Undead Holy Magus

Tiger-pattern Warriors were known for their frail bodies, their skill at overwhelming enemies with sheer numbers, and their eerie curses. But with his Golden Light of Suppression and superhuman speed, Barn could easily kill an Undead Holy Magus—as long as he could pinpoint his target.

As for the soul attacks the Undead Holy Magus was so proud of, how could he attack Barn's soul when he couldn't even lock onto Barn's figure?

However, just as Barn was preparing to deliver a killing blow, the entire underground cavern began to tremble.

Both sides felt their hearts tighten at once. A stronger enemy was coming!

"Roar—!"

A thunderous growl exploded through the cavern. Rocks and soil shattered as a massive shadow crashed down into it.

Declan and Barn's expressions changed at the same time. It was the Earth Violent Bear that had once gravely wounded Barn!

From the fragments of the original host's memories, Barn clearly remembered that the Earth Violent Bear had comprehended the Earth Element's High-level Profound Mystery, Earth Pulse. Its Earth Pulse, however, was quite different from the one Linley used in the original story.

Both used vibrations to deliver attacks, but Linley's Earth Pulse bypassed defenses and struck the enemy's internal organs directly. The Earth Violent Bear's Earth Pulse, on the other hand, surrounded its body with a layer of pale-yellow energy armor. Any enemy who touched that armor would suffer the simultaneous impact of physical and soul-shaking attacks.

Combined with the Earth Violent Bear's formidable body, which rivaled that of a Sanctuary Giant Dragon, even Barn, back then, had barely managed to wound it by risking his life.

Barn and Declan exchanged a glance, then turned without hesitation and fled underground.

Against an opponent with such powerful offense and defense, as well as tremendous staying power, fighting it head-on would be a waste of time. If hunger hadn't left Barn delirious during their battle, he never would have chosen to fight it to the death.

The Earth Violent Bear watched the man and dragon flee, a vicious glint in its eyes. It recognized them as two of the few opponents who had ever managed to wound it. They were also exceptionally good at escaping, and it knew it couldn't catch up.

Then its gaze shifted to the ten undead closing in around it and the Undead Holy Magus lurking in the shadows.

"Hmm!"

Its low growl seemed to weigh the difference in strength between the two sides.

Undead Holy Magi already enjoyed a huge advantage in Gobada's environment, but magical beasts with the Earth attribute were no slouches either.

In the original story, when Linley was first learning Earth magic, Doehring Cowart had boasted that an Earth Element Holy Magus standing on the ground was the strongest. That claim was somewhat biased—Wind Element Holy Magi could hover in the sky, Light Element Holy Magi could bathe in sunlight, Water Element Holy Magi could hide in the clouds, and Dark Element Holy Magi could slip into the shadows—but in Gobada, it held some truth.

Gobada had no sunlight or clouds, little water, and thin ambient magic. Even the Darkness Element in the shadows was extremely chaotic. Only the earth beneath their feet offered a solid foundation for Earth Element Saints.

Of course, Gobada's laws also made the magic within the earth sluggish and difficult to absorb. Still, during battle, Earth Element Saints could use their spiritual power to resonate with the earth and forcibly draw in some of its elements for their own use.

The Earth Violent Bear before them had reached the pinnacle of Earth Element Profound Mysteries, and its spiritual power was equally formidable. It could expend magic without restraint and fight its enemies for a long time.

But the Undead Holy Magus showed no fear either. The nature of undead magic allowed him to calmly face any Saint-level foe.

As his magical beast, the Abyssal Rift Shark, swam over to protect him, the ten Saint-level undead led the charge. The Undead Holy Magus swept his staff, and a huge gate wreathed in Death Aura slowly appeared in midair. Countless eighth- and ninth-level undead surged out like a tide.

Undead Forbidden Spell—Undead Calamity!

The ten Saint-level undead concealed themselves among the higher-level undead, waiting for their chance as they closed in on the Earth Violent Bear.

The Earth Violent Bear showed no fear. Pulse Armor swirled around its body, and the terrifying shock waves of battle instantly roused every Saint within ten miles!

Feeling the terrifying energy fluctuations behind them, Declan couldn't help cursing. "What rotten luck! First the Undead Holy Magus, then that Earth Violent Bear. I got hurt for nothing!"

"Let's find somewhere safe and recover properly," Barn said, undaunted.

"I'm fine. I still have plenty of food stored away. But you've only got enough to last a year, right?" Declan glanced at him. "Or were you thinking of eating with me—"

"Enough!" Barn cut him off at once. "We'll heal up, then go hunting again in a year." His principles hadn't sunk so low that he would devour his own kind.

A sly glint suddenly flashed in Declan's dark golden eyes. "Or we could wait for the Undead Holy Magus and the Earth Violent Bear to wear each other down, then swoop in and reap the rewards?"

"The commotion has alerted every Saint within ten miles. If we go over there now, even if we get something out of it, the other Saints will gang up on us." Barn shook his head.

Declan sighed. "Come to think of it, I just sensed the edge of a new Darkness Profound Mystery. I wanted to save up enough food and go into seclusion for a while."

"Hm?" Barn furrowed his brow. "How about I go hungry for a while, and you go into seclusion first?"

"No, no." Declan hurriedly waved his hands. "I only had a vague insight. I'm not sure I can truly comprehend it. If I went into seclusion and came out with nothing, you'd have starved for nothing."

An hour later, the Undead Holy Magus was fleeing in disarray atop the Abyssal Rift Shark.

"Damn it! We lost seven Saint-level undead and hundreds of high-level undead, and got nothing out of it!" The gaunt Undead Holy Magus was beside himself with rage.

The Abyssal Rift Shark beside him gasped, its enormous mouth lined with fangs. "That black dragon and Tiger-person from earlier were already hard to deal with. Then that Earth Violent Bear showed up and completely countered us. We only came to hunt in the Ice Prison King's territory. Let's heal up first, then look for another target."

Clearly, the Abyssal Rift Shark, which came from the deep sea, didn't recognize the Tiger-pattern Warrior or the Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon.

But the Undead Holy Magus had come to Gobada from the Yulan Continent within the past two thousand years, so he recognized him. "That Tiger-person was a Tiger-pattern Warrior, a member of a powerful Saint Warrior family that rose to prominence on the Yulan Continent in recent years. I thought I could kill him with a surprise soul curse, but I never expected him to be a Holy Magus too!"

Barn's display of Ice magic earlier had been enough to reveal his magical level.

Just as the man and shark were fleeing in panic, a terrifying force suddenly swept over them. The two of them were instantly trapped in a strange quagmire, unable to move.

"God's Domain!"

The thought had barely arisen in the Undead Holy Magus's mind when a petite, white-haired woman appeared before him. Then his consciousness vanished completely.

The woman stored the frozen man and shark in her spatial ring and muttered to herself, "A raiding squad sent by the Evil Royal City has come this far? What are the nearby patrols doing?"

Then she wrinkled her delicate nose, a glimmer of interest in her eyes. "Still, that bear from earlier was pretty strong, and that Tiger-person's speed was among the best of the Saints. Maybe I could recruit them and form an Ice Blade Squad."