The Third Return of the Necrotic Magic Armiger

The moment the Shaman pulled the object from his robe, the entire settlement fell into dead silence.

The pressure radiating from it was so oppressive that even Evan's body instinctively tensed.

His eyes immediately locked onto the object.

It was a small wooden figure, compact enough to fit within one hand. Blood markings covered its surface, while torn pieces of cloth hung from its body like crude ornaments. Metal rings and nails had been embedded into the wood, giving the strange object an almost ritualistic appearance.

Evan narrowed his eyes.

'A totem?'

He had seen enough stories and records about Shamans to recognise the general design.

But what confused him was the complete lack of an immediate reaction.

No spell appeared.

No mana surged.

Nothing struck.

The totem simply rested in the Shaman's palm.

Somehow, that was worse.

Then screams erupted behind the Shaman.

The two massive Goblins collapsed simultaneously.

Their bodies convulsed violently against the ground as their muscles began swelling at an unnatural speed.

Bones cracked.

Flesh expanded.

Veins bulged across their skin.

Within seconds, their already enormous bodies had doubled in size.

They no longer looked like ordinary Goblins.

They looked like beasts wearing Goblin faces.

Their skin had darkened into a deeper green, while strange dark-green markings spread across their bodies like living tattoos. Their eyes burned with flashing green light as they dropped onto all fours and released guttural growls.

Evan's expression hardened.

The mana radiating from them was no longer ordinary.

It was approaching the peak of Tier 0.

Around Level 90 to 95.

And yet, despite the terrifying transformation, neither creature attacked.

They simply remained on all fours, mana violently surging around their bodies.

Their veins looked as though they might burst at any moment.

There was no fear in their eyes.

No hesitation.

Only pure, mindless chaos.

Evan's gaze shifted toward the wooden totem.

'So they're being affected by that thing.'

His instincts immediately warned him.

'Then I need to destroy it.'

Before he could move, the Shaman lifted his staff.

"Kill every Skeleton in this settlement."

His cold voice carried across the battlefield.

"Then bring me the head of that human."

The two creatures roared.

BOOM!

They disappeared.

The wooden wall behind them cracked from the force of their movement.

A heartbeat later, two enormous explosions erupted from opposite sides of the settlement.

Evan's eyes snapped toward the sound.

Both Goblins were already standing inside the craters they had created.

Beneath their massive hands, Skeletons had been crushed into piles of broken bones.

Then they moved again.

The two monsters tore through the settlement like living disasters.

Skeletons were smashed apart before they could react.

Armoured Skeletons that had endured countless attacks were destroyed in seconds.

Undead wolves were torn apart.

Evan's summon count began dropping rapidly.

His expression became colder as he watched the slaughter.

The surviving Goblins, who had been on the verge of despair only moments ago, erupted into renewed excitement.

Their situation had suddenly reversed.

Yet Evan noticed something important.

Despite their frenzy, the two monsters never touched a living Goblin.

'So they're not completely berserk.'

His eyes narrowed.

'Damn. I thought they'd attack everything in sight.'

The situation had become far more troublesome than he expected.

Within minutes, more than fifty armoured Skeletons had been destroyed.

The Shaman watched Evan from the wall with a vicious grin.

"After your undead are finished, you're next."

Evan's eyes shifted toward him.

He gave a faint smirk beneath his armour.

"You seem rather confident after gaining an advantage for a few minutes."

He stepped toward the side of the wall.

"Do you really think you can save this settlement?"

Evan's gaze sharpened.

"You're mistaken."

The Shaman's eyes flickered.

"You have quite the courage to stand before me."

Wind began gathering around his staff.

But Evan raised a hand.

"Don't bother. I'm not here to kill you..."

His eyes moved toward the battlefield.

"Not yet."

The Shaman hesitated.

Evan continued calmly.

"You ordered those mutants to destroy my summons, but you never considered one thing."

His gaze returned to the Shaman.

