Chapter 8

"Quick, hide!" Xia Zuo's voice changed. He had seen cannons, not during the attacks by Earl Edward and Earl Rayne, but in the war between the Kingdom of Norma and the Kingdom of Aubrey. Their power was astonishing, even surpassing the magic of high-level mages. Now, with such proximity, his soul nearly fled.

With a deafening boom, countless shot pellets rained down like a storm, covering a short distance of several yards. Everyone was caught off guard. Colin and Daina were the first to be hit. Even though Daina was a zombie, she could not withstand the impact and was reduced to pieces. Colin, on the other hand, was riddled with holes and his head burst like a watermelon, spraying red and white everywhere, clearly dead.

This single cannon blast killed three out of the five people: Colin, Devin, and Joanna. Xia Zuo, who was shielded by Joanna, narrowly escaped death but was severely injured, on the brink of death.

Bonifacio, alerted by Xia Zuo, instinctively triggered his magic, but it was too late. The earth wall had just risen when the rain of shot pellets hit. There was no chance to protect the others, and he was hit by several pellets. Unfortunately, Wang Qinan had not loaded a single iron ball but countless shot pellets, and he felt his life force rapidly draining away.

He was filled with hatred, hating the lich Nicholas Andrew for being so despicable and cowardly, setting up such a trap to eliminate them all instead of facing them like a man.

He crouched down, picked up Xia Zuo, and turned to flee. Before he could stand up, he heard a voice say, "Can you run?"

Suddenly, the scene darkened as if the realm of death had descended. Countless bat-like creatures swarmed forward, the Hell Projection!

"Go quickly!" Xia Zuo used all his strength to push Bonifacio back and leaped forward, his greatsword flashing as he charged at the bats. "Go quickly, avenge us!"

The bats surged forward and instantly engulfed him. Seeing this, Bonifacio knew that if he did not leave, their deaths would be in vain. He roared, took out a magic scroll from his pocket, and tore it open. He clawed at his wounds to stay conscious, and his body glowed with a watery light, accelerating suddenly as he rushed out of the castle and disappeared into the distance.

The magic scroll's light erupted, and the ground quickly froze, forming an ice wall. However, after the ice wall formed, it seemed as if hell had descended, and it rapidly melted. The bats flew out quickly, and the darkness expanded like a dark mist. In the center, many skeletal skulls and bone animals, such as mammoths, appeared and expanded to over a mile outside the castle, stopping only then. Various skeletons patrolled within.

Wang Qinan had no intention of following the rules of this world. He would not uphold any chivalrous spirit; his own survival was paramount. Xia Zuo and the others, though skilled, were at a disadvantage from the start. Wang Qinan first attacked with the Lich's Howl, which was even more powerful in a confined space. Then, using Daina as a zombie, he caught them off guard, and finally, he launched the attack with the bronze cannon behind the door, taking advantage of the narrow space to achieve his goal.

Finally, he used the Hell Projection to clean up the mess. The Hell Projection projected the image of hell, though not the real hell, it was still formidable. This magic could last for two to three months, trapping the area around the castle in hell. For Wang Qinan, a lich, this environment was like water to a fish, and he was prepared for the Inquisition's enforcers.

Looking at the pockmarked ground and walls, the marks left by the cannon fire, the blood and flesh scattered everywhere, the bodies on the ground were unrecognizable. Joanna's eyes were open, her body covered in blood, and she died with her eyes wide open. The others were the same. Xia Zuo was killed by the bats, leaving only his skeleton. Wang Qinan recognized their attire; they were a group of mercenaries.

Bonifacio, however, had fled like a streak of smoke, his speed so fast that even the Hell Projection's expansion could not catch up. By the time Wang Qinan realized it, he was already out of sight. Wang Qinan was stunned for a moment, then he also set off in pursuit.

He had never left the castle since arriving in this world, and today was the first time. The Hell Projection was a dangerous place for others, but for Wang Qinan, it enhanced his power by ten to twenty percent.

He left the Hell Projection area, but Bonifacio was nowhere to be seen. Wang Qinan looked around, sensing the faint smell of blood in the air. Suddenly, he realized his nose was very sensitive, able to detect the scent and form a mental image of Bonifacio's fleeing back. He did not know if this was a unique ability of liches, as he had no such memory.

What Wang Qinan did not know was that this was not a characteristic of liches. Liches, being essentially dead, should not have a sense of smell, let alone such a keen one.

