Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone

Chapter 639 - 433: Naraku Corpse Witch [Vladimir], Soul Stitching?

"...Yes..." Fang Zhou’s answer was strange, carrying a tone of disbelief yet laced with a hidden excitement.

"Then what are you standing around for? Charge up there and finish him."

"That’s... that’s a robe that can only be worn by the powerhouses of the Naraku Civilization. This skeleton isn’t... an ordinary Undead Mage. He’s a... Corpse Witch!"

"You are quite knowledgeable, young Undead Mage."

Just as Fang Zhou finished speaking, the black-robed skeleton’s gloomy, hoarse voice echoed through the hall.

"I am Vladimir, the Wing of Mourning, the master of this tomb and a holdout of Naraku. Welcome, all of you, to my private domain. I hope those free-range ’little things’ outside didn’t cause any of you any... discomfort?"

It had to be said, this Corpse Witch who called himself Vladimir was certainly putting on an impressive show. However, his next words, delivered in a near-neurotic outburst, shattered the fear of the unknown that had been rising in everyone’s hearts.

"Get out, you thief! Get out of my body! I am Daniel David, the twisted priest of the Dark Night Clan!"

"You are shameless thieves! I, Cateria, am the true master!"

...

In an instant, dozens, even hundreds, of distorted, soul-level screams echoed throughout the third level of the tomb. And the source of these unbearable Soul Screams was, shockingly, the very same Corpse Witch named Vladimir.

At this moment, Fang Zhou activated his Soul Eagle Eye. Everything, real and illusory, was now completely within his grasp.

According to the Undead Creatures Atlas compiled by Master Sandro and Instructor Su Xinyan, a Corpse Witch was a rare Golden Tier undead creature with spellcasting abilities. If a Golden Tier creature had truly appeared in this tomb, the Sea City Military Academy, which continuously monitored the Forest of Nature’s spatial fragment with its Energy Detection Matrix, would certainly have noticed.

As it turned out, this was indeed the case.

Under Fang Zhou’s Soul Eagle Eye, the true nature of this being who appeared to be a Corpse Witch was completely exposed. Just like the creature that had seemed to be a Ghost earlier, this Corpse Witch’s soul essence was also at the Lower Black Iron rank. However, its soul appeared incomparably twisted and bloated compared to that of a normal creature. It was as if dozens of Lower Black Iron souls had been warped and fused together, forming a grotesque, stitched-together creation.

While Fang Zhou silently observed and gathered data, Vladimir, seated upon the throne, descended further into chaos. From Fang Zhou’s perspective, he could see eerie and terrifying soul phantoms surging from every corner of the being’s body.

This terrifying sight was noticed not only by Fang Zhou but also by other, more perceptive members of the Expedition Team. Their faces turned exceptionally grim.

Kai leaned in close to Fang Zhou. "That Daniel David," he said, "that was the name of the monster leader who led the attack when we first came to subjugate this Undead Tomb. He was a Zor Elf at the time. And Cateria... that was our chief’s name. He was a brave Forest Centaur Warrior."

Guna, the leader of the Mud Spring Banshees, added with a grim expression, "Among these terrifying soul howls, I even heard the name of my sister, the leader of the Demon Teng Tribe."

An eerie Corpse Witch suspected of being a Naraku survivor, members of the Natural Alliance’s subjugation team, leaders of the Swamp Natives, and even the original Zor Elf leader of this Undead Tomb—souls from four different factions and roles had all been stuffed into a single shell. This revelation was enough to surprise even Fang Zhou.

As an Undead Mage born and raised under the Blue Star Human Alliance’s cultivation system, Fang Zhou had not yet delved deeply into the Soul Series skill tree. Even the most powerful Undead Mage, Master Sandro, had only a partial understanding of it. Previously, Fang Zhou had believed that the key to deducing and developing the Undead Mage’s Soul Series skill tree lay with undead creatures like Ghosts. A Ghost was a Bronze Tier undead creature, and as a being of soul, its innate talent was surely related to souls. Once his clone broke through to the Bronze Tier, he would be able to absorb and analyze a Ghost’s racial talent, just as he had absorbed and analyzed the Zombie’s racial talent, Corrosive Poison Incarnation. That would be the perfect time for his main body to deduce and develop the Undead Mage’s Soul Series skill tree.

