At the Obelisk, Sebastian, with the help of high-altitude surveillance, noticed the rearing Nine-Headed Hydra, raging across the land with a surge of uncontrollable Fire Element.
It wasn’t Oscar, even with rich elemental energies in the ruins, he couldn’t have cast magic of this magnitude.
It could only be the enemy then!
Sebastian’s face darkened; he hated situations that spiraled out of control. Despite having given the enemy a buff, an unexpected change occurred, causing him a faint sense of unease.
"My Knights, behead the enemies and bring them back to me."
At Sebastian’s command, three Skeleton Knights straightened up and, riding their White Bone Warhorses, led all the Skeleton Soldiers to march westward.
"Perhaps I’m overthinking it."
The ominous premonition in Sebastian’s heart did not lessen, it grew stronger instead. He turned to Mana beside him, "Follow them, see what exactly has happened over there, act accordingly, you’re authorized to use the Executioner’s Divine Power."
Mana, dressed in miner’s attire and looking as gaunt as a skeleton in human skin, vanished into the darkness with a few swift steps.
"Speed up, all the Magic Arrays must be set up within two minutes."
Although Sebastian felt that something was amiss, the priority was to retrieve the stone tablet sealed within the Obelisk. Unsealing it required a vast amount of the Four Elements, and even channeling the reserve elements of the entire Giant City Ruins through magical arrays seemed like a drop in the bucket.
Luckily, the problem wasn’t significant, as he had prepared everything before coming.
Sebastian took out four rings from his chest, each representing earth, fire, water, and wind, provided by the Death Knights in the Underworld Great Tomb under Paris, the accumulated reserves of which were enough to instantaneously fill three Parises.
A glint of greed flashed in Sebastian’s eyes. The Death Knights hadn’t mentioned taking back the rings, meaning after the seal was undone, the remaining Four Elements would be his reward.
Under his scolding, the miners arranged the Magic Arrays at the fastest speed, then placed the rings. Vast amounts of earth, fire, water, and wind elements poured in, climbing energy troughs on all four sides of the Obelisk and rapidly ascending toward the spire.
The Nine-Headed Hydra rampaged and rolled, its agility starkly contrasting with its vast size; every flick of its long tail stirred up a scorching wind, leaving behind trails of molten red trenches as it slithered forward.
Facing this cataclysmic beast, Oscar’s underlings were completely overpowered, dehydrated by the hot winds and dropping to the ground, desiccated and self-igniting even before the Hydra drew close.
Oscar, despite fighting with all his might, couldn’t stop the Nine-Headed Hydra from its killing spree. Bathing in the high-temperature heatwave and cursing loudly, his behavior was less than exemplary.
He took cover behind a tall wall, rolling up his sleeves to reveal black tadpole-like symbols as the Hydra came thundering towards him.
Mysterious incantations rose, Oscar’s eyes were hollow, showing a grayish white seen only in the dead.
A blazing inferno surged, engulfing where Oscar was, turning everything around into ashes.
The Nine-Headed Hydra bathed in the sea of fire, its body burning fiercely; when the flames dissipated, it too vanished without a trace.
In the burning area, the ground flowed with black-red magma, and the heat was so intense that it melted the city walls towering like ramparts; the air twisted as if the very space became chaotic.
White bone feet stepped on the scalding magma, moving step by step towards Wayne.
In the final moment, Oscar borrowed the Proxy’s Divine Power, entering a state of death’s void.
This form was similar to Wayne’s current one, an Immortal Body, impervious to pain, but due to the high temperature of the flames, he couldn’t preserve his flesh and was fixed in skeletal state.
A sinister smile played upon Wayne’s lips, "Let me guess, once the Divine Power you borrowed is exhausted, will you fall face up or will your bony frame simply collapse?"
Oscar stepped out of the magma, bones clacking against the ground, his running speed increasing: "Your body will be taken over by me, the one to die should be you."
Oh, so the Proxy’s Divine Power included possession?
Wayne gave a light exclamation, surprised at yet another useless technique.
As Oscar lunged towards him, Wayne neither dodged nor flinched, but extended a hand and pressed it against his opponent’s skeletal head. A terrifying force bore down, knocking the bony frame to the ground with a screech.
Oscar cried out with glee, the process unexpectedly simple, his two bone arms stretching out, tightly clamping Wayne’s arm.
Death Essence surged, and behind Oscar, a black-robed apparition holding a scythe swept down towards Wayne.
The scythe passed through Wayne’s body, dissolving into mist, and the apparition disappeared with it.
In front of Wayne, the skeleton clattered apart. He weighed the skull in hand and casually tossed it to the ground.
Mere run-of-the-mill quality!
Switching to another mode, Wayne would not have had such an easy time dealing with The Church’s Silver Mages. It was like a father disciplining his child right now—he didn’t even need to lift a hand, just to stand still and let the enemy run headlong to their demise against him.
Having dealt with this batch of The Church’s elites, Wayne glanced at the clueless Skeleton Soldiers behind him who were still awaiting orders. And so, it fell to him to give the commands.
A gunshot rang out just as Wayne sensed the warning. His shoulder was struck as if by a heavy blow, sending him flying off to the side.
After tumbling a couple of times on the ground, clutching his numb arm, Wayne’s eyes narrowed as he looked up toward the vantage point.
A Skeleton... Sniper, mounted on a White Bone Warhorse!