25. The Necromancer

I asked, "Necromancer? What is that?"

Typhon replied, "You really don't need to know. Come, we must set up an ambush in advance."

I asked, "Should we take the Yune?"

Typhon said, "Of course. That place is not near. We will drive the Yune and proceed on foot as we get closer."

Chris added, "Typhon, the enemy is a necromancer; you know what that means."

Typhon nodded. "Understood. We don't need to bring many people. Everyone who comes with us must be elite; any casualties would only backfire on us. Longinus, go issue the orders."

Before I could even take a step, she added, "Your wife must accompany us. We need her as a sniper."

With these two duchesses holding the line, as long as the enemy wasn't that terrifying Abel, this mission would be no different from beating a stray dog, so I didn't need to worry about Lamia's safety.

I left Solace, Zhanli, and a few Rangers behind, taking Mask, Lamia, and Broken Bell with me. Just then, everyone watched in shock as those mechanical workers emerged from the factory. Their movements were highly coordinated; perhaps Faja could even train them for combat. Should I find a way to equip this legion with weapons? If I had a robotic army under my command, I would be truly formidable.

Mask flipped the switch, and the Yune roared to life. Following Typhon's instructions, we drove across the wasteland. This must have been the road out of the city; there were few houses or high-rises, perhaps once farmland or a highway, allowing the Yune to roar along at full speed.

About an hour later, Typhon said, "Look, wheat fields. We've arrived!"

In this brutal era, wheat had not gone extinct. It had become the most tenacious plant, growing everywhere and spreading like a plague. It now contained lethal pathogens that caused gastrointestinal mutations, so it had shifted from being a human staple to a toxic weed people feared to even mention. People had long forgotten they once lived on wheat, calling it poison instead.

But demons loved to eat it.

Lamia said, "Demons are common near wheat fields."

Typhon replied, "There won't be any. Trust me."

We hid the Yune behind some trees and began to move on foot. After half an hour, under the clear moonlight, we saw a farm. The house and barn were clearly abandoned, exuding a gray, desolate air; it wouldn't be surprising if it were haunted.

Lamia found a tree and climbed onto a branch. She said, "The view is good here."

I started climbing the same tree, aiming for her branch. She laughed, "What are you coming up here for? Don't disturb me. There's no room."

I said, "There's room. Can't we just press together?"

Lamia swung her fist. "Get lost, we're working."

I persisted, "We're an old married couple; why are you acting so coy?"

Typhon looked displeased and said, "Mr. Longinus, if you cause any more trouble, I will bankrupt your company."

Sigh, these days, someone even manages you when you joke with your own wife. Was she jealous?

Typhon said, "Fishbone, please turn invisible and stay close to us. Everyone else, hide in the wheat field and provide support with Holy Sword rounds."

The soil on the farm was gray, and the wheat seemed to avoid it as if by instinct. The wind made the wheat sway like the tide, emitting the sound of crashing waves, yet near the farm, it was deathly quiet—silent as the underworld of myth.

Typhon and Chris walked toward the farm, Typhon fiddling with an instrument in her hand. It looked like a compass or a watch; perhaps a watch with a compass function.

The moonlight seemed to shift, coalescing into a man walking out of the farmhouse. His face was as pale as a ghost in a horror film; blonde hair, a large nose, wearing a black trench coat. His eyes were deeply oppressive, as if he had inadvertently lost his entire family and was struggling in the late stages of severe depression.

He made me tremble. He was very, very terrifying—beyond reason, beyond biology, beyond the mortal world, beyond eternity...

Wait, why would I think that? Was it because of some traits that made my imagination run wild?

Typhon and Chris stopped, and the necromancer also stood still. They formed an isosceles triangle.

Typhon bowed to him and said, "Sanjit Typhon."

Chris bowed as well, saying, "Nana Christian."

The necromancer said, "Ah, I have heard much of you. I have heard of the reputation of Queen Typhon; you nearly reached the pinnacle of the Kindred world—a reputation that grew even louder after you killed Augustus Giovanni. It is a pity the world ended halfway through."

Typhon asked, "What is your name?"

The necromancer replied, "I am Ambrosia Giovanni."

Typhon said, "You are also of the Giovanni clan?"

Was this Ambrosia Giovanni also a Kindred? I suspected the Giovanni clan was another bloodline within the Kindred. Looking at this family, they certainly had plenty of messy business.

Ambrosia replied, "Augustus Giovanni happens to be my father—not just my biological father, but my sire in the Kindred."

Chris said, "The tradition of the Giovanni has always been such; you always choose from within your own family."

Ambrosia said, "We only trust our own family. Of course, if an outsider performs exceptionally well, we do not hesitate to bestow the name Giovanni upon them."

Typhon pointed to the necromancer's hand. I saw him clutching a black gemstone. That gem must be extremely valuable, otherwise, Typhon and Chris wouldn't have come here specifically for it.

