The Undead Necromancer (1)

Chapter 25: Undead Necromancer (I)

At high noon, when the sun should have been blazing, Dawn City was instead shrouded by a massive black cloud spanning dozens of kilometers. The lush lawns and gardens outside the city had withered into a blighted wasteland, reeking of rot and plague. Several skeleton soldiers in rusted armor and zombies dripping with green pus wandered nearby, occasionally tilting their heads to howl at the sky.

Beyond this, Dawn City held no trace of life; it had become a land of the dead, forbidden to the living.

"The scent of necromancy is everywhere. The Undead Necromancer Sand must be in this city!"

The moment he stepped into the area, Li Wei shivered for no apparent reason. He was currently clad in leather and metal armor, with chest plates reinforcing his attire. His 9-point strength stat kept his muscles taut, highlighting the beauty of raw power. Strapped to Li Wei's back was the Venomous Centaur Battle Axe, which had undergone the "Art of Stacking," while his USP Pistol was tucked into his waistband at the small of his back—a fully armed and ready appearance.

The Dread Knight was as stoic as ever. His undead warhorse seemed to know no fatigue; it required neither water nor rest. Like its master, necromantic magic had granted it eternal life and stamina.

"Master, I truly do not understand why you would take in this pack of beasts. They are of no use, and my power alone is enough to finish them off in five seconds!" Mordel the Dread Knight stared at Li Wei's back and spoke in a deep voice.

Behind him stood a squad of twelve Orcs. These barbarians, reeking of wild beast, had joined Li Wei of their own volition when they passed a gem mine, and Li Wei had naturally accepted them all.

"Mordel, do not underestimate anyone. Sometimes, they can play a role you never expected! Besides, they are our companions now." The only thing Li Wei found dissatisfying about this Dread Knight was his arrogance.

Admittedly, a Tier 6 unit was far superior to low-level creatures like Orcs. However, Li Wei believed that if used correctly, he could defeat high-level units—even terrifying existences like the Dread Knight himself—using these twelve Orcs.

Ignoring the overly arrogant Dread Knight, Li Wei summoned the Yellow Paper to check the strategic map.

The entire layout of Dawn City was displayed on the paper. Comparing it to his current position, Li Wei rubbed his chin, which was covered in several days' worth of stubble.

"When the undead attacked, they blew open several breaches. We will enter through the West Gate... hmm, let's start with a feint!" Li Wei folded the strategic map and beckoned one of the Orcs over.

The sturdy fellow, clad in crude leather armor and holding a polished throwing axe, stood before Li Wei. Every breath he took released a cloud of foul-smelling air.

Li Wei, forced to cover his nose and mouth, issued his first order to the Orc.

The Orc nodded as if he understood, then trotted toward the western gate. The Dread Knight watched this with suspicion. In his mind, they should simply find a weak point and charge in; he could not fathom why Li Wei was going through such unnecessary trouble.

Seeing Mordel's expression, Li Wei knew his plan had confused him.

He didn't feel the need to explain. How could these beings know the military tactics of his world? This "feinting to the east while attacking the west" was one of the most common strategies.

"We will circle around. Once the undead guarding that area are lured away, we will seize the opportunity to enter the city!"

Only when the Dread Knight saw a large group of undead soldiers being drawn away by the clumsy Orc did he begin to understand what Li Wei was doing.

The streets of Dawn City remained as they had been days ago, filled with knightly architecture and Gothic towers. Yet, the once-bustling taverns and gambling dens were now deathly silent. Occasionally, a zombie could be seen swaying its rotting, stiff head, slumped over a wooden table while drooling dark green pus.

"I can sense the aura of that evil undead. The despicable wretch—I will surely hack off his head!" As soon as they entered Dawn City, the Dread Knight grew restless. Clearly, his family's vendetta had cost him his usual composure.

Li Wei stared intently at the furious Dread Knight, his tone surprisingly flat.

