Imperial Crown.

Chapter 266: Origin Wildfire
It was a horse with yellow claws and lightning that had been strengthened by Raven. Its kicks were as big as a basin. Now only senior officers in the Eagle Army were qualified to ride it.

And the person riding on its back at this time was Eric!
Impir sneered, "You came really quickly."

The necromancer, who was covered in gray-white Styx soul mud, moved his eyes, and the nine skeletons in front of him turned around and rushed towards Eric!

The skeleton had a light body and even though he was wearing armor, his running speed was no less than that of a galloping horse. He arrived in front of Eric in just a few breaths.

Eric let out a low roar, and his martial spirit suddenly appeared behind him. He then raised his arm and pulled a skeleton to his side. He raised his right arm high, clenched his fist, and smashed it hard on the skull!
The visor was smashed into a pool of mud and caved in, smashing the facial bones of the skeleton with a crackling sound. The overflowing undead fighting spirit was dispersed by the steel and was unable to resist at all. It was smashed into the skull by the fist and was extinguished along with the green undead fire!
Huang Feidian, the man with the crotch claw, let out a mournful cry, but his front legs were chopped off by a skeleton. He fell forward violently, and three more skeletons flew into the air in front of Eric and pounced on him!

Eric was not at all flustered. He stepped on the stirrups with his legs and flew up, running straight towards the nearest skeleton. He used both hands to pull the skeleton under him, then raised his knee and slammed it into the skeleton's chest!
The armor was dented and the bones were broken, but the skeleton still tried to cling to Eric's body.

Eric grabbed its head and used half of its body as a weapon to sweep away the two skeletons coming from the left and right. Then he threw it behind him suddenly. The half skeleton collided with the undead rushing from behind and rolled to the ground.

Eric raised his hand and the two skeletons that were rolling together flew in front of him, but he turned around and kicked them at the same time, breaking their skulls!

In just a moment, three third-level skeletons were destroyed.

More skeletons were coming to kill him from behind, and six gray-white deathly auras were intertwined and broke through the air. Eric's fighting spirit was blazing, and he resisted the cold flames. Using his fighting spirit, the armor on the three skeleton remains on the ground suddenly turned into mercury-like liquid and flowed out, condensing into a metal sphere in Eric's palm.

Eric took a deep breath, shook it in his hand, and then threw it forward like a shot put.

The liquid metal deformed and twisted in the air, then suddenly exploded from the center, rolling up a silver-gray steel storm!
Wherever they passed, all the grass and trees were shattered. The remaining six skeletons wanted to retreat under Emperor's command, but they never expected that the armor on their bodies suddenly generated a suction force, firmly fixing them in place!

The skeleton's light physique was an advantage, but at this moment it became an absolute disadvantage, as it was dragged down by its own armor and unable to break free!

They were caught in it, their armor was twisted to pieces, and their bones were shattered as if they were crushed by a millstone. Without the protection of the body, the blue soul fire could only dissipate into nothingness.

The corners of Impir's mouth twitched heavily. If these third-level skeletons were scattered among the army on the battlefield, they would be enough to have miraculous effects. But now they were destroyed by Eric alone!
The next moment, Eric broke through the steel storm and stabbed towards Impir with the sword in his hand!
Impir shook the bone staff in his hand, muttered something, and let Eric's sword slash towards his chest!

Shine——

It was like stabbing into pure gold. The sword blade broke through his clothes, exposed his shriveled ribs, and created a streak of sparks on Impir's chest, but it was unable to break through his defense, and couldn't even shake him!
The next moment, Impir finished chanting, and one of his fingers suddenly separated from his body. The flesh and blood on it dissipated like catkins, and the finger bones were coated with a layer of moonlight. Wrapped in the gray-white aura of death, it shot out quietly like a crossbow arrow!
Eric's heart tightened and he quickly turned his head. The finger bone brushed past his cheek, pierced through the misty iron armor with a thud, and burst the flesh and blood with a puff, crushing his left cheekbone, and then exploded diagonally from the base of his left ear, leaving a bloody hole and flying out!

Around the blood hole, the bones and flesh began to turn gray and rot.

"what--"

Even Eric could not endure the excruciating pain that was gnawing at his bones and sucking his marrow out of him. The dizziness that followed made him fall to the ground uncontrollably and pass out.

Without looking at Eric anymore, Impir turned to Raven, hoping to see some sign of hesitation.