Could I snatch it and then sell it back to Typhon?

Ambrosia said, "Why do you know about this stone? Who told you?"

Typhon replied, "Norris Giovanni."

Norris? He and Typhon were both elders of the Black Coffin. Did Norris commission Typhon to come here?

Ambrosia fell into a brief silence, then quickly broke it: "Miss Typhon, before the catastrophe, my father worked with you to build a great cause. You wanted to establish a utopia for the Kindred, yet you murdered my father and usurped his wealth and status. This is the truth as I know it. Am I wrong?"

Hearing it like this, it sounded like Typhon was in the wrong, but this was the essence of power struggles: kill or be killed.

Typhon said, "I must clarify: it was Augustus Giovanni who tried to kill me, but he was countered and killed by me and my companions."

Ambrosia continued, "Norris—my foolish brother—cowered under your threats and defected to you. You then acquired the Giovanni family's global assets, as well as shares in the Charon Company and the title deeds to the Black Coffin. You cannot deny these facts, can you?"

Typhon said, "That is simply the result of Augustus's failure. If he hadn't tried to plot against me, we might have passed through a period of stability."

Ambrosia held up the black stone in his palm and said, "You assumed that after killing my father, you could obtain all his relics, including this ancient Sealing Stone?"

Typhon said, "It is all thanks to Norris. He was sorting through Augustus's legacy and read about the Sealing Stone in a document. It was something Augustus had been searching for his entire life."

Ambrosia laughed, "Incompetent Norris. Sigh, to think he is being bossed around like an animal by a woman."

Typhon said, "This is only one piece. There are others. They manifest into physical form during the full moon under specific stellar alignments, just like the one you hold now."

Ambrosia shrugged and said, "And what does that have to do with you?"

Typhon said, "Norris believes his father, Augustus, was always looking for a path to become a god. Augustus was no idiot; something he sought so desperately must have immense value."

Ambrosia said, "Do you even know what a god is? We are already immortal; we are already above humanity. Our strength exceeds that of an elephant, our speed is faster than a sports car, and we can do things humans find inconceivable. So, tell me, Sanjit Typhon, what kind of god do you think my father wanted to become?"

Typhon shook her head and replied, "I don't care, but I cannot allow Augustus's secrets to fall into the hands of an enemy's descendant."

Ambrosia said, "So it is all clear. That is the reason. You know absolutely nothing about this Sealing Stone; you don't even know what kind of deity my father wanted to become!"

His tone became incredibly stern, and in an instant, his shout echoed across the wilderness. A massive blood sword appeared in Typhon's hand; it was over a person's height, flickering and ever-changing, with blood-red light swirling around the terrifying blade. Chris also drew her golden longsword.

Suddenly, Lamia fired first. A Holy Sword round struck Ambrosia, and his head exploded instantly. I thought this Ambrosia was all talk, acting like he was incredibly powerful, but who would have thought he was so fragile?

Typhon slashed a sword toward the farmhouse, and blood rushed forth like a waterfall, crushing the structure. I saw that the farmhouse was full of corpses. Their eyes snapped open, and they lunged at Typhon and Chris with claws outstretched.

Chris immediately reached for the Sealing Stone, but it seemed to evaporate. Chris looked pained and whispered, "It's a fake! There's a curse on the stone!"

Typhon said, "It's not fake; this stone can turn into a ghost! And he is not Ambrosia! He is just an ordinary corpse!" She attacked the corpses; with her strength, a few strikes should have been enough to cleave a tank or an armored vehicle, but those zombies were exceptionally tough, and her sword barely managed to slice through them.

Chris vibrated her arm, firing a beam of golden sword light that pierced the zombies' foreheads, knocking them down. She shouted, "He is nearby! Find him!"

Broken Bell said, "There!"

One of the corpses in the pile was sitting up. His face slowly shifted into Ambrosia's, and he still held the Sealing Stone in his hand.

Broken Bell lunged at him, his arm extending, his palm turning sharp as a blade as he slashed at Ambrosia's neck. Ambrosia grabbed Broken Bell, black energy surging from his palm and rapidly spreading over him. In an instant, Broken Bell was enveloped in black mist.

Typhon shouted, "Damn it, it's the Touch of Death!" She lunged at Ambrosia with her blood sword. Ambrosia blocked with his black hand, dodging Chris's golden blade and Lamia's Holy Sword rounds. While dodging, he said, "So, a rare living corpse. I have seen your kind before; they are very interesting."

I supported Broken Bell and asked, "How do you feel?"

Broken Bell replied, "I'm fine. This spell cannot kill a corpse."

Chris closed in on Ambrosia, but suddenly, Ambrosia twisted his own head off. Chris's sword slashed him to pieces, but we knew it was too late. There must have been many corpses buried beneath this ground; he had already fled with the Sealing Stone, and there was no way we could stop him.