Chapter 61: Are You My Master?
Overall, the attributes of the Skeletal Dragon were somewhat superior to those of the Molten Fiend, which was also of the sixth tier.
This was primarily because the Necromancy skill tree is an orthodox one that relies entirely on summoning.
Therefore, it was only natural for it to be slightly stronger.
That left only the heaviest hitter of all—the Scourge Sovereign—which had yet to be summoned.
Lin Yi pondered for a moment.
Considering the terrifying anomalies triggered when he used the Divine Fire's Conquest, which was likewise of the eighth tier,
he decided it would be wise not to summon the Scourge Sovereign in the real world.
Otherwise, if some drastic disturbance broke out right in the backyard of the Tianhai City Education Bureau, it would spell endless trouble.
Inside the Necromantic Realm,
Lin Yi began to chant.
The initial chanting time of a full three minutes, reduced by 70% thanks to [Divine Grace Chant], still amounted to nearly one minute of incantation.
However, Lin Yi was in no particular hurry,
so he chose not to waste his instant-cast opportunity here.
As Lin Yi continued his chant, the entire Necromantic Realm began to tremble.
A necromantic magic array, far larger and infinitely more complex than the one used to summon the Skeletal Dragon, emerged upon the frozen earth.
Countless necromantic magic runes shifted and transformed with every single spell incantation uttered by Lin Yi.
Black mist, symbolizing calamity and suffering, permeated the entire space.
The array expanded continuously, emitting a blinding black light
that filled the entire domain with an aura of deep death, as if the netherworld itself had descended.
Lin Yi congratulated himself on not summoning it in the real world; otherwise, he might well have been surrounded by legions of professional warriors halfway through the ritual.
The chanting, lasting a little over fifty seconds, reached its peak,
and the magic array expanded to its maximum limit,
directly enveloping the entire Necromantic Realm.
At the same time, Lin Yi noticed that the low-tier skeleton monsters he had summoned earlier
were now kneeling prostrate on the ground in the center of the array, bathed in the shroud of black light.
Even the colossal Skeletal Dragon was trembling all over,
its skull lowered,
as if awaiting an audience with the descent of its true monarch.
As the final syllable slipped from Lin Yi's lips,
the chanting concluded.
Lin Yi let out a long breath.
This Grand Summoning spell certainly possessed an overwhelming aura of majesty!
Even he had been hard-controlled for nearly a minute.
Glancing down at the magic array on the ground, Lin Yi clicked his tongue in amazement.
With such a massive array, would the Scourge Sovereign summoned at the end turn out to be an enormous, super-sized giant?
Lin Yi's mental image of the Scourge Sovereign was still stuck on the appearance of a certain well-known game character, Arthas—
clad entirely in jet-black knight's armor, wielding Frostmourne, standing atop an icy precipice, and commanding the entire Scourge Legion.
The light of the magic array faded.
When Lin Yi finally laid eyes on the Scourge Sovereign summoned to the center of the array, he was utterly dumbfounded.
It was a petite figure,
not a giant in the slightest.
As the dust and smoke kicked up by the summoning ritual dissipated, Lin Yi could see the human figure within more clearly.
First to catch his eye were a set of exquisite black knight armor and a longsword gleaming with deep blue frost.
How similar! They looked remarkably alike!
However, when the Undead Sovereign clamped her slender legs around the hilt of the Elegy of Souls
and then used both hands to remove the steel helmet from her head, Lin Yi froze completely.
Beneath the steel helmet was the indifferent yet breathtakingly beautiful face of a young girl.
A waterfall of white hair cascaded down around her,
and within her crimson eyes, a silent river of forgetfulness seemed to flow.
"You... are you my master?"
The girl looked up at Lin Yi's spiritual projection, her lips trembling as she softly uttered those words.
Lin Yi was stunned into silence.
It wasn't until the girl asked again that Lin Yi gave a dry cough and nodded, "Yes."
The next moment, the girl cradled her helmet in the crook of her right arm and sheathed her longsword, the Elegy of Souls.
Then, she dropped to one knee and executed a standard knight's salute toward Lin Yi.
The girl was sparing with her words.
Upon confirming that Lin Yi was indeed her master, she immediately demonstrated her absolute submission.
As she knelt on one knee,
Lin Yi saw that the skeleton monsters and the Skeletal Dragon he had summoned earlier
were also bowing and kneeling before him, expressing their surrender!
Yet, Lin Yi could clearly sense that, unlike those low-level skeletons and the Skeletal Dragon,
this white-haired, red-eyed Scourge Sovereign possessed a high level of intelligence and her own emotional awareness.
Rather than a mere summoned construct, she felt like a living, breