Chapter 1107-1108
Chapter 1107 – A Demon?
Zhao Hai didn't make a move on the two Mages. He just said, "Let's go."
Then after he said that, Zhao Hai went to the alleys. If Zhao Hai was by himself, then he would've killed the two Mages with his sword. But since Margaret was with him, he cannot do that. He wasn't prepared to reveal his cards yet.
While they were quickly flying on the street, Zhao Hai also released flying needles in order to scout the surrounding terrain. This way, they wouldn't walk into a dead end.
The longer Margaret flew beside Zhao Hai, the more curious she became. She was able to see Zhao Hai suddenly turn to a corner from time to time. Although they were being chased by a large number of Mages and Warriors, they had never been stopped. Zhao Hai seems to be very familiar with the streets here.
While Margaret was thinking about this, she discovered that they were already outside the city; at the entrance of the mining tunnels. However, the entrance to the tunnel was covered by a fence which read 'Examination tunnel. No entry.'
Margaret didn't expect them to really reach this point. At this time, Zhao Hai waved his hand, releasing a spell that exploded the fence. Then he immediately flew in.
Without even the time to process her thoughts, Margaret also flew into the tunnel. However, Margaret could still feel that they were being pursued. She was also able to see that there weren't any level 5 experts among them. The highest was only level 4.
Margaret's strength was higher, but she wouldn't dare go around and fight it out with them. This was because there were just too many of them. Margaret felt that their pursuers numbered no less than 50. And there weren't just Mages, there were Warriors among them as well. And worst one being level 2. In this situation, if she did decide to fight, then she would be courting death.
Margaret followed Zhao Hai into the mine, with their pursuers closely behind. When they were in the city, the Mages and Warriors were afraid of destroying any buildings. But now, they didn't have this concern anymore. So from time to time, magic and sword qi were being sent towards Zhao Hai and Margaret.
The two flew quickly. Also, since the tunnel wasn't a straight line, the enemy had yet to overtake them.
The dark energy in the tunnel gradually became thicker. Although Zhao Hai had already mined the ghost mithril and taken Little Silver, there was still remnant dark energy in the tunnel. After all, after many years of accumulation, it wouldn't disappear in such a short time.
However, it was clear that neither Zhao Hai nor the pursuers cared about this. They knew that this was the exam tunnel. And also, Tyro Planet's examination site was well known to be fairly safe. Some of the pursuers had also taken their exams here. Because of this, they knew that there were no such dangers for them given their current strength.
Margaret kept following behind Zhao Hai's figure all this time. To be honest, Margaret was forced to accept this arrangement. She had seen their pursuers, and she was now aware that the guards have been made unavailable. With so many people chasing them, this was definitely a trap.
If they fought in the city, then they might injure innocents or cause huge damage to property. When the time comes and the matter was solved, it was possible that the three powers would use this excuse to cause trouble to the Ashley Family. At the very least, they would not let off the Bone Symbol Camp. And Margaret didn't want to pull the camp into this conflict.
Because of this, Margaret agreed to Zhao Hai's plan on going to the tunnels. Not only would they ensure the crew's safety, she would also have the space to annihilate these fellows. Even if she couldn't kill them all, with the tunnel's terrain, she could at least get rid of some of them.
The two quickly flew straight ahead. Their pursuers weren't slow either. Both sides were separated by about 500 meters. It would be impossible to hide from the Mages and Warriors at this distance. As long as they stay close to Margaret and Zhao Hai, tracking magic can be used to follow them all the time. During times where they caught glimpses of Zhao Hai and Margaret, the pursuers couldn't help but smirk.
Margaret was just following behind Zhao Hai at this point. She couldn't recognize the tunnel anymore. She believed that if Zhao Hai left her here, then she might take a very long time to return.
At this time, Zhao Hai's voice was heard, "Instructor, we're arriving at the exam's mining tunnel. Make sure to follow closely behind." Margaret nodded.
When the two entered the dark tunnel, Zhao Hai immediately released dark magic. This dark magic not only made the dark mist in the tunnel thicker, it could also conceal their presence.
After releasing this magic, Zhao Hai quickly brought Margaret to hide in a nearby cave. Then they both stood there quietly.
Margaret kept still as she just stood there, looking at their pursuers arrive. As the Mages and Warriors entered, Margaret counted them all. There were actually 78!
Zhao Hai whispered, "Seventy-eight people. Forty Mages, Thirty-eight Warriors. Eighteen level 2's, all of them Warriors. 20 Mages and 20 Warriors at level 3. And then 20 level 4 Mages. This isn't a small force. Hmmm, that's not correct, there are also two assassins. It seems like these people really want us dead."
