"Resentment brimming, carrying the aura of the dead..."
A long string of obscure death-examination terms spilled from Haodos's mouth.
Then he said:
"Alright, we can now determine the deceased's general condition."
Haodos dispersed the ball of light in his hand, then walked up to Wisdom Shield, crossed his hands over his chest in a religious gesture, and said:
"This deceased died from undead magic. The cow dung on his body and the resentment lingering after death can both serve as evidence.
"There are also traces of magical potion residue on him. It can now be confirmed that he was contaminated by an undead potion.
"Furthermore, judging by the extent of the livor mortis on his body and the cloudiness of his eyeballs, it can be confirmed that he had already been dead for three to five days."
"This murderer is declaring war on us, my lord Count."
After finishing his examination results, Haodos added that remark.
Wisdom Shield and the others remained silent. Clearly, this alchemist was provoking Wisdom Shield, openly telling them that he had come to Wisdom Shield's territory—and challenging them to do something about it.
Without question, everyone present was burning with rage. Not only had he failed to put Wisdom Shield, the Count, in his eyes, he had also failed to put the Church in his eyes.
Otherwise, he would not have used such conspicuous undead potions against Church clergy.
Yet Wisdom Shield, who had already become a political creature, thought first through his anger: why had this alchemist come to his tiny patch of land at such a time?
The territory under his control could be called the backwater of the kingdom's backwaters. Neither its magical resources nor its population resources could compare to those elsewhere in the kingdom.
Of course, Wisdom Shield's thinking was not wrong. What these alchemists cared about was their twisted magical research.
Moreover, every known alchemist who caused trouble chose densely populated regions rich in magical resources, where their magic held greater research value.
The research materials they needed could also be found quickly.
As for being hunted down by powerful experts—
To these madmen, nothing was more important than experimental data. After years of outwitting and battling the humans of the continent, they had also learned a whole set of concealment skills.
Unless one searched with a domain, ordinary methods truly could not discover them.
Forming a domain required at least Platinum Rank, and a domain's range was limited. So long as the area they ravaged was large enough, finding them would still take a long time.
And in that time, they would have long since obtained the data they wanted in more prosperous regions.
Thus, Wisdom Shield suspected that old Jamir might be secretly pulling strings. Was this also a warning over his recent approach to Professor Pempes?
Yet when he looked at Father Haodos beside him, whose furious expression did not seem feigned, Wisdom Shield sank into deep thought once more.
Meanwhile, in the military camp outside Nanmu Forest, the place was already a complete wreck.
Collapsed barracks and tents lay scattered everywhere, while blood had splashed across the ground, staining the entire earth red.
Como and the corpses of his soldiers were being dragged one by one to the drill ground by the Undead Skeletons. On the platform there, the alchemist held his crystal ball and chanted as he cast his spell.
Then, the corpses whose blood had yet to dry rapidly decayed. Since these warriors had possessed Battle Aura in life, the skeletons that emerged from their decayed shells were all Undead Skeletons.
Como's body, that of a warrior at the peak of Silver Rank, excited him somewhat. He ordered the Undead Knight to cut off Como's head, then took bottle after bottle of freshly prepared magical potion from his carriage and approached the headless corpse.
He poured down the potion in his hand while chanting ancient incantations that seized the soul. Then the originally headless corpse began to move.
The muscles of Como's headless body tightened, becoming powerful. His flesh-colored skin rapidly turned bluish-black, carrying a faint metallic sheen.
And just like that, the alchemist swiftly refined a Headless Knight.
Looking at the Undead Knight and Headless Knight before him, the alchemist grew even more confident in his next plan.
He returned to his carriage, his eyes full of obsession as he stared at the Magic Crystal ball in his hand. In his hoarse voice, he kept muttering:
"The Sword of Kings will be mine. I must obtain you."
Back in the city, once it had been truly confirmed that the other party was an alchemist, Wisdom Shield ordered the entire city placed under martial law. At the same time, he sent people to the camp outside the forest, ordering Como to bring his troops back into the city.
They now needed to gather every force they could quickly assemble and return to defend Hui Dun City.
