161 Chapter 161: Old friends

"Necromancer! He can control the army of the dead!" A woman from the adventurers association covered her mouth with her hands as she spoke. Even though she was a member of the adventurers association which fought alongside the death mage, she still felt terrified by what she saw and even began considering if joining hands was the right thing to do. It is very hard to believe that something so evil can be trustworthy, unfortunately, she wasn't the only one thinking that way, everyone present here shared the same thoughts.

What if the death mage stabs them at the back at a crucial moment and murders the elder prince in cold blood?

What if his ultimate goal is to take the throne for himself and this is just him using the elder prince to reach his goal?

"Do you think your prince is dumb enough to join hands with someone he doesn't trust? I don't think Gerald Gyro is dumb… Now if you're done doubting me, the death mage has just given us a chance of victory… Done waste it!" Gerald's voice sounded as a reminder in their head, clearing their doubts.

He knew how frightening this death mage could be and it was hard to believe someone with such diabolic powers still possesses a good heart and a pure soul. To be honest, he was very sure that this Derik present is a different person when compared to the previous him and this bothered him slightly. In the deepest parts of his heart, he too was doubting Derik's loyalty as well while considering the possible outcomes if Derik should turn his back on him. In this case, Gerald refused to completely give up on Derik! He believed that the evil magic which he possessed my corrupt his mind but it can never change his principles as a man.

The fact that since the battle began, he is yet to wreak chaos and havoc, always struggling to reach the capital with the least number of casualties also proves that Derik wants to end this battle as soon as possible. This is enough reason for Gerald to place his trust in him.

The army of the dead under Derik's commands let out soul-shaking cries of pain and despair as they stormed forward towards the opposing side, each and every one of them wielding the same level of power they once had in their past life!

During this time when these people were still confused about what next to do and who to trust in, Derik had already traveled really far. He could clearly see the royal palace no and a vicious grin appeared on his face.

"All of you help me break the barrier!" Derik said as he urged the death energy in him, preparing for an attack.

"Lightning magic: Typhoon!" The pale blue-haired lady under Derik's command roared and spat out a sea of purple lightning which intertwined and soon took the form of a massive hurricane.

"Wind magic: Hurricane!" The blonde-haired man roared as well as releasing a hurricane at the same time as the lady.

"Guardian spirit path: Divine crucifix!" The winged man priest roared and a massive cross the size of a small mountain appeared above his head and let out a dazzling glow.

"Divine light!" The winged man priest screamed and a beam of light energy shot out of the crucifix, towards the royal palace!

Soon a lightning twister and a terrible wind hurricane flew towards the royal palace, alongside a ray of dazzling golden light, all that was left now was the attack from the main boss.

"AAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHH!" Derik roared as dark clouds loomed over his head and purple lightning descended into his palms.

If it were years ago before Derik entered the silver realm, he would have been chanting some incantations now in preparation for the next spell but now things are different. The greater the understanding of one's element, the easier it is for the person to manipulate it to their will.

"Break!" Derik roared and released streaks of terrifying purple lighting which dance towards the royal palace. A vicious smile appeared on Derik's face as he watched the combined attack fly towards the barrier protecting the royal palace. Even if the attack was not enough to completely bring down the barrier in one go, they could continue attacking, wearing it down bit by bit.

......

"Its good to see you again Derik, it been a while" A majestic voice was calm and had a soothing effect and yet everyone in the capital could hear it.

Guardian spirit path: Ancient Divine sword!

A massive sword materialized in front of the barrier and with an ear-piercing screech, the divine blade shot forward towards the attacks

"Blood magic: Red sea!" Another familiar voice resonated from the royal palace and a sea of blood suddenly appeared, crashing down on the attacks aimed at the royal palace like a tidal wave

Boom!

Boooom!!

Booooom!!!

The shockwave from the attacks shook the skies and dark clouds above Derik and his army of the dead was forcefully cleared.

Swoooooosh!

Before anyone could recover from the previous collusion, a figure shot out of the royal palace like a meteor, shooting towards Derik and his undead slaves. His green hair was cut short and his golden warrior armor bearing the Gyro family emblem glittered under the sun. The broadsword in his hands which was placed in front released a powerful silver glow that made the air itself tremble

In just a second, the youth had crossed the three hundred meter gap separating Derik and his undead slaves from the royal palace. He let out a roar and the broadsword in his hands trembled, releasing sounds that made people feel like the blade could break at any moment due to the pressure been put on it.

The three undead slaves reacted quite well and they all launched their attacks viciously at the youth who dares to attack their master directly

"Lightning magic: Typhoon!"

"Wind magic: Hurricane"

"Guardian crucifix: Diving light!"

