This necromancer is going to seduce the beautiful girls who are already dead.

Sizzle! Bang!

Steam billowed from the many holes on the robotic arm, and the steel hand immediately split in the middle. A barbed arrow, connected to a long metal chain, shot out. The arrow, with a magic circle solidified on it, pierced Lanis's shoulder as she sat on the wall in an instant, and the barbs stuck firmly into her body.

Galalalala!

The chains snapped back quickly, and Lannice's small body was immediately pulled towards them by the immense force. Only then did Eugene get a clear look at the expression on her face.

What expression? This isn't Lanis at all; it's a doll made of a special material! It's just wearing one of Lanis's outfits, its body material resembling human skin. Those unfocused eyes are staring directly at Eugene, as if mocking his exasperation.

"A surprise gift!"

Lanis's piercing laughter blared from the magical megaphone. Eugene knew something was wrong and quickly retreated. At the same time, the Lanis doll, held by the henchman with the mechanical arm, exploded violently!

Boom!

The gang member who was eager to show off was torn apart in the explosion and died instantly. Eugene's retreat was already very timely, but the impact of the explosion and the heat wave still hit his face directly, blowing him and a group of gang members around him away.

Eugene fell heavily to the ground, then quickly got up. He smelled something burning, and when he touched it, he found that his handsome mustache had been burned beyond recognition!

"Fuck!" Eugene, who had been trying his best to remain civilized, finally cursed out loud this time, and his roguish nature tore through the disguise of civilization and burst out.

"Hahaha!" Lanis laughed maniacally. "Get out of my way! Get out of my way! If you try to enter my house again, I'll blow you all up! Where do you think you are? Do you think I only plant explosives within my own property? You're standing right in my minefield! I'm going to send you flying into the sky, shoulder to shoulder with the sun!"

"Damn it! I'm going to kill you, Lannis!" Eugene roared, grabbing the collar of the man next to him. "Master! Protect me! I'll give you money!"

The man whose collar he grabbed was a very thin man with a pale face and lifeless eyes that turned toward Eugene and then nodded slightly.

The thin man lightly stomped his foot and chanted some incantation. With these movements, a patch of jagged white bones spread rapidly outwards from him, quickly covering an area with a diameter of over ten meters. Some of the gang members, unable to avoid the rapidly growing bones, had holes pierced through their feet and screamed in agony.

At that moment, Lanis detonated the bombs beneath the feet of the Sheep's Eye gang members.

Boom!

A muffled thud came from beneath the ground covered in bones, shattering a large number of bones into pieces. However, no explosive flames broke through this newly added barrier and injured Mr. Eugene, who was standing right in the center of the minefield. Although several of his gang members vomited from the violent tremor, Eugene didn't care about such things at all.

"You found a necromancer to help you? You've got some nerve, old man!" Lanis laughed heartily. "After you die, he might be able to collect your corpse!"

"Still so arrogant even when death is imminent!" Eugene said with a twisted smile. "You won't be laughing for long! Master! It's all yours now!"

The countless white bones that had just covered the ground flew up at Eugene's command. They carried a chilling glint and faced Lanis's house with their sharp edges. With just a thought from the caster, they could turn this place into a honeycomb!

"Although you got off easy, you can finally shut up now. Oh no, I think this high-ranking necromancer can still wake you up and make you feel pain even after death," Eugene sneered.

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Secrets the Necromancer Seeks

“Kill her, Master,” Eugene said to the necromancer beside him.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The necromancer nodded without hesitation, seemingly unmoved by the act of killing. With a flick of his finger, the sharp bone spikes suspended in mid-air shot forth. As easily as a sword piercing paper, these spikes instantly pierced the mansion's walls, riddling the entire building with holes. Even Eugene could see through the holes to the other side!

But the scream that Eugene expected didn't come. He spat angrily on the ground: "Damn it, she's hiding in the basement!"

"Go in and kill her." The necromancer flicked his finger, and the bone spikes that had just turned Lanis's house into a dilapidated building flew back, sticking to his and Eugene's bodies. After being transformed and pieced together, they became two full suits of white bone armor.

Eugene, looking at his armor, felt even more confident. He slammed his cane on the ground twice and ordered his men, "All of you, wait for me outside. Keep an eye out for anything that moves around you. If the Black Hat Gang comes to rescue Lanis, do what you're supposed to do! No one is allowed to let their guard down until the Master and I come out with Lanis's body!"

"Yes, sir!" the Sheep's Eye gang members replied in unison, immediately spreading out to surround Lanis's mansion. Although they lacked discipline and moved rather haphazardly due to their lack of training, this gang of thugs was still swift enough.

“Alright, Master, go and kill that damned halfling for me! I’ll give you a lot of money!” Mr. Eugene said to the necromancer beside him, full of fighting spirit.

