Looking at the Elf in front of me, I understood what was happening in an instant. Why the Spider Queen Lorci's High Priestess suddenly died of an accident and why Harloys, despite already being in Vance, didn't appear.
Looks like she had set her eyes on Kajah's physical body from the very start. There was also a 99% chance that Kajah's supposed accidental death was caused by her.
"Hey, not even greeting your teacher when meeting her?"
Yes, the person in front of me, in a certain sense, had been my teacher in regards to Necromancy and Ice Magic. Of course, she had a motive in imparting her teachings to me.
The Senators were actually the warlords of the Xiluo Empire. Gria of the Royalty Faction might have taken the 4th place, but no one believed that there was only a slight difference between the 3rd Senator and the 4th Senator.
The 2nd Senator Feyman was a rather ancient Lich King. There were innumerable Liches under him and the Council of Dark Nights that had been formed by the Liches under his control was the leading faction of the Xiluo Empire. In 'history', he led the Undead Lich Alliance to open the gates to the Dimensions of Death, causing an Undead Calamity that swept the entire continent.
The 1st Senator, Ancient Bone Dragon Gricasio was once a mount for the God of Holy Light and his most trusted subordinate. Now, his individual strength couldn't be calculated because he was too lazy to move and that there was no one that was able to pressure him into moving. However, from the fact that Feyman chose to obediently remain as # 2, he was definitely an existence above the other Senators.
The 3rd Senator's circumstances were unique. There was indeed a group of Banshees under her, giving her the title of the Queen of Banshees. But, she didn't really interfere in their affairs and she wasn't interested in authority either. Her only goal was vengeance.
Yes, vengeance, just like me.
As it was too far back, other than the academics who specialized in the history of Ancient Elves, there's probably no one who was sure how the Ancient Elf Kingdom which dominated the continent was destroyed. However, seeing from how the Elf Gods were destroyed and the Order Gods rose in power afterwards, it probably had a lot to do with the Order Gods.
Back then, the me who had been wholeheartedly aiming to exact vengeance on the Church of Holy Light got along well with her instantly. Not only did she impart me her vast knowledge on magic, she was also one of the founders for the Yongye Alliance Army. At least, without a veteran like her linking the bridges, the me who 'just came out' probably wouldn't have been able to gather so many thousand-year-old monsters, and I probably wouldn't have been able to keep them in check either.
Back then, the first 3 Senators were only in a partnership with me (There had been 4 other unlucky fellows who died in the infighting) and if it wasn't for the System which allowed me to break through to become the only SemiGod Undead Emperor in recent times, I would have probably ended up as nothing but a be a puppet Emperor.
High-tier Undead were a stubborn life-form which were driven by their lingering will. My desire was to change fate while Harloys only wish was get revenge against the Order Gods.
Hundred years ago, she almost succeeded in her aim. If all of the living were to die and an Empire of Undead were to be established, the cycle of reincarnation of Eich continent would be broken and that would be the best revenge against the Order Gods. Perhaps, there may be even a few Guardian Gods who would fall because of this. Back then, she was nagging beside me about how to destroy the churches of the Gods, how to sully the reputation of the Holy Light Church, how to convert the living into Undead and how to make true Gods lose their faith…
Fine, I had learnt from Death God Ayer afterwards that if I really proceeded with it, the Gods would have risked everything to descend to the mortal world to destroy me. There had been a 100% possibility for my physical body to be reduced to ashes and my soul to get destroyed completely.
Perhaps, the one who took the destruction of the Yongye Army the worst was her. After all, this was the first time she came so close to success in thousands of years.
I didn't think that she was able to change. If she changed, she would have long ago ascended to the heavens and get reincarnated.
I didn't think that the little tricks I played would be able to fool her. This time, since she came to find me, there were only two possibilities. One was to settle her scores with me while the other was to force me to continue our rebellion… Based on my understanding of her, there was a 90% possibility that she would make use of the difference in our strength to beat me to the brink of death. Then, she would take control of me and make use of my name to reorganize the entire Xiluo Empire.
