Next Step

Adolf brought the Headless Knight to the center plaza of the city. The zombies he encountered along the way were all torn to shreds.

The Headless Knight was covered in wounds, its dark bones visible through its grayish-blue flesh.

However, its injuries were rapidly healing, new flesh quickly growing.

Just as Adolf was preparing to deal with the Headless Knight seriously, he heard the roars of the undead outside the city and the sounds of battle from the city walls.

He knew the undead army outside must have launched a full-scale assault.

He didn't know how far along the academy's array formations were, perhaps they were almost complete.

But that was no longer his concern. He needed to suppress the Headless Knight as quickly as possible and then head to the city walls to reinforce the defenders.

Based on the sounds, Adolf could imagine the immense pressure the defenders were under.

And since that old man Jamir had been gone for so long without eliminating the undead skeletons outside, Adolf knew the undead outside had also been "spiced up" by the Alchemist.

Adolf didn't suspect Jamir of slacking off because he knew exactly what kind of person that old man was.

All Jamir wanted was to eliminate Hui Dun, a person deemed an abomination by the church, and then use that to climb to a higher position.

Ambitious clergy members would never tarnish themselves. If Hui Dun City were to fall and be ravaged by undead creatures, even if Jamir survived, he would be branded as someone who colluded with the undead.

Furthermore, the Light magic he cultivated was inherently the natural enemy of creatures like the undead who used dark power.

The moment they met, their innate magical energy would repel each other, making them feel uncomfortable all over.

From every angle, Adolf had to eliminate the undead creatures outside. Even if there was some scheme involved, he absolutely couldn't allow the undead to reach a point where they could launch a full-scale assault on the city.

Adolf pulled his thoughts back. Now, he needed to concentrate his power to quickly suppress the Headless Knight before him.

Looking at the Headless Knight, the area they were in was completely open. He no longer suppressed his magic's power.

Without any incantation, powerful magical attacks were unleashed directly at the Headless Knight.

The Headless Knight was also courageous, directly stirring the blood energy within it, drawing its sword to clash head-on with Adolf's magic.

At the Platinum Rank, mages of this level, with the enhancement of their domain, were no longer as fragile as ordinary mages.

Simple offensive spells could be cast without incantation using their domain, without fear of their bodies collapsing from the sudden release of magical energy.

Under this barrage, the Headless Knight's vital energy was quickly scattered.

Then, a faint blue-green light emanated from Adolf's staff. A greatsword condensed from wind magic appeared before him. Before the Headless Knight could react, he swung the sword towards it.

The Headless Knight had no time to dodge. Its internal blood energy had just been scattered by Adolf, and it couldn't gather it in time. It could only raise its sword to block.

However, the moment its sword touched the magical greatsword, it was directly sliced into several pieces by the solidified gale force.

Before it could make any further moves, its entire body was cleanly cut into several pieces.

And just like before, the Headless Knight was very difficult to kill.

Although it was cut into several pieces, the severed parts were still wriggling and showing signs of rejoining.

Adolf, however, had ways to deal with such regeneration.

Adolf raised his staff and muttered softly. As he whispered, rings of magic runes circled his staff.

Then, with a loud shout:

"Vescar Caput – Wind Demon Prison."

The ground beneath the severed pieces of the corpse rose with magic runes similar to those on his staff. Then, with a teleportation spell, Adolf sent each piece to the surrounding forests of Hui Dun City to be suppressed.

After dismembering and suppressing the Headless Knight, Adolf used his gale force to blow the scattered flesh and blood left by the Headless Knight into dust. Then, he flew towards the nearest city wall.

Atop the cliff, the Alchemist, who had just put away his magic crystal ball, discovered that his Headless Knight had been dismembered and suppressed.

But none of that mattered anymore. With the undead army outside as a distraction, even if Adolf and the others wanted to find and kill him now, they would be powerless.

Inside the academy, the inscription of the array formations was nearing completion. The increasingly loud sounds of battle from outside the city stirred the hearts of the instructors and senior students who remained there.

Pembez checked the situation and knew it was urgent; they absolutely could not let the undead outside break in.

Moreover, the parts they needed to inscribe were mostly done.

"Melinda, take the instructors and these senior students to support the city walls. Leave the matters here to me."

Pembez instructed Melinda, who had the highest magical attainment among the instructors.

Chen Cheng's Variable Magic was only a few steps away from completion and was at a critical juncture.

Melinda glanced at the young ones like Fini and Chen Cheng, who was squatting nearby studying array formation scrolls, then led the instructors and senior students to support the city walls.

Just as Melinda was about to leave, Hui Dun also stood up and said:

"Professor, I'll go with you."

Hui Dun's heart was more anxious than anyone present. This was his territory, and those fighting on the city walls were his people.

