The Vastness of Magical Destiny

Chapter 76 - 76 4 Demonic Fighting Qi

?Chapter 76: Chapter 4: Demonic Fighting Qi Chapter 76: Chapter 4: Demonic Fighting Qi The purple-robed priest’s expression became exceptionally grave. He was well aware that the opponent, having dared to send forth such undead creatures even after two skeleton warriors were destroyed by his supreme Heavenly Sacred Flame, must possess considerable confidence. The creature before him should be a zombie. Essentially, there wasn’t much difference between zombies and skeletons, especially in the eyes of the priests who revered the light, but that didn’t mean Malone was unaware of the substantial differences between skeletons and zombies.

For a dark magician or a mage, skeletons should be much easier to refine. Not only are the raw materials for refining easy to obtain, but since there is no need to control and maintain their bodily organs, it is enough to employ the relatively simple puppet substitution technique from the dark magic to control the skeletons. Then, by using nightmare magic for necessary training, a regular skeleton could become a skeleton warrior. Of course, there are significant differences between skeleton warriors. The original quality of the skeleton, the proficiency level of the puppet substitution technique used, and the depth of the nightmare magic are crucial factors determining the level of a skeleton warrior.

However, compared to skeletons, which also belong to undead creatures, the process of refining a zombie is much more challenging, to the extent that even though researchers of dark magic are not uncommon on the Blue Continent, especially in remote regions, mages who refine zombies are in the absolute minority. Moreover, most cultivators who do attempt it approach the refinement with a research mindset, seldom employing these undead creatures in actual combat. The selection of materials for zombies is subject to significant restrictions; the best materials require that the corpse not have been dead for more than an hour, otherwise, the necromantic energy contained within the corpse will gradually dissipate with the loss of body heat. The cultivation level and abilities of the zombie before its death are also important factors that limit the subsequent refinement level of the zombie. An ordinary corpse might become a qualified skeleton, but an ordinary corpse could never be refined into a qualified zombie.

To refine an outstanding zombie, the chosen subject must have been a martial arts expert in life, and the corpse’s pre-death combat strength, experience, and even intelligence have a considerable impact on its cultivation. In other words, the stronger the comprehensive ability of the corpse in life, the higher the requirements for the cultivator, the greater the difficulty of cultivation, but once refinement is successful, its power will increase significantly. Zombies refined to the pinnacle can communicate with the refiner’s mind at will; the various mental instructions of the refiner can be reflected on the zombie without any spells, immediately, and intuitively—of course, those who reach this level can be said to be the great achievers of darkness.

With a wooden gaze fixed on the target before him, the zombie seemed to be recalling something, which made the purple-robed priest even more cautious. It was apparent that this fellow was probably on the battlefield for the first time, and its level was not as high as Malone had imagined. At the very least, the dull gaze in the zombie’s eyes gave away this much. Malone’s heart eased slightly, without any hesitation, he uttered two spells in succession, and the white holy flame emanating from his body now enveloped the purple-robed priest. The surging light waves fluttered slightly like a shield wrapping his entire body, and the normally sparingly used magic wand doubled in size in an instant. With a light shake of the Purple Zhen Wood Magic Wand, engraved according to the alignment of the stars, a dazzling white rainbow shot forth along the length of the wand, heading straight for the still somewhat dazed zombie.

The white light that flew towards it entered the zombie without any hindrance, and it trembled violently before returning to calmness. Clearly, the white light had inflicted damage, as the zombie’s numb face twisted, and its previously sealed lips opened involuntarily to expel a breath of corpse energy, forming a small white mist in front of it with a “puff.”

Komer watched nervously, the undead creature he had painstakingly refined for the first time. Although it was still far from his intentions, it was nevertheless a promising start. Wasting such a high-quality material or seeing it fail prematurely would indeed be too regrettable, and he was unwilling to witness that.

Muttering a spell silently, he fortified the transmission of his spiritual power. The zombie’s movements suddenly became much swifter, evading a second offensive launched by the purple-robed priest. The zombie leaped lightly into the air, and a strange, spectacular spectral claw, trailing a thick stench of rot, lunged at the somewhat flustered priest. The rippling light, as the zombie neared, unleashed its divine protective force—like being blocked by a membrane. The moment the zombie’s claws touched the Holy Light, the sacred white glow surged, transforming into a brilliant net of light sweeping forth.

