Chapter 617: Hellfire
As expected, this time the figure emerging from the Gate of Death was a Death Knight, his entire body encased in black armor. He cut a grotesque silhouette: in his right hand, he gripped a massive, jet-black greatsword, shrouded in swirling black mist; in his left, a rusted iron hook, as if it had soaked for centuries in the depths of the sea...
The Death Knight stepped through the Gate of Death, but did not immediately move to attack Leon.
Yet simply standing there, the Death Knight exerted a crushing pressure—one only the most formidable beings could generate. Leon silently gauged its strength: at least level thirty-eight or higher.
"Human, you dare disturb our slumber..." The Death Knight's thunderous roar shook the entire cabin, reverberating with rage.
"Honestly, I wasn't all that keen on disturbing you either..."
"You must pay the price!" As the words fell, the Death Knight raised his greatsword.
Leon reacted swiftly, lifting his Doombringer Staff. First, a Mind Ward shimmered into place; then, as he chanted a string of incantations, the floor beneath him turned a deep crimson. The empty cabin's planks began to tremble, and a patch of Crimson Mire spread under the Death Knight's feet...
That was Crimson Mire—among sixth-level spells, one of the strongest for control!
But the Death Knight was even stronger than Leon had imagined. Before the Crimson Mire could fully form, the greatsword was already at Leon's throat, radiating thick necrotic power—a black blade, saturated with the essence of death.
In that split second, Leon barely managed to conjure an Elemental Shield. Then—bang!—the greatsword slammed into his shoulder, as if a boulder had struck him. His bones felt ready to shatter. Leon staggered back several steps, face drained of color.
"A true master of both sword and magic..." Leon muttered, his expression grim.
An undead being wielding the power of an eighth-level Sword Saint and an eighth-level Title Archmage—no joke.
With every swing, the Death Knight's greatsword tore through the air, wreathed in deathly battle aura, forcing Leon to retreat again and again. His rune shields couldn't withstand these relentless blows; all he could do was keep backing away, searching for a truly safe distance...
But even as he retreated, Leon's hands weren’t idle—an Undead Purge spell was already prepared...
In a flash, dazzling light burst forth. The brilliance of Undead Purge lit up the whole cabin in an instant. This fourth-level spell was simple and direct—utterly purging the necrotic power of undead creatures. Their true nemesis, really...
But this time, even a nemesis seemed useless...
Leon’s Purify Undead flared, tearing open a wound in the Death Knight’s chest. But instantly, thick black mist surged from the gash, and before Leon could process what was happening, the mist sealed the wound at a speed that defied belief.
"Damn it, it's the Eye of Death..." Leon cursed. That black mist was unmistakably the power of the Eye of Death.
So the legends were true after all...
Once an undead creature falls under the Eye of Death’s influence, its combat power multiplies exponentially. Some of the stronger ones can even use the Eye to gain near-immortality...
That thought made Leon frown.
This is a mess. If I don’t deal with this Death Knight, there’s no way to handle the Eye of Death. But unless I destroy the Eye first, killing the Death Knight will be next to impossible.
A level thirty-eight Death Knight was trouble enough, but this one hadn’t even cast a spell yet—just pure death aura and swordplay! That was like wielding the power of an eighth-level Title Archmage without even trying, and the pressure on Leon was immense.
Leon, having summoned his Fire Elemental Avatar, dodged the Death Knight’s necrotic strikes with bursts of Flame Blink, all while unleashing a barrage of low-tier fire spells. But these lesser flames barely scratched the Death Knight, their impact negligible.
"Damn human, the price for disturbing our slumber can only be paid in blood! Your soul is destined for eternal damnation!"
"Damn rat, you’d better pray you can keep running forever!"
The Death Knight’s attacks came in relentless waves, but Leon kept blinking away with fire, never letting those obsidian death slashes touch him.
Meanwhile, Leon’s seemingly endless barrage of low-tier fire spells rained down like a storm—Fireball, Meteor Volley, Fireball, Starlight Firestorm...
