Phillips dragged his weak lich body, moving silently through the dark and deathly wilderness.
The Soul fire, representing his Soul Origin, flickered weakly in his hollow eye sockets, its light far dimmer than when he had arrived.
"Damn Red-Iron Dragon... Damn Ximu Territory..."
"I will definitely return!"
Thinking of the massive Undead Legion he had spent hundreds of years and countless efforts to accumulate, only to be destroyed in such a short time, Phillips couldn't help but curse again, his thoughts filled with both deep palpitations and fear toward the Red-Iron Dragon, as well as greed and desire.
To be able to break through the defense of a Legendary Domain while fighting above one's rank.
Even with Phillips's vast knowledge and extraordinary vision as a former Legendary, he had only heard of one such instance in the long passage of time.
— The Holy King of Lothern!
That powerful existence, when he was still at Rank 20, in order to verify the limits of his own strength and to personally experience the powerful might of a Legendary Domain, resolutely challenged a true Legendary at Rank 21.
After an earth-shattering and intense battle.
The Holy King crossed the massive chasm, like a natural moat, between mortals and the Legendary, displaying extraordinary power.
Although he did not achieve a decisive final victory, he successfully fought to a draw with that Legendary powerhouse.
Even so, the strength displayed by the Holy King of Lothern was enough to win countless gazes of awe and plant deep fear in the hearts of many powerhouses.
Phillips had carefully probed the Red-Iron Dragon's Life Level during the previous battle.
Rank 17, which is roughly equivalent to a Middle Stage adult Gold Dragon.
Although his own Legendary Domain strength was certainly far from his prime, the opponent was also far from reaching the Peak level of mortals, Rank 20.
"That damned Dragon, if he were allowed to grow to Rank 20."
"Who knows, he might really be able to defeat a true Legendary in perfect condition head-on!"
"If he continues to grow without obstruction, perhaps one day, he will become an unprecedented Evil Dragon, and become another extremely powerful Ancient Dragon after the Sky-Covering Wing."
"And this means that if I can manage to control him, then I will also have an unprecedentedly huge opportunity to surpass my former Peak and reach a brand new height that I have never even imagined!"
Greed erupted in Phillips's eye sockets.
Over a thousand years old, it is just the right age for a struggle and comeback!
He secretly made up his mind.
Once he successfully adjusted his state and regrouped, he must try every possible method, at any cost, to re-ascend to the Legendary realm as soon as possible, and then, concentrate all his power to take down that Red-Iron Dragon who caused him heavy losses but was also so coveted.
He fantasized beautifully about the future in his mind, while silently shuttling through dark dense forests and rolling hills.
Finally, time reached midnight.
This Necromancer arrived before a steep cliff that was extremely hidden and covered by layers of vines.
"In the name of the dead, open the path!"
Phillips chanted the Spell in a hoarse voice.
As the Spell fell, the thick and twisted vines on the cliff wall squirmed like living things, quickly retreating to both sides, and immediately after, the mountain surface covered by the vines also silently split open a gap, revealing a bottomless, pitch-black cave entrance.
Phillips did not hesitate at all and immediately drilled inside.
The vines behind him quickly closed up and returned to their original state, and the split mountain body also healed again as if it had life, perfectly covering the entrance, as if it had never appeared.
The inside of the cave extended downward all the way, and the negative energy in the air gradually became thicker and stickier as he went deeper, and the cold and humid environment made the lich feel a little more comfortable.
He walked along the familiar path in his memory, twisting and turning for a long time, passing through several passages full of traps and several empty secret rooms, and finally arrived at the deepest part of the cave.
The scene here suddenly opened up.
Countless pigeon-egg-sized crystals emitting a faint blue light were embedded on the walls, reflecting the entire space into a strange state.
Under the faint blue light, there were rows of elite Undead guards standing silently like sculptures, piles of various biological bones, experimental subjects soaking in huge glass containers emitting pungent odors, and a mysterious altar located in the center of the cave, carved from a single piece of obsidian.
