The Necromancer's Servant

As soon as the man who claimed to be Lancelote finished speaking, Hilton immediately fell from the tree.

Earlier, seeing Asa climbing up a tree and looking in that direction with a strange expression, Hilton and Jessica both quickly climbed up as well. However, once they saw the scene, they were left dumbfounded. When Lancelote looked in their direction and spoke, Hilton's body suddenly shook and he fell hard to the ground.

Still lying there, Hilton began to shout in a panic, "It's Lancelote! Damn, that's the legendary Lancelote! Damn, why is the legendary Paladin here? And he brought so many people? Damn, are they planning to level this place?" It seemed like he suddenly remembered something and jumped up to shout at Asa, "Boss, your face, your face. Run, quick!"

Asa snapped out of his stunned state in an instant. The appearance of this group, especially the man named Lancelote, had shocked him deeply. He had been expecting to face two or three necromancers, but instead, a Bishop and the Knight Commander of the Temple, along with four temple knights and ten holy warriors, had arrived. This immediately threw the plans he had been preparing for so long into disarray. Fortunately, Hilton's shout snapped him back to his senses. The main target of the necromancers was undoubtedly the World Tree's leaves, while the temple knights' target was without a doubt Asa, the continent's most wanted criminal who had just revealed his true identity.

The Druid and Old Bill, upon hearing Lancelote's voice, immediately turned and ran toward the elven settlement. In the eyes of the church, they were heretics and blasphemers, and if captured, they would surely be executed.

Lancelote's words had already triggered a response from the elven elders deep in the forest, causing the surrounding magical anomalies to cease. However, the knights' pace did not quicken, nor was their presence altered by the disappearance of the obstacles; their steps, their demeanor, their aura remained unchanged—steady and regal, as they moved without hurry but with unwavering confidence, closing the distance quickly.

Asa immediately leaped to another large tree, glancing back at the group. In that brief moment, he noticed that, besides Lancelote, two others were also looking at him. One was Bishop Adra, and the other, surprisingly, was one of the holy warriors at the back of the group, who even smiled at Asa—a warm, friendly smile that seemed sincere.

For some unknown reason, the sight of this holy warrior and his smile left Asa feeling as overwhelmed as Lancelote's gaze had, but instead of shock, he felt an odd sense of disorientation.

"By the divine might, as the Lord commands, be still!" The voice of Bishop Adra rang out—bright and soothing, with no trace of worldly warmth.

In mid-air, Asa's body immediately stiffened in response, unable to control himself, and he lost his balance on the branch, falling straight down like a chopped log.

Seeing this, Jessica, who had been frozen in place since spotting the temple knights, leaped to the ground and, along with Hilton, dragged Asa's limp body away, running in the opposite direction from the temple knights.

Lancelote's earlier proclamation had reverberated through the Turaleone Forest, reaching every ear—including those of the fleeing thieves, the pursuing Ruya, and the elves who had maintained a semi-surrounding position around the moving black region.

With the help of other thieves, Hilika had finally extricated himself from the thorns and, together with Esis, was running toward the outside. Unfortunately, their escape route led them directly toward the temple knights.

Lancelote's words had painted the faces of all the thieves with extreme fear, even more so than when they had seen the massive scorpion earlier. Even Hilika felt it. Despite still harboring a slim hope of escaping through the elven encirclement, no one believed they could escape the grasp of so many temple knights and holy warriors.

The elven patrol soldier, Kaylin, had once again gathered her battle aura and drew her black longbow. There were no arrows on it, just like when she had shot the arrow that struck Asa. This bow fired the user's battle aura and power instead of physical projectiles.

In Turaleone Forest, there were over ten thousand elves, but only Kaylin had mastered battle aura. Aside from the elves' natural aversion to combat, this also demonstrated her extraordinary martial talent. However, even though she had pushed herself to the limit before and only managed to pull the bow halfway, her battle aura had exhausted her, leaving her unable to continue.

Now, gathering all of her remaining battle aura and strength, Kaylin aimed at her target with no mistakes. She knew from the surrounding elves that the giant man, whose body resembled a monstrous muscle beast, was the true mastermind. She drew the bow, aimed, and released.

