Chapter 86: Chapter 86, The Undying Body l

At a distance of about three meters, it was difficult to detect the figure of a companion.

“Basen, determine the locations of the squad members.” Wu Heng put a hand on Basen’s shoulder, charging off to the front with him.

Ahead of them were guards, fallen and weak from exhaustion.

There were few who had brought anti-toxin equipment, as gas masks were not widely used in this world.

Wu Heng quickly found the rest of his team members.

Cavina had put on a Plague Doctor Mask.

Autruck, along with several members from the other squad, had taken out scarves to cover their mouths and noses.

“Let’s retreat first,” Wu Heng stated outright.

Given the current circumstances, fighting was impossible. The poison gas didn’t affect carrion, but living beings couldn’t stand it.

“Cough cough-! My aunt… cough cough.” Yuli said, coughing hoarsely.

“You’re nearly dead, and you’re still harping on about your aunt,” Wu Heng remarked.

Yuli ignored him, transforming into a raven and attempting to fly towards the building.

Wu Heng grabbed hold of her leg, saying, “You retreat first, I’ll go check on your Vice-executive and the others.”

Yuli looked at him before nodding, “Alright!”

All the squads started to retreat, and the sound of dragging bodies could be heard echoing through the toxic fog.

Wu Heng continued, “Go check on the stone castle over there.”

Leaning on Basen’s shoulder, they advanced towards the stone castle.

The Stone Castle’s main hall.

Poisonous fog surged through the doors and windows, filling the hall instantly.

The few people in combat either wore protective equipment or released protective scrolls to prevent the fog from harming them.

Still, it significantly affected their performance.

Crack-!

The Cheetah was struck by the Giant Demon Carrion and flung into the stair railings, breaking them and falling to the ground.

Following that, the Giant Demon Carrion holding two guard leaders rolled down the stairs, crashing into the wall behind with a loud bang.

The Giant Demon Carrion lifted its massive arms. After throwing one person away, it began to rain blows onto the chest of the remaining guard leader.

His breastplate was deformed, and his mouth overflowed with fresh blood. He struggled, coughing ceaselessly.

The others paled significantly. Watching as their comrade was about to be beaten to death, they realized that it was too late to rush over.

Right at that moment, the sound of gunfire rang out.

Bang, bang, bang-!

Bullets hit the Giant Demon Carrion’s body, causing it to stagger slightly.

The severely injured Guard Leader rolled away through the struggle, creating some distance between them.

Rushing into the hall with Basen, Wu Heng’s muffled voice called out from behind his mask, “Hold off these corpses for me.”

The Priest and the Guard Leader immediately reacted, rushing towards the Giant Demon Carrion again to prevent them from getting close to the staircase. “Hmm?” The figure in a black robe noticed the people rushing in.

Seeing the ordinary leather armor, he sneered.

“Are you trying to show off even at a time like this?”

Wu Heng didn’t reply but continued to advance, changing his gun magazine as he went.

Then he started pulling the trigger.

Bang, bang, bang-!

The barrage of bullets hit the target continuously.

The sudden onslaught choked off his mocking words, forcing him to retreat under the rain of bullets.

As his black robe tore apart from the gunfire, the man in the black robe stared at his exposed body in disbelief.

He lifted his magic wand and shot a ‘Fireball Technique’ towards the other, sending a flaming ball directly at them.

Basen quickly switched positions to shield Wu Heng. His body was blasted open by the fireball, scattering a shower of flames.

“You have a Necromancy Attendant too?” The man in the black robe exclaimed in surprise.

Wu Heng didn’t respond but simply continued shooting at a faster pace.

The bullets seemed to flow out endlessly, riddling what remained of the black robe until it resembled a tattered cloth.

“My servants, protect me!” The man in the black robe shouted loudly.

However, the surrounding carrion was being held at bay by the others.

Seeing the man wielding a bizarre weapon charging at him, the Necromancer released a large cloud of black fog before turning and running towards the staircase.

Wu Heng and Basen quickly followed.

When it came to speed, both Wu Heng and Basen were faster than the Necromancer.

Due to fear of an ambush, Basen was sent to lead the way.

They quickly caught up to the man in the black robe, stabbing a dagger into his body from behind.

The Necromancer stumbled and fell to the ground.

Once the black robe came off, a face resembling that of a mummified corpse was revealed.

Wu Heng’s eyes widened in shock.

The man in front of them was a Necromancer. Why would he look like this?

“Have you gone mad, helping them…?” The Necromancer roared loudly.

Wu Heng didn’t stop; he kept pressing the trigger.

Within moments, bullets shattered the man’s head into fragments.

[Experience gained +77.]

Phew-!

The emergence of the experience notification signified that the man had indeed died.

Beneath his gas mask, Wu Heng let out a sigh of relief.

He squatted down and began to fumble through the contents of the man’s bag.

Just as he began searching, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed up from below.

He randomly grabbed what seemed to be a Skill Book and stashed it into his bag.

As Wu Heng stood up, he saw Priest Yazde and several others rushing into the room.

Upon seeing Wu Heng and the body on the floor, they all also let out a sigh of relief.

“Wu Heng, you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Wu Heng replied, standing up.

