Imperial Crown.

Chapter 146 Move them all away
A trace of contempt rose in the shepherd's heart.

You are such an naive nobleman, you are here just to make money. We are both chanting spells, but I started first, so how can I fall behind you?
The grayish-white aura of death surged out, gathered on the white bone staff, and condensed into a thick bone spear, which shot out towards the noble's shoulder!

whoosh-

The bone spear cut through the atmosphere, bringing up a sharp wind, and the force it carried was so great that it blew up the dust on the ground.

Then a scene that surprised the shepherd appeared. The bone spear actually pierced through Raven's body, as if Raven did not exist!
The air fluctuated, and Raven and his horse suddenly moved more than half a meter to the right.

This is exactly the effect of the Phantom Shell.

The bone spear drew an arc and sank into the ground with a clang.

At the same time, Raven also finished chanting the spell, a fireball condensed at the top of the staff, and then whizzed out!

The fireball was not the common orange-red color, but a dark red like rotten flesh and blood, which made the shepherd feel inexplicably frightened!
He wanted to hide, but it was too late.

The fireball hit his right hand holding the staff, and the bone staff broke and turned into debris on the ground under the burning of the flames!
From the moment he became a shepherd, he had completely lost his sense of pain, but now, he felt a heart-wrenching pain in his arm!
It wasn't just burning his body, it was burning his soul!

As the connection between the blood curse and himself became closer and closer, Raven's magic power was also "polluted" to a certain extent. Even the ordinary fireball spell was tainted with a trace of the curse power.

“Ugh—!!!!”

Sharp screams came out of the shepherd's mouth uncontrollably. He pinched his shoulders and shook his arms desperately, trying to disperse the black and red flames, but he couldn't do it at all.

"Save me--" Forgetting that he could give orders in his mind, the Shepherd roared and revealed his last trump card.

A second-level bone cavalryman suddenly jumped out from the alley next to him, with light green soul fire leaping in his eyes. As soon as he appeared, he rushed towards Raven!

The skeletal horse's hooves stepped on the ground, and the speed reached the limit without any need to accumulate energy. At a distance of just a few dozen meters, no magician would have time to complete the chanting of the spell.

But Raven remained calm: "Is it open?"

The Skeleton Cavalry was stunned and uttered a hollow sound: "...What?"

"wisdom."

As soon as he finished speaking, a layer of dark green light suddenly appeared on Raven's wrist, illuminating the surrounding environment with the same color.

Fangs as sharp as daggers gathered around Raven, densely packed like a giant snake opening its bloody mouth full of sharp teeth!
Raven raised his hand and pointed forward, and his fangs rushed towards the skeleton cavalry like a swarm of bees or densely shot crossbow arrows!
The dark green fangs pierced into the armor of the Skeleton Cavalry and melted away. It seemed that there was no damage at all, but the exposed bones of the cavalry and the horses under his crotch turned green.

As the skeleton horse continued to gallop, bits of broken bones shattered into the air.

With a clang, the scimitar in the Skeleton Cavalryman's hand fell to the ground, and his metacarpal bones had turned into green ash.

Just as he was about to rush in front of Raven, the warhorse's front hooves quietly broke and fell to the ground. Then, under the action of inertia, a dark green ink mark was left on the ground.

This is also the only trace left by the Bone Cavalry in the world.

Second-level magic, "Venomous Fangs".

The herder was still screaming as Raven slowly stopped his horse beside him.

He dismounted from his horse, drew his sword and cut off the shepherd's shoulder. There was no blood at the fracture, only pale bones and gray-black dead flesh.

This can no longer be considered a living person.

This sword freed the shepherd from his pain, but immediately, the sword tip was pressed against his forehead: "I ask, you answer."

The herder looked at Raven with hatred, trying to be tough, but the strength of Raven who had just killed the second-level bone cavalry with a flick of his finger made him unable to be tough at all: "You...you have to promise first. If I answer, you have to let me go!"

"Yes, no problem." Raven nodded gently: "Why do you want to siege this place?"

"This is Lord Fedilan's order." The shepherd's voice was dry and hoarse: "He asked us to lead a small group of troops to disperse and continue collecting souls for the Lord of Death!"

"Collecting souls?" Raven asked, "There are people everywhere in the Lower City, why choose this place?"

"Because the owner of this shop is a first-level alchemist!" The shepherd said, "When we collect souls in the Holy Church, we not only consider quantity, but also quality. A first-level extraordinary person is equivalent to dozens or hundreds of ordinary people; a second-level extraordinary person is equivalent to a dozen first-level ones!"

Raven's face showed realization. The reason why the undead surrounded the orphanage before was probably because they were attracted by Dean Nightingale. After all, she was a second-level transcendent.

There was also the strange behavior of the Undead army before - they were clearly capable of breaking through the city wall, but they had to wait for reinforcements to arrive.

I'm afraid it's just to harvest the souls of more powerful people.

But at the same time, another question came to Raven's mind: "What do you want so many souls for?"