And I would be unable to accept both of these scenarios.
Thus, my first reaction upon seeing her wasn't drinking tea and chatting like when old friends met once again but instead…
"Adam, come out to beat this one, this one is a little tough!!"
Fine, I really shouted it out loud.
I had never been so glad. Yesterday, finding the opponents too strong and admiting that our fighting prowess wasn't sufficient, I called for support from Sulfur Mountain City, asking Adam to sneak in to serve as my hidden ace. I was even more glad that he only arrived this morning, making it impossible for the news to leak.
Listening to my call, the smiling Harloys suddenly froze. Then, she disappeared all of a sudden. A black metal longsword drove into the space where she had just stood. If she was just slower by a split second, she would have ended up stabbed.
The secret weapon Adam took off his mantle. Facing the escaping Queen of Banshees, his usual playfulness on his face was replaced with his rare serious look. After closing his eyes for a few second, he suddenly pointed his sword downwards and tapped lightly on the floor.
"Kacha."
The entire space seemed to become a spider web-like shattered glass. When the space was cut by the will of an expert, vaguely, gaps in space started to open. The next moment, a shout of agony could be heard from the corridor.
"Ah!! Damn it!"
Without any hesitation, 'bam', Adam rushed through the wall and swung his sword towards where he heard the voice.
"Incantation of Law: Judgement! Incantation of Law: Restriction of Freedom!"
As I expected, Harloys who had just committed murder was instantly shrouded by red light. Then, the effect on the restriction of movement took effect.
Due to the great disparity in power, the restriction could only be sustained for a short instant. But, an instant was enough… I knew that someone wouldn't waste the opportunity I created.
"AHHHHH!"
A flash of blade and the right arm of the Dark Elf flew away along with blood and flesh. However, the long sword was stopped by the body which turned metallic.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The piercing scream continued but this time, it was an attack by the Banshee.
The sound wave that brought along a dark mana with it, The Scream of Siren, which was known as the scariest death magic, didn't have any effect on us.
I was already dead to begin with and the indestructible Adam wouldn't fear the calling of death by the Queen of Banshees.
He charged straight at the scream filled with negative energy, and as though ignoring his opponent, he closed his eyes and started to recite some words.
"A century passes in an instant, nothing is constant. Companions depart, only I continue existing. The cycle of the withering and blooming of flowers repeat every year, I only pray that I die in the midst of a bed of flowers, remembering the past in a semi-drunk state. The Severance of the River of Time."
After obtaining the old eastern philosophy culture of a foreign world from me and a local book on philosophy and the secrets of space-time from Margaret, in a span of hundred years of refining, Adam's techniques had started to become one with his life, becoming a kind of philosophy of himself. Perhaps, this was the basis of how he managed to enter the SemiGod realm with the body of a mortal.
Right now, as the SemiGod Warrior recited the words to hypnotize himself, The Severance of the River of Time lamented the seemingly slow flow of time broke the boundaries of space and time, making the slash seem slow yet fast. No, speed was already meaningless for this slash.
Just like how no one was able to avoid the aging from the flow of time, everyone was equal under this sword, there was no way to avoid it. In fact, under this dreamlike sword, they would instinctively stare at this sword, become unable to avert their eyes and get slashed obediently.
A normal longsword that could be bought with half a gold coin brought about a mysterious pink glow and elegance. It seemed like the dazzling smile of a drunk beauty among peach blossoms, attracting everyone's attention.
"So beautiful… No!!"
Even if it was the Queen of Banshees who had survived countless rise and falls of different eras, she still fell for the technique in that instant. However, in the next moment, she woke up.
"What's so beautiful about that broken sword?!"
However, when Harloys's attention was attracted in that instant, the conclusion was already decided.
The longsword cut through the waist. The Queen of Banshee Harloys couldn't resist the slash whatsoever. The newly revived physical body was cut into two and a pale-white soul started to leave the body, intending to escape.
