Ringwraith City, the Beginning

Thick necromantic fog still lingered in the air. When everyone returned to the Capital of the Magic Empire via teleportation, they could clearly feel that the immense power contained within it had not diminished. The gods' recuperation there had come to an end. When Li Lin and the others returned, only the God of Light remained. From her, Li Lin learned that the hiding and transportation of the elves and dwarves had concluded. The gods, through various means, had gathered most of the dwarves and elves scattered throughout the human world and used divine power to open passages, sending all the poor wanderers back to their homeland. It seemed that the Elf Goddess's earlier request for Kalin to buy those elves was originally part of a plan, but it was clear that after her plan conflicted with Li Lin's, the Elf Goddess abandoned the idea.

"I never imagined it would turn out like this..."

Wandering through the ruins, Nia and the Ring Spirit Envoy looked somber. The country they once knew so well now presented itself in its most tragic form. Even the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys could not easily accept this outcome.

Li Lin walked ahead silently; it was clear that he had a specific purpose for returning this time.

Where is Master going?

Following behind Li Lin, Angela couldn't help but whisper a question to Nia. She could have asked Suoxiate, but so far, Angela still didn't understand why she felt a strange fear whenever she saw her. Trusting her intuition and refusing to take any risks, the little one chose Nia, whom she was closer to.

"Go home."

Nia gazed at the surrounding ruins, her tone heavy.

"Every Arcane Mage has their own fortress in the Capital of Magic, and that's where we're headed."

From the air, the entire Capital of the Magic Empire appears as a perfectly circular city. Within it, thirteen massive fortresses are arranged in a strange manner, forming a vortex-like pattern.

The sheer size of the Capital of the Magic Empire was unprecedented on the entire continent. Li Lin had previously told Angela that the city was almost the size of a medium-sized country. Furthermore, the fortresses built by each Arcane Mage within it were also the size of ordinary cities. In other words, the Capital of the Magic Empire, in effect, a vast country named after a metropolis, which wasn't surprising. However, even such a massive and powerful city would eventually fall.

Since there was no need to conceal their identities this time, Li Lin activated the teleportation stones on the road to travel, saving a lot of time. Soon, they arrived at Li Lin's fortress - Ringwraith City.

Although no one knows what the other Arcane Mage's fortresses look like, even a complete novice could sense the strangeness of Li Lin's fortress. Although it had been ravaged by war and was riddled with holes, it was not completely destroyed.

However, even in Angela's eyes, it was hard to call this a beautiful fortress. Everything was lying haphazardly on the ground, and the only towering structure was even leaning to one side, or it might have collapsed if it had leaned any more. Looking around, the entire fortress was in disarray, with books scattered everywhere.

The closer they got, the more silent Nia and Kalin became, while Suoxiate's professional smile became more pronounced—even Angela could tell that she was using her smile to mask some of her inner emotions.

"Master? What are we supposed to do back here? Wouldn't doing a thorough cleaning be too much of a waste of time?"

"No, we're certainly not back to do cleaning."

Upon hearing Angela's question, Li Lin let out a bitter laugh, while Nia and Kalin were also slightly taken aback, revealing the same expression. Although their brows remained heavy, their moods had calmed considerably after Angela's question.

The already dilapidated gate was now just rotten wooden planks. Li Lin walked in slowly, yet appeared remarkably relaxed.

"Thanks to those guys, my defensive spells were almost completely destroyed, which is good."

As he stroked the ancient murals on the wall, Li Lin said with a self-deprecating smile.

"If it weren't for that, I'm afraid even I wouldn't be able to deal with those things."

"..."

The three people walking behind exchanged glances but said nothing.

The dimly lit corridor was completely devoid of light; even the faint glow from the thin mist couldn't illuminate the path ahead. Yet, the group advanced without hindrance until Li Lin stopped before a skeleton at a corner. It was clearly the mark of a murder; a magical longsword had pierced the chest, pinning the skeleton to the wall. Though now scattered, the faint bloodstains, surprisingly, hadn't faded with time.