Unfortunately, it still missed. The moment Kaylin released the arrow, Hilika twisted his body, his massive muscles displaying cat-like agility and softness. The green light from her arrow silently grazed by him.

Though Hilika was in a state of panic and anger after hearing Lancelote's voice, and nearly at his breaking point mentally, his decades of experience in battle had honed his instincts to the point where they had become part of his very being. No matter how furious or irrational he became, his battle instincts remained sharp. He had been keeping an eye on the elven archer, who had once shot down an opponent with a single arrow, and just before she released, he began to evade. In the end, the arrow, which was too fast to be seen with the naked eye, missed him by inches.

Yet, even as the green light passed by him silently, it tore through his body with devastating force. The muscle-bound figure, once nearly invulnerable to blades, was sliced open like soft clay, and blood splattered everywhere. Behind him, five thieves were struck by the same arrow, and each of their bodies had large gaping holes appear in various parts. One thief had lost his entire head, two had lost half of their bodies, one had been struck through the chest, and the last had a massive hole where his neck and shoulder used to be, with only a thin layer of skin holding his body together.

All five thieves fell silently, blood raining down as if they were mere illusions.

A deafening crash echoed from the direction of the temple knights. The green arrow, after piercing through several thieves, did not lose any of its momentum and shot straight toward Bishop Adra. Thankfully, in the nick of time, Lancelote swung his sword, which had not yet been drawn, to block the arrow. The sword clashed with the arrow, preventing the Bishop from taking a fatal blow.

Metal shards flew in all directions, and the scabbard was shattered in the process. Lancelote's body shook slightly, and he looked at the elven patrolwoman in surprise.

Bishop Adra, finally reacting, turned pale and then flushed red with anger, shooting a glare at the elven archer who had released the arrow.

"The thieves have created a necromantic region…" Lancelote frowned as he looked at the blackened area ahead. He turned to Bishop Adra and said, "Please, Your Eminence, dispel these evil forces."

Adra closed his eyes in concentration and began chanting a prayer. Ten holy warriors and four temple knights raised their weapons toward the Bishop, their white magic glowing and gathering around him. Gradually, the light surrounding the Bishop became so bright that his entire figure was obscured by the brilliance.

"…By the Lord's radiance, cleanse all things in the world and restore their purity…" Adra chanted the simplest white magic prayer—the purification incantation. Such low-level magic could be instantly cast by anyone of a bishop's rank, but Adra now chanted each word with the seriousness of a novice priest just beginning to learn white magic. When the prayer concluded, he pointed his finger toward the sky, and a surge of pure, powerful magic erupted from him, sending out white light in all directions.

Under the illumination of this radiant light, the blackened area dispersed as if blown away by a strong wind, leaving no trace behind. The scroll in Esis's hand dissolved under the light, melting away like ice in a furnace, disappearing along with the surrounding black region.

The purifying light from Adra's spell not only dispelled the blackened area but also radiated outward with an overwhelming aura of authority and power, extending over a vast range. The thick, sticky air returned to its original state, and the mutated poisonous insects summoned by the elven mages immediately reverted to their true forms under the purifying wave. Even the withered tree guardians froze in place beneath the light. The entire elven magical barrier seemed to tremble under the immense force of this vast purification spell.

Once the light faded, Adra returned to his normal form. All the elves were watching him, and even the thieves, who had been observing him, now regarded the Bishop with awe, as if he had been forged from light itself. However, Adra paid no attention to these gazes. His eyes were fixed on a specific area where a few withered tree guardians were still subtly moving, and the mutated insects had returned to their original forms, circling around a young green-clad elven maiden.

A gentle, warm smile returned to Bishop Adra's face, even more radiant than before. His eyes shimmered with a divine light.

"They seem to be trying to escape," Lancelote said, his brown eyes not distracted by any of the events around him, but solely focusing on a few figures fleeing in the distance behind the elves. "Ederick, Christian, come with me. The rest stay here to assist Bishop Adra in dealing with these thieves."

Lancelote and the two knights he called upon suddenly increased their speed, their shining armor creating three white light trails as they sped off toward the fleeing figures in the distance.

Among the two temple knights remaining behind was Talice. Her gaze was already burning with anger as she looked at Hilika. The moment Lancelote left and before Adra could speak, she drew her sword, shouting a battle cry as she charged toward Hilika.