"I'm just a small character." The shepherd said with a flattering smile: "Your question is not something I can understand."

Raven nodded slowly, touched his belt, and suddenly an ancient scroll was in his hand.

This scroll was obtained from the treasure house of Heleti. Since then, I have not had the time to study it in detail. I only take a look at it occasionally and can only determine that it records a kind of necromancy, but it is difficult to judge more specifically.

Throwing the scroll in the shepherd's face, Raven said, "Help me interpret this scroll. If you dare to do anything unusual..."

A syllable came out of his mouth, and black and red flames bloomed in Raven's palm: "Death is not your only ending."

The herder shuddered, reached out to pick up the scroll and unfolded it: "Oh, I, I see, there are some words hidden on it, but they can only be seen from the perspective of undead creatures."

"What's the effect?"

“I don’t know…” The shepherd quickly explained: “I really don’t know! I, I can’t read!”

Raven was speechless.

On second thought, yes, if he could really read, why would he easily join such a hopeless organization like the Hand of Death?

Putting the scroll away, Raven said, "One last question. Answer me and I'll let you go."

The shepherd's eyes sparkled: "You say!"

"Tell me all the magic you know."

As a shepherd, although he can use magic, it was all instilled in him by the necromancer. He only knows how to do it, but not why he should do it.

There are four elements in spellcasting: spells, gestures, magical operation, and mental power. The first two can be described, but the latter two cannot be easily conveyed in words.

This would be a problem for others, but it was different in front of Raven.

Because he has the Eye of Truth, he can observe the movement of magic and spiritual power.
If it doesn’t work once, try a few more times!

First-level magic is not that difficult. Even if the details are not complete, I can study it slowly when I go back.

About an hour later, when Eric and his personal soldiers had cleared the surrounding area, Raven had basically figured out the two methods of casting first-level necromancy magic.

One of them is the "Bone Spear Technique" that the shepherd had used before, and the other is the "Heart of Fear", which can turn the bravest warrior into a chicken.

"Okay, let's go." Raven put away his sword.

The shepherd was a little bit incredulous for a moment, but when he saw that Raven didn't move, he supported his body with one arm and crawled out.

Then, he heard a familiar spell in his ears - the same one he had chanted before.

Without the heart to condemn Raven for breaking his promise, the shepherd took a big step and ran out.

However, he had not run a few steps when he heard the sound of wind by his ears. A thick bone spear pierced through his clothes under his ribs, and the enormous force nailed him to the ground!
"Tsk, it's crooked. Sure enough, the mental strength part needs to be adjusted."

The footsteps were getting closer and closer. The shepherd heard Raven's voice behind him, and a glimmer of hope for survival emerged in his heart.

But the next moment, he felt a slight sound behind his head, and then saw the tip of a sword between his eyes.

If I miss the target, shouldn't you let me go? This was the shepherd's last thought, and then his consciousness completely fell silent.

Putting away the long sword and shaking off the dried brains stuck to the blade, Raven turned back to look at the alchemy shop:
"Old Bucky, if you don't come out, I'm going to burn your store down!"

Not long after, an old man who was even thinner than the shepherd pushed open the door and walked out. He looked to be at least seventy years old, with sparse but curly white hair on his head.

Scratching his head, Buggy looked at Raven in confusion: "...It's you? Raven?!"

"You've made it out, kid!"

Eric corrected beside him: "It's Baron Raven!"

"I heard that you were taken away before, and I thought you had offended some noble lady." Buggy blinked and rubbed his hands: "I didn't expect that you really became a noble?!"

Buggy is the owner of the alchemy shop "Fairy's Hut". He is able to survive in the downtown area because he is good at both black and white business. Sometimes Raven will also sell some stolen goods to him, so the two of them have some friendship.

Thinking of Raven's usual style, Bucky immediately became alert: "Raven, my store has been almost destroyed. There are no good things left, and there are not many gold coins!"

"We are not close anymore." Raven smiled and said, "With our friendship, why should we talk about money?"

Bucky had a bad feeling. He didn't believe Raven would change his ways. "So what do you want?"

"Meng'en City is too dangerous now. God knows what kind of trouble will happen next." Raven said, "On the contrary, my Eagle Territory is located in the northwest of Nord Province. It is guaranteed to be safe!"

Bucky's eyes widened.

He now understood that Raven was not interested in his shop, but in him as a person!
He had never heard of the name Xiongyingling. God knew what kind of remote and poor place it was. He didn't want to go there.

Moreover, he had been somewhat ruthless after receiving goods from Raven several times before. If he was brought to Raven's territory and the old accounts were brought up, he would not be able to bear it!
"Raven, Lord Raven, I feel safe here. And I remember that I have a safe in the basement with some savings. Otherwise, you can see..."

"Oh, and this, too. You should have told me earlier." Raven slapped his forehead: "Volaf!"

Volaf immediately stepped forward: "My Lord Baron!"