Yazde glanced at the corpse and continued, “We’ll bring the corpse with us when we leave. Leave the rest to the guards.”

“Alright!”

Outside the estate, chaos had already broken loose.

There were groups of guards lying on the ground.

Coughing and vomiting, the injured areas began to rot immediately.

Everyone was consuming potions.

This nights must have cost them a fortune.

The fact that so many of us couldn’t capture just one individual, could also be considered a failure to some extent.

Yuli rushed to check on Slyther first, then ran over, shouting in surprise, “You killed the robed mage?”

The rest of them paused.

Then, they all turned their gazes toward me.

“When I got there, her opponent was almost done for, so I just delivered the final blow,” Wu Heng fabricated casually.

“The odds must be in your favor to run into that.”

Soon, the executive and vice-executive came over.

The limping cheetah hobbled over, and Yuli squatted on the ground, looking at it pitifully.

The executive said, “Alright, we’ll leave this place to the guards. Let’s depart first.”

The necromancer’s body was handed to the guards.

The professional team, on the other hand, began to return to Black Stone Town.

Yuli looked much better now.

She chased after Wu Heng and said, “I suddenly thought of something. He was a necromancer as well, and you killed him. Doesn’t it make you a traitor within our profession?”

“Damn!”

On returning to Black Stone Town,

The executive told everyone, “When you return, nurse your injuries. Today’s operation was quite successful. Your merits and rewards will be recorded. Alright, go rest!”

Everyone dispersed, walking back to their spots.

The sky was beginning to brighten. Wu Heng returned to his residence, told Basen to guard the door, and went to bed.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The door was being struck urgently.

Wu Heng opened his eyes – it was day already.

Basen was still sitting at the dining table, looking at the door.

Hearing the knock, he immediately stood up, alert and vigilant.

Even sleeping was being disturbed.

“Who is it!” Wu Heng called out.

If it’s not something important, tell them to come back later.

“Wu Heng, have you had breakfast? Let’s have breakfast together.” Yuli’s voice came from outside the door.

Good Lord-!

It’s great being young, so full of energy!

Wu Heng opened the door and saw Yuli standing there, still with faint traces of bruises on her cheeks. These must be from yesterday.

He stepped aside, letting Yuli walk in.

Curiously, Wu Heng asked, “Aren’t you tired?”

Yuli sat at the desk, “What’s to be tired about? I can go several days without sleep.”

“Come in then, is your aunt mistreating you? Not even providing you with food.”

“You’re very rude,” Yuli sat beside him and continued, “My aunt has left. Yesterday we killed the necromancer, solving one of Black Stone town’s problems. Otherwise, the kingdom and alliance would’ve sent in a re-investigation team.”

“Oh, no wonder both the town hall and the executive are in such a hurry. Scared of inspectors from above coming, eh?”

“Yes, should be!”

After Wu Heng prepared two bowl of noodles, he returned to the table and flipped through the book he had obtained yesterday.

[Book of Necromancy – Volume II]

It was the one he had found on the dead body yesterday.

He had thought it was a skill book, but it turned out to be the second volume.

While waiting for his noodles, he began to read it.

This second volume was much thinner, but its content was much deeper.

Among them, one topic mentioned was about the transformational issues of a necromancer.

Generally, the characteristic and skills of close-combat professions can all be preserved after the transformation.

But things were a bit different for a mage and certain special professions.

A false soul injected by necromantic magic changes the magical element of the body.

Meaning, if you transform a mage, regardless of their previous school of magic, they’ll only be a necromancer after transformation as they can no longer sense other magical attributes.

Moreover, the power of certain professions like priests and sorcerers comes from the divine. Whether it’s a gifting or a transfer, it doesn’t belong to them personally.

They too can’t preserve this power after transformation.

In the case of priests, their transformation often leads to collapse, so the Book of Necromancy specifically advises against transforming those with god-related bodies.

There’s no benefit, it just invites trouble.

Wu Heng continued to flip through to the next page.

[Pure Soul, Ancient Organ, special bloodline, converge on a body – can be transformed into necromancer’s power and refine a corpse into a ghost, creating an undead body.]

Looks like necromantic power can be gathered artificially.

Maybe like the necromancer seen last night.

Though the notion of being undead is tempting, not being a human nor a ghost isn’t really acceptable.

Moreover, these items are not so easily acquired.

The Pure Soul refers to souls, which are normally invisible and can pass through walls; trying to catch them is virtually impossible.

The Ancient Organ – not just anybody can acquire that.

While having these thoughts, Wu Heng furrowed his brows.

He had only participated in a few arrests since arriving in Black Stone Town.

The first was in Mining Village where they brought back a sealed ghost infant, and in the second one, Bawudong’s organ had already gone missing.

Could this be a coincidence?

A chill rose up his spine.

Yuli, who was eating chips on the side, noticed Wu Heng’s serious expression. Holding her chip, she didn’t dare to put it in her mouth.

She asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

“Uh, it’s nothing,” Wu Heng glanced at the book again and casually asked, “Have we arrested any criminals with special bloodlines in Black Stone Town recently?”

“I don’t know.”

But she still tried hard to recall.

“Isn’t the last one who stole the kid a magician?”