Chapter Eighty-Three: Capturing the Necromancer Alive

On the northern wall, a growing crowd of blood-red skeletons had gathered below the city gate. Most wore the gear of city guards, their numbers exceeding a thousand. Among them was one particularly formidable blood-red skeleton, ragged and imposing—none other than the Lord of Mus City himself. Alongside his guards and the champions of the Elsar and Salem families, he was among the first to fall victim to the necromancer’s attack and be transformed into a blood-red skeleton.

Atop the city wall, the proud-faced man frowned, gazing at the lingering golden flames in the sky and the other fiery signals from various directions. Even when ordering the execution of his clan’s own members, his expression had not changed; but now, for the first time, his face darkened, revealing a grave unease.

“It seems they came from **** Town.”

“The necromancer stationed at **** Town is Iron Corpse, with strength at the peak of seven stars—stronger than any in Mus City. By rights, he shouldn’t have let anyone slip through…”

The middle-aged man beside him looked equally troubled, his gaze hesitantly swinging to the dark-robed necromancer seated nearby, emanating an aura of chilling gloom.

“But if someone has come from **** Town, it means Iron Corpse’s fate is dire. If the people in the city unite, these living dead alone won’t be enough to contend with the five grand magi… Should we change our plan?”

“No need.”

Twin cold sparks flashed from the shadowed hood, and a rasping, hoarse voice sounded:

“Iron Corpse has always been arrogant. His death doesn’t surprise me.”

“The plan remains unchanged. The mad powder hasn’t affected many yet; it can’t stop them from gathering. We must hurry and turn the city’s civilians into living dead, then, with the combined power of five, summon as many undead servants as possible and coat them in mad powder. Even if they unite, they cannot fully withstand us. In the end… the city will inevitably fall, every soul transformed.”

“Yes!”

The necromancer’s certainty reassured the two men.

But elsewhere, Xu Wen had already targeted a daring, reckless necromancer.

Though the intruder hid skillfully, dressed in sky-blue robes of a six-star water mage, a golden badge pinned to his chest, claiming to be a scion of the Nangong family—information likely extracted from his soul by defensive secret arts—his chilling aura could deceive others, but not Xu Wen. Had the man’s spiritual strength truly been only at the six-star level, Xu Wen would have ordered Helian Quan to fire the heavy crossbows long ago!

Once the man reached the city wall, Xu Wen quietly informed Helian Quan.

Helian Quan, trusting Xu Wen’s judgment implicitly, was startled by the news of a suspected necromancer infiltrating the wall. He quickly asked for the intruder’s features, gathered over a dozen seven-star champions, and caught the man off guard.

Despite the necromancer’s protests, when Helian Quan drew out necromancer equipment and weapons from the suspect’s storage ring, all color drained from the man’s face.

“Kill me, then.”

“That would be far too merciful!”

Helian Quan gritted his teeth, his cold words like lashes across the necromancer’s face. The latter’s expression changed, but his spiritual power was sealed by special means, bound tight and robbed even of the ability to end his own life.

“Speak!”

Helian Quan fixed his icy gaze on the necromancer, firing off several quick questions:

“How many of you are there in Mus City? How many necromancers? And how many rebels from those two families?”

The necromancer’s eyes flickered, but he confessed readily:

“Not many—just about ten… The Elsar and Salem families have over two hundred…”

Everyone was stunned.

Ten necromancers?

Helian Quan was not so easily fooled. Without hesitation, he slapped the necromancer hard, blood filling the man’s mouth, several teeth knocked loose.

“I’ll give you one more chance.”

Helian Quan’s ruthless side surfaced, his voice colder than ice:

“If you dare lie again, I’ll carve the flesh from your bones, piece by piece, and feed it to you.” At this, the necromancer fell silent, slowly raised his head, and spat out a sentence:

“I’ll talk—if you tell me how you discovered my identity.” He’d been planted as a six-star water mage and family scion to infiltrate, awaiting a chance to coordinate from within and wipe out Mus City’s resistance, but was unmasked before he could act, leaving him baffled.

“You have no right to negotiate with me!”

Helian Quan would never let Xu Wen—a mere youth—face a dangerous necromancer.

Nor did Xu Wen wish to meet the necromancer. Necromancers possessed keen senses; if he aroused suspicion, it could spell trouble.

Just as Helian Quan prepared to continue the interrogation, two sharp, urgent yellow flare signals suddenly erupted from the southern direction.

Helian Quan and the family champions all started, their hearts pounding as they looked back.

Upon seeing the distant signal flares, a soldier outside shouted urgently:

“Royal distress signal! Commander!”

Helian Quan and the many strong men atop the wall all turned grim, including He Chen and Xu Wen.

A member of the royal family.

There was actually a direct imperial bloodline left in Mus City?

This was serious!

According to the laws of the Azure Cloud Empire, whether army, family, or adventurer, anyone who saw a royal distress signal must immediately rush to aid; any delay was considered treason!

On ordinary days, this was not excessive.

The emperor’s bloodline symbolized the stability of the empire’s future, and no harm could be tolerated.

But tonight, with countless living dead infected with the virus roaming the city, powerful necromancers and rebel family champions lurking in the shadows—should they spot the royal distress signal, they might have set an ambush nearby; or perhaps the signal itself was a trap!

No matter how perilous the city, Helian Quan, as an imperial soldier, had to lead the city guards in loyal execution of the order.

Everyone on the city wall was duty-bound to rescue the royal family member.

“Which one is staying in the city?”

“It seems to be His Highness, the Prince of Honor, the emperor’s nephew.”

“Him?” Helian Quan’s expression eased. The Prince of Honor commanded a strong guard, even had a seven-star champion as bodyguard; he shouldn’t fall so quickly.

“All soldiers, listen! Those below four stars remain and protect the civilians outside the city. All others, four stars and above, follow me into the city!”

After issuing his orders, Helian Quan turned to Xu Wen:

“In my absence, little brother Xu Wen, I ask you to take command. All soldiers obey—without Xu Wen’s approval, no one is to ascend the city gate!”

“Yes!”

The soldiers responded in unison.

Xu Wen alone was stunned by this sudden ‘commander’ role: It was almost laughable—on a pitch-black night, staying with a group of three-star soldiers seemed even more dangerous than those entering the city.

Fortunately, Helian Quan did not leave Xu Wen too exposed; he left twenty champions brought from **** Town, including a seven-star lightning mage, and temporarily reassigned a seven-star battle master from Zhang Ke, along with more than twenty six-star magi.

Helian Quan’s group also numbered over three hundred, with swordmasters, crossbowmen, and mages, giving them some measure of confidence.

Once Helian Quan’s party departed, beneath the parapet, the bound necromancer flashed a chilling, sinister smile…

The sudden turn of events made everyone temporarily forget the interrogation, while the necromancer quickly realized this was an excellent chance for survival.