Chapter 321: Decayed Drake, Falling into a Trap

Though the bodies of the cult members, once transformed, had been utterly obliterated by Noelle and Wang Yu, as undead entities, they could still manifest as specters after their physical forms were destroyed, sustained by the lingering necromantic magic.

This necromantic energy bound these specters, which were arranged in specific formations, allowing the power and aura of death to accumulate continuously within the area.

When Varma utilized the artifact to tear open the Void Spirit Realm, a ring of dark gloom descended from the sky, swallowing the necromantic energy that had saturated the region without a moment’s hesitation.

Glancing upward, Wang Yu noticed the pitch-black ring appearing overhead. His Chariot power reached out, capturing the chaotic spatial fluctuations within; was this an attempt to tear him and Noelle to shreds with overwhelming spatial shearing?

Bending his legs to gather momentum, Wang Yu grabbed Noelle, preparing to sprint with all his might to escape the reach of this chaotic spatial ring. Yet, the information relayed by the Perfect Fractal Lens over his right eye after scanning the ring caused him to falter.

Without a second’s hesitation, Wang Yu pulled Noelle in front of him—or rather, in front of the Perfect Fractal Lens. As the lens began to unleash its spell, he spoke to her.

"Get your brother here; we will open a path for him."

The next instant, the spatial ring plummeted, engulfing everything beneath it with such speed that had Wang Yu attempted to dash out, he would have failed. The swirling undead mist, along with the figures who had been battling within it, vanished in the same heartbeat.

Noelle’s form appeared atop a low building near where the spatial ring had emerged; she had not been pulled inside.

Looking at her own body in a daze, she felt the lingering traces of spatial magic and the void—it was Sister Evie’s displacement spell; she had swapped places with her.

Shaking off her stupor, Noelle quickly pulled out her unblocked identity card and began contacting Zig, who should already be on his way. Regardless of the cost, they had to find a way to assist Wang Yu and Evie.

"Spatial transfer? Where is this? The Undead Plane?"

In a strange space, Wang Yu stood upon solid, dust-covered, dead earth, questioning Evie beside him. The surrounding necromantic energy made it feel remarkably like the Undead Plane.

"No, this is a temporary demi-plane called the Void Spirit Realm. This indeterminate space creates a temporary demi-plane rich in whatever energy was most abundant at the moment of activation. They likely intended to drag Zig or Noelle in here."

The girl responded calmly. Having studied vast amounts of spatial knowledge for the sake of Wang Yu’s journey home, Evie was undoubtedly a master of space.

She had used the Perfect Fractal Lens to analyze the ring of gloom in the sky and immediately swapped her position with Noelle’s—it was the fastest form of spatial transfer, and the only way to make it in time.

She could not let the enemy succeed, nor could she accept Wang Yu facing this rare and powerful foe alone in the Void Spirit Realm.

"Bang! Bang!"

"You... damn you! My sacred mission has been obstructed to this extent by you filthy, heretical outsiders. Once I kill you, I will find another opportunity to finish off those two heretical dragons you seek to protect."

A voice filled with malice and rage pierced through the mist of dead souls that permeated this undead-like space. A heavy, thudding vibration accompanied the sound, felt by both Wang Yu and Evie.

In this Void Spirit Realm, filled with the aura of the dead and free from the suppression of the Prime Material Plane, Varma was finally able to unleash nearly her full strength.

Although her power had fallen from the legendary rank due to the nature of her phylactery vessel, her high-level Archmage strength was more than enough to crush the two ants before her.

She had intended to drag the young red dragon into this space, finish it off, and then use this demi-plane—which shared properties with the Undead Plane—to form a planar bridge and escape back to the Undead Plane.

Unexpectedly, this mage who had suddenly appeared had taken the dragon’s place in the Void Spirit Realm. Varma’s operation could be considered a total failure.

Having sacrificed hundreds of Dragon Cultists and a precious artifact to open the Void Spirit Realm, only to end up with nothing, how could she not be furious? Fury ignited her killing intent; she would slay the knight and the mage before her and convert them into her own undead puppets.

"Whoosh!"

A violent hurricane was whipped up by Evie. The restless, tyrannical wind elements blew away the mist of dead souls and the high-concentration necromantic energy in the surrounding area, clearing the vision-obscuring environment.

A massive, shattered figure emerged as the fog dissipated. It was a corrupted dragon-beast. Despite its immense size and powerful appearance, with razor-sharp teeth and lethal claws, its skin was riddled with festering wounds and ugly, spreading pustules, from which foul, turbid liquid constantly dripped.

"A dragon? No, this is a drakonid..."

