"The Battle at Castle GOLDERT"
Alex defeated all of the monsters in the vicinity of the stable and returned to the castle's entrance. He learned that the four Erzoron witches had been transformed into evil spirits like Mari. Although their abilities were comparable, the magic they used differed slightly. Only Nysa, the last of the Erzoron banshees, was capable of completing the transformation of all six of them, which upset Alex. Mari advised Alex that Nysa was normally reclusive and that his current location was unknown. Alex decided to go back to the castle, meet with Viscount Ashby, and have the entire castle searched. Simultaneously, a fierce battle raged on the path leading to the castle's upper level. The castle patrol chief, Hermon Barton, led six other people in defending the castle against four attackers.
Hermon Barton, a slum dweller, has been elevated to the position of Lord of Honour in the Kingdom of Alzora. This is a high honour because the country is divided among commoners and nobles, and many outstanding persons will not reach this title in their lifetime. As a result, Hermon is not only devoted to Viscount Ashby, but also willing to die to defend the castle if it is invaded.
The enemy, however, outnumbers and outperforms the castle patrol, which includes Hermon. Despite their attempts, six men are killed or injured in less than three minutes, causing morale to plunge.
A large, bearded man wielding an axe viciously attacked a patrolman. The man slashed the officer's arm, exposing his heart and lungs. The assailant roared venomously, his face coated in blood, and licked the blood from his axe's blade. The possibility of being powerless to stop the four-man group from assaulting the castle filled Hermon Barton with wrath and sorrow. He even pondered sacrificing himself. However, just when things appeared to be going downhill, a deep roar and marching music could be heard from beneath the castle stairs.
The warriors were all skilled fighters who could tell one another apart by the sound of their footsteps. One man in particular, a bearded man brandishing an axe, was enraged. He was obviously not present to lend reinforcements. Based on their intelligence, they doubted that there were dozens of individuals in GOLDERT's castle. When a skeletal soldier emerged from around the corner of the stairs, everyone was taken aback. "Damn it, it's that necromancer!" snarled the bearded man. He couldn't fathom how the necromancer could control so many undead.
Both Hermon Barton and the castle patrol squad were surprised. They were aware of Alex's presence, but not of his real power. Many of them had never heard of him before and thought he was too young and inexperienced to compete with Dr. Fauci. They realised, however, that they had never been more grateful for the presence of the repulsive zombies and skeletons than they were now.
Three zombies and twelve skeleton warriors burst into the castle corridor during the battle and began fire on the intruders. The incessant shooting from the guns in the hands of the skeleton army was too much for the bearded man to tolerate. Nysa's possessed half-elf was also wounded several times and suffered serious injuries. When the young guy noticed this, he rushed to help, but he was taken aback when a white shadow burrowed into his own body from the half-elf's. As a result of his astonishment, the young man's fighting spirit barrier grew unstable and was hit by bullets.
The bearded man, enraged by the situation, kicked the young man in an attempt to shake him out of it. Aida, the half-elf who had already died, however, it was too late. While the bearded man was indifferent about Aida' life, he was well aware that their predicament had just become more dangerous with one less person to contend with.
As the white shadow went from the half-elf to the young man, Alex, who had tamed the five Erzoron Banshees, became aware of Nysa's presence. Alex had been hunting for Nysa and was relieved to have discovered his location. His original strategy of repelling the invaders and then searching for Nysa, however, had to be amended, and he now needed to keep these people around.
The mission had failed, and the bearded man and his teammates had been hurt and needed to be evacuated. The Nysa-possessed young guy had several wounds on his body and was bleeding profusely, yet he refused to succumb. The bearded man was taken aback by the young man's tenacity, not realising he was already dead and could only move because of Nysa's spirit body. Because assassinating Viscount Ashby and Vincent was no longer possible, the bearded guy decided to burst through and flee.
They were confronted, however, with Alex's iron-clad zombies and hard-skinned ghouls, making it impossible for them to break through. The bearded man's fighting spirit was depleted as the skeletal warriors fired from a distance. In a desperate moment, the bearded man revealed that he was a druid and transformed into a massive bear, surprising his team mates, who was unaware of this power.