"Did you ever wonder whether I was holding another trick in reserve?"

The Shaman's expression darkened.

Evan raised his hand slightly.

"Now you'll find out."

The Shaman scoffed.

"Bluffing even while facing death?"

He raised his staff.

"Dragging out your death will only bring you more pain."

But Evan's expression didn't change.

"You underestimate me too quickly."

His eyes moved toward the countless fallen Skeletons scattered throughout the settlement.

"Look at your feet."

The Shaman followed his gaze.

Broken armour.

Bones.

Hundreds of fallen undead.

Then a memory flashed through his mind.

The Skeleton.

The one that had caused that terrifying flame explosion earlier.

His pupils contracted.

Evan noticed the reaction.

"Don't you remember the gift I sent earlier?"

The Shaman's face drained of colour.

"No..."

His voice trembled.

"Don't tell me..."

He looked around at the countless fallen armoured Skeletons.

"You placed that attack inside all of them?"

His voice rose into panic.

"That's impossible! You're bluffing!"

One Skeleton had nearly destroyed everything.

Now there were more than a hundred corpses scattered throughout the settlement.

The Shaman finally understood what that meant.

The temperature began dropping.

Slowly.

At first, only a few Goblins noticed.

Then more began shivering.

A faint mist formed across the settlement.

The Shaman's expression changed completely.

Cold mana was spreading from the ground.

His eyes snapped toward Evan.

"Human!"

He roared as wind erupted from his staff.

The attack tore through the air toward Evan.

Evan didn't move.

He simply raised one hand.

"It's useless now."

His eyes narrowed.

"It's inevitable."

He flicked his finger.

At that instant, the corpses of the fallen armoured Skeletons erupted.

BOOOOOOM!

Ice and bone exploded from more than a hundred locations at once.

Massive spikes tore upward from the ground, while freezing mist flooded through the settlement.

The battlefield vanished beneath a storm of white frost and shattered bone.

At the same moment, the Shaman's wind attack reached Evan.

A flicker of flame appeared before him.

SHING!

The incoming wind was cleaved apart by blazing energy.

Evan stood untouched.

But his eyes remained fixed on the settlement.

The true second half of the battle had begun.

The Shaman wasn't looking at Evan anymore.

His attention was fixed entirely on his settlement.

On his people.

On the frozen battlefield before him.

The entire settlement had become a world of ice.

Goblins.

Skeletons.

Even the ground itself had been swallowed beneath layers of frost.

Massive pillars of ice had erupted from hundreds of locations, forming a jagged, spiked landscape throughout the settlement.

Nothing had escaped the blast.

Even the two mutated Goblins had been frozen solid.

For several seconds, the Shaman simply stared.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Meanwhile, Evan's system notifications kept appearing one after another, showing his kill count rising second after second.

Yet Evan didn't feel victorious.

He could feel the emptiness spreading through his body.

That attack had consumed nearly half of his mana.

He had been acting confident, but the truth was that the massive explosion had cost him dearly.

Fortunately, his mana was already beginning to recover.

'That should have crippled them.'

Evan looked toward the Shaman.

'Now I just need to finish him.'

But before he could move, the air beside him suddenly twisted.

Wind began gathering.

Evan's eyes shifted upward.

Above the Shaman's staff, an enormous mass of compressed wind was forming.

The Shaman stood motionless.

His face was blank.

His eyes had become hazy and lifeless.

One hand tightly gripped the wooden totem.

A drop of blood slowly emerged from the wooden object and fell to the frozen ground.

Drip.

The markings covering the totem began glowing.

The Shaman finally lifted his eyes.

"You will pay for this, human."

His voice was cold enough to make the surrounding air feel dead.

"Leaving this ground alive is no longer an option."

His eyes became completely bloodshot.

"DIE!"

Evan's blade ignited.

Flames crawled across the edge.

"Don't make me laugh."

He raised the weapon, preparing to cut apart the incoming spell.

The wind exploded forward.