Therefore, with his current level of Soul Mastery, Fang Zhou could not comprehend how dozens or even hundreds of souls from different species could be fused within a single body. But this didn’t stop him from forming a preliminary hypothesis about the situation.

From the looks of it, the creature’s primary consciousness was the remnant soul from the Naraku Civilization named Vladimir. Perhaps the Zor Elf leader, Daniel David, had touched the seal on this Undead Tomb. Or perhaps the Natural Alliance’s previous subjugation of the tomb, and the ensuing conflict with the Swamp Natives, had triggered the revival of the tomb’s former master. Ultimately, Vladimir had used some unknown, evil method to stitch every powerful soul he encountered into his own. This was what had created the bloated and bizarre creature before them.

Fang Zhou let out a soft breath, his desire to explore the ruins of the Naraku Civilization growing even stronger. He, however, wasn’t particularly bothered by such evil methods. After all, according to historical records, the Naraku Civilization, a unique civilization that had mastered the powers of the undead, was a notoriously famous member of the Lawful Evil camp in the Mythical World before being crushed and annihilated by the Abyssal Demons. In terms of pure evil, they weren’t much better than the Abyssal Demons.

Having roughly understood the truth behind this Pseudo-Corpse Witch, Fang Zhou’s earlier hesitation vanished completely. No matter what this thing was, as long as its level didn’t exceed Lower Black Iron, Fang Zhou had absolute confidence. Seeing Vladimir’s twisted state, he was likely incapable of communication.

Fang Zhou made a tactical hand signal, and the members of the Expedition Team immediately fell into formation.

A beam of pale blue light descended from above, tearing through the ink-like darkness! It was the Light Skill cast by Hong Yang!

Then, the clatter of countless bones frictioning against each other emerged from the blue-white light. Fang Zhou’s Undead Army was on the move.

The Pseudo-Corpse Witch sensed the approaching danger. The dark golden crown on its head pulsed with an eerie gray light. It seemed to have activated some power that came at a great cost, forcefully suppressing the resistance of the other unwilling souls.

Once its consciousness cleared, Vladimir stared at the scene before him. The ghostly green flames in his eye sockets flared brilliantly, an expression of astonishment that even his skeletal face could barely conceal.

"What? A Lower Black Iron Undead Mage can summon so many Skeletons and Zombies!"

Evidently, the summoning ability of Fang Zhou, a successor Undead Mage, enhanced as it was by various factors, was enough to astonish even this remnant soul from a bygone era.

In the next moment, a cacophony of creaking bowstrings filled the air. Now the target of dozens of Skeleton Archers, the Pseudo-Corpse Witch Vladimir quickly regained his composure after his initial shock. He flicked his bony fingers, instantly conjuring several colorful Magic Barriers in front of himself.

"Fire!" Fang Zhou commanded in a low voice.

A ghastly volley of bone-white arrows swept through the dark hall. A blinding light flared as the sound of shattering Magic Barriers rang out one after another.

To the Pseudo-Corpse Witch Vladimir’s astonishment, the Magic Barriers he had erected were utterly destroyed in the very first Arrow Rain. A few arrows, their momentum barely diminished, even scraped past his black robe, sending a trail of sparks flying.

"By Naraku, these arrowheads simultaneously possess both Demon-Breaking and Armor-Piercing effects!" the Pseudo-Corpse Witch cried out as he looked at the gash on his black robe.

His robe, which appeared as soft as velvet, was actually a powerful piece of Magic Equipment. Its Defense Power was not much inferior to a knight’s full suit of Heavy Armor. In his era, many specialized Alchemy-Breaking Magic Arrows could pierce his Magic Shield, but they were utterly ineffective against this robe.

This volley of arrows, however, had given him a taste of true danger.