After all, Raven is young and promising. If he can be absorbed into the Holy Church, it would be equivalent to having a permanent offensive base in the Keynes Empire.

But Raven's face was as calm as ever, and there was no emotion in his eyes, as if he was still calculating something.

What is he planning?
"There's really no other way. I'll help you this time." The voice of the black cat Sikoret suddenly sounded, and this voice made Impirton feel a little uneasy.

A paw quietly appeared from above his head, a small and sharp cat's paw, with the pink and tender flesh clearly visible, which was adorable to everyone.

But at this moment, cold claws stretched out from the ball of flesh, and above the claws, there was a shadow that was so thick that it was indescribable and darker than the darkness.

It wasn't until the claw reached his head that Impirer noticed it and raised his head.

A hint of fear flashed in his eyes, because wherever the claw passed, the white armor on his body, like a liquid, suddenly solidified and shattered, and a little blood flowed from his forehead!
His protection and the innate magic he engraved were actually broken!
The fear of death surged in his heart, and Impir released the last magic stored in the staff without any hesitation!
A grayish-white death mist rose up, and a shadowy figure in a black robe and holding a sickle stepped through the mist, and the silver bells on his ankles jingled.

Everyone present was in a momentary trance, as if their souls were shaken.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

The shadow walked behind Impir, suddenly swung the sickle, and slashed it hard on the black cat's slender body!
The blade hooked out the soul of the black cat, and a thick shadow rushed out from her soul, forming its own shape, which was cut away by the sickle, and her soul returned to her body in weakness.

The fog disappeared, and the black cat's body fell softly to the ground, with blood coming out of its mouth and nose.

Impir gasped heavily, wiped the blood from his forehead, and his face twisted wildly.

"Hurt me... How dare you hurt me!!!"

This was the first time in his life that death felt so close.

Although he believed in the Lord of Death, he was always the one who sent deaths to others, and he himself never wanted to experience that feeling.

This is why among the many magic options, Impir chose the Styx Soul Mud.

"The timing is perfect. I don't know where you come from, but this shadow that erases everything is indeed worthy of fear."

"Unfortunately, you are only at level three because of that useless master!"

Imperial shouted and poked the black cat on the ground with the staff in his hand, but Sikoret suddenly turned over and disappeared into the night with a whoosh.

"So what if I'm at level three? I'll try my best to return to the star realm and send you, this old immortal human skeleton, to see your master!" The black cat's voice echoed in the night.

This sentence startled Impir suddenly, and his reason returned to his body.

If there was another attack like this, even if he was prepared, he would probably not have enough time to cast another spell and would be killed completely!
No...no!
No matter how important the Holy Symbol of Death is, it is only for the cult. If one's life is lost here, the only one who will suffer the loss is Impir himself.

As the old saying goes, as long as there are living people, there will be no worries about corpses.

After returning, I will report the exact information that the Holy Emblem is here. Although the credit may be a little small, it is better than nothing!

"Raven, you rejected my kindness today, but one day in the future, you will regret it!"

"When our sect comes again, your territory will be destroyed!"

As he spoke, he waved his staff, and a white skeletal griffin rose from his crotch, flapped its wings, and took him straight into the sky!
"Sicoret, what are you doing!" William shouted, "You still have some strength left, stop him!"

"If we let him go and attract the Death Hand Cult, we'll be in big trouble!"

Sikoret showed up and sat in front of William. He whipped William in the face with his tail and said weakly, "Do you think I don't want to? I can't use this kind of attack a second time even if I die. After all, the connection between me and the star realm is still too weak..."

"But, but are we just going to watch him leave like this?"

"It doesn't matter. Raven will take action."

"Owner!?"

William was stunned and looked in the direction where Raven was standing, only to see that Raven had a gray-white staff in his hand and was chanting a spell in a low voice.

But the content of this spell surprised William greatly.

It is short and concise, with only three paragraphs.

When the chanting was finished, Raven raised his staff high, and five fireballs streaked through the sky, chasing after Impir.

William showed an expression of disbelief on his face, and even wanted to laugh.

Imperial looked back and actually laughed out loud when he saw the fireball following him.

"Fireball, seriously?"

Indeed, to release five fireballs at the same time, one needs a high level of attainment in fire magic and a deep magical foundation. Many fourth- and fifth-level magicians may not be able to do it so easily.

