As Ilucia's feet left the ground, several small bottles fell from her person, but these bottles were sturdy and did not break.
Ogrim lifted his foot and crushed one of the bottles; red liquid flowed out.
Gandling glanced at it and said to Ogrim, "It's a healing potion."
Immediately after, Ogrim crushed the other bottles in sequence.
Once the liquids flowed out, Gandling confirmed that they were not lethal but rather potions for restoring status and granting beneficial effects.
It seemed Ilucia intended to use Holy Water to affect Gandling, then, with the help of these expensive potions, defeat Gandling using her magic.
Realizing she was restrained, Ilucia began to struggle with all her might, but how could a female mage break free from Ogrim's grip, especially since her own magic was also suppressed by Ogrim?
Ilucia couldn't use any magic now.
"Let me go! Demon!"
Gandling sighed; he had long known that the escape of the two Barov brothers was highly suspicious, and someone must have been behind it.
The only person with the ability and motive for this was Ilucia.
In fact, Ilucia also knew that if her brothers successfully escaped Caer Darrow, she would inevitably be the first suspect.
However, she selectively ignored her potential fate.
For this noble lady, her parents had already lost their lives in this completely unfair contract, and she herself knew what her fate would be once the Undead Scourge no longer needed a "living person" to conceal the truth.
Therefore, while being controlled by the Undead Scourge and managing the family's assets, Ilucia kept an extra lookout, using the family's channels to purchase a batch of potions.
The bottle of Holy Water was mixed among them; she claimed it was a gift from an alchemy workshop and that she would personally take it to be destroyed.
The truth was that she carried this bottle of Holy Water with her, concealing its Holy Light aura with magic, intending to use it as a last resort when necessary.
But the layer of Holy Light in front of Gandling shattered all of Ilucia's hopes; she knew she could never leave the Dark Dean's office alive today.
However, what Ilucia couldn't understand was why Gandling was protected by Holy Light!
Could it be that what those knights and priests believed in was just an empty name?
After Ogrim confirmed that Ilucia had no dangerous items on her, he used a rune to lock her hands and magic, rendering her still unable to cast spells or resist.
He threw Ilucia to the ground, but the young woman, who usually appeared extremely smooth, struggled to stand up.
Her carefully styled, neat hair was disheveled, and she glared at Gandling and Ogrim with eyes full of hatred and indignation.
"You... you cruel butchers! Don't even think about turning me into a servant of the Undead Scourge!"
Ilucia intended to forcibly activate the magical energy within her, not hoping to break through Ogrim's seal to cast spells, but making it unstable to create an Arcane explosion was not impossible.
"Enough. Be quiet."
The Dark Dean had finally had enough of this farce.
He snorted coldly, and a magical torrent, which Ilucia was powerless to resist, dispersed her control over the magic within her body.
Gandling's mastery of magic was far superior to that of the young girl.
What Ilucia didn't know was: even without this Holy Light barrier, if a single bottle of Holy Water could defeat him, he wouldn't be the Dark Dean at Scholomance.
Scholomance was not like Dalaran, where various mage schools constantly had power disputes; here, Necromancers and Undead only respected strength and knowledge.
If Gandling couldn't hold this position, he would have been replaced long ago.
Feeling the immense pressure emanating from the Dark Dean, Ilucia's face turned pale; only then did she realize she had completely underestimated Gandling's strength, and her understanding of mages was still very superficial.
"Disobedient students like you should go to the admonishment room to reflect properly and catch up on your knowledge."
Although Ilucia's betrayal was within Gandling's expectations, her open defiance under the gaze of his superior made Gandling lose face.
If Arthas hadn't ordered that the Barov Family preferably have a living person, he would have transformed Ilucia into a suitable student.
As the Dark Dean, Gandling highly valued his title.
If Scholomance had students who tarnished his reputation for "education," this Dean would not hesitate to eliminate such students.
In his eyes, such fools studying magic were simply wasting precious experimental materials and time; it would be better to turn them into experimental materials for other, more talented students to use.
"At any other time, I would certainly have you stop managing the Barov Family and instead join our courses to study diligently."
"What exactly do you want?" Ilucia understood Gandling's implication; the other party seemed not to want to kill her yet, but this did not make her feel lucky, because in this situation, perhaps death was the best option.
"The Barov name cannot disappear from the human nobility yet."
Ilucia immediately understood Gandling's intention.
She sneered, "You still want to use me as a puppet? I will never help the Scourge again!"
Gandling opened his mouth, just about to speak, when another voice, full of oppressive power and deterrence, rang out in the Dark Dean's office.
"Queen Ilucia Barov."
Ilucia was shocked to see Gandling's expression harden; he actually bent slightly, retreated to one side of the room, and respectfully said, "Your Majesty."
Your Majesty?
Ilucia thought of the terrifying entity Gandling occasionally mentioned, who controlled everything of the Undead Scourge—could it be that the other party was watching here?
"I didn't expect someone like you to exist in the Barov Family," Arthas adjusted his voice slightly, ensuring Ilucia wouldn't detect any issues, "However, it's just a meaningless action."
"You enslaved my family, took away my parents," Ilucia gritted her teeth, she looked up and around, as if trying to find where the owner of the voice was.
"That was an agreement they voluntarily signed; I never forced them, but I don't mind giving you another chance."
"No matter what you say, I will never help the Scourge again!" Ilucia's resolve was firm.
Arthas was not surprised; Ilucia's affection for the Barov Family was not that deep, and besides, her parents had already died—however, for the Undead, physical death did not mean the end of everything.
"Perhaps you will change your mind after seeing this."
After saying that, Arthas fell silent.
Gandling had previously received instructions from Arthas; at this moment, he perfectly opened a hidden door next to the Dark Dean's office.
That had once been the Barov Family's burial chamber, but now it was used for evil purposes.
Ilucia involuntarily cast her gaze there, but when she saw what was inside, she froze on the spot, losing all ability to think.
"Continuing to manage the Barov Family is already your best choice, isn't it, my dear Ilucia?" Gandling said to the dazed girl.