Skeleton King

The old man's back was still hunched, but at this moment, his thin hands were tightly grasping the table, and his somewhat chaotic eyes looked at Ace carefully, as if this was the first time he knew Ace.

The old man: "You actually have a lich under your command?"

Yes, the old man has already felt that although the two holy ranks are separated by the barrier of the plane, in fact, no matter which one of them takes a step forward, they can reach the other side.

When they reached the holy steps, the barriers of the planes could no longer stop them.

What surprised the old man the most was not the arrival of the Lich, but that Ace could summon the Lich.

The old man will never admit that he is wrong, Ace is not a necromancer yet.

Not a necromancer, but able to summon a lich.Such a young man, if you offend him now, wait until the day he grows into a magician, or even a holy magician, what terrible combat power he will have.

The old man never underestimated human talent.

Either nip the danger in the bud, or...

Ace spoke calmly, since Bill is here, even the Holy Order cannot kill him immediately, as long as he is given a chance to return to the world of the dead, he will be invincible.

Ace's tone was flat, he didn't need to increase his volume or change his tone, because what made him stand here today was his strength.Ace said: "As I said, even in the world of the dead, star potions are rare things. On the way to study the soul, undead creatures go farther than humans and monsters."

"I can get the Star Potion and keep it. Naturally, I must have the corresponding strength."

The old man: "If this potion first appeared in the dead world, then the lich made it?"

Ace didn't deny it.

Although the world of the dead and the world of the dead belong to two planes, whether it is the news from General Arnold or the novel "Sword and Magic" he read in the previous life, there are still people in the world who can reach the world of the dead.

And the one most likely to do so is the Magic Island, which is inextricably linked to Millai Street.However, the territory of the dead world is too vast, and there is no effective means of conveying information. Most skeletons may not be able to encounter a living human being in the dead world for thousands of years.

Not to mention human beings, even the central city has only a half-knowledge of the vision of the stars in the dead world. No one, and no undead creature can guess the relationship between the vision and the star potion.

In Eternal Night City, there is a large array of natural protection, even facing the holy steps of the magic island, Ace is also not afraid.What's more, today, Ace will do his best to eliminate the trouble.Now, Ace is not afraid of the old man guessing part of the truth.

The old man: "Is it your lich who made the star potion?"

"Don't talk to me. I'll just ask, do you accept this business or not?" Ace said coldly, "If you accept it, I will sign a contract with you for this transaction; if you are not satisfied with the price , you need to sign a confidentiality contract. This will not harm you. Believe me, having a friend in the dead world is not a bad thing."

Old man: "What if I don't choose?"

In places invisible to the naked eye of ordinary people, the gate of the dead world has been opened.It was only because of Ace's control that those skeletons did not pass through the gate of the dead world.Of course the old man felt it too.

Ace's meaning has been revealed.

If the old man doesn't accept the two options, and the news leaks out one day in the future, unless Ace hides in Evernight City, he will never have peace, and it will even affect everyone he knows in this world.

The old man got Ace's answer, and his next move was beyond Ace's expectation. He raised the delicate wine glass on the counter and drank the star potion inside.

What is this for?Ace felt a little puzzled.

Drinking the star potion before the battle should not have the effect of greatly increasing the strength of the holy rank.

At the beginning, in the canyon of the World of Warcraft Forest, the reason why Bill swallowed the little golden bead alive and advanced from the eighth level to the ninth level was not only because the little golden bead was a semi-finished product, but also because Bill's strength at that time was far from the holy level.But the effect of the star potion on the holy rank should be what Ace said before.

Ace was full of doubts, but he didn't show it on his face.

After the old man drank the star potion, he smacked his mouth, as if he was tasting the taste of the star potion.

In fact, the old man is very confident that it is impossible for Ace to kill him. Even the magic island wanted him serially thousands of years ago, and he escaped alive to the streets of Mile.

But killing and imprisoning are two different things.If Ace becomes ruthless and locks him up in the realm of the dead, unless there are other holy orders before that, the old man can only let Ace do what he wants.

The next sentence the old man said made Ace's face change.

"It's really a potion made by the lich next to you. It should be in the past few days. It also contains the animal blood you bought before. I can't even recognize my own blood."

"Even if my blood has been perfectly integrated into the Star Potion."

Ace asked in shock, "You are?"

The old man: "Human beings always scoff at the truth that is close at hand. There are many rumors not only on the streets of Millais, but also in the port of Nice. Of course, this is not groundless."

There is indeed a rumor in the port of Nice that the tenth-level monsters in the forest of monsters will also take human form and trade here.

