Chapter 28

The Twilight Mage.

A follower of Galbod, the Lord of the Dark Underworld from ancient mythology.

Galbod is the symbol of death, chaos, and corruption, the enemy of all gods of order, and his true form is a massive black snake.

During the Old Faith War, Galbod's devout followers were granted the power of immortality, but the price of immortality was the eternal damnation of their souls to the underworld.

However, immortality does not mean invincibility. If their heads are cut off, they will die, and their souls will be completely annihilated.

Immortality is a sweet temptation, luring people to fall one after another. Countless souls were transformed by the Lord of the Underworld, Galbod, into warriors. They rushed into the human world, sweeping across most of Eldran.

Even the warriors of the gods of order, when united, found it difficult to stop the疯狂的战争步伐 of Galbod's followers.

When the balance of the human world was broken, the divine war began.

The divine war against Galbod quickly escalated into a conflict between the chaotic pantheon and the pantheon of order in Eldran, involving all the gods without exception.

The ultimate result of the divine war was the fall of all the gods.

Galbod himself was also destroyed in the Endless Sea along with the thunder god Ohr.

After the fall of the gods, their former divine realms, the underworlds, shattered and became part of the FerNu Law. Especially when Galbod died and the underworld shattered, countless imprisoned souls returned to their master.

The once invincible and unstoppable army of Galbod's immortals fell into disarray.

The souls transformed by Galbod became undead monsters, and his followers lost the immortality granted by Galbod.

The various races launched a counterattack, thoroughly defeating and slaughtering Galbod's army.

They had to do this. Even without the gods, they did not want to fall into the hands of these monsters, especially after years of faith wars where many of their loved ones had died at the hands of the enemy.

This was a hatred that would not end until one side was completely destroyed.

The remaining soul warriors fled to the center of Eldran. In the years that followed, they gained a new name: the Undead.

The former followers and devotees of Galbod seemed to have vanished, as if they had completely retreated from the stage of Eldran.

As the various races immersed themselves in the birth of a new world, a group of people hidden in the darkness continued to yearn for their past glory and power.

They were the most fanatical followers and devotees of Galbod, who had disappeared.

For countless years, they found the remnants of Galbod's power within the FerNu Law, a dark, immortal force.

When they thought they were about to sweep the human world again, a significant flaw in the immortal power extinguished their hopes.

Because immortality could not truly be eternal.

They gained power and an immortal body, but not the most crucial immortality.

After the new faith war broke out, the followers and devotees of Galbod experienced intense internal conflicts. Some believed the time was ripe to announce their return.

Others believed the world no longer belonged to them and that they needed to find true immortality while slowly undermining and overthrowing the entire world.

Some were impatient, while others were rational.

In the end, they split into two factions and went their separate ways.

The Twilight Serpent.

The Overthrow Fang.

Twilight Mages existed in both factions, differing only in their philosophies, but their power ultimately came from the same source.

"Black Fog Quagmire"

As the space plunged into darkness again, Xiaolan closed his eyes.

At this moment, opening or closing his eyes seemed to make no difference, but the sensations were entirely different.

Passive versus active.

He preferred to be in control.

"It seems you forgot something," Xiaolan suddenly said.

"Forgot what? Your last words?"

Ambefin's voice was ethereal, making it hard to pinpoint his direction. He was cautious, not wanting to reveal his position, even though he had the upper hand.

"How I got in?"

Xiaolan's question was calm, but his longsword was raised in front of him, his body tense, ready to attack at any moment.

"Will you tell me?" Ambefin asked.

"Do you want to know?" Xiaolan countered.

Ambefin hesitated for a moment, then the space suddenly brightened, and he was shocked.

Because the "Black Fog Quagmire" had disappeared, along with the person in the room.

A familiar intense killing intent reappeared. Ambefin, sensing it, twisted his body, but still felt a chill on his shoulder. His reaction was quick, and a purple-black magic array instantly formed in his left hand.

"Phantom Shift"

At the base of a wall on the other side of the room, Ambefin appeared, clutching his right shoulder. His eyes were fixed on the distant figure.

"You are strange."

Xiaolan held up a severed right arm on his sword and shook it. "Not as strange as you."

"Hmph—" Ambefin's right shoulder was empty because his right hand had been cut off when he dodged. If he hadn't reacted quickly, the sword might have taken his head.

Xiaolan shook off the severed arm and slowly approached Ambefin. He wouldn't give him a third chance to escape death.

"Entangling Vines"

"Raging Serpents"

To prevent the other from getting closer, Ambefin opened his left hand again, and a purple-black magic array formed, the patterns rapidly changing.

Just as Xiaolan was about to act, countless thin black vines sprouted from the ground, tightly binding him in place. Ambefin's magic array flashed again, and several black snakes danced out.

