Twenty minutes had passed since Lux and Eiko attacked the Animated Abyssal Creature a second time, and both of them were about to run out of steam.

The Monster’s Unholy Aura was truly a pain as it prioritized defending against attacks that gave it the highest threat.

The Abyssal Creature was an all-rounder, equipped with both long and short-range attacks that allowed it to annihilate anything it hit.

Orion and Pazuzu had already died more than once in order to save Lux from deadly clashes that could potentially give him a fatal injury.

Even though Lux had the Corpse God to defend him, the two Tankers of his army didn’t dare risk it and sacrificed their lives in order to save their Master.

Because of this, the Half-Elf was forced to distance himself and no longer tried to engage the Monster, whose fighting prowess had exceeded its former self.

“Eiko, are you fine?” Lux asked the Baby Slime who was panting on top of his head.

“Pa!”

“Take it easy, okay?”

“Pa!”

Truth be told, Lux and Eiko were both mentally exhausted. Although their Guild buffs regenerated their health, mana, and stamina, the mental stress they dealt with was piling up and taking its toll on their body.

It had only been twenty minutes, however, they managed to bring the Monster’s health down by a tenth of its maximum health.

But, there was one other problem. The monster also had a regeneration ability, which slowly but surely allowed it to recover its health, making the battle of attrition move in its favor.

Even though Lux and Eiko had been summoning countless Undead to fight, the Monster was simply too powerful for them to handle right now.

ALL-MITE, whom Lux hoped would be able to turn the tide of battle was also unable to deal a decisive blow and was repeatedly forced to retreat by the Animated Octopath’s relentless attacks.

‘Maybe I should retreat for now,’ Lux thought after seeing the hopeless situation he was in.

At that exact moment, a loud shriek spread in the surroundings, which came from behind the Half-Elf, who was busy fighting against the revived Octopath Monster.

“Sh*t!” Lux cursed as a black Four-Winged Giant Eagle with red eyes descended from the sky and unleashed countless black feathers in his direction.

The Half-Elf immediately flew to the side in order to evade the attacks. However, by doing so, he found himself sandwiched between the Octopath Monster, and the Four-Winged Giant Eagle, whose fierce gazes were locked onto his body.

With a deafening shriek, the Black Eagle dove down with the intention of crushing the Half-Elf with its beak.

Behind Lux, the Octopatah extended four of its tentacles towards him, forcing the Half-Elf and the Baby Slime to work together in order to survive the attacks that were coming from the front and the back.

“Corpse God!” Lux roared.

“Corpse!” Eiko shouted.

With Eiko’s mimicry ability, she copied her Papa’s skill, summoning her own Corpse God.

Lux’s and Eiko’s skills fused together, creating a two-headed Corpse God with twelve arms, which immediately took a defensive position to protect their Masters.

However, just as Lux and Eiko were bracing for an attack, the four giant tentacles passed them, and wrapped around the body of the Four-Winged Black Eagle, pulling it down from the sky.

The Octopath then propelled itself to its prey, who was unable to break free due to the Animated Creature’s firm grip on its body.

Lux watched with surprise as the Octopath’s beak bit on the Giant Eagle’s neck, holding it in place, and making the Eagle shriek in pain.

The Octopath’s other tentacles bound the Eagle’s body tightly, preventing it from escaping its death grip.

One of its tentacles was wrapped around the eagle’s beak, clamping it shut and preventing the bird from pecking its body.

Both of the monsters were Deimos-Ranked Beasts, but the Octopath had the upper hand in the battle. Little by little, it was using its corrosion ability to fully incapacitate its prey, giving it no chance for a comeback.

Lux, who was watching all of this, was faced with two choices.

Continue to fight or flee.

His Named Creatures, who were standing not far from him, were also waiting for his orders. They would follow whatever their Master asked of them, even if it was to fight till the bitter end.

Lux took deep and steady breaths before summoning his Soul Book to pay attention to the Health Points of both monsters.

The Black Abyssal Four-Winged Giant Eagle’s health was decreasing at a rapid pace as its very life was being squeezed out of its body by the Octopath, who had suddenly changed its target from Lux to the Giant Eagle that targeted the Half-Elf.

Lux then gave out his orders, which his subordinates obeyed, executing the plan he had asked them to follow.

As the Giant Eagle was about to breathe its last, Diablo appeared in front of it and stabbed its sword into the monster’s forehead, dealing the final blow.

This attack was carried out in great timing and precision, which was something that Diablo had only been able to pull off due to the experiences he gained in the many battles that he had fought.

A second later, the body of the Giant Eagle disappeared as Diablo stored its body inside his Bounty Ring, preventing the Necromancer who revived the Octopath from gaining a second minion.

With his mission done, Lux summoned Diablo back to his side as he and his other Named Creatures made a hasty retreat, carrying Gaap with them.

