Chapter 310

"It's the legendary artifact capable of communicating with the realm of the undead, possessing supreme power—able to bypass matter and strike directly at the soul…" Mei Sha pulled out a necklace from her chest and excitedly introduced it, but before she could finish, Negril interrupted.

"Isn't this the necklace of the lead banshee singer of the Howling Opera Troupe—the Howling Voice? How did it end up with you? Now I know why you managed to strengthen your body into iron skin in just two years—it's the Howling Voice! This thing enhances the soul; if it still contains soul energy, it can replenish yours. Where did you find it?"

Negril recognized the item—the Howling Opera Troupe, a troupe composed entirely of banshees.

Banshees are an extremely rare undead creature, evolved from vengeful spirits, possessing a degree of intelligence and excelling at soul shocks.

Due to their scarcity, they never became an independent undead species, yet in reality, their formation mechanism differs entirely from that of undead skeletons; theoretically, they should be classified as a separate branch of undead.

These rare banshees were gathered together to form an opera troupe—not one that sings for entertainment, but when a dozen banshees unite and chant the Dirge of the Undead, every soul is stirred to life.

For undead armies, every skeleton and zombie becomes like warriors fueled by stimulants, overwhelming all enemies.

When they sing the Lullaby of Night, all souls are soothed—in other words, soul energy recovers faster, and soul wounds are healed.

A melancholic soul like Luo Ge, if he heard banshees singing daily, would never fall into depression.

This is a unit combining inspiration and healing—belonging to… witches?

Thinking of this, Negril frowned involuntarily; most of its memories of witches had been lost, and it wasn't certain anymore.

Mei Sha stood frozen, utterly bewildered; she felt like she'd brought an antique for appraisal, only for a passing bull-headed old woman to glance and say: "Huh? Isn't this the dragon-patterned steel-core mithril filigree magic-etched clay-fired gem-enhanced brightening and brightening laundry board that just came out last week?"

"I—I bought it. At the flea market," Mei Sha stammered.

The situation was this: Mei Sha, blessed by the Goddess of Luck, had bought a necklace at a flea market—and it turned out to be a magical artifact once worn by the lead banshee of the Howling Opera Troupe of the Undead Empire.

According to knightly novel tropes, she should have used the soul artifact to defeat her mortal enemy, marry a prince, and ascend to the pinnacle of life.

Unfortunately, the Howling Voice necklace was useless while she was alive; only after her death did it begin strengthening her soul, transforming her into a lich, reinforcing her body, and within two short years turning her into an iron-skin lich.

Yet Mei Sha did not consider this a blessing; without the Purifying Beauty Spell, even if she could regain freedom and leave this place, she would still see it as a curse.

She would have to live forever with a strong, hard, ugly, shriveled corpse.

But with Lisa's arrival, she was willing to believe it was a blessing—think of it: she died at the height of her youth, and under the Purifying Beauty Spell, she would forever remain this way. Wasn't this the legendary eternal youth?

"This is the blessing of the Goddess of Beauty," Lisa said with a smile.

"Huh? Aren't you the Holy Maiden of the Church of Light?" Mei Sha exclaimed.

"I was. Now I am a saint of the God of Undeath, a priestess of the Goddess of Beauty, an incarnation of the Goddess of Harvest," Lisa replied.

Mei Sha's mouth widened further as she murmured: "Your affiliations are so complicated."

"Heh, let me introduce you—this is Ange, the God of Undeath," Lisa said.

Mei Sha timidly glanced at Ange and dared not greet him; she had already experienced his divine might before—it had left her catatonic. Even with all her strength, she hadn't been able to budge even one of his hands.

"This is the God of Knowledge, Negril," Lisa introduced again.

This one, she dared to greet—Mei Sha quickly waved: "Hello."

Good heavens—there were two gods in this group. She was truly traveling with gods. No wonder she'd had no chance to fight back. Mei Sha gazed enviously at her great-great-great-great…aunt.

"You thought we were sent by Robert. Who is this Robert?" Lisa asked.

At the mention of the name, Mei Sha, who had been slightly uneasy, erupted in rage: "A treacherous man! I'll kill him!!"

The title of the current Rosha Duke was inherited by Mei Sha. By tradition, the Dagong Prefecture would select a young, capable commoner with no family background to become Mei Sha's husband.

Robert was the fiancé Mei Sha personally chose from among those screened by her parents—a sixth-rank swordsman.

Given his age and commoner origins, becoming a sixth-rank swordsman was already a sign of great talent. From age sixteen, Robert was brought to the Dagong Prefecture for corresponding education, preparing him to become a suitable husband for the young duchess.

Robert was also diligent and hardworking; with ample nutrition and intense training, his strength surged rapidly, soon reaching ninth-rank swordsman level.

He excelled in academic subjects too, learning noble etiquette and knowledge, mastering writing and calculation, and acquiring basic organizational skills.

Yet Robert had some habits Mei Sha deeply disliked—greed, stinginess, snitching—but her parents believed these were merely the natural traits of someone raised in a commoner family, and would fade once he gained wealth and power.

Robert's bad habits did gradually disappear—but looking back, it wasn't that he changed; he merely learned to hide them. This concealment earned him the trust of Mei Sha's family, and everyone waited for Mei Sha's twenty-first birthday to hold a grand wedding for them.

Then misfortune struck. Just before Mei Sha's birthday, her parents—the sixty-fourth generation Rosha Duke—suddenly fell ill and died.

Mei Sha suspected poisoning, but the physician's examination declared it a myocardial infarction. Grief-stricken, she buried her parents with restraint and, following their final wishes, married Robert—but she could never bring herself to share a bed with him.

Two years passed. When Mei Sha brought Robert to the ancestral tomb to pay respects to her parents, he ambushed her from behind and killed her on the spot.

When she awoke, she didn't know how much time had passed. She was placed inside a stone coffin, its heavy lid sealed shut.

Mei Sha struggled to push open the lid, only to find the stone door locked—she remained trapped. In a chamber filled with stone coffins, she endured days like years, watching her flesh wither and dry until Ange's party arrived.

"Too vile! Come on, follow me—we'll go kill him," Lisa fumed, her hair standing on end.

Mei Sha quickly grabbed her great-aunt's arm: "No! Robert must control the kingdom's military forces. The two of us alone can't get near him."

Though there were more than just the two of them present, upon hearing titles like "God of Undeath" and "God of Knowledge," Mei Sha wisely didn't count them among the "people."

Lisa waved her hand: "Don't worry, my lord—let everyone come out. Tonight, we'll wipe out Robert."

Then Mei Sha stared in stunned silence as Ange pulled a whole "army" out of thin air.

PS: Every day I fight a little guy named Laziness. Sometimes I win. Today, I lost…