Chapter 155: Anstis, the Three-Eyed Evil God

Entering the cave, the two were greeted by bodies scattered all over the ground, roughly estimated to be around ten. Judging by their attire, there were guards from the slave market, some nobles who had come to select slaves, as well as slaves who had been imprisoned in the cages.

Torches burning along the surrounding walls illuminated the place brightly. This area appeared to be used for holding slaves, as it was lined with numerous iron-bar cages alongside various torture devices, seemingly meant for disciplining disobedient slaves.

In the center, black stones had been piled up to form a high platform, upon which several bodies were bound to pillars. In the middle of the platform was a square depression measuring about three meters on each side, from which a thick, pungent smell of blood emanated.

More than a dozen zombie warriors were summoned, lifting the corpses from the ground and tossing them one by one into the blood pool at the center of the platform. As the intact bodies hit the blood pool, they sank in with a dull splash. The blood pool then bubbled sluggishly, and after a moment the bubbles subsided, the liquid level rising by a fraction.

As corpse after corpse was thrown into the blood pool, the volume of blood inside increased, almost overflowing the brim. In a corner of the high platform, the necromancer whom Han Shuo had seen last time revealed his appearance, holding a bone staff. His withered body stood expressionless as he gazed at the blood pool, his grayish-brown pupils devoid of any vitality.

The moment Han Shuo and Emily stepped inside, they immediately retreated to a corner, relying on the shadows to observe everything. Emily set up a sound-isolating barrier around them and whispered immediately, "It looks like this necromancer is setting up some kind of altar. I wonder what he intends to do?"

Shaking his head with a solemn expression, Han Shuo said in a low voice, "I don't know if it's because my mastery of necromancy is too limited, but I understand nothing about the altar this necromancer is setting up. It seems that a necromancer at the Archmage level truly commands many powerful necromantic spells."

While Han Shuo and Emily were speaking in low voices, the necromancer waved the bone staff in his hand and chanted a low spell. The blood within the pool on the altar suddenly began to swirl violently, and in an instant, the flesh, skin, and hair of the corpses bound to the pillars on the platform vanished, leaving behind bare, white skeletons.

Another necromantic spell was chanted. The souls of those who had died recently and whose spirits had not yet dispersed were seemingly forced into visibility, turning into wisps of grayish-brown smoke that surged into the blood pool at the center of the altar. The blood in the pool swirled into a vortex, and the bones of the corpses that had just sunk to the bottom began to surface one by one. These white bones slowly pieced themselves together, gradually forming a three-eyed evil god with eight sharp horns sprouting from its head and a tail covered in barbed spikes at its waist.

This three-eyed evil god was condensed entirely from white bones, and its three eyes were crimson, amber, and sapphire respectively, resembling triangular gems embedded in its forehead. Even as it was still taking form, a vast and overwhelming malevolent aura spread out from its body, filling the entire cavern with its evil presence—a violent, murderous, and extremely bloodthirsty malice.

Even from a distance, Han Shuo felt a chill in his heart. His eyes locked onto the three-eyed evil god, not daring to look away for a single second, observing every movement with absolute concentration.

"Oh, heavens! He has established a connection with the three-eyed evil god Anstis through the altar," Emily murmured in disbelief, her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment.

Gods were powerful existences of legend, possessing heaven-defying divine powers. However, bound by the laws of the planes, it was impossible for them to manifest their true bodies in this world. Yet through certain rituals and media, some individuals in this world could actually use profound secret techniques to communicate with deities.

All along, Han Shuo had considered such unverified claims to be utterly ridiculous and impossible. But now, with the facts laid out before him, he had no choice but to believe it. Watching the three-eyed evil god Anstis—separated by goodness knows how many planes—descend its divine consciousness onto this skeleton through the necromancer's ritual, Han Shuo stood frozen, his mind thrown into complete chaos.

A series of profound and ancient sounds issued from the mouth of the three-eyed evil god Anstis. Han Shuo and Emily listened in utter incomprehension, having no idea what the stream of sounds meant. However, the withered necromancer seemed capable of communicating with it directly.

The necromancer prostrated himself on the ground, burying his head deep against his chest in kowtow. Suddenly, he raised his head with a look of awe and fear, and rapidly chanted an incantation. The necromantic spell "Life Detection" was released, suddenly drifting outward in all directions.

"Not good!" The moment Han Shuo saw this spell appear, he knew trouble was coming. He let out a low gasp and immediately intended to pull Emily away from the spot.