Even with the Eye of Death bolstering him, those low-tier fire spells were little more than a nuisance. But they did make him increasingly agitated.
But the Death Knight failed to notice that the thick necrotic aura which once filled the air was slowly being suppressed. The fire element was growing stronger, more vibrant by the second.
Almost there!
Feeling the blaze of elemental fire reaching its peak, Leon muttered under his breath.
The Death Knight, seeing Leon blink to the other side, swung another Death Slash out of habit, waiting for Leon to blink again.
But instead of another Flame Blink, Leon suddenly cast a Rune Shield.
In Leon’s hands, the Rune Shield unleashed terrifying power. The sheer number of runes he commanded—enough to make even Title Archmages despair—gave the shield far more defense than it should ever possess.
A Death Slash from the Death Knight—even at full force, equal to an eighth-level Sword Saint—was effortlessly blocked by Leon’s Rune Shield.
The Death Knight was caught off guard. He’d only swung the Death Slash to momentarily pin Leon down, hoping to disrupt another Flame Blink.
But Leon suddenly stopped moving, and in that brief pause, he’d already been chanting his spell for two whole seconds!
In a fight like this, two seconds could be fatal.
The Death Knight erupted in fury. Fooled by his own habits, he’d been tricked by Leon. Without hesitation, he swung his sword again—but the Wheel of Arcana had already appeared, unleashing a torrent of low-tier fire spells that temporarily suppressed him.
The Eye of Death’s power had granted the Death Knight an absurd resistance to fire magic, but even so, he couldn’t break through just yet.
Countless low-tier fire spells filled the air, making the surrounding fire element as active as the heart of a volcano. Casting fire spells now was easier, faster—almost effortless.
After six seconds of chanting, Leon finally finished the spell. He pointed his Doombringer Staff at the Death Knight, who was still pinned down by the flood of fire magic.
"Hellfire!"
In a blink, golden-red runes surfaced on the ground, flowing and weaving across a ten-meter span like living things. So dazzling and intricate, even pureblood elves would marvel—yet now, those runes became the most terrifying sight imaginable.
The moment the runes appeared, a stifling, searing aura spread out. Even the Death Knight was shaken, instantly abandoning his charge and trying to retreat.
But it was too late. As Hellfire burst forth, Leon poured in more mana, blinking behind the Death Knight and unleashing another top-tier sixth-level spell—Detonation!
Though Detonation and Fireball sound similar, their power is worlds apart. Fireball focuses on raw flame and can hit multiple targets, while Detonation is all about shock and explosion—smaller area, higher cost, but over ten times stronger than even the most extreme Cataclysm Fireball.
Detonation, trailing a tail of blue flames, crashed into the Death Knight from behind. He roared, sword raised to block the explosion. But he failed to notice: Leon was only ten meters away, and at this distance, Detonation was guaranteed to double-explode!
The first blast was blocked, but the second erupted right in front of the Death Knight’s chest. Its destructive force rivaled a seventh-level fire spell! The explosion didn’t shatter his armor, but it was powerful enough to blast the Death Knight backward as he tried to dodge.
Even a single second was enough!
Because as the Death Knight stumbled back into that ten-meter ring of runes, endless golden-red flames erupted, engulfing him in a towering pillar of fire. The flames shot up to the ceiling of the massive cabin, and even though the ship was said to be built from the remains of gods and demons, the roof glowed red-hot under the assault.
A wretched, furious scream rang out from the fiery pillar, and Leon let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Hellfire lasted a full six seconds. In that time, the Death Knight—dead or alive—would never threaten anyone again.
Hellfire is known as the most powerful yet most impractical fire spell.
Though it’s a seventh-level spell, the only real requirement is enough mana. Even a first-level mage could cast it, if they had the power.
But the reason Hellfire is considered the strongest impractical fire spell isn’t just that. Its power rivals the top seventh-level spells, but it comes with some very particular requirements.