Fernando felt that he was almost choked and could barely breathe at all. The old fox had deceived them all! To make things worse, he even gave a clue in advance. It seemed that the guy was watching them to be misled as if he were enjoying a play!
No wonder he was not worried at all that “Blue Grace” Sharp would regret and turn them in!
Holding back his fury, Fernando flew out of the forest with Arnold. The aftermath of a battle of legends could very likely destroy this place!
“Has the Liege of Death recovered the strength of level three?” Douglas repeated one of Fernando’s questions. At this moment, he cared about the strengths of the two parties more than anything else, and the details could be left for discussion when it was over.
Light and shadows were changing deep inside the forest, as if countless phantoms were wandering inside. It was most intimidating. Arnold narrowed his eyes and looked back, smiling like a real fox. “The Liege of Death was heavily wounded by the pope. His body, his soul, and his phylactery were all broken, and he almost completely perished. Fortunately, it was not God’s Arrival that the pope used.
“Later, the Liege of Death was revived as an alchemical life through the soul core that he preserved through legendary arts and by melting the soul pieces of other people. Then, he reshaped his body.”
In the telepathic bond, he told them about the Liege of Death unhurriedly, as if he did not have any doubt about the outcome of the battle at all. After all, the Liege of Death used to be a top legend who commanded a legion of the undead. Even though he was not as strong as before, it shouldn’t be a problem for him to deal with the Heart of Time who hadn’t reached level three yet.
“However, the main consciousness was prone to the conflicts of the soul pieces. Most of the magic models were incomplete. As a result, he failed to recover his peak strength for a long time.
“A dozen years ago, based on his research and understanding of the soul, Tannanois finally absorbed the other pieces and regained the strength of level-three legendary. Perhaps he will return to the peak in a few decades.”
“Then the battle shouldn’t be a problem…” Fernando said subconsciously.
The conclusion was based on reality. After the prolonged War of Dawn, everybody knew clearly that sorcerers were stronger than knights and clerics of the same level. However, the time it took for sorcerers to grow was much longer. That was why they were left behind.
Also, necromancers, who represented death, resurrection, and life, were among the sorcerers with the highest combat abilities thanks to their profound understanding of the soul. They were also more fatal and unpredictable!
Therefore, even though Kritonia had the mutated bloodline of the dragons of time, there was no chance for him to defeat a necromancer who was one level higher than him. All it remained to be seen was whether or not he could seize the momentary opportunity to flee.
Arnold smiled and did not respond to Fernando. Instead, he offered to explain the operation to them. “As a matter of fact, when I contacted Red Eye, Supreme Soul, and the other groups, I attempted to greet the three legends and received a satisfactory answer.”
They had already reached the edge of the black forest. So, they turned around and looked at the battlefield of the top legends again.
At this moment, in the middle of the fog where countless souls were struggling, a hazy flickering light dashed out. All the obstacles on its way seemed illusionary and could not stop it at all, as if they were in different spaces.
“The power of space and time is indeed remarkable…” Douglas remarked in the telepathic bond.
Hardly had he concluded his sentence when the sky, which was slightly brightened by the snow, dimmed again. An enormous dragon hovered and descended. All its muscles were rotten, and pus was flowing everywhere. He was also breathing pale fire.
It was a “dragon lich”, a legendary undead creature!
The dragon of death unfolded its wings and covered half of the forest in absolute darkness. The fading light of time was consumed. It could only be vaguely seen that the light was still struggling and falling apart.
In the sky around, two gigantic shadows emerged again. One of them was a mummy that was covered in brown cloth. It was so strong that Douglas and Fernando could perceive it clearly from far away. The other was a monster that had only skeletons left. It was even more gargantuan than the dragon lich, like the bones left by the legendary monsters in the Boundless Ocean.
The two undead creatures that were undoubtedly legendary joined the deep darkness that the dragon lich created. Therefore, the last haziness of the light was eclipsed.
In the forest, zombies, mummies, ghosts, spirits, skinless dogs, and other undead creatures climbed and covered the darkness like a surging tide.
“A legendary necromancer is truly horrifying, particularly one who grasps the tough legion of the undead. Kritonia is doomed…” Knowing a lot about necromancy, Fernando was quite astounded by what he saw.
For the other legendary classes of the school of necromancy, like the Great Master of Paleness or Demigod-lich, although they also had plenty of “helpers”, they could not compare to the Liege of Death. Those two classes were more focused on mysterious skills and soul attacks.
