Battle Nuns

Kevin seemed a little hesitant. He had indeed been planning to go back on his word.

"If you won't even agree to this small request, then we'll have to part ways. You won't get anything!" Bai Xiaowen made his firm stance clear.

"I can postpone killing you for one day, but I have no obligation to protect you. So I can't agree to your second condition," Kevin said.

"No. As a Grand Mage, it would be far too easy for you to get me killed, especially in a place like this!" Bai Xiaowen would not fall for it. "For the next day, you cannot take any action detrimental to me. You must guarantee my safety and swear it upon your faith."

Bai Xiaowen was telling the truth, and Kevin understood that.

"Fine. I agree to your request and swear by the God of Magic, but the time limit is only twelve hours! And during the agreement period, you must remain in this graveyard." Kevin was mainly worried that Bai Xiaowen would use the safe period to flee to Spiked Helm City. If that happened, he would have no way to stop him.

"Fine." Bai Xiaowen secretly laughed.

After the two had sworn their oaths, Bai Xiaowen received a prompt:

You have reached an agreement with Kevin, Chief Mage of the Northern Frontier Resistance Army of the Lionheart Empire in the Aaron Plane World.

You must not damage the Soul Stone and must hand it over to Kevin. During the agreement period, you may not leave the Frozen Ancient Tomb.

During the agreement period, Kevin may not take any action detrimental to you and must guarantee your safety.

If you violate the agreement, you will be rejected by Psionic Particles and be unable to enter the Spirit Realm for life. If Kevin violates the agreement, he will be forsaken by the God of Magic and lose his spellcasting ability for life.

The agreement lasts until noon tomorrow.

Bai Xiaowen carefully considered the terms of the agreement. There did not seem to be any loopholes.

"It's yours." Bai Xiaowen handed over the Soul Stone.

Kevin was very cautious. With a light wave of his wand, an invisible force lifted the Soul Stone and carried it before him, where he examined it again and again.

In the end, the appraisal showed that there was nothing wrong with the Soul Stone. Besides, given Bai Xiaowen's abilities, there was no way he could have faked it under Kevin's nose.

"I'm very curious about what's going on in that head of yours. I really want to pry it open and take a good look." Even after obtaining the Soul Stone, Kevin's brow remained furrowed. Bai Xiaowen's behavior was too abnormal.

"Master Kevin, you'll have to wait until twelve hours are up before prying open my head." Bai Xiaowen finally relaxed. Only after Kevin had signed the agreement was he truly safe.

Walking out from the secluded corner, Bai Xiaowen dusted off his clothes.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you hiding?" Kevin asked in surprise.

"With the Chief Mage of Spiked Helm City as my bodyguard, why would I need to hide?" Bai Xiaowen waved at the Terror Knight not far away on the other side of the mausoleum. "Hey, friend over there. Hello."

Neigh—

The Bone Warhorse beneath the Terror Knight let out a long whinny, then charged Bai Xiaowen at top speed, swift as an arrow loosed from a bow!

"Damn it!"

Kevin suddenly remembered the terms of their agreement. For twelve hours, he had to guarantee Bai Xiaowen's safety! With Bai Xiaowen's frail body, one charge from the Terror Knight would probably leave not even an intact corpse behind.

Reacting at once, Kevin flung out his hand and cast a mana shield around Bai Xiaowen. Then he fired an Ice Spear, striking the Terror Knight with precision.

To hit the Terror Knight during its high-speed charge and forcibly interrupt it demonstrated Kevin's exceptional spell control.

Since Bai Xiaowen had entered combat with the Terror Knight, he could see its health bar. After Kevin's Ice Spear landed, the Terror Knight's health abruptly dropped by a third, and its speed slowed considerably.

Both were Question-Mark Tier bosses in Bai Xiaowen's eyes, but Kevin was clearly several times stronger than the Terror Knight. A stream of fine Ice Spikes shot from the tip of his wand, striking the Terror Knight like machine-gun fire and blasting it into a heap of bone fragments.

This was within Bai Xiaowen's expectations. How could the Chief Mage of Spiked Helm City possibly be compared to an Elite Terror Knight?

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Kevin snapped.

"Don't be so anxious, Master Kevin. You're so strong. Dealing with these undead monsters is a piece of cake," Bai Xiaowen teased. "I'm someone who'll die in twelve hours anyway. Before I die, you have to let me have a little fun, right?"

Bai Xiaowen headed deeper into the graveyard. This time, he was no longer sneaking around. He clasped his hands behind his back and paced about like a leader inspecting the grounds, practically begging for someone to hit him.

Two more Skeleton Champions and a Stitched Monster were drawn by the commotion and lurched toward Bai Xiaowen.

Kevin was furious enough to curse, but he could only keep casting spells and follow behind Bai Xiaowen to clean up after him. More than once, he wanted to throw a binding spell on Bai Xiaowen, but the agreement explicitly stated that he could not "take any action detrimental to him." Restricting Bai Xiaowen's freedom would certainly count as detrimental.

Still, Kevin was not so blinded by anger that he lost all sense. He took out the Soul Stone and used it to absorb the Soul Fire of the undead monsters he killed. As he watched the Soul Stone gradually change from gray to black with the increase in energy points, his gloomy mood finally eased a little.

Once noon tomorrow passes, I'll show you how I deal with you! Kevin gritted his teeth, already devising a hundred cruel punishments to torment Bai Xiaowen's soul.

Twenty minutes later, Kevin was panting slightly.

Forty minutes later, Kevin's face had grown even paler.

One hour later.

"My mental power is almost exhausted."

After killing a powerful Death Knight, Kevin finally could not endure any longer. His face had changed from pale to bluish-green.

Bai Xiaowen readily said, "All right, let's rest. By the way, Master Kevin, is the energy the Soul Stone needs full yet?"

"It was full long ago." Kevin looked at Bai Xiaowen warily. "What do you want? According to the agreement, the Soul Stone is mine!"

"Don't worry, I won't take it." Bai Xiaowen sat on the freezing snow, taking bites of honey wine and bread to restore his strength. He looked toward the southern sky. "Judging by the time, they should be here soon."

"Who should be here?"

Just as Kevin finished asking, a commotion arose from the south of the Frozen Graveyard. Amid the low growls of Skeleton Warriors, streaks of Blazing Heat tore across the sky.

Kevin sprang to his feet. "Who are those people? The helpers you called?"

Bai Xiaowen shook his head. "No. They are Battle Nuns from North County Monastery."

"Damn it, how did they find this place?" Kevin became somewhat agitated.

Without question, North County Monastery belonged to the Imperial Army faction, which stood opposed to Kevin's Resistance Army faction. When the two sides met, there would be no pointless talk—they would draw their blades and fight. What was more, the Soul Stone sealed by North County Monastery was now in Kevin's hands.

Bai Xiaowen leisurely snapped his fingers. "At their current advance speed, the enemy will encounter us within an hour. So, we have an hour for questions and answers."

Kevin stared at Bai Xiaowen while taking the chance to recover his mental power. He truly had questions about Bai Xiaowen's unusual behavior and felt as though he had fallen into some kind of trap.

"Master Kevin, let me ask first. You had actually set your sights on this Soul Stone long ago, hadn't you?"