Chapter 368: You Cannot Die, Because I Won't Allow You to Die (Part 3)

  The distance of a thousand meters was covered in an instant under Lancelot's fully powered Holy Light Cross Sword, with an enormous sword energy and holy light soaring into the sky. The corpse monster's massive body only had time to move slightly before being split apart by this giant sword of holy light.

  Corpse fragments flew everywhere. The corpse monster was first split in two, then completely disintegrated and vanished. The body, which had just been flexible and more agile than any creature, immediately collapsed. The power of this sword not only broke through the corpse monster's form but also caused the Necromancy within it to dissipate in the rising sword energy of holy light.

  "Seeking death." Sandro remained calm, snorted coldly, and looked at the giant sword of holy light that passed by him. No matter how fast or fierce this sword was, at such a distance, it couldn't possibly harm him. The broken corpse fragments automatically gathered beneath Sandro's feet, reforming into a small corpse monster to catch him. He had already grabbed a handful of corpse fragments, kneaded them, and threw them, sending a mass of blackness flying directly toward Lancelot.

  Having succeeded with one strike, Lancelot's figure gradually became visible in the dispersing sword energy, his momentum spent. This was a thousand meters in the sky, with no room to maneuver. Even the strongest warrior could only be a living target when facing a mage in such a situation. But as Sandro made his move, he quickly said to Ethan: "Escape quickly."

  For a veteran swordsman like Lancelot to launch a full-power strike disregarding his own safety, his purpose was certainly not just to defeat the corpse monster.

  All the ordinary elves on the War Ancient Tree had already left. Beside Elder Lloyd were the Pope, the two tower masters of the Tower of Fangs, and the Church's last Temple Knight Harlan and Grand Mage Diana. Just as Sandro threw his magic at Lancelot, the Pope also raised his hand to the sky and chanted: "In the name of the Lord, purify."

  A burst of white light erupted before the rotten flesh Sandro had casually thrown. The rotten flesh, along with the Necromancy condensed on it, completely dissipated in the white light like snow under the blazing sun. Purification was just a minor spell in white magic, but even at a distance of a thousand meters, the Pope could perform it flawlessly. And since it was white magic from his hands, it was enough to help Lancelot resist this originally fatal blow.

  "A woman is still a woman, not suitable for scheming." Elder Lloyd shook his head lightly.

  After the meeting at the Magic Academy, he and the Pope had already noticed the female Chancellor's unusual expression. Just in case, there were many secret sentries around the Chancellor's residence. Naturally, among the guards were people from Commander Roland. The visits of Sandro and Inham could not be hidden from them. Later, when they went to test her intentions slightly, they could guess from the Chancellor's expression that she had already leaked the secret. They immediately all used teleportation scrolls to rush over.

  Lord Bolgan had also arrived, but he had no time to pay attention to the battle above. He was circling the altar like an ant on a hot pan, shouting loudly at the unconscious Gru, reaching out as if to touch him, but not daring to.

  "What exactly happened to Lord Gru? Hey, can you help me take a look?"

  Elder Lloyd only glanced over and shook his head lightly, saying: "No need to trouble yourselves. A creature eroded by the aura of The Black Star can only be destroyed, even if it's a dragon or a titan. He has survived until now entirely because of the power of the Leaves of the World Tree. The remaining bit of Sunwell well water can at most disperse the aura and let him continue to live. It's impossible for him to return to his original state. He is no longer useful to us."

  "No longer useful? You old fellow. If any orc heard these words, your only fate would be to swallowed and digested into a pile of shit..." Lord Bolgan glared at the elven elder, but then his expression darkened, and he sighed heavily.

  "We absolutely cannot let them escape." Elder Lloyd no longer paid attention to Lord Bolgan. He turned and laboriously uttered these words. The wrinkles on his face seemed to have increased, and he looked as if even standing was difficult, as if he had aged so much that he might collapse into a pile of rotten flesh at any moment.

  "Wait, Elder." Luya spoke, only now able to recover from her shock, looking at the Pope and Lancelot in the sky. "How did you suddenly get in contact with the Church? Have you forgotten what that Temple Knight did last time? How can we help the Church deal with him? He helped us through many disasters..."

  "There are no eternal enemies. Of course, there are no eternal friends either. When the situation changes, our stance naturally changes too. Now our friends are them. Not him." Elder Lloyd slowly uttered these words from a mouth almost buried in wrinkles, with helplessness and sadness in his aged decay. "Forget it. You don't need to understand these matters. It's enough that I understand..."

  "Well said. I didn't want to make a move against this kid either." Adelaide sighed slightly and nodded. She had been silently chanting incantations from the beginning, and now she also raised her hand to the sky.

