"Father! Right side!" Shen En suddenly shouted, with no time to think why.
"What?!"
Amidst the churning black mist, a curved blade broke through the air.
Edwin, already fully concentrated, reacted swiftly. His silver sword quickly drew an arc to his right, the flat of the blade striking the curved blade. Sparks flew, illuminating the enemy's crimson eyes.
'There really was one?!'
Old Ai parried the opponent's curved blade, then used the momentum to counter-attack with a powerful downward chop, striking him down with his sword.
"Left side!"
Edwin quickly parried to the left again, and sure enough, the next moment, a cultist emerged from it. While Old Ai parried, he also performed a blade deflection counter-attack, cutting the opponent in half with one strike.
Edwin was immediately overjoyed, exclaiming inwardly, 'What a good boy!'
"Father! Above!" Shen En reminded again.
Pfft...
Edwin instantly severed the opponent's head, blood gushing out.
The situation was reversed in just a few seconds!
The remaining less than eight Witch Cult cultists in the black mist were stunned, rooted to the spot.
What's going on? How can he see them?
Seranya, who instinctively shielded her son, was also greatly surprised: "Xiao En, you can actually see them?"
Edwin held his sword, standing in front of the mother and son again, and grinned: "He should be able to clearly see the flow of the opponent's magic."
Without giving them much time to chat, several curved blades simultaneously broke through the mist from within the black mist.
"Xiao En!"
"Bottom left, top right, and directly in front! This time, there are three people!"
"Good!"
Shen En quickly called out the locations, while Edwin counter-attacked one after another with lightning speed.
The sword light, like lightning, shattered every attacking enemy.
The battle in the black mist had clearly become a tacit father-son cooperation, with ease in both offense and defense.
The Apostle in black robes sensed that something was amiss in the black mist. To conserve his magic, he quickly withdrew his spell, and the black mist gradually dispersed in the inner courtyard.
When the vision cleared, Shen En was shocked by the scene before him—more than a dozen dismembered corpses lay scattered haphazardly and densely in the courtyard.
There were severed hands, severed arms, severed heads, and some were cut in half, with intestines spilling out...
The red mycelia that had originally covered the ground seemed to have found their master, surging madly towards the corpses.
A gust of wind happened to blow in the rusty, fishy smell.
Shen En's stomach churned, and he almost vomited from the stench.
"Don't look at these." Seranya quickly covered his eyes and nose when she saw his reaction.
But he was still disgusted enough.
Now, only the Apostle mage remained, along with the two half-human, half-beast "abominations" beside him.
Edwin held his silver sword, cautiously scanning his surroundings, and asked, "Xiao En, can you still see anyone else around?"
Shen En shook his head, trying to answer, "It seems... only those three monsters are left."
"This time, you really saved your parents' lives! Those just now... you saw them, didn't you? Aren't you scared?"
He wasn't really a three-year-old child; he wouldn't be scared to tears.
Of course, seeing such a bloody scene for the first time, discomfort was certainly present.
But Shen En still had to act like a child, so he snuggled into his mother's arms and said in a cute voice, "Scared..."
"It's alright, you're already brave enough! When your father was your age, he would still cry from stories about witches. Now, living Witch Cult cultists have appeared before you, and you've seen such a scene, yet you weren't even scared. You're truly my son! It's alright, your father is here to protect you now."
Shen En inwardly exclaimed, 'It's so good to have a father.'
The black-robed Apostle opposite seemed somewhat displeased, with a hint of impatience in his gloomy hood.
He waved his staff, and several huge rocks rose from the ground, soaring into the air and whistling towards Edwin.
With a flash of the silver sword, the blade surprisingly began to glow with a wolf-shaped phantom, and the sword easily cut through the massive rocks.
Edwin did not hesitate. Using the exploding debris, he sprang into the air, the tip of his sword pointing directly at the black-robed Apostle's throat, radiating killing intent!
The Apostle in black robes realized this and commanded the two dragonized monsters beside him to roar and leap, pouncing on Edwin with their sharp claws.
Clang, clang!
Sharp claws clashed with the sword blade, creating dazzling sparks.
In just two brief exchanges, several nicks had already appeared on Edwin's silver sword.
"It's really that hard?!" Old Ai was quite surprised and realized that these two monsters were even harder to deal with.
Shen En felt that it was fine to reveal some information directly at this point, so he immediately shouted:
"Father! The back of these monsters' necks... it seems... there's a strange light!"
"Understood!"
Edwin immediately understood. His sword, which had been attacking the monsters' necks, changed direction in mid-air, and he soared into the sky.
Thud—!
The dull thud of the silver sword tearing through flesh was exceptionally clear in the night.
