The closer he got to the battlefield, the stronger the mingled smell of roast meat and rotting corpses became. Several burning bushes provided enough light, and Unas quietly hid behind a large tree, cautiously leaning out to look.
More than a dozen undead creatures surrounded Gordon. Several of the monsters looked just like the Lickers from Resident Evil. They had no skin, and all their muscles and blood vessels were exposed to the air, pulsing constantly. Filthy saliva splattered from between two rows of sharp teeth. Unas did not dare look any closer for fear of throwing up.
Gordon, meanwhile, turned out to be a Warrior skilled in both magic and martial arts. Golden-red flames coated his sword, and he swung the pillar of fire in his hand at any enemy that dared approach.
Unfortunately, he always fell just short. The Lickers were extremely agile, even able to change direction in midair, and they always dodged the pillar of fire by a hair.
Gordon suddenly let out a loud shout, sending a blast of golden-red fire from his sword. Unfortunately, the flames missed again, grazing a Licker's thigh before exploding against a zombie on the outskirts. With a boom, the blast sent two unlucky skeleton soldiers flying.
Three small points of light drifted over and merged into Unas's body. He could gain experience without doing anything; it seemed he was in a party with Gordon.
Getting free experience felt great, but if they could not kill the Lickers leading the attack, they would all be finished once Gordon ran out of stamina.
Unas looked around anxiously but saw no sign of the black-robed figure riding the skeletal warhorse.
Gordon had said earlier that they stood a chance only if they killed the one controlling the undead.
Unas opened his skill menu and activated Sense Undead, which displayed the positions of all nearby undead on the minimap, to try his luck. The little spell did not cost much energy, and he could still manage it.
A small three-dimensional miniature map appeared in his mind. The densely packed red dots ahead were the undead besieging Gordon, and the green dot in the center represented him. But there was also a red dot directly above the green one!
Unas shuddered and jerked his head up. The dense canopy blocked his view. Could the Undead Mage be hiding in this tree?
He held his breath, not daring to make a sound. Sense Undead could only show an area within a hundred meters. Should he look around elsewhere first?
But a strong premonition told him that the one in the tree was the Undead Mage.
He had to get Gordon's attention!
"The Undead Mage's here!!"
Unas shouted with all his might while thrusting his sword forcefully into the canopy.
The blade cut through several side branches. At the same time, a startled cry came from the treetop, leaves scattered, and a red figure fell out.
Had he gotten it wrong?
"Hmph!" A cold snort came from behind him. Unas hurriedly turned around to see a black-robed figure holding a deadwood staff slowly floating down to the ground.
There had actually been two people hiding in this tree? How romantic.
The effect of Levitate gave the necromancer quite a spectacular entrance, but Unas was not intimidated. A mage at close range was nothing to fear. He started forward, ready to rush over and hack the show-off to death.
A sudden noise came from behind him, followed by a rush of air. Unas ducked, but it was too late. A terrible metallic clang erupted from his left shoulder. A sharp pain shot through him, and the blow sent him staggering off balance.
The enemy behind him did not let the chance slip. A second, heavy blow struck the center of Unas's back. His entire body shuddered, his thick plate armor crumpled, and pain seared through his back. Blood surged into his throat, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
He lowered his head and spat out a mouthful of blood, then rolled over. The red figure that had fallen from the tree was slowly advancing on him with a long-handled war hammer raised. The North Maple Legion soldier, who had been turned into a zombie, had inflicted a great deal of damage on him.
Using that time, the black-robed mage swiftly completed an incantation, and a green beam shot from the deadwood staff in his hand toward Unas, who lay on the ground.
Unas had nowhere to dodge and could only take the hit. The green light struck his chest, and the world spun around him. His body went completely limp, and the spell robbed him of almost even the strength to breathe. Now he had lost all ability to resist.
If I die, can I run back to my corpse and resurrect? he wondered in despair.
"Hee hee." The black-robed mage gave a sinister chuckle. His next words made Unas feel he would be better off dead. "What an impressive young man. You actually saw through my invisibility spell. I'm going to have some fun with you..."
Before he could finish the word "fun," a wave of heat swept over them, and golden-red flames pierced the darkness.
Gordon got here so fast!
Just as the flames were about to hit the black-robed mage, he hurriedly chanted a spell. A pale blue shield enveloped his entire body, and the flames exploded a foot behind his back. The shockwave from the explosion knocked him flat on the ground.
The blue mana shield negated most of the damage, but the Undead Mage's constitution was too frail, and the explosion still made blood seep from the corner of his mouth. He hurriedly ordered the red-clad zombie beside him to meet Gordon's charge.
Gordon did not look good either. His helmet had gone missing, his face was covered in blood, and his pale hair had been dyed almost completely red. He had paid a steep price to break out of the encirclement. Though he had killed a Ghoul, his own head had nearly been smashed in.
The flames coating his sword had grown very weak. That last flame slash had nearly exhausted the last of his elemental energy.
Weakness washed over him like a tide, old and new wounds ached at the back of his head and across his chest, Ghouls pursued him from behind, and a former comrade stood in his way. Now, he could spare a thought for none of it. He could only press forward!
The Undead Mage had to die!
"Baa!" White smoke billowed as the black-robed mage summoned his skeletal warhorse, purple flames burning beneath its hooves.