And in the center of the altar, a crystal box about the size of a fist, made of unknown material, was quietly floating.
That was the phylactery of the lich Phillips, the final core of his existence.
Returning to this lair cave that he had managed for who knows how many years, especially after seeing the intact phylactery, Phillips's tense nerves finally relaxed, and he let out a long sigh of relief.
He walked toward the altar where his phylactery was stored, stepped over the steps, and slowly reached out his withered palm toward the phylactery.
As long as he touched the phylactery, he could absorb the negative energy and Soul Origin stored within it to repair his damaged Soul and body and slowly restore his state.
A figure appeared from the shadows beside the altar without warning or sound.
Lord of Flowers Charles walked out from the folds of space like a ghost, and with a speed that Phillips could not react to, the cross sword in his hand slashed with extreme precision, cutting through the defensive runes set up around the altar.
"Sorry, Mr. Lich."
Charles's slender fingers reached out like lightning, grabbing the crystal phylactery, a smile appearing on his handsome face: "This thing doesn't belong to you anymore."
"You—?!"
The Soul fire in Phillips's eye sockets swayed violently as if encountering a strong wind, almost bursting!
He didn't expect that this Border Walker had been following him all along.
Spatial Spells require a lot of talent, and like Time Spells, they are the most difficult types; there are many Legendary mages who know nothing about the Dao of space.
As a mage specializing in necromancy, Phillips was not a type good at space, but he knew the terror of spatial abilities, so at the key nodes of this underground cave, he also set up some traps and warning Spells involving the spatial level, just to prevent someone from being able to sneak close silently through spatial means like Charles did.
However, there is a specialty in the art, and his spatial means were still a bit lacking.
Those traps were all discovered and avoided by the Border Walker, so that during the whole process of Phillips returning to the nest, he did not notice a trace of being tracked.
"Give the phylactery back to me!!"
Horror instantly turned into rage, the lich suddenly raised his withered claws, and a condensed-to-the-extreme black death ray shot out instantly at Charles.
However, Charles's figure had long since dissipated into a faint phantom.
The death ray only pierced through the afterimage he left behind and slammed into the obsidian altar behind.
Charles did not try to hide in the spatial rift again, but kept performing short-distance flashes, fleeing rapidly toward the outside of the cave.
It was not that he didn't want to hide and slip away, but he couldn't.
Hiding in the spatial rift while remaining stationary and continuously shuttling and walking through complex spatial structures are two completely different concepts, and the consumption is vastly different.
The former consumes very little.
And the latter, especially following a Legendary lich and avoiding his spatial warnings, was an extremely heavy burden for the current Charles, which had already made him haggard and consumed huge amounts of energy, and he could hardly support high-intensity spatial walking in a short time.
"Chase! Give me chase! Kill him! Take back the phylactery!!"
Looking at the back that kept flickering away in the passage, the lich let out a hysterical roar, his Soul fire burning crazily due to extreme anger and fear.
In an instant, all the silent Undead guards in the cave rioted!
Skeleton warriors climbed up from the ground and walls, wielding dangerous weapons; banshees let out piercing shrieks and walked directly through the walls; a stinking behemoth stitched together from countless corpse parts smashed the side stone door and rushed out roaring.
Phillips himself also endured the weakness and staggered to follow, the Soul fire in his eye sockets almost gushing out.
Even if he was really crushed by the Red-Iron Dragon's claws, it would be better than having his phylactery snatched away alive.
As long as the phylactery is still there, even if his body is destroyed, it will cost a huge price and a long time, but there is always a chance to resurrect, which is nothing more than falling into a longer sleep.
But if the phylactery is lost, for a lich, that is the true, irredeemable end.
Charles relied on his last strength and exquisite movement techniques to forcibly break through the layers of Undead guards in the cave and finally rushed to the outside world.
