Chapter 172: I, Azu, the Necromancer
Creak.
Creak.
A piercing sound echoed through the passage inside the pyramid.
The gate that Azu had just passed through directly was now being pushed open by Hank and Tiger.
They pushed the stone door open just enough for one person to pass through, already drenched in sweat and panting heavily.
After resting for a moment.
Hank raised his rifle, using the flashlight on the gun to shine inside, confirming there was no danger, then threw out a metal sphere detector to analyze the air composition.
After getting the readings and confirming it was safe, he gestured to Tiger.
Tiger went in first, followed by Hank.
Moments later, the entire team had entered the passage.
Beams of light shone around, illuminating the walls that Azu had ignored.
On the walls were murals.
Among them, Dr. Nick saw the owner of the tomb.
It was a very imposing middle-aged man, wearing a robe embroidered with various mysterious symbols, holding a human skull also carved with strange symbols.
He stood on the pyramid.
Below him were humans and various animals kneeling in worship.
Dr. Nick narrowed his eyes, then gasped.
"This..."
Captain Hank looked over: "What is it, Doctor?"
Dr. Nick used the flashlight to circle the man on the pyramid.
"This might be a Death King."
Hank's heart skipped a beat.
Earlier, when they saw what looked like a ghost on the stone steps, many had wanted to retreat.
But ultimately, Dr. Nick convinced them, and they regained their courage to continue exploring.
Now, Dr. Nick was saying there was a Death King here.
"Look here."
Dr. Nick used the light to guide Hank and the others to look below the pyramid, at the creatures worshipping the man at the top.
"These are not humans, look at their bodies, wrapped in bandages."
"They are mummies."
"And these animals, look closely, they are not alive."
The mural was huge.
Though the animals were only the size of a palm, it was clear.
These animals either had their bellies open or intestines hanging out.
The scene exuded a strong sense of death.
Hank said gravely: "So, what we saw earlier might not have been an illusion?"
At that moment, Amy called out from ahead: "Doctor, look at this."
Dr. Nick's attention shifted from the mural.
He went to Amy's side.
Amy pointed to a high-backed chair set on a platform ahead.
Dr. Nick narrowed his eyes and walked over, finding some ancient Egyptian text on the base of the platform.
After carefully reading the text, he said: "This information indicates that behind the door is the land of the dead, unwelcoming to the living."
"Thus, it is guarded by Anubis, the god of death."
"Anubis?" Kama, holding a rifle, walked over, "You mean that dog-headed Egyptian god?"
Dr. Nick nodded.
The bald Tank laughed: "Looks like Anubis didn't do his job, otherwise, where is he now?"
Assistant Vic, engrossed in a mural, suddenly stepped on something, making a clinking sound.
He looked down to see a sickle.
"Doctor, there's a sickle here."
"Huh, there are some bandages on the ground too."
"Ah!"
Vic screamed, falling to the ground.
In the light was half a dog's head.
His scream drew attention.
Dr. Nick and the others came over, seeing the sickle, bandages, and half a dog's head on the ground.
Everyone felt a chill.
Kama whispered: "Could it be that Anubis was killed?"
"That's the Egyptian god of death."
At that moment, Dr. Nick and Amy exchanged a glance.
Both thought of the same person.
Homelander!
If anyone could harm the Egyptian god of death.
It would be that man!
*
*
*
As 'that man', Azu had now reached the top level of the pyramid.
There were fragments of zombies and animal corpses everywhere.
Azu no longer used the 'Darkhold' to create abominations.
After walking all the way here.
There were already over 50 abominations.
These things now filled Azu's vision, with countless spirits flying around.
Looking at this fantastical scene, Azu felt a dreamlike unreality.
He was actually commanding an army of the dead, crushing everything in his path, something he had never dared to imagine before.
The multiverse is truly full of possibilities.
Azu sighed sincerely.
At that moment, through the senses of the spirits.
Azu saw this scene.
Ahead of the army of the dead stood a stone gate, similar to the previous 'Gate of the Afterlife'.
But there were no religious scriptures on it, instead, there was a scale pattern.
On one side of the scale was a feather, on the other, a heart.
But the heart pattern was indented, as if a real heart could be placed there.
At that moment, two abominations charged forward.
They pushed hard against the stone gate, but then something was triggered, and several dark beams shot out from the gate.
They swirled around the two abominations, and their bodies instantly turned into rotting flesh.
Azu narrowed his eyes slightly: "Do I need to offer a heart to proceed?"
Azu smiled, then ordered one abomination to dig out its own heart.
Another abomination took the heart forward.
At the same time, several injured abominations pounced, feeding on the one that had offered its heart.
Meanwhile.
