Chapter 618: One More Added
It wasn't until the late Neather Era that Redbeard truly vanished from sight. Some say he followed Constantine into the unknown, others claim he was hunted down by the Pureblood Elf Princess and her kin. The stories are endless.
However...
"If my guess is correct, this ship should be the USS Dauntless..." Leon's expression gradually darkened.
It's said that at the dawn of the God-Demon War, Constantine defeated another ancient God-Demon, Sanders the Nightmare Lord, and used his corpse as the framework to build the Dauntless.
Just before his death, Sanders unleashed the last of his god-demon power, casting a curse that turned the ship into a vessel of doom. Ever since, the curse has lingered over the Dauntless. Anyone who set foot aboard has encountered eerie, sinister happenings—and countless powerful beings have met their end here...
It wasn't until Redbeard seized the Dauntless that he managed to suppress the curse, and then sailed the ship to conquer the four seas.
At this thought, even Leon felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly led everyone away from the place.
The curses left behind by ancient god-demons are nothing to mess with...
Forget that Leon is just a magus now—even a Heaven-tier powerhouse would only be able to run for their life when faced with an ancient god-demon's curse...
We need to get off this cursed ghost ship as soon as possible, or else...
The group made their way through a long corridor, soon arriving at another cabin. The place was cold and sinister, the air thick with the salty stench of seawater. Aside from their own footsteps and Hubert's heavy breathing, not a sound could be heard...
"Archmage Leon, I..."
"Shut up, Hubert." Leon didn't even hesitate—he cut the Dragonblood Orc off immediately. Honestly, at a time like this, Hubert's only contribution would be to whine about how terrified he was, and Leon had no patience for it. Right now, his priority was to find the captain's cabin on this ghost ship. Only there could Leon hope to gain control and maybe—just maybe—find a way out...
"Fine..." Hubert opened his mouth, then closed it again.
The group pressed onward...
But barely five minutes had passed...
"Archmage Leon, I..."
"Shut up!" Leon snapped, whipping around to glare fiercely at Hubert.
However...
This time, what Leon saw on Hubert's face wasn't cowardice—it was raw, abject terror...
The reprimand Leon was about to deliver got stuck in his throat. "What's wrong?"
"We... among us..." Hubert's face was twisted in utter horror, his whole body shaking. When he finally spoke, his voice had a quiver of tears: "Among us... it feels like there's one more person, Archmage Leon..."
"Huh?" Leon froze, glancing behind Hubert—and a cold chill crept up his spine.
Damn it, there really was one extra person...
One, two, three, four, five...
That's right. There were five people in the group now...
Leon, Hubert, Reina the Frost Dragon, the Alchemical Golem—no matter how you counted, there should only be four. So how was there suddenly a fifth?
"Leon... Archmage Leon, it looks like there's another me..." Hubert whimpered, voice trembling as Leon's expression shifted between suspicion and dread.
That's right...
Just like Hubert said, there were now two Huberts in the group...
One Hubert stood before Leon, face twisted in terror and voice quivering. The other lingered at the back of the group, pale and vacant...
Absolutely identical!
"Archmage Leon, what do we do, what do we do..."
Leon glanced from the Hubert in front of him to the one at the rear. Looks like the legends were true—Sanders the Nightmare Lord really was the master of illusions. His dominion was called the Nightmare Realm, and every illusion he crafted was said to be indistinguishable from reality...
This time, Leon was finally witnessing it firsthand...
There was absolutely no difference between the two Huberts...
"Archmage Leon, please do something—he... he wants to steal my body..." The Hubert in front of Leon was nearly in tears.
"Quiet, I know what to do!" Leon shot Hubert a glare and slowly raised his Doombringer Staff, the massive Five-Colored Dragon Core shimmering with light...
Then, with a thunderous boom...
Leon unleashed a Fireball spell without hesitation...
But it didn't hit the Hubert at the back of the group...
"You..." The Dragonblood Orc in front of Leon took the Fireball head-on, blasted dozens of meters away, flames still burning on his chest. He stared at Leon, disbelief etched on his face: "How did you know...?"
"Hubert would never be that brave..." Leon chuckled, channeling mana into his Doombringer Staff. Fireball after Fireball erupted, and in moments, the impostor was reduced to ashes...
However...
Just when everyone thought the unknown entity had been destroyed, a wisp of black smoke rose from the ashes, twisting in the air until it formed a grotesque, grinning face...
"Hehehehe... Human, you got lucky this time. Let's hope your luck holds in the next game..."
With that, the black smoke scattered, vanishing without a trace...
Leon's expression changed instantly, and he quickly activated his mana array to track any trace of it. But just then, a loud crash echoed through the cabin.
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A thunderous crash shook the entire cabin, and in a blink, a powerful magical surge erupted. Before Leon and the others could react, the room was bathed in a deep red glow—almost as if blood might drip from the walls. Then, a massive hexagram array appeared before their eyes, and the ground trembled violently. From within the array, wave after wave of Skeletal Warriors burst forth, their eyes burning with soulflame and their presence radiating the unmistakable aura of undeath.
"Damn it!" Leon cursed, not even hesitating. Fire element surged from his body, and as flames raced across his skin, he transformed into a ten-meter-tall Flame Giant. He grabbed Reina, Hubert, and the Alchemical Golem, then blinked them away in a flash of elemental magic.
"So many Skeletal Warriors..." Even with the strength of a Sword Saint, Hubert couldn't help but feel his skin crawl at the sight of thousands of undead. The once spacious cabin, built for tens of thousands, was now packed with Skeletal Warriors, every corner thick with the stench of death.
"Doesn't look like we're welcome here..." Leon muttered, watching the endless sea of Skeletal Warriors. Each was only at level ten—no threat to a Grand Mage—but their sheer numbers were terrifying.
In no time, the number of Skeletal Warriors in sight surpassed several thousand, and kept growing. It was only a matter of time before they reached ten thousand. Now even Leon was frowning, not just Hubert.
Leon knew escape was impossible now. With so many Skeletal Warriors, every exit was blocked. But he didn't waste a moment—Fireballs erupted from his Doombringer Staff, spell after spell raining down like a storm, exploding in the densest clusters of undead.
Enhanced by his mana array, the Fireballs reached their peak power, rivaling even Cataclysm Fireball. As Leon cleared the undead, he shouted at Reina and Hubert: "Why are you just standing there? Waiting for the Skeletal Warriors to invite you for tea?"
"Yes, sir—I'm on it!" Hubert wiped the sweat from his brow, sensing the young mage's impatience. The Dragonblood Orc didn't hesitate anymore—there was a roar, and his massive warhammer, Slaughter, swung out with a booming crash.
Boom!
After the deafening crash, a blinding dark-gold light shot skyward—the power of the Infinite Layering Technique. The cabin shook as Hubert smashed another hundred Skeletal Warriors with his warhammer.
"Sir, sir, did you see that?" Hubert, who'd been terrified moments before, now stared wide-eyed with excitement. He swung Slaughter again, and the shockwave—weighing tens of thousands of pounds—exploded with a thunderous roar. Bones shattered everywhere, and even the Skeletal Warriors couldn't withstand Hubert's power.
Meanwhile, Reina transformed into a massive Frost Dragon, unleashing a torrent of frost magic. Working with the Sky Rank Alchemical Golem, they summoned a barrage of spells—ice spears, fire roars, flame arrows. These simple spells were devastating against the Skeletal Warriors, wiping out swathes of the undead with ease.
The overwhelming power made the battle swift—thousands of Skeletal Warriors were crushed, their bones piling thick on the floor. The last time Leon had seen so many undead was back in the Bone Plane.