Chapter 298 - 177: Demigod Witch Demon, Life Box Flaw

Chapter 298: Chapter 177: Demigod Witch Demon, Life Box Flaw

In the blink of an eye, the Slaughter believers were almost completely wiped out, leaving only one on the ground, still breathing.

Pei Ze had deliberately left this one alive, intending to interrogate him for information about the settlement.

Threats and temptations were the least effective ways to deal with Divine Believers. So, he simply cast the Four-Circle Spell, Charming Creatures. The Slaughter believer’s eyes immediately grew vacant.

"What’s the nearest settlement, and where is it?"

"Awo Castle. If you head west from here for a little over two hundred and eighty kilometers, you’ll see a forest. From the forest, head west for another four hundred kilometers, and you’ll find Awo Castle."

Pei Ze pulled out his Magic Map to check the directions. He quickly found his current location and marked it.

A point of light representing his position quickly appeared on the Magic Map.

With this point of light, he no longer had to worry about getting lost.

Pei Ze then asked for more information about Awo Castle. However, as expected, these Slaughter believers had never been inside and knew next to nothing about it.

Seeing that he couldn’t extract any more valuable information, Pei Ze decisively snapped the man’s neck.

Su Ya and Peng Yan had just finished clearing the battlefield and walked over.

"Master, these guys were dirt poor. They didn’t have anything of value on them," Su Ya said with a pout.

Pei Ze wasn’t surprised. ’The believers of the God of Slaughter are all madmen. They gain power only through rituals of slaughter, not by relying on external items.’

’In a sense, these madmen are comparable to Ascetic Monks. Expecting to find anything valuable on them is as ridiculous as expecting the Undead to carry food.’

Having obtained the information he wanted, Pei Ze had no intention of resting any longer. He packed up his things and set off once more.

With the map for reference, the rest of the journey was much simpler.

Several hours later, the silhouette of a castle came into view.

Surprisingly, the castle covered a vast area. From his vantage point high above, he could see buildings of varying heights packed closely together within the towering walls. It resembled a full-fledged town, and it looked like it could easily house over a million people.

On the ramparts, Bone Warriors stood dutifully at their posts. They were clad in armor, held longswords, and had eerie blue flames flickering in their eye sockets.

A Death Knight on a Skeleton Warhorse rode past along the ramparts, apparently on patrol.

"They even have Death Knights in this settlement," Su Ya said, astonished.

Death Knights were High-tier Undead, second only to Witch Demons and vampires.

Even the weakest Death Knight possessed the strength of a ninth-rank legend, equivalent to a Level 3 Wizard.

And yet, such a High-tier Undead was being used for patrol duty. It just went to show how powerful the faction controlling this settlement was.

"That’s because the master of this settlement is a Demigod Witch Demon," Pei Ze said calmly.

Peng Yan asked curiously, "Master, I know what a Witch Demon is, but what’s a Demigod Witch Demon?"

Su Ya also looked curious.

Pei Ze explained, "A Demigod Witch Demon is a Witch Demon that has successfully fused with divinity."

"Like ordinary Witch Demons, they’ve abandoned their physical bodies, becoming skeletons in exchange for power and longevity. The difference is that they have fused with the divinity of a Divine Spirit, granting them power far surpassing that of ordinary Witch Demons—enough to rival a Rule Wizard."

’Rival a Rule Wizard?’

Su Ya and Peng Yan’s eyes widened in shock. When they looked at the castle again, a hint of awe had crept into their gazes.

Pei Ze gazed down at the castle, a thoughtful glint in his eyes.

Long before coming here, he had already thoroughly researched the three settlements in the Shadow Realm.

Establishing a settlement in a place as perilous as the Shadow Realm would be impossible without immense power.

Therefore, without exception, the founders of all three settlements were powerful beings comparable to Rule Wizards.

Furthermore, each possessed a vast and powerful army.

For example, Demigod Lich Awo commanded a powerful army of Undead, including elite units like Bone Warriors, Corpse Demons, and Skeleton Sub-dragons.

He even had an army composed of five hundred Death Knights.

It was precisely through his own immense power and his elite army of Undead that Awo was able to establish a majestic castle in the treacherous Shadow Realm, one that has stood for over ten thousand years.

In fact, if Awo so desired, he could easily conquer a small plane and become a being akin to a Lord of the Plane.

But for over ten thousand years, he had remained within his ancient castle, rarely venturing outside.

Rumor has it that he is researching how to eliminate the fatal weakness of a Witch Demon: the Life Box.

Aside from the high degree of difficulty, the main reason so few Wizards were willing to transform into the long-lived Witch Demon life form was the existence of the Life Box.

As long as the Life Box remains intact, a Witch Demon can resurrect itself no matter how many times it is killed.

But if the Life Box is destroyed, even the most powerful Witch Demon will be instantly annihilated.

The existence of such a fatal weakness was something many Wizards found intolerable.

But if this flaw could be resolved, the Witch Demon would undoubtedly become a life form coveted by countless Wizards.

Of course, achieving this was no easy feat.

To this day, countless Witch Demons had thrown themselves into solving this problem, including genius Wizards whose fame once echoed through entire eras, yet the puzzle of the Life Box remained unsolved.

Reining in his thoughts, Pei Ze stopped about a kilometer from the castle. He, Su Ya, and Peng Yan then proceeded toward it on foot.

They hadn’t gone far when a Skeleton Sub-dragon descended from the sky, landing about ten meters away from them. A robed Corpse Demon with a shriveled face jumped from the dragon’s back, its cold gaze sweeping over the trio.

"Outsiders, state your identities and purpose."

Su Ya glanced at Pei Ze. Seeing him give a slight nod, she stepped forward and said, "We are from Chenxi City in the Star Realm Alliance. This is my master, Pei Ze, a Second-level Wizard. We’ve come to Awo Castle to resupply."

Upon hearing that one of them was a Second-level Wizard, the Corpse Demon’s gaze flickered. Its cold expression relaxed slightly, and its tone softened considerably.

"Honored Wizard, would you please present your badge?"

"Of course." Pei Ze gave a small smile and tossed the Wizard Badge to the Corpse Demon.

The badge bore the unique insignia of Chenxi City, as well as proof of his status as a Wizard.

Wizards from Chenxi City were not an uncommon sight in Awo Castle, so the Undead here presumably had their own methods of verification.

Sure enough, a moment later, the Corpse Demon handed the badge back to Pei Ze and forced a smile onto its rigid face.

"Welcome to Awo Castle, honored Wizard."

"Here you may find lodging and engage in trade, but armed conflict is forbidden. Depending on the circumstances, violators will be subject to immediate expulsion, permanent banishment, imprisonment, or even execution on the spot. So please, exercise restraint."

Pei Ze gave a noncommittal nod.

The Corpse Demon said nothing more, leading the trio into Awo Castle.