Chapter 32: The Master of Performance!
The aura of death thickened.
The underground portion of this Death God’s ruins was relatively well preserved. It seemed that the lower layers had originally been designed for other purposes. This was similar to most large temples, and Soren’s Half-Elf Church had a similar layout. The temple above ground was merely the tip of the iceberg, with much larger three-layer spaces below, each designated for various functions—such as torture rooms, holding cells, prayer rooms, and confinement rooms. Many high-level spies from other factions, who came to Amber City to cause trouble, were typically taken directly to the church’s basement and handed over to the Night Wanderers for interrogation, bypassing the security department.
The Night Wanderers.
An elite group within the Half-Elf Church, comprised of only sixteen members, all of whom were high-level and had the capability to ascend to legend.
They were all zealots blessed by Soren.
Every church of a deity has its own elite armed faction; the God of Suffering has the Broken Monk League, the God of Mages has the Arcane Council, the Lady of the Night has the Black Moon Monk League, and the Goddess has control over organizations such as the Knights of the Mystical Flame, Star Hunters, and Sons of Stardust. Essentially, most deity churches have their own top armed factions, but since Soren’s divine foundation is relatively weak, he has only established a small-scale Night Wanderer group.
“This should be the torture room.”
Walking through the side corridor, his view opened up significantly. Nearby, there was an iron gate that looked recently repaired.
Soren spotted some strange creatures.
They didn’t resemble surface dwellers but looked more like earth monsters from the Underdark. Further inside, there were trolls being held captive, though it was unclear what horrific experiments the lich occupying this place had conducted, as even the trolls—who could regenerate after having their heads cut off—appeared to be in a near-death state. A hint of demonic energy came from the troll cells, and Soren’s gaze quickly fell upon an injured Frenzied Combat Demon. Even among the multiverse’s highest undead, liches were close to material beings, and it appeared that this one had even caught some demons from the Bottomless Abyss as experimental materials.
The power of the Frenzied Combat Demon was astounding!
A standard iron gate could not contain it, so there was an energy seal to confine the demon.
Moving further ahead, a long row of iron racks was filled with various torture instruments, and the table had dissected corpses ranging from humans and dwarves to werewolves. Some were even preserved in large glass jars. This place resembled the cave Soren first entered in Amber City, with nearby mummy-making equipment, and so on.
Continuing forward led to another passageway.
Strong chaotic magical energy was emanating from here, indicating that the lich Soren sought was beneath.
“I’ve got a plan!”
Soren quickly formulated an idea and quietly retreated to his previous position, secretly drawing his weapon and waving it, soon witnessing the energy seal containing the Frenzied Combat Demon being lifted.
Perhaps due to the prolonged captivity and torment, the demon initially didn’t realize it was free.
After a moment, it hesitantly stretched out its hand and slammed it down.
Roar!
Having endured so much suffering, it did not lose its chaotic demonic nature. Gaining freedom, the Frenzied Combat Demon charged out of the iron gate, breaking through both the gate and the wall with a single blow.
Boom!
A loud, muffled sound echoed.
Nearby, the undead guards immediately sprang into action and rushed over, while the angered Frenzied Combat Demon, having been imprisoned for so long, crashed head-on into one undead guard, turning it into a pile of scattered bones. Demons naturally have a high challenge level and attributes that far exceed other beings; these undead simply could not stop it.
At the same time.
On the next floor of the ruins, at a massive experimental platform, a lich was in the midst of conducting some experiments.
“Hmm?”
The expression of the lich reflected slight confusion. As a high-level undead being, this lich had recently repaired its body, now made entirely of a bony frame, covered in a layer of flesh—merely for decorative purposes, which would decay in a few years. It put down a certain black crystal and glanced up, muttering, “Has that demon escaped?”
“Could the demon seal have malfunctioned?”
A Frenzied Combat Demon was hardly a concern for a lich of its rank. Still, if allowed to go on a rampage, it could certainly wreak havoc in its laboratory.
Thus, it needed to handle the situation.
Sensing suspicion, the lich became unusually cautious, first casting a spell on itself before proceeding toward the upper passageway.
It suspected that someone had infiltrated its lair.
Boom!
Another heavy sound echoed as the lich’s figure appeared on the level above the laboratory. It didn’t notice anything unusual, aside from the Frenzied Combat Demon that inexplicably managed to escape.
—“Bone Prison!”
A simple necromancy spell caused the bones on the ground to automatically rise, forming a cage to trap the rampaging Frenzied Combat Demon.
—“Dominate Demon!”
Another spell’s light glimmered as the lich planned to control it first before sealing it away again.
It still needed to conduct experiments on this Frenzied Combat Demon.
However!
In that moment, a strange light suddenly appeared, followed by a figure rushing out from its side.
“An enemy!”
As a lich who had just ascended to demigod level, Trethumdik’s reaction speed was remarkably fast, and without a second thought, it cast one of its most powerful spells.
—“Time Stop!”
As a nearly immortal high-level lich, it never underestimated any enemy. For a lich of this level, opening with the legendary spell ‘Time Stop’ was not unusual, and many spells were activated directly. High-level wizards could grasp powerful ‘unexpected spells’ that would automatically trigger under specific conditions. If they advanced to the Legendary Domain and mastered special super-spell techniques, they could even trigger higher-level spells or legendary spells as instant triggers.
Trethumdik’s spell trigger condition was ‘when attacked by an enemy.’
His awareness was as quick as the spell’s activation speed. As a lich with a long lifespan, Trethumdik’s spell capabilities far exceeded those of other legendary spellcasters. This level of super spellcasting technique meant that even Gloria and the Fallen Witch combined could not match the demigod lich before him.
As a demigod lich, he could incorporate ‘Time Stop’ into the realm of ‘Higher Unexpected Spells’!
Years ago, countless teams of legendary adventurers perished under this power!
Not surprisingly.
The enemy preparing to ambush him was also instantly frozen by ‘Time Stop,’ allowing Trethumdik to leisurely begin preparing the subsequent spells.
The duration of ‘Time Stop’ was sufficient for him to unleash a massive barrage of spells to obliterate this ‘overconfident’ enemy!
……………(To Be Continued ~^~)
