As the boulder exploded, a dozen dark figures emerged from the smoke and dust.
The leader held a magic staff, wore a black robe with a six-pointed star vertical pupil, and darkness filled his hood.
His right hand, hidden in his sleeve, was as withered as rotten wood, and corrosive viscous liquid continuously dripped from his fingertips, causing the ground it touched to sizzle.
Upon closer inspection, two strange servants could be seen beside this person—they wore no clothing, were covered in peculiar scales, had blood-red eyes, moved on all fours, and had two deformed fleshy tumors on their backs, with nails mutated into inhuman, draconic claws.
Shen En, who was protected in his mother's arms, immediately recognized the leader's identity within the Witch Cult.
An Apostle.
And he was an Apostle of the “Corruption” faction among the ten Bishops.
The Corruption Apostle's strength was not considered very strong within the Witch Cult.
He was only one level higher than ordinary cultists, but his summoned creatures allowed him to rank among the strongest.
What does that mean?
The Empire's mages are classified as Fourth-level Spirit Awakening, Third-level Weaving Spells, Second-level Law, and First-level Saint Domain.
And a Corruption Apostle is invincible to anyone but a First-level Mage.
One must know that Second-level is already considered the peak for most mages in their lifetime.
The entire Empire doesn't even have five thousand of them!
Let alone a First-level Mage.
However, Horn was here, and this Old Ai could even get his hands on forbidden Witch Cult techniques at this time, so Shen En felt that the problem shouldn't be too big.
“An Apostle.”
Horn appeared from the right, staff in hand, his expression calm; he had clearly recognized the black-robed priest's identity as well, though not as clearly as Shen En.
Edwin held his silver sword, first noticing the scale patterns on the black-robed priest's hand, then seeing the two strange, clawed monsters moving on all fours.
“Why are these people like this?”
Horn clearly had some research into the Witch Cult and explained, “They are products of failed Dragonization.”
“Dragonization?”
“I don’t know where the Witch Cult recently obtained the method, but it can transform an ordinary person into a dragon. These two monsters on all fours are the result of failed Dragonization. We'll temporarily call them—‘Abominations’.”
“Are they strong?”
Horn stroked his beard, “Ordinary swords can't even cut an Abomination's hair, and their steel claws and scales are incredibly tough.”
“Ordinary swords can't even cut their hair?” Edwin's sword-holding knuckles tightened. “Does this thing have no weakness?”
Horn shook his head, “The Council doesn't have much information either. This is also one of the reasons we want to establish a Mage Tower here.”
Edwin faced the never-before-seen Witch Cult members before him, feeling the surrounding pressure grow increasingly heavy.
In a daze, he glimpsed the collapsed rubble on the second floor, as if remembering something.
“Master Horn!” he suddenly cried out, his expression filled with pleading.
“Speak your mind.”
“My daughter is still in her bedroom!”
The situation was urgent, and Horn became serious. His gaze swept over the dozen or so cultists surrounding them. He knew that, at present, only he could find an opportunity to escape from these Witch Cult members.
“Then what about you here? I'm not skilled in defensive spells and cannot protect your wife and son for long.”
“I can handle it.”
The old scoundrel is leaving?
Dad wants to fight alone?!
Upon hearing this, Shen En thought, *This is bad.*
Even if Dad was strong enough to defeat the Corruption Apostle, if he pushed this thing too hard, he would summon his creatures!
What would happen then?
But if he didn't leave, what about Ya Yi, his sister?
Time was pressing, and Shen En, a three-year-old child, certainly had no chance to interject. After Horn learned of his sister's bedroom location from his father, he seized an opportunity to cast a spell and slipped away.
The black-robed priest was clearly a smart fellow; he sensed Horn's strength and knew Horn wasn't his target this time, so he had no intention of stopping him. His gaze remained fixed on Shen En in Seranya's arms.
After Horn disappeared, he immediately waved his staff.
The black-robed cultists with scimitars, who had been surrounding him, spread out and began to move inward.
Their target was clear: Seranya, who was holding Shen En.
One black-robed cultist initiated the attack first.
“Seranya! Take Xiao En and fall back!”
With a clang, Edwin's silver sword suddenly appeared before Shen En, blocking the first sneak attack. Before Shen En could think further, five more Witch Cultists drew scimitars from beneath their black robes, their blades flashing as they swiftly lunged at the mother and son.
In an instant, the scimitars cut through the night, and five chilling gleams were simultaneously reflected in Shen En's pupils.
How could they be so fast?!
He marveled inwardly, feeling his mother instinctively shield him in her embrace.
And just a second before the scimitars were about to arrive—
The silver wolf emblem on Edwin's sword hilt glowed with a faint blue light. Shen En saw his father's wrist twist at an incredible angle—the blade did not meet the scimitars head-on, but instead, it carved a crescent arc beneath the five scimitars.
Sparks flew instantly!
All five scimitars broke simultaneously, their fractured edges glowing red like lava.
Shen En's three-year-old brain hadn't even processed the information from his eyes when he saw his father had already repelled the five attackers! One was beheaded!
This wasn't over.
Edwin pressed his advantage, sweeping low, and a cultist's shinbone snapped from the blow.
The broken bone pierced through his boot and stuck into the muddy ground, while Edwin had already stepped onto that person's shoulder, leaping into the air!
Even more incredibly, Edwin, with a speed Shen En could barely perceive, swung his sword twice in mid-air, precisely severing the heads of two black-robed figures.
Blood mist bloomed in the silver light, like two twin red lotuses in full bloom.
In just two short breaths, his father had repelled the encirclement of five people, with three of them beheaded on the spot!
Edwin calmly stood back in front of the mother and son, shaking blood from his silver sword, handsomely protecting them securely.
The remaining cultists, seeing this, hesitated, taking two steps back, not daring to act rashly.
Dad... he's amazing!
Shen En couldn't help but exclaim in his heart.
...
The black-robed priest seemed to have observed Edwin's impressive strength, and his hoarse voice began to chant a low incantation.
As the chant quickened, he suddenly waved his staff, and a rapidly expanding mass of black mist instantly overflowed from its tip, within which countless translucent tentacles vaguely appeared.
Wherever the tentacles passed, fleshy, root-like mycelia emerged from the cracks in the stone bricks, instantly spreading into a blood-red fungal carpet on the ground.
Some green grass, upon touching these mycelia, instantly turned yellow and withered, becoming thick and viscous.
Edwin tightened his grip on the silver sword, quickly realizing something was wrong.
He... couldn't see.
Not only couldn't he see, but some substance seemed to be carried in the air, entering his body through his breath and skin pores.
He tried reciting a prayer in his mind, using the family crest bestowed by the Imperial Court to grant himself some extra status, hoping to see if he could pierce through the black mist with the enhancement of anti-magic properties.
But...
It was useless.
Shen En thought, *This is bad; this move has indeed come.*
The Witch Cult's Corruption Bishop's signature spell— “Witch's Embrace”.
Its essence is to summon black mist through a ritual from the corrosive domain of a dead white-haired Witch.
This thing has strong vision-obscuring effects, corrosive effects, and ignores “x-ray vision” effects.
Depending on the caster's magic power, the summoned black mist varies in power.
Including but not limited to “Forced Dragonization”, “Divine Confrontation”, “Magic Power Decay”, “Natural Corrosion”, etc...
It's a large-scale debuff generator.
Top-tier spellcasters can even use this move to gain immunity to physical attacks, and even dissolve magic.
For example, the Great Corruption Bishop—Putridus.
And the greatest use of this spell is undoubtedly to deal with swordsmen.
No matter what level of swordsman, once surrounded by the black mist, their vision and magic power will be blocked.
Yes, swordsmen are not without magic power.
It's just that mages externalize it, while they internalize it.
The black mist's effect is to corrode the internal magic circuits, reducing their activity, slowing down perception. And the longer one stays in the black mist, the more the opponent can adapt to the swordsman's swordplay through the flow of magic within the swordsman's body.
And for swordsmen, these are the most fatal negative statuses...
...
It's here.
The black mist surged, revealing murderous intent!
Several strangely cunning scimitars cut through the night, pointing directly at Seranya and Shen En, moving even faster than before, astonishingly fast!
“Clang! Clang! Clang!”
“Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!”
Edwin blocked seven consecutive sneak attacks, his arms numb from the vibrations, his tiger's mouth torn open, and his silver sword almost slipped from his hand.
He clearly felt himself beginning to struggle.
What's going on?!
Are the enemies starting to unleash their true strength?
Or has he become weaker because of this black mist?
Shen En couldn't see anything, only the whistling wind and the clang of metal clashing in his ears.
And... his father's heavy breathing.
“Clang! Clang! Clang!”
Again, several insidious sneak attacks.
Edwin, in the black mist, had his head bowed, eyes closed, panting, and he also noticed that the ground mycelia he had seen earlier had climbed onto his boots, penetrated inside, and were now touching his flesh, causing intermittent stinging pain.
“Seranya!”
“I'm fine! Over here!” She replied, holding Shen En.
Edwin, relying solely on the sounds and his intuition, swung his sword in a backhand cut, precisely severing the mycelia wrapped around his and his wife and son's feet.
“Watch out for those things on the ground, they're corrosive! Keep retreating!”
“Clang!”
The opponent's attacks surged from the black mist again, sharp and swift.
Edwin couldn't see anything this time, only relying on the sound of the opponent's sword swings to pinpoint their location. He tried to concentrate, but as the black mist gradually permeated, he felt his strength draining, his movements growing sluggish, his heart rate quickening, and cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
The Witch Cultists were relentless.
They harassed him like flies, retreating after each wave, completely refusing to engage him head-on.
Now, not only could he not see, but his stamina and endurance were constantly being weakened by the harassment, and his head was starting to feel dizzy—a very bad situation.
And the opponent seemed to have familiarized themselves with his defensive rhythm, making the defensive pressure increasingly greater...
“Seranya! Take Xiao En and retreat to the wall first!”
Being forced further and further back, with almost nowhere left to hide, a hint of anxiety grew in Edwin's heart.
But the black-robed Apostle's incantation continued, and the black mist pressed in from all sides.
After Edwin blocked three more attacks in succession, a cold glint cut through the black mist, the blade pointing directly at his chest.
Thankfully, he had bitten his tongue throughout to stay conscious, and promptly brought his sword across to block. But although he blocked the attack, the immense impact still made him stumble backward, forcing him to kneel on the ground, leaning on his sword.
He touched his chest and felt a warmth and a pungent metallic smell—a knife wound!
“Damn it!” he cursed under his breath, his arm so numb it was almost powerless.
“Edwin! Are you alright?” Seranya's voice was filled with concern.
“I'm fine!” Old Ai knew the situation was bad, but quickly reassured his wife behind him first.
The enemy was clearly trying to distract him, attacking him while threatening Seranya and Shen En's position.
This left him with almost no time to react.
What to do?
What should he do?
He had never encountered magic with such anti-magic properties that couldn't be seen through in all his time on the battlefield.
Old Ai was anxious, and Shen En was anxious too.
This “Witch's Embrace” was not without its weaknesses.
Some exceptionally gifted individuals treated such things as if they were nothing.
They possessed an innate affinity for “Witches”; “Witches” naturally favored them, thus granting them the privilege of seeing through the magic flow of “Witch's Embrace”.
But... Shen En didn't have this talent!
Currently, the only solution was to wait for the opponent's magic power to be exhausted, as maintaining such summoning spells required a considerable amount of magic power.
But... Dad definitely wouldn't last until then.
Damn it!
What kind of garbage did he set up!
Shen En grew increasingly uneasy, the clashing sword sounds getting closer, and his father's increasingly fatigued parries made him feel more and more that he would die here.
What to do? What to do, what to do?!
In his urgency, his hand instinctively reached for his wrist, and the silver bracelet on his wrist began to heat up.
Shen En suddenly saw that his father was not wearing clothes.
Holy crap, x-ray vision!
No, it's magic vision!