Once again, Leon and Darya returned to the continent using an underground route. It didn't take long for them to reach the liches' dungeon. However, they had an unpleasant surprise… the liches formed a perfect barrier around the dungeon. Not using mana, but their bodies. They weren't moving an inch either, and that was very suspicious.
"There are thousands of liches there…" Darya frowned.
"I can see that… all of them had the undead tree branches, so I guess a new boss appeared." Leon rubbed his chin. "That is definitely a trap… but I thought that the god of death would make something more elaborate. He should have known that we can kill those monsters… even though it will take a while."
"What are we going to do?" Darya asked.
"… I want to use Appraisal on them to confirm if those monsters have new powers or not," Leon answered. "But it is impossible to confirm that without being noticed… I should have leveled up Appraisal more."
It was a bit late to notice that, considering that Leon would have to use that skill without being seen to confirm the harvesters' skills and status. However, it couldn't be helped, Leon was someone who would fill the holes of his plans with the passage of time. He would rather focus on the core of his plans and worry about the small details later.
Leon didn't have time to lose, so he prepared himself to kill the liches and knock down a few hundreds of them, there was no point in observing them since they wouldn't reveal anything like that. However, Leon changed his plans when he saw one hundred liches leaving the dungeon and another hundred entering the dungeon... that was very weird.
"There is no doubt that something shady is going on here," Leon declared. "We can't discover what without approaching, but it is obvious that isn't something good for us. Let's attack."
"Roger that." Darya nodded.
Leon also improved his control over the past months, and he discovered that by every twenty points of control, he could manipulate one more object. Now, he could control nine spears. However, those were mithril spears... much faster and stronger than the steel spears. In a few seconds, Leon killed almost one hundred liches, with them making rain blood over the area.
"You don't look that vicious, but someone can't judge a book by its cover." Darya frowned.
"I'm not enjoying this, but those are monsters," Leon said. "They sold their... equivalent of humanity to become powerful and immortal... I don't have any reason to hold back against them. Still... it is kind of surprising that you can look at that without screaming or something when a few months ago, you trembled like a leaf when I threatened you."
"I don't think that different from you. Those are creatures that would kill me if they had the chance. Besides, they invaded my world. I also don't have much reason to feel bad about this, even though I was just a civilian a few months ago." Darya looked away. " Although I was more like an outcast to my relatives… I lost some of them to monsters, and I didn't like that."
In the end, even Darya had a reason to be ruthless against monsters. So, she attacked the liches using short knives made of mithril added with the power of her Telekinesis. Despite saying things like that, she only attacked their hearts. Darya didn't want to destroy their heads like before. Still, she soon noticed that attacking only their hearts was useless... In the end, Darya also helped Leon to create a sea of blood.
Despite that scene of carnage, the liches didn't try to do anything. So, Leon and Darya couldn't help but frown. Suddenly, one thousand liches raised their hand, and then the atmosphere around changed, Leon could clearly see their mana taking shape and creating a massive magic circle.
"I guess the trap was much elaborated than I thought…" Leon started to sweat, feeling that massive wave of mana filling all the area. "Let's get the hell out of here!"
Leon and Darya moved toward the checkpoint they created nearby and immediately used it. Instantly, they appeared thirty kilometers away from there. But not even that had been enough, suddenly, a figure covered in a dark cloak appeared in front of them, blocking their part toward the next checkpoint. Inside the cloak, Leon and Darya saw nothing... only a shadow. It was weird because they felt like the shadow was alive. Leon didn't know how, but he had imagined that that massive magic circle would summon something and by the look of things... that was the god of death.
???? (Shadow)
Health: ????/????
Mana: ????/ ????
Stamina: ????/ ????
Active Skills: ????, ????, ????, ????
Passive Skills: ????, ????, ????¸ ????
Leon began to sweat cold, that thing was, without a doubt, the most powerful creature he had seen so far. The monster even had a skill that could counter Appraisal. Running wasn't an option, but Leon and Darya decided not to attack either. That was an opponent way out of their league, and they didn't have to anger it even more.
"Greetings… as expected, you two are the ones who defeated my minions some time ago." The shadowy figure said. "You two are smart enough to try to analyze me the moment, and I appear and not to attack without knowing the difference in strength… as expected of Donan's granddaughter… but I didn't expect an inhabitant of that little planet would do the same."
"You…" Leon said, trying to control his nerves.
"Yes, I know about your little planet." The shadowy figure said. "That is why I came here… I have a proposal for you. Work for me, and I will give you the chance to return to Earth."