Chapter 1021 Inquisitor Of The Penumbra Circle, Marquis Varokin
'Oh? He's an Inquisitor of the Penumbra Circle?'
The skounae were divided into three separate groups based on their bloodline. One of those groups was known as the Penumbra Circle.
Only those with the rank of Marquis or Duke could become a part of the Penumbra Circle; however, those with the title of Inquisitor played a special role among the skounae.
The Inquisitors of the Penumbra Circle maintained order in the Malentansium kingdom and ensured that the Night King's will was being carried out properly.
There were two different types of Inquisitors in the Penumbra Circle. The first type was those with the rank of Marquis. It was these Inquisitors that kept a close eye on skounae who were at or below the rank of Marquis.
As for the other type of Inquisitor, they held the rank of Duke. But, unlike their Marquis counterpart, their only mission was to oversee their equivalents and prevent them from tearing each other asunder.
It was a common fact that skounae could not disobey the will of the Night King. But this did not mean that everything in the Malentansium kingdom always ran smoothly. If one were incompetent or abusing their position in a way that could potentially reflect poorly on the Night King or Malentansium itself, the Inquisitors would step in to correct it.
'He must be the one controlling the Undead Night Marchers. Is he a summoner or necromancer?'
With his Energy Vision Sense, Izroth could see a similar "flame" that matched that which encompassed the Undead Night Marchers. If they were summoned or being controlled by someone, it would explain why the auras felt different yet similar to one another.
Ding!
Izroth's Sword of the Storm collided with something that felt several times harder than steel. It managed to stop his sword in its tracks and forcibly dispersed the lightning element generated by his Third Sword Form: Collapsing Thunder.
'A magic barrier?'
Izroth could see a thin layer of dark purple mana coating Varokin's body from head to toe. The mana formed a sturdy protective barrier that completely shielded the skounae Marquis from harm.
A dense flow of mana gathered around Varokin as he said, "What's this? It appears that a little rat has managed to sneak past the Undead Night Marchers."
"How did he break free of my Tranquil Night Hysteria?" Varokin thought to himself as his expression darkened.
There was a reason why Varokin was entrusted with guarding the portal access point into the Night Lord's Crypt.
Tranquil Night Hysteria—this was a high-ranked illusion spell capable of pacifying anyone who displayed strong emotions or great levels of excitement.
For an enemy to enter into unknown territory and be surrounded by complete darkness, paired with the abrupt appearance of creatures like the Undead Night Marchers and having no way to immediately return—how would anyone in those situations be able to remain in complete control of their emotions?
"Did he use some kind of artifact to free himself? Well, it matters not. His fate remains the same." Varokin thought to himself as the killing intent around him exploded forth.
"I don't know how you were able to reach this place or overcome my Tranquil Night Hysteria. But now that you're here-" Varokin said as the mana around him rapidly transformed into something that resembled heavy rain frozen in mid-air.
In the blink of an eye, the rain-like mana changed into thousands of black needles that were as thin as a strand of hair. These black needles of mana formed a dome-like structure that left Izroth with nowhere to retreat.
"...You can forfeit your life!" Varokin scowled.
Almost in the very same breath as their appearance, the black needles rained down towards Izroth in a constant torrent.
Soooooou!
The black needles continued to rain down for nearly five seconds without pause before coming to a sudden halt.
The next moment, the dark purple mana within the atmosphere receded into Varokin as the lingering black needles vanished.
Varokin narrowed his eyes as he swept across the room with his gaze.
Instead of being greeted by the sight of a human turned into a porcupine, the space in front of Varokin was empty and Izroth was nowhere to be found.
Zeeeut!
Suddenly, a piercing intent along with an abrupt rise in temperature emerged at Varokin's back.
The skounae Marquis reacted swiftly as a thin protective barrier once again spawned around his body.
Bang! Crack!
"?!" A look of disbelief appeared on Varokin's face as he was momentarily overpowered and knocked back several steps.
Though what truly shocked Varokin was the fact that his protective barrier now had multiple cracks and fractures on its surface!
"How is this possible? He was able to fracture my Veil of Darkness in just two blows?" Varokin said to himself as his expression turned serious.
The Veil of Darkness was a defensive-type skill that nullified and dispersed any attacks that it came into contact with. The more one was shrouded in darkness, the greater the skill's defensive capabilities. That's why in this kind of environment, the Veil of Darkness was virtually indestructible.
To fracture it after only two attacks—how could Varokin not be taken aback by such a ridiculous outcome?
"I suppose you are not just some little rat scurrying around. Be honored, human. You shall now have the honor of facing I, Marquis Varokin, without reserve." Varokin stated as he stood up straight.
Izroth, however, could not help but inwardly frown at the results.
'I planned on completely shattering it in one go just now. Its protection abilities are greater than I anticipated.'
When Varokin conjured the dark needles and blocked Izroth's path of escape, he immediately attempted to use his Primed Instantaneous Movement to shift locations. However, to his surprise, the skill failed to activate!
At that moment, Izroth thought back to the warning he received from the system after he entered the Night Lord's Crypt.
It mentioned that certain methods of travel might be restricted or prohibited due to the surrounding space being locked by an unknown force; however, Izroth did not think that those methods of travel also included instant movement skills.
After realizing that he could not rely on his Primed Instantaneous Movement to escape the barrage of black needles, Izroth activated the skill Time Dilation and quickly came up with a solution on the spot.
First, Izroth used Molding Earth to barrel into the ground. In the same motion, he called forth the Scorched Inferno's Fang spear, using his Dual Wielding skill to utilize it alongside his Sword of the Storm.
Once he barreled into the ground, Izroth immediately closed the hole and opened a new one right at Varokin's back. And as he did so, Izroth used the skill Reign of Oblivion. This made it so that every spear-based attack against a target increased the damage of Izroth's next spear attack by 5%. It was also an effect that could stack any number of times.
Of course, just this alone was nowhere near enough to break through Varokin's protective barrier.
With Time Dilation still active, Izroth's thoughts held even greater clarity than usual in a short span of time. Due to this, he was overcome by a moment of inspiration in the middle of his spear strike.
Since he could fuse his First Baneful Sword: Destruction with his Fissuring Point skill—why not do the same for the Reign of Oblivion?
While there was no guarantee that it would work, Izroth knew that it was in the middle of a battle that a combat master could gain and improve his skills the most.
Even if he failed, Izroth did not mind taking the risk since it would only lead to a temporary setback.
Fortunately, right as he was striking out with his spear, Izroth managed to successfully change his usual approach. This led to the S-ranked Reign of Oblivion skill evolving to a different level.
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have gained a new insight into the preexisting skill «Reign of Oblivion».〉
〈System Alert: The skill «Reign of Oblivion» has evolved.〉
Without halting his momentum, Izroth kicked off his back foot and shot forward like an arrow being released from a bowstring.
The next moment, Izroth's figure started to flicker in and out of existence as he left footprints that created puddles of scorching heat and dimly lit up the area it came into contact with.