The abomination at the gate placed the heart into the indented pattern.
As soon as the heart was placed, it exploded into a mist of blood.
The blood was quickly absorbed.
Then the '回'-shaped patterns on the gate began to fill with blood.
Once the blood filled the patterns, the stone gate trembled and opened.
No other mechanisms were triggered this time.
The gate opened, revealing a tomb hall, extremely spacious, with a platform in the center holding a golden coffin.
But the coffin's lid was open, and Azu sent a spirit to check.
The coffin was empty.
"Could it be like last time."
"Did the elder inside run away?"
As he said this, Azu snapped his fingers, and several spirits quickly flew up towards his head.
Above Azu's head, a shadowy figure pounced down from the darkness.
It was a man in a black robe.
A young man, with long black hair, strikingly beautiful features, and pale skin.
His eyes glowed with a frightening red light, and fangs protruded from his lips.
His black robe was like smoke, with the hem dissipating into the air.
Several spirits pounced, entering his body, then exploding!
Instantly, pale light shot from the robed man's eyes and mouth.
His body exploded in mid-air, blood mist spraying everywhere.
This was a 'Black Robe'.
Just like the last pyramid.
This tomb also had these tomb guardians.
After this 'Black Robe' appeared, more Black Robes emerged one after another.
These tomb guardians included men and women, old and young.
There were significantly more than in the pyramid in Jordan.
Facing Azu's army of the dead, they showed no fear.
Their eyes glowed red, slightly lowering their stance, moving cautiously.
Just as the Black Robes were about to pounce.
A deep voice echoed through the tomb.
The speaker was likely using ancient Egyptian, which Azu couldn't understand, but all the Black Robes stopped.
Then several figures emerged from within the tomb.
Leading was a skinny middle-aged man, pale and dry, resembling a mummy.
He wore a robe embroidered with various mysterious symbols and marks.
In his hand, he held a human skull, also covered in symbols, with pale flames burning in the eye sockets.
Beside this middle-aged man were four bald figures in red robes.
These four, two men and two women.
Their robes, like the Black Robes', didn't seem like ordinary clothing.
While the Black Robes emitted smoke, these red robes flickered with amber flames.
At that moment, the middle-aged man holding the skull spoke in a deep voice: "Powerful necromancer, I do not know you, why have you invaded my tomb?"
This was in English.
Though with some accent.
Like guide Ackerman.
Azu was surprised: "You can speak English?"
"How do you know what language I use?"
The middle-aged man said calmly.
"This valley holds no secrets from me."
"The spirits you command once obeyed my orders."
"I had them roam the valley, monitoring every blade of grass and tree."
"Through them, I learned some new languages."
"Languages are not difficult to master."
"I sensed your arrival."
"But I didn't expect you to be such a powerful necromancer."
"So powerful as to wrest control of the spirits from me."
Azu wasn't surprised.
After all, the 'Darkhold' was a divine artifact, its magic naturally formidable, otherwise, it wouldn't be worthy of being recorded in such a book.
Azu narrowed his eyes slightly and asked: "Are you Tutankaben?"
"You know my name?" The middle-aged man's words were an admission.
Azu shrugged: "I also know you are an elder of the 'Immortal Empire'."
"Also, you have a colleague named Brox."
Tutankaben became wary: "Are you a friend of that traitor?"
Now it was Azu's turn to be surprised: "Traitor?"
Seeing Azu's genuine confusion, Tutankaben said: "So you didn't know."
"Never mind, since you have no connection with him."
"I won't trouble you."
"Powerful necromancer, could you please leave?"
The answer, of course, was no.
Azu smiled: "I can leave."
"But you must come with me."
"I'm very interested in the 'Immortal Empire', perhaps having an immortal as a servant would be interesting."
Tutankaben's eyes flashed with anger: "You want me as a servant?"
"Absolutely not!"
"I swore allegiance to the Queen, I will not serve another."
Azu shrugged: "Is that so?"
"That's a pity."
"In that case..."
He took a step back.
The abominations roared, shielding Azu, and moved forward.
The spirits also flew, screaming, towards Tutankaben's side.
"Wait!"
Tutankaben called out: "How about this."
"I am also a mage, skilled in necromancy."
"Let's have a mage's duel."
"If you can defeat me."
"I might consider your earlier proposal."
Coward.
Azu chuckled inwardly, then said: "You won't go back on your word, will you?"
Tutankaben said gravely: "I swear by the gods of Egypt."
Azu had no faith in such oaths.
But he had faith in himself.
If Tutankaben went back on his word, he had ways to deal with this immortal.
So he stepped out from among the abominations.
"Fine, I'll make you lose convincingly."
With that.
Azu took out the 'Darkhold'.