But whether it is Ace or others, it is not to use it as Port of Nice to boast and advertise, but to use it as an ignorant commoner to spread falsehoods.Even if there are monsters that are transformed into human figures and trade here, Ace will only think that they are purchasing here, not opening a shop.

It never occurred to Ace that the owner of this grocery store he had been to several times was a level ten monster.

The old man: "There are many more sacred steps in Port of Nice than you can imagine. There is no harmony between monsters, but if you think that there is a human being who captures me in front of them, but they don't respond, then You could be dead wrong."

"Your chance of success is about [-]%. I have another proposal that you may be more interested in." The old man hunchbacked, he slowly pushed the counter forward, pointed to the back of the shop, and said, "Would you like it?" Let's talk somewhere else."

Ace looked at the dark scene behind the shop and didn't move.

Old man: "If you're worried, you can bring your lich in with you."

Ace flicked the bone staff in his hand. He had asked the skeleton knight to send a message to Evernight City, telling General Arnold that he might summon him at any time, and then let Bill come to the grocery store.

The first thing that appeared in the grocery store was a pale hand. This hand grabbed twice in the void, and then grabbed it on the counter. Then appeared black sleeves, and then the whole thing was covered in a black robe. people.

As soon as Bill arrived at the grocery store, he took off his hat, revealing slightly curly, soft brown hair. The expression on his face was very complicated, like joy, melancholy, and remembrance, but soon, Bill packed it up Feeling emotional, he bowed slightly to Ace and said, "Young master." It was like a well-trained housekeeper.

Then Bill stood up straight, looked out from the grocery store street, and said, "This place looks familiar."

Ace said lightly, "This is Millai Street."

Bill: "Port of Nice? Oh, I used to come here when I was a kid."

After Bill and Ace finished talking, he seemed to notice another person in the grocery store, "Master, who is this?"

Ace: "The owner of this shop is also a powerful tenth-level monster. He invited us to take a look at the back of his shop."

While Ace was talking to Bill, the old man was also observing Bill.

Hearing Ace introduce himself to Bill, the old man said: "I have never been to the dead world. The lich is different from what I imagined. It seems that the life after death is also very interesting."

Ace didn't speak, but it was Bill who took the initiative and said, "There are more holy ranks alive than dead liches. Do you know what that means?"

Logically speaking, holy ranks have a lifespan. The holy ranks of humans can live for thousands of years, and the holy ranks of monsters can live for ten thousand years. But unless the fire of the soul of the lich is extinguished by other undead creatures, their lives should be endless .And when he was alive, he was a strong man of the holy rank, and the possibility of becoming a lich after death was much higher than that of ordinary people.

There should be more liches.

But even if the Skeleton King was alive, the number of Liches did not exceed ten in the heyday of the Dead World.

Now, apart from the five liches guarding Sifang and Central City, the rest of the liches are missing. Including Bill, there are only six who have definite news.Of course, apart from a few people in Eternal Night City, no one else knew that there was already a Lich in Eternal Night City.

After the death of the holy order, they go to the world of the dead. Unless they have a particularly deep obsession, they can retain a short memory, and most people are no different from others.Most of these original holy ranks were killed by other undead creatures when they were in a daze, so they had no chance to awaken their memories of life.

The old man fully understood what Bill meant, and he said, "It's just that they don't have a chance."

After hearing what the old man said, Ace secretly had a guess in his heart, but felt that it was too ridiculous.

Ace suppressed the conjecture in his heart, and walked into the back of the grocery store with Bill.Ace really wanted to know what better proposal the old man could have.

They, a monster, a human, and a lich entered the back of the grocery store in turn.At the same time, the door of the grocery store on Millai Street was quietly closed, and the wooden sign of "Closed Business" was also hung on the doorknob, flickering.

……

Ace walked between the old man and Bill, and they went through two doors to a storage room.Behind the grocery store is a very large storage room filled with all kinds of strange things.These things are all rare treasures. Outside Mi Lai Street, even high-ranking magicians and great swordsmen would salivate over them, but at this moment, all the things were randomly placed on the shelves and piled up in boxes.

Ace didn't understand what the old man had brought them here for.

Just like what the old man thought before, at Ace’s position, no matter how precious the items below legend are, it is only a matter of time and energy for Ace to get them. The only thing that can make them spend their minds is the dagger made of the horn of the Dragon King. There are star potions.

What Ace didn't expect was that when the three of them entered the storage room, the old man who was walking in the front stopped. He walked to the shelf next to the door and pushed it lightly. As if a door had been pushed open, soft sunlight streamed into the storage room.

