The shout from the man in the black robe startled not only Lin Lei and the necromancer grand mage Cyrus, but also the four ninth-level powerhouses inside the two-story building, including Lanson.
"What's going on? Why isn't Kosates here?" Lanson shoved the door open and bellowed from the second-floor hallway.
At this moment, the other three ninth-level powerhouses also emerged from their respective rooms.
Inside Cyrus's room.
Saisler's face changed the instant he heard the shout. He immediately turned to Lin Lei beside him and ordered, "You killed one ninth-level powerhouse, and five remain. I'll handle three of them—you take the other two. Don't tell me you can't deal with two."
Fighting three ninth-level powerhouses was something Saisler had full confidence in.
"You just need to kill one. That'll be enough," Lin Lei said calmly. He was quietly waiting for the enemy to gather outside the door. Once they did, Bei Bei and Hei Lu could attack from behind while he and the necromancer grand mage struck from the front—a pincer attack that would leave them no chance to escape.
Hearing Lin Lei's words, Saisler couldn't help but sneer, "You really do dare to brag about anything."
"Brother!" The man in the black robe had finally spotted Kosates's corpse and let out a悲 cry. At the same time, he noticed the two figures inside.
A series of wind sounds cut through the air as the four ninth-level powerhouses from the upper floor all leaped down.
When Lanson's group saw Saisler and then Lin Lei, their expressions changed drastically.
"Hello, everyone. Our last bout wasn't enough to satisfy me, so let's continue today." The necromancer grand mage Saisler beamed at the five ninth-level powerhouses before him.
"The magic-suppressing shackles are broken!" one of them—a white-haired ninth-level elder—exclaimed in alarm.
But Lanson's gaze was locked on Lin Lei.
"Cardinal Lanson, it's been a long time." Lin Lei gripped the Blacksteel Heavy Sword, and the icy gaze from his dark golden pupils swept across the group.
Most of the higher-ups in the Church of Light knew of the terrifying form Lin Lei could take.
"Lin Lei!"
Lanson's voice dropped low, his expression growing ever more grim.
"You're the Lin Lei who killed six of our sworn brothers?" Kosates's brother, the man in black, stared at Lin Lei in disbelief. "How is that possible?"
The necromancer grand mage Saisler looked at Lin Lei with some surprise. Judging by the reaction of these Church of Light experts, this "dragonman" who had rescued him seemed to be quite formidable. "Your name is Lin Lei? Seems like your reputation is even bigger than mine?"
Lin Lei remained cold. "Enough talk. Prepare yourselves."
"My forces have arrived. We can strike at any moment," Saisler said with a smug grin. Two golden skeleton archers materialized behind him.
Lin Lei was secretly startled.
He had heard of "necromantic summoning" in the art of necromancy, but this was his first time witnessing it. These two golden skeleton archers radiated an aura no weaker than that of a ninth-level powerhouse.
"Lin Lei, you seem pretty impressive. Why don't we compete—see who kills more?" Saisler grinned, and at that moment, three muscular golden-furred zombies, each standing roughly three meters tall, appeared out of thin air by the doorway. Their eyes glowed an eerie, vivid green.
Two golden skeleton archers. Three golden-furred zombies. Each one possessed ninth-level strength.
That made five ninth-level powerhouses in total.
Lanson glanced at Saisler, then at Lin Lei. Finally, he gritted his teeth and hissed, "Retreat! We leave—now!" He truly hated giving that order.
They had付出 so much to capture Saisler.
And if they could obtain the methods of necromantic cultivation from him, the Church of Light could secretly train a batch of necromancers.
"Bei Bei, Hei Lu—attack!" Lin Lei transmitted through his soul.
"Kill!" the necromancer grand mage Saisler commanded coldly, continuing to murmur incantations. The golden skeleton archers and golden-furred zombies, while possessing ninth-level strength, were only at the early stage of the ninth level.
Saisler still had two more summoned creatures—his proudest ones.
Back in the world of the dead, he had expended tremendous effort to subdue those two. His lips moved ceaselessly as he chanted the summoning spell. Those two undead creatures were far more difficult to summon than the previous five.
"Run! The corpse dragons are coming!" The two special-grade stewards, two ascetic monks, and the cardinal all fled toward the courtyard exit at top speed.
But just then—
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"
Two golden arrows tore through the sky, striking straight at the two ascetic monks. At the same instant, two dark shadows burst into existence from the courtyard outside.
"Lanson—not a single one of you is getting away." Lin Lei's voice rang out, cold and ruthless, as his entire body shot forward at a diagonal like lightning.
Lin Lei's speed was truly terrifying. At the peak of the ninth level, he had inherited the Spiny Iron Armored Dragon's advantage in speed. Add to that the supplementary magic Rapid, and with the force of heaven and earth aiding him—Lin Lei's speed far surpassed that of the two special-grade stewards, let alone the cardinal and the two ascetic monks.
"Roar~~"
The Cloud Leopard Hei Lu lunged recklessly at one of the special-grade stewards, who panicked and immediately swung his sword in a vicious downward slash at the leopard.
"Agh!" The special-grade steward's head was crushed to a pulp by the Cloud Leopard's claws, while the full-power sword strike failed to wound Hei Lu in the slightest.
"Hmph." Hei Lu was utterly dismissive.
Back when Lin Lei had been at the peak of the ninth level, even with the Blacksteel Heavy Sword he had been unable to do anything to the Cloud Leopard. It had ultimately taken the Gravity Technique and the Wind Wing magic to force the Cloud Leopard into submission.
In terms of defense, the Cloud Leopard was even stronger than Lin Lei—only slightly inferior to Bei Bei.
"Squelch, squelch!"
Before the other special-grade steward could react, Bei Bei's two claws tore straight through his defenses, and then a single paw plunged into his chest, shredding his heart.
In the blink of an eye, two magic beasts had killed two ninth-level powerhouses.
"Roar~~" The Cloud Leopard whirled and attacked the ascetic monk nearby. The monk was completely stunned—two magic beasts had appeared out of nowhere and instantly killed both special-grade stewards.