Elven cultivators

"So you lured them to the Thousand Rock Hills to use them as materials for the mortal ritual, right?"

Instead of arguing with Cassius, Anton casually revealed another layer of mystery.

"...It seems you really know our organization."

Cassius's gaze toward Anton shifted, now tinged with a mixture of apprehension and disbelief.

Even the organization's core secret ritual of death knew about it. If he hadn't been unable to sense the presence of the token on Anton, he would have almost thought that the other party was also a member of the organization.

On the other side, as Cassius finished speaking, Harvey and the other three suddenly stood up, grabbed their weapons, and glared at Cassius with expressions of shock and anger.

"No wonder you offered such a generous reward; you were up to no good!"

"You despicable bastard!"

"Greed is the original sin of life, the defilement of the soul." Cassius's gaze swept coldly over the four people, his tone flat as if he were reading a verdict. "Don't worry, you will soon be purified, and in the name of death, you will return to eternal peace."

"Purify your mother!"

One of the hot-tempered young men in the group, named Starr, could no longer contain himself and raised his short axe to bring it down hard on Cassius's head.

However, the axe blade was blocked by a faint light when it was still more than ten centimeters away from Cassius's head.

Anton's gaze fell on Cassius's chest, where the gray stone pendant was radiating a pale halo.

"A magical item!" Harvey noticed the strangeness of the gray stone pendant, and his expression immediately turned very ugly.

Magical items are extremely rare, and it is said that each one possesses immense power.

Even the weakest luminous-level magical item possesses the terrifying power to easily kill a Black Iron-level enemy, or the same level of defense.

"Don't worry," Anton calmly reminded her. "It's just a minor magical item. Its defensive effect is probably enough to withstand ten full-force attacks from a lower-tier Black Iron level opponent."

Cassius's expression changed slightly, and he glared coldly at Anton.

Harvey, seeing this, knew perfectly well that Anton was telling the truth. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief, gave his companions a wink, and the four of them silently spread out, forming a fan shape to surround him.

Although he was the only one in the lower Iron rank on their team, the other three were all of upper White rank strength. With years of teamwork and excellent synergy, they were confident of victory even against a mid-Iron rank opponent, as long as the opponent didn't have any real magical items.

Cassius sneered, reached into his robe, and pulled out a gleaming longsword from somewhere, clearly having been prepared.

"Even without the Gray Stone Necklace, dealing with you wouldn't take much effort."

"I was originally planning to walk further into the hills before taking action, to make it easier to dispose of the body, but oh well, holding the ceremony here is fine too..."

Before he finished speaking, Harvey and his three companions pounced on him like arrows released from a bow.

Harvey charged forward, while his two companions flanked him from the left and right. Virgil retreated to the rear, his crossbow held horizontally, the cold glint of the bolts locking onto Cassius's vital points.

In a brief moment, their perfect understanding was evident.

Unfortunately, they were facing an opponent that couldn't be defeated simply by teamwork.

In just one exchange, Harvey was sent flying by the sword, and the other two would have had half their heads sliced ​​off by the sharp sword light if they hadn't dodged quickly.

Thud!

The dull thud of the crossbow string vibrating suddenly rang out, and a flash of cold light struck Cassius precisely in the chest.

Before Virgil could even show a hint of joy, he was horrified to see Cassius casually pull out the crossbow bolts from his body, then tear off his cumbersome robe, revealing his bare upper body.

The flickering firelight sliced ​​the body into a bizarre pattern of light and shadow.

The lower half of his chest, waist, abdomen, shoulders, and even the upper half of his arms were ashen, like an old wax figure, with patches of purplish-black lividity spreading like mold. However, the area above his chest still retained the rosy complexion of a living person, forming a shocking dividing line.

This doesn't look like a living person at all; it's more like a ghost.

"Undead transformation? No, that's not right, it seems like it's only half undead."

Anton narrowed his eyes, his gaze flickering.

The Death Ritual is a bloody method used by the Ring of Annihilation to mass-produce mid-tier combat forces.

Those who undergo the ritual transformation will become undead creatures existing between life and death, gaining a bronze-skinned, iron-boned body like a corpse demon, as well as a terrifying resilience that is tireless and unafraid of pain.

Although Cassius appears to be only half-undead, he still possesses an incredibly strong defense that makes him impervious to blades and spears.

The fact that a crossbow bolt struck his chest at close range, yet only left a dent the size of a peanut without a drop of blood, is clear evidence of this.

"What the hell is this?!"

Starr was horrified.

The faces of the others were also filled with shock and terror.

Having traveled all over the country for many years, this was the first time they had encountered such a bizarre and terrifying creature.

Just as Harvey gritted his teeth and prepared to fight to the death, a figure stepped past them and blocked their way.

"Step back." Anton said without turning his head, his voice calm and even. "I'll handle this guy."

They did contribute a lot of intelligence, so we can't just stand by and watch them become expendable resources for the ritual.

Cassius's gaze swept coldly over Anton, and he said in a chilling voice, "I was originally planning to deal with you last, but since you're so eager to die..."

"You talk too much nonsense."

With a flick of his wrist, Anton unleashed a clear, resonant dragon's roar from his black steel sword. The sword light, like lightning, tore through the night and shot towards Cassius.

Judging from their exchange just now, Cassius is probably at least at the peak of Iron level.

If it were any other enemy, he would definitely have cast a speed talisman on himself and run away without saying a word.

But it's different when the opponent is a half-undead.

As everyone knows, the best way to deal with the undead is with holy magic and combat skills, followed by fire.

His Divine Sun Sword Technique and Melting Weapon Hand are both extremely powerful and yang martial arts, making them perfect for dealing with half-undead.

boom!

A dazzling sun suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

That was no metaphor. To the astonishment of Harvey and the others, a blazing halo over a meter in diameter rose slowly from the tip of Anton's sword, as if compressing and imprisoning the midday sun within a tiny space.

Around the halo, the air twisted and boiled, and the scorching flames transformed into tangible waves that crashed down on Cassius.

Extremely yang and strong, it repels all evil.

Cassius's cold smile froze instantly, turning into a twisted look of terror.

He tried to dodge, but it was too late. The next moment, a burst of flames crashed down on him.

"ah!!"

A piercing scream tore through the night as Cassius was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into a pile of rocks more than ten meters away. His body was charred black, with wisps of smoke rising from his cracked flesh, and the air filled with the stench of burning protein.

Harvey and his three companions hesitated to offer help, as the enemy was too formidable and Anton might not be a match for them.

Then, in the blink of an eye, I saw this scene, and my eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"What kind of combat technique is that?"

Harvey stared in shock at the longsword in Anton's hand. The red glow on the blade had not yet completely faded, like a dormant volcano. Even from a distance of more than ten meters, it still made Harvey's eyes feel a faint sting, as if he were staring directly at the lingering power of the blazing sun.