The battle on the lake was in full swing. The Seven-Headed Lizard was completely suppressed by the Red Dragon. The monster had not fully recovered from the serious injuries it suffered in the previous battle in the Swamp, and it had also inhaled a lot of Crude Oil after being hit by a Depth Charge, so its actual combat strength was less than 60%.
Two Armor-Piercing Dragonbane Arrows pierced the Swamp Lord's neck, further injuring it and making it seem as if it would collapse at any moment. Yet, it remained alive, demonstrating its incredible resilience.
The Argent Dawn on the shore is facing a severe test. Their individual soldier skills are far inferior to those of the Lich's monster minions and the new mutants. They can only barely hold off the enemy's attack by relying on their military formation.
The Red Dragon's Dragon's Presence played a crucial role in this; otherwise, Marcus's hundred-man squad might have already collapsed.
Gunsel had been hiding and using Levitate to stand on the water and personally oversee the battle, but Natasha's Shadow Touch clearly pinpointed his location, and a sniper barrage from the Watchers and the Ranger Captain scared him into hiding back in the water.
As the Lich was trying to remove the shadow magic clinging to him, a sense of unease suddenly arose in his heart—the dungeon's magical shield had been breached; it was a seal he had personally placed, so he could sense it very clearly.
Could the Paladin have escaped? The guards left behind were the weakest and most incompetent, no match for the Paladin. Considering the seriousness of the fire in the backyard, Gunsel abandoned his men on the shore and turned to dive down.
Stealthily returned to the research institute, only to find the guards all wiped out and the mage assistants all betrayed him, now helping the Paladin transport the test subjects to the cryogenics.
The Lich sneered. He knew these low-level mages well; most of them were cowards who feared death. They might indeed want to escape, but falling into the hands of a Paladin meant their future was uncertain, because these assistants had also done many extremely evil and dirty things, and of course, he had secretly guided them in some of these things.
He used telepathy to threaten the six mages one by one. It seemed that they were only temporarily coerced by the Paladin's force, so they quickly and secretly reaffirmed their loyalty to him, who had long held power over them, and agreed to ambush the Paladin together.
Unas was frantically rescuing people, carrying four individuals through the hall when, coincidentally, the six mages who had been scattered throughout the various rooms carrying victims appeared all around him. Just as he sensed something was wrong, the tall, thin mage screamed a warning, "Paladin, be careful! The Lich is back!"
The other five assistants stared in shock at their companion, their spells frozen in place. They had no idea that the tall, thin mage had taken the initiative to rescue Unas, and they found his sudden betrayal unbelievable.
"Drake! You traitor!" the Lich, hidden in the shadows, roared, "Kill him first!"
The five assistant mages instinctively unleashed their instant-cast spells at Drake. Unas dropped the victims on his shoulders, took a step forward, and flashed in front of the tall, thin mage, raising his large shield in defense.
Frostbolt, Fireball, and Arcane Missiles exploded on the shield, knocking Unas and Drake behind him back several steps.
Seeing the Paladin lose his footing, Gunsel immediately attacked, his white frost rays striking the half of the paladin's shoulder that was exposed from behind his shield.
It was "Deep Freeze" again. Unas froze, instantly encased in a large block of ice. Gunsel Blink forward and threw out the black cloth Arcane Artifacts once more.
If Unas were to be imprisoned by this trick again, he might as well go find a block of tofu and smash his head against it. He immediately activated his Invincible, and with a loud bang, the ice block was shattered by the silver shield. As soon as he was free, he activated his Light Wings and pulled Drake backward.
The black cloth missed its target. Gunsel was startled and quickly cast a triple shield of deflection, ice, and mana, then went into stealth again.
After dodging the black cloth, Unas did not Charge at the Lich. Instead, he retreated rapidly towards the position of an assistant mage. The assistant mage only had time to unleash a Fire Blast before being beheaded by a single sword strike. The Fire Blast was naturally blocked by the silver shield.
He glared menacingly at the remaining four assistant mages. "Anyone who dares to attack me again will suffer the consequences!"
With his extraordinary speed after activating his Light Wings, killing these low-level mages was like slaughtering sheep. For a mage, distance is life, and a mage who gets close is not even as good as a dog.
The four assistant mages looked sadly at their companion, whose head had been separated from his body, and turned to flee one after another. Between the Paladin and the Lich, choosing either side now would only lead to certain death, so they might as well hide first and then beg for mercy from the victor later.
These guys are as brave as mice, but never underestimate a mage. Even if they are weak in magic and cowardly as mice, they can still pose an unexpected threat, which is why Unas prioritizes dealing with them.
Now it's finally time for a one-on-one fight against the Lich, or more accurately, a two-on-one fight, as Unas also has Drake on his side.
The surroundings were quiet, without a sound. Unas could not detect the location of the invisible Gunsel, and having lost the initiative, the Lich was not confident of hitting him in one strike. The situation remained deadlocked for nearly a minute.
This can't go on. Unas was still worried about the battle situation on the shore and the victims in the research institute who hadn't had time to be transferred to the cryogenics.
Drake couldn't break stealth spells. He tried releasing small Fireballs in several directions, but it was all in vain; the chance of a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse was too low.
Unas thought for a moment, then took out the Lich's Phylactery and threw it on the ground. With lightning speed, he raised his sword and slashed down. With a clang, a deep gash appeared on the black box. At the same time, a piercing scream rang out in the upper right corner of the sky.
Drake immediately fired his Fireball toward the direction from which the sound came, but missed; Gunsel had already moved to a different position in an instant.
The Phylactery can indeed harm the Lich; if that's the case, why bother chasing him?
Unas swung his sword again without pausing, almost splitting the black box in two. A piercing scream came from another direction, "Stop! Bastard, ah-- Death and Decay!"
A dense purple mist emanated from Gunsel, the Lich finally unleashing his ultimate attack. In the game, this is a large-area spell that deals damage based on a percentage of health, making it extremely powerful. The only way to counter it is to escape the spell's range.
The research institute has limited space, and the death fog will eventually fill the entire space. If that happens, everyone in the research institute will die, so this spell must be stopped immediately.
Unas quickly picked up the Phylactery from the ground, activated his Light Wings, and charged headlong into the thick fog in the sky.
The purple mist was extremely corrosive. Just a few seconds after flying in, Unas's Lv3 Sacred Shield shattered with a snap. Unas quickly activated another life-saving shield for the Paladin — Divine Protection —to sustain himself and finally managed to reach the center of the mist. However, his sword missed its mark, and he was a step too late. Gunsel had already moved to a different position.