The massive bear roared and produced a layer of fighting qi, building a fighting qi barrier greater than a standard knight's. The large bear easily killed the iron zombie and went on a rampage against the tough-skinned ghouls. Alex encountered a druid using natural magic for the first time and was shocked by the force of the metamorphosis into a massive bear. He dispatched all of his elite men to join forces against the colossal bear.
Alex focused his attention on the young man who had been possessed by Nysa while fighting the large bear. He was well aware that capturing the final Erzoron banshee was his ultimate purpose, and he was unconcerned about the lives of those there. The young man was in a horrible situation, with too many adversaries to deal with and no way out. Even if he managed to run, Nysa had devoured his soul, and he would perish.
The castle patrols and Alex's zombie monsters numbered in the hundreds, making survival impossible for the young man. Alex's first aim was definitely catching the Erzoron banshee, and he was content to let the rest perish.
Despite its might, the large bear was hampered by its size and became entangled in the claws of the hard-skinned ghouls. The skeletal troopers fired from a safe distance, depleting the massive bear's fighting spirit. In his human form, the bearded man fought and defeated the hard-skinned ghouls with his tomahawk.
However, the tide of the battle was turning against them because they were massively outnumbered and their fighting spirit was waning. The bearded man decided to leave and instructed his colleagues to follow. The young man possessed by Nysa was unable to move due to his injuries, and the bearded man was forced to carry him as they retreated.
As they fled, they were chased by iron-clad zombies and hard-skinned ghouls. The bearded guy was able to combat them with his tomahawk while in human form, but their numbers were too great, and they were eventually cornered. Realizing their situation was hopeless, the bearded man encouraged his companions to depart on their own while he resisted the attack.
The bearded man's change into a large bear was abruptly reversed, his thick fur thinned, and his body restored to human shape. He was panting and agitated, his magical power drained and unable to continue the transformation. His physical and spiritual might had been reduced by the change, leaving him with only half of his early combat power. The cost had been high, and the rewards had been insignificant, leaving the bearded man sad.
Alex saw an opportunity and fired the handgun 'Silva's Resentment' at the bearded man. Alex had obtained the pistol in the Tower of Yin Spirit and had it appraised by the old one-eyed man upon his return to PARSLOV City, who revealed it was the work of the legendary magician Silva. Silva's wrath and curse towards his senior brother and lifelong adversary, Master Hardy, were inscribed in the gun, and the bullets had a chance of cursing.
Alex felt his marksmanship improve as he clutched the legendary master's handgun and quickly pulled the trigger, aiming at the bearded man. With his years of mercenary training, the bearded guy immediately scented danger and was caught and rolled out of the way by a hard-skinned ghoul. A gunshot rang out almost instantly, and a bullet filled with hatred and burning with a dark crimson light struck the spot where the bearded man had been standing only a second before.
Before the bearded man could finish his curse, a second gunshot was heard. He was not as lucky this time, and despite his efforts to twist out of the way, a bullet with a dark red light struck him in the left shoulder. The bullet exploded on impact, blasting a bowl-sized hole in the bearded man's left shoulder and shattering the bones. His arm was barely attached, and the distinction between his skin and blood was hazy. The bearded man screamed in pain because his right arm had already been injured and his left arm was now completely useless, lowering his combat potential to nearly nothing.
The nefarious spirit Franz took advantage of the circumstance by disguising himself as a shadow and dashing at the bearded man. As a white shadow rushed by his face, the bearded guy let out a piercing howl. Franz let off a 'evil spirit howl,' jarring the bearded man's flesh and blood with high-frequency sound waves. There was an explosion three seconds later, and the bearded man's skull exploded like a poor watermelon.
Alex was taken aback as he witnessed a massive magic spell being cast. He was aware that Franz possessed the 'Evil Spirit Wailing' magic, but he had ignored it. He had no clue it would be so potent. Despite his surprise, Alex's movements were quick. He immediately used the ghost eye to collect the soul of the bearded strongman, a high-level apprentice knight and druid apprentice.
Despite being harmed by Franz's 'evil spirit scream,' the bearded strong man's soul was powerful enough to be transformed into a powerful evil spirit that obeyed Alex. Just as Alex was about to capture the soul, a blast of essence emerged from the headless corpse of the bearded strong man.
