortunately, Naimi Xisi had already equipped himself with protective spells upon arrival; whether the Five-ring spell【Anti‑Curse Domain】 or the Four-ring divine art【Arcane Shield】 both added massive anti‑magic resistance, and together with Juan Ce Long's own scales' inherent strong anti‑magic power, the wolf‑snake demon's similar spell abilities were almost ineffective.

This spell before him was no exception.

Seeing the spell fail, the wolf‑snake demon let out a cold snort and swung an axe at the incoming angel; although the otherworldly divine attendant's power was not weak, it still lagged far behind the level‑20 wolf‑snake demon. The angel's sword stepped in to block the lethal blow, but the tremendous force still hurled the angel hundreds of meters away, its body rolling on the ground and carving a trench that stretched for hundreds of meters.

Eight-ring Transformation system spell—【Instantaneous Disjunction】! A faint green light glowed in Naimi Xisi's hand; it was the most lethal single‑target spell among all he mastered, and with a double‑strength boost, the green beam shot toward the wolf‑snake demon like a death‑bringing projectile.

Sensing danger, the wolf‑snake demon hurried to teleport, but another angel grabbed his arm; the beam pierced the demon's abdomen, leaving a hole about ten centimeters wide. 【Disjunction】, though not turning the demon to ash outright, still dissolved the flesh it touched.

In pain, the wolf‑snake demon roared and frantically tore off the angel's arm that held him, because countless green beams were already blasting down from the sky; without the usual pre‑cast motion, Naimi Xisi unleashed twenty 【Disjunction】s in one breath, a rain of green light targeting the demon's head, vowing to turn it to ash.

A flash of red light, the wolf‑snake demon that had broken free from the angel barely evaded the attack by using 【Advanced Teleportation】. The two heavily wounded angels had already healed themselves through divine healing arts and surged forward again to restrain the demon.

"Dammit!"

The wolf‑snake demon's mobility is extremely high; although these attacks cannot deal fatal damage, the combined effort of the two angels and that dragon leaves him unable to press the offense, and the demon's nature has already made him impatient.

Naimi Xisi was also helpless at this point; although he possessed a 【Dimensional Anchor】 that could restrain the demon's teleportation, he dared not use it. Even without teleporting, the demon could instantly close the distance, and without a teleport‑based escape, he would be vulnerable to a lethal strike.

However, his mission was never to defeat the wolf‑snake demon.

He released another Eight-ring Conjuration spell—【Cloud‑Burning Technique】, enveloping the surroundings in scorching fire‑mist; Naimi Xisi mentally checked the time, and the ten‑minute mark was nearly reached.

Within the fire‑mist, the demon's skin was continuously seared, even bones protruded from the flesh, yet the demon's formidable regeneration kept healing the wounds. He, bearing these terrible injuries, raged at the angels; the angels, already unable to resist flame, were grievously wounded by 【Cloud‑Burning Technique】 and on the brink of death, and the demon's assault tore the two angels apart into pieces.

After brutally crushing the angels' heads, the demon glared viciously at the dragon beyond the fire‑mist, silently mouthing: "You're next."

Naimi Xisi chuckled lightly and said calmly, "Time's up."

The demon's fur suddenly flared up, a sense of dread surged in his mind, and in the next instant, a drastic change erupted.

The black‑purple evil moon again eclipsed Selennye's light; its shape grew larger, seeming to draw nearer to the ground, and in an instant the evil moon descended into the high sky, revealing its true form.

It was a black‑purple Artifact bead, endless evil magical power spawning from it.

The previously carefree demon's complexion changed drastically; staring at the bead before him, he was too frightened to speak. He tried to flee, but it was already too late.

"Dead Moon Orb! Damn it!"

The moment he shouted, the demon froze as if encased in ice, motionless; his eyeballs rolled, his body like a statue, while the black‑purple Orb in the sky emitted a humming sound, slowly approaching the demon.

The massive Orb, hundreds of meters in diameter, hovered over the demon's head, casting the latter as tiny as an ant; from within the dark Orb came an ethereal male voice.

"Zetaski·Luan·Black Death Dance."

The true name, spanning hundreds of syllables, was slowly spoken by the voice in the Orb; the demon became utterly desperate, finally turning into a scarlet streak of light that was drawn into the Orb. Satisfied after imprisoning the demon, the Orb was about to depart when it noticed the nearby Juan Ce Long.