However, they were a step too slow. The "Life Detection" spell swept outward, and the moment it brushed over the location where the two were hiding, it flared brightly. The prostrate necromancer's expression immediately sank. He waved his bone staff fiercely, and the dozen or so zombie warriors standing nearby suddenly turned and marched toward Han Shuo and Emily.

"We've been exposed. Let's leave immediately," Emily cried out softly, her body springing backward as she prepared to drag Han Shuo away from the area.

At that very moment, the sharp-eyed Han Shuo noticed that because of the necromancer's distraction, the body of the three-eyed evil god Anstis—just formed from skeletal remains—suddenly collapsed into the blood pool atop the altar with a booming crash.

It appeared that the necromancer had to maintain undivided focus to use the blood and bones within the pool to communicate with the three-eyed evil god Anstis through the esoteric magic. The moment the necromancer was distracted to deal with Han Shuo and Emily, Anstis, whose divine consciousness had descended from who knows how many planes, could no longer manifest through the bones and blood.

"The three-eyed evil god Anstis cannot help him. The two of us don't need to fear him." Han Shuo halted his steps, stopping at the mouth of the cave, and reached out with his other hand to grab Emily, checking her retreat.

Once caught by Han Shuo and hearing those words, Emily focused her lovely eyes on the altar and also noticed that the three-eyed evil god had vanished from the blood pool. Her expression instantly steadied, and she demanded coldly, "Who are you? How dare you summon the three-eyed evil god Anstis with such an evil ritual inside Valen City?"

"The two of you shouldn't have barged in, otherwise I wouldn't have killed you." After the withered necromancer uttered those dry words, his body, which had been standing on the altar, used a floating technique to glide toward Han Shuo and Emily.

Wielding the bone staff in his hand, he released an advanced necromantic spell, "Wraith Soul Chain." Dozens of wraiths intertwined together, resembling a long iron chain, and whipped toward Han Shuo and Emily. At the same time, the dozen zombie warriors hoisted their wooden clubs and reached the front of Han Shuo and Emily, launching an immediate attack.

With a soft huff, Emily drew her magic staff and chanted a dark magic spell. A pitch-black scythe of the Grimfoot materialized in the void, and guided by a gesture of her staff, it swept down to slaughter the zombie warriors. Under the cutting edge of the death scythe, the bodies of the zombie warriors were as fragile as paper, shattering into pieces in the blink of an eye. Not a single one managed to approach Han Shuo and Emily.

As the "Wraith Soul Chain" lashed toward them, Han Shuo's Demonic Slaughter Blade shrieked into action. Channeling the "Glacial Demonic Flame Art," the blade burst into a blinding red light. The temperature of the entire space suddenly soared, and red demonic flames enveloped the Demonic Slaughter Blade, burning fiercely as they met the incoming "Wraith Soul Chain."

The "Wraith Soul Chain," formed from dozens of chained wraiths, shrieked in terror as the intense heat of the Demonic Slaughter Blade's red demonic flames washed over them. When the blade roared straight into the chain, it emitted a crackling sound accompanied by grayish-brown smoke, and the dozens of wraiths wailed as they perished in soul-shattering destruction.

Three bone spears suddenly formed in the air, thrusting fiercely toward Han Shuo and Emily. Han Shuo used his mind to control the Demonic Slaughter Blade to block the two spears targeting Emily, while he himself chanted a quick necromantic spell. A bone spear pierced through the void and accurately collided with the spear aimed at him, shattering it.

"Oh? Kid, you're actually a necromancer as well!" The withered necromancer exclaimed in sudden astonishment, staring at Han Shuo with intense surprise as he shouted.

"Hehe, exactly. Just back at Carhlf's place, we teamed up to take down Clark. This is already our second meeting tonight," Han Shuo said calmly, looking at the necromancer with a faint smile.

The last time at the Carhlf household, Han Shuo had initially kept his face covered and only pulled off his mask right before killing Clark. Afterward, when the necromancer attacked him, there had been a considerable distance between them. In the deep of night, the necromancer hadn't seen Han Shuo's face clearly, and seeing him again now, he evidently hadn't recognized him.

"So it was you!" the necromancer let out a low cry, his body once again swiftly gliding toward the two of them as he said darkly, "Since we are both necromancers, let me see if you truly understand the profound mysteries of necromancy."

With those words, the necromancer struck once more, clearly intending to eliminate Han Shuo first.