Counter-Kill

"Hell no. I'm not leaving."

Seeing that final line, Gu Xi could not help but roar as well.

What should have been a simple Job Assignment had been turned into this mess, making him suffer so much and forcing him to contract the weakest undead.

And now they wanted to drive him away.

That was impossible.

Unless he took down every last person who had captured him, this matter would not be over.

While shouting, Gu Xi grabbed the dead rat and hurled it at the two people outside the door who had yet to react.

Level 2 Throwing sent the dead rat flying accurately into one of their faces.

After being struck by Gu Xi, the man finally came to his senses. His gaze toward Gu Xi was filled with killing intent, but just as he was about to draw his weapon, he heard Gu Xi mutter softly.

"Explode!"

The dead rat on his face exploded on the spot, with the force of an oversized firecracker—the kind that could blast a wok into the sky.

The destructive power was only average, but it exploded right in front of the man's face. The shockwave drove the dead rat's bones through his eyes and pierced his brain.

Killed a Cultist (Level 1), gained 10 experience points.

Seeing this, the other person at the side hurriedly drew the dagger at his waist.

At that moment, his movements visibly slowed, as though his joints had frozen solid.

Then Gu Xi looked behind him in surprise. Luna, who had been standing in front of him, had somehow appeared behind that man.

Two luminous blue tentacles extended from the mirror Luna held in her arms and touched the man's back. White frost slowly spread across his entire body from where the tentacles made contact.

Then Luna gently opened her mouth beside the man's ear.

The fellow who had still been trying to draw his dagger collapsed immediately.

The moment he fell, Gu Xi saw that the face beneath his hood was covered in blood flowing from all seven orifices.

Luna (Contract Undead) killed a Cultist (Level 1). You gained 4 experience points. Contract Undead gained 7 experience points.

This surprised Gu Xi somewhat. At first, he had not thought much of Luna's combat power.

If he had had any other choice, Gu Xi would not have considered making a contract with such a weak Ghost.

After all, a Necromancer could only contract one additional Contract Undead for every two levels gained, or whenever the Undead Pact skill increased by one level.

In return, a Contract Undead's level could normally exceed the Necromancer's level by five.

Gu Xi's original plan had been to choose a Level 5 Vampire or Lich as his first Contract Undead. That way, when he summoned ordinary undead as cannon fodder, he would also have an assistant to command them.

Even if danger arose, he would have someone to discuss things with or help him.

Luna's attributes were far worse than Gu Xi's. He had thought his first Contract Undead was a lost cause.

But now, that did not seem to be the case. Luna had some combat ability, at least. She would take the initiative, and that was enough.

As Gu Xi thought, he quickly ran to the Prison Gate. Before he could give any orders, Luna found the keys on the two corpses and tossed them into his hand.

Holding the cold keys, the last trace of dissatisfaction Gu Xi had felt when contracting Luna vanished.

Since he had contracted her, he should make good use of her.

A Necromancer's Contract Undead were different from summoned undead.

Contract Undead hardly needed any commands, and their coordination would only grow more seamless.

Later, he could find a way for Luna to level up and make up for the levels she lacked.

With that thought, Gu Xi accepted Luna in his heart and regarded her as his companion.

After opening the Prison Gate with the key, Luna brought over a dagger and a Scimitar.

Clearly, Luna had already looted the bodies while Gu Xi was opening the door.

"Hand out the keys."

Gu Xi took the Scimitar and dagger, hanging them at his waist, then tossed the ring of keys to Luna.

Taking the keys, Luna flew toward the nearby cells and threw the keys in front of the imprisoned people one by one.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Gu Xi reached toward the two corpses. Two pale white balls of light swiftly flew out from them.

You completed the Soul Extraction Ritual and obtained Soul Shard *1.4.

Gu Xi did not immediately combine the Soul Shards into a Complete Soul. He merely put away the Soul Shards, held the Scimitar in hand, and ran deeper into the corridor outside the cells.

By then, Luna had already distributed all the keys. When Gu Xi rose to flee, she flashed over and followed behind him.

Gu Xi did not turn around. He simply felt a chill behind him and knew Luna had caught up.

Realizing this, Gu Xi accelerated again. He did not know why those cultists had captured him, but he knew this place was not safe.

He did not want to die here just after taking his job.

He needed to escape first.

Before he had gone more than a few steps, Gu Xi heard hurried footsteps coming from ahead.

It seemed the explosion in the cells had still drawn the cultists' attention.

The people imprisoned in the cells below were all sacrifices they had captured. If anything happened and one or two sacrifices went missing, they might be sent to the altar themselves.

To stay alive, these cultists were working quite hard.

Seeing the figures rushing toward him, Gu Xi drew his left hand back, and the dagger fell into his grip.

At that moment, the cultists opposite him noticed Gu Xi as well. One of them shouted loudly.

"The sacrifice escaped! The sacrifice escaped..."

Before he could finish, Gu Xi's dagger pierced his forehead.

Killed a Cultist (Level 1), gained 12 experience points.

Seeing Gu Xi take the initiative, the nearby cultists became enraged. They stepped over their companion's corpse and charged at Gu Xi with their weapons raised.

However, Gu Xi and Luna's coordination exceeded the cultists' expectations. The instant Gu Xi threw his dagger, Luna appeared before him. The tentacles extending from her mirror touched the ground, instantly covering it with a layer of frost.

Gu Xi took the opportunity to point at the corpse on the ground.

"Explode!"

The Lesser Corpse Explosion skill activated once more, and the cultist corpse that had just fallen exploded on the spot.

Compared to the dead rat Gu Xi had thrown earlier, which had only exploded with the power of a firecracker, the cultist corpse's explosion was clearly far more powerful.

When the corpse burst apart, its force was comparable to that of a real landmine.

In a narrow place like this corridor, with the other cultists packed together as they ran over the corpse, the blast sent them all flying into the air.

Taking advantage of this, Luna opened her mouth toward the place where the cultists had been blown away. A wave invisible to ordinary people spread outward from Luna.

The cultists caught within the Lesser Corpse Explosion's range had already been severely injured by the blast. Luna's Banshee's Wail instantly took what remained of their life.

A stream of messages continuously flashed before Gu Xi, informing him of the gains from this battle.

Kill cultist (Level 1), gained 9 Points of experience.

Luna (Contract Undead) killed a Cultist (Level 1). You gained 6 Points of experience. Contract Undead gained 8 Points of experience.