Upon hearing Zhao Hai, Margaret couldn't help but stare. She whispered, "Assassins? There are Assassins?" She failed to sense these Assassins. Now that she heard Zhao Hai, she couldn't help but be shocked.
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Right, they're about level 3. They almost evaded my notice. They're quite strong."
Margaret slowly wrinkled her brow, "What should we do now?"
Zhao Hai didn't turn towards Margaret as he smiled faintly and said, "What do we do? Easy, make sure that these 80 people don't run away. They will become members of my Undead Army."
After that, Zhao Hai waved his hand. Then as he made his signal, a spatial rift appeared beside him. It didn't take long before large quantities of Undead flooded out of the rift and charged forward.
What made Margaret stare was the fact that the Undead seem to be inexhaustible. She tried counting them all but soon found out that there were too many of them.
Margaret might not be surprised if it was just the number. The most important thing was the strength of these Undead. They were very strong. Although they were a bit worse than level 1 Mages, their strength couldn't be said to be the worst in the Machine Field.
Levels in the Machine Field depended on Magic Theory. However, such classification was unfair to lower realm ascenders.
Ascenders from the lower realm hadn't studied Magic Theory. Because of this, it was impossible for them to be level 1 Mages immediately. From Margaret's estimation, lower realm ascenders should have at least level 3 spiritual force. It was only because they didn't know Magic Theory that they weren't classified as level 1.
If there was no Magic Theory, then there would be a lot of level 3 Mage and Warriors in the Machine Field. The natives would have no way of being stronger than ascenders. It can be said that Magic Theory was already biased against ascenders from the lower realms.
However, the world was unfair. You can't blame anybody for being born in a lower realm. The heavens are blameless, this was a fact.
For Zhao Hai to release bordeling level 1 Undead was already a great feat.
People from the Machine Field didn't fully neglect lower realm magic. After all, Magic Theory absorbed a lot from lower realm magic in order to be made. Therefore, Margaret had a clear understanding regarding lower realm magic. She knew that Mages from the lower realm could turn Undead into their summoned creatures. This method could also be used in the Machine Field. However, nobody used this method since the creatures summoned would be very weak. They were almost useless. A normal person in the Machine Field could casually destroy ten creatures summoned this way.
However, Zhao Hai's summons had strength close to level 1 Mages. This caused Margaret to be startled. Not to say ordinary people, even those who had cultivated would be no match against these undead.
There were also 9 ranks in the Machine Field. However, they couldn't be called true experts. Generally, people in these levels or lower were called apprentices; Mage Apprentice and Warrior Apprentice.
Only after breaking through beyond 9th rank could one become a level 1 Mage, a true Mage. Because of this, most level 1 Mages won't pay attention to Apprentices.
However, this didn't mean that they didn't have any fighting strength. Compared to normal people, these Apprentices were still much better. This was especially true for 9th rank Apprentices. They were close to being level 1, so nobody looked down on their strength. If a level 4 Mage was surrounded by 100 9 ranks, then its possible they would be killed.
The biggest difference between Mage Apprentices and Mages was that Apprentices cannot practice Magic Theory. This didn't mean that they weren't allowed to study it, it was just that their spiritual force was insufficient. However, they were still able to study ordinary magic. And during this study, they would dabble in magic formations. This will help them in the future when they study Magic Theory.
It can be said that Apprentices were inferior to Ascenders when it came to spiritual force. However, Apprentices still had their own advantages. Compared to ascenders, they were more familiar with magic formations.
But in the end, spiritual force was the most important. Even if an apprentice was adept in magic formations, he still wouldn't be able to reach level 1 if they lack the spiritual force needed. There were plenty of 9th ranks in the Machine Field that weren't able to break through to level 1.
Because of this level division, Zhao Hai's uncountable number of 9th rank Undead caused Margaret to be shocked.
Zhao Hai didn't release a lot of Undead. He stopped when they reached 10 thousand. However, these Undead weren't any ordinary Undead, all of them were wearing bone armor.
The Bone Armor Legion was Zhao Hai's elite force in the Underworld. Upon arriving in the Machine Field, Zhao Hai wouldn't dare to release ordinary Undead. This would just be sending the undead to their demise.
Currently, Zhao Hai's Bone Armor Legion had reached thirty thousand. But this time, Zhao Hai only chose to release a third of them.
