Versatile Mage: Get the Desert Emperor clone at the start

Chapter 171 Sandworms and Black Corpses Join Forces to Kill the Ghost Lord
Zhu Meng gazed solemnly at the churning black mist of the dead in the distance. "This time, a Ghostly Monarch has appeared. Although its strength isn't top-tier among monarchs, if left unchecked, it will inevitably cause a great disaster sooner or later. With the help of your totem beast, we should be able to resolve this quickly." As he spoke, a hint of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

However, Qin Xiaonan slowly shook her head, her gaze lingering intently on the dark wilderness beyond the city walls: "The matter of the undead is far more complex than it appears."

His voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable firmness, "I've come to the ancient capital this time for a special investigation. Qing Ning... she also has her own mission."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Meng surprisingly did not continue to persuade him.

He simply gave Qin Xiaonan a deep look, then nodded decisively and said, "Okay, I trust your judgment. I'll go arrange other matters now."

This straightforward answer surprised Qin Xiaonan slightly.

In his memory, Zhu Meng had always been a strong and stubborn person. When did he become so easy to talk to?

It turns out that since the Hangzhou incident, Zhu Meng had been carefully investigating Qin Xiaonan's past.

Those records gave him a completely new understanding of this young man. Whether it was the demon attack in Bocheng, Anjie in Qinghai, or the Huangpu River in Shanghai, or even the last Hangzhou plague incident, Qin Xiaonan had helped in every way.

Zhu Meng then strode towards the command platform.

Given Qin Xiaonan's personality, there must be a deeper meaning behind her choosing to appear in the ancient capital at this time.

Moreover, the activities of the dead have indeed been unusual these days, and there is probably something else going on behind the scenes.

Rather than forcing him to participate in the current battle, it's better to trust his judgment.

Moreover, he believed that if a real crisis came, this young man would not stand idly by.

As the two were talking, a series of eerie sounds came from below the city wall: the grinding of bones and the sticky slurring of rotting flesh.

Looking out, the dark, swarming undead army surged in like a tide, and the stench of decay instantly permeated the entire battlefield.

Leading the charge were the white-robed corpses, their pale bodies hunched over, and eerie green flames flickering in their empty eye sockets.

These high-ranking undead acted as loyal guards, constantly hovering around the Ghost Lord, occasionally letting out piercing screams.

Following closely behind were hordes of skeleton soldiers, wielding rusty weapons, their joints shrouded in eerie black mist, and making a sickening "crackling" sound as they moved.

At the very rear of the undead army, the most terrifying force was the legion of black, decaying corpses.

These former human corpses were completely rotten and bloated, their grayish-green skin covered with festering sores, and every step they took left a trail of foul-smelling slime on the ground.

But at this moment, they were strangely covered with a layer of flowing fine sand, as if they were wearing a writhing sand armor.

"That's a sandworm?" Qin Xiaonan narrowed her eyes slightly.

The fine sand seemed to move around the black, decaying corpse as if it were alive, sometimes condensing into a protective layer like armor, and sometimes turning into flowing sand mist that surrounded it.

These sandworms have formed a perfect symbiotic relationship with the black, decaying corpses—whenever the black, decaying corpses take a step, the sandworms create quicksand slides under their feet, allowing these originally unsteady corpses to move quickly as if walking on flat ground.

When they swing their decaying arms, the sandworms generate a boost at their joints, increasing their attack speed several times over.

Even more terrifying is that these black, decaying corpses, enhanced by sandworms, have broken through the limitations of ordinary undead.

They are no longer limited to close-range biting and corpse poison infection, but can control the sand worms on their bodies to launch long-range attacks.

They opened their rotting jaws and spewed out sandstorms mixed with corpse poison. The sand grains, stained with green pus, shot towards the city walls like shrapnel. Some high-ranking individuals could even turn their arms into sand, forming enormous sand claws that could threaten the defenders from a great distance.

"Watch out for those sandstorms!" a mage on the city wall shouted a warning. "The sand is mixed with putrefactive poison; once inhaled, you'll rot from the inside out!"

The black-rotten corpses enhanced by sandworms displayed astonishing tactical coordination. They would first use sandstorms to obscure the view, and then launch a surprise attack from the corpses hidden in the sand fog.

Even more troublesome is that even if they are shattered, sandworms can quickly reassemble their remains. Unless a stronger spell is used to destroy both the corpses and the sandworms at the same time, they can quickly rejoin the battle.

Qin Xiaonan's expression shifted slightly as she looked at the bizarre demon formed by the combination of sandworms and black, decaying corpses in the distance.

Salam really knows how to use the parasitic ability of sandworms.

However, what puzzled Qin Xiaonan was that although sandworms had appeared in large numbers, he still could not sense the aura of the Sandworm Monarch and did not know where the Black Church had placed it.

At this moment, Zhu Meng, Hunter King Du Xiao, Commander Lu Xu, and several other high-level mages had already engaged in combat with the Ghost Lord.

Between heaven and earth, magical energy surged violently, and the entire battlefield was illuminated by the radiance of various elements, resembling an apocalyptic scene.

Zhu Meng stood in the void, his body wreathed in dazzling lightning. He pressed his hands down sharply and roared:
"The Punishment of Thunder!"

In an instant, thunderclouds rolled across the sky, and countless streaks of purple-gold lightning, like raging dragons, struck down precisely on the massive body of the Ghost Lord.

A burst of lightning erupted, and the Ghost Lord let out a shrill roar. His black mist-like body was torn apart by the lightning, yet it healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Commander Lu Xu stood atop the city wall, a massive golden magic circle appearing beneath his feet. Light-based magic surged forth, eventually condensing into a colossal sword of light that reached the heavens and the earth.

"Holy Decree - Demon-Slaying Sword!"

The giant sword slashed down, shining brightly, and half of the Ghost Lord's body was forcibly cleaved in two, the black mist dissipating like a tide.

However, it did not fall down. Instead, it let out a deafening roar, and black mist surged wildly around its body. Its injuries began to heal rapidly again.

"Damn it, this thing's regenerative abilities are too strong!" Zhu Meng gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with lightning. "We must find its core, otherwise our attacks will just be constantly neutralized!"

Lu Xu's gaze was as sharp as a hawk's: "Its weakness is in its chest, where there is a condensed mass of evil energy, but it is shrouded in layers of black mist, making it difficult for ordinary attacks to reach."

Du Xiao said in a deep voice, "Then let's force our way through! I'll hold it back, and you guys find an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow!"

Before he finished speaking, he flashed close to his opponent, then suddenly raised his hand, and countless chains of light shot out from the air, wrapping around the Ghost Lord's limbs like serpents. Under the scorching holy light, the black mist made a "hissing" corrosive sound.

The Ghost Lord roared and struggled, but could not break free for a time.

It stared intently at Hunter King Du Xiao, and a large patch of black mist enveloped him.

The others dared not slack off and seized the opportunity.

Lightning and holy light erupted simultaneously, blasting a huge hole in the Ghost Lord's chest, finally exposing the fel energy core hidden in the black mist—a beating black heart, its surface covered with hideous blood vessels, emanating a suffocating aura of death.

"The final blow!" Lu Xu roared, and a pillar of light descended from the sky, striking directly at the core!
The blinding light devoured everything, and the Ghost Lord's screams echoed across the battlefield as its body crumbled inch by inch, finally annihilating completely in the light of purification.

(End of this chapter)