Chapter 653: Anthus
"Use advanced spells—take care of the largest tentacle first!"
Leon frowned, giving the order in a low voice.
Then he began chanting. Four seconds later, the Dragonstaff pointed at the writhing tentacles, and dazzling patterns bloomed across the ground beneath them. The intricate runes seemed to come alive, surging and spreading, covering a radius of more than twenty meters.
Rumble...
A surge of Hellfire burst from the ground. Within its reach, a dozen ordinary tentacles—and three glinting with metallic sheen—were reduced to ash in less than two seconds.
But on the thickest tentacle, runes flared to life—a protective layer shimmered on its surface. Even as Hellfire scorched it, the tentacle remained unburned.
As Leon's Hellfire subsided, Anderson immediately began casting. The stream of spells halted, all mana focused on unleashing a high-level spell.
Thunder rumbled overhead—a blazing meteor, five meters across, plummeted from the sky. Its fiery tail streaked downward, striking the thickest tentacle in the blink of an eye.
This fusion of earth and fire—Meteorfall—was a seventh-level spell, but its power rivaled that of an eighth-level incantation.
Especially against tentacles, which are not agile, the destructive power is terrifying.
The gigantic tentacle, already drained of its rune's power from resisting Hellfire, was struck squarely by Meteorfall and instantly became tattered and torn.
The impact of Meteorfall caused every ordinary tentacle within a thirty-meter radius to shatter simultaneously.
As Anderson cast Meteorfall, Leon immediately raised the Dragonstaff and unleashed five consecutive Dimensional Blades.
Just as the largest tentacle was gravely wounded by Meteorfall, the five Dimensional Blades arrived.
Squelch...
Deprived of its defenses, the massive tentacle—left only with its formidable regenerative ability—was instantly sliced into six pieces. After being cut apart, it was bombarded by spells from Reina, Anderson, and the alchemical golems.
Within five seconds, all the tentacles were completely wiped out.
Yet, not a single person felt any joy.
The monster kept growing stronger. It started with a single tentacle ambushing them, then escalated to a dozen, and now dozens of tentacles were blocking them head-on—including a powerful type they had never seen before.
We're almost at the Captain's Quarters. Is this where we'll finally face the monster itself?
Judging by the strength of these tentacles, the monster's true body must be comparable to a level thirty-nine entity. And with its vitality rivaling a Sky Rank beast, how can we possibly fight it?
The atmosphere was heavy, but no one stopped. Even those off-duty knew that if they didn't escape this damned ghost ship, they'd die sooner or later.
"Let's hurry and find the teleportation array," Leon said, shifting everyone's focus.
It wasn't long before Anderson's voice floated over from the distance.
"Hey, Merlin, I think there's someone over there."
Leon hurried over and saw, lying among the ruins of a building, a gaunt, withered figure.
The man's skin was dark and wrinkled like an old person, his hair sparse and ashen.
"He looks kind of familiar," Leon muttered.
But then, Anderson pointed to a greatsword in the distance. Leon glanced at it and his expression changed to one of shock.
This guy—is he Anthus?
If they were outside, Leon would never have connected this dried-up corpse with Anthus, the Sword Saint.
But there weren't that many people who fell onto the Dauntless. Seeing that sword, Leon was sure.
He checked Anthus briefly and frowned.
Anthus seemed to have just died—his body was still warm, but there was no trace of battle aura left.
Thinking of those tentacles, Leon understood: Anthus must have been drained by them, even his life force sucked away.
After a moment's thought, Leon took out the Death Tome and summoned Ragulin.
Channel your death aura into his body.
Leon instructed Ragulin, who leapt from his mount, grabbed Anthus's arm, and infused him with death aura.
Infusing death aura or the power of death into a corpse is a method for creating undead. But this method is costly, and only Sword Saints or Title Archmages can succeed—because such undead may retain fragments of their former consciousness.