Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Death of the Necromancer

“Boss, do you need me to find an opportunity to take out that spider ahead?”
Mr. Nimble Hands flew in front of Sun Licheng, whispering, the glow of his electronic eyes icy and cold.

Sun Licheng thought for a moment, then shook his head. Though he still harbored doubts about the spotted-back spider, he found it impossible to cross the line of killing it for no reason at all.

“What’s happening to me? Am I growing a sense of justice?”
Sun Licheng slipped his hand inside his helmet, scratching his head in confusion as he questioned himself. On Earth, he had never been a brave person, never someone who would step up for the sake of others—not even to help an old lady across the street, for fear of being falsely accused. But here in this world, especially after obtaining the Hero’s Power, his sense of justice seemed to have overflowed. “Could this be the effect of the Hero’s Power? Forget it, no point in thinking about it further.” Sun Licheng shook his head, abandoning the meaningless question. He gripped his long blade and quickly caught up.

The spotted-back spider was like a hunting hound—it would walk a while, lower its head to sniff the ground, then scurry off in a particular direction.
As Sun Licheng gazed at the labyrinthine passageways, he grew curious and asked Mr. Nimble Hands, “Are all the goblin empire’s military fortresses built like such mazes?”

“Some are, some aren’t. It depends on the strategic importance of the facility. Judging by all the signs, this military base must have been quite important, or they wouldn’t have constructed maze-like defensive corridors,” Mr. Nimble Hands replied after some thought.

Fortunately, with the spider as their guide, Sun Licheng and his companions found the correct path. According to Mr. Nimble Hands, deep within the maze, many deadly traps had been set; a single misstep could cost them their lives.

Even he dared not be careless in this place. At every intersection, he used a special method to place a distinct marker, ensuring they wouldn’t get lost on the way back.

With this stop-and-go progress, after about an hour, they finally emerged from the labyrinthine passage.

At the exit was a sizable plaza—at least four to five hundred square meters, with walls lined with a smooth building material forming a regular trapezoidal space. Despite the passage of ages, the stone walls were astonishingly pristine, with nothing clinging to their surfaces, which greatly surprised Sun Licheng. Cautiously, he walked over and touched the wall—it was remarkably smooth, deepening his admiration for the goblin empire’s ancient craftsmanship.

“Boss, this should be the main entrance. Typically, there would be an ambush here, so everyone must be careful,”
At that moment, Mr. Nimble Hands flew over to remind Sun Licheng.

Sun Licheng nodded and called back the spotted-back spider.
The spider had behaved itself all along, proving itself a cooperative partner. Now, with danger ahead, he couldn’t let it die in vain.

Proceeding a little further down the corridor, they discovered another plaza, even larger—over a thousand square meters, with a ceiling nearly ten meters high encrusted with glowing stones that bathed the whole space in bright light.

“Mr. Nimble Hands, the goblin empire collapsed over ten thousand years ago, didn’t it?”
Sun Licheng beckoned him over and asked.

“Yes, boss,” Mr. Nimble Hands replied.

Sun Licheng stamped his foot on the ground, then pointed to the glowing stones above. “So how are these floors still so smooth? And how do those stones still emit energy?”

Mr. Nimble Hands considered, then explained, “As far as I know, the best construction materials were coated with a special finish that kept them spotless for millennia. As for those glowing stones, aside from magic crystals, there must be other power sources. What they are, we’ll have to venture deeper to find out.”

At that moment, the spotted-back spider sent Sun Licheng a message—it had detected its master’s scent just ahead, but the person seemed to be dead.

Sun Licheng’s spirits lifted. He carefully drew his long blade from his back, holding it at the ready as he advanced.

At the base of the stone wall ahead stood a metal door, and before it lay a corpse. From the gray-black mage’s robe, it was clear this was the necromancer.

Approaching cautiously, Sun Licheng used his blade to gently turn the body over bit by bit. The man had once been human, tall and imposing, but now his flesh was completely shriveled, mummified—a ghastly sight. Three crossbow bolts were deeply embedded in his skull and chest, the clear cause of death.

Suddenly, Sun Licheng sensed movement in the upper right above him. With a sharp whistle, an arrow shot toward him. He quickly raised his blade and struck it aside.

With a crisp metallic clang, the arrow was deflected, but his hand went numb from the force. “What power behind that bow!”

“Fall back! It’s an ambush!”

Having survived the danger, Sun Licheng shouted, then turned and bolted the way he had come.

As he ran, the sound of heavy metal footsteps echoed from both sides. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed two massive war golems!

These constructs were enormous—at least six meters tall, bearing down like small mountains. Steam billowed from behind them, and Sun Licheng guessed they were steam-powered. Worse, if they were anything like those in the Elder Scrolls, they could probably spew scalding steam—a truly troublesome prospect.

He hadn’t gone far when another arrow hissed through the air behind him. He knew he’d have a hard time dodging while running. Cold sweat broke out on his brow.

With a dull thud, Sun Licheng glanced back—Mr. Nimble Hands had caught up and blocked the arrow with his large shield.

“Thank you, Mr. Nimble Hands,” Sun Licheng said breathlessly, wiping sweat from his forehead as he ran.

“No problem, boss. We need to retreat. The defenses are too tight here; the two of us alone can’t break through. Those war golems are especially troublesome—they can spew steam and are very hard to handle,” Mr. Nimble Hands replied, shielding them from further arrows. This confirmed Sun Licheng’s fears—the golems could indeed spray scalding steam.

“Damn, does that mean we’ll be roast pork?” Sun Licheng cursed inwardly.

As they reached the center of the plaza, the spotted-back spider let out a scream. A crossbow bolt had pierced its right leg, slowing it down. Another bolt pierced another leg, and it lost its balance, collapsing to the ground.

Sun Licheng’s heart clenched. Though he’d only known the spider a short while, he couldn’t bear to abandon it now. But with enemies attacking from three sides, what options did he have?

“Mr. Nimble Hands, go protect the spotted-back and try to drag it out!”
After a moment’s hesitation, Sun Licheng decided to take a gamble. He issued the order to Mr. Nimble Hands.

With that, Sun Licheng stopped in his tracks, turned to face the two charging war golems, and raised his blade, eyes cold and determined. He would protect his companions and prove his worth as a hero through his actions!