Chapter 421: Malachar the Catacombs Lich [2]
Of course, one might immediately ask: with Leon’s talent, why doesn’t he just grind for months for monster essences and grow strong enough to defeat everything effortlessly.
And the reason to that was very simple: he planned to eventually, but he needed time and the right opportunities to do so.
He actually wanted to stay in the [Requiem Stronghold] to have access to the most dangerous areas and monsters just for this specific reason: to get stronger as efficiently as possible through constant grinding.
After all, as long as he consumed enough monster essences, literally nothing could stop him from growing infinitely stronger over time.
But then the matter with the requiem guild appeared, and now he was here in the catacombs, though his plans hadn’t changed one bit, he simply had a deadline now.
Leon and Malachar’s skeletons armies collided with each other, and obviously, the winner was decided instantly as Leon’s forces were overwhelmed and shattered by the lich’s superior soldiers.
Leon didn’t care that much though, his focus elsewhere on the real threat.
SLASH!
He swung at one of the skeletons and killed it instantly, shattering its bones, then followed with several of the other ones, moving with fluid grace through the battlefield.
A row of shadow bullets shattered each of the skeletons’ heads, killing them all in a single volley that cleared a path toward the lich.
"Indeed, necromancy can only be complete once the talent is fully evolved," Malachar nodded, "Fighting you is bringing me valuable knowledge, player."
SLASH!
Leon closed the distance with Malachar and swung his sword once more, slashing through the Lich’s form with devastating force.
His body was cut in half from the sheer power of the attack, his upper and lower halves separating, but of course, after a few seconds only, Malachar’s body returned to normal, reforming completely as if nothing had happened.
"You cannot kill me, player, no matter what you send, you will never—"
Flame Throw!
This time, it wasn’t Leon who attacked, but Celeste, as she had had enough of simply sitting around doing nothing and wanted to contribute to the fight.
She launched her [Darkness Ember] at Malachar, who didn’t even bother dodging them, confident in his immortality and regeneration.
But the moment they hit him, something completely unexpected happened that changed the course of the battle.
"AHHHHHHHHH—"
The lich actually screamed in pain as he fell to his knees, his entire body shaking and cracking from the attack, dark flames consuming his form.
"Y-You..." he looked at the phoenix girl, "Soul attack?!"
It was at that moment that Leon understood how to win against the Lich: soul attacks, the one weakness of the undead necromancer that bypassed his immortality.
"Remember when I said that most undead don’t have souls," Leon smiled at Celeste, "Well, lichs tend to have them, this is the only way to defeat him permanently."
Celeste nodded, excitement in her eyes as she could finally be useful in this fight and contribute meaningfully.
Unfortunately, Leon didn’t have any soul attacks yet, so this time around, Celeste was the one who needed to deal with him directly.
Of course, Malachar was now extremely cautious from any of Celeste’s attacks, meaning Leon would have to create the opportunity for her to strike.
"Alright," Malachar groaned as he got up, his body cracked and scorched from the attack, "Lets end this."
He swayed his staff, and from several tunnels over the chamber, [Skeleton Abominations] began to appear, their massive forms dropping into the chamber with heavy thuds.
They all dropped into the chamber all around the duo, their immortal bodies seeking to destroy them with their overwhelming numbers and power.
Leon counted, and there were exactly seven of these things, each one a formidable foe that couldn’t even be defeated.
Malachar backed away from the frontlines, hiding behind his army of abominations, confident in his defense and regeneration.
"Gaze at the power from decades of research: immortal soldiers, each with the power to wipe you all, I shall unleash them on this domain soon enough!"
"Sure thing," Leon sighed as he dodged an attack, then he turned toward Celeste, "Hey, get ready, you’re about to appear behind him."
Celeste didn’t understand what he meant by that, but she simply nodded, channeling the power of her dark ember into her hands.
"FOOL," Malachar laughed, "These skeletons do not have souls, therefore they cannot—"
TIME STOP!
Leon stopped time, the world turning grey around them, and immediately grabbed Celeste, traversing the chamber and placing her right behind the lich in the frozen moment.
And so, as time resumed, the lich continued his sentence, completely unaware of what had just happened.
"—Be harmed by her, huh?"
Fwoosh!
"AHHHHH!"
Celeste’s dark ember hit the lich from behind, hurting him even more, his form on the verge of shattering from the assault as the flames consumed him.
He quickly backed away using a wall of bones, panting heavily as he realized the dangerous situation he was in.
"You... how?!" he asked in shock, "Teleportation?! But too bad for you, I-I still have all my abominations!"
And just to seal Malachar’s fate, in a twist of event, this was the moment that Emilia and Violet finally found their way to the chamber, emerging from one of the tunnels with their weapons ready.
Looking at the situation in a few seconds, they instantly understood what they needed to do to help and sprang into action.
Dark Silk Threads! Bone Shuffle!
Emilia lifted her scepter and used her staff, one of them surrounded one of the abominations in place as it struggled to get out, while the other raised a giant wall of bones to block their advance.
Of course, these wouldn’t last for long against such powerful foes, but that was more than enough time for the others to act.
As for Violet, she was much more direct in her approach to dealing with the threats.
She released her wings, their rainbow colors shimmering, then swung her frost rapier at the rest of the abominations, her blade flashing with cold energy.
The elemental power of the rapier instantly froze their legs in place, stopping them from moving and buying precious seconds for the group.
And by the time Malachar turned around to realize what had happened, it was already too late for him to escape or summon more help.
He tried to summon his army once more, raising his scepter, but Leon already arrived in front of him, blocking his path.
"Oh shit..." Malachar breathed, realizing his doom.
Vines of Torment!
The vines erupted from the ground to surround Malachar and bind him in place, and Celeste launched her embers at the lich without hesitation.
His entire body was surrounded by them and he screamed for several seconds before the light in his eyes faded.
He was dead, his form crumbling to dust and scattering across the marble floor.
As soon as this happened, every single skeleton across the entirety of the catacombs fell, their bodies collapsing as the magic that held them together faded away.
Since they were just Malachar’s minions, the moment his soul faded away, so did their lives, ending the endless horde that had plagued the catacombs.
Ding!
[You have killed "Catacombs Lich, Malachar (Boss)" and gained 6,500,000 experience points.]
And more importantly, the panel that Leon had been waiting for the most appeared before his eyes, confirming his victory.
[100% Drop Rate has triggered, items have been automatically placed in your storage space.]
’Hell yeah!’ he grinned widely, his heart pounding with excitement, ’This should be good.’