His figure shuttled at high speed in the dense forest under the moonlight, his movements as light as flowing water brushing over branches and leaves, making almost no sound.
However, his speed could not be fast.
The phylactery in his hand, which stored a Soul with Legendary essence, was surprisingly heavy.
Neither his spatial skills nor the storage items he carried could contain it.
And the distance was too close.
Bursts of negative energy that chilled the bone marrow and seemed to freeze the Soul were constantly emanating from the phylactery, continuously eroding his flesh and Soul as a living being, causing him very serious influence and greatly slowing his speed.
As time passed, not only did he fail to pull away the distance, but the creepy pursuit sound of the Undead Legion behind him became closer and clearer.
"Tear him apart! Take back the phylactery!!"
Phillips's crazy voice echoed under the silent night sky, and the Undead continued to pursue.
Finally, Charles rushed out of the forest and came to a relatively open wilderness.
The Undead followed closely and surged out from the forest.
"If you come any closer, I will destroy this thing!"
Charles maintained his speed while lifting the phylactery in his hand, his other hand gripping the cross knight sword, threatening, his voice slightly panting due to excessive consumption.
Phillips in the distance said nothing, just desperately urging the Undead mount under his feet to accelerate and approach, his two hollow eye sockets locking onto the human figure in front, burning with crazy flames inside.
Charles shook his head slightly, stopped wasting his breath, and concentrated his remaining spirit to continue trying to find a direction to break through.
The moment he touched the phylactery, he clearly felt it.
This phylactery was protected by a Legendary Domain-level protection generated from the inside out, and with his strength, it was impossible to break it, or even leave a scratch on it.
Phillips obviously knew this well, so he completely ignored his threat.
Screech—!!
A sharp sound like an ice blade scraping glass erupted from a banshee's mouth, and the invisible sound wave instantly swept across Charles's body.
His movements suddenly stalled, and his speed inevitably slowed down a bit again.
At this very moment, powerful Undead such as winged ghouls, behemoths, and skeleton warriors had already surrounded him, trapping him in the center.
Charles gripped the cross knight sword in his hand, but there was no fear on his face, only a cold and murderous aura.
As a powerhouse who also cultivated the Arcane Knight path, he was not only exceptionally accomplished in the Dao of Space, but also equally formidable in direct combat.
Apart from feeling helpless against that kind of unreasonable Legendary Domain defense, breaking out of the encirclement of these Undead creatures before him would not be too difficult.
"Run! Why aren't you continuing to run?!"
Phillips raised his withered claws, and dense negative energy began to converge, preparing to cast a powerful binding Spell to cooperate with the Undead to bind and capture this detestable human.
Suddenly!
A violent whirlwind whipped up on the flat ground without warning, sending sand and stones flying, blowing the surrounding vegetation askew.
Phillips's Soul fire flickered violently, and an extremely ominous premonition suddenly rose in his heart.
He subconsciously looked up at the sky.
An incomparably massive shadow tore through the clouds, carrying with it suffocating, violent air currents and scorching Dragon Qi, crashing down towards the ground like a meteorite of divine retribution.
The deafening sound of the impact perfectly overlapped with the sharp whistling of the sky being torn apart, resounding across the wilderness!
The King of Molten Iron, Garros, descended from the sky!
The massive impact of his landing instantly crushed several Advanced Undead guarding the Lich.
Amidst the swirling dust and smoke, that familiar giant claw reached out, easily gripping the retreating Phillips in its palm.
This moment was just like that moment.
The only difference was.
Looking at the huge, formidable Dragon head before him, the fear Phillips felt this time was one hundred percent, a trembling completely from the depths of his Soul.
"Good evening, little bug."
The Red-Iron Dragon opened his giant maw, his vertical pupils locking onto the distorted face of the Lich.
The giant Dragon claw began to slowly tighten, and the teeth-aching sound of bone friction sounded faintly.
"This time, I won't give you any chance to fake your death again."
The Lich hissed in plea, "Wait... wait!"