"Mordel, I order you to calm down. Without my command, you are not to act rashly!"

The master-servant contract in the Heroes of Might and Magic world was inviolable. Even if the master was weak and the servant immensely powerful, the rule had to be obeyed.

Thus, despite his resentment, Mordel suppressed his anger. However, the deepening color of the Netherfire in his eyes betrayed the hatred burning within him.

"The closer we get to the enemy, the more you must remain calm. No matter how deep your hatred, if you still wish for revenge, remember these words!"

Li Wei's tone was level, but every word was sharp and sincere, which actually caused Mordel to settle down.

Only now did Li Wei truly look like a master!

"Our goal this time is singular: the Necromancer Sand. As an Undead Necromancer, he is a master of necromancy and dark magic. We must finish this quickly to suppress his magical advantages. Mordel, when the time comes, you will be the primary attacker!"

Having entered Dawn City, Li Wei seized the moment to lay out his battle plan. He was no longer consulting the Dread Knight but issuing direct orders. In critical moments, Li Wei's decisiveness, calmness, and grasp of the situation were impeccable.

This was an A-rank mission, and the difficulty of such a task was self-evident. A single misstep would lead to total failure. Li Wei believed that even a powerhouse of Zheng Yutong's caliber could not easily complete this mission—no, it was impossible.

But Li Wei wanted to try!

Holding the strategic map, Li Wei pondered and frowned by turns. After a long while, he finally put the map away.

"Southwest, less than 100 meters from here, is a crossroads with a small plaza. There is a well there. Mordel, take two Orcs and hide there!" As Li Wei spoke, he pulled out several leather bags filled with powder.

"When Sand arrives there, use this to sprinkle it on the Necromancer. Do not miss!" After saying this, Li Wei handed the bags to the two Orcs.

"Master, what is inside? Why do I have such an uncomfortable feeling? And what is the point of waiting there? Sand won't go to such a place!" The Dread Knight was deeply confused and intrigued by the items Li Wei had produced.

Li Wei replied that "heavenly secrets must not be leaked," then slipped away with the remaining nine Orcs. He wasn't worried about the Dread Knight; rather, the task he had to perform himself was far more important.

In a deserted spot, Li Wei glanced at the nine Orcs behind him, reached out his hand, and began to cast the "Art of Stacking."

This skill could affect both items and creatures. A beam of light bound the nine Orcs together, merging them into one. When the light faded, only a single Orc remained before Li Wei.

However, the Orc's stats had changed significantly: his quantity was now ×9. This single Orc possessed the attack power and health of nine companions. Of course, as he took damage, his attack power would decrease with every reduction in his "quantity."

This was the unit-merging mechanic from the Heroes of Might and Magic game, but Li Wei could guarantee that in this world, he was the only one capable of it.

With the Venomous Centaur Battle Axe in hand, Li Wei led the merged Orc toward the center of Dawn City. Every 100 meters, he sprinkled some black powder on the ground before moving on. Strangely, the wandering undead creatures in the areas where the powder was sprinkled consciously avoided the path. Furthermore, the low-level undead around Li Wei were subconsciously steering clear of him as well.

If anyone had witnessed this, they would have been astonished. Undead that usually went berserk at the mere scent of the living were acting this way—even the low-level ones shouldn't have been so docile.

In truth, the powder in Li Wei's hand wasn't anything magical; it was made from a bit of Mordel's blood mixed with special medicinal herbs. The powder was saturated with the scent of the Tier 6 Dread Knight. The low-level undead naturally perceived these areas as the Dread Knight's territory and dared not cross them.

Li Wei had also coated himself in the powder beforehand, effectively masking his own scent so the undead could not smell him.

By exploiting the hierarchy of the undead, Li Wei had succeeded in doing what no ordinary person could: he had easily infiltrated the center of Dawn City—City Hall!

