Pursuit and Slaughter Two

Even though he knew the Necromancer behind him was chasing him, the blue-robed Mage had no other options. He simply whipped his horse harder, preparing to use its Speed to create distance and shake off the Necromancer.

The blue-robed Mage rode for an unknown amount of time. As the distance grew, even though he had long left the merchant group's original campsite, the feeling of being targeted didn't fade. Instead, it grew even stronger.

The blue-robed Mage knew it was this premonition that had helped him escape many crises. He wanted to shake off the Necromancer behind him, but he couldn't succeed. This feeling of being targeted kept him from finding peace.

At this moment, as the premonition intensified, the blue-robed Mage knew that if he didn't do something, he would be tracked all the way by the Necromancer behind him.

However, even knowing his predicament, the blue-robed Mage still couldn't come up with a solution. He could only hope his horse would continue to speed up and that the night would conceal the tracks he left behind.

He never considered hiding on the side of the road to ambush the Necromancer from behind. The blue-robed Mage knew how powerful his pursuer was. If he chose to ambush now, he might as well have fought alongside the merchant group members to the bitter end from the start.

The blue-robed Mage lacked Yusuf's resolve. When he sensed extreme danger, his first thought was how to ensure his own safety. Furthermore, he was now in possession of the Space Ring containing all the Soul Crystals from the merchant group. The immense profit made him unwilling to face danger.

What drove the blue-robed Mage's escape was his fear. Thinking of the possibly destroyed merchant group, he silently recited a few words in his heart.

"Yusuf, don't blame me. You brought death upon yourself by provoking a powerful enemy."

After reciting these words, the blue-robed Mage felt the guilt from his escape lessen considerably.

Because he had been fleeing through the forest, the road wasn't wide. Coupled with it being nighttime, the surrounding environment prevented the horse from reaching its full Speed.

The blue-robed Mage dared not slow down, but having ridden the horse for a while, its stamina had been partially depleted, and its Speed was much slower than before.

The blue-robed Mage sensed his surroundings and found that the feeling of being targeted had disappeared.

Upon noticing this, the blue-robed Mage did not relax his guard. Instead, he became even more vigilant, constantly observing his surroundings.

Past combat experience had taught the blue-robed Mage that this was like the calm before a storm. On the surface, he felt nothing, but in reality, the surroundings were fraught with danger. Maintaining this vigilance was mentally exhausting for the blue-robed Mage.

Just then, the blue-robed Mage heard the sound of hurried hoofbeats from the forest to his side.

The sound grew closer, followed by the rustling of branches and leaves. Although still some distance away, the blue-robed Mage realized the enemy had caught up.

Even though the enemy had reached his side, the blue-robed Mage still didn't understand how they had caught up, given they were both riding horses at full gallop.

After running such a long distance, his horse would surely be tired and couldn't match its initial Speed. The blue-robed Mage couldn't comprehend how the Necromancer behind him, who had started later, could catch up. Moreover, judging by the urgent hoofbeats, the horse behind was clearly running at full Speed...

Suddenly, as if struck by inspiration, the blue-robed Mage instantly understood why the Necromancer had caught up. The Necromancer had transformed the horse beneath him into an Undead Creature. Without the limitations of stamina, it could naturally maintain its Speed and chase him down.

It turned out that although the deep Meditation had completely depleted Rhode's Mana, as time passed, his Mana had recovered somewhat.

Mana naturally regenerates. Compared to light Meditation, this automatic regeneration speed is very slow, with a base regeneration rate of 1 point per hour.

By equipping certain Treasures, learning special skills like Mysticism, or gaining additional bonuses from some skills, the automatic Mana regeneration per hour can be increased.

Performing light Meditation can also speed up Mana regeneration. Since the Mana regeneration speed increased by light Meditation is proportional to one's own Mana regeneration speed and unrelated to equipped Treasures, Mysticism, which can enhance Mana regeneration, is an important skill for a Mage.

When Rhode had just finished his deep Meditation, his Mana was 0. Due to the time spent fighting Yusuf and then chasing the blue-robed Mage, the passage of time had allowed his Mana to regenerate some amount on its own.

Guided by the Mental Mark, Rhode had the Vampire ride a horse to chase him, then killed the horse the Vampire was riding, intending to transform it into an Undead Creature. After killing the horse, Rhode gained 10 experience points.

Since this horse was a creature of a certain rank, in order to have enough remaining Mana for the transformation, Rhode chose to use 1 Skill Point to learn Intermediate Soul Summoning.

(Intermediate Soul Summoning: Through further study of Necromancy Spells, you have gained a deeper understanding of death. You can awaken the resentment of the deceased and begin to value the worth of a creature after its death. Your ability to transform Undead Creatures is enhanced, and the Mana required to awaken the dead is slightly reduced.)

By changing his equipped achievement to [Necromancer], Rhode's Soul Summoning had reached the advanced level. With Advanced Soul Summoning, the Mana required to transform Undead Creatures was significantly reduced.

Rhode successfully used his remaining Mana to transform the horse into an Undead Creature.

However, transforming this horse into an Undead Creature had consumed all of Rhode's remaining Mana. He was unable to transform the horse he was riding into an Undead Creature.

Rhode continued to track the blue-robed Mage ahead. Since the blue-robed Mage only intended to use his horse's Speed to outrun the enemy behind him, guided by the Mental Mark, Rhode had the Vampire ride the transformed Undead War Horse and pursue the blue-robed Mage directly.

Unlike the blue-robed Mage's horse, which would tire from prolonged running, the Undead War Horse had no stamina limitations. The Vampire's speed of advance surpassed that of the blue-robed Mage ahead. This was why the Vampire was able to catch up to the blue-robed Mage first.

At this moment, the blue-robed Mage ahead realized he could no longer gain an advantage in Speed. Seeing the Vampire catching up behind him, the blue-robed Mage raised his hand and began to gather Magic.

An ice arrow shot out rapidly, but its target was not the Vampire, but the Undead War Horse beneath it.