However, as their Count, to not be by his people's side in such a time of crisis, only to be holed up in the academy, was his greatest shame.

Pembez looked at Hui Dun's determined gaze and then thought.

He had originally intended to leave Hui Dun to oversee the grand array. Besides the magic crystals, only his Chaos Magic could provide the necessary magical power for the array.

But Pembez thought again and finally nodded at Hui Dun.

It wasn't just because he believed in himself and Adolf, trusting that once the shield was formed, the two of them could find the Alchemist and deal with him within a few hours.

It was also because, at this moment, he was Hui Dun's teacher, and he needed to consider Hui Dun's situation.

Hui Dun's background already made him unwelcome among the territory's citizens. If it weren't for Tofis, the shrewd and capable administrator, who had salvaged his reputation considerably, he wouldn't have been able to establish himself here at all.

Moreover, Jamir had now revealed his true colors, with that old fellow charging at the forefront this time.

Although Hui Dun's role here was also very important, he would ultimately be overshadowed by Jamir afterward.

Furthermore, if Hui Dun left too early, no one knew if Jamir, that old scoundrel, would play any dirty tricks during the chaos and cause him to die heroically.

Perhaps now, at this critical juncture, if Hui Dun led the academy's instructors into battle, it might earn him a lot of gratitude.

While this might seem somewhat insidious and calculating, if one truly wanted to ascend to that position, simply being upright and honest wouldn't work. Otherwise, the upright and honest Thornflower Empire wouldn't have perished.

Seeing that Pembez agreed, Hui Dun immediately grabbed his staff and followed.

On the cliffside, when the Alchemist saw the academy's instructors emerge, he knew his next step could begin.

What he hadn't anticipated before was that the academy's instructors would actually remain holed up. Otherwise, the undead army outside would have already advanced.

But now, everything was fine, except for Pembez, who remained in the academy.

And as he looked at the red pill in his hand, everything was within his control.

In fact, it was all thanks to Adolf's foresight. When he summoned the academy's instructors, he had already concealed the entire academy.

If the Alchemist truly wanted to spy on the academy, he would have to break through the concealment. This would expose the Alchemist hiding in the shadows, and then there would be no need for a magic defense array.

When leaving later, he had also secretly reminded Pembez to continue the concealment, preventing outsiders from peering inside.

The Alchemist put his black hood back on, and then, with a flash, he disappeared from the cliffside.

He needed to prepare for the final step.

At this time, on the street of the noble residences in Hui Dun City, Coles, for some reason, found himself running here.

Looking at the empty, silent street, Coles, whose mind was filled with resentment, calmed down a little.

It was then that he remembered that Hui Dun City was now in grave danger. With the undead army attacking the city, if the city fell, he would also be utterly annihilated.

There were also quite a few wandering zombies within the city, and he had run here to escape those zombies.

Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out on his back. He then became indignant at his own foolishness, having let his anger cloud his judgment and run out of the academy at this time.

However, when he thought of Chen Cheng, who was doted upon by Pembez and the others, the flames of anger within Coles flared up again.

He couldn't stand seeing Chen Cheng, that lowly slave, being fawned over by everyone.

At this moment, the hulking figure who had been silently following him suddenly tensed up. Before Coles could react, he was already shielded behind the hulking figure.

His vision suddenly darkened, and Coles looked up to see the hulking figure blocking him.

Before he could get angry at the hulking figure, he heard a chilling laugh.

Then, through the gaps in the hulking figure's arms, he saw the Alchemist blocking their path, his appearance ugly and decrepit.

The little brat was so terrified by the sight of such a horrifying person that his courage almost failed him. The hulking figure in front of him seemed to sense his master's fear and let out two angry roars at the Alchemist.

His large hand, held behind his back, pushed Coles back, signaling him to flee quickly.

The Alchemist clearly saw his actions. The Alchemist looked at the hulking figure in front of him and marveled, "I didn't expect that even the small Hui Dun City had hidden talents. Such a small slave actually possesses the Titan Bloodline. It's just that the bloodline is too dilute, completely lacking any research value.

However, it's more than enough as a killing monster. It seems that heaven itself is helping me this time."

The Alchemist ignored the terrified pair in front of him. He extended his withered old hand, and on his outstretched palm lay the red pill he had just refined.

"Hehehe, I know the anger in your heart, little brat. And this pill in my hand is a magic potion that can help you eliminate the source of your anger.

As long as you make the little slave in front of you take it, the source of your anger will disappear before your eyes."

The Alchemist's words were full of temptation, his voice like the demonic sound that incited Adam and Eve to steal the forbidden fruit, lingering in Coles's ears, constantly urging him to take the pill.