Anser's brow twitched slightly. He knew that distinctive voice far too well.
"Sosk, how did you end up mixed up with followers of Myrkul?" He strode forward several steps, his burning gaze fixed on the depths of the passage.
"How presumptuous. You dare speak my lord's name directly."
The one who answered was someone else, his voice stiff and dry, carrying a forced toughness.
"Oh? Isn't that what everyone calls him?" Anser replied calmly.
The man snorted coldly and was just about to speak again when another voice interrupted him.
"Sosk, who is he?"
The voice came from the darkness, low and indistinct.
"He's President Holrewen of the Durlag Union. The one flying there is Miss Jacqueline of Fort Jacqueline. Don't know the others."
Sosk's dry voice rang out, completely flat and emotionless.
Anser found it strange.
That introduction was way too brief.
Both sides were already at each other's throats. Shouldn't Sosk be giving a detailed rundown of his strength and achievements so his allies wouldn't underestimate him?
"Durlag? Isn't that Stoll's territory?" the deep voice sounded again.
"Stoll was killed by an adult green dragon," Sosk explained casually.
"Oh."
The man's voice noticeably relaxed. After a brief silence, he spoke again. "You killed our people?"
Followers of Myrkul were proficient in necromancy and undead control. There was no way the deaths of those undead could escape their senses, otherwise they would not have blocked the exit in advance.
Anser ignored him. He could tell Sosk's relationship with them was not particularly close. The two sides clearly lacked communication.
He swept his gaze around. Front and back were blocked by twenty to thirty zombies, along with four flaming skulls and several werewolf zombies, most of them within twenty to thirty meters.
He did not see the half-dragons or the black dragon zombies. The number of werewolf zombies was also far too small. He had sold Sosk over a hundred wolf corpses before.
"Sosk, is this the Viheral you were looking for? Has someone already gone inside?" he pressed.
"This is the place. My student led people inside already. A few half-dragons also slipped in…" Sosk said gloomily.
"Sosk! Shut your mouth."
The stiff voice from earlier barked in dissatisfaction.
Anser chuckled.
This situation was way too amusing.
Sosk should have been the person most familiar with this dungeon, yet he could not even enter it himself and had been forced to wait outside instead.
Anyone could hear the resentment in his voice.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps echoed out.
A figure in black robes emerged from the darkness and stopped behind the flaming skulls.
He lifted his head to look at Anser, then locked his gaze onto Iris. After a moment of silence, he said, "We can cooperate—"
"He's a Paladin."
Sosk suddenly interrupted him.
Immediately afterward, faint footsteps echoed from the darkness—not approaching, but rapidly retreating.
The black-robed man's body trembled, and the atmosphere instantly froze solid.
"Kill them!" he ordered while retreating at the same time.
There was something in this dungeon he absolutely had to obtain. Since the two sides could not coexist, then battle was the only option. Only the living had the right to seek treasure.
The undead pack roared as they charged forward, but Anser had already prepared for battle.
Magic power surged around him. A tiny sphere of ice, almost completely transparent, formed at his fingertips in an instant before exploding immediately afterward.
Innate Spellcasting + Metamagic: Empowered Quickened, Maximized Spell, Careful Spell + Otiluke's Freezing Sphere!
Sergei had just drawn an arrow when he caught sight of the scene from the corner of his eye. His scalp instantly went numb, and he reflexively twisted sideways to dodge.
The next moment, extreme cold erupted outward. Moisture froze into ice, transforming into a freezing tide that swept across dozens of meters around them. The charging zombies were instantly encased in frost, turning into frozen statues one after another.
Under the amplification of Extraordinary Charisma and the water-aspected Elemental Orb, the cold was harsher and more merciless than ever before, carrying the illusion that it could freeze everything in existence.
Iris's expression remained calm as she watched the freezing tide curve around her and spread into the distance. Aside from shivering from the cold, she was unharmed.
The same went for Sergei and the others.
[Target killed. Gained 49 experience points.]
[…Flaming Skull hit. Took 32 cold damage. Current Hit Points: 10/42]
[…Werewolf Zombie hit. Took 66 cold damage. Current Hit Points: 23/89]
A string of combat notifications flashed through Anser's mind. The corners of his lips lifted slightly. Aside from the thick-skinned werewolf zombies and the magic-resistant flaming skulls, every other zombie had been wiped out in a single wave.
Unfortunately, those followers of Myrkul were each more slippery than the last. They kept hiding in the darkness without showing themselves. The one who had briefly appeared had already retreated again and avoided the blast entirely.
Anser did not stop moving. Ignoring the magic power expenditure, he raised his hand and conjured another Otiluke's Freezing Sphere.
Before he could even throw it, the few flaming skulls fled in panic, darting into the depths of the dark passage with several sharp whooshing sounds.
Whoosh—
The sphere of ice shot from Anser's fingertips and rushed into the tunnel. Blocked by the stone walls, it collided and instantly exploded, releasing frigid magic power as freezing air swept outward.
[Flaming Skull hit… Current Hit Points: 0. Entering Rejuvenation state]
There was only a single combat notification, and no experience gained.
Anser felt somewhat disappointed. It seemed he would not be able to farm experience repeatedly this way.
'They run pretty fast.'
The reason flaming skulls were such a nuisance was because they possessed extremely high intelligence while also being immune to fire, necrotic, poison, and similar forms of damage. The moment they sensed danger, they fled immediately, and they flew very quickly.
But if those flaming skulls judged someone to be weak, they would become unbearably arrogant and aggressive.
On top of that, they were proficient in Fireball. In large numbers, an endless barrage of fireballs was enough to drown even high-level classes.
At that moment, the dark underground tunnel had become eerily silent, as if the followers of Myrkul had vanished completely.
Sergei rapidly scanned the surroundings, a bitter smile spreading across his face. Then he drew his bow and released an arrow.
Whoosh.
A streak of white light flashed past as the arrow instantly pierced through a werewolf zombie's skull.
The other three werewolf zombies shattered the thin layer of ice covering them and charged forward stiffly, only to be intercepted by Gada and Adem.
Before Anser or Iris even needed to act, the three coordinated perfectly and killed the sluggish werewolf zombies one after another within just a few seconds.
Their teamwork was seamless, their movements clean and efficient, every strike aimed directly at vital points. They gave the zombies no chance to counterattack.
Stepping across the frost-covered ground, Sergei came to stand beside Anser and looked toward the pitch-black depths of the tunnel.
"Still going after them? This environment's unusual. It'd be easy to walk into an ambush."
"These were only the gatekeepers. All bark and no bite. The truly dangerous people from the Church of Myrkul have definitely already gone inside," Anser speculated.
The ones that had died were nothing more than ordinary zombies and skeletons, all expendable pawns. Priests of Myrkul would never rely on such things to explore a dungeon.
Moreover, this dungeon itself already contained large numbers of undead. No one knew how many ages they had existed for. If they ended up under the control of Myrkul's priests, then the only option left would be to run. They would not stand a single chance.
Iris pursed her lips in a smile. "I think we should capture Sosk first. He's the type who knows which way the wind is blowing."
"He deliberately stirred up the fight just now. That guy's full of schemes." Anser stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Judging from the situation earlier, those followers of Myrkul had likely approached Sosk on their own initiative. Neither side trusted the other. They were calculating against and exploiting each other.
"There's definitely something here attracting the followers of Myrkul," Anser said with certainty. He extended a hand toward Sergei. "We keep exploring. Give me the arrows."
"Here."
Sergei immediately removed the quiver and handed it over without even asking why.
Just moments ago, the sight of Anser unleashing a freezing tide with a flick of his fingers had been burned into his mind, completely overturning all those half-true rumors from before.
People had once claimed that the new president was merely an elite Sorcerer. Now, however, that sounded more like the baseless speculation of narrow-minded people blinded by jealousy.
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