Star Forge Titan

"This...how...is it possible..." Kelu looked at the stone spear that pierced his chest in disbelief.

In a trance, he inexplicably recalled what he had casually said to the young mercenary.

If I disobey this order, Odin will kill me with his spear...

"Damn it, even if... it's true, God can't even think about it..."

A hint of madness flashed in the eyes of the dying necromancer. He took out a twisted holy emblem from his pocket with trembling hands. The holy emblem had a strange shape and a foul stench that made people smell it.

The Necromancer does not have any specific beliefs, but this holy emblem clearly carries some kind of power from the gods.

"Great. Great Eternal Wound, I offer you my soul and all the zombies around me as a sacrifice. Please grant me..."

The strange holy emblem began to emit a dirty dark green light. However, before Kelu could finish his sacrificial prayer, a dagger stretched out from behind and cut his throat, turning the unfinished prayer into a hissing sound from a ruptured trachea.

"Hehe..." Kelu reluctantly turned his head and looked at Khayang with an expression of disbelief, who shouldn't be here.

"Hmph." Ka Yang kicked his former colleague to the ground and rubbed the blood stains on the soles of his shoes on the other person.

Then, he looked at an open window on the second floor of the building in the distance with a complicated look.

At this time, the group of zombies surrounding the hotel no longer continued to attack because they had lost the control of their master, and just wandered around aimlessly and disorderly.

"There's no other meaning to this." Khayon muttered softly.

“It just happens that our interests coincide.”

Chapter 28: Dual Paths of Light and Darkness

Huh, Alvin exhaled a breath of foul air.

The moon finally broke free from the obstruction of dark clouds. Under the bright moonlight, the rock armor on his body and the two big swords in his hands turned into rubble and scattered.

The combat in a full-immersion game may seem similar to real-life combat, but there are subtle differences. However, actual combat can gradually shorten this gap until it disappears completely.

After the battle, Ivan felt that nearly a century of battle memories in his soul were slowly melting away like an iceberg. Those were the countless hours he spent as a player, and the vast amount of battle memories accumulated after going through various rigorous tests that ordinary people would consider comparable to the Trial of God or the Bloody Battle of Hell.

Amidst the real clash of weapons and flying blood and flesh, this huge collection of memories was finally absorbed and digested by him bit by bit, and transformed into fighting skills that could be used with his current strength.

When Alvin opened his eyes again, he was further away from the pure top player he once was, and was transformed into a warrior wielding weapons in the real world.

Countless fighting techniques, some orthodox and some unconventional but all extremely effective, emerged in his mind.

Next, we only need more actual combat to perfectly integrate them, or even deduce them into a new school of thought.

However, on the other hand, perhaps it was the fusion with the tenacious soul living in the northern ice field, or the true grasp of the power to change things, or the fire of courage that never disappeared burned more vigorously with the help of power.

Ivan's character has also become stronger, and he is becoming more and more different from the genius player who used to hide at home and escape everything because he was unable to change the wrong things.

The former immaturity gradually faded away, revealing a pure will as solid and transparent as the northern permafrost.

Yes, I am different than I used to be.

A strong and clear understanding emerged in my mind.

Keeping this realization in mind, Alvin heard the cheers of people coming from the hotel behind him.

There are both laughter and crying, perfectly interpreting the complex tragedy and comedy of the world.

At this moment, in addition to the zombies that were dragged away and devoured by the zombies, there were still many remains of the undead piled outside the hotel door. They formed two piles of corpses nearly two stories high, with only a small path in the middle that was barely passable.

The remaining numerous zombies had already retreated, leaving behind a large number of bloody and fleshy fragments. Although they still roamed the nearby forests, without the protection of the necromancers, most of them would rot and collapse after a few sunrises due to the collision between the positive energy contained in the sunlight and their own negative energy, turning into ordinary corpses.

Seeing that the siege of the inn had been lifted, Alvin walked towards the place where the necromancer had appeared before, kicking away a few wandering zombies along the way.

These brainless creatures naturally don't feel fear. Fortunately, their perception range is limited, and they won't come in groups without the control of the Necromancer.

When appearing alone, a wild dog may be more threatening than them.

But he couldn't just leave it like that. If he guessed correctly, these zombies were different from the undead that the necromancers had summoned using orthodox spells in the past.

They have a special curse in their bodies that can be transmitted through attacks, which can transform living humans into zombies, or with a lower probability, into other undead spirits.

The stronger the physique, the more resistant they are to this curse, but as time passes or attacks continue, the curse's power will accumulate and grow until it is expelled or a complete transformation is achieved.