From a distance, one could see the undead army surrounding City Hall, ranging from Tier 1 skeleton soldiers to high-level Vampires. Li Wei even spotted a massive Bone Dragon circling above the building.

"If I were discovered now, not even a god could save me, right?" After sighing to himself for a moment, Li Wei carefully retreated into a building.

This had once been a private residence. Its simple decor could not hide the neatness of the room, which had been filled with a sense of warmth; it was clear the owner had enjoyed life. Yet, this tidy room was now fouled by splattered blood. Li Wei sat on a wooden chair and closed his eyes to rest.

Under Li Wei's forced command, the Orc sat obediently on the ground, fiddling with the wool carpet spread across the floor with his rough fingers.

Li Wei was waiting!

He was waiting for the sun to set, for that was the time when undead creatures emerged. Moreover, he knew that only after sunset would the Undead Necromancer Sand emerge from City Hall to re-cast his necromantic magic throughout Dawn City.

From the moment he saw the black clouds swirling above Dawn City, Li Wei had begun using the Eye of Perception to observe everything he saw. What had plunged the entire Dawn into such a state was undoubtedly terrifying necromantic magic.

Black Cloud Cover and Plague Land were both high-level necromantic spells. Their purpose was naturally to create an environment suitable for the survival of undead creatures while isolating all living beings. However, the Eye of Perception had revealed something that piqued Li Wei's interest.

These necromantic spells were not permanently effective; they needed to be cast once every 24 hours. Aside from the Undead Necromancer Sand, there was likely no one else here capable of casting such high-level magic.

Therefore, Li Wei had set a trap—a snare specifically targeting the Undead Necromancer Sand!

The location where he had hidden the Dread Knight and the two Orcs was an area he had carefully selected. It had escape routes on all four sides, especially the dry well, which featured a secret passage leading outside the city. It was the most suitable place for a duel in all of Dawn City, providing a path for escape even if an accident occurred.

As for the few leather water skins he had left behind, they were filled with the bane of undead creatures.

From the very beginning, Li Wei had been considering how to bridge the gap between himself and the Undead Necromancer. Whether it was the size of their forces (Li Wei essentially had no troops) or individual strength, the disparity was like heaven and earth. The gap was simply too vast; forget a frontal assault, even a sneak attack offered no chance of victory.

But nothing was absolute, and everyone had weaknesses. The weaknesses of undead creatures were Light magic and Life magic—a truth known to all. Thus, upon discovering that the Ring of Life contained Life magic, Li Wei decided to make full use of it.

He ground the ring into powder and mixed it into pure water obtained from the forest, hoping to infuse the water with that Life magic. The situation unfolded just as he had expected: the water mixed with the ring's powder now possessed faint elements of Life magic.

That was enough. When he "accidentally" spilled a drop of the Life-magic water onto Mordel's armor, it immediately hissed like sulfuric acid, corroding a shallow groove and causing Mordel, the Dread Knight, to shriek. From this, it was clear that the water of Life magic was effective.

When the time came, as long as he could douse Sand with this water, while it might not necessarily finish the opponent off, it would certainly diminish his strength to some degree. Combined with a joint attack from himself and the Dread Knight, there would be a possibility of killing Sand.

Of course, the prerequisite was successfully "luring" Sand alone into the trap he had prepared.

Time slipped away slowly. Four hours later, the area outside the house had plunged into complete darkness. All Li Wei could hear were the howls of undead creatures. Suddenly, he sensed a powerful aura emerging from City Hall.

He hurried to the window to peer outside and, sure enough, saw a figure dressed in black and red robes walking out of City Hall.

"The main event has arrived!"

(A new month has begun. Once again, I thank my brothers Wanxiang Xingchen, Ning Shang, Eight Cats, and Transparent Shadow for their tips. I won't say anything else; I'm updating one chapter now, and there will be another at noon. Both are large 4,000-word chapters. I hope you all enjoy them, and don't forget to vote and add to your favorites. Many thanks!)