Chapter Thirty-One: Suppression! Departure!
Sorry for coming back a bit late—I was having fun with my classmates~ Hehe, today’s the day Little Black grows a tail!! (It’s my birthday) If you’ve got tickets, don’t hold back—throw them at Little Black as soon as you can! ^-^ Little Black gives early thanks, and there’ll be two more chapters coming in the morning.
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The “Magic Core Inlay Technique” was a skill Xu Wen developed after becoming a Master of Necromancy, derived from the “Skeletal Modification Technique”—a method borrowed from games that allows ordinary undead to temporarily regain the strength they had in life.
Matching elemental magic cores are embedded within the undead; the undead can then, by instinct, summon magic and wield combat skills as they did before death. Most of the magic power, however, is drawn from the core, resulting in heavy consumption and deep dependency.
All six skeletons summoned by Xu Wen were fitted with magic cores, forming a “Skeleton Guard Squad” specifically prepared to guard against unexpected events! Their combat power was only about mid-level two-star, but with six combined—balancing ranged and close attacks—they could still restrain even a three-star magical beast to some extent.
The Frostfire Direwolf, hit by two spells in quick succession, was instantly enraged. With a powerful leap and relying on the physical might and speed of a three-star beast, it forcibly knocked aside the two skeletal beasts charging at it.
Yet it paid the price—several bloody gashes. After all, Xu Wen was commanding; he’d never expected all six skeleton guards to escape unscathed from the Frostfire Direwolf’s assault.
Hiss!
A shadow darted forward—the “Serpentwolf Skeleton,” lying in ambush, seized the opportunity and lunged. Its sharp claws raked across the fallen direwolf, leaving four pitch-black wounds.
The Frostfire Direwolf howled in pain, its tail lashing out, sending the Serpentwolf Skeleton flying. Turning its head, it saw the blackened wounds oozing dark blood, reeking foully.
Roar!
A complex and unspeakable fury flashed in the direwolf’s two sets of eyes—both the black and the white wolf heads roaring in unison. Abandoning the Blue Lightning Panther and the Gale Fox that had attacked, it pounded its hooves and charged at Xu Wen with reckless abandon.
“Only realizing now?” Xu Wen sneered inwardly, stepping back without haste. The two skeletal beasts that had been knocked aside roared back at the direwolf, undaunted, like unkillable cockroaches.
At such close range, there was no way the direwolf could summon its magic in time.
Bang! Bang!
More bloody wounds appeared on its body.
The two skeleton beasts were sent flying once more; one even had its thigh bone savagely torn off by the direwolf and hurled far away...
“Hmph.” Xu Wen’s expression was calm as still water. The “Grand Fireball” he’d been preparing blazed forth at full speed!
Whoosh!!!
The fireball swelled violently in the wind, instantly reaching a diameter of ten meters!
With help from the “Devil’s Eye,” his power at the peak of two-star, ninth rank, the force of this strike was in no way inferior to a three-star first-rank spell.
The trees around were scorched black! The explosive force was so great that even the charging direwolf faltered. Just as it prepared to leap aside, another bolt of lightning crashed down from above!
Boom!
Electricity raged—its body convulsed, the wild current shattering the strength it had built up. Deprived of its chance to dodge, it was engulfed by the onrushing sea of flames!
“ROAR!!!”
The direwolf’s enraged howls echoed from within the moving fireball, gradually fading into the distance.
Seizing the moment, Xu Wen swiftly popped a second “Devil’s Eye” into his mouth—after summoning six skeletons, his magic reserves were already low, and the Grand Fireball had nearly drained him. Any further summoning risked leaving him magically spent, open to necromantic backlash. Luckily, these “Devil’s Eyes” refined from “Stinking Marsh” magic cores had little potency and no severe side effects, making them perfect for replenishing the magic lost to his undead summons.
As expected!
The pill melted instantly, its warmth faint, providing a brief surge of spiritual power before dissipating. Xu Wen’s anxious heart finally settled.
His magic was restored by at least thirty percent, and his mental limits rose slightly. Steadying himself, Xu Wen ordered his skeletal beasts to continue attacking the direwolf, popped a stimulant for good measure, and quietly awaited the rise in his magic.
The Grand Fireball faded. The Frostfire Direwolf’s forepaws were buried deep in the ground, its fur charred, crisscrossed with a dozen wounds leaking congealed red and black blood—a pitiful sight.
It was hard to believe a two-star mage had wrought such havoc!
Surveying the five skeletal beasts blocking its path, Xu Wen noted that, aside from the one that had lost its thigh and could no longer fight up close, the other four watched the direwolf with hungry eyes, their bodies pulsing with magic.
With a soft sound, a silvery-white, crescent-shaped giant ice blade appeared before the direwolf!
