Chapter 825: Embarrassed And Battered
Norfeller was facing that exact situation now. Although five Death Knights were besieging Norfeller, none of them were his match at all. However, the perfect cooperation between the five Death Knights made his speed almost useless. They were greatly restricting his movements, and even though he was moving from left to right like a black ray of lightning, he was still like a bug trapped in a transparent jar which could never break through the invisible walls.
The attacks that Norfeller launched were all blocked by the Death Knights, and Norfeller’s figure also appeared in between the Death Knights. There was a tinge of panic on his sullen face, and even though he was well aware that he wouldn’t be able to share much of his master’s burden with his current abilities, since the enemy was too overpowering, he still didn’t mind risking his life to grasp even the slightest opportunity for his master.
Norfeller grabbed the Retribution Daggers, each embellished with Gems of Curse, with his pale hands while staring coldly at the five Death Knights. Maroon tattoos climbed out of the collar and cuffs of the robe and quickly covered Norfeller’s exposed skin. His pale face became even more terrifying and menacing because of the blood-red lines. The bloody odor that his body emitted also became increasingly stronger.
Back in the green dragon’s lair, Norfeller drank the blood of three green dragons. Although it was the lowest-level type among all wyrms, it was still a true descendant of the ancient wyrms, after all. The power in its blood was far beyond what ordinary people could imagine. The massive power contained in the dragon blood was not consumed entirely when Norfeller entered the Legendary-realm, and there was still a large portion of it left, which would even be enough to support him until he reached level-24.
At this moment, Norfeller squeezed out the remaining power in his blood, and although it was beyond what his body could take, it was enough to make his abilities rise by a small level within a short period of time. Although he knew that his improved strength would have a very insignificant effect on the current situation, he still did it nonetheless.
In the blink of an eye, Norfeller’s body was already engulfed in the thick blood flames, and two red rays of light almost a meter long were released from the Retribution Daggers in his hands. The violent and bloodthirsty aura seemed to be surging towards the Death Knights in the surroundings. Under the oppression of the aura, even the Death Knights who had once carried out a massacre in the Breezy Plains under the Retribution Knight Rodhart could not help but break into a commotion.
“BOOM!”
Norfeller suddenly appeared in front of a Death Knight, and the two red rays of light emitted from the Retribution Daggers overlapped on the Death Knight’s body. His lance broke, and the Nightmare Beast wailed while its body crumbled into pieces because of the red light. At this moment, Norfeller who was in the middle of the Death Knights that were surrounding him looked a little illusory while the red flames shrouded his body.
Norfeller’s sudden eruption was beyond the Death Knights’ expectations. After all, the Death Knights were actually only at the peak of level-19. Although Rodhart’s supportive magic spells had given them some assistance, and the Death Knights could also exert powerful combat power above the Legendary-level through their seamless cooperation[1], it would be impossible for them to resist the attacks of level-23 powerhouses if they were singled out.
After attacking successfully, Norfeller did not continue attacking, and instead rushed towards the center of the palace without stopping because his master was struggling while fighting the terrifying Retribution Knight.
However, the hundreds of Death Knights that Rodhart had summoned were still terrifying and not to be belittled, even though their army was no longer as big as it used to be. Although Norfeller had killed a Death Knight and broken away from the encirclement, there were more Death Knights rushing towards him and surrounding him before he could even get far.
In the blink of an eye, Norfeller was once again surrounded by a formation made up of 10 Death Knights that cooperated seamlessly, making it impossible for him to advance again. Everything seemed to have returned to normal. Although Norfeller had unleashed all his potential, he was again blocked by a stronger wall, and could only roar furiously under the siege of the Death Knights.
The Lich Ujfalusi was riding the Humerus Wyrm and waving the Skeleton Staff not too far away from Norfeller. He continuously released Necromagic spells and moved around with more than 10 Death Knights. Although the Humerus Wyrm could still fly in the air, the Death Knights’ Nightmare Beast could also move in the air. Their power and abilities were not affected at all. Hence, it was rather difficult for Ujfalusi to deal with them.
On the ground, a black vortex was continuously spitting out an Undead Army that consisted of Skeletal Warriors that formed hordes, Hell Ghouls which were launching Hellfire bombs, and Skeleton Mages who were waving Skeleton Staffs. All sorts of Undead creatures surged out of the vortex like a grayish white tide.
However, the triangle formed by the three Death Knights blocked the front of the Undead Army like an efficient grinder. The three black lances were stirring up bones and ashes which seemed like heavy snowfall. The Necromancers had always been proud of the daunting Tide of Death which brought endless horror to the world. However, it was firmly restrained from advancing by the three Death Knights, and regardless of how many Undead creatures there were, it was impossible for them to force the three Death Knights to retreat.
Compared to Norfeller, Ujfalusi wasn’t as loyal to Lin Li. After all, he only chose to surrender to Lin Li and become his slave because his life was threatened. However, regardless of whether he was willing or not, the binding power of the Soul Contract made Ujfalusi too scared to even show the slightest dissatisfaction with Lin Li under any circumstances. Otherwise, Lin Li would be able to extinguish his soul fire easily.
However, in the current situation, Ujfalusi was not going all out and risking his life like Norfeller did, even though he didn’t spare any effort, either. Although he would have to be buried with Lin Li if the latter died, he would not take the initiative to reverse the sequence and die before Lin Li did.
Besides, Ujfalusi also knew that no matter how much power he put out, it would be futile in the face of the Sanctuary-level Retribution Knight. He felt that it would be better to buy some time by holding the Death Knights back and share some of the burden with Lin Li.