A small, white-bearded old guy ran out. The elderly man snarled through clenched teeth at Alex, as if he wanted to devour him alive: "You have completely destroyed my reincarnated body, evil necromancer. Mother Earth and Nature's God will not forgive you! Use your body to atone for your transgressions!" When Alex saw this spirit version of the white-bearded ancient man, he was taken aback. He hadn't expected the bearded muscular man to be anything out of the ordinary, let alone to have a nagging 'grandfather' lurking inside his body.
Alex realised that this was probably why the bearded man had always sought to hide his druid identity and concentrate on his knightly fighting spirit and combat skills. He probably thought this 'grandfather' was his lucky charm, but he had no idea that the other party had malicious intentions from the start, dragging him down a difficult path and preventing him from advancing to the official level. Instead, the bearded man had become a conduit for the 'grandfather's' soul.
Because of his sense and the 'grandfather's' lovely appearance, Alex, as a skilled necromancer, recognised the elderly man's true nature as the soul of a powerful necromancer. A split soul is a portion of a necromancer's soul that has been divided, locked in a life box, and hidden in a secret location. If the necromancer's body dies, the life box is activated, allowing the necromancer to be reincarnated by releasing the soul inside.
However, mistakes do occur in this process from time to time, such as the destruction of the life box and the liberation of the divided soul, resulting in the formation of a new personality. This is exactly what occurred with the grandfather's spirit. To survive, he escaped from the original owner of the split soul, hid inside the body of the bearded strong man, and appeared as a lucky charm. When Alex spotted the old man, his eyes sparkled. He hadn't anticipated to stumble across such an excellent opportunity.
Great magicians could split one's soul and create a life box, and even though it was only a split soul, it still contained the essence of the original owner. Most split souls saved the original owner's memory, so if Alex could collect this split soul, he would gain the memories of a renowned magician, which was more valuable than money or spiritual energy. When the old man noticed Alex's eyes were filled with greed, he felt doomed. His dominating presence decreased as he realised his current battle efficacy was no better than a useless guy's. He might be able to fool someone who was unaware of his flaws, but if he met someone who was aware of his flaws and exploited them, he'd be dead.
When Alex approached him, the old man trembled and pleaded for mercy, saying "Please do not murder me; I have surrendered! Please don't kill me!" Alex was surprised because he had planned to use a variety of techniques to persuade the elderly man to agree, but he hadn't expected the elderly man to resign so quickly. This was surprising because, while split souls are inherently flawed, if they live long enough, they can still cultivate some of their original master's talents. The ancient man trapped inside the bearded man's body should not have been so feeble.
Alex quickly realised something was amiss. "This is a trap!" he exclaimed. He retreated quickly and used his mental abilities to stop the iron-clad zombies in front of him, while also commanding all of the evil spirits and ghosts to strike with full force.
The elderly man, who had previously been a normal human, transformed into a white shadow and charged at Alex. The iron-clad zombies who had been blocking Alex's path were instantly penetrated, as if the white shadow had flowed through them. As the white shadow went by, the three iron-clad zombies all fell to the ground without obvious wounds. Alex, on the other hand, was unable to detect their presence, implying that their soul fire had died and they were no longer alive.
In reaction, Alex's expression changed somewhat. Fortunately, the loss of the three iron-clad zombies deflected the old man's furious counterattack, giving Alex a chance to catch his breath. He raised the ghost eye in front of him immediately and poured all of his magical power into it, Frenzying its ability to absorb spirit bodies.
The elderly man, who had raced towards Alex with the intention of seizing his body and destroying his soul, was drawn to the ghost eye by its strong suction force. He screamed helplessly, trapped by the ghost eye and unable to flee.
Alex breathed a sigh of relief after successfully apprehending the old man but noticed that the ghost eye was trembling as if it was about to explode from within. "Not good!" he exclaimed, because the ghost eye was his most important magical tool at the time, and he needed it to appease the final Erzoron banshee. Under no circumstances could it be harmed. He suspected that the recently apprehended elderly man was causing the ghost eye to become unstable.