Following the scent for about an hour, he came across a camp. He sniffed and found a corpse in the camp. Wang Qinan recognized it as Tao De, though the body was shriveled and drained of life, with a look of terror on his face. Wang Qinan was surprised to find him dead here. He had thought Tao De had left with Allen. How did he end up with the mercenaries? Was it his choice or was he forced? Wang Qinan did not know. Since he was dead, he should not be left to rot. Thinking of this, Wang Qinan chanted a spell, and the earth cracked open, swallowing the body in black smoke.

Looking at the sky, the sun had hidden behind the clouds, and the air was heavy.

He needed to hurry. Wang Qinan sniffed again, and Bonifacio's life signs were stronger. Continuing the pursuit, he soon reached a river. The scent had dissipated, clearly indicating that Bonifacio had crossed the river. Wang Qinan was about to cross the river to try his luck when it started to rain, quickly turning into a heavy downpour. He had no choice but to turn back. The rain had washed away the scent, but Bonifacio would not survive long with his severe injuries.

Bonifacio was filled with hatred. In fact, he had no real connection to Wang Qinan, but his greed had led to the downfall of the Wolf Fang Mercenary Group. Out of six people, only he survived, and his life was also short. Although he had absorbed Tao De's life force, he could not retain it, and he was on his last breath.

He killed Tao De, and seeing his fear before death, he felt a strange sense of vindictive pleasure. Finally, he could not move any further and entered the mountains, where there was no sign of human habitation. He saw a cave ahead, its entrance almost completely hidden by vines. He smiled bitterly, knowing that his hatred was the only thing keeping him going.

He was a necromancer, a profession that, though discriminated against, was not universally hated. Most mages now publicly followed the Creator's Church, believing that magic was a divine gift. The Creator's Church did not persecute mages, and mages who followed the Creator found that they could still use magic. The church proposed that there was only one true god, the Creator, and all others were false gods. The Creator was the ultimate being, the source, the beginning and the end, the ultimate god. This elevated the ancient nature worship to a philosophical level, making the Creator a philosophical god, the embodiment of ultimate truth.

Now, there was only one path: to become a lich like Nicholas Andrew. He did not want to die. How could he avenge himself on Nicholas Andrew if he died? He found a good reason in his heart. Death was the ultimate challenge. Although he was a necromancer and familiar with the process of becoming a lich, it required many preparations, such as a phylactery, which he did not have. Preparing them now would be impossible as he was about to die.

Everything indicated that Bonifacio was doomed. He was unwilling and resentful, dragging his dying body into the cave in the rain.

Inside the cave, it suddenly became dark. He could only wait to die here. He sat on the ground, blood still seeping from his body.

His eyes suddenly focused on a small altar in the cave. On the altar was a statue of the god of the underworld, Hader, and a phylactery. In front of the altar was a skeleton. This was a sign of divine assistance! Bonifacio was overjoyed. He trembled as he checked everything and took out some items from his storage ring, placing them on the altar. He carefully examined the magic array, which was intact.

He ran to the magic array in front of the altar, chanting strange incantations. Black mist rose from his body, and the surrounding air became foggy. A voice seemed to rise, as if ghosts were lamenting.

The chanting became more urgent, and the black mist began to take shape, forming a figure. The face in the mist was contorted in pain and agony. The kneeling Bonifacio's body was continuously drained of black energy, which flowed into the mist. As the black energy dissipated, his body became emaciated, and his wounds began to close.

Suddenly, he let out a scream, and the phylactery glowed with a dark light. The surroundings fell silent, except for the distant thunder. The black energy flowed into the phylactery like a river.

The transformation into a lich was successful. The rain gradually stopped, and it was already dusk. He moved his body, but it felt like it was not his own, like a piece of clothing. The surrounding area was cold.

He put away the phylactery. Now he understood that there was a fundamental difference between a lich and a necromancer. A lich was entirely transformed into a undead being, and other types of magic were ineffective. In terms of purity and quantity, necromancers could not compare to liches. He had previously thought liches were not that impressive, but he was wrong. A lich was a lich.

He realized how wrong it was for the mercenary group to seek revenge on a lich. He calmed down, now a lich, albeit a low-level one. He did not know what level Nicholas Andrew was, but it was probably not much higher than his own. Should he seek revenge now?

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**End of Chapter**