Chapter 87 The Fruit of Life
Chapter 87 The Fruit of Life
Alecto's steps were as light as a cat's, each step landing precisely on the boundary between shadow and light.
Stealth proved incredibly effective in this situation, suppressing even his breathing and heartbeat to the lowest possible frequency.
The pyramids are just ahead.
From a distance, it appears majestic and imposing, but only upon closer inspection did Alector feel a stirring deep within his soul.
The basalt walls are smooth as a mirror and are carved with ancient totems.
It wasn't the style of any modern civilization; the lines were rough and archaic, depicting stars, the moon, some kind of winged creature, and—a dragon.
The dragon totem is located in the center of the lintel of the main entrance of the pyramid. It is a giant dragon coiled in a circle, with its head and tail connected to form a perfect ring.
Alecto's dragon eyes narrowed slightly.
This totemistic style—he had seen it in Sobek's inherited memories.
That was a symbol of the glorious era of the ancient dragon race, representing eternal cycles and the cycle of life.
"Is this a dragon relic?"
A storm raged within Alecto's heart.
He had initially thought it was just an ancient civilization's tomb or temple, but now it seemed things were far more complex than he had imagined.
If it really is a relic of the dragon race, then what have the liches been deciphering for the past ten years?
Necromancers are generally not very interested in dragon-related things, unless—
Alekto's gaze fell upon the barrier at the entrance to the pyramid.
"Dragon Language Magic Barrier————"
Alecto was certain.
No wonder the lich couldn't break through quickly and could only use the most rudimentary method: continuously extracting energy from the barrier using the Soul Devouring Barrier, waiting for it to decay naturally to a point where it could be forcibly broken through.
Alecto licked his lips.
The things inside that the lich is so obsessed with must be extraordinary.
He quietly circled around to the side of the pyramid, where the roar of battle still raged.
The barrier gradually cracked under the violent impact. The crack was narrow, but Alecto, who could shrink his size, could barely squeeze in.
He hesitated for a moment.
Reason told him he should continue to hide and wait until the church and the lich were both weakened before making any further plans.
But something that even an eighth-level necromancer desires must be of immeasurable value!
What's more, this is a relic of the dragon race!
"Take a gamble."
Alecto squeezed sideways into the gap in the barrier and came to a door.
A line of dragon language is inscribed on the door: "Only dragons of pure blood may enter this palace."
Alecto reached out and pressed his hand against the door.
The door slid open silently, and the narrow passage sloped downwards.
Alecto could only crawl forward, the golden flames condensing into a small ball of light in his palm, barely illuminating what lay ahead.
The passage wasn't long; after climbing for about a hundred meters, the view suddenly opened up ahead.
Alecto emerged from the passage and found himself standing in a huge stone chamber.
This is clearly a side chamber inside the pyramid, about half the size of a plaza.
In the center of the stone chamber is a stone platform, on which are placed three items.
On the left is a rusty longsword, its blade broken in two, but judging from the gems inlaid on the hilt, it was once a top-quality weapon.
On the right is a set of neatly stacked armor, made of neither gold nor iron, in a dark silver color, with fine dragon scale patterns on the surface.
Despite the passage of time, it remains as clean and new as ever.
And right in the middle —
Alecto's breathing suddenly became rapid.
A fruit the size of a fist floated silently in mid-air.
Its entire body has a translucent crystal texture, with a flowing emerald green luster inside.
What's most amazing is the life force emanating from the fruit.
Rich, pure, and magnificent.
Standing just ten meters away, Alecto felt his life force leaping with joy, every cell yearning for that fruit.
A legendary fruit of life!
But this is not all.
Alecto suppressed the urge to rush forward immediately and scanned his surroundings with his dragon eyes.
The stone chamber had no other exit, and the walls were covered with murals.
He walked to the nearest wall and illuminated the mural with golden flames.
In the painting, a group of elves gather before a pyramid, offering sacrifices to a giant dragon.
Alecto fell into deep thought.
Judging from the content of the mural, this legendary fruit of life was originally given to the dragon by the elves, and it seems to be some kind of important ritual relic.
He shook his head, temporarily suppressing his questions.
The most urgent task is to take the fruits of our labor.
Alecto stepped onto the stone platform and reached out to grab the legendary fruit of life.
The moment he touched the fruit, an indescribable sensation spread throughout his body.
Warm, full, and reassuring, like returning to the womb.
The fruit flew into his palm automatically, and the emerald light spread along his arm, healing the wounds previously caused by the death ray at a visible speed.
The withered muscles became plump again, the dragon scales regained their luster, and they became even more resilient.
"This is the fruit of life—"
Alecto murmured.
He didn't have time to savor it properly and quickly put the fruit into his spatial bag.
The fruit exudes such a strong life force that it's like a lighthouse in the darkness, ready to attract attention at any moment.
Sure enough, the very next second after the fruit disappeared—
"Um?"
Outside the pyramid, the lich, who had just crawled out of the ruins, suddenly turned his head, his soul fire fixed on the pyramid.
Although he couldn't see inside, the sudden disappearance of life made him instantly realize what had happened.
"Someone stole my things?!"
The lich's voice was distorted with rage.
Ten years of planning, ten years of waiting, success was just around the corner, but at the last moment someone else snatched it away!
An overwhelming killing intent erupted like a tsunami!
Meanwhile, Linus also sensed something was wrong.
That faint, pure life force suddenly vanished, along with the disappearance of Alecto—
"Alectus————"
Linus's face turned ashen.
He understood; he understood everything.
While they were locked in a fierce battle with the lich, the red dragon secretly infiltrated the pyramid and stole the treasure.
Just then, a large hole exploded in the side of the pyramid, and a red figure rushed out of it, heading straight for the dome.
It's Alecto!
He reverted to his true form as a red dragon, his body, over twenty meters long, stretching out in the air, whipping up a whirlwind as his wings flapped.
The lich reacted extremely quickly.
"Give my things back!"
He stretched out his skeletal hand and made a grasping motion towards the sky.
The death energy in the entire underground space converged wildly, condensing into a gigantic bone claw that blotted out the sky and reached for Alecto!
Wherever the bone claws passed, even space seemed to freeze.
Even Alekto in his prime wouldn't dare to take a direct hit from an eighth-level necromancer's enraged attack, let alone now that he's not in top condition.
But Alecto was prepared.
The moment he burst out of the pyramid, he had already completed the preparations for casting the spell.
"Sevenfold Fire Realm!"
He roared, uttering the last syllable of the incantation.
Seven fiery barriers unfolded simultaneously, layer upon layer, protecting Alecto in the center.
The bone claws gripped the first layer of the barrier.
The barrier trembled violently, and countless cracks appeared on its surface before shattering instantly. The bone claw continued to penetrate deeper, breaking through seven layers of barriers before completely dissipating.
Alecto, on the other hand, had already used the recoil to reach the vicinity of the tunnel exit.
"Don't even think about escaping!"
The soul fire in the lich's eyes flickered wildly.
He abandoned his defense against the angel's attack and focused all his attention on Alexios.
The legendary Fruit of Life was of immense significance to him; it was his only hope of escaping his undead body and reshaping the origin of his life!
As long as he can consume the fruit, he can reverse life and death, turn from a lich back into a living person, and even break through to the ninth rank and enter the legendary realm!
We absolutely cannot let the Red Dragon take it away!
"The Scourge of the Undead!"
The lich bit his fingertip, and a drop of jet-black blood fell to the ground.
The moment the blood touched the ground, the entire square turned into an abyss.
Countless tentacles reached out from the abyss, grabbing at Alecto in the air.
At the same time, the remaining undead army all looked up, the soul fire in their eye sockets detached from their bodies, turning into a sky full of green meteors that bombarded Alector!
This is a desperate act.
The lich burned his accumulated death essence, determined to leave the red dragon behind.
Alecto felt a chill run down his spine.
He couldn't withstand an attack of that scale!
"Linus!"
He immediately yelled, "Help me!"
Alecto's roar echoed through the underground space, reaching Linus's ears.
At that moment, Linus did feel anger.
The cunning and shamelessness of the Red Dragon were on full display at this moment.
First, they took advantage of their fierce battle with the lich to sneak into the pyramids and steal treasure. Now, facing the lich's desperate counterattack, they shamelessly ask them for help.
But he did not hesitate.
"Because the lich is more hateful than the red dragon—a despicable reptile."
Linus muttered to himself, his voice a mixture of disdain for Alecto and resignation at having to make the choice he was forced to make.
"Andrei! Save him!"
He shouted without the slightest hesitation.
Driven by Andrei's will, the four-winged angel of light transformed into a golden streak of light and hurtled straight at the lich's back.
At this moment, the lich was focusing all his attention on Alexstrasza.
His soul fire throbbed wildly in his eye sockets, burning with ten years of obsession and the fury of this moment.
The skeletal hand maintained its clenched grip, controlling the bone claws in the sky to tighten continuously, while the other hand pressed against the ground, maintaining the continuous release of the undead calamity.
The abyss spread across the plaza, its tentacles like a forest, each carrying the death energy that corrupts life.
The lich has completely locked onto Alekto.
"Mine—that's mine—"
The lich was still roaring.
Ten years of planning, ten years of waiting.
He set up a spirit-devouring barrier outside the pyramid, gradually drawing energy from it.
He endured the cold and loneliness of the underworld, all for the fruit that could allow him to reverse life and death and regain his physical body.
And now, a red dragon that appeared out of nowhere dares to interfere when he is about to succeed!
Unforgivable!
The lich's soulfire burned even more fiercely; he abandoned all efforts to protect himself, channeling all his death essence into this strike.
But at that very moment, the angel's holy sword fell.
The lich now unleashed his death essence, releasing an attack far exceeding his usual level, but correspondingly, he lowered his own defenses to a minimum.
While the lich is focused on attacking the red dragon, have the angel deliver the fatal blow.
The holy sword of the four-winged angel of light shone as brightly as day at that moment, with purifying flames flowing across its blade.
This is a high-level divine spell specifically designed for undead creatures. It can directly ignite the soul fire and has a fatal restraining effect on liches, which are purely driven by the soul.
The lich sensed danger at the last moment.
His soul fire trembled violently as he tried to turn around to defend himself, but it was too late.
His entire attention was focused on Alecto's concentration, and his vigilance towards those behind him plummeted to rock bottom.
The holy sword pierced the lich's chest without any resistance.
The lich's skeletal body is highly resistant to ordinary physical attacks, but this is a matter of penetrating at the soul level.
The flames of purification surged along the sword into the lich's body, instantly igniting the pulsating soul fire within his chest.
"ah"
The lich let out a mournful shriek.
The soul fire that had been pulsating wildly in his eye sockets began to flicker violently, its color rapidly changing from a ghostly green to a dull gray-white.
The left hand that sustained the Scourge of the Undead hung limply, the abyss on the ground began to shrink, and the tentacles that stretched towards the sky collapsed like vines that had lost their support.
At the same time, the giant bone claw in the air collapsed, turning into black ash that fell in a flurry.
Alecto's pressure decreased sharply.
He seized the opportunity, flapped his wings, and shot towards the exit of the passage like an arrow.
The lich turned his head with difficulty.
Cracks began to appear on his skeletal body, starting from the spot in his chest where the holy sword had pierced through, and spiderweb-like cracks spread throughout his entire body.
The soul fire shrank continuously under the scorching heat of the purifying flames, dimming a little more with each flicker.
"Light----Church----"
Every syllable of the lich's name is filled with deep-seated hatred.
He looked at Linus, the soul fire in his eyes flickering violently one last time: "You—you destroyed my—century-long scheme—"
Linus stared at him expressionlessly.
The angel's holy sword was still embedded in the lich's chest, and the flames of purification continued to burn.
"The dead should not covet life."
Linus calmly stated, "Reversing life and death is a blasphemous act that violates the laws of nature."
"Heh heh—blasphemy—"
The lich let out a low laugh, a laugh filled with sarcasm and resentment.
"You hypocrites who call yourselves benevolent—what do you know—"
His gaze passed over Linus and fell upon Alecto, who had flown back.
"I'll remember you, Red Dragon! I, Adrian, will return!"
Adrian's skeletal body gradually crumbled, cracks spreading from his chest to every rib and every vertebra.
But it is not so easy to die. In the ritual of transforming into an undead, the lich will peel off its own soul and seal it in a container to form a phylactery.
As long as the phylactery is intact, the lich can gradually revive even if it is destroyed.
Only when the phylactery is destroyed will the lich die completely, and Adrian's phylactery is not here.
Alec's tray hovered above the square, its wings casting shadows.
Linus stood in the center, the angel folded his wings, and the holy sword hung beside him.
Andrei and the rest of the Templar Knights were quickly regrouping, all of them wounded, but their eyes remained sharp as ever.
All eyes were focused on the red dragon in the air.
"Alector".
Linus said calmly, "Hand over the item."
Alecto slowly descended, landing atop a stone pillar that hadn't completely collapsed, and chuckled, "Hand it over? Why should I?"
Linus's tone was flat: "You took advantage of our desperate battle with the undead to infiltrate the pyramids and steal their treasure. Now, return it to us."
"These ruins all belong to the dragon race, so everything inside also belongs to the dragon race."
Alecto's tail gently slapped against the stone pillar, sending pebbles falling. "And I, just so happens to be a dragon. Isn't this returning the treasure to its rightful owner?"