As the black snakes approached, Xiaolan swiftly slashed at the roots of the black vines on the ground. The sword seemed to be their natural enemy, and in the next second, they turned into black smoke and dissipated. At the moment the black snakes struck, he had already freed himself.

"Boom—"

The black snakes collectively crashed into the spot where Xiaolan should have been, causing a powerful explosion. A figure emerged from the dust, moving incredibly fast toward Ambefin.

"Snake Bone Shield"

Ambefin breathed a sigh of relief because he had already cast another defensive spell before the other's sword struck.

Facing the sudden appearance of a massive snake-head-shaped bone shield, Xiaolan did not hesitate and slashed through it.

"Crack."

Ambefin's expression changed because his last line of defense had been split in two.

"Seems you're not willing to give up?"

Xiaolan's sword was at Ambefin's neck, repeating his own words.

"Indeed, I'm not willing to give up." Ambefin tilted his head and sneered, seemingly unconcerned about the sword at his neck. "But losing to a peak upper-class swordsman who has touched the FerNu Law, I have nothing to say."

"I think you're mistaken." Xiaolan shook his head. "I'm not a peak upper-class swordsman."

"Impossible." Ambefin frowned and insisted. "Otherwise, how could you have cut through my spells?"

"There are always things in this world you can't imagine." Xiaolan said.

"Indeed, hard to imagine." Ambefin glanced at the sword at his neck and snorted.

"Seems you're not afraid of death?" Xiaolan's sword drew a bloodline on Ambefin's neck, speaking calmly.

"Because I'm not an ordinary Twilight Mage." Ambefin's face showed a mocking smile.

I see.

A flash of silver, and a head flew off.

"And I'm not an ordinary person."

Looking at the head of Ambefin on the ground, with an expression of disbelief, Xiaolan sheathed his sword and spoke calmly.

Perhaps Ambefin thought he wouldn't die, but he did.

An ordinary Twilight Mage would die if their head was cut off, but a Twilight Mage who mastered soul rebirth would not. When their head was cut off, their soul would return to the soul box and be reborn.

This was a unique path taken by the followers and devotees of Galbod in their pursuit of immortality.

But Xiaolan's sword had also severed his soul, completely cutting off Ambefin's hope of rebirth.

This was a talent.

A talent granted by the system: the ability to cut through anything.

Talent: Sever (Everything within the FerNu Law can be severed)

This was why he could cut through his barriers, his spells, and his soul.

In Eldran, mages are often the bane of warriors. If warriors do not have weapons to dispel spells or the ability to touch the FerNu Law, mages often control the entire battle.

Xiaolan was a swordsman, but he was never afraid of mages.

When he discovered the barrier outside the residence, he knew his target would be a mage. He had the talent to sever spells, and when a mage's spells lost their effect, they were no different from ordinary people.

Most importantly, he did not believe the mage inside was very powerful, as powerful mages often hid in the world.

They sought the truth within the FerNu Law, looking down on the mundane world like the ancient gods.

During the first assassination attempt, Ambefin did not die. Xiaolan chose to feign weakness to understand this person and how to kill him.

During the second attempt, he understood this person, using words to delay and麻痹 the next spell, he used the Sever talent, and even the "Swift Step" technique, but still failed to kill him because Ambefin's quick reaction was indeed commendable.

There was no third time.

Xiaolan squatted next to Ambefin's headless body, grabbed his left hand, and stared intently at the ring on his finger.

Silver-gray, ordinary.

He forcefully pulled the ring off and looked at the inside.

"Jsneroy"

This was the symbol of the Overthrow Fang.

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Note 1: Soul Box, a soul rebirth spell mastered by Twilight Mages above the Middle Ring. They extract their soul power and inscribe it in the soul box. When their head is cut off, their soul is recalled by the inscriptions on the box and reborn, but each rebirth weakens their soul power until it eventually dissipates.

Note 2: "Swift Step," effect: short-distance burst movement, cooldown one natural hour.

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PS: Thank you to Laohu2758 and Fusheng Feimeng for your first donations, and to Heyuyuxiangtian for your encouragement. I always feel my writing is not up to par, and it takes me a long time to write a chapter, so I feel I might not deserve your support.

When a reader mentioned background characters, I plan to gradually reveal them through the protagonist's missions, like in this chapter, where Ambefin's appearance is not just to provide background but has other implications.

I consider the value and future connections of every character, and my outline is constantly being added to and modified. I hope one day I can update thousands of words daily to repay your support.

Finally, thank you to every friend who likes this book. Please don't be put off by the low word count; a simple favorite is my greatest motivation.

I won't abandon this story; it's a solemn promise.

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