The old man looked at Ace and Bill, and said, "Come in."

Ace turned to look at Bill, and they both saw suspicion in each other's eyes.

It was night in the port of Nice now, and there was only moonlight and starlight on the streets of Mile.How could there be daylight at the other end of the aisle in the storage room behind the grocery store?Is this a newly developed magic lamp?

Or is it that the other end of the channel is already a new plane?

In there, can I contact the world of the dead again?

The old man saw clearly the hesitation of Ace and Bill, and took the initiative to say: "This is a very small plane. To be precise, it is just a gap between two planes. Its barrier is also very fragile, so it cannot trap you. .”

Bill nodded towards Ace, he could feel that such a plane barrier really couldn't trap the holy steps.Although Bill's strength is at the bottom of the holy rank, he can break through the barrier as long as he is at the third rank with all his strength.

Ace naturally saw Bill's gesture clearly, but he is not a holy step, if he is locked alone in the space crack, he will definitely be cool.

An astrology doll appeared out of thin air in Ace's left hand. He flicked his hand back, and the astrology doll passed directly through the node of space and arrived at the dead world.If General Arnold loses the news of Ace and Bill, he can also find Ace through the astrology doll.

The old man let Ace send the astrology doll away, then turned and entered the passage.

Ace and Bill followed closely behind and entered the space crack.

"It turns out that you have more than one lich under your command." This was the first sentence Ace heard after walking into the space crack.

The area of ​​the space rift is about the same size as the garden of Bad Soden Manor, and it really looks like a garden, with flowers blooming and birds singing softly.This place is completely different from what he imagined. He was wondering when he heard the voice of the old man, but the voice was hoarse and deep than before.

Ace turned his head, and he saw a low pond beside the garden, surrounded by thick bushes, the water in the pond was so clear that you could even see big and small fish swimming around.

Of course, the most eye-catching thing in this pond is not the swimming fish, but a huge turtle.This tortoise is huge. After it lay down, the water in the whole pond overflowed a lot, moistening the land by the pond.The turquoise glans head is pointed at the front and wide at the back, like a triangle. The neck is longer than the average turtle, and it is covered with fine scales. Its carapace is dark green and huge, covering the entire turtle body. , the four claws and tail are also retracted in the turtle shell, not exposed.

And what Ace heard just now came from the old turtle's throat.

Ace didn't pay attention to the old man's words, but asked in surprise, "Who are you?"

The old man, no, the old tortoise said slowly: "Sword Master of the Heavenly Shield, my title." This giant tortoise was transformed by the old man who just entered the crack in the plane.

Ace looked at the round carapace on the back of the old turtle. Unlike most turtle carapaces which are oval, the carapace of the Heavenly Shield Sword Master is round.

Ace thought of the buck turtles that flooded the North Sea before the founding of the Pansy Empire, but disappeared overnight.The round shield tortoise is mostly a third-level monster, but the turtle shell is hard, even if it is a fourth-level or fifth-level monster, it is not easy to hunt and kill them.Because the meat of the round shielded tortoise is not delicious, and the shell is difficult to chew, there are few natural enemies. Most of the round shielded tortoises live longer than the monsters of the same level.

Although the round shielded tortoise has a unique ability to survive, but God is fair, and if there is a loss, there will be a gain.Although round shielded tortoises generally have a long lifespan, it is extremely difficult for them to advance. Often only one or two of a hundred round shielded tortoises can advance to a fourth-level monster.

Ace had never heard of a round shielded tortoise above level eight, and he never thought that he would see a level ten round shield tortoise on Mi Lai street.

Ace bent his upper body slightly forward, showing respect to the holy steps.

"Heavenly Shield Sword Master, I'm sorry." Ace said: "It seems that what you said is correct, even if there are no other holy ranks, I can't defeat you."

Bill stood behind Ace, he didn't move at all, but since he entered the crack of the plane, he held his staff tightly in his hand.No matter what happens, Bill will use the fastest speed to protect Ace and his master.

The Heavenly Shield Sword Master said indifferently: "You don't need to underestimate yourself. Since I brought you here, I admitted that you have the ability to threaten my life. You sent the astrology doll away, it seems that the Lich beside you is not your only one." The hole card, and the only one who can compete with me is the holy rank. I think you are in the dead world, and there are other holy rank helpers. The growth and ambition of human beings are indeed beyond the reach of monsters. You have so many at this age Hollow card, the future is limitless."

Ace: "It's just a coincidence."

