Killing a king was no small matter.
Even if he was a fallen dwarf king, and even if the dwarven royal palace had only just been built, it already boasted an immense defensive magic array, heavily manned garrisons, and legendary powerhouses standing guard.
On top of that, the dwarf king was a vampire—creatures notoriously difficult to put down without direct sunlight, the sort that could reattach their own heads even after being decapitated.
Thus, hearing Anbaixiu say he would eliminate the dwarf king, Seth Yuri's immediate reaction was that it was impossible.
Yet considering the magic mirrors' unique nature, could this heroic senior be capable of killing through a mirror? If so, as long as there was a single magic mirror inside the palace, there might truly be a chance. A single cast of Sunbeam or Daylight could easily destroy an unprepared vampire.
The question was, would he truly do that?
Would he really help assassinate a dwarf king just because he owed his uncle a drink?
"Master Ultraman, are you truly going to help me assassinate the dwarf king? Surely it cannot be that simple, can it?"
Anbaixiu replied, "Assassinate? What are you thinking? I would never use a magic mirror to assassinate a king. That would cross a hard line. If I used the magic mirrors for murder, who would ever dare use my mirrors again?"
Seth Yuri asked in astonishment, "If not assassination, then how do you plan to kill him, Master Ultraman?"
Anbaixiu pointed at the massive magic array and said, "I plan to take the brute-force approach. From right here, we fight our way straight up, breach the royal palace, and take out the dwarf king."
"Fight our way straight up?"
Seth Yuri said helplessly, "I fear that will be extraordinarily difficult. We simply don't have enough manpower. Even if you are a hero who vanquished the Demonic Dragon Tyrant, Master, you alone are not enough. Furthermore, at the slightest disturbance, that faithless vampire will certainly choose to flee."
Anbaixiu replied, "That doesn't matter. All we have to do is declare him dead. In any case, he can't walk in the light. The moment he flees the palace, he is no longer the dwarf king. Once a new king ascends the throne, if he ever dares show his face, we simply have him bask in the sunlight to prove himself, and that will be the end of it."
Seth Yuri's eyes lit up. He hadn't thought of that. He truly lived up to the legendary reputation of a lich whose mind was pure gold, conjuring brilliant ideas with every passing second.
Still, that brought them back to the same problem: how on earth were they going to fight their way into the palace?
"The royal palace is garrisoned by large numbers of dwarven iron guards, alongside plenty of spellcasters capable of maintaining its defensive magic array. Although it isn't as complete as the one at the old desert site, even an army ten times our size might not be able to break through."
Anbaixiu said, "That is my concern. Rest assured, since I said I would handle this for you, there is no need for you to worry. By the way, I need to borrow your magic array and alter it to produce a different effect. You don't mind, do you?"
Seth Yuri looked at the Wish magic array still under construction, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "I leave it in your hands, Master Ultraman."
Since this person had stated that Wish could not be used to kill, Seth Yuri treated it as true regardless of whether it actually was.
For even if it was false, the master lich had already made his stance clear and was visibly intent on stopping it; pressing forward stubbornly would mean making an enemy of him.
And the lich's battle record was far too illustrious; even without his uncle's connection, Seth Yuri would never want to make an enemy of him.
On the contrary, Seth Yuri was quite eager to see how he intended to breach the dwarven palace.
Anbaixiu guided the magic mirror to float into the center of the massive magic array, and lines of concentrated magic began extending outward from the mirror.
The overwhelming pressure was like the descent of a deity—a display whose true mastery only an expert could fully appreciate.
Seth Yuri himself possessed master-level proficiency in primal magic; a mere glance with his senses told him how terrifying this magical power was. Even if he drained every drop of his own mana, it wouldn't match a single one of those threads.
And at this moment, no fewer than thirty threads of magical power were extending from the magic mirror.
These threads merged into the magic array, steadily altering its structure.
Time passed unmeasured as Anbaixiu maintained his colossal output of magical power, until the entire magic array had been modified beyond recognition.
Seth Yuri watched in silence for a long while before finally arriving at a conclusion: the modified magic array reeked of Hell.
Sinister runes had condensed into tangible forms, floating and flickering above the magic array as the outline of a Gate of Hell loomed into view.
"Master Ultraman, are you summoning devils from Hell?"
Anbaixiu nodded and explained, "I borrowed a bit of the foundation from the Wish spell as a clever shortcut. Modifying it this way makes it much easier to breach spatial barriers and connect the two planes..."
"Wait, Master Ultraman, I'm not asking about the theory! I'm asking: do you realize what you're doing? You are summoning devils from Hell! Do you know what consequences this will bring?"
Seth Yuri was beginning to regret his decision. He shouldn't have let this master lich run wild—who could have foreseen that he would go this far out of control?
Originally, even if Anbaixiu had hauled over all the undead from the Underdark, Seth Yuri wouldn't have cared, because the undead were famously easy to control.
As a legendary lich, Anbaixiu could effortlessly keep an undead army tightly in check; if he told them to march east, not a single one would dare head west. But devils?