Looking at the creature, Wang Yu bared his teeth behind his gold-and-iron helm. This was truly a difficult opponent; even an undead dragon was a terror of the highest order.

However, having spent much time with Zig and Noelle, Wang Yu quickly caught several details on the corrupted dragon form Varma had assumed, realizing it was not a true undead dragon, but an undead drakonid.

"Prepare yourself. Focus on breaking down the spatial structure here; as long as the Professor enters, this undead drakonid won't stand a chance. But with our current strength, we are no match for this entity alone."

His battle aura and blood boiled. In the short time that had passed, Wang Yu had restored about a third of the blood in his blood pool. Now, his task was to stall this undead drakonid and wait for the girl’s move. Against a high-level Archmage, the two of them were outmatched.

Evie nodded. As void energy gathered, she began preparing spells without a moment’s pause. Several simple enhancement spells were already cast upon Wang Yu’s body, and Varma, having finished her declaration of intent to kill them, immediately launched her attack.

"Roar!"

The dragon’s maw opened wide, and a corrosive breath—like dark green smoke or flame—spewed forth, surging toward Wang Yu and Evie. Wherever it passed, earth rotted and stone crumbled; even the air itself withered and died. An unimaginable erosive power was contained within this putrid breath.

"Hoo..."

Taking a deep breath, Wang Yu channeled the special blood he had recovered within his body and, aiming toward the corrupted drakonid, released his own dragon breath once more.

"Boom!"

Thunder exploded, a fan-shaped shockwave tearing through the earth and kicking up a storm of soil and stone. The swirling gale forced the incoming putrid breath to recoil, clearing the dark green haze. Dragon roar met corrosive breath, and the putrid breath, completely countered in nature, collapsed on the spot.

The corner of the drakonid’s mouth—the form Varma had taken—curved upward. No one knew what the corrupted creature was smiling at, but the high-intensity battle continued.

"Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack!"

After one roar dispersed the putrid breath, three vials popped out from the tool kit strapped to his heavy metal armor. While charging toward the corrupted dragon, Wang Yu swallowed the strengthening potions, glass and all.

A scorching fire ignited within his body, and rolling vitality surged from nowhere. Energy-state matter burrowed into his muscles, and invisible power pulsed incessantly. Wang Yu’s mastery of potions was already consummate; in this moment, what he needed most was a tougher, more resilient body.

"Clack, clack! Swish, swish, swish!"

The corrupted drakonid spread its arms, which appeared slender compared to its massive torso, and necromantic magic converged. The energy dense in the space would compensate for some of Varma’s lost power, while simultaneously interfering with Evie.

Bone spikes, much darker in color than those released in the outside world and wrapped in weakening curses, rose from the ground, surging toward the charging Wang Yu like a tidal wave. In the sky, meteors burning with corrosive green flames descended, smashing densely toward the sprinting armored figure.

"Hah!"

With a shout, Wang Yu ignored the burning meteors falling overhead that could crush him to pieces. He pushed his blood and battle aura to the absolute limit of his endurance, relying on the immense physical strength that served as his foundation, and slammed into the wave of bone spikes.

"Boom!"

The flames flickered briefly. Though it was the sound of a collision, it rang out like an explosion. Shattered bone fragments scattered into the sky; he was a human demolition machine.

The gold-and-iron armored figure crashed into the sea of bone spikes, parting the waves and carving a path through sheer, peerless force. Cursed fire ignited intermittently upon his body, using its power to burn and purify the weakening curses attached to the spikes.

"Bang, bang, boom!"

As Wang Yu violently crushed two-thirds of the bone-spike sea, the corrosive meteors falling from the firmament arrived, striking the ground. The corrosive green flames and the explosive force of the fire elements were released continuously.

Yet, Wang Yu paid them no mind. The kinetic energy from his sprint had been exhausted after breaking through two-thirds of the distance; for the rest of the way, he would have to tear through with brute force. These meteors would be intercepted by someone he could trust.

Varma’s dragon eyes narrowed slightly. She sensed an unusual fire element. It shouldn't be this way; how could there be a place for fire elements in this space filled with necromantic magic?

At Evie’s location, a spatial rift opened, leading directly to the Seed of Eden space that was always connected to her.

A pile of alchemical materials saturated with fire elements was poured out. The rising fire elements instantly pushed all the necromantic magic away from the girl’s immediate area.

Data streams incomprehensible to the naked eye surged rapidly through the Perfect Fractal Lens over the girl’s right eye, while a miniature magic circle on her palm was already prepared. Drawing fire elements from the surrounding materials, a group fire spell of astonishing power was ready to be unleashed.

