Great Archmage of Undead

The Dragon Slaying Halberd scraped against the ground, sending sparks flying. With a grating sound, the tip of the halberd flicked upwards towards the Templar Knight's thigh.

A clang of metal on metal rang out. The Dragon Slaying Halberd left a shallow white mark on the Templar Knight's greave.

A broadsword, flashing with golden light, chopped down from above. Allen dodged to the side and repeated his maneuver, the Dragon Slaying Halberd once again flicking upwards.

Just like before, the Dragon Slaying Halberd left another shallow white mark on the Templar Knight's groin.

The full-body armor, a special characteristic of the Holy See's Hall of Valor, was virtually impervious from all angles, save for the eyes. Even the groin area was protected by a thick steel plate.

"Are you a Templar Knight or a Groin Knight?" Allen retreated rapidly after his two attacks proved ineffective. The afterimage of the broadsword's slash had left him feeling quite shaken.

The Dragon Slaying Halberd was forged from the essence of steel from hundreds of curved blades, compressed and sharpened by a Rock Hammer infused with Battle Qi.

Unfortunately, there's no comparison without contrast.

The Dragon Slaying Halberd, crafted by a half-baked blacksmith from Outpost County, was completely neutralized by the Holy See's divine-art-infused full-body armor.

The Templar Knight raised his Meteor Hammer with his left hand and brought it down. Allen managed to dodge, but the flying debris from the impact struck him, causing some pain.

"Divine Art: Binding!" the Templar Knight roared again.

This time, Allen saw clearly. A faint golden light shot out from the Templar Knight's broadsword hilt. It was too fast for him to dodge.

"How insidious! I thought it was something supernatural, but it's just a wire." Like Sali before him, Allen twisted his body, but he couldn't move at all.

"Have you no shame? Sneaking an attack and then acting all righteous? Divine Art: Binding, my ass!" The Dragon Slaying Halberd slipped from Allen's grasp. As he struggled, the thin wire tightened around him.

The Templar Knight's face, hidden behind his helmet, let out a cold laugh. He raised his broadsword and swung it through the air again.

A slow sword silhouette moved towards the trapped Allen.

Dina and Sakre were about to rush forward to rescue him when a chilling wind blew from the direction of the Old Castle behind them.

They instinctively turned their heads. When they saw what was before them, everyone gasped.

Xiulunte and the two Ascetics outside the Old Castle changed their expressions.

The well-trained soldiers of the Earth Dragon Legion let out cries of alarm.

The solid wooden main gate of the Old Castle, which had been closed, now stood wide open. The border that originally bore the family crest was now adorned with terrifying-looking skulls, each emitting a chilling cackle.

The gate no longer seemed to lead to the castle hall. Looking through, one could see piles of bones, with sickly green flames filling the air, as if it were a gateway to the end of the world.

The Old Butler standing by the gate had a deathly pale face, leaning on his staff for support. It was clear that all his Magic Power had been drained to summon this Otherworld Gate.

Karmet exclaimed, "Otherworld Summoning?"

As soon as he spoke, countless fist-sized green ghost fires flew out from the gate. As if guided by consciousness, they bypassed Sakre and the others, attaching themselves to the numerous corpses outside the Old Castle.

Whether they had been killed by Allen or burned by flames, no corpse was spared.

With sounds like bursting water balloons, the flesh of the corpses covered by the green flames gradually peeled away. Skeletal frames emerged from the bodies, their empty eye sockets filled with dread.

Hundreds of skeletal frames stood upright, and Dina's hair stood on end.

"Great Archmage of Undead?!" Xiulunte, with his keen eyesight, glared hatefully at Old Laixi inside the Old Castle.

The Old Butler waved his staff again. A giant black scythe extended from the Otherworld Gate, and a colossal, black-robed skeleton emerged, its hands gripping the doorframe as it struggled out.

The skeletal figure, wielding the black scythe, was clad in a tattered black cloak, its lower half shrouded in black mist, and its eyes glowed with a crimson light.

Allen felt a prickling sensation on his scalp. He turned his head and was startled to see a giant skeletal frame flying directly over his head, its scythe cleaving the golden sword silhouette.

The sword silhouette, struck by the scythe, shattered into pieces. Allen had finally escaped.

