Unas could clearly feel the Divine Protection Shield dimming rapidly, possibly not even lasting the skill's original 12 seconds. Once the shield broke, he didn't know how many seconds he could hold out, but finding the Lich in a haystack.
"Divine Storm!"
The energy tornado only intensifies the churning and rolling of the fog; it is not enough to completely disperse it.
Unas quickly landed back on the ground, grabbed Drake, and ran frantically towards the exit, shouting, "Gunsel, there's no need for a fight to the death! Stop the spell, and I can return the Phylactery to you!"
"You think you can escape? Die here, all of you!" the Lich screamed madly. The destruction of the Phylactery severely damaged his soul, causing him to lose his mind.
An ice wall appeared out of thin air in front of the Paladin and Drake, while the deathly mist above them quickly rolled in.
Unas pierced the ice wall with his sword, but after taking only two steps, a second ice wall appeared in front of him, with purple mist churning down and almost touching him.
Suddenly, two blurry figures appeared on the other side of the ice wall. Could it be that the Lich had summoned his minions to intercept him?
There was no time to worry about that now; Unas could only press forward relentlessly, using his Firekiss to shatter all obstacles.
With a loud crack, ice shards flew everywhere, the ice wall collapsed, and two familiar figures appeared before them— Nightmoon and Natasha, both panting and soaking wet, having likely just emerged from the lake and found their way here.
"Run!" Unas shouted immediately. If these two had arrived earlier, they might have been able to contribute their strength, but now, encountering Death and Decay, they were doomed.
Natasha stopped abruptly, but Nightmoon ignored her, instantly passing the Paladin, bending her knees and leaping into the purple mist.
Unas was terrified and turned around, roaring, "Come back! Are you looking for death?!"
Nightmoon's figure completely disappeared into the purple mist, leaving no trace. The next moment, however, came Gunsel's scream from within the mist—the female Elf had instantly found the Lich!
Unas grabbed Drake and rushed to Natasha's side, pulling her forward while urgently asking, "What happened?"
"Shadow Touch, the Lich has it, I'll give you my vision!" Natasha was so anxious she could barely speak, and quickly extended two fingers to lightly tap the Warden's forehead.
A faint black thread immediately appeared in Unas's vision, extending from Natasha's hand into the purple mist. Needless to say, the end of this shadowy thread was Gunsel, who had been struck by the Shadow Touch. Nightmoon must have been able to find the Lich so quickly because Natasha shared her vision with him.
"Keep running forward, and whatever you do, don't touch the purple mist, that's Death and Decay!" Unas released their hands. "I'm going to rescue Nightmoon!"
Natasha nodded; she knew the power of the Purple Mist and didn't try to be brave. Drake also knew his own limitations—he couldn't help.
Unas activated his Sacred Shield again, turned and Sprint a few steps before leaping into the purple mist. He pointed with his sword, flying forward along the shadow threads, and sure enough, he immediately struck a blue light shield. This must be the Lich's protective magic shield. He had finally caught that bastard!
He thrust again with increased force, but the tip of the sword slipped and deflected to one side. He knew this was a Deflection Shield, and the best way to deal with it was to use a blunt weapon.
A light, sharp sword is easily deflected by a shield, but a heavy Silver Hammer is not so easy to deflect. Unas switched to twin hammers and frantically hammered at his target.
At this moment, the Sacred Shield had broken, and the purple mist stained his exposed skin. He couldn't breathe, and his eyes felt numb, painful, and itchy. He was almost pushed to his limit, which also made him unleash unprecedented power. The Lich's triple shield was shattered like paper by a heavy hammer.
Gunsel cannot cast other spells while channeling Death and Decay. He either risks a backlash to interrupt Death and Decay to save his life, or he accepts the fate of being pulverized. He can only choose the former.
Unas felt his hammer strike miss its mark. The Lich used Blink to teleport away, but Shadow Touch still clung to him like a leech, guiding the Paladin.
There was a moment of stun after the Blink. Just as the Lich regained his footing, Unas's twin hammers struck overhead, and Nightmoon also attacked from the ground—the Elf's first attack startled the Lich, but it was blocked by the shield and sent back to the ground. At this moment, the second wave of attacks was launched.
Gunsel had finally reached his end. The interruption of Death and Decay caused his mana to surge violently, and now he couldn't even cast a single spell. He never imagined that he would die from a mere Shadow Touch.
With a deafening crack, the sound of bones shattering filled the air. Unas's twin hammers fell simultaneously, instantly crushing Gunsel's skull into fragments, while Nightmoon's twin daggers plunged almost at the same time into the Lich's heart and throat.
The Lich's consciousness vanished, and it fell to the ground like a rag doll. However, no tiny specks of light floated out and merged into Unas's body. The Lich still had two Phylactery and was not completely dead.
The Paladin and the Elf landed back on the ground. Unas looked at Nightmoon in shock because the Elf's entire face was covered in wrinkles, making her look like an old woman in her seventies or eighties. Not only that, her exposed arms and legs were also completely withered, making her look like an old woman on her deathbed.
"Big..." She fainted before she could finish her sentence.
Unas quickly pulled her close, tucking her under his arms, and swiftly retrieved Gunsel's body. He then ran towards the exit, where the purple mist still lingered, and they could not stay any longer.
Death and Decay are truly terrifying. For a woman like Nightmoon, in the prime of her youth, to suddenly become like this, I wonder if she will be able to accept it when she wakes up.
Unas felt terrible. He suddenly looked down at his fingers and saw that they were perfectly fine, without any signs of aging. He had been in the fog for a short while, so why were they alright?
There are only two possibilities: either the Holy-favored is incredibly powerful, or the green light spots within the body helped resist the corrosive effects of Death and Decay on life. In that case, if I can control those green light spots, I might be able to help Nightmoon return to her original form!
With hope, Unas's heartache lessened considerably. He ran out of the research institute, where Natasha and Drake were waiting. They almost jumped for joy when they saw the Paladin run out and quickly ran up to greet him.
Natasha was torn between joy and sorrow at the sight of Gunsel's corpse and the gruesome state of Nightmoon. Drake removed a bone from the Lich's body. "This is his storage Arcane Artifacts."
Can you open it?
"Private storage Arcane Artifacts can generally only be opened by Arcane Artifacts owner; they can only be deciphered if the owner dies."
To completely kill the Lich, the other two Phylactery must be found. Unas asked, "Where is Gunsel's Phylactery most likely hidden? Do you have a guess?"
"Have no idea."
The places where Liches hide their Phylactery are usually the most secretive, and must not be known to outsiders. Unas put away the bones. "There's still a battle waiting for us up there. You protect Nightmoon, we're going up!"