The necromancer showed no extra emotion despite Eugene's high spirits. He simply nodded and gave a cold reply: "Fine, but don't forget my purpose for coming here. I'm not here for money. Lanis must be handed over to me."

“Of course.” Eugene seemed a little regretful, but still agreed. “Let’s go in without delay.”

Two people covered in bone armor walked toward Lanis's mansion. The wall was riddled with holes by bone spikes. The necromancer chanted a spell, and an invisible shockwave slammed into the wall, blasting a large hole in the wall, which was twice as thick as an ordinary house. The two men strode into Lanis's yard.

Boom!

Before he could even take a few steps into the yard, Eugene suddenly heard a deafening explosion behind him!

Lanis had planted other explosives underground! The gang members, who had lowered their guard because they thought the attack was a sure thing, were caught completely off guard by the explosion. Many were instantly thrown off their feet by the buried explosives, some even losing their legs, falling to the ground screaming in agony. The Sheep's Eye gang, which had been surrounding Lanis's mansion, lost half its members in the blink of an eye!

"Hahaha! Eugene! You old fool! Closer! Closer!" Lanis's laughter came through the magic megaphone again.

Eugene was desperately trying to control his anger; he was really yelling now, even though he had been pretending to be a well-mannered gentleman ever since he became rich.

But the thought of wearing the bone armor given to him by the necromancer master calmed him down considerably. Indeed, this necromancer master was a high-ranking eighth-tier mage! Lanis's bombs couldn't harm him at all! This was the insurmountable gap between mages and ordinary people! No potion could erase this difference!

A gang leader actually managed to get a noble high-ranking mage to fight for him! What incredible luck! Eugene couldn't even believe his eyes when he met this dark mage who had traveled all the way from the Shadowlands last night.

He wanted to help him deal with his nemesis, the Black Hat Gang, and the only price was for him to hand over Lanis, whom he had captured and thrown into the factory. What a profitable deal!

Even though he received news early this morning that Lannis had disappeared along with the child laborers in the factory, the patient necromancer was not in a hurry at all, and even promised to resolve the matter perfectly!

Although he didn't know what secrets Lannis was hiding, Eugene didn't care. He just wanted to make money. As for what the necromancer wanted, he couldn't be bothered to think about it. Anyway, what a mage who spent his days among corpses wanted wouldn't be of any value to him. Money was all that mattered! Lots of Imperial Currency, more women to indulge his pleasures, and more child laborers to work for him for meager wages!

Thinking about this, what does my current anger matter! I should just follow this master forward!

Eugene then strode fearlessly toward Lanis's house. Lanis seemed to know that the bone armor he and the necromancer wore could withstand the bombs, and did not immediately detonate the other explosives buried in the yard, waiting for something.

But the necromancer wasn't worried. He walked confidently to the door of Lannis's house, and with a hand covered in sharp bone armor, he lightly scratched the lock, tearing the door in half and leaving it wide open.

Then, the necromancer went straight into the house.

"Lannis, come out. You have no chance of winning." The necromancer's cold voice came from inside the bone armor, sounding somewhat muffled.

"Hahaha, you necromancer, I don't even know you, yet you think you're qualified to persuade me to surrender?" Lanis's voice still came through the magical megaphone.

The necromancer was too lazy to waste any more words with Lanis. He chanted a spell, and several bone spikes flew out of his body quickly, finding the magical megaphone that Lanis used to transmit the sound.

Soon, he found the entrance to the basement. The incantation was recited again, and magical waves rippled outwards from the necromancer, returning after a brief moment to reveal the situation inside the basement—a small heart was pounding, clearly belonging to a halfling in a state of heightened arousal.

“Rebecca Vepera… give me the secrets you know about the Shadow Demons…”

The necromancer muttered those words to himself, then flicked his fingers, and many bone spikes flew off him and Eugene, burrowing into the basement through the entrance!

Chapter Twenty-Three: What I'd Protect Even at the Cost of My Life

boom!

An explosion rang out as the bone spikes entered the basement, accompanied by a spray of red fluorescent liquid.

The bone spikes flew at a speed comparable to arrows, just enough to pass through the exploding liquid. However, they were melted away like ice and snow before they could travel more than a few meters.

The necromancer frowned slightly behind his bone armor. He hadn't expected Lanis to possess such a potion, capable of interfering with his magical control over the flying bone spikes.

Bone spurs are formed by combining a small amount of bone powder with a large amount of magic. The potion used by Lanis not only reacts with the bone powder, melting it, but also interferes with magic, preventing the necromancer from controlling the bone spurs at will, or even maintaining their shape. This was something the eighth-tier necromancer hadn't anticipated.

There are actually ordinary people who can use magic potions to neutralize the attack of an eighth-level mage?

But the necromancer's frown lasted only a moment. He continued chanting his incantation while taking a small jar from his body and unscrewing its lid.