That's why, when he rushed out just now, Ivan immediately summoned the 'Rock Armor' to cover his entire body. Even so, some of the curse was transmitted to him along with the splattered flesh and blood.

but……

"I didn't expect that raw magic has this characteristic. No wonder those senior mages in the game are looking for related tasks every day." Feeling the changes in his body, Alvin showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

The moment the curse approached, the original magic power stored in his bones, blood and mana pool instantly became active, and even the azure crystal between his eyebrows shone brightly.

The original magic power was like a lion whose territory had been invaded. With an almost boiling momentum, it instantly shattered the entire structure of the negative energy containing the curse, until it was crushed into the most basic magic factor "Mana" and completely devoured and absorbed.

Alvin even felt that the total amount of magic power in his body had increased slightly.

But the appearance of this special zombie also means that the Elrond Undead faction has begun to advance the plan that will eventually trigger the skeleton frenzy.

Although the other party may have various reasons for deciding to conduct such inhumane research, Ivan didn't care about those things at all. He was simply unhappy with this behavior of not treating ordinary people as human beings.

Ordinary people eat your bread? Why should you turn them into zombies? Who gave you the power? Is it because you possess that extraordinary knowledge? I can do it too! Or is it because you have noble blood? Who didn't have wealthy ancestors?

Looking at so many zombies, although most of them were ordinary corpses that had been buried, it still showed that many innocent people passing by had died.

This made Ivan begin to understand why Afrediya insisted on carrying out reforms.

The monopoly on extraordinary knowledge has actually created an absolute barrier between the two classes. If this continues, the entire Elrond society will inevitably fall into a very rigid state, causing various problems and contradictions until the entire country falls into turmoil and collapse.

What we should be most vigilant about is the ethnic division caused by power disparity. That will be a more serious problem than the class division caused by disparity in money and other resources.

The changes initiated by the Demon Kings in recent generations are all aimed at changing this.

However, Alvin made the decision without much thought.

He decided to destroy the Undead School's plan based solely on personal preference. He had made his choice even as early as when he first met Afrediya in the northern ice field, although there were other reasons at that time.

Although I still don't know why I came to the world of Palladia, since I already hold the scepter of power in my hand, let me be a little willful.

Anyway, no one will jump out to object, right?

Walking to the fallen body of the necromancer, Ivan raised his eyebrows and showed a dangerous look.

Too clean, too damn clean! The fallen mage had been stripped so thoroughly that, aside from his unenchanted shirt, even his waist bag containing spell materials had been stolen.

Ivan couldn't help but curse in his heart, but this was normal.

After seeing the special spell that players jokingly called "Traitor's Light", he had actually expected it.

As a member of the same faction, Khayang naturally knows much more clearly than outsiders what good things the other party has hidden.

After Ivan threw a stone spear and stabbed the necromancer to death from a long distance, it took him a while to kick away the zombies blocking his way, which was enough time for Khayon to touch the corpse back and forth.

Then, Alvin noticed that a faint magical glow could be seen in the other party's clenched left hand.

His expression changed slightly, but he did not try to pry the other person's hand open directly. Instead, he picked up a stone and threw it far away.

The stone accurately hit the five fingers of the necromancer's clenched left hand. The body had just died and had not yet become stiff, so the things he was holding fell out.

"What the hell!" Alvin cursed out loud when he saw the familiar twisted mark on the holy emblem.

Undead cult! Idiots who believe in that stinking beast!

I didn't expect that the Elrond Undead faction would be involved with the other party so early.

Is this still the time for the nations to rise? It's still a full twenty-one years until the Skeleton Tide breaks out!

However, this also indirectly explains why so many bizarre new undead creatures suddenly appeared during the Skeleton Frenzy. It turns out that the Elrond Undead faction had already launched a magical arms race twenty years ago! And they even received technical support from the evil gods.

I just don't know if all the necromancers have joined the Undead Cult, or if only some of them choose to believe in that evil god.

As a top player who had experienced the Scourge Families during the fifth version, Ivan naturally had some understanding of the evil gods lurking in the darkness. Although their true forms hadn't officially appeared in the game, their demonic followers had provided players with numerous quests and dungeons.

Whether it is the cultists who believed in evil gods in the early versions, or the big demons who later directly entered the material world, each one is a very difficult enemy.

Among the several people behind all this, there is this thing called "Eternal Sore, Fetid Beast". By the way, the latter half of the sentence is a derogatory term given to it by players, because the glimpse of the other party in the promotional animation is too ugly, and every move in the game is accompanied by an astonishing stench.

He primarily represents decaying life forces and the existence of beings that violate the laws of nature. Though merely an evil deity spreading disease and distorting life forms, in the eyes of his followers he is an immortal who has conquered death.

Because his essence is an evil deity that corrupts the vitality of nature by spreading disease, so curses and diseases that spread on a large scale will receive his blessing.