Ace didn't deny that he still had a combat power no less than Bill's.Although General Arnold is not a lich, but with real swords and guns, General Arnold's strength is definitely stronger than Bill.Moreover, Ace has already informed General Arnold of the situation on the streets of Millai through the astrology doll. Since they only have one chance, General Arnold will bring the Knights of Eternal Night instead of asking the Lich Ingersoll for help.

"Now that both of us have shown our sincerity, I will tell you the truth. The time I have experienced is longer than most holy ranks, and the star potion you brought is indeed useful to me." Heavenly Shield Sword Master slowly Said: "But for me, one bottle is far from enough."

Ace: "I think a bottle of Star Potion is enough to invite other alchemists of the holy order."

Heavenly Shield Sword Master: "Are you willing to take another risk and let other holy ranks know the origin of the star potion?"

Ace didn't answer.

Heaven Shield Sword Master: "I need three bottles of star medicine to refine the Dragon King's Horn."

Ace said directly: "This is impossible."

Star Potion is not only useful for Juggernauts and Sorcerers, but also more useful for Liches. According to what Ace and General Arnold discussed before, they will flow out a few bottles of Star Potion to other places in the dead world.Bill still needs to refine the Star Potion, and the phenomenon of star manifestation will also appear. The existence of the Star Potion will be exposed sooner or later, but Eternal Night City has not yet fully grown.

Instead of letting other undead lords join forces to take over Eternal Night City, it is better to let the star potion flow to the market in exchange for greater benefits.

At that time, even if the origin of the star potion is exposed, the undead lords will only offer a higher price in exchange for the star potion, instead of grabbing it by force, causing the resentment of Eternal Night City.

To be on the safe side, General Arnold also planned to let Bill follow Ace.Only by ensuring the safety of Bill and Ace can they obtain the greatest benefit.

Not only is the dead world a way out for Ace, but because of Ace's existence, the present world will also become a way out for Eternal Night City.

Every bottle of Star Potion must play its role. It is impossible for Ace to use three bottles of Star Potion just to refine the Dragon King Horn.Even if Bill can still be refined, they won't be able to collect those materials in a short time.

Ace's tone was cold, even mocking, "For you, I don't know if three bottles of Star Potion are enough?"

The Heavenly Shield Sword Master was not angry at all, and said: "In the future, someone will naturally provide me with the star potion. Then I don't need to work hard to get it."

Hearing the voice of the Heavenly Shield Sword Saint Old God, Ace was very angry. He really felt that everything went wrong after he arrived in Nice Port.Nowadays, only Bill can make the star potion. Although Ace knows the steps of refining the potion, if he wants to succeed by himself, he must be at least an eighth-level necromancer.The words of the Heavenly Shield Sword Master will focus on Ace and Bill.

Heaven Shield Sword Master: "You can listen to my suggestion first."

Ace asked uninterestedly, "What?"

Heaven Shield Sword Master: "Have you heard of the equal contract signed between humans and monsters?"

Ace and Bill looked surprised at the same time.

Equal contract, all magicians know it well.Because magicians are extremely weak in melee combat, once a swordsman gets close, they will either die or be injured. Most powerful magicians will have someone close to protect them, but no matter how loyal a swordsman is, there is no contract-bound monster that is better and more lethal. People rest assured.

However, highly intelligent and powerful monsters would rather die than be willing to become slaves of humans. At this time, magicians will consider signing an equal contract with monsters.When the magician was alive, the monsters protected the magician, and the magician provided them with rations and materials needed for advancement.Although many high-level monsters are still unwilling to give up their freedom and attach themselves to humans, this also gives them other options besides death.

Not only magicians are like this, but thousands of years ago, there were also many swordsmen like this. Among them, the most powerful ones signed a special type of Warcraft, and they were also called dragon knights. They often appeared in the poems of bards and girls' fantasies.

Ace did not expect that the Sword Master of Tianshield would take the initiative to propose an equal contract.In the world of Warcraft, it is more believed that the strong are respected. No matter what kind of contract Warcraft signs with humans, the strength of humans is generally stronger than that of Warcraft.

If the contract is established, Ace does have an obligation to help the Skyshield Juggernaut as much as he can.

Ace couldn't refuse the allegiance of a saint.

Ace asked, "Besides the Star Potion, what else do I need to do?"

Ace felt that the Heavenly Shield Sword Master must have other requirements.Of course there are pies in this world, but Ace doesn't think it will be his turn.

really.Heavenly Shield Sword Master said: "I need you to promise or achieve three things."

Ace: "Say it."

Tianshield Sword Master: "The first thing is, I need enough potions, including but not limited to star potions. I won't force others, I just need you to promise that you will do your best to provide me with the materials I need to advance. I know that the amount of potions I need is huge. Over the years, I have accumulated a lot on Mi Lai Street. As long as you need it, you can take it away. If you don’t have it in my shop, you can make a list and I will give it to you Acquisition."

