Chapter 74: Battle

“I am the sworn servant of Duke Em, wielding the flame of Hebrim!”  

“In the name of the Duke, I command you to destroy the knight before me and offer his soul to me!”  

Quasimodo raised his left arm, ancient letters like a brand glowing on it.  

As he chanted the spell, those characters emitted scorching light.  

It was a demon-controlling incantation. The Demon Mother, originally dormant, let out a roar of abyssal laughter and finally moved under Quasimodo’s command.  

Flames gathered within the Demon Mother’s split abdomen. The umbilical cords connected to the imps pulsed, like twitching straws, extracting something from the imps’ bodies.  

The middle head of the three-headed wolf also began to gather demonic flames.  

Destructive magical power converged before the demon and the sewn beast, targeting Wade.  

Wade stood firm like a mountain, unyielding. He sank his body down and thrust Radiance into the ground.  

The flames ignited by the explosion danced toward him, passing through Radiance’s blade, tainted with holy aura, burning the evil array engraved on the ground.  

He used the power to break demons to sever the shackles binding the souls.  

He released those miserable souls; star-like lights floated from the pile of corpses toward the night sky.  

Those formless phantoms finally detached from their bodies and found liberation.  

It was like an inverted galaxy; he was surrounded by the sea of stars, embraced by the dead.  

“Souls unwilling to endure sorrow any longer, depart now.”  

“If you wish to fight alongside me, you must be steadfast and fearless. You must forget your pain, or let it flow away like water.”  

Masses of souls drifted upward into the sky and darkness. Quasimodo stared in shock and fury at the released souls.  

“Bastards, how dare you leave!”  

He raised his staff and unleashed soul-school spells at the souls. An impenetrable will barrier blocked his power. He was powerless to restrain the dead souls and could only watch helplessly as the starlight floated away.  

Clusters of starlight drifted like snowflakes. Even Old York and Bardel, who were observing from the mountains, witnessed the scene.  

They hid in the forest on high ground, facing the town of Alvado below.  

They even caught glimpses of the explosion’s firelight but were too far to see what exactly happened.  

“What is that…” Bardel, the bearded elder, frowned while watching the lights.  

The gnome’s mouth dropped open, his face full of disbelief.  

“Impossible… They actually released the souls of the dead. How could they perform such a miracle!”  

Old York was utterly stunned. Those drifting lights toward the night sky were undoubtedly freed souls.  

He couldn’t fathom what had happened in Alvado or how so many dead were released under Quasimodo’s nose.  

Could a saint have arrived in Alvado?  

The gnome and Bardel stared blankly at the starlight. Not only them, but the Icelanders also witnessed this breathtaking spectacle.  

Icelandic soldiers on the warship, gamblers playing cards and drinking on the mill’s second floor, men roasting meat and standing guard at the camp—all looked up. They even stormed the tents to wake others and share in this moment.  

“So beautiful, is that the aurora?” asked an Icelander.  

They didn’t know what it was but were deeply moved.  

Only Wade could hear those faint, light voices. Those souls, like birds freed from cages, flew freely toward the clouds, stars, and moon. Nothing in this world could trap them anymore.  

Everyone was the same: the most just thing in this world is death.  

At this moment, the dead could finally embrace the end with ease, relieved to meet death, dissolving into nature.  

Yet some souls refused to leave.  

They were full of grief, hatred, and obsession.  

Nearly a third of the starlight circled around Wade and the necromancer.  

“Knight, you have successfully enraged me!”  

Quasimodo gritted his teeth, glaring at Wade with furious eyes.  

“No matter where you come from, I will make you regret opposing me!”  

“Everything you cherish, I will destroy!”  

Quasimodo swung his skeletal staff; the Demon Mother’s gathered fireballs and the sewn beast’s demonic flames launched together.  

The terrifying heat melted the snow. Two massive fireballs smashed toward Wade like meteors.  

The ground bore burn marks; two melted, evaporated trails separated following the fireballs’ paths.  

Wade still did not move. He stood like a towering mountain as the starlight gathered around him.  

The ice golem crossed its arms, shielding him like a shield.  

The two fireballs collided head-on with the ice golem. The horrific heat melted and evaporated it, white steam and dust rising again, but this time there were no explosions.  

Wade pressed his palm against the ice golem’s back. Behind him, hundreds of phantoms stood with him, and Mia stretched out her small hand, releasing faint light.  

This power was far stronger than the desecrated necromantic core, far more fearless than the tortured grudging spirits.  

Their combined strength countered the flames from the demon and the sewn beast.  

Yet the ice golem still suffered impact; its upper body completely melted away, leaving only its feet.  

Its task was complete. Wade unified the souls willing to fight alongside him, breaking through his own barrier with his compassion.  

He felt a lightness, as if the shackles on his feet and hands were undone. He drew another iron sword, holding Radiance in one hand and the iron sword in the other, forming a two-sword stance.  

The Demon Mother, just after releasing the huge fireball spell, began gathering small fireballs like imps. The Demon Mother seemed unable to quickly release the enhanced fireball spell again soon. The three-headed sewn wolf also lunged at Wade.  

Wade did not dodge. He stood in the center of the flames, surrounded and watched by the dead.  

He seemed to see through everything. The three-headed wolf’s movements appeared sluggish to him.  

He wildly swung his twin swords, slashing at the wolf’s heads. Even the iron sword was tainted with starlight.  

Radiance and the iron sword crossed as he severed the wolf’s right head. The sword light flowed smoothly as if cutting soft tofu rather than a sewn beast. No foul blood splattered; the cut was scorched, smooth but charred.  

He even sliced through the fireballs. The souls fought alongside him; he cut the fireballs with his iron sword. The fireballs exploded on both sides of him, as if the sword could even sever flowing water.  

The Demon Mother and sewn wolf’s combined attack could not harm him in the slightest.  

But Quasimodo only coldly watched. He quietly and quickly chanted a spell, and the crystal skull and skeletal staff in his hands released magic.  

That magic was not aimed at Wade but was a command, directing the three-headed sewn wolf.  

Corpse Explosion!  

The sewn beast, larger than a wild bull, exploded with terrifying pressure inside and out.  

It was right beside Wade. He had no room to dodge and had to directly endure the sewn beast’s explosion.  

Broken limbs and fragments scattered. The rocky ground was blown into a large crater. The explosion roared across the sky. Spiderweb-like cracks spread on the ground.  

Quasimodo abandoned his creation without hesitation, unleashing this deadly corpse explosion.  

He was confident that even a Gold-rank professional warrior would struggle to withstand such power. Demon, beast, and soul twisted together in the blast. Although he never tried it, he believed the explosion released by the three-headed wolf could even kill a dragon.  

That knight could never be tougher than a dragon.  

But he miscalculated. When the smoke cleared, the knight still stood intact before him, and his eye twitched slightly.  

A mage’s intelligence made him quickly understand what had happened.  

The explosion was not ineffective; the souls had absorbed the impact for the knight.  

Quasimodo also used this defense method. The grudging spirits surrounding him were his magical shields. He could command his minions to die at the cost of their souls.  

But why could the knight withstand even such a corpse explosion?  

Were those souls stronger than the grudging spirits he had cultivated over decades?  

Impossible. Just moments ago, they were only formless unconscious phantoms.  

That power seemed more mysterious and powerful than the necromantic magic he studied for years.  

Yet the starlight on the knight had dimmed. How many stars were destroyed in that strike, no one knew.  

“In the name of Duke Em!” Quasimodo ordered again, signaling the Demon Mother to charge forward. The mountain-like demon body crashed toward Wade.  

“If this is your wish, I will remember your sacrifice and fight for justice.”  

Wade calmly swung his sword. Some souls returned to their own bodies.  

Behind Quasimodo, the dead silently rose.  

They silently charged at Quasimodo. The grudging spirits originally controlled by the necromancer, for a moment, broke free from his control.  

The dead grabbed Quasimodo’s feet and hands, biting the necromancer’s body.  

“You lowly beasts! How dare you defy my noble bloodline!” Quasimodo cursed.  

He was trapped but saw no sign of Wade dodging the Demon Mother’s charge.  

The bulky demon’s movements were not nimble at all. Wade easily evaded and aimed Radiance at the necromancer’s heart, thrusting fiercely.  

He slashed at the necromancer’s head and stabbed his heart. Even the grudging spirits parted for him; the enslaved souls hated the necromancer with deep hatred.  

The iron sword cut through tendons and bones; blood gushed out, a fountain of blood rising. The necromancer’s heart was pierced by the holy sword.  

The crystal skull and staff in his hands dropped, lifeless.  

Wade withdrew Radiance. The black-robed corpse collapsed, finally unable to utter any curse.