After releasing the Undead, Zhao Hai turned his head to Margaret and said, "Instructor, let's go outside. So when we kill these people we would know where they came from."
Margaret broke out of her shock, then she turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Zhao Hai, you brought all of these Undead from the lower realm? Did you make them?"
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Yes. I learned a secret method that can refine ordinary Undead into Advanced-level. All of these Undead are made by me."
Margaret stared at Zhao Hai, her expression quite pale as she asked, "Are they people you killed?" Upon hearing Margaret, Zhao Hai nodded and said, "They are. But not all of them. There are many that can't be used because I failed to refine them."
Margaret's expression turned paler. She looked at Zhao Hai and said, "How many people did you kill?"
Zhao Hai looked at Margaret's expression and couldn't help but smile faintly as he answered, "It would be best for you to not know." After saying that, Zhao Hai went out of the cave. The Undead were already fighting against the Mages and Warriors.
Margaret looked at Zhao Hai's departing back as her expression turned ugly. She believed Zhao Hai's words. There were demonic characters in the lower realm that made undead by killing people. If such a person joins the Bone Symbol Camp, who knows if it was a blessing or a curse.
Chapter 1108 – Fire Temple's Zhang Family
Zhao Hai was calmly looking at the fight happening outside. He deliberately revealed that he had killed a lot of people, so he wasn't surprised that Margaret knew. What he wanted to see was Margaret's response.
Margaret was beside Zhao Hai. Although her eyes were directed at the fight inside the tunnel, one could see that her eyes were empty. It was obvious that her thoughts weren't on the fight in front of her.
Zhao Hai's words gave her quite the impact. She didn't expect Zhao Hai to be so casual about his character. He was actually able to refine a lot of people into his summoned undead.
No matter which realm, such a person was called a demon. Even in the Devil Realm, there weren't a lot of people like Zhao Hai.
When she thought of this, Margaret couldn't help but turn her head towards Zhao Hai. At this time, Zhao Hai was focused on looking at the battlefield. His expression looked a little disturbed.
Margaret stared, then she hastily looked at the battlefield, thinking that the Undead might be having troubles dealing with the enemies.
But when she saw the situation, she gawked. This was because the undead were overpowering the pursuers. They were performing excellently. So why was Zhao Hai looking disturbed?
What Margaret didn't know was that Zhao Hai didn't treat Undead as mere tools. To him, they were living people who had their own identity. They were treated as Zhao Hai's subordinates. Currently, Zhao Hai just felt the death of several hundred Undead. Because of this, his expression turned serious.
The fight didn't last long. These Undead were Zhao Hai's elite. In normal days, they would be in the Hell Space. They didn't only cultivate, they also practiced battle formations and coordination. Because of this, the Mages and Warriors simply couldn't do anything amidst the assault of the Undead.
In less than an hour, the 80 pursuers were completely eliminated. Margaret stared at the performance of the undead. The coordination between each Undead were simply fantastic. Even the Machine Field's best army would have trouble mimicking such coordination.
With the fight finished, Zhao Hai waved his hand and received the Undead. The killed Undead were also taken back to be sent to the Hell Space and buried under the Bone Mountain. This has become a tradition among the Undead.
After receiving the Undead, Zhao Hai turned his attention to the corpses of the slain Mages and Warriors. After a short pause, Zhao Hai waved his hand and surrounded those bodies with black gas.
Zhao Hai's didn't use his ordinary black gas to turn these corpses into Undead. Instead, he added a 100-layer formation to amplify the effect.
Zhao Hai originally didn't intend to go through so much trouble. He could just turn these bodies into Undead and then throw them into the Space. However, the scanner had analyzed this formation a long time ago. This was also the first 100-layer formation that Zhao Hai learned.
There wasn't anything wrong with turning the corpses into Undead using Zhao Hai's usual method. However, this formation wouldn't only preserve the corpse's intellect and memory, it could also minimize the loss of strength. For example, if a level 4 Mage were turned into an Undead using Zhao Hai's old method, even if it was improved by the Space, it could only reach 9th rank strength. And in the Machine field, 8th or 9th rank Apprentices weren't able to use Magic Theory.
But if he used this 100-layer formation, the Undead would keep their level 4 strength. This was why Zhao Hai's settled on using this method. And since he didn't want Margaret to see his 100-layer formation, he decided to cover himself with a thick dark mist.
Before long, Zhao Hai finished his magic. The dead Mages and Warriors were now standing, their weapons in their hands. Their strength had also been preserved. But since Zhao Hai didn't want Margaret to know about his ability, he had the Undead be in their skeleton form.