The giant skeleton, after destroying the sword silhouette, did not stop. Its massive body collided with the Templar Knight.

The Templar Knight stumbled back from the impact, and his Meteor Hammer smashed directly into the giant skeleton's head.

Like a scorned wife ready to scratch her love rival's face, the giant skeleton swung its scythe, striking the Templar Knight's shoulder. It pressed its attack, its thick bone claws, with nails over a foot long, raking towards the Templar Knight's face.

As if a horn had sounded for battle, countless skeleton soldiers outside the Old Castle charged towards Xiulunte.

Dina and Sakre rushed to Allen's side and helped him up.

"Gently, cut these golden threads off me," Allen cried out in pain, the golden threads constricting him.

Sakre looked closely and muttered to himself, "Is this a divine art?"

"How should I know!" With Dina's help, Allen broke free from the restraint. He drew a dagger from Sakre's waist and helped up Sali, who lay on the ground, half-dead. After much cutting, he finally severed the nearly invisible threads.

The Rock Hammer's thick fingers pinched a thread and muttered, "The spinal bone of a high-grade magical beast, the Golden Line Snake?"

Allen didn't understand at all. He picked up the Dragon Slaying Halberd and followed behind the skeleton army, charging towards Xiulunte.

The cavalry, having formed ranks, charged at the skeleton army.

Unfortunately, these skeletons, possessed by the green light, had surprisingly hard bones. They would only lose their mobility if smashed into countless pieces, and they felt no fatigue or pain.

The skeleton army's only objective was to kill, to slaughter the living beings before them who had once possessed flesh and blood.

The legionary cavalry, who had fought against countless fierce enemies, felt their scalps tingle. This was their first time fighting against undead creatures.

Xiulunte galloped his horse, shouting, "Purify these evil undead with Divine Art: Holy Word!" With that, he split a skeleton frame blocking his path in half with his sword.

The two Ascetics exchanged wry smiles. Purify with Holy Word? Looking out at the densely packed ranks of at least several hundred skeletons, even if they had enough Magic Power to maintain the casting of hundreds of high-level divine arts, how long would it take to purify each one?

Xiulunte's mouth also felt a bit bitter. The green ghost fires that flew out from the Otherworld Gate clearly attached themselves to corpses to transform into skeletons. If he had known this earlier, he wouldn't have sent so many infantry cannon fodder to their deaths. He had truly shot himself in the foot.

As Allen charged at him, Xiulunte no longer wanted to waste time. The situation was spiraling out of control. Just moments ago, a messenger from Outpost County had rushed to inform him that the Grand Duke of the Kingdom of Locke, leading the Kingdom of Locke's First Frontier Army, was about to arrive. He had originally thought one Templar Knight would be enough to deal with everyone in the Old Castle, but he hadn't expected so many twists and turns. That unassuming old butler was actually an Undead Archmage.

The giant skeleton with a Death God Appearance that had emerged from the Otherworld Gate was clearly a creature with self-awareness from the undead world. Those transformed Skeleton Armies were only capable of simple slaughter and lacked self-awareness. They could be completely wiped out given enough time. However, if that giant skeleton were allowed to escape, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Although Necromancy was a disgrace to all legitimate mages on the continent, and they would kill any practitioner on sight, it still depended on the level. The old butler had at least reached the Archmage level.

Regardless of whether he practiced the Necromancy school, just the title of Archmage meant he could walk sideways in ninety percent of the continent.

An Archmage of the Necromancy school, a Child of Chaos.

Xiulunte felt Outpost County was too insane. Either one of these two individuals alone was enough to cause a headache, and yet they had teamed up.

What in the world was this? A Great Archmage of Undead serving as a butler to a Child of Chaos, and the Child of Chaos's maid was an awakened Titan Bloodline user.

If these three managed to escape Outpost County and attached themselves to hostile forces allied with the Holy See, the Great Pope would likely have nightmares even when sleeping.

Xiulunte could no longer afford to hide his strength. His Battle Qi surged, and a Martial King approaching the fourth tier was in no way comparable to a third-stage fighter like Sakre.

Mounted on his giant horse, Xiulunte brandished his sword, channeling Battle Qi, and pointed directly at Allen, attempting to decapitate him in one fell swoop.