  High in the sky, the air around Sandro and Ethan suddenly cooled down. Water vapor condensed into countless giant snowflakes, and then a fierce wind suddenly rose. This patch of sky suddenly became polar. A massive blizzard raged, and countless palm-sized snowflakes cut the falling corpse fragments into smaller pieces, then froze them all into ice fragments.

  The power of this blizzard magic was worthy of a master-level spell. If dealing with a large army, such a wide range and fierce cold air and wind would be enough to cut thousands of ordinary soldiers to pieces. But for people like Ethan and Sandro, it had little effect. Battle Qi slightly condensed, and these water-vapor snowflakes shattered upon touching Ethan's body. Around Sandro, a faint black halo had already formed, and all snowflakes melted silently as soon as they approached.

  However, the purpose of this magic was not actually to kill people. Sandro was better off, but the living corpse barely formed beneath Ethan's feet immediately disintegrated and shattered into countless ice fragments under the blizzard, and the person staggered downward. Sandro grunted, with no time to throw the newly condensed magic in his hand at Lancelot, as the living corpse turned around to catch the falling Ethan.

  "Come down." Tower Master Graden also raised his hand, pointing at the living corpse and the two people from a distance of a thousand meters.

  While catching Ethan, the living corpse's body suddenly sank downward, as if unable to bear the weight of two people, and then fell straight toward the ancient elven tree. The falling speed became faster and faster, even faster than Lancelot who had landed earlier. Finally, the two people above had to jump away from this living corpse monster simultaneously, using Feather Fall to slow their descent. But the living corpse's falling speed didn't decrease at all. At just over a hundred meters in height, the speed was so fast that it was already burning from friction with the air.

  With a loud bang, the rapidly falling living corpse finally crashed onto the War Ancient Tree. Wood chips and corpse fragments flew everywhere. A deep pit was smashed into the hard ancient tree, and even the entire ancient tree seemed to shake. This not-so-large living corpse actually had such falling momentum, like a meteor weighing tens of thousands of jin falling from beyond the nine heavens.

  The living corpse in the pit was still moving, like a creature that had been stepped on but not completely killed, struggling to stand up and flap about. But this originally extremely agile corpse monster now moved as slowly as a snail. A cold current flowed over. The remains instantly condensed into a piece of blue-white ice, and then after dense crackling sounds, the completely frozen remains were pulled into fragments by gravity that had increased dozens of times.

  Only then did Adelaide and Tower Master Graden stop. Under the combined efforts of these two top-tier elemental mages, the living corpse was completely destroyed in an instant. Even if Sandro's magical power were ten times stronger, he could never manipulate a corpse that was so shattered that even the most minute parts of its body had been destroyed by freezing.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Except for Lancelot, everyone's attack left more than half of their power to deal with any unexpected situations. But each of these people was already a top expert in their respective fields. Even without prior discussion, the timing and methods of their attacks were coordinated seamlessly. Now the two people in the sky could only rely on Feather Fall to descend slowly.

  "It seems that young man has an anti-magic barrier?" Tower Master Graden frowned. He had originally intended to pull Ethan down as well.

  "He has put on the Robe of the Lich Lord, not easy to deal with anymore." Magnus squinted and looked.

  Mid-air, Ethan had already put on the Robe of the Lich Lord. Otherwise, the small-scale Gravity Field just now could have severely injured both him and Sandro.

  After such a long time, putting on this robe again felt completely different from before. It seemed this robe had become an extension of his body. The body's aura flowed through the fibers of the robe, gradually increasing, and then dissipated in a strange way, forming a force field related to his qi around him.

  "Hey, old man, this doesn't look good. I don't have any teleportation scrolls. Do you?" Ethan shouted in mid-air.

  "No. Even if I did, they would never give you a chance to use it." Sandro's face was extremely ugly.

  "Then it seems we really can't escape even if we want to."

  Sandro's eyes were already filled with heavy bloodshot. More importantly, an unprecedented killing intent and death aura pervaded his eyes. He only glanced at the ground once before turning to look at Lancelot, who was also in mid-air. Compared to the opponents on the ground who were at ease, this was now the easiest target to kill, and also the most obstructive opponent.

  "If we can't escape, then we'll fight our way out." With no more corpses around him, Sandro put his hand into his mouth, exerted a slight force, and pulled out a fontanel tooth still stained with blood - it was his own tooth. Bloodstains hung on the corner of his mouth, and the air he exhaled as he spoke was full of the smell of blood, like a ferocious beast that had been dormant for a thousand years finally having to reveal its long-forgotten fangs.