Fifth-tier enhancement spell: Starry Sea of Fire. Scorching flames that burned everything ignited beneath the impact points of the corrosive meteors. The flames gathered, transforming into spheres of light surrounded by sparks, surging upward to collide with the swarm of corrosive meteors.

Like a burning galaxy, the sky reversed at this moment. Crimson light collided with the falling meteors, erupting with mountain-shaking, sea-churning waves that ravaged everything nearby. Wang Yu, still charging, was enveloped in the chaos, yet his footsteps never faltered.

His left hand balled into a fist, condensing battle aura; his right hand reached out to grasp the void. As he punched, a solid, high-quality column of battle aura erupted from his body, clearing away the remaining bone obstacles in a single strike.

The meteors and fireballs colliding in mid-air had reached a stalemate, their powers annihilating each other in the sky. Only scattered crimson flames and corrosive fire drifted down, and at this moment, these ownerless things were grasped by an invisible force and pulled toward a single point.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"

Crimson and emerald flames intertwined, clashing violently yet forced together by sheer power, rendering the coalesced mass dangerously unstable, a volatile core poised to detonate at any moment.

The residual embers in the surrounding air were swept clean, dragged by the chariot’s force into Wang Yu’s grasp, forming a vibrant, sputtering sphere of raw energy.

The Corrupted Dragon’s assault never faltered; the moment the corrosive meteor fell, its follow-up spells targeting both Wang Yu and Avia arrived in tandem.

Above Avia’s head, the void tore open, raining down ash-like, grey-black matter, each flake compressed with highly concentrated necromantic mana.

A fifth-tier necromantic spell: Cinder Rain. These ash-like particles possessed terrifying piercing power, and once within range, the necrotic tendrils extending from them could instantly extinguish any life force lacking sufficient vitality.

Valma had realized that compared to Wang Yu, Avia was the more troublesome adversary; she had to ensure Avia was too occupied to assist him, and then...

The earth fractured as a colossal stone hand erupted from the soil, shielding the girl; though shredded by the Cinder Rain, it bought the necessary time, yet it left the girl unable to aid Wang Yu, who was now left to fend for himself.

The primary goal was to stall, but that did not mean Wang Yu would abandon all offense to focus solely on breaking the spatial structure for the girl; he would weave through the fray, draw Valma’s fire, and strike with crippling precision when necessary—that was his plan.

Necromantic mana surged, manifesting a massive skeletal scythe in the Corrupted Dragon’s grip, which slashed toward Wang Yu, sending a grey-black crescent of death energy tearing through the air, a terrifying force destined to annihilate him.

Raising the sphere of concentrated flame, Wang Yu hurled it toward the incoming necrotic blade, expecting the collision of energies to be evenly matched...

"Hum!"

Yet, just before the blade and the sphere collided, the sphere abruptly veered off course, grazing the blade to streak toward Valma’s dragon form.

Five mithril needles followed in its wake; guided by the Perfect Fractal Lens in his right eye, Wang Yu struck five of the necrotic blade’s dozens of mana nodes with anti-magic material.

The nodes annihilated, and though the blade did not shatter, its power visibly withered; Wang Yu did not dodge, his armored frame slamming directly into it.

"Skree!"

A screeching sound of twisting metal rang out as a deep, jagged gash tore through his heavy alchemical armor; clearly, had the blade’s power remained intact, he would have been cleaved in two.

But now, the sphere that had grazed the blade reached Valma’s dragon body, ready to erupt, and Wang Yu followed close behind, aiming not for a kill, but for significant damage.

However, the moment before the sphere detonated, the corrupted dragon form abruptly dissolved into pure necromantic mana, and Wang Yu’s heart sank—he had fallen into a trap.

It was true: Valma was a dracolich, but her true form remained in the plane of the undead, tethered to her original dragon corpse; this body was merely a construct of necromantic mana.

Her intent was to make Wang Yu and Avia believe this was her true vessel, that damaging it would harm her, and then, just like this...

Within the mist of dead souls, the undead moved with startling speed; the fog coalesced, and Valma’s form materialized behind Wang Yu, her hand gathering pitch-black energy.

One of a lich’s innate abilities: the ability to cast a seventh-tier single-target spell, Finger of Death, instantly once within a certain timeframe.

Simultaneously, invisible, highly corrosive matter swirled from all directions to envelop Wang Yu, who was now locked by the Finger of Death—this was the true Corrupting Breath.

How could a breath be so easily dispersed? The green matter was merely a facade; the true, invisible corrosive substance had been manipulated and stockpiled by Valma, ready to trigger a fatal endgame.

She intended to leave Wang Yu, now fallen into her trap, without so much as a bone remaining.