If the pope hadn’t destroyed the Liege of Death’s main legion, he would have resisted most legends of Holm on his own. It must be noted that he had two level-three servants of death in his prime days!
The forest was absolutely quiet without any noise. It was both weird and terrifying, making it impossible for them to know the progress of the battle. Therefore, Fernando could only move his eyes back and continue, “A satisfactory answer?”
Did the old fox not mention that only by winning the support of nobles could the organizations that had three legendary sorcerers be convinced to join? Was it another lie?
Arnold looked at him and Douglas and said calmly, “Although His Excellency Tannanois is unsatisfied with the empire’s decision and unwilling to go to Aalto to help, as one of the top experts in the world, he understands the situation very well and knows that this is the final chance to save himself!
“While the main force of the Church is stalled by Abel, Dracula, Danisos, and the other legends in the west, he has to save himself! After everything is settled, he will be no better than a rat in the gutter!
“This is the last chance. It is either death or a better life. Everybody knows it very well. Even if I did not greet them, they would’ve taken some action recently.”
Then, Arnold chuckled. “They did not pay much attention to us at the beginning, but Sharp’s contract inspired me to plan this operation. The real target has always been Kritonia since the very beginning.”
“No wonder you were so enthusiastic about Sharp’s random contract without much confirmation!” Fernando felt even more frustrated that he did not see that. In retrospect, he realized that the old fox was too passionate!
Arnold smiled and did not say anything. Douglas, on the other hand, nodded his head. “Even we were convinced that it was meant to kill Alfonsol. How could Kritonia have suspected us?”
“But what if League was not a traitor, and the Heart of Time did not come?” Fernando already knew that Sharp’s contract was only a disguise to cover the real target, but he still had doubts.
Arnold grimaced like a fox that had just stolen a chicken. “Then, our real target would’ve been Alfonsol. By killing him, we will raise the contradictions between the nobles and the Church to win a living space for ourselves.”
Huh? Fernando looked at Arnold in shock, having trouble following his explanation.
Arnold chuckled. “First of all, you need to remember our path—attract the nobles and sow discord between them and the Church. Therefore, either attacking the Heart of Time or killing Alfonsol is for the purpose, although the former is more effective than the latter.
“If the former cannot be accomplished, the latter will be our Plan B. It’s much more than a disguise.”
Fernando listened attentively and felt that he grasped something essential. For the first time, he wanted the old fox to talk.
Arnold turned his eyes to Douglas and smiled. “In order to achieve a purpose, you cannot create a plan that is so delicate that any accident in any procedure will result in failure because there are too many accidents in actual operations.
“The key to any operation is hiding, pretending, and lying. Hide your real purpose and pretend it to be something else that will actually help you accomplish your real purpose. That’s the only way to avoid your failure because the enemy’s sabotage will only indirectly help you. Both pretending and lying will require the support of detailed intelligence…”
Flying out of the forest, he talked eloquently with his hands behind his back with the utmost ease. Fernando was so stunned that he cursed to himself, This is truly an old fox!
However, why was he not so elaborate before?
Douglas listened carefully and shared similar feelings as Fernando. Until the battle of Antiffler, he had been focused on research and rejected by other sorcerers. He barely had any experience of making plans and arranging operations. He picked up something during his escape, but he was still immature. After hearing Arnold’s interpretation, he immediately felt that he understood a lot of new things.
Realizing something, he asked, “Mr. President, are you teaching me a lesson?”
He called the man respectfully.
Arnold turned around and looked at the forest that was still covered in absolute darkness, before he said with mixed feelings. “However strange your questions are, you are the sorcerer with the greatest potential of leadership in the Union. Fernando is smart enough, but he is too impatient and reckless. So, I need to tell you some of my experience before I die.”
“Old fox!”
“Old fox!”
“Mr. President…”
Arnold raised his hands and stopped them before he went on, “In the war that devastates the sorcerers, so many legends have passed away. Why do you think I am safe? Maybe I’ll be killed by grand cardinals, legendary knights, or night watchers at some point. I am not any luckier than other people. Or maybe in another hundred years, I will die of old age. This is a natural law that cannot be broken unless I become a legendary sorcerer.
“My greatest wish right now is to see the sorcerers back to the supreme place of this world and reestablish a glorious magic empire.”
His eyes did not leave the battlefield of legends, and he said in a low voice, “I wonder if I can live long enough to see that…”
My only wish is to watch you return to supremacy when I am still alive!
His back was slightly hunched, and his white hair was so obvious.
At this moment, an unimaginably dazzling light burst out in the darkness and illuminated the world.