  "Attack that Necromancer." Elder Lloyd ordered the elven patrol guard. The black war bow in Kaelin's hand let out a thunderous roar, and a thick green light shot directly at Sandro in mid-air.

  "I can't block this one." Just as he watched the female elf draw her bow, Ethan shouted loudly. He understood the power of that black war bow. It was a weapon left behind by Queen Isabelle, the founder of the Tulalion Forest. It was said to have once been the Phantom Divine Bow that the elves used to guard the Whispering Woods.

  Even without his shout, Sandro understood. He had no choice but to turn his head, pouring all his anger and killing intent into the incoming green arrow light. With a sharp whistle, the tooth between his fingers transformed into a deathly white afterimage and shot out, just colliding with the green light that was about to hit him.

  The green arrow light was as thick as a water bucket. Such an arrow had once instantly killed several grand mages. Even Ethan, now wearing the Robe of the Lich Lord, probably couldn't withstand this arrow. The trajectory of the flying tooth was very thin, disproportionately small compared to the fierce green light. The sharp whistle breaking through the air before the green light's thunderous roar was like a desperate struggle of someone about to die. But when this tooth collided with the arrow light, the arrow light suddenly scattered. It collapsed and disintegrated like a deceptive illusion, while the tooth was not damaged at all, still carrying that desperate, deathly sharp whistle along its original trajectory, rushing wildly toward the elven archer below.

  Grand Mage Diana had been preparing all along. She swung both hands outward, and a wide, thick ice wall condensed in mid-air. Harlan also pushed the exhausted Kaelin aside.

  This elven archer was definitely the most powerful attacking point here, but also the most fragile. The reason the two Temple Knights didn't participate in the attack was that they were ready to help others defend at any time. Even though surrounded by top experts, they already had the advantage against the Necromancer in mid-air, but they didn't relax their vigilance in the slightest.

  At this moment, Ethan also made his move. Two necromantic fireballs collided in mid-air, then scattered into a sky full of green fire rain falling down. Unfortunately, with his half-baked magic level, this had no effect in a magic battle of this level. Adelaide just waved her hand casually, and a huge blue water curtain shot up, turning all the fire rain into nothingness.

  Only Sandro's attack attracted the attention of everyone else.

  The ice wall in mid-air was wide and thick enough to resist even a Thunderblast Bomb, but now it seemed to have no effect at all. The tooth passed through without any hindrance, leaving only a small hole. At this time, the elven patrol guard had been pushed away, but the tooth also bent into a strange arc, still shooting toward her.

  Dodging was definitely not the best way to deal with such strange magic. Harlan's Divine Aegis shield had already condensed into a small diamond shape, blocking right in front of the white tooth's afterimage.

  There was no collision or sound, only the sharp whistle like a dying old woman's groan suddenly stopped, and then Harlan knelt down.

  The Divine Aegis shield, which was said to be able to resist any attack, didn't shatter. It was still condensed on the Temple Knight's arm. But just like on the ice wall, there was a small hole on it. Similarly, a small hole also appeared on Harlan's chest, so small that not even blood flowed out. And he knelt there motionless, with his expression completely frozen on his face.

  The condensed ice wall in mid-air first fell and shattered into pieces. Amidst the loud crash, the kneeling Temple Knight also suddenly shattered. The person who had been so vigorous and powerful just a moment ago suddenly and completely disintegrated, as if he had always been a shape barely formed from a pile of flour.

  His armor and clothes were still there. But all his limbs, organs, bones, even teeth and hair had scattered and shattered, all wrapped together into a pile of inexplicable paste-like substance that slowly flowed around.

  The elven patrol guard was already scared silly, seemingly unable to even scream. If Harlan hadn't blocked this for her, the one on the ground now would probably be her.

  Lancelot had already landed quickly with the help of Tower Master Graden. He naturally saw this scene very clearly. The muscles on his face twitched, and his eyes were filled with bloodshot.

  But including him, no one made any further moves. They just watched with wide eyes as Sandro and Ethan slowly descended using Feather Fall. Everyone clearly understood that they had no confidence in resisting something that even a grand mage's fully condensed protective ice wall and Divine Aegis shield couldn't block. And Sandro's current movements further indicated that what he would throw next could only be harder to resist than this.

  He no longer reached to pull out his teeth, but instead used his right hand to grip his left little finger and pulled it out lightly like pulling a cork. The entire finger was pulled off by himself. The gushing blood mixed with the finger, forming a dazzling and strange blood light that jumped in his palm.

  Sandro didn't throw this ball of blood light either. No matter how powerful this self-harming body Necromancy was, it could only knock down one person at a time. The others who were already prepared would never give him a third chance to make a move.