"Hurry up and take the people to pack everything Mr. Bucky needs. Don't leave anything out! We in the Eagle Territory will never treat our distinguished guests unfairly!"

Bucky was speechless for a moment: "No, I, you..."

How shameless!
Robbery of civilians! It's simply lawless!

He really didn't want to go with Raven!
However, Raven did not give him a chance to speak. After giving the order, he rode his horse out for a walk.

The biggest gain today, apart from the two first-level magics, is this Buggy.

Even though he is only at the first level, he is a genuine alchemist who can skillfully prepare various first-level potions, including healing potions.

It would have been fine if I hadn’t seen him before, but now that I’ve met him, how could I let him go?
Now, I also have my own alchemist, and I am becoming more and more like a noble!
Seeing that communication was impossible, Buggy had no choice but to accept his fate and began to supervise Raven's soldiers' moving operations.

"Be gentle! That box is full of healing potions. You can't afford to pay for it if it's damaged!"

"Ouch, that's not how you hold a bottle. Put it down, put it down quickly, I'll do it myself!"

"No!... Forget it, just move it. Please, throw it in the trash can. You don't have to move it."

There were a lot of things in Bucky's shop, and they were not completely packed up until the evening and moved to the Silver Hand Brotherhood's villa.

The moment he saw the villa, Bucky felt much more balanced.

The Silver Hand Brotherhood was completely subdued, and Manson was as obedient as a follower. In comparison, his treatment was much better.

And the fact that Raven didn't touch his safe was also an important plus point.

It’s not that Lei Wen suddenly stopped caring about money, but he knew that if he needed to employ people, he couldn’t offend them too much.

Otherwise, it would be hilarious for a noble to be poisoned by his own personal alchemist.

That night, Raven returned to the temporary camp and learned about the battle results of the coalition forces and the Fox family.

It goes without saying that the Fox family made great progress, but the coalition forces paid a heavy price for their blind optimism. They did not gain much military merit, but suffered heavy losses, with each legion suffering around a thousand casualties.

But this did not dampen their enthusiasm, and they were "kind" enough to ask Raven about his battle results.

Of course, Raven put on a bitter face and expressed deep regret for his "clever" act of acting alone. As expected, he received a lot of "concern" from people who seemed to be sympathetic but were actually gloating.

They don’t know how hard it is for Raven to hold back his laughter!
Judra certainly didn't believe that Raven would suffer a loss, but he didn't expose it because he had gained a lot of merit in the war and even got a shepherd's badge, which he secretly showed off to Raven.

According to him, the military achievements represented by this emblem are much more real than those represented by a dry human head, oh no, a "skull".

What he didn't know was that Raven had already collected more than a dozen of these things.

The war continued, with new progress every day. The main force continued to launch offensives, and Raven continued to sweep the lower city.

On the fourth day after the Fox family arrived, the coalition forces finally reached the edge of the Bone Spire. Although they were eventually stopped by the bone dragon when they wanted to demolish it, it also greatly boosted the morale of the coalition forces.

The size of the undead army in the city is getting smaller and smaller, and is now less than one-fifth of the size when they first entered the city.

At this moment, in the center of the Death Hand army, Sachni summoned Parisil and Fedillan.

"Even if the Withering Mist continues, the army will be completely destroyed in two days at most."

"The war is about to end."

Hearing this, Parisil and Fedilan both lowered their heads at the same time.

Ferdinand said unwillingly: "We haven't lost yet! We still have Lord Gregory!"

"Fedilan!" Sachni raised his voice, "The outcome of this war is already determined. Do you still want to squander the soul that should be dedicated to my Lord for your own selfish reasons?"

Every time the bone dragon appears, it consumes a large amount of souls as replenishment, otherwise there will be the worry of backlash. Now as the war becomes more and more difficult, this investment is beginning to become unprofitable.

Federan argued, "But... at least kill Tyrone, or Montreal?!"

Sachni sighed, "I also want to dedicate their souls to my Lord, but they are too cautious. One lives deep in the castle and never goes out, while the other not only has the 'Molten Embers' passed down from his family, but also has the archbishop of the false god standing beside him."

"Remember, what we want is war and death. Now that the process has been completed and we have collected millions of souls, the result is not important."

After hearing this, Ferdinand stopped arguing.

Sachni looked at Parisil and said, "Our mission has been accomplished, but you cannot return to my Lord's kingdom yet. Go, along with Lord Gregory, and deliver the holy emblem to the 'Great Altar'. The soul inside will surely be able to free my Lord from his shackles."

Parisil nodded heavily: "Lord Sachni, I will definitely complete your request!"

She began to chant the spell in a low voice, and soon, a gust of wind blew away the dust, and the bone dragon Gregory fell to the ground.

Parisil climbed onto the back of the bone dragon and looked at Sachni with respect in her eyes: "May you rest in peace forever."

Sachni said solemnly: "May we all find eternal rest."

call--

Gregory flapped his wings and flew into the deep night.

In mid-air, a crow turned into black smoke and disappeared.

……

(End of this chapter)