Li Lin knelt down in front of the skeleton and gently stroked its leather armor.

"Master? Who is this?"

Angela curiously peeked out from behind Li Lin, twitched her little nose slightly, and then frowned.

"Woman?"

"Ailina..."

Li Lin sighed.

Indeed, the skeleton before us is that of the second princess of the Elf race, who was sent here by Her Majesty the Elf Queen for education and training.

Looking at the skeleton before him, Li Lin seemed to be immersed in the past once again.

"My name is Ailina Crescent. Greetings, esteemed Arcane Mage."

The scene of the shy little elf blushing and bowing respectfully to him was quite a challenge. Although he found it troublesome to teach a little one with no magical background, Li Lin ultimately agreed to her request out of respect for the Elf Queen.

"My sister will become the Queen of the Elves someday, and when that time comes, I hope to be by her side and use magic to help her!"

That was the look in the eyes of a girl in a room, sparkling with dreams and faith.

"Arcane Mage, I've heard you have many lovers, is that true? You wouldn't only teach magic to your lovers, would you...?"

... One day, I will correct this little guy's gossipy personality; that was Li Lin's thought at the time.

However, Ailina does not possess the talent to become an archmage. Even if she tries her best, she can only become a high-level mage, which is her limit.

"But then I would also be able to help my country and my sister, wouldn't I?"

This was the little elf's response when Li Lin told her the results after the test. Although she hid in her room and cried all night that night, the next day she still mustered her spirits and, with her swollen eyes, asked Li Lin for the secrets of magic.

Then came that fateful day.

"Arcane Mage!!"

Li Lin still clearly remembers the anxious and pained expression on the elf's face when the elf, dressed in leather armor and carrying a bow and arrows, rushed into his room.

"The enemy has breached the fortress. You..."

I will stay.

Li Lin answered quietly, while preparing his magic.

"Why stay? The Empire... The Empire is already... You can go to the Elven Kingdom. Your mother and I will protect you, won't we?"

"No, Ailina."

Li Lin shook his head.

"This is my country, our country. My companions all died protecting this country, and I will not leave. As for you, you should leave. You are the second princess of the Elven race. What you should worry about is not me, but your country. This is your responsibility as a princess. To be the ruler of a country means to be responsible for it to the very end."

Ailina gritted her teeth and stood there silently. Then, a complex expression flashed across her face before she finally rushed out.

That was also the last time Li Lin remembered meeting Ailina.

"In the end, you still didn't leave."

Li Lin sighed, reaching out and trembling slightly as he stroked the leather armor on her body—the first magical artifact Li Lin had made for her in his previous life. Although the traces within the passage were faint, it was still clear what a fierce battle had taken place there. The little elf had tried to use her power to stop the enemy's invasion, but her efforts had been in vain.

If Ailina's soul is not here, then it must have returned to the side of the Elf Goddess.

"You've worked hard. Rest in peace, little one."

Li Lin's hand touched the weathered bones, and quickly, under the force of the external force, the once delicate skeleton turned into a pile of dust and scattered. Then, Li Lin stood up and pulled out the longsword that had been stuck in the wall and pierced the elf's chest. As magical power was poured into it, the dilapidated magic sword quickly began to tremble, and then burst open with a "bang".

"I will avenge you all, every single one of you."

Along the way, such traces were everywhere—the remains of those who hadn't had time to escape, those who hadn't chosen to flee. These skeletons were scattered throughout the fortress. Ordinary skeletons would likely have been destroyed after a century. But because Li Lin had cast a powerful, wide-ranging necromancy spell before his death in his previous life, these skeletons had been preserved. They remained in the state they were in when they were killed; all of this was living history. Li Lin slowly moved forward, personally erasing each skeleton. This was the only thing he could do for those who had fought to the very end to protect him.

Angela and Nia followed silently behind. They knew this was not the time to disturb Li Lin. Besides, Nia and Kalin were also mourning the devastating war; they hadn't fought, they hadn't been able to fulfill their duty. Although it could be said that they had no choice but to...