Since this alchemist clearly knew undead magic, combined with the previously looted graves, it could be concluded that he had already gathered a batch of undead soldiers around him.
Moreover, the corpse delivered by the alchemist was enough to show that the fellow intended to strike directly at Hui Dun City.
Haodos also instructed the monk beside him to report the situation here to Jamir immediately. It was precisely this action that temporarily dispelled Wisdom Shield's suspicions of Jamir.
Because if Jamir truly had a hand in this, then to create such a huge disturbance, he would certainly need a great many people and resources.
Father Haodos at his side would definitely know something.
Yet from just now until the present, Wisdom Shield had observed Haodos's expression. There had only been anger, tension, and resolve on his face.
And at this point, Wisdom Shield did not dare gamble. He could only believe that Jamir and the others were not behind this.
Because if they wanted to face this crisis, they had no choice but to make use of the Church's power.
Wisdom Shield had already done everything he could. He needed to return to the academy and discuss with Adolf and the others how to find this alchemist and kill him in one stroke.
That was right. To truly kill this alchemist, powerful experts like Adolf had to step in. The control the alchemist had displayed over Peiqi's time of death showed that his strength was anything but ordinary.
Furthermore, these people were like rats, exceptionally skilled at hiding their tracks. Only a powerhouse with a domain like Adolf could quickly capture him.
This was also one of the reasons Wisdom Shield had no choice but to join forces with Jamir.
Meanwhile, inside the church, Jamir's brows furrowed deeply after hearing the monk's report.
He was extremely familiar with alchemists, these mages who represented darkness. From the monk's report and the alchemist's control over power, he could infer that the alchemist's strength was definitely no weaker than his own.
But why would an alchemist of such formidable strength come here? Shouldn't he be going to the Royal Capital to make a huge splash?
Jamir immediately ordered the knights in the church to mobilize and assist in defending the city walls. He also ordered the priests and other clergy within the church to make preparations.
If the alchemist truly sent his undead army to attack the city, then the Light Magic learned by these clergy would be needed to help atop the walls.
That was right. Jamir had already guessed that the alchemist who had come this time was a madman. The only thing he could imagine was that this madman intended to begin with Hui Dun City, slaughter living beings bit by bit to create an undead army, and then exterminate the entire world.
From the standpoint of those alchemist madmen, this was the only reason Jamir could think of for why he had come to Wisdom Shield, a place so remote it could not be more remote.
Although Jamir had acted sinisterly and ruthlessly in his dealings with Wisdom Shield, he still possessed the responsibility of a clergyman.
After issuing his orders, Jamir made preparations for the worst. He went to the bishop's prayer room in the church's rear courtyard.
Then he knelt before the small statue of the God of Light and began to pray, recounting what had happened here and his own guesses.
This small statue was not merely a statue. It also contained a sound-transmission magic array, a communication device that could be used to contact the archbishop above him.
After reporting what had happened here, Jamir left.
Meanwhile, in the academy principal's office, after hearing Wisdom Shield's account, Adolf had been pacing back and forth across the room, while Pembez sat there sighing without end.
These two had lived long enough, traveled far enough, and seen more than Wisdom Shield and the other man. Naturally, they had reached the same conclusion as Jamir.
"Adolf, could you stop pacing? If you have a solution, just say it."
Pembez said, rubbing his head.
However, Adolf merely said lightly:
"This fellow wants to slaughter the city."
His words shocked Wisdom Shield and Pembez. Pembez also let out a long sigh, before his eyes turned fierce again as he said:
"If he truly dares slaughter the city, then the two of us will go out and find him, grinding his bones to ash."
"Don't say such useless things. If an undead army truly comes, then to actually defend the city, we will need the support of your and my large-scale magic.
"And alchemists are especially skilled at hiding. Don't let us fail to find him, only for the city to be breached by his undead army first."
Pembez was immediately deflated by those words. But then he seemed to think of something, and his large eyes turned toward Chen Cheng beside him.
In his view, the only thing that could break the deadlock was Chen Cheng's Variable Magic. Perhaps by gathering the resources currently in the city and working day and night, they could create a simple defensive device containing multiple kinds of magic.
Before you continue