"Greetings, Juan Ce Long, favored by the gods," a middle‑aged man's voice came from within the Orb.

Naimi Xisi replied cautiously, "Who are you?"

"Me?" the man in the Orb chuckled a few times as if amused.

"I am the Lord of Sai Er, the tyrant of the dead kingdom on earth; people call me—Sazhas Tan."

Naimi Xisi's pupils narrowed; the master behind the Orb turned out to be the legendary mage of the Red Robe Mage Guild? No wonder he could dispatch the demon so easily.

"Thank you for holding this demon for me, giving me a fairly strong toy. I have a feeling, Juan Ce Long, we will meet again," Sazhas Tan's voice came out with a smile.

Then, behind the Orb, a portal appeared; as it slowly faded into the gate, it generated ripples that spread until it vanished.

"What a powerful Artifact."

Naimi Xisi sighed; he had just used the divine art【Legendary Insight】 to investigate the Artifact known as 【Dead Moon Orb】.

The Artifact called 【Dead Moon Orb】 was forged by the Lord of the Eighth Layer of Hell, and was handed over to Sazhas Tan by the previous generation's solitary soul—the Great Archmage Laloch. The legendary lich, using the Orb together with its counterpart Artifact【Sakosil Throne】, gained the power to enslave demon lords; now he has already mastered the power of a wolf‑snake demon, but will he be satisfied? Perhaps in the future, a true demon lord will fall into the lich's hands.

An unknown presence sang the Orb's origin in a ballad‑like voice within Naimi Xisi's mind; he had to admit his eyes were greedy.

An Artifact that can control a demon lord is simply terrifying; one should know that every demon lord's lowest tier starts at Legendary, and the strongest can even rival demigods! Naimi Xisi shook his head, putting the thought aside; a treasure in the hands of a legendary lich is not something to covet lightly.

He looked down at the ground; Loja was now standing dazed, kneeling beside Kolon's corpse. During the earlier battle with the demon, Naimi Xisi had deliberately stayed away from that area, allowing Kolon's body to remain intact.

He flew to Loja's side, assuming a human form, extended his hand toward the severed neck of Kolon, and sighed.

"His body was contaminated by the wolf‑snake demon's power, dead through and through."

Naimi Xisi watched Loja's bowed silhouette, unsure what to say, trying to recall from his past human memories what one should do in such a moment.

Loja's silhouette trembled once, his head lowering further.

Helpless, Naimi Xisi could only advise, "If possible, preserve his body. In the future, if you manage to find a Resurrection Stone Tablet, or locate a nine‑ring priest willing to act, perhaps you can still save him."

The Five-ring divine art【Resurrection of the Dead】 that Naimi Xisi mastered has many restrictions; even if the time limit hasn't passed, the demon's power can still thwart the divine art's revival. On the Feren Continent, many similar powers exist, the most common being the Red Robe Mage's Dagger created by the Red Robe Mage; those killed by this dagger cannot be saved by【Resurrection of the Dead】.

But that doesn't mean there's no hope.

At the pinnacle of the mortal world, occasionally a level‑17 priest wields the power called【Complete Resurrection】; this miraculous nine‑ring spell mirrors the legendary【Resurrection Stone Tablet】 in effect, capable of reviving the dead whose death occurred within 500 years, restoring them fully healthy, and no power can prevent it.

For such beings, life and death are not the farthest divide between people; to them, it is merely an act of daily kindness.

Of course, even if a priest masters the divine art【Complete Resurrection】, it will never be offered casually; the gods strictly forbid it. Unless one makes a great contribution to the church, the priest will never open the convenient door for you.

Loja knows this well; whether it's Complete Resurrection or the legendary Resurrection Stone Tablet, both are beyond his reach, and for the vast majority of ordinary people, life and death remain the most distant divide.

Even so, Naimi Xisi's words were like a beam of hope in darkness for him; knowing it was unlikely, he still rose, silently cradling Kolon's skull in his arms.

Seeing the other finally react, Juan Ce Long exhaled, finding human emotions difficult to handle.

The two figures flashed and vanished on the spot, leaving only a ruin; the city of Gobenlan, with not a single living soul, burned fiercely behind them.

Flames filled the sky, charred corpses covered the fields, as if the abyss had descended.

(End of chapter)