But the problem is, it's just a fireball!
At this moment, he thought of the legendary "Five Fireballs Cult" and the long-standing joke in the mage circle: "Five fireballs can kill a seventh-level wizard in seconds."

Even though he thought so, and even though his body was still covered with Styx soul mud, Impir still carefully took out an amulet and crushed it with his hand.

A scarlet light lit up, and an invisible shield with clear longitude and latitude exploded around him, as if it was a huge crystal that was carefully cut into diamond shapes and engraved with magical patterns.

This is a fourth-order fire protection barrier that can completely absorb a fourth-order fire magic.

In addition to the Holy Light magic, the most obvious restraints for a necromancer like him are fire and lightning, so of course he has to be prepared.

This way, no matter what tricks Raven played, he could rest assured. Three fireballs hit the flame protection barrier in succession, and they shattered like eggs hitting a stone, without any impact at all.

But with the arrival of the fourth fireball, the situation suddenly changed!

The blue fireball hit the barrier and suddenly burst into a bright light comparable to the sun. The faint lines on the barrier suddenly shone together, emitting a red light that could blind the eyes.

Then, with the fireball's impact point as the center, the entire barrier's ice surface shattered into pieces, erupting with a buzzing crisp sound.

"Engraving magic?"

"Fireball???????"

Impir's face suddenly changed, horror appeared in his eyes, and he shouted with bloodshot eyes!

But he could only see the fireball getting closer and closer, and suddenly hit his chest!
As if kerosene was poured on it, the flames instantly enveloped Impir and the skeletal griffin under his crotch. A shrill roar was heard and then extinguished in an instant. The body of the skeletal griffin had not yet been burned out, but the soul fire in its head had already been burned out!

The flames sizzled on Impir's body, evaporating the soul mud on his body. It couldn't break through this layer of defense in a short time. Impir still had time to chant again. If...

If it weren't for that damn black cat's attack!!

The flame penetrated into the wound on his forehead, instantly turning his flesh and blood into ashes. Then, like a swarm of insects that didn't know when to be hungry or full, they gnawed and squirmed frantically under the soul mud!
The power of death that had melted in his flesh and blood for a hundred years became the best fuel for the flame, transforming into clusters of white stars, gushing out from the wound on his forehead, from his eyes, and from his mouth!

Margaret, who had lived for hundreds of years, looked at the dazzling fireworks in the sky, her eyes shining: "It's... the Origin Wildfire!"

William was shocked: "What?"

The Origin Wildfire cannot be said to be a kind of magic, but rather a fire that can only be used based on a magician's own understanding of the element of fire.

Some say it was born in the astral plane and is the source of all fire; others say it is the first ray of fire in the elemental plane of fire.

But... the Origin Wild Fire had already disappeared from the Middles Continent for hundreds of years!

Even William and Margaret had only seen descriptions of it in legends and ancient books.

Impir also felt the power of the flame. He couldn't understand why Raven, a mere third-rank magician, could use the Origin Wild Fire!
And he was so cruel as to hide it in an ordinary fireball spell!

So despicable, so insidious!
“Ahhhhh——”

Under the burning of the Origin Wildfire, even his soul had been burned out. He let out a last unwilling howl from his throat, turned into a pool of wildfire, and fell to the ground.

“Huh…” Raven wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Luckily, it’s just a fourth-level magician. If a fifth- or sixth-level magician came over, I’d be dead!”

William was speechless immediately, and Mark and Doug, who were standing behind him, were pale and speechless.

How can you even utter such shameless boasting?

Do you think a fourth-level magician is a cabbage?

In fact, Raven was not as relaxed as he appeared. He had been using the Eye of Truth to observe Impir since the beginning of the battle.

Even though his personal soldiers were killed and Margaret, William and Eric were seriously injured one after another, they did not take action, just to observe Imperial's weaknesses.

Of course, Raven might have other thoughts in mind, but that is not something others can know.

Anyway, at this moment in Raven's heart, the witch Margaret and the vampire William deserve 40% of his trust.

Hiding the Origin Wild Fire in an ordinary fireball spell can only be used once against the same person. If the attack misses or is not fatal, and it drags into a war of attrition, then Raven, a third-level magician, will never be a match for Impir.

Fortunately, it worked.

Suddenly, a sense of pressure came over him. Raven looked up and saw that the bone dragon Gregory had squatted on the tower of Eagle Castle without him noticing, and his eyes burning with soul fire were staring at him.