After a long journey, the group finally arrived at the central hall.

This hall was exactly the same as the one Angela had seen in Suoxiate's vision. If there was any difference, it was that the former luxury and elegance had been eroded by the relentless winds of history. The once vibrant red carpet had turned into rubble, the floor was riddled with holes, and even the walls were full of cracks. Looking out the broken windows, all that could be seen were ruins and fragments.

On the throne, where Li Lin died in his previous life, a faint sphere exuding an aura of death floated. That was the most powerful necromancy barrier that Li Lin had cast with all his strength and soul.

"... I've been waiting for this moment."

Staring at the floating sphere, Li Lin felt his heart begin to pound. This magic, which even Nia had never seen before, was his own creation, his final trump card. In fact, the spell was only half complete; the other half required him to finish it.

Li Lin slowly walked to his throne, the magical runes on his body emitting a ghostly blue light. Not only his arms, but all the magical runes on his body were activated at this moment. The spirit orb seemed to sense Li Lin's approach, and began to float slowly, trembling and emitting a faint spiritual light. Gradually, it began to resonate with the light on Li Lin's body. Li Lin was completely focused on controlling his Magic Power. He stared intently at the spirit orb before him, and slowly but firmly extended his right hand. Nia watched his every move warily from the side. Clearly, as the person whose magical knowledge was second only to Li Lin among everyone, Nia naturally understood how dangerous Li Lin's actions were.

Although this magic is also Li Lin's creation, his body is not the same as before. While magical weapons like Nia can accept Li Lin's new body, it doesn't mean that magic without independent judgment can. If this magic senses the difference between Li Lin and his previous caster, it could very well backfire. At that point, things would become very awkward—being harmed by magic cast a thousand years ago is no laughing matter.

Fortunately, the spirit orb did not intend to turn against Li Lin. As a magical creation, it sensed the magical runes imprinted in Li Lin's soul—something that could not be faked. Therefore, it quickly relinquished control of the spell. The previously confusing light began to brighten and become clearer, and the surrounding necromantic energy also began to stir.

"Master of death, prophet of the end, I call upon you here to complete our deal."

As Li Lin chanted his incantation and summoned, the surrounding air suddenly changed.

It was an aura of impending doom, a chilling atmosphere that seemed to erode everything, even the air itself, as if it had been completely obliterated.

He will agree.

If Li Lin wasn't entirely sure about the effects of this magic before, now he was completely confident.

The spell Li Lin cast before his death was, in fact, part of his pact with the God of Death —using this magic, he could keep those lost souls in the Prime Material Plane instead of sending them to the City of Judgment for reincarnation. However, these souls remaining in the Prime Material Plane would temporarily transform into ordinary undead creatures to preserve their soul cores from being consumed. This was the effect of the magic Li Lin had used before, and now he was going to complete the other half—transforming it into a barrier and reawakening those lost souls, granting them new bodies with the assistance of the God of Death. Of course, this wasn't creating life; even with the most powerful skills to create Weapon Spirit, Li Lin couldn't use magic to resurrect the dead. However, he could take a step back and materialize the souls within a certain range.

Just as Li Lin could manifest anthropomorphic "Weapon Spirit" through the "medium" of magical weapons, this magical barrier also serves to replace the existence of a "medium." In other words, as long as it is within this range, those souls can materialize into human form, real humans.

This is undoubtedly an incredibly powerful spell. It means that as long as these souls are within the magical barrier, they will not die, and as long as Li Lin doesn't remove the barrier, they will exist forever. If the current mages knew this, they would be utterly astonished—this kind of spell, which grants eternal life, is an unimaginable feat for them!

The aura of the necromantic fog grew increasingly powerful. If someone were outside, they could even be astonished to see that the thick clouds shrouding the ruins had begun to slowly rotate around the center point.

Finally, Li Lin completed the spell. At that very moment, the Necrosphere leaped into the air, soaring into the sky, its life force erupting and illuminating the ruins of the entire Capital of the Magic Empire.

The city, which had been dead, is now undergoing its final revival.