Versatile Mage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A gray-white outfit, and hair drenched from the raindrops falling from above.

The mysterious man stood on the walls. His eyes watched the Magicians retreating to the city in the distance. He was well aware that it was actually easier to charge out of the city than come back. There were too few that would make it back safely. Even the Super Magicians would fall in the ocean of zombies…

Against the black ocean, the light produced by magic was extremely faint. It would simply be devoured by the thick mist rising from the undead. He could already see troops of Battlemages being overrun in the ocean of undead. The brilliance of their spells grew dimmer.

The lights that suddenly went dark basically implied that the whole troop was wiped out.

On the other side of the battlefield where the Magicians were fighting the Mountain Zombie. He could barely see the clear silhouette of the enormous creature when bright lights shone in the sky. However, even under the dim sky, the mysterious man witnessed the Mountain Zombie killing a Super Magician. He was unable to tell who the person was.

The Mountain Zombie’s strength had surpassed everyone’s expectations. They had no hope of retreating, even if they wanted to. More than half of the troop was dead!

“Should we go and provide support?” asked a Magician who was appointed to defend the city.

The mysterious man shook his head. If they sent more men out there, it was unlikely that the city would stand until dawn.

The sky was completely dark. The brilliance produced by the spells were gradually growing weaker. They had totally lost contact with the army out there. They could only look into the darkness and count the time left until death arrived.

“I think it’s Zuo Feng!” someone yelled.

The mysterious man looked down the walls and saw two Advanced Magicians trapped among the skeletons. They were extremely close to the barrier of the inner walls…

Zuo Feng was accompanied by another man in a coat. They freed themselves from the skeletons and quickly leapt into the inner city.

“How’s the situation?” asked the mysterious man at once.

“We’ve successfully escorted them to the Dark Abyss. We can’t go any further, as the wind is too strong, but I believe they have already jumped into the Dark Abyss,” said Zuo Feng.

“So that means you have no idea if they are still alive or not?” the mysterious man frowned.

“Mmm,” Zuo Feng nodded. The lack of information was the biggest reason to feel worried.

“Senior, someone who referred to himself as the chief of one of the villages is asking to see you. He mentioned something about seeing the imperial tomb,” an Imperial Magician came up in a hurry and reported.

“The imperial tomb? What does that mean? Where is he?”

“In the clock tower!”

The mysterious man glanced at Zuo Feng and Yao Nan. The three were about to make their way to the clock tower when they saw a Super Magician making his way back to the inner city.

Yao Nan was overjoyed when he saw the man. He immediately went up to him.

“Boss, where’s the big guy?” Yao Nan glanced at the pale-faced Du Xiao and asked in confusion.

Du Xiao did not respond. He was wearing a grim expression.

Yao Nan knew the answer from observing Du Xiao’s expression. His words simply stuck in his throat.

The enormous green beast was dead. It was the Summoned Beast that had kept Du Xiao company for many years…

“How are your injuries?” Yao Nan switched the topic.

“Not too bad, it’s just that my soul is greatly affected,” responded Senior Hunter Du Xiao.

A Contracted Beast’s soul was linked to their Summoner’s soul. The death of a Contracted Beast was the same as slashing the Summoner’s soul with a sword. It explained why Du Xiao had an extremely pale face.

“Senior Hunter, come with us to the clock tower. The chief of Hua Village, Xie Sang seems to have learned something about the imperial tomb. He’s waiting for us there…” said the mysterious man.

“I’ll wait here for the president and others, you all should go ahead,” said Du Xiao.

“Alright.”

——–

Initially, Mo Fan thought the things above his head were gray clouds, as it basically looked like a layer of clouds. However, when he discovered something wriggling above him, he was dismayed to discover that those things were not clouds at all. They were the heads and bodies of the ghastly zombies and phantoms!

“The monsters and demons in the furnace of Hell are right above us,” Fang Gu stated for everyone.

Perhaps it had something to do with how the space was constructed, but the clouds in the space they were currently in consisted of the phantoms and zombies in the Dark Abyss. Similarly, the sky beyond the clouds was actually the entrance of the furnace!

More shockingly, a huge chunk of the clouds above would fall from the sky at times, pouring down like rain…

That was the true definition of raining zombies!

“The palace tomb is just ahead. Shall we?” asked Liu Ru.

The ground ahead was rising slightly, forming a path similar to one leading to a villa located in the mountains. As the group walked further ahead, they discovered huge white stairs!

The stairs were extremely wide, about two hundred meters across. It was clear that the stairs were constructed for humans, yet they still required some time just to make their way to the top where the palace tomb was. The stairs lead a long way to the top, like a cliff rising into the sky as they looked up…

The group of five started to climb the stairs. They were relieved when they realized that the zombies pouring down like rain did not land anywhere close to the white palace tomb.

The white of the palace tomb did not fit well into the nasty world of foul rot, deathly stench, and skeletons. If the group didn’t know about the scarier things awaiting them inside, the structure simply looked like a sacred hall built to cleanse the surrounding atmosphere.

The group of five were like ants lost on a white sheet as they continued climbing the stairs. Figures made of stone gradually appeared on both sides as they advanced further. Their appearance somehow reminded Mo Fan of some creatures he had seen before.

Two stone figures were placed on both sides every ten stairs, like guards defending the entrance of the palace, adding a hint of nobility to the lifeless atmosphere.

“Say, do you think they can move?” asked Liu Ru cautiously.

“I think so, I believe they are not just decorations,” said Mo Fan honestly.

Those who had not eaten pork could still identify a running pig. Whenever statues that were life-like were found in some eerie palaces or mysterious tombs, they would come alive in the end. Mo Fan was definitely not fooling around!

{TL Note: A common saying taken from the classic “A Dream of Red Mansions”. It means that even though someone has not experienced something firsthand, they still have some knowledge of it.}

“Brother Fan, don’t you think they look similar to the White Sand Demons?” asked Zhang Xiaohou.

“You think so too? It seems like the history of the Drifting Sand River dates back to that time two thousand years ago,” said Mo Fan.

“They do look scary…” Fang Gu led the way at a faster pace, “But I do want to see this old ancestor that has asked us to protect the Kun Wells for generations.”

“Let’s hope that your old ancestor is a friendly person,” said Mo Fan.

Too many people had died in this calamity; that they had already become numb toward death.

The numbness was quite disheartening, too. Mo Fan only hoped it would come to an end as soon as possible.

“Why is there a copper mirror here?” Zhang Xiaohou raised his head and saw a huge, eerie copper mirror standing apart from the entrance of the palatial tomb!