Whoosh!!
The blade, over five meters long, shot forward at terrifying speed, spinning and slicing. The skeletons scattered, casting spells and leaping aside.
Three-star Water Spell—Crescent Cyclone Slash. Its destructive power was immense! Any two-star beast, without defensive skills, would be cleaved clean in two!
The ice blade was upon the human mage in an instant, but he didn’t even flinch. The direwolf’s four eyes gleamed with savage satisfaction, ignoring the spells it had taken.
As long as the necromancer died, his undead would naturally disappear.
Yet!
Just as the Crescent Cyclone Slash was about to hit, the loyal “Rhinoceros Skeleton” moved. Magic energy surged from the core in its skull, a grayish light enveloped its body, and it charged straight into the blade!
A high-tier, two-star, earth-defense beast—yet even it couldn’t withstand the direwolf’s full-force blow. Its outer glow shattered instantly; its body was swept by the ice blade, breaking into countless fragments.
Boom!!!
The weakened blade struck Xu Wen’s Flame Shield, slicing it open and leaving a deep scar before finally dissipating.
Even Xu Wen, as calm as he was, broke out in a cold sweat. This was the true strength of a three-star magical beast.
If another attack like that came, even the rhinoceros could not save him!
Xu Wen dared not risk his life. He commanded his four remaining skeletons to pin down the direwolf, giving it no chance to cast another three-star spell, while he retreated rapidly, chanting as fast as he ever had.
Meanwhile, the serpentwolf’s venomous assault was finally taking effect. After two poison wounds, the direwolf’s speed dropped noticeably, and its attacks lost their former ferocity.
Xu Wen seized his chance!
“Go!”
Three skeletal beasts, each as massive as a Gale Fox, emerged from the gleaming black portal, their deathly aura thick. With low growls, they sprang toward the distant battlefield from different directions.
Having just destroyed two skeletons, the direwolf barely had time to catch its breath before three new foes appeared. Infuriated, it let out a volley of furious howls.
Its body was quickly covered in fresh claw marks and magical burns.
“You still won’t retreat?”
Xu Wen stood quietly beyond the fray, watching the direwolf, which still sent skeletons flying with its fierce attacks. Unconsciously, cold sweat began to bead on his brow.
It looked as if he had things under control, but only thanks to the venom’s weakening effect and the Magic Core Inlay Technique.
But the magic cores’ energy would soon run dry.
Without ranged magical support, the skeletons’ close combat would never hold off a mid-tier three-star beast. In another thirty seconds, his position would be dire.
Moreover...
Where was the rescue team?
They had “that thing,” and should have noticed his group’s incursion into the Blackwater Mountains. If they arrived while he was battling the direwolf and found undead skeletons, his situation would become even more precarious...
He had to end this fight quickly!
Gritting his teeth, Xu Wen approached the shattered “corpse” of the rhinoceros...
A deep, arcane chant echoed from beyond the battlefield.
Soon, to the direwolf’s horror, the “Rhinoceros” it had torn apart seemed to be guided by an invisible hand. The scattered bones rejoined perfectly, and in the blink of an eye, it was restored to its former vigor.
The moment it landed, the necromancer handed a small porcelain vial to its mouth. The rhinoceros bit down, and, hooves pounding, charged swiftly along the ground—its speed not great, but showing no sign of injury.
The direwolf, seeing this, panicked at once!
Its attention split, its aura faltered. Meanwhile, the seven skeletal beasts pressed their assault, preventing the direwolf from interfering, as if wholly intent on escorting the rhinoceros and its vial safely closer.
Closer... and closer!
Crack!
A crisp shattering rang out—the rhinoceros crushed the porcelain vial in its jaws, releasing a rich fragrance that quickly spread.
Bang! Bang!
Several skeletons were knocked aside, and the direwolf let out a series of unwilling, panic-stricken wails, tucking its tail as it staggered and fled deeper into the Blackwater Mountains.
Xu Wen finally relaxed, letting out a quiet breath.
“Whew...” At last, he had scared the beast away, using necromantic summoning and “Drunken Breeze.” Though Drunken Breeze had little effect on a three-star beast—at best, it forced it to waste magic resisting the fleeting intoxication—the direwolf was likely under as much pressure as Xu Wen himself.
He had maintained an air of perfect composure, as if he could summon more skeletons or revive the wounded at any time; combined with the strange fragrance and the venom steadily eroding the direwolf’s strength, it had no confidence it could finish the fight before the Hortonklin family’s rescue team arrived.
As soon as the direwolf fled, Xu Wen quickly scattered a wide area of fire-phosphorus powder across the battlefield... With only a spark, the site of his duel with the direwolf was left as if cleansed by a five-star group spell.
He turned and left!