235 – ‘Master Ranks licking their wounds’ plan

Eric stared at the almost empty lake and felt his mouth twitch.

The entire massive lake had been emptied as if it were swallowed by some monstrous whale.

But!

Eric turned toward Livy and interrogated, "Liv, have you truly gathered all one hundred drops? Or did you intentionally reduce the power and leave the rest for the fish?"

There was still some water remaining at the very bottom layer of the lake bed, where lots of pitiful fish were flopping everywhere, hitting each other since they didn't have enough water to swim. Yet, they also wouldn’t suffocate—at least for now.

Livy blushed and lowered her head, avoiding Eric's gaze. She felt it would be truly sad to kill so many fish all at once. Perhaps they would be fried and eaten by the citizens later, but for now, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Livy answered in a mosquito-level volume, "B-Brother Eric, d-don't worry. I have gathered enough. A-and I can probably destroy the entire Ringwood Town if I compressed them into a single drop!" Her tone shifted to confidence at the end, before she asked in an unsure voice, “T-this should be enough, r-right?"

Eric thought about it while stroking his chin. Ringwood Town was fairly big, so if Livy could say that she could wipe it out without hesitation, then she passed the test. Ahem. He knew Livy wasn’t stupid, and his goal wasn’t actually to kill any Master Ranks, but to scare the absolute shit out of the three necromancers. They just needed to know there were powerful entities in Batley City who didn't appreciate what they were doing. If they randomly guessed it was some wild, peak Rank 4 or even a Rank 5 expert, it would be even better.

Eric, Lyria, and even Livy had no real idea of the full extent of Hundred into One, Hydro Explosion—in short, the Hydro Bomb—which Eric had named after waking up from his coma. Back then, the Crimson Tide Spider Queen's Rank 4 armor had blocked the explosion; it only bulged but didn't rupture. So, in that sense, this would be the first live demonstration of the Hydro Bomb’s raw power.

Eric's approximate guess was that if it exploded right beside a Rank 4 Mana Wielder, and if that person managed to defend themselves in a split second, they would be heavily injured but probably wouldn’t die. However, if they failed to defend, they would likely be in some serious trouble.

No matter the case, as long as the necromancer Master Ranks ran away to lick their wounds in some dark corner, this mission would be considered a success. After tasting this power, they wouldn’t casually attack Batley City again unless they were certain this mysterious 'expert' had left. However, even City Lord Gideon wouldn’t know, let alone some random necromancers, and that should effectively end this threat to Batley City.

Eric didn’t want Batley City to be erased, especially when he could actually do something about it. This was the final thing he was willing to do for the sake of Ringwood Town before leaving the region. After this, even if the capital Sildargrade were to disappear from the map or the Silvia royal family were to turn into a bandit clan, he wouldn't interfere, as it wouldn’t affect Ringwood Town directly.

Eric then explained his grand ‘Master Ranks licking their wounds’ plan to Livy in ‘great’ detail.

After that, he grabbed Livy's shoulder, and both of them disappeared.

---

Gideon Durant stood high in the air, gasping heavily for breath.

He bore a deep gash from a long scythe mark across his back, with blood continuously dripping from it. And that wasn’t even the worst part; the wound was festering, intertwining with a short, dark, unholy glow. This glow released a powerful aura capable of killing a Rank 2 Mana Wielder upon mere contact, and this was just the surface injury. What Gideon was experiencing internally was far worse.

As a Warrior and a Rank 4, this wound wasn’t instantly deadly to Gideon. However, if left untreated, his mana and stamina would keep getting swallowed by the curse. After that, even if he wished to fight, he wouldn’t be able to, as his enemies were also Master Ranks and not some weaklings.

If Gideon could secure some uninterrupted time, he could dispel this wicked, festering energy. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even obtain a few seconds, let alone a few minutes.

He knew well that this was his end. Despite that, he was unwilling to just give up and die—at least, not before giving his absolute all. He was a warrior, and that spirit burned strongly within him, not to mention he was also incredibly furious.

Four entities were currently surrounding Gideon in midair: one man, two women, and a giant human-like skeleton.

The male necromancer's name was Orin. He wore dark, heavy armor, had a shaved head, and possessed a single, prominent eye-deformity right on his forehead, which gleamed with a dark reddish glow. He carried a long war scythe in his hand, completely black like his armor, which also released a thick, unholy aura. Obviously, he was the one who had injured Gideon.