In other words, some extremists in the School of Necromancer have a very high compatibility with this guy, whether it's distorting vitality through negative energy, creating undead that violate the natural laws of life, or producing a plague that can affect all living things in a large range.

"Tsk, how come it has something to do with those things that are blocked outside the Fire Realm?" Alvin pressed his eyebrows and felt a headache.

Oops, the sense of security I once had is fading fast. I have to find a way to level up again.

At his current level, facing a real member of the Calamity Clan would basically be like delivering food to their doorstep.

However, after he said the term 'Fire Realm Heaven', he suddenly heard a very subtle change in breathing in the forest not far away.

"Hmm?" Alvin raised his eyebrows.

"Come out."

The forest was silent, and no one responded to his words.

"You who is twenty meters away in the northeast direction, come out, you are exposed." Alvin smiled and shook his head and said again.

After a rustling of leaves, a pale zombie emerged from another place. Unlike the zombies that contained cursed powers, this one was clearly an ordinary zombie temporarily summoned by orthodox necromancy.

Moreover, judging by its physical condition, the corpse should have been a second-level professional when it was alive. This shows that it is an excellent body that can be further transformed into a high-level undead, such as the part on the Death Knight's horse, or the core corpse of the Abomination Stitcher.

"Gugu...Kaka...Ulu Ulu...Puff." The high-quality zombie made a bunch of meaningless noises with its stiff tongue.

"Are you a murloc?" Ivan's mouth twitched slightly as he tried hard not to laugh out loud.

Although Khayon invented some minor spells during this period, he was still essentially a low-level wizard.

There is still a big gap between him and the metal traitor who gave up his flesh and blood and attached himself to the metal skeleton, installed magic-powered steam balls in the rib cavity, wrapped his whole body in enchanted armor, moved freely between many camps, and was completely cold and ruthless, acting only for profit.

"Wo Shi, I am, Ulu Ulu, I mean." After a long time, Kayang, who was hiding in the distance, made the zombie say half a complete sentence.

There was silence for a few seconds again. Alvin crossed his arms and looked at the zombie with a bored expression as its facial muscles began to twitch.

"Just come out, Kayon Paulus. There's no need to beat around the bush."

“…” The zombie’s expression froze instantly.

The leaves in the distance swayed, and Kayan Paulus took off the wandering soul cloak covering his head. Yes, he got another one. He stood up with a serious face and looked at Ivan in the distance shrouded in moonlight.

"How do you know my name? Did Fulei tell you?" He raised his head and stared at the exceptionally tall boy in front of him with his squinting eyes warily.

Well, after undergoing the ritual transformation, Alvin now looks more like a strong young man.

"Fre? Are you familiar with her?" The black-haired teenager raised his eyebrows.

"I know her, but she may not remember me." Ka Yang snorted with a strange expression and spoke slowly in his special sweet tone.

Then he asked the same question again.

"The Princess told you?"

"I guess so." Alvin shrugged noncommittally.

The scene was silent for a while.

"To make a long story short, do you want to cooperate?" Ka Yang asked first.

"In what aspect?" Alvin was not surprised by the other party's directness. This was the 'everyone's traitor' he knew.

As long as the interests are the same, the other party can be trusted. At least in his memory, this is the only code of conduct that Kayon Paulus abides by.

However, Kayon's previous performance in Flanders seemed to be somewhat inconsistent with this rule, and it is not known why.

"Although I don't know why you are helping the princess, your top priority right now is to return safely to the capital, Avonmore, right?" Kayon said quickly.

"Indeed." Alvin nodded.

"Alright, my request is simple. I hope that upon your return to the capital, you will mobilize the forces of the Reformists to cause trouble for my mentor, Lucius Suurado. Ideally, force him into exile."

Khayang's words were shocking. He actually wanted the reformists to take the initiative to attack the School of Undead. To be precise, he wanted a high-level wizard in the School of Undead.

“…” Alvin frowned.

Every action has a reason, and with limited information, he couldn't see what Khayang could gain from this incident.

"The reason?" He asked directly, not intending to play any guessing game with this overly clever guy.

"The reason? Although I am only at the second level, I want to become a fourth level eventually. However, all the extraordinary information about promotion to high-level wizards is in the hands of the existing high-level wizards, so..." Khayang spread his hands with a frank look.

"A fourth-tier mage forced to leave the Mage Tower needs a capable intermediary to provide him with access to information, contacts, and materials needed for experiments, spellcasting, and maintaining his fourth-tier battle group. Most importantly, he always hopes to return one day."

"So, just like when hunters urgently need strong enough hunting dogs, they will use more meat to feed their own dogs. By then, even the most stingy high-level wizard will let me be promoted." Khayon said confidently.

"But he will also put a strong enough collar on the stronger hound." Ivan said meaningfully.