This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees - Chapter 42

"Hint: You've encountered the sorcerer Edson (LV15) and 33 goblins!"

...

Almost as soon as they faced each other.

Matthew shouted loudly:

"Ella!"

Miss Owl, who was originally performing an initiation ceremony for the oak forest, heard Matthew's call and flew silently to the southwest of the forest.

There, it was the location of the new outpost that Matthew and Bradley had set up.

Seeing Ella safely fly away to deliver the message.

Matthew breathed a sigh of relief.

There was no time to change into his robe. He quickly took out the Protective Hymn and held it in his left hand while his right hand quickly secured the Coughing Wand and the Withered Wood Staff to his waist for easy access.

Eli's reaction was even more extreme.

He roared furiously, and a large, powerful saber-toothed tiger appeared in the moonlit wilderness.

He charged straight into the enemy group!

"Go!"

Ambushes were always unexpected, but Edson's reaction was not lacking. He shook off his cloak and took a huge nail hammer from his back.

The nail hammer emitted a dark red, eerie glow.

Under his command.

The goblins rushed out.

They brandished small sticks and small round shields as they charged towards Eli.

Matthew keenly noticed that some of the goblins were carrying wooden boxes, and compared to regular goblins, their eyeballs were more prominent, their eyes bloodshot, and faintly gleaming with the same eerie light as Edson's nail hammer.

"Roar!"

Eli bravely charged into the goblin crowd.

His size was completely overwhelming for these small to medium-sized creatures.

With just one clash.

The saber-toothed tiger pounced, its fangs striking, and its tail swept.

Instantly, three or four goblins met their demise!

However, unexpectedly, the goblins, who were known for their tendency to flee when morale was low, showed an unusual bravery.

The deaths of their comrades did not deter them; instead, they continued to swarm forward fearlessly.

Eli was powerful and unscathed by the goblins, but their sheer number was overwhelming, and with the added courage, even the ferocious saber-toothed tiger needed to maneuver and couldn't charge straight in.

A few seconds later.

Edson himself joined the battle with the goblins.

He waved the massive nail hammer while shouting loudly.

The sorcerer's spell was complex and obscure, and he chanted it rapidly and incoherently. Matthew didn't even have a chance to use the Coughing Wand to interrupt him before Edson completed the spellcasting phase.

Matthew could only faintly discern that Edson had used three spells during his approach:

The first spell was a demonic summon!

A black smoke rose under the moonlight, and a demon that resembled a hyena with barbed spines on its tail quietly appeared.

...

"Susuwa Hellhound (Elite/LV10): Abyssal creature, intermediate demon, often accompanied by elite gnolls."

...

Just as Matthew saw this summoned information in front of him.

He also completed his own summoning.

Accompanied by the dimming radiance of the Undead Covenant.

A stealthy-looking minotaur skeleton appeared in front of Matthew.

"Hey, I was just getting into it, Matthew!"

Peggy complained for a moment, then quickly assessed the situation, unsheathed her bone blade:

"Who should I chop?"

Matthew pointed to the Susuwa Hellhound that was charging toward him.

Peggy immediately went to meet it and engaged in battle with the hellhound.

On the other side.

Due to Eli's rash charge, his position was being held down by the goblins. Matthew had just directed his Silvermoon Zombie to reinforce Eli when the sorcerer Edson arrived at the saber-toothed tiger's side, waving his nail hammer.

At that moment.

Matthew also discerned that Edson's second spell was likely a power infusion or a physical enhancement spell that invoked divine blessings.

Because he saw Edson's body rapidly swell visibly to the naked eye.

Swish!

The thorn-like black hair on his body howled and tore Edson's robe apart.

With the increase in size.

The sorcerer Edson also revealed his terrifying true form under the moonlight -

The human illusion was shattered, revealing a two-meter-tall giant gnoll with bulging muscles all over his body!

"Die!"

The giant gnoll struck the saber-toothed tiger with his nail hammer.

Eli couldn't completely dodge it and was hit on the side, letting out a miserable cry!

Seeing this, the goblins became even more aggressive.

Although the Silvermoon Zombie had already arrived to support Eli at this point.

Eli, targeted by Edson, was still in a dire situation.

He had not anticipated that this sorcerer possessed such terrifying melee combat abilities!

Edson continuously swung the nail hammer.

Eli's position was being continuously pressed.

With no other option.

Eli quickly cast two buff spells on himself and prepared to disengage.

Matthew was also preparing to support Eli.

He took out the Withered Wood Staff and aimed it at Edson's back from a distance.

At this crucial moment, it was the best time for a sneak attack spell.

Matthew tightened his grip on the staff; he was about to unleash the most potent single-target spell he could cast - "Potent Enervation Ray."

But when it came down to the wire.

He suddenly remembered the third spell that Edson had chanted!

"I'm a wizard, he had no reason to completely ignore me from the beginning. The 'Combat Spell Identification' just now was correct, indeed, there are three spells; the enemy cannot be firing blindly!"

So what exactly was the third spell?

Matthew stared intently at Edson's back, which was glowing with red light, his incantation rapidly chanted.

One second later.

Waves of cold air erupted from the tip of the Withered Wood Staff.

Then.

A one-meter white mist shrouded Edson.

Swish!

Edson's body flashed red.

The white mist disappeared in an instant.

Matthew felt a sharp pain in the palm of his hand holding the staff!

A slight nausea quickly swept over him.

...

"Hint: You've used 0th-tier cantrip 'Frosty Mist' on the sorcerer Edson! You've been hit by Edson's 'Spell Reversal (Magic Pact Enhancement)'!"

...

Your 'Frosty Mist' has failed, and you will endure the punishment of the spell reversal:

For the next 12 minutes, you cannot cast any 0th-tier spells similar to 'Frosty Mist';

Your Focus -0.5 (lasts 18 seconds)."

...

"Hint: You've successfully identified and used a 0th-tier cantrip to break the enemy's 'Spell Reversal.' You will soon have the opportunity to explore the elements of the 'Combat' domain."

...

"It's really a spell reflection!"

"Moreover, it's a spell reflection strengthened by his believed master!"

Matthew secretly congratulated himself for sensing something amiss.

If he had cast a second-order spell just now, the spell reflection punishment he would have faced would have been unbearable.

Since Matthew's arrival in this world, he had rarely battled with genuine spellcasters. The current situation with the sorcerer Edsen was his first encounter.

Real combat was indeed different from theory, and if Matthew hadn't been cautious, that sly spell reflection would have thrown him for a loop.

This well-planned spell reflection also made Matthew realize that Edsen's initial target had been him all along.

As expected, after sensing that Matthew had suffered the spell reflection punishment, Edsen abruptly turned around. He brandished the massive nail-headed hammer and rushed in Matthew's direction.

The group of kobolds were even faster, with a small portion of them surging past the zombie and charging towards Matthew.

The rest of the kobolds were entangled with the zombies.

Seeing the situation, Eli hurried to provide support, but the two sides had already created some distance, and he could only barely catch up to some of the kobolds lagging behind.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"

Even the Suvas Demon Hound, who had been engaged in battle with Peggy, found an opportunity to slip away from her. This cunning demon accelerated and attempted to flank Matthew from the other side.

At a critical moment, Peggy took a sudden step forward and threw her bone blade with premeditation towards an empty space in front of her.

Squelch!

The bone blade, released from her hand, easily tore through the hound's forehead. The demon immediately convulsed and collapsed to the ground.

Its brain matter and blood mixed together and flowed out from the opening created by the bone blade. They trickled down, leaving a gory trail in the moonlight.

Without tending to the Suvas Demon Hound, Peggy pulled out her bone blade and returned to protect Matthew.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here, and no one can harm you!" she reassured him.

The fire of her soul inside her skull was burning brightly, and her golden skeletal form gradually settled into a more noble dark gold color under the moonlight.

A fleeting smile of relief crossed Matthew's face, but his attention remained on the Kobold spellcaster that was charging toward him.

In the next moment, he tightly grasped the Withered Wood Staff, concentrated his focus, and unleashed a solid "Powerful Drain Ray" at Edsen.

Edsen took the full force of the negative energy beam head-on, causing his physique to rapidly shrink by almost a third. Under the withering effects of the ray, Edsen's life started slowly dwindling, and his formidable attributes gradually decreased.

But he didn't stop his assault.

In the front line of the battle, some kobolds had already engaged Peggy. Fortunately, Matthew's reinforcements had arrived from both sides.

The Skeleton Barracks weren't far from this location, and Matthew had summoned twelve Skeleton Soldiers at the outset. Now they had finally arrived, enveloping Matthew in their protective formation at the center.

"These bone scraps can't protect you!"

Edsen roared as he continued his charge. With a powerful swing of his massive nail-headed hammer, he struck Peggy with such force that her arm and chest bones shattered, causing her to stagger and fall to the side.

The close combat skills of this fourth-order sorcerer were evident.

Matthew stared intently at Edsen, quickly taking two steps back. Once again, he aimed the Withered Wood Staff at him.

Swoosh!

A gray light flashed by.

...

"Notice: You used 'Armor Drain' on the sorcerer Edsen. Edsen's armor (biological fur) has been weakened to -1."

...

"Your spells can't harm me!" Edsen exclaimed as he swung his hammer with force, sending two Skeleton Soldiers flying.

At this point, there were only about twenty steps between him and Matthew. However, when he saw Matthew's face in the moonlight, Edsen couldn't help but be surprised.

It was a face filled with confidence and composure.

Now!

"Kill!" Matthew muttered.

In the shadows, a skeletal figure with swaying hips silently appeared behind the towering Edsen. Matthew's skeletal creation advanced with a graceful, dance-like step, and wordlessly, it made its presence known behind the massive lupine creature.

Edsen didn't have time to turn around. Firefly and Moonlight, the two short blades, had already made contact with his thick neck.

The blade edges caressed his skin as if they were gently kissing a lover.

Stab—

Blood sprayed before the sound could catch up.

The head rolled to the ground without its body.

Under the moonlight, the giant lupine head tumbled across the barren land like a beach ball, and it happened to roll to a stop in front of Matthew.

Matthew raised his foot and stepped down heavily.

Just at that moment, a group of figures emerged from the cave.

They stared in astonishment at Matthew, standing with one foot on Edsen's lifeless head.

Splash!

Eyeballs were squeezed from their sockets, and blood spattered upward, staining Matthew's shoes and robes with a macabre hue in the moonlight.

Chapter 43 >>

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