Ace: "Exactly."

Tianshield Sword Master: "The second thing is that thousands of years ago, I was wanted by the Magic Island, and the Millai Library sheltered me. I promised the University of Millai, unless I am loyal to a certain scholar in the Millai Library, otherwise I will Never leave the streets of Millais, must guard the streets of Millais. You want me to serve you, must become a scholar of the Millais library."

Ace frowned, and said, "The number of great scholars in the Millais library is extremely rare, and only a few appear every hundred years, which is too difficult."

The head of the Heavenly Shield Sword Master slowly shook, and he said: "It may be possible for others, but it is not that difficult for you. The scholars certified by the Millais Library are indeed people who have learned a lot. But I can't see where the university scholars are more knowledgeable than other scholars."

Ace thought of how many times he had met the Millais scholar, and said, "The demeanor of the Millaiser is really heartbreaking."

"He is different. Only the university scholars who have obtained the title of Mi Lai are different." The Sword Master of Tianshield said: "I have been on the streets of Mi Lai for a thousand years, and I have seen everyone who has obtained the title of University Scholar for thousands of years. Mi The Lai Library may be mysterious to outsiders, but it is difficult to hide its affairs from the people on the streets of Millai. For example, a scholar from Mellon University, who is obsessed with the political affairs of the imperial capital, has not improved his knowledge in recent years; another example is Myron University. Or, just a fool and a nice guy, extremely mediocre."

"The titles given to scholars by the Millais Library must be related to their intelligence, but it is not necessarily the case for granting titles to university scholars." Heaven Shield Sword Master said: "I heard that the University of Millais mentioned you, Ace Neumann , I don’t think Millais scholars will exclude you from becoming a university scholar. But I really don’t know how they select university scholars.”

"I can try." Ace said, "But what if I can't become a university student?"

Heavenly Shield Sword Master: "I will refine three bottles of Star Potion for you to refine the Dragon King Horn, and sign a confidentiality contract. If you can't do the latter two things, I will not disclose the matter about the Star Potion, but I will not be attached to it. you."

Ace thought for a while and said, "Okay. What about the third thing?"

Tianshield Sword Master: "The third thing is related to the magic island and my race. I want to rescue my people. You will understand this matter when you reach the holy rank."

Ace looked at Bill, and Bill shook his head. He had never heard of the tortoise on the magic island, and he thought it was a secret that only the holy ranks could come into contact with.

Ace was silent for a moment. He had already guessed that holy monsters were not so easy to contract, and the request made by the Heavenly Shield Sword Master did not exceed his expectations by much.

Ace said: "I can agree to all three of your requests. However, I need to modify the contract. The time of our contract does not end with my life, but with your life."

"That is to say, as long as you are still alive, no matter hundreds of years later, I am a mage or a lich, you must be loyal to me. Even if you die, as long as the fire of your soul is not extinguished, you will become an undead After the creature, your contract with me will not be broken. Or if the fire of my soul is extinguished, you will also be loyal to my family forever."

"In return, after you die, I will do my best to protect the integrity of your soul, keep your memory intact, and help you improve your strength."

"Heavenly Shield Sword Master, are you willing?"

Heaven Shield Sword Master: "I wish."

……

Ace left the Dragon King Horn to the Heavenly Shield Sword Master and left the grocery store.

The Heavenly Shield Sword Master told Ace that although an alchemist can refine the Dragon King's Horn, it is best not to use the method of an alchemist if he wants to make this dagger exert its maximum power and become natural.The Heaven Shield Sword Master will use the beast fire to remove impurities from the Dragon King's Horn, then seal the coercion on it, and then attach a hilt to it.

The dragon's horns are natural weapons, and their sharpness is naturally unrivaled.

Because Tianshield Sword Master had never heard of someone refining dragon horns, let alone dragon king horns, he was not sure how long it would take.He just promised Ace that after the dagger was made, he would find someone to send it to the imperial capital as soon as possible.

Ace had nothing to do, so he took Bill and left.

At this time, the night in the port of Nice was already very deep, even the magic lamps of Prince Xiben's mansion in the center of the city were extinguished, and there were no people on the sea market.Only on Milai Street, there are still sporadic shops open.

Ace looked up, and he saw a tiny light on top of Millais' library, like a tiny star.

Ace and Bill happened to walk to the tavern opened by Tom, and Ace said, "You stay here, I have something to do." Then he turned around and walked in the direction of the Millais library.