Damn, this guy's going to run!
Wang Dachui had Gordon blocked for the moment. If this guy got away, they would be completely finished.
Lying limp on the ground, Unas ignored the splitting pain in his head and summoned the last of his energy, using the skill he had already selected on the skeletal warhorse—Turn Evil, which forced an undead or demon target to flee.
A purple light enveloped the undead warhorse's head. With a "baa," the skeletal warhorse took off and ran eighty feet away.
"You!" The black-robed figure, who had just raised his leg to mount, was dumbstruck. He waved his staff in a panic, trying to summon the warhorse back.
He had no chance. The world suddenly spun around him, and his black-hooded head flew into the air, severed from his body.
Gordon had dealt with the red-clad hammer wielder in time and beheaded the cunning, cruel old pervert without mercy.
Golden points of light merged into Unas's body, and pleasant music rang in his ears. Golden light flared around him in an instant, and warmth coursed through his body, sweeping away all his pain and fatigue in a flash.
I finally leveled up!
Unas was instantly restored to full health. He stood up full of energy and checked his attributes: strength +2, agility +1, constitution +2, energy +3, Paladin level 21, experience 5%. He had also gained a skill point, and without hesitation he learned one of Warcraft's strongest life-saving skills—Divine Shield, which made a Paladin immune to all damage and spell attacks for twelve seconds, with a cooldown of one hour, commonly known as "invincibility."
Gordon was startled by the golden light pouring out of Unas, but he did not ask about it. In a hoarse voice, he said, "The fight isn't over. Heal me, quickly!"
Unas cast Holy Light on him three times in a row, but it had little effect. Blood continued to stream from Gordon's head. Level-one Holy Light could only ease his pain; it could not heal wounds of this severity.
A foul stench swept over them as the Ghouls in relentless pursuit finally reached the battlefield.
Though their master was dead, the Undead Mage's last command was still in effect, and attacking the living was instinctive for the undead.
Low-level undead like skeletons and zombies might scatter if frightened by the Holy Light, but the Ghouls' craving for raw flesh would not fade so easily.
Unas quickly renewed Blessing of Kings on himself and Gordon. The three Lickers, or rather Ghouls, began circling them. They all bore burn marks to varying degrees, and the humans before them were also foes they feared.
Unas activated Seal of Righteousness and Devotion Aura in succession. A faint white light enveloped him again, and a silver shield-shaped aura appeared beneath both his and Gordon's feet.
At that moment, the faint flame on Gordon's sword finally went out completely, signifying that he had exhausted his fire ability. The Ghouls stirred, but still did not dare pounce. It seemed that without the Undead Mage's control, they were more inclined to protect themselves.
Dragging things out was far too disadvantageous. Gravely wounded and drained of his fire energy, Gordon was no longer capable of launching an attack.
Unas could not hold back any longer. If they did not make a move soon, Gordon would bleed dry.
"Judgment!" Unas suddenly activated the skill, which released the energy of a Seal spell to deal a certain amount of damage to the target. A beam of golden light shot from his sword and struck a Ghoul. It let out a scream, the spot where it had been hit turned black, and the energy of the Holy Light scorched its exposed flesh.
That lit the fuse. All three Ghouls pounced at once.
Gordon raised his sword to meet them, while Unas continued using skills—Consecration, which infused the ground beneath a Paladin's feet with holy energy, dealing holy damage to all enemies who entered the area.
Golden light spread beneath their feet, quickly covering the ground within a twenty-meter radius. The three Ghouls screamed in unison, and all of them faltered.
"A chance!" Gordon charged without hesitation toward the Ghoul in front, while Unas paused to catch his breath. Although the benefits of leveling up had fully restored him, using several skills in succession had temporarily left him unable to muster his strength.
With a squelch, Gordon drove his sword through the Ghoul's abdomen. The other two Ghouls were enraged and pounced on him together.
The impaled Ghoul clung tightly to Gordon's sword. Gordon gritted his teeth and shouted, pulling with all his might to recover his weapon. But with a snap, the heavy Legion-standard greatsword broke in the middle. The other two Ghouls were already upon him, leaving Gordon in a desperate predicament.
"Turn Evil!" Unas used the skill again, and it worked once more. Purple light descended, and one Ghoul fled like a headless fly.
But the other Ghoul's huge claw had already pierced Gordon's shoulder, and its fearsome jaws snapped toward his throat. Gordon resolutely dropped the broken sword and threw a desperate punch with his red-gloved left fist, stuffing it into the Ghoul's gaping, fang-filled maw.
There was a boom, and sparks and flesh flew everywhere. Gordon's punch was like a bomb, blasting the Ghoul's head to pieces. Its charred, headless corpse fell to the ground and twitched slightly.
The explosion sent Gordon flying too, and he fell to the ground. The Ghoul he had stabbed was not dead. Clutching the broken sword through its chest, it struggled to get up. Unas hurried over and chopped off its head with one stroke.
The enemies before them had been cleared away, but Gordon looked to be in terrible shape. He could only be described as battered from head to toe. The armor on his left hand had shattered and fallen away, his arm was twisted and seemed broken, and blood continued to seep from his right shoulder. He struggled, but did not even have the strength to stand.
"The danger... hasn't... passed yet," Gordon warned faintly.