The mighty power of holy light transformed into a visible storm, swirling across the open ground. Blazing golden flames erupted from the ghoul before him.
These wicked undead shrieked, streams of black smoke flying from their brains before dissipating into nothingness!
Behind him, Ducal and Jivini, each leading their own subordinates, joined the charge!
Xiao Xun didn't even gasp for breath, maintaining his running posture. He had already spotted him—the black-robed figure, the necromancer commanding this army!
A gust of propelling air suddenly erupted behind him. His already running body accelerated further, transforming into an afterimage. He arrived before the necromancer almost instantaneously!
*Bang—*
Xiao Xun's fist smashed into the necromancer's face. A puff of black mist rose, and the necromancer spat blood, falling to the ground.
"Kill me if you will, I will not surrender!"
The fellow seemed remarkably tough, spitting a mouthful of bloody saliva, his eyes filled with resilience and defiance. Xiao Xun punched him in the face.
"Come on, continue…"
Xiao Xun punched him in the face again.
"Ah—!"
Xiao Xun grabbed him by the neck.
"Don't, don't kill me, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything!"
Xiao Xun: "..."
This fellow had gauged his psychology with uncanny accuracy. He had already decided to kill him if he didn't surrender.
After all, he was just a low-level necromancer. Given the caution of the King of Pride, he wouldn't know too much anyway.
This meant the necromancer was quite intelligent. He had succeeded in taking all the punches he deserved without losing his life.
Forget it, whatever information could be extracted was better than nothing.
At this point, Xiao Xun, leading the charging paladins, had also caught up from behind, having largely annihilated the surrounding undead.
Ducal sheathed his weapon and walked over, asking, "Your Highness, is this person the mastermind?"
Xiao Xun shook his head, "No, he definitely couldn't have done this alone. There's someone else behind this. He's just a pawn sent to test our strength."
Ducal, enraged, immediately drew his sword, preparing to strike him down.
"Calm yourself, my prince!" Xiao Xun quickly stopped him.
Ducal took several deep breaths, looking at the necromancer's bruised eyes. He forced himself to calm down, then, suppressing his anger, said, "I understand, Prince Svein!"
Seeing Ducal's state, Xiao Xun felt the immense effort it took.
"What's your name?" Xiao Xun asked.
"Johnson," the necromancer replied.
"Where are you from?"
"From Santy Roman."
"A Santy Roman, and you're doing this instead of something else? Have you no ambition? In Santy Roman, you could do anything, but you defected to the enemy and bullied your own people."
"It's all the fault of that detestable Finance Minister, Bicress. He insisted my father was corrupt and took bribes…"
*Bang!*
Xiao Xun punched him in the eye again.
"Shut up, I didn't tell you to speak!" he snarled viciously. The necromancer immediately fell silent.
"Who do you serve? And how did you find us? Who ordered you to attack us?"
"I still don't know who our master is. He always communicates directly through telepathy, or by wearing a black robe."
Johnson seemed very honest. "As for how I found you, it's because I've been active in this area recently, searching for a treasure."
Saying this, he seemed to deflate. "You must be here to search for that treasure as well, right?"
Xiao Xun: "???"
Xiao Xun remained impassive, letting him continue.
"That artifact called the Star of the Kings…"
His eyes gradually filled with a fervent glow. "With it, one can obtain endless divine kingly power, and no one will disobey…"
Xiao Xun: "..."
"Where's the treasure map?" Xiao Xun asked, extending a hand. "Hand it over."
"No, I really don't have it!" the other party adamantly denied.
Xiao Xun brandished his fist.
"Alright, I'll give it to you." He immediately lowered his head dejectedly.
Xiao Xun: "..."
He actually had it… Xiao Xun had only been bluffing.
It was better to have someone to lead the way; it saved him the trouble of finding it himself.
Watching the necromancer rummaging through his belongings, he finally, with great reluctance, produced a tattered scroll and handed it over to Xiao Xun with a look of unwillingness. "It's all here, sir, please take a look."
Xiao Xun opened the scroll and saw that the marked location wasn't too far away.
He put the scroll away and then said to Ducal, "Lock this person up for now. We'll deal with him after we escort him back to Santy Roman. Everyone, return. We've been fighting all night, and everyone is tired."
After giving the order, Xiao Xun turned and walked back. The battle had just ended, and the soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield.
At this moment, Sasha, the troll chieftain who had been hired, walked over, shivering.
"Who are they?"
"These are their subordinates," Xiao Xun nodded and said, "Their leader is a fellow called the King of Pride."
"The bodies, the bodies are standing up!" Sasha shouted. "What kind of enemies are you facing?"
"Not 'you,' but 'us'," Xiao Xun emphasized.
"We are one now, don't separate yourselves."
"Also, you are natives of Pabor, and we are just a group of outsiders. If you don't recognize something, do you expect us to?"
Sasha took a deep breath, then said, "Apologies, sir, we are canceling this contract. We will return your commission right now…"
"Very well," Xiao Xun raised an eyebrow.
"Which path do you intend to leave by?"
Sasha blinked, then thought of the overwhelming wave of undead that had just appeared. He shrank his neck and remained silent.
"This is a disaster, a disaster for all of Pabor. If we cannot stop them, all of us will turn into undead!" Xiao Xun warned. "Tomorrow morning, we will set out to find the Star of the Kings. I have the map now, but I need you to find the shortest route, understand?"
He had no doubt that the map was a trap. After all, the King of Pride's goal was to control humans through endless desire, and eventually transform them all into undead, ruling or destroying the world in the end.
And what was Xiao Xun thinking?
"We must find that sword by tomorrow night and return. With its power, we can destroy any number of undead!" A smile appeared on his lips. "With it, nothing here will be a threat!"
Sasha pondered for a moment, then suddenly gritted his teeth. "Fine, ten sacks of meat!"