However, before his words could fully escape, that withered body was once again crushed and ground into the finest ashes and dust without any suspense.
The remaining Undead around lost the control of their master.
But based on their instinctive hatred for the living, they still frantically pounced over, only to be swept into a pile of fragments by Garros casually swinging his giant tail or slashing with his Dragon wings.
"I have fulfilled the mission, My Lord, I have obtained the phylactery."
Charles presented the crystal phylactery with both hands and finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Garros picked up the phylactery with the tip of his claw and placed it before his eyes to carefully play with and observe it.
The moment he made direct contact, he felt a pure and cold negative energy attempting to erode his claw scales.
The intensity of this energy was quite high, even making him feel a distinct chill.
It was not ordinary low temperature, but a kind of malicious cold that seemed capable of penetrating his thick scales, directly freezing his flesh, and icing his Soul.
He began to increase the strength in his claw.
Intense golden lightning and deep black-Red Dragon Qi simultaneously wound around his talons, fiercely crushing and resisting the negative energy radiating from the surface of the phylactery.
The powerful force began to press against the weak Legendary Domain barrier on the surface of the phylactery.
Without needing to activate the Crimson Lotus State, only a few seconds later, a faint sound rang out, and the Domain cracked.
Because the Lich had just died, the Legendary Domain on this phylactery was currently at its weakest moment, with an intensity approaching zero.
Garros used an extremely sharp claw tip to pry open the shell of the phylactery.
In an instant, negative energy so dense it felt substantial surged out from the phylactery like a cold wave that had accumulated for ten thousand years.
The temperature of the surrounding air plummeted, instantly condensing countless gray-white snowflakes and ice crystals.
The ground was quickly covered by a hard layer of ice.
However, the flowers and plants in the nearby area were not frozen, but withered, rotted, and turned into fly ash instantly under the sweep of the negative energy.
This wave of negative energy slammed fiercely against the body of the Red-Iron Dragon.
The surface of his scales did not ice over, but he could clearly feel an extreme cold penetrating deep into his marrow, as if a naked human had been instantly thrown into an eternal, frozen wasteland.
Bone-piercing pain continuously transmitted into his body from the gaps in his scales, and his life force also began to decline at a slow but clearly perceptible speed.
However, facing all this, Garros remained unmoved.
He even tilted his giant head slightly, a satisfied and even slightly enjoyable, comfortable expression appearing on his face.
With intense anticipation in his eyes, he fully opened the phylactery, seemingly hoping that the negative energy surging from within could be even more fierce and violent.
But the result left Garros somewhat disappointed.
After the phylactery was fully opened, no more torrents of negative energy surged from within.
Instead, at the very center of the phylactery lay quietly a warm and crystalline bead, about the size of a thumb, surrounded by a layer of negative energy mist so thick it could not be dissipated.
Hum—!
The negative energy inside the phylactery surged violently, and with that bead as the core, it quickly condensed into a blurry and distorted face.
"Now, we can talk again."
Garros stared at the Lich's blurry, distorted face and said, "State your final value to me, and I might consider accepting your belated allegiance."
However, unlike when they first met and could still dissemble.
At this moment, on the Lich's face condensed from negative energy, only the purest, most extreme hatred and madness remained.
It let out a roar and howl that was distorted and inhuman, filled with spite.
The phylactery was controlled by another, and it had fallen into the hands of an Evil Dragon known for its long life, immense power, and greed and stinginess!
Phillips's remaining consciousness could no longer see a shred of hope for escape.
His path of revenge had only just begun, yet it was forced to an end.
The Lich's already distorted heart transferred and poured all its monstrous hatred for the Holy King of Lothern and the Federation onto this Red-Iron Dragon before it.
Moreover, the final pride of a Legendary powerhouse deep within his heart absolutely would not allow him to grovel and become a slave or servant.
At this moment, his remaining consciousness had only one thought.
Make this damned Red-Iron Dragon pay the price!
