1344 Deathly Deception Part 1 (1/2)
The Winged Skull was unfazed as Rafel was by their side. An angel and a spirit fighting side by side was something extraordinarily rare. The Winged Skull brought six jade skeletons with them, and there was a spirit magic array set up right behind them.
An aura of death continuously coalesced within the spirit magic array, conjuring huge spirit runes and filling the entire space before the magic door. There were tens of thousands of abominations below that platform. Within that tight space, the number of abominations was at its highest, but it was not all that far off either.
Warriors dropped like flies on the platform. A huge number of monsters appeared among the enemy and cast Death Shock. Hundreds of thousands of deathly specters stormed the platform. They were not afraid of physical attacks at all and as such, resulted in very high casualties among Safilos' warriors.
Four level-ten mage trainers were then right behind the spirit magic array, recovering their mental powers.
They cast magic skills at the same time, protecting Safilos and the others as they retreated back to the magic door. However, those four mage trainers were thoroughly exhausted from doing so.
”Rafel, you doing fine?” the Winged Skull asked the angel at their side.
Rafel's golden pupils practically became slits then, shooting purple-golden light from within. She had all the metal angels charge and return to Floating City, as her intuition told her that Saleen would not have continued to hold the line at the underground city.
”Can't do this any longer. More powerful enemies are going to show up from the abomination plane soon,” Rafel answered.
Saleen's Water Shield that had been plugging the big hole above them had long disappeared, and the cave's surroundings were filled with crimson fluid. That came from some human warriors who scrapped against the rocky walls when they were captured and taken above.
”How about we bail if we can't hold on anymore then?” the Winged Skull asked Rafel.
”What kind of attitude is that!?”
”Rafel, I'm a skeleton, not a warrior. I don't need honor or glory. Dying here isn't going to do us any good. If Master wants to leave, he won't need to go through that door at all,” the Winged Skull answered with an exasperated expression, which when shown on his ashen skull face, looked rather eerie.
”You have a point...” Rafel hesitated. If Saleen were indeed able to leave the underground city on his own, then there really was no need for them to hold the line in that place. ”You're just a skeleton, but I'm an angel. So what now?” Rafel asked the Winged Skull in return.
”There is a summoning array in the upper level, and there are powerful abominations showing up there. We'll just get up and break that teleportation portal then,” the Winged Skull suggested.
”Don't go!” a mage trainer shouted.
The Winged Skull turned around and looked at that mage trainer with pitch-black eyes, asking, ”And why not?”
That mage trainer was at a loss for words. They did not manage to get into the magic door, and their mental powers had all been spent. If the Winged Skull were to leave, then all four of them will soon be ganged up by the abomination and killed.
However, none of that had anything to do with that skeleton. As for Rafel, none of them even dared to expect that powerful warrior to fight for their sake.
The Winged Skull chuckled and spread their bony wings, and Rafel spread hers as well. That mage trainer had an idea all of a sudden and asked, ”Master skeleton! Could I hire you then?”
Rafel shook her head while the Winged Skull nodded. Rafel then nodded, but the Winged Skull shook their head instead.
The mage trainer was puzzled, and the Winged Skull explained, ”You could hire us, but we'd need to discuss price differently. What she wants and what I want are rather different.”
The mage trainer was overjoyed and said, ”It's alright. We could afford it.”
The other three mages showed the same expression. They saw the Winged Skull command the spirits in battle and knew how powerful they were. The wave of attacks from the specters earlier did not manage to harm both the Winged Skull and the female warrior after all.
”Not quite. My master is His Highness Saleen, and you have no idea how rich Metatrin City is.” The Winged Skull then poured cold water over the mages' ideas. However, the four mages were hardly dejected. They simply hurried the Winged Skull to name their price instead.
The Winged Skull had only been indulging their requests out of a whim. They did not mind the four level-ten mage trainers at all. If it had not been for fear of retribution from Safilos, the Winged Skull might have even wanted to turn them into spirits on the spot.
However, since the four of them came to be so eager, the Winged Skull saw no reason to be prudent.
Death wizards were powerful beings on the spirit plane. However, due to most death wizards having shattered memories, they were unable to bear their full might. Furthermore, due to their fractured mental states, their actions were rather random and ridiculous, and they often ended up being killed by spirit kings to prevent them from destroying the empires of the kings.
However, humans who were willing to be made into spirit wizards were different, as their intelligence was kept intact.
”Saving you people is easy. See that magic array over there? That is a death teleportation portal, and you all will be transported to the spirit plane,” the Winged Skull said as they pointed at the magic array manned by six jade skeletons.
The mage trainers then looked troubled. The Winged Skull then continued, ”Are you afraid that you won't be able to return then? Well, no worries about that. I'm a king level skeleton myself, and I have no problems giving you people some bit of protection.”
The Winged Skull took out four black crystals, saying, ”Hold onto these. I can summon you all back at any time.”
The four mages took the black crystals without saying anything. The Winged Skull then took out four scrolls and said, ”As for the fee of employment, we'll need to make this clear. I'll be able to let you leave the underground city and send you to the surface. If you want to go any further, don't count on me for escort.”
The four mages were exasperated. The levels of the underground city were shut off, and if they wanted to leave, they would only be able to do so using teleportation portals. However, none of them had the means to build one, so they had to get transported through the spirit plane instead.
Seeing the four mages walking into the magic array, the six jade skeletons wore very human expressions on their faces—smugness.