Two twisters, one made of lightning and the other made of wind coupled with a thick ray of golden light shot towards green-haired guardian knight, blocking his path of advance.

To their greatest surprise, the guardian knight didn't look like he was planning to slow down even a bit. Instead, the silver aura around him intensified and his speed skyrocketed even more. This made Derik wonder if Donald was trying to commit suicide or he was just to blind to see the high-level attacks sent towards him. Before Derik could act, a youth dressed in shiny blue armor, with long flowing blue hair appeared.

His appearance stunned Derik the most and he unconsciously compared his looks to that of Gin. Even though the death magic has always altered his appearance over the years, Derik never hated it, instead, he was proud of his looks because it made him stand out even though it didn't make him more handsome, it still made him look… Unique, making it almost impossible for anyone not to stare at him for a while. But now things were different!

Gin always had this extraordinary charm which made him stand out and even Derik could not deny the fact that he was a member of the team with the best looks at that time. Back then he felt he had a chance against the youth and when his appearance began to change because of his magic, he felt he would soon catch up to the enchanter but now, after seeing Gin after such a long time, Derik lost the little strands of hope he has been holding on to. If felt like the creator spent years just to make a charming youth like Gin, if there were female angels Derik was pretty sure they are willing to lose their status in the heavens just to spend a night with this youth.

"Enchantment magic: Unbreakable!" Gin's voice was calm and majestic, a voice worthy of such a handsome man.

Blue light suddenly surrounded Donald and his body seemed to change, as if it had gotten thicker and firmer all of a sudden.

Boooooooom!

Donald roared as he plunged into the attack of all three undead slaves with fierce determination in his eyes. A slivery figure burst out the end of the attack and with a single sword swipe accompanied with an intimidating battle cry, Donald cut the three undead slaves in two as he blew past them! His body was covered in serious wounds, yet his eyes were still filled with determination!

With no one left to he let out a small smile as he struck forward with all his might!

"Old friend we meet again…"

Silver level combat technique: Meteorite thrust!

At this point, Derik finally realized what was going on. The protection enchantment spell cast on Donald was only meant to prevent him from sustaining life-threatening injuries from the combined attacks of the three undead slaves. The main goal was to let him get to Derik and him with a single strike!

[Bastard Gin! When did you learn how to cast enchantment spells? You were always the close combat type] Derik cursed in his heart.

"Old friend? We are not friends" Derik said to Donald with a savage grin on his face.

His fiery eyes burnt even brighter and thick darkish purple aura burst out of his claws. It was clear Derik had no intention of shying away from a head-on confrontation with this guardian knight. He raised his hand and the death scythe which was the size of a full-grown man appeared in his hands, followed by a vicious grin!

"Death magic: Purgatory Slash!" Derik roared as he shot forward and a large portion of his death aura burst out of the death scythe before he slashed forward as well.

Boooom!!!

Immediately after the collision, Derik was forced to retreat by a few hundred meters, he spat out black blood and it seemed as if he had sustained internal injuries. Meanwhile, Donald shot back like a meteor, flying towards the royal palace!

The barrier surrounding the royal palace was quite special. It allowed people to leave but it stopped people from entering. Once a person leaves he can never enter again unless the barrier is brought down. Knowing this, everyone present knew that if Donald slams into the barrier at this moment, with the momentum he has gathered when he was blown away by Derik's counter, chances are he will be turned into a bloody paste and this is not what anyone wanted to see.

Everyone who remained within the protection of the barrier soon dashed out. While Cyrus cast protection and healing spell on Donald, the others attempted to stop him or at least slow him down by using their bodies to block him.

The vicious smile on Derik's face widened as he watched them struggle as he knew this will by him enough time to recover from the internal injuries which he has sustained but then he felt something was wrong.

He could see Gin, Cyrus, Kira, Karl, Donald and his replacement and old friend Mason but one more person was missing. Before Derik could curse, he felt the sharp edges of a cold blade around his throat!

He reacted quickly as he subconsciously released his death aura in a bid to scare the assassin away but to his greatest surprise, the assassin was protected by a thick layer of golden light. His expression instantly turned grim as he saw the cunning yet apologetic smile on Cyrus' face.

"Damn you!" Derik panicked for the first time in a while and the death scythe reacted to his masters fear and quickly escaped his grip and swiftly slashed at the assassin behind its master.

"We will always be friends… even in death" A sweet, alluring voice entered Derik's ears. It seemed as if she was not scared by the death scythe.

Puff!

Before the death scythe reached the assassin she had already moved two hundred meters away. A deep gash was soon on Derik's throat and he instinctively covered it with his hands while gasping for air. His eyes were filled with rage and hatred as he stared at the lady responsible for this fatal injury has sustained.

"Daemon!" Derik struggled to speak!