Make him feel tormented day and night and regret his actions!
"Damned Dragon! I curse you! I curse you with my Soul that is about to dissipate completely!!"
"From now on, your scales will gradually become brittle! Your body will constantly weaken! Your life will accelerate in its passing... You will endure the suffering of this Soul curse day and night, endlessly!!"
Crack!
Accompanied by these extremely vicious words of cursing, the warm Soul bead in the center of the phylactery shattered at the sound, turning into the finest powder.
At the same time.
That distorted Lich face condensed from negative energy suddenly erupted from the phylactery, shooting towards the face of the Red-Iron Dragon at close range like an arrow leaving the bowstring.
Swoosh!
Garros reacted extremely quickly, the flames at the tips of his wings churning, and his massive body instantly soared into the sky with an agility inconsistent with his size, attempting to dodge this final counterattack.
However, the Lich face seemed to have locked onto his Soul essence; after missing, it did not dissipate.
It just flashed slightly, dissipated into thin air, and the next second it instantly re-condensed above Garros's broad back, then, like an illusory ghost, it sank directly beneath his thick scales and disappeared.
"This kind of lock-on curse, cast at a huge price, is as difficult to dodge as ever."
The Red-Iron Dragon's flight in the air noticeably stalled for a moment.
The curse issued by the Lich was even more powerful and vicious than the Serpent Dragon's Death Curse from before.
With Garros's current curse resistance, he failed to exempt it.
Various negative status effects took effect simultaneously, and an indescribable feeling of weakness, coldness, and sluggishness instantly swept through his entire body, making Garros feel extremely uncomfortable.
He circled in the air for half a turn, adjusted his posture, and then slowly descended back to the ground.
Charles immediately stepped forward a few paces, looking at the Red-Iron Dragon with some concern.
However, to his surprise, he did not see any anger or annoyance on the Red-Iron Dragon's majestic face.
On the contrary.
The corners of the Red-Iron Dragon's mouth were slightly upturned, and in the end, he even opened his giant maw, revealing a smile similar to one of pleasure.
He can still smile after being hit by such a vicious curse?
Could it be laughing out of extreme anger... or has he gone crazy? Charles wisely chose to remain silent and did not ask.
In fact, his thoughts were completely wrong.
Garros's smile was from the heart.
Day after day, year after year of nearly masochistic high-intensity training and tempering had long ago forged him into someone who regarded the sensations others viewed as pain, to a certain extent, as pleasure and resources for tempering himself.
The negative status effects brought by the Lich's curse did indeed make Garros feel distinctly uncomfortable.
But in his view, this was only temporary.
His will and body would soon adapt to this curse.
His spirit would become more tenacious and unyielding because of this, his scales would become increasingly sturdy in the process of resisting the curse's erosion, and his life force would become more vigorous and majestic while resisting the passing away... until one day, his curse resistance would be high enough to completely exempt this Lich curse.
He even hoped that the time this curse remained could be longer.
A curse?
No, in Garros's eyes, this was the best tempering, a blessing from an enemy!
If the various resistances could be visualized as data, Garros had no doubt that his current strongest resistances should be fire, physical resistance, and the curse resistance that was about to reach a new height!
"Besides the blessing, there is also this phylactery as a harvest."
"It can automatically absorb and store surrounding negative energy and can condense Souls into Soul beads."
"Even though the Lich who created it has completely perished, I can still use the negative energy it gathers to continuously wash over myself, further improving my negative energy resistance, and the characteristic of that Soul bead being able to preserve the Souls of the dead, if studied, will likely have other great uses."
Garros stared intently at the opened phylactery in his hand.
As it continued to be in contact with the outside air, the Soul dust left behind after the Soul beads inside the box shattered was gradually dissipating and becoming dim.
This dust, which contained the essence of a Legendary Soul, was also of great value and could not be allowed to go to waste.
Thus, after a brief and careful observation, Garros closed the lid of the phylactery and held it firmly.