Chapter 180: The Awakened Ancient Fire Dragon, A Resurrection Magic Confrontation
In the distance, the lava flowed like a rolling sea, its blazing red light dyeing the vast region a fiery crimson.
The surrounding rock walls, long eroded by the scorching heat, had become incredibly hot and glowed with a faint red light.
Over many years, the stone of these walls had become as hard as some metallic ores.
At this moment!
Within a massive cave at the very top of the rock wall, a colossal fire dragon, its body covered in crimson scales, was comfortably sprawled atop a treasure hoard of various gems and ores, mostly red in color.
It was fast asleep.
There was no need to get close; the aura it unconsciously emanated far surpassed that of a hero-class warrior.
*Huuufff—*
From time to time, the sleeping fire dragon exhaled a scorching blast of hot air from its nostrils.
However, its relaxed, slumbering body suddenly trembled as if it had sensed something.
*Om!*
The fire dragon's eyes snapped open. It lifted its long neck, which was covered in crimson scales, revealing a pair of red pupils that seemed to burn with flames.
A look of arrogance, ferocity, and wisdom flashed through its eyes, only to be replaced by confusion.
*Clatter!*
Its sudden movement sent a large number of gems rolling down from beneath it, creating a cascade of noise.
"It seems there was a powerful magic fluctuation," the fire dragon tilted its head, its ancient, majestic voice echoing throughout the cave.
That powerful surge of magic had appeared and vanished in an instant, yet it was enough for the great perception of the dragon race to jolt him from his slumber.
As for whether it was an illusion?
*Whoosh—*
Its broad, heavy, fiery-red wings flapped lightly, sending two massive gouts of flame blasting through the cave, raising the temperature by several degrees.
The great Ti'orulna!
How could he possibly be mistaken!
Within the dark cave, a pair of fierce, crimson eyes flickered.
***
The "Land of Terror."
The aura of the dead pervaded this land without restraint. This was a colossal, ruined city situated in the middle of the Red Land.
By day, it was the world of the living, but by night, it belonged to the dead. Especially in this land saturated with the aura of the undead, it had been completely transformed into their paradise.
"Skreee—"
The grating cry from the rotting vocal cords of an Undead vulture echoed through the air.
Countless skeletons and low-level animated corpses roamed this land and the entire city.
*Tap—Tap—*
Footsteps, distinct from the shuffling of the undead, sounded from the ruined street.
Khajiit carried a variety of precious magic materials, rare in the outside world. He carefully moved around the undead, heading toward a building that resembled a three-story inn in the center of the ruined city.
Although he was currently a living person, as a necromancer, he naturally had ways to make these undead ignore him.
As Khajiit walked briskly, he would occasionally raise his head to look at the towering Black Tower at the very center of the city, its most conspicuous landmark.
It was a peculiar building with no windows, looking as if it had been constructed as a single, seamless structure. Even in the dead of night, the Black Tower remained clearly visible. Its pitch-black exterior seemed even deeper than the night itself.
That was the residence of the true master of this ruined land. He and the Alliance Leader were merely visitors.
The closer he got to the center, the more palpable the Negative Energy in the air became.
A flicker of fervent desire and fear crossed Khajiit's eyes. Relying on the Negative Energy here, he might actually succeed if he performed the "Spiral of Death" ritual.
The thought had just crossed his mind when Khajiit swiftly extinguished it.
Although several months had passed since his resurrection, his power had not yet fully recovered. The loss of the "Orb of Death," in particular, stripped him of his confidence.
*Damn bastard!*
*Just let me find you!*
Khajiit cursed silently, gnashing his teeth. He then hunched his shoulders and quickly averted his gaze from the Black Tower.
He couldn't possibly use the dense Negative Energy here; it was something the master of this place was using to gather a large number of undead, hoping to spawn even stronger ones.
In these past few months, Khajiit had more or less guessed the identity of the master of this ruined land, who occupied such a vast territory and warranted a visit from their Alliance Leader.
In this world, there were terrifying beings who surpassed the level of Night Lich, wielding power great enough to easily destroy a kingdom.
According to the secret records of various nations, only three were documented.
The Dragon Night Lich—Kefangtala Angelus.
The Titan Night Lich—Xiyue En.
And the most mysterious one, known as the Shadow King, the Night Lich called "Terror."
These three were clearly recorded in various nations, though not even top-tier nobles or some members of the royal family would necessarily know of their existence.
Because for the living, ignorance was a form of bliss.
And this place!
This was the domain ruled by that most mysterious, terrifying being.
Khajiit lowered his head and quickly entered the three-story building. After reaching the top floor, he gently knocked on a door.
*Click!*
The door opened on its own.
The Alliance Leader of Zuranon, shrouded in a thick black mist, appeared before Khajiit's eyes.
"Levitate."
The Zuranon Alliance Leader extended a staff from his body and waved it in Khajiit's direction.
The large quantity of magic materials Khajiit had brought flew into the air and began to arrange themselves in various positions according to a complex ritual that had already been laid out in the room.
"So, you prepared for so long only to fail? I expected as much. That insidious, blond-haired brat is no easy opponent," the Zuranon Alliance Leader spoke as he arranged the items, letting out a low chuckle. "Still, this is for the best. Only failure can breed a more fanatical desire for power."
Khajiit stood respectfully to the side, his gaunt face and sunken eyes fixed on the ground, carefully using his peripheral vision to glance at the complex magic ritual.
As for what was happening, Khajiit already had his suspicions. He was likely no longer the only one who would be staying here.
*Crack!*
As the last piece of magic material was put into place, the concentration of magic in the entire room began to rise sharply.
From within the black mist that enveloped his body, the Zuranon Alliance Leader tossed a crimson-colored potion bottle into the magic ritual chamber.
Even though the crimson potion bottle was sealed with a stopper, Khajiit could still smell a dense, foul, bloody scent that suddenly filled the air.
"Raise Dead!" a hoarse, deep voice rang out.
***
In the depths of the dense forest by the Upper Lake of the Great Wetland.
Tang Zheng held a pocket watch in one hand, checking the time, while occasionally glancing at the corpse of the Gray-robed Mage.
"This is taking even longer than when Khajiit was resurrected last time. Are they preparing a resurrection ritual?"
Tang Zheng muttered to himself, showing no signs of impatience as he continued to wait quietly.
Time ticked by.
Suddenly.
The Gray-robed Mage's body gave an imperceptible twitch. His entire body began to show signs of melting, like snow under the sun.
Tang Zheng, who had been watching closely, noticed this change immediately. Without any hesitation, he began a low chant: "Raise Dead!"
*Vwoom—*
A ripple of magic power spread out!
The melting phenomenon on the Gray-robed Mage's body came to a halt.
Unlike the previous time when he directly used resurrection magic, Tang Zheng could clearly feel the magic power in the air becoming frenzied.
*BOOM!*
A sound like a clap of muffled thunder exploded out of thin air, as if two different powers were colliding!
The turbulent ripples formed an invisible shockwave that swept out in all directions. The leaves on the numerous twisted, strange trees in the vicinity rustled loudly from the force of the blast!
"Hmph!"
Tang Zheng let out a cold snort. He could feel that he held the upper hand in this invisible clash.
*Swoosh—*
Tang Zheng directly increased his output of magic power, making the "Raise Dead" spell even more focused.
After a brief stalemate, the invisible shockwave dissipated. The Gray-robed Mage sat up from the ground with a miserable cry, gasping for breath.
"It worked."
"Looks like the backup plan won't be necessary."
Tang Zheng looked at the Gray-robed Mage who had been revived before him, a smile appearing on his face. He recalled the state of the magical confrontation just now, lost in thought. "So, with a complete corpse, casting the spell at close range is far more effective than casting it from a distance."
After reaching this experimental conclusion, Tang Zheng felt a sense of relief. Now he knew how to deal with Quinn Esai.
*Thud!*
With another dull thud, the Gray-robed Mage, completely unable to resist, fainted once more.
***
The "Land of Terror."
Inside the room.
The various precious magic materials laid out for the ritual had all turned to dust, scattered across the floor. The entire room was in disarray, as if it had been hit by a Category 7 or 8 gale.
"Theocracy!"
The Zuranon Alliance Leader, shrouded in the dense mist, let out a furious, low roar.
***
The next day.
As the light of the sun once again enveloped the wetland, Tang Zheng glanced at his stat panel. The display for the [Mad Mage] class skill showed that it was available for use again.
He killed the Gray-robed Mage, then cast the "Raise Dead" spell on him once more.
He had to use the [Mad Meditation] skill all three times before the Gray-robed Mage could no longer be revived with resurrection magic.
*Whoosh!*
A scorching fireball, transformed from a lightning ball, flew from Tang Zheng's palm and landed on the Gray-robed Mage's corpse, burning it to ashes.
"Was I being a bit too cautious?"
Tang Zheng looked at the ashes that were once the Gray-robed Mage, raised his hands to rub his temples, and murmured softly to himself.
(end of chapter)