Zhao Hai immediately interrogated the Undead. After getting the needed information, Zhao Hai turned to Margaret and said, "Instructor, does the Ashley Family have a grudge against the Fire Temple's Zhang Family?"
When she heard Zhao Hai, Margaret couldn't help but stare. Then her expression changed, "Fire Temple's Zhang Family? They sent these people?" The Undead were in their skeleton form, so naturally they couldn’t talk. Zhao Hai communicated with them using his spiritual force. Margaret wasn't able to hear anything.
Zhao Hai gave a nod and said, "They did. The Zhang Family's target is you. Once they dealt with you, they would bring a calamity to the Adam Family. And once the Ashley Family and the Adam Family went to war, the Zhang Family would greatly benefit."
Margaret coldly snorted and said, "Zhang Family, so it's the Zhang Family. Good, good."
Zhao Hai looked confused at Margaret's reaction. Margaret looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Zhao Hai, I won't hide anything from you. I'm actually the sixth daughter of the Ashely Family's Current Patriarch, Thunder Ashley. My mother was a lower realm ascender and married my father later on. However, my father didn't treat mother well, causing mother to be depressed. When my mother ascended, she became a member of Bone Symbol Camp. And since I don't want to join family struggles, I decided to join the Bone Symbol Camp as well and be a teacher at the academy. And when I was young, my father ordered me to marry the Zhang Family's third son, Zhang Ming!"
When Zhao Hai's heard this, his eyes couldn't help but rise up as he said, "So the Ashley Family and the Zhang Family had a very good relationship?"
Margaret sneered and said, "Not only good, they're known as our most faithful ally. I didn't expect that this ally was actually the family's biggest enemy."
Zhao Hai looked at Margaret and said, "Instructor, what are you planning to do now?"
Margaret coldly snorted, "What else do I have to do? After I head back, I will immediately report this to father. Although he didn't treat my mother well, he is still my father in the end. And I'm a member of the Ashley Family. If the family falls, then I won't have a good life."
Zhao Hai looked at Margaret and said, "Instructor, I suggest not telling your father about this yet. He wouldn't believe you immediately. And even if you tell him, will he wage war with the Zhang Family? If your two families go to war, then only outsiders would benefit."
Margaret stared, then she lightly frowned and said, "That's true. But if I don't tell him, then the Ashely Family wouldn't be guarded against the Zhang Family."
Zhao Hai also frowned. He knew that what Margaret said was true. But if they tell the Patriarch now, then the Ashely Family would be disadvantaged with the fallout.
Moreover, Margaret already said that her relationship with her father wasn't good. Her father might not even believe the report.
But as a Patriarch, would he neglect this matter completely? Even if he didn't believe it, he would still be wary of the Zhang Family. In this case, it would be good for the Ashley Family.
With this thought in mind, Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Reminding your father would be fine. But remember, you're just reminding him. Don't get too angry at the Zhang Family and make this matter known to everyone. The Ashley Family wouldn't benefit if it wages war with the Zhang Family."
When Margaret heard this, she couldn't help but frown. Although her relationship with her father wasn't very good, she knew her father well. The current Patriarch was a self-contained person. He wouldn't easily listen to anyone else's words. If she really told her father, then her father wouldn't immediately believe it. And just like Zhao Hai said, they shouldn't spread this matter.
Upon thinking about this, Margaret sighed and said, "Alright, I'll deal with this matter. I won't mention this matter to anyone."
Zhao Hao nodded. When he saw Margaret's expression, he knew that there were some underlying matters he was unaware of. However, these were things that were out of his hands.
Zhao Hai waved his hand and sent the Undead to the Space. However, there was no response from the Space, which surprised him.
In the past, when a strong Undead enters the Space, a prompt would always come up. But this time, after formidable Undead entered, there was nothing.
However, Zhao Hai changed his mind when he understood what was going on. Actually, this wasn't the first time this has happened. Ever since he received Undead from the Underworld, the Space began to adjust.
For the Undead who haven't reached demigod-level, the Space would automatically upgrade them. However, after they become demigods, they would have to rely on their efforts in order to progress.
This matter might also stem from the Space treating the Undead as their own independent race. In the past, the Space treated the Undead as robots, allowing the Undead to be upgraded.
Although it was a bit disappointing, Zhao Hai accepted the Space's new way of handling the Undead. After all, he was the one who thought the Undead to be their own race. Therefore, he wasn't opposed to the Spaces' decision. In fact, it seems like the Space was adjusting to his own wishes.