The two dragonized monsters stiffened in mid-air, dark purple blood mist gushing from the back of their necks, then they fell powerlessly to the ground.
Seeing this, the black-robed Bishop's expression under his hood grew even more displeased.
He seemed to be thinking about something, appearing somewhat hesitant, wondering whether or not to do it.
"It really was a weakness!" Edwin lightly flicked his silver sword as he landed, shaking off the blood from the blade.
He was somewhat happy.
Seeing his father's look of triumph, Shen En could only silently murmur to himself that it was too early to be happy...
The Corrupted Apostle's signature move hadn't arrived yet...
Indeed, Edwin soon glimpsed the black-robed Apostle's lips, hidden beneath his hood, twisting grotesquely, and countless black mists began to emanate from his body. These black mists swirled around him, whispering, roaring, hissing, and laughing, as if countless souls were sinking in a cage.
Edwin immediately realized something and hastily retreated, shielding his wife and son twenty paces away.
Thump!
The black-robed Apostle's staff, like a withered branch, struck the ground heavily.
Cracks radiated from the Apostle, and viscous black liquid seeped from the fissures. The slain corpses suddenly twitched and rose, their broken limbs twisting and reforming in the black mist and red fungi, gradually transforming into a massive, stitched-together Corpse Demon.
Its enormous body was like a small mountain, its surface densely covered with a dozen distorted human faces. The swallowed cultists, fragmented and in pain, opened their mouths, as if silently wailing.
The cries of pain and anguish were so immense, as if they could shake the heavens.
Shen En felt despair.
The Corpse Demon had finally arrived.
The Corpse Demon was the Witch Cult's best weapon of war, without equal.
It possessed a whole host of the strongest buffs, including but not limited to magic immunity, physical immunity, elemental immunity, and holy immunity...
Ordinary moves and spells, when they hit it, were like small splashes of water, unable to cause any waves.
The Corpse Demon's battle record was also quite exaggerated.
For example, in the future Battle of Silverglow City (Dragon Extinction Calendar 1425)
In Silverglow City, the largest city in the Eastern Territory, the Corpse Demon made its first appearance.
At that time, after the fall of Golden Iris City, the largest city in the Eastern Territory, Silverglow City became the Witch Cult's next invasion target. Hundreds of Paladins and dozens of Tier 2 mages, along with a hundred Tier 3 mages, were stationed in the city, ready to defend their homeland to the death.
The Witch Cult people didn't waste any time talking to them.
The Corpse Demon was summoned on the spot by the Corrupted Apostle, and in just one night, it reduced the entire city to ruins!
According to a description left by a knight before his death:
The Corpse Demon burst from the ground, directly tearing down city walls tens of meters high.
The Paladins in the city tried to resist with Holy Light magic, but the Corpse Demon directly nullified all magical attacks!
Oh my God! We've never seen such an undead creature that can even resist Holy Light!
Every swing of its claw could flatten several Paladins into a bloody pulp!
And the bodies of the knights it devoured were quickly transformed into new corrupted corpses, continuing to attack the survivors, and after they completely died, they began to transform into new Corpse Demons.
The city was full of these un-defeatable monsters!
After realizing that their attacks were completely ineffective, the mages either ran or scattered, without any of the bravery they showed when they swore to defend the city walls to the death!
I have to give up too, I have to escape, I must escape!
Of course, in the end, the knight who recorded this also died.
The entire Silverglow City was ravaged by the Corpse Demon, turning into a desolate wasteland, with no one surviving in the city.
After the news spread, the entire empire was shocked.
During the four years of the Witch Cult's rampant attacks, this creature killed a total of 581 Tier 2 mages, 1213 Tier 3 mages... 381 Paladins, 98 swordsmen...
The number of civilians was countless.
My father is very powerful.
But to let my father deal with an opponent of this level?
Shen En had no confidence at all.
"Xiao En?"
"......"
Shen En couldn't help this time, he could only shake his head.
Edwin also seemed to sense the gap between him and the behemoth in front of him, but he still stood in front of the mother and son, showing no intention of giving up the fight.
The black-robed Apostle uttered a hoarse, strange sound. He waved his staff, commanding the Corpse Demon.
"Go."
The giant beast's mountain-like heavy footsteps crushed the ground as it slowly approached them.
Edwin gripped his silver sword, preparing to fight to the death, but just then, the Corpse Demon abruptly stopped.
Boom!
Immediately after, it and the black-robed Apostle both heavily prostrated themselves on the ground.
Edwin had no idea what was happening, only seeing the massive Corpse Demon, which had been so imposing just a moment ago, now pressed firmly to the ground by some invisible, unparalleled force, its head forced into the earth.
The surrounding air also seemed to be compressed by some invisible force, heavy and oppressive.