Orin laughed at this moment, saying in a deep voice, "Batley City's Lord Gideon, you know you can't win against us. It's an unfair battle; even I wouldn't want to face a similar situation. Why don't you just leave, and we won't chase you."

In response, Gideon gnashed his teeth and barked, "And what of my city? Why don't you all leave my city alone and go elsewhere?!"

The woman standing on the far right of Gideon giggled. "Old man, you know we have only come for the city. As fellow Master Ranks, we can understand how much you had to go through to arrive at this stage, and that is why we are letting you walk away. We only have business with the city below, so don't be a pussy and just leave. We won't extend the same offer multiple times."

The woman who spoke was Kaira, an early-stage Rank 4 Mage. She was adorned in a hooded shroud of grey, with long, flowing blue hair, and had faint blue tattoos snaking across her pale skin

Surrounding her was a swarm of seemingly harmless, ghostly butterflies. Though they appeared innocent, they were actually lethal even to Rank 4 Warriors; they would constantly suck the life force and energy out of her enemies and were not easy to get rid of. It was an advanced Tier 3 spell, Festival of the Fallen, which could remain active as long as the caster had mana to feed it.

Gideon turned to glare at Kaira, though he didn't rebuke her.

Gideon was holding onto his new high-grade Tier 2 broadsword, and thanks to it, he had managed to put up an effective fight for so long. In precise terms, it was thanks to the sword's rune, as fire was highly effective against necromancers. Unfortunately, fire was not his personal element; otherwise, he would have long gotten rid of the festering wound on his back.

After taking a few breaths, Gideon said gravely, "Just what do you all want from my city? Why are you all so adamant about obtaining it? I don't think there is any treasure here that would interest necromancers.” As he spoke, his anger continued to rise, and he finally roared out, “Just who are you working for?!"

Currently, too many of his citizens were dying, and he himself wasn't in any condition to provide them with help.

Over the last few months, Batley City had suffered constant attacks. Even the neighboring villages and towns faced such critical situations that they had to abandon their homes to live in unfamiliar places while facing constant hardships.

Gideon was well aware of the hardships the refugees were facing, and it was happening on such a large scale that he was entirely helpless. Nowhere in the world would anyone like having so many unknown people suddenly appearing beside their homes out of nowhere.

And all of this had occurred due to an unknown mastermind, while the necromancers were merely the tools. So, he held deep hatred toward whoever was behind all this.

The third necromancer, a woman named Selene, stood on the far left and responded in a calm and tranquil tone, though her words were not kind at all, "City Lord Gideon, there is no way we will speak further on this matter. Your city is doomed, and we are here for that purpose only. You only have two options—die or leave. There is no need for you to consider the life or death of inferior creatures."

Selene Boneweaver was dressed in a faded, bone-white robe with intricate black lace. She had a beautiful face with a serene look, and her hair was as dark as a moonless night. She was the same as the others, an early-stage Rank 4.

In front of her stood a four- to five-meter-tall, terrifying-looking Skeleton Warrior holding a giant bone halberd. This skeleton was not a summon, but rather a unique zombie of a certain race. Its power sat at the mid-stage of a Rank 4 Warrior. It was the strongest 'individual' among the Master Ranks present on the scene.

This skeleton was something that neither Gideon nor Orin would want to fight against even if they joined forces, and it wasn't alone; Selene herself was a very capable mage. So, at this moment, Selene was the strongest Master Rank among them all.

This skeleton zombie couldn’t fly on its own, nor did it possess its own mana; it floated only thanks to Selene’s exceptional mana control.

This was one of the scariest aspects of necromancer mages, as they could summon or control powerful creatures. Kaira, the other Rank 4 necromancer mage, might look helpless with just butterflies around her; however, if she wished, she could also summon powerful skeletons, making her a terrifying foe to face. Meanwhile, Orin, the sole Warrior, was in a sense the weakest among the three. Though, as a necromancer Warrior, he had his own perks, which could be deadly for his enemies—just like the wound currently burning on Gideon’s back.

Gideon took a deep breath and tightened his grip on his sword. Dense mana flared up all around him, and his presence reached its peak, which was a direct announcement of his wrath and determination to fight until his final breath.

All three necromancers' expressions grew tense; they didn't say anything and just frowned unhappily.