On the other side of the palace, the Lord of Nightmares and the Crimson Dragon were also surrounded by several Death Knights. The Lord of Nightmares was actually rather powerful. After all, he was chosen to be sealed in the Summoning Lamp by Osric. How could it be weak? Unfortunately, he was good at mental strength attacks, which the Death Knights and Nightmare Beasts were highly immune to. Hence, he could not quite handle the four Death Knights that were his opponents.
However, the Humerus Wyrm had fused with the Heart of the Fallen in the Blackstone Mountains previously, and had better combat senses than most Humerus Wyrms. Its body was also replaced by that of the Crimson Dragon. Apart from the strong death aura, it was probably no different from real wyrms. Besides, it was definitely not inferior to real wyrms of the same level in terms of combat effectiveness. It flapped its large, fleshy wings while its body hovered in the air. It would spit out some dragon breath or release some Dragon language magic. Although it did not have the upper hand, it wasn’t as pathetic as the Lord of Nightmares.
Connoris could not be bothered to complain about anything, either. As the Legendary powerhouse of the team who was second to Lin Li, Connoris was also besieged by 20 of Rodhart’s Death Knights.
Connoris already had an extra silver-white spear, but it was not a transformed version of the debris of the stars, Nothingness. Instead, it was a product of the Forging Workshop of the Tower of Dusk, which was a standard weapon for the Guardian Knights of the Brilliance Shrine. It was known as the Holy Light Cross. There were two types of mageweaths on the spear, the Holy Light Strike and the Judgment of Light. The power of the Holy Light Strike was rather ordinary, and it was somewhat like the fireball magic of mages. On the other hand, the Judgment of Light was higher than level-15, and would cause certain damage even to Undead creatures that were close to the Legendary-level.
In the era when Connoris had been an ancient deity, there had been no difference between Mages and Warriors. Both martial arts and magic were methods of controlling power, and as long as it could kill the enemy, it would be a useful skill. Even the High Elves of the Dark Age did not draw a clear line between magic and martial arts and divide them into two separate professions. There was once a prestigious High Elves’ Legion that dominated Anril and owned three standard types of equipment, which included the Blade of Heartbreak in addition to the Faro’s Robe and the Dark Moon staff. That was enough to prove that the members of the Magic Legion possessed brilliant martial skills on top of mastering the profound attributes of magic.
In fact, the so-called division between Mages and Warriors only emerged amongst the humans. Since not all people could learn magic, mages became a noble profession; hence, mages did not bother to learn martial arts painstakingly. They would spend their extra time learning pharmaceutics and inscription.
Although Connoris used to be a demon deity and a master of deception and conspiracies who was best at backstabbing, he was not entirely clueless about martial arts. Besides, his perfect body was said to be much stronger than the ancient wyrms and the Titans. The terrifying power of his combat skills was probably not inferior to that of powerful magic, either.
Although the Holy Light Cross was merely a standard weapon, its effects also varied depending on the person using it. Connoris waved the Holy Light Cross in his hand, which emitted bright silver rays of light. It seemed to even be able to devour the formation formed by the 20 Death Knights.
However, Connoris had yet to fuse completely with the perfect body, after all. Hence, the power that he could exert was at most level-24. Although Connoris seemed to have the upper hand on the surface, he was well aware that the battle formation formed by the 20 Death Knights was just like an extremely durable net with infinite tensile strength. Regardless of how much force he applied, he would never be able to rip the net apart.
Although there seemed to be no danger for now, Connoris knew very well that once there were changes to the other teams and more Death Knights joined in, he would probably die. Besides, the Death Knights wouldn’t seal his soul like Osric had, and his soul would become a nourishing supplement for them, even though he was an ancient deity.
Connoris was anxious, but he couldn’t think of a way to get out even after racking his brains. Hence, he could only pin his hopes on Lin Li. However, judging from the current situation on Lin Li’s side, Connoris felt that his chances were too slim. Lin Li’s opponent was a true Sanctuary powerhouse.
Lin Li saw everything that happened on the battlefield. At this moment, the benefits of demolishing the battlefield were also obvious. Although the situation that his subordinates were facing was terrible, they could at least persist for a little while. If hundreds of knights got into a battle formation, his subordinates would probably have to face a massive number of Death Knights at the same time. They probably wouldn’t be able to persist for another moment.
Of course, even so, the current situation was still not optimistic for Lin Li. Rodhart was a true Sanctuary powerhouse. Even if he did not summon those Death Knights, Lin Li still wouldn’t win with his current strength. Lin Li’s subordinates were all struggling to hang on and keep up with their defense under the siege of the Death Knights. They couldn’t afford to support him and give him aid at all.
The fight between Lin Li and Rodhart could not be considered a battle anymore. Although the former had already gotten a certain enlightenment about the power of the Sanctuary-realm, it was still ridiculously small and insignificant in front of a real Sanctuary powerhouse. It was just like a tiny firefly competing for glory with the moon.
Damn it. Fortunately, I didn’t listen to Connoris and act rashly when I first came here. Otherwise, I would have died long ago!
While dodging Rodhart’s sword pathetically and breaking out in a cold sweat, he felt fortunate that he hadn’t been tempted by Polar Snow and Raging Flames back then.
When Lin Li went to the underground palace for the first time, he was merely a mage who had just entered the Legendary-realm, and his only subordinates were Norfeller and Ujfalusi. At that time, Connoris was just a soul trapped in a hammer. When he saw the debris of the stars, Polar Snow and Raging Flames, he repeatedly encouraged Lin Li to collect them.
According to what Connoris said back then, Rodhart had been purified by the Prophet Willen in the past. Even though he was still alive, he was still seriously injured. However, it didn’t seem to be the case. Not only did he still possess Sanctuary-level powers, he even managed to summon the Death Knights. Given Lin Li’s strength during the first trip, he definitely couldn’t have retaliated against the Death Knights, even if Rodhart had not attacked him.
[1] It probably refers to a group of more than just five.