"Incantation of Law: Restriction of Freedom."
Alright, the perpetrator, without doubt, was the soul of the Queen of Banshees. Thus, she was forced back into that incomplete body. Then, her heart, which already had a hole on it, was pierced once again by a longsword. Kajah's upper body was fixed onto the ground.
At this moment, I heaved a sigh of relief. If it wasn't for Adam secretly sneaking into the camp, I might have been dead by now. Fortunately, she just obtained the physical body and hadn't synchronized to it perfectly. In this state, she was even weaker than her soul state. Otherwise, even Adam who was an entire rank stronger than her would be unable to take her down easily.
"You… You actually dare to treat me like that?! You actually dare to kill your mentor?!"
"Firstly, you aren't dead. Can a thousand-year-old disaster even die? I'm sorry, it should be ten thousand. Or was it hundred thousand? Million? Auntie, I accidentally forgot your real age. As for killing mentors, isn't it the tradition of our bloodline?"
Harloys was speechless in an instant. Back then, she had been telling me gleefully about some past events about how she managed to dupe the Great Saint Cecily's trust and after obtaining the magic knowledge from the other party, she had killed her mentor to obtain her flesh.
Alarms were ringing and people would be coming soon. Kajah's corpse being here wouldn't be easy to explain.
I whipped out a small bottle. It was a commonly seen tool in Necromancy, specially used to trap soul body.
"Soul Sealing Bottle!? You, you can't treat me like that! I'm the Queen of Banshees, not an inferior dumb wraith!"
"Of course I can. Come, go in obediently."
Looking at the struggling soul body in the bottle, I was so happy that I felt like singing. This time, I really got a big bargain.
From the way she operated, she probably found me a long time ago but she continued to investigate secretly to make sure that there were no powerful fighters around me before moving out personally. After attaining her ideal body, she got complacent and thought that she could get rid of me steadily, thus she appeared in her weakest state. Not only did she not do a secret assault as she would usually do, she even insulted me directly.
If she had realised that her power wasn't sufficient and taken over the body of the people around me to give me a sudden blow, that would have truly been a disaster.
"Right, Roland, I think I'm in love again. Who was that girl? She was so gentle and she had such a sweet smile." Adam's sudden words scared me out of my wits.
I shook my head, already used to it. Adam's crushes came several times every spring and he had been teased by us for following an animal's mating season.
But, if he were to really pursue it seriously, most of it would end in tragedy. No, ignoring the scenario where it ended in a farce, if the other party ended up really was interested in him and wanted to date for real, this fellow would back away the last moment.
"Don't harm the lady. Which one?" However, there had been too much vexing matters recently, so looking at Adam ending in tragedy could help change my mood.
Following Adam's finger, I looked out of the window. Then, I smiled. Should I say as expected of Adam? His choice in people was really excellent!
"As expected of our City Lord! That are the top two beauties under my command. Rest easy, we've been brothers for many years. No matter which one you like, I shall support you."
"Really? You aren't having a fever? You actually aren't trying to trick me?" Adam's happiness made me harden my will to continue luring him into the trap.
"Un, rest easy. Have I ever tricked you?"
"I can't even remember the exact number of times now… You really aren't tricking me this time? It can't be that they have a boyfriend? They won't be like that lesbian lily you introduced last time, right?"
Ignoring that look of deep resentment, I was surprised that a single-cell organism could have such a good memory. After a light cough, I honestly spoke the truth.
"They don't have boyfriends and their sexuality is normal. Relax, I'm not lying."
"Un? You didn't lie at all?! Then, thanks!!" The dumb fellow's intuition had been quite sharp. However, towards a truthful lie, it was useless.
Alright, an hour later, I heard the long-awaited shout of agony 'I will never believe in love again!". I felt my mood lifting.
"I didn't lie. Victoria and Krose really are the most beautiful people under my command. Besides, they definitely aren't engaged and they aren't gay."
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Undead Emperor -> SemiGod
Undead Lord -> Myth