The old Halfling had the expression of someone who just got robbed, while Asmodeus chuckled beside him.

Clearly, the old man didn’t expect Lux to loot and dash, taking the Giant Eagle’s body and leaving the Octopath behind.

Of course, not all of Lux’s subordinates had escaped.

Orion, alongside the surviving Liches and Skeleton Arcane Hunters, engaged the Abyssal Creature in order to buy time for their Master to escape.

The Capital City of the Kingdom of Zangrila was very big, so there were plenty of places to hide.

His fight against the Octopath took place near the outskirts of the city, close to its walls, so the Half-Elf took his subordinates toward the city’s center in order to find a suitable place to hide.

A few minutes later, Lux and Gaap sat facing each other in the living room of one of the houses near the city’s center.

“Seriously, Gramps, how are you able to survive in this place?” Lux asked as he and Eiko drank some water. “Are you not afraid to die?”

“When you reach my age, death can be considered a gift,” Gaap replied. “Although I don’t actively seek death, I’m not afraid of it either. If it’s my time to go then it’s time to go. That is what I have believed for the past few years of my life.”

Lux sighed after hearing Gaap’s reply. There was a firmness in the old man’s tone, so he decided to let the matter drop.

The Half-Elf then waved his hand, and Orion appeared beside him.

“How many times?” Lux asked

“Six,” Orion replied.

“You want to continue?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Okay, go,” Lux ordered.

Orion then gave the Half-Elf a brief bow before leaving the house to fight the Octopath again.

Gaap frowned when he heard their exchange. He didn’t understand why Lux kept on summoning the Jade Golem to fight the Octopath repeatedly despite the fact that the Jade Golem was outmatched by his opponent.

“A foolish act,” Gaap stated. “Why are you doing such a wasteful thing?”

“Wasteful?” Lux tilted his head in confusion. “What wasteful?”

“You keep on summoning that Jade Golem and have him fight repeatedly with the Octopath. You and I both know that he has no chance of beating it, but you still send him to his death. How heartless can you be?”

“This is what Orion wants,” Lux replied. “I’m just respecting his wishes.”

Gaap shook his head in disappointment after hearing Lux’s reply. He thought that the Half-Elf had learned a little from his fight against the Octopath that he had revived. However, it seemed that he had overestimated Lux’s ability.

Twenty minutes later, Lux once summoned Orion, who had died in fighting the Octopath, once again.

Gaap no longer concerned himself with Lux’s shenanigans and decided to ask the Half-Elf how he discovered Necromancy.

“You learned Necromancy from a Grimoire?” Gaap rubbed his chin. “Well, that is indeed one way of learning the Necromantic Arts. In the old days, Necromancers awakened their powers when they encountered a tragedy in their life that forced them to take the path of vengeance.

“Although rare, there are some exceptions like you who happen to stumble upon the artifacts or legacies left behind by the Necromancers of the past. That explains why you are inexperienced when it comes to handling your Undead Legion. You lack the knowledge of how to be a true Necromancer.”

Lux wasn’t able to refute Gaap’s statement because he had never really seen a true Necromancer in action, with the exception of the black-robed man in the Wolfpine Barony.

On that day, he witnessed how the black-robed man showed a ruthlessness that Lux was unable to mimic. He ordered the Calamity Beast to annihilate the entire town before raising the residents to become his undead subordinates.

It was a chilling display of power.

It was also the day when Lux decided to not have any kind of relationship with the members of the Necromancer Guild that went by the name Memento Mori.

“Gramps, can I ask you something?” Lux eyed the old man with a solemn gaze.

“Hmm? Sure,” Gaap replied. “What do you want to ask?”

Lux then rested his head on top of his intertwined hands as he held the old man’s gaze.

“Are you the one that revived the Octopath earlier?” Lux asked. “Are you a Necromancer?”

Gaap laughed out loud. He had a very smug look on his face as he eyed the Half-Elf who was looking at him with a serious expression on his face.

“What if I am?” Gaap replied. “Do you want to become my Disciple?”

Instead of answering Gaap’s question, Lux asked another question.

“Do you know Memento Mori?” Lux asked. “Are you one of their members?”

Gaap, who received Lux’s question, stopped smiling. His face then became distorted as he looked at the Half-Elf with bloodshot eyes.

“What do you know about them?” Gaap asked in a cold tone filled with killing intent. “Are you perhaps one of their Disciples?”

Suddenly, Lux sensed someone standing behind his back. However, his body seemed to be frozen in place, unable to even turn his head.

“Answer my question, boy,” Gaap’s voice that reeked of death resounded inside the room. “Are you affiliated with Memento Mori?”

For some reason, something was telling Lux that if he gave the wrong answer, the old man who had been laughing a while ago would not hesitate to tear his head from his body, killing him then and there.