Sensing Raven's gaze, the bone dragon spread its wings, slammed its legs on the top of the tower, and soared into the air, galloping away into the distance without any hesitation or looking back.

“Master!” Margaret came to Raven and asked anxiously, “Do you want me to catch up…?”

"No need." Raven shook his head.

He didn't know why the bone dragon wanted to leave, but he wasn't too surprised. Such a powerful being was beyond his control at the moment.

As for threatening with the essence of corrupted souls - what a joke, a three-year-old kid threatening a tiger with a piece of fresh meat?
Giving the order to move Eric to the hall, Raven took out the infinite healing potion he got from Donald and poured it into his mouth, and stuffed a few Beacon pills into it, which stabilized Eric's injuries.

Not long after, Link arrived with the Eagle Army. He was shocked to see Volaf's body at the door. After rushing into the hall, he was terrified to see Eric's miserable state. He knelt on one knee:

"My Lord Baron!!!"

"Don't panic, I'm fine." Raven asked in a deep voice, "How are things in town?"

Link said clearly, "Miss Fiona happened to be nearby, and thanks to her magic, the fire has been brought under control. Although the appearance of the undead caused a certain degree of chaos, crowding, and trampling at the beginning, the Eagle Army and the Hawkeye Guards have jointly controlled the large number of undead and killed three herders."

As he spoke, he spread out his palm and revealed three emblems of the Hand of Death.

Raven nodded and said, "Very good, take people to clean up the bodies of the fallen soldiers, especially..."

At this point, he paused slightly, a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes, and he sighed: "Especially Volav, take good care of his remains so that he can see his family for the last time in a decent manner."

After a short silence, Raven rubbed his temple:
"Then, send Eric to the Snow Maple Town Church and let the priests there treat him wholeheartedly. At the same time, notify Eagle City. Don't worry, I will be back soon."

"Yes, Baron!" Link took the order and retreated.

After a while, the black cat appeared quietly and handed a slightly blackened ring to Raven.

Raven gently wiped off the ashes on it and found that there was a lifelike skull carved on the ring face. Apart from that, it was just a plain space ring.

Since the owner was dead, Raven could wear it on his hand without any burden. He used his mental power to probe it and his eyebrows first raised, then lowered.

This space ring has a large capacity. The space belt that Raven got from Anderson is about 1 meter long, wide and 2 meters high, while this ring is 5 meters long, wide and 3 meters high, which is enough to match the capacity of dozens of belts.

But there were very few things inside, only a dozen rusty enchanted armors, a pile of second- and third-level magic materials, a bone altar, and a pile of bones that looked to be of good quality.

The rusty enchanted armor was obviously dug out from a cemetery. It was okay for the undead to use it, but if it was really used by a real knight, it would look too shabby and could not be sold at all. It could not be repaired and could only be recycled.

The uses of those magic raw materials are also very narrow, and most of them can only be used for death and curses.

As for the bones - apart from creating undead creatures, they can only be fed to dogs.

Roughly speaking, the total value is between 15000 and 20000 gold coins.

This is totally unbecoming of a fourth-rank magician. Is the Cult of the Hand of Death so poor?
Doug at the back took a step forward, swallowed his saliva and said:

"Baron Raven, when Rudolf ordered me to cause trouble, it was probably a punishment for me. He didn't really believe that the Holy Emblem was in your hands."

"This necromancer is called Impir. He is well-known for being a loner in the Holy Church, no, in the Death Hand Cult. His attack this time is probably purely for personal purposes. As you know, if you stay in the aura of the dead for a long time, your body and mind will become rigid."

"If he dies here, not many people will associate it with the Holy Symbol of Death. Instead, they will think that your territory is not easy to mess with, so you don't have to worry."

Over the past two years, Doug gradually figured it out in his mind that Raven spared his life so that he could communicate with the Death Hand Cult in the future. But now that Imperial has come knocking on his door, this possibility is infinitely reduced.

He could see that Raven was not in a good mood, so he had to show his value in order to avoid being angered by Raven and being buried with the dead soldiers such as Volav.

Raven waved his hand to indicate that he understood. He didn't care about Doug's life or death, but he felt that a fourth-level necromancer should not be so worthless.

"The Death Hand Cult..." Raven muttered, and suddenly his eyes lit up:
"Got it! Impir, you really gave me a great gift!"

……

(End of this chapter)