As soon as this extremely dark, evil book appeared, Tutankaben's heart skipped a beat.
As a genuine mage, he had learned necromancy from the Book of the Dead, achieving great mastery.
Otherwise, he couldn't have created so many mummy zombies and animal corpses.
Because of this.
When the 'Darkhold' appeared.
Tutankaben sensed its extraordinariness.
It was more evil than the 'Book of the Dead'.
It was like the deepest darkness, the most profound death.
Tutankaben even felt an urge to kneel before this book.
He barely suppressed his fear, tightened his grip on the skull, and uttered a series of incantations.
The pale flames in the skull flickered, and instantly, a phantom skull appeared beside Azu.
This skull opened its mouth and bit down at Azu.
This was one of Tutankaben's most proud necromantic spells, capable of biting out a target's soul.
Once the opponent's soul was dragged out of their body, Tutankaben could control them.
But as the phantom skull bit down on Azu, it was as if it hit an invisible wall, bouncing away.
It had encountered 'Magic Resistance'.
Azu had no interest in a magical duel with Tutankaben.
He quickly flipped to the page of 'Dark Prison'.
On this page, the mysterious symbols seemed formed from black mist, emitting wisps of black smoke, constantly twisting.
Azu placed his hand on the page, activating the spell.
Around Tutankaben, black mist rose from the ground.
Immediately, the black mist swirled like a hurricane.
In an instant, it rose into the air, converging above Tutankaben.
Instantly.
This elder of the 'Immortal Empire' could see nothing, feel nothing.
He felt as if he had entered the deepest night.
Tutankaben could see nothing, hear nothing, even his senses became blurred.
He quickly cast a spell, one that allowed him to briefly become a spirit, turning into ethereal smoke.
He could use this spell to move quickly and pass through obstacles.
But after casting the spell, Tutankaben didn't know if he had moved, his sense of distance also blurred.
After struggling for a while, he was still in the darkness.
He tried other spells, but none could free him from this state.
Tutankaben gradually panicked, he had never encountered such a situation.
He began to wonder if he would be trapped in this darkness forever.
Though as an 'immortal', he could enter long-term hibernation.
A century would pass in a blink for him.
But he didn't want to sleep forever in darkness.
Especially since he couldn't die, if he couldn't escape this darkness.
Then, eternity would be a torture for him.
As Tutankaben's sense of time also blurred, he panicked, he couldn't imagine the taste of eternal darkness.
He shouted his surrender, but he couldn't even hear his own voice!
After an unknown period.
A beam of light appeared above.
Then the surrounding darkness fell, the black mist disappearing into the ground.
Only then could Tutankaben hear his own voice.
His voice was almost distorted.
"I surrender."
"I surrender."
Azu smiled.
As Tutankaben declared his surrender.
Information appeared before Azu's eyes.
[You have successfully resolved this event.]
After Tutankaben surrendered, Azu dispelled the abominations and the necromantic spells.
The former turned back into pools of flesh, the latter freed from control, disappearing into the tomb's shadows.
Since the event was over.
Azu no longer needed to rely on magic.
If Tutankaben dared to go back on his word.
He would reward him with a 'Heat Vision'.
Watching the tomb hall become empty again, Tutankaben also gestured.
The Black Robes retreated into the darkness, the four Red Robes dispersed.
At that moment, Tutankaben respectfully asked: "Master, how should I address you?"
"Haven't you already figured it out?" Azu smiled.
Tutankaben was stunned, then lowered his head further: "Yes, Master."
"Perhaps I've slept too long, my mind isn't as sharp, forgive my foolishness."
Azu shook his head, hands behind his back, touring Tutankaben's tomb.
As he walked, he said: "Earlier, you said Brox was a traitor, what happened?"
Tutankaben snorted.
"After the battle with the Xenomorphs, the Queen disappeared."
"Three Pharaohs, most of the elders and elders died in battle."
"Only a few of us survived, like me and Brox."
"But we were all severely injured, so we each built tombs, using long slumber to heal our wounds."
"Not long ago, I was awakened."
"The one who woke me was Brox."
"He claimed to have been awakened by humans, saying we are now in a new era."
"He planned to revive the 'Immortal Empire'."
"He invited me to join."
"But I refused, the Immortal Empire has only one Emperor."
"That is the 'Queen of the Night'!"
"What does Brox think he is?"
"How dare he revive the Empire? He is not worthy!"
So that's how it was.
Though both were elders of the 'Immortal Empire'.
They were not on good terms.
Azu thought for a moment: "Brox must have formed an organization called the 'Night Council'."
"He is trying to use this organization to revive the 'Immortal Empire'."
"Can you find Brox?"
"I have a task for you."
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