Even the black-robed Apostle's magic staff was forced into the mud.
The Apostle himself was completely pinned down, unable to move, let alone lift his head.
His hood was forcibly pulled back, quickly revealing the black-robed Apostle's true face—it was a woman's face.
"Ah!!!"
At this moment, she was letting out a piercing scream, her body beginning to collapse under the immense pressure, her bones shattering segment by segment. The ground was pressed into a nearly two-meter deep pit by their heavy bodies.
This is...
"Starfall Curse"?
As this thought flashed through Shen En's mind, he saw Horn, the white-robed elder, approaching from not far away with Ya Yi and the little maid.
Horn moved lightly, but Shen En could see the immense magic power surging throughout his body at this moment.
The amount of magic was terrifying.
What a cunning old man, he even knows the Starfall Curse!
He's definitely a Saint-level mage.
Moreover, this old man was very clever. He saw at a glance that to deal with the Corpse Demon, one couldn't simply pour out magic, but rather had to use powerful spells to suppress the Corpse Demon's movements.
If those Tier 2 mages guarding Silverglow City in the future had half his intelligence, they wouldn't have ended up with a city-wide massacre.
......
Ya Yi seemed fine, but the chaotic scene before her had scared her, and she was crying loudly in the little maid's arms.
Horn looked around, his gaze falling on the bloodstains everywhere and the massive Corpse Demon pieced together from corpses, understanding the general situation.
"Thank you, Master, for saving my daughter!" Edwin gratefully saluted Horn.
Horn held his staff and gently shook his head, indicating it was unnecessary. "Lord, you should use your magic to stop the bleeding first. You seem to be quite injured."
"Alas! I am truly ashamed!"
"No, Lord, to be able to do this without understanding the enemy's situation is already excellent. This creature before us is also my first time seeing it." Even Horn frowned gravely as he looked at the Corpse Demon.
"Lord, this invasion by the Witch Cult is very strange. I just specifically checked your territory and found that it had not been damaged."
Edwin was very puzzled by this: "What do you mean? Is the Witch Cult not here to butcher the village?"
"Yes, this small squad, at present, seems to have come directly for the Lord's manor, and did not disturb your territory."
"Straight for the Lord's manor?!"
"Is there anything here that the Witch Cult would be interested in?"
Old Ai was even more confused when he heard this, "There has never been anything like that."
Horn merely pondered for a moment, not delving deeper. His gaze turned to the black-robed Apostle and the Corpse Demon, still suppressed by the "Starfall Curse," and then he spoke: "I wonder, Lord, if you would be willing to entrust the disposal of these two demonic creatures to us?"
Having received a favor, one naturally had to return it, and Horn had also saved their family's lives, so Old Ai had no reason to refuse.
"Xiao En! Xiao En!"
Just then, Edwin heard urgent shouts from behind him. He quickly turned and saw Shen En collapse into Seranya's arms. His daughter, Ya Yi, was also crying loudly nearby, and the little maid was constantly comforting her.
Old Ai quickly went over to check. He held Shen En's hand and felt his son's fingers were bone-chillingly cold, his heart sinking.
Just as he was about to ask, he saw Horn had already walked over.
"Let me see."
Edwin made way for Horn, who, with just a glance, saw the anomaly.
"Magic power exhausted."
"Magic power exhausted?" Edwin and Seranya could not hide their worry.
"This child is naturally able to see the flow of magic, and it probably doesn't come without a price. This is the concept of a 'Curse'; what is gained naturally must be paid for elsewhere. Only consuming magic is a very small price, and the exhaustion is not severe, so there's no need to worry. A few days of rest will be enough."
Edwin and Seranya felt a little relieved upon hearing this.
Horn pondered for a moment, then turned to Edwin and said, "I would like to stay at the Lord's manor for the next few days. Firstly, to prevent the Witch Cult from attacking again and interfering with our cooperation; secondly, to wait for the Arcane Tower's people to deal with those two demonic creatures."
"Of course, Master is always welcome to stay!" Edwin readily agreed.
Horn nodded, his gaze finally resting on the Corpse Demon and the black-robed mage.
He was truly curious, what exactly... would attract these guys here?
Could it be that the Council's objective had already been discovered by the Witch Cult?
Sending people to stop them in advance?
And that bizarre giant Corpse Demon, even he had never seen it before.
Its magic resistance even made him feel terrified.
This thing, let alone being placed in this small Klaester Territory, even if it were placed in Golden Iris City—the largest city in the Eastern Territory—it would probably cause a great disturbance.
What exactly happened to the Witch Cult during all these years of silence? And what exactly do they want to do?
He was filled with curiosity about this, and an uneasy feeling subtly grew within him.