For one brief moment, Evan remained completely confident.

Then the two forces collided.

BOOOOOOM!

His flames vanished.

Not weakened.

Extinguished.

Evan's eyes widened.

'What?!'

The wind slammed into him with overwhelming force.

His body was launched from the wall before he could stabilise himself.

BANG!

He crashed into the frozen ground and rolled across the ice before smashing into one of the enormous spikes.

His shoulder went numb.

A heartbeat later, pain arrived.

His fingers barely responded around the sword hilt.

Evan shook his head and immediately looked up.

The Shaman's mana was rising again; his recent attack had doubled in strength unexpectedly.

Massive currents of wind twisted above him, crushing pieces of wood and stone that were dragged into the vortex.

Even the settlement wall groaned beneath the pressure.

Then another sound came from the ice.

CRACK...

Evan's eyes shifted.

Two sections of the frozen battlefield suddenly exploded outward.

The mutated Goblins emerged.

Their bodies had changed again.

Their muscles bulged even more violently than before, their green skin glowing beneath the dark-green markings spreading across their bodies.

The markings were brighter now.

Almost alive.

Both creatures growled as their bodies trembled under the power coursing through them.

They looked less like Goblins with every passing second.

More like weapons being pushed beyond their limits.

Yet the Shaman didn't even glance at them.

"I don't care whether you survive this or not."

His voice remained cold.

"Bring me that human's head."

Several blades of compressed wind formed above him.

"Do that, and I will end your suffering soon enough."

The two mutants lowered themselves.

Then disappeared.

Evan's expression tightened.

"I knew this mission wouldn't be easy..."

Lightning began crackling around his body as flames engulfed his blade once more.

"But facing all three of you is pushing me to my limit."

The two monsters attacked.

Evan barely saw the first one.

A presence suddenly erupted behind him.

He spun around and raised his blade.

CLANG!

A massive claw collided with Crimson Edge.

The impact hurled Evan backwards.

Before he could recover, the second Goblin appeared directly ahead.

Its claws were already reaching for his head.

Evan thrust one hand forward.

The earth exploded upward.

BOOM!

A stone pillar formed between them.

The claw smashed into the stone instead of Evan.

But there was no time to breathe.

The Shaman's wind blades descended.

The mutants attacked again.

One from the left.

One from the right.

Wind from above.

Every opening Evan created disappeared instantly.

He evaded.

Blocked.

Countered.

Moved again.

But he couldn't attack.

The three of them were working together too well.

Even when Evan gained a fraction of space, another attack immediately filled it.

His expression grew darker.

'They're not giving me even a second.'

Evan jumped across the frozen spikes, using the terrain to avoid another barrage.

But the two mutants suddenly appeared beside him.

Their enormous hands locked onto his body.

Evan's eyes widened.

At the same moment, he looked toward the Shaman.

Above the Goblin's head, a massive orb of compressed wind was forming.

Wood fragments.

Ice.

Stone.

Everything around it was being pulled toward the sphere and crushed instantly by the pressure.

Evan understood.

'They're using themselves to hold me in place.'

"Get away from me!"

Lightning exploded from Evan's body.

It flooded into the two mutants.

Their flesh charred black.

Yet neither released him.

The Shaman's eyes remained cold.

The wind orb had reached its limit.

He threw it.

The mutants released Evan and leapt away.

Evan moved at the same instant.

He ran.

But the attack was already too close.

The compressed sphere swallowed the space around him.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

"ARRRGHHHH!"

Evan's scream tore through the frozen settlement.

A gigantic crater erupted beneath him.

Ice shattered outward.

The surrounding spikes were obliterated.

A violent storm of wind continued twisting inside the crater, repeatedly throwing Evan's body upward before slamming him back down.

For several seconds, nothing else could be heard.

The two mutants stood at a distance.

The Shaman watched from the wall.

The crater continued to churn.

Evan's figure was nowhere to be seen.

The settlement fell silent once more.