To Eugene's astonishment, a visible ghost slowly floated out of the jar. At first, it was just a wisp of smoke, but soon, the ghost piled up on the ground and gradually revealed its complete form: it was a translucent, burly warrior wearing heavy full-body armor, with a two-handed greatsword and a light crossbow on his back, and a shield and a scimitar in his hands. He looked extremely fierce, leaving no doubt that he was a respected and powerful figure in his previous life.

"Kels, pierce the heart of the halfling in the basement, but don't damage her brain," the necromancer ordered.

However, the necromancer's order did not take effect immediately. The ghost warrior named Kells first grumbled in a low voice and reluctantly walked slowly toward the basement that the necromancer had pointed to.

"Hurry up, don't give her time to prepare." The necromancer wasn't satisfied. After saying this calmly, he began to chant a spell. As the spell took effect, a thin chain suddenly appeared around the ghost warrior's neck. The chain tightened rapidly, causing the ghost warrior to let out a painful growl. He desperately clutched at his neck, but he couldn't escape the chain's torment.

This time, the ghost warrior's speed truly increased; he leaped and jumped directly off the ground.

"Master, what have you summoned?"

“The ghost of an ancient warrior.” The necromancer stood still and said to Eugene leisurely, “He used to be very strong, perhaps even at the eighth rank, but now he is my slave. I have many slaves, but this one is the strongest. He will complete the mission well.”

"Excellent! I am truly ashamed to have troubled you with such methods, Master. You are indeed a high-level mage, with extraordinary bearing..."

"I'm doing this for my own purposes." The necromancer completely disregarded Eugene's politeness.

After being interrupted by Eugene's flattery, he didn't dare utter a sound. He knew very well that if he angered this high-ranking mage, he might die before he even realized what was happening—and even if he died, it might not be the end of it, after all, the other party was a necromancer.

The two people on this side didn't move, but the ghost warrior jumped directly down into the basement. He didn't even need a ladder; his weightless body fell almost silently.

Lanis stood in the basement, with a large pile of alchemical devices behind her. These devices were no longer a complete set, but Lanis still piled them up there, as if to cover something up.

"Gulp..." The ghost warrior's eyes, burning with blue soul flames, looked at Lanis standing in the basement. He hesitated slightly, but still took heavy steps and approached Lanis step by step.

Lanis's smile became forced; she was truly at her wit's end.

These spectral warriors, manipulated by necromancers, only materialize when attacking, and their regenerative abilities are incredibly strong. Even if you manage to wound one at the right moment, it's difficult to completely dismantle its fighting power. Although Lanis was merely an alchemist, she was familiar with various spells on the continent, and she was well aware of the necromancers' infamous and unscrupulous attack methods. Therefore, she understood that she had no chance of resistance.

There was no other way… Lanis knew that with her own explosives, she simply couldn't contend with them. She never imagined that Eugene would actually bring in a high-ranking necromancer…

It's just unknown whether the gray-haired boy who went through the portal is stronger or the necromancer who cornered her without even breaking a sweat.

The ghost warrior approached step by step, sheathing his scimitar and shield behind his back as he advanced, then drawing a two-handed greatsword from his back—a straight sword more suitable for thrusting than a scimitar.

Lanis gritted her teeth, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes.

There's another way...

Lanis pulled a remote control with a magic crystal at its core from her pocket, infused it with magic power, and activated some magical mechanisms in the basement...

boom!

Behind Lanis, a violent explosion occurred in a circular area! The epicenter of the explosion was the New World Gate through which the Abyss entered the other world. With this circular explosion, the basement floor collapsed, and a thick stone floorboard, along with the New World Gate, fell into a deep crater.

That's right. Even though Lanis knew Rebecca couldn't come back, she still made this preparation when building her mansion. There was actually another space in the basement, a way to protect Rebecca's return to this world at all costs in the event of a desperate situation! Lanis never gave up hope of bringing Rebecca back; all she lacked was the opportunity!

Now that she has handed the opportunity to that gray-haired boy, she will make sure that he can return to this world safely after he succeeds, even if it means her death!

In the violent explosion, Lanis lost her balance and fell to the ground, but she still managed to pull out another remote control from her pocket and infuse it with magic.

Rumble!

An even more violent explosion occurred in the basement, piercing through the supporting walls and causing large amounts of earth and rocks to instantly crush the ceiling and collapse!

"Your target is me! But I'll make sure you get nothing!" Amidst the flames of the explosion, Lanis's face broke into a maniacal grin once more!

The massive explosion caused tremors to be felt throughout Lavoisier, and the necromancer standing in Lanis's mansion showed signs of distress for the first time, nearly falling over from the violent tremors.

"Suicide! This madman!" the necromancer couldn't help but curse.

The state of a ghost is related to the state of a person at the moment of death. If her brain was severely impacted before she died, it may have damaged her memory!

We must get Rebecca's body through her! We must!