Facing the surging protective light dome, the zombie maintained an indifferent expression as it wildly swung its arms, a grayish-green halo slowly rising around its body. When the two halos finally collided, the zombie was struck in midair as if by lightning, performing a beautiful somersault before stumbling to the ground, while the sweeping net of holy light dissipated into nothingness upon impact with the opposing halo.

“Fighting Qi?!” The Purple-robed Priest’s face finally showed shock. A mere zombie could actually use the Fighting Qi ability that only warriors or knights of a certain level in the human world possessed, and what’s more, that grayish-green Fighting Qi was clearly tainted with Dark Magic Power. How could this be possible?! His eyes darting towards the still-smirking foe, Malone felt as though a bucket of ice water had drenched him from head to toe in the dead of winter, even his blood seeming to freeze, the chill piercing straight to the depths of his mind.

“Sir Malone, it’s waiting for you to give it a good lesson. Go!” Komer stared coldly at the Purple-robed Priest, feeling an unspeakable sense of satisfaction within. The frustration of being chased out of the forest by the Church of Light was finally being vented at this moment.

Receiving the command, the zombie seemed to sense that the priest before it was not so simple after all. It started to circle the priest at high speed, flying close to the ground in a breathtaking manner, its Demonic claw darting out like lightning for sneak attacks and swiftly retracting at any sign of counterattack. The Priest’s brow was now beaded with sweat; he hadn’t expected the zombie in front of him to be so powerful, nor to have cultivated Fighting Qi. Although its demonic nature had been forged by the cultivator’s acquired efforts, such ability in Fighting Qi must have been possessed in life. If this ability hadn’t existed prior to death, no amount of refining after death could imbue Fighting Qi within the undead creature itself.

Watching as his breathless target struggled vigorously, the zombie spun up into the air, ready to swoop down, only to see the resolute-faced Priest wildly gesticulating with both hands, numerous tiny sigils flashing out from the midsection of his dark-purple Magic Wand, forming an orange-red band of light, “In the name of the Gods of Light, lend your faithful servant your holiness!”

The sky suddenly darkened as if day had turned to night, and amidst the rumbling Yin Thunder Sound, a silvery-white Light Sword tore through the black sky, and a colossal lightning bolt struck violently, followed by a downpour of fireballs amid slender golden electric arcs. Caught off-guard, Komer was struck by two electric arcs in quick succession. The Magical armor beneath his cloak shattered instantly, his body instantly cloaked in smoke, his hair stood on end, and blood starkly marked the areas around his eyes. The Holy Light pierced through his body, stabbing into the space of his mind where he was channeling his Dark Magic Power to its limit, causing tearing pain that seared through his entire body, driving Komer nearly to madness.

The unprepared zombie was similarly engulfed by a multitude of fireballs at the same time. Its inherent dark nature made it the perfect target for the Heavenly sacred flame, and almost every Lightning arc and Fireball relentlessly bombarded the zombie’s body. Protected solely by its Dark Magic Power, the zombie was utterly unable to withstand these mighty and unmatched sacred flame attacks. The agonizing screams were unceasing; despite its speed, which was as swift as Ghosts, it couldn’t dodge the omnipresent killing techniques from the heavenly realm.

This kind of Holy Thunderfire from the heavenly realm was an excellent measure against dark creatures, but normally unattainable for a Mage to master in their entire lifetime. It was unexpected that the Purple-robed Priest, on the brink of desperation, had such a trick up his sleeve to turn the tide of battle. Dodging the overwhelming barrage of fireballs that followed, Komer cursed the Priest who had played a dirty trick on him. His only option now was to kill his opponent. The original idea of using the Priest to train his zombie vanished in an instant. He had not anticipated the opponent’s power being so formidable, far exceeding his own expectations. If he wasn’t careful, he himself could end up as another zombie, his soul scattered to the winds. Komer dared not delay any longer.