  Using Feather Fall, the two slowly slid down onto the top of the ancient tree.

  "Be cautious. You only have one chance to make a move." The Pope suddenly spoke, saying to Sandro.

  "One time is enough." Sandro was laughing. When he opened his mouth, his deathly white teeth were all covered in blood. Even Ethan beside him felt his hair standing on end.

  "Not enough. We have many people." The Pope shook his head. "You can only choose one. If it's me and the two tower masters, you have an eighty percent chance. If it's Lancelot, you have at most forty percent, because at least I will help him resist with all my strength. If two people help him resist, you don't even have a twenty percent chance. And if the others attack with all their strength, how much chance do you have to resist?"

  "Moreover, your attack might not even be useful." The Pope paused and continued. "Your purpose is to let this kid escape, right? But do you think, if you are subdued by us, will he escape? Even if he does escape, even if he has the Robe of the Lich Lord, with his mind disturbed, surrounded by Lancelot and the tens of thousands of elves here, how much chance does he have to escape? Wearing that thing doesn't really mean you can act without scruples. You should know that."

  The Pope then turned to Ethan and said: "Even if you can escape, can so many people on this continent escape? Can all your relatives and friends escape? If you escape, they will all die."

  "Don't speak so righteously. Why don't you go die?" Sandro sneered.

  "If my death would be useful, I wouldn't mind dying." The Pope answered loudly, his originally feminine face (belonging to Adela) showing determination. "When people live, there is this thing called responsibility. Don't be so selfish and only think about yourself, and don't cowardly escape. If you're a man, bear it yourself."

  "No need to preach here. You pathetic creature who even occupies someone else's body, what responsibility does he have?" Sandro laughed angrily.

  "I'm talking about your responsibility." The Pope suddenly turned to look at Sandro and roared. "If it weren't for your willful actions twenty years ago, if it weren't for your evasion during these twenty years, how could we have today's situation? You knew this kid's identity long ago, but you did nothing, said nothing to him. What were you afraid of? Now you feel guilty? Feel you owe him? Want to use your own life to exchange for his? You're no better than Vedenina, both of you only have eyes for yourselves..."

  "Shut up." Sandro suddenly raised his hand toward the Pope. The ball of bright red blood light in his hand jumped and danced rapidly, like a bloodthirsty fairy. The color in his eyes was even redder and brighter than this light.

  With his movement, the already extremely tense atmosphere immediately reached a breaking point. Magical fluctuations echoed and fluctuated among several top-tier mages, like an invisible giant volcano spewing out the aura of imminent eruption.

  "Enough." Ethan finally spoke, gently patting Sandro's shoulder. "He's right. I won't escape. Doing this won't solve any problems."

  "You..." The killing intent in Sandro's eyes suddenly turned into anger, and he turned to glare at Ethan.

  Ethan's expression was extremely calm. He just shook his head, then nodded: "Thank you."

  "Everyone, don't be nervous. I already knew what you were going to do. If I wanted to escape, I would have already escaped." Ethan looked at the Pope and Lancelot and sighed. "Although you are all enemies, and I have at least a hundred reasons to kill you, I have to admit that what you're saying makes sense. I can't escape, and I won't escape."

  With his words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

  Adelaide glanced at him with her peach blossom-like eyes, then turned to look at Luya, shrugging slightly as if speaking to her or to herself: "He's a good man."

  The Pope and Lancelot both nodded, their expressions very complex. Talk is talk, if Ethan really could abandon Sandro and desperately escape on his own, they had no confidence they could stop him.

  Besides relief and letting out a breath, there was more of a sense of recognition and being moved. An enemy who can make people feel recognition and being moved is often more worthy of respect than a friend. Moreover, the decision he made was already the most respectable decision. The Pope sighed and said: "Your parents should be proud to have a son like you."

  The magic in Sandro's hand had been withdrawn. His gaze was extremely strange, his lips trembling slightly but unable to say anything.

  "Since I'm not escaping, I must face and solve it. I hope you can all help me."

  "Of course, our plan was originally like this. You just need to follow our arrangements..."

  "I'm sorry, you might have misunderstood." Ethan waved his hand. "My not escaping doesn't mean I will do as you arrange. Although this matter must be resolved, I don't want to die, or rather, I hope to avoid dying if possible."

  "You won't die, because I'm not dead yet." A voice suddenly sounded. "As long as I don't die, you cannot die. I won't allow you to die."

  "Did you hear me? I said he cannot die." This person stood up, looking at the stunned crowd and saying word by word: "So it's not him who listens to your arrangements, but all of you who must listen to our arrangements."