Devils thirsted for flesh and souls. Once hellish devils were unleashed, those monstrosities would slaughter everything without distinction.
Why hadn't the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn simply opened all their Gates of Hell to invade Ryan back then, instead choosing to use the Gates of Hell merely as defensive weapons? Wasn't it precisely because devils were utterly uncontrollable?
Opening the Gates of Hell prematurely might not have destroyed Ryan—more likely, the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn would have been torn apart by the devils first.
Now this lich was going to open a Gate of Hell. When the devil army arrived, they—the dwarves and goblins—would be the first on the menu.
"Master, you'd better think this through! Devils cannot be controlled! Are you trying to destroy the entire royal capital? There are still so many innocent dwarves here..."
Seth Yuri tried to dissuade him, but Anbaixiu replied calmly, "Relax. The devils I summon are very obedient."
"There is no such thing as an obedient devil!"
Seth Yuri grew increasingly anxious. This lich was being far too careless. Devils were only ever obedient on the surface; given the slightest opportunity, they would turn on you in an instant. And judging by its size, this Gate of Hell was going to be massive. Even if the lich had signed a contract with them, once a devil army appeared, how many could he possibly control? Even a few hundred lemures running loose in the civilian quarters would cause catastrophic casualties.
Seeing the Gate of Hell grow clearer by the second, Seth Yuri gritted his teeth and summoned a giant axe. Agitated, the young dwarf shouted, "Master Ultraman, please stop your ritual immediately! We can discuss another way!"
Anbaixiu sighed, too weary to explain. He was in a foul mood today and had no patience for gentle persuasion.
Before Seth Yuri could even raise his axe, Anbaixiu cast a Hold Person spell toward him.
Seth Yuri's body was instantly bound inside a cage of crimson magical power.
The young dwarf never expected his magical defenses to be so completely useless; the magic pierced through all his wards in a single stroke.
Unable to move an inch, he could only yell at the top of his lungs, "Damn it, for Uncle Zane's sake, stop this now!"
Anbaixiu ignored him entirely. As guards rushed in at the commotion, he completed the Gate of Hell before any of them could strike.
The colossal, crimson projection coalesced into solid form, crackling with space-rending lightning that forced every guard backward.
The Gate of Hell swung open with a resounding roar, and ranks of heavily armored Nightmare Knights marched out.
"Nightmare Knights?!"
Panic gripped Seth Yuri tighter. These were high-tier devils! Taming a hellish nightmare steed was no simple feat; the rider had to possess formidable personal power. Just a handful of them could chop him to pieces like slicing melons and vegetables.
Yet there were far too many Nightmare Knights before his eyes—one troop, two troops... stretching beyond his line of sight. Their numbers quickly surpassed a hundred and continued to climb. How had such an elite devil force managed to cross through the Gate of Hell? Shouldn't a horde of lemures be leading the charge? Why were they all elite shock troops?
Under Seth Yuri's stunned gaze, a tall Nightmare Knight strode up before Anbaixiu, dismounted, and dropped to one knee in a single, fluid motion. The ferocious-faced devil spoke with profound reverence: "Milord, it is my honor to meet you once more. Thank you for everything you have done for Ryan."
Anbaixiu conjured a Mage Hand to help him up and said warmly, "Rise, Ange. We are old friends, after all."
Ange Watson—once Ryan's foremost battlefield commander. Regrettably, he had also been one of those most deeply manipulated by the Demonic Dragon. After the Demonic Dragon's true identity was exposed, unable to bear the torment of his own guilt, he had chosen suicide.
It was an immense loss for Ryan, yet his two brothers had not even had time to grieve, forced to labor day and night for Ryan's revival.
After obtaining the list of paladins who had taken their own lives, Anbaixiu had immediately enlisted his old friends to gather them. A million paladins was an unimaginably formidable force.
Hell was vast, however, and so far they had only located a few hundred—and that was only thanks to the assistance of that scribe in the second layer of Hell.
Among that group of paladins was Ange Watson.
As a former citizen of Ryan, the esteemed scribe, upon inquiring about Ryan's current state, waved his hand and converted them all into Nightmare Knights.
Had that scribe not stepped in, where could anyone find so many nightmares? They were high-tier hellish beasts, worthy of serving as mounts for the Archdukes of Hell.
Now that Anbaixiu needed to storm the dwarven royal palace, he naturally required the aid of these Nightmare Knights.
This was also why Anbaixiu was fully confident in controlling them.
Standing before them at this moment was no ordinary lich, but a close comrade who had fought side by side with Holy King Arthur Ryan, a great hero of the Demonic Dragon War, and the savior who had rescued Ryan from the brink of collapse.
Before Anbaixiu, these paladins who had taken their own lives out of shame toward Ryan would never dare utter a single word of dissent.
If Anbaixiu ordered them to stand at attention, not one would dare let their nightmare lift even half a hoof.
Anbaixiu instructed, "Ange, we are currently beneath the Dwarven Royal Capital. In a moment, I will have someone provide you with a layout of the city. I'll give you half an hour to study it, and then you are to flatten the dwarven royal palace for me."
Ange Watson slammed a fist firmly against his chest and said respectfully, "By your command, Milord."
Just as Anbaixiu believed, Ange Watson had no reason to refuse. Before this great benefactor who had saved Ryan repeatedly and even granted them a second chance, what could he do but obey?
Having made these arrangements, Anbaixiu snapped his fingers, dispelling Seth Yuri's Hold Person.
"My dear nephew, don't tell me you don't have intelligence on the dwarven royal palace?"
Anbaixiu's words snapped Seth Yuri out of his shock, and he hurriedly ordered his subordinates to bring over the relevant intelligence.
As a rebel plotting an insurrection, he naturally knew the royal palace inside and out.
Yet he simply could not fathom why these Nightmare Knights bowed to Anbaixiu as their master. Although he had heard rumors of the lich descending into Hell, how long had it been? Even if he truly went to Hell, he couldn't possibly have risen to become an Archduke of Hell in such a short time, could he?
A legion of Nightmare Knights this large wouldn't look out of place as Zariel's royal guard.
Anbaixiu naturally offered no explanation to Seth Yuri. He simply waited in silence until Ange Watson strode toward him with confident steps.
"Milord, I have a preliminary plan. I will only require your assistance; otherwise, piercing the palace's defensive magic will be somewhat troublesome," Ange Watson said.
Anbaixiu nodded and said, "Rest assured. From this moment on, I am under your command as well."
The moment Anbaixiu finished speaking, metal components flew out of the magic mirror, assembling themselves before the onlookers' astonished eyes.
The massive black mecha enclosed the magic mirror within its core, looking from the outside entirely like a golem puppet.
Anbaixiu had only ever shown this mecha before his friends in the Elegy Poetry Society; no one else knew it had any connection to him.
"All right, let's move out! You haven't fought a battle in a long time. I know your heart is still filled with anger and remorse, so let it all out. By the way, my name right now is Davion, a dragon knight. Don't get it wrong."
Anbaixiu's words brought a fierce, grim expression to Ange Watson's face.
Indeed. After falling into Hell, these paladins had endured the agony of flesh transformation while being tormented daily by the guilt burning within them.
Only the most devout paladins would choose suicide after their faith shattered, and the more devout they were, the better they understood the gravity of their mistakes. Though they were spared physical torture, each lived in unimaginable anguish.
Such was the fate of sinners.
Torment of both mind and flesh—neither could be escaped.
Given a rare opportunity to vent their fury, Ange Watson and the other Nightmare Knights grew exhilarated. Fighting dwarves? Excellent. There was nothing they were better at than fighting dwarves.
Ange Watson vaulted onto his flame-snorting nightmare and barked an order: "All troops, hear me! Advance in three prongs according to my previous plan! Dragon Knight Davion, use illusion magic to conceal the other two units, and join me in leading the frontal charge!"
Ange Watson spurred his mount and charged forward like a streak of roaring flame.
The other Nightmare Knights followed suit, surging in orderly formation into the narrow ascending secret tunnel.
Several hundred Nightmare Knights moved as one; there was never any need to worry about the martial discipline of Ryan's paladins. If anything, it was Anbaixiu—who knew little of battlefield tactics—who flew cautiously within the ranks, anxious that flying too fast or too slow might disrupt their pristine formation.
Upon bursting out of the secret passage, the Nightmare Knights split into three columns as planned, while Anbaixiu cast invisibility illusions over the other two detachments.
With Anbaixiu's current power, casting "Leira's True Phantasm" was not something ordinary people could unravel; the detection magic arrays of the Dwarven Royal Capital didn't register the slightest ripple.
Ange Watson charged openly out of the Goblin Bank, launching a direct assault on the resplendent royal palace.
Wherever the nightmares trod, they left behind fiery hoofprints, quickly sending alarm bells ringing throughout the Dwarven Royal Capital.
"Lord Davion! Twelve o'clock ahead, clear the path with a Freezing Sphere!"
The Nightmare Knights were fast, but Anbaixiu's spellcasting was faster. Hearing Ange Watson's order, he immediately gathered magic into a massive sphere of ice two stories high and hurled it forward.
The spellcasters among the dwarven ranks couldn't even use Counterspell, because Anbaixiu was casting without verbal components, whereas his opponents needed incantations even to cast Counterspell.
The rumbling, massive sphere of ice rolled over a cohort of shield-bearing dwarven iron guards; strong as they were, they could not withstand the impact of a hundred-ton ball of ice.
The Freezing Sphere carved a path of blood, and the Nightmare Knights charged close behind it, plunging straight into the dwarven ranks and tearing open a massive breach in moments.
Before the dwarves could even react, their throats were slit.
Many veterans who had survived past battlefields felt an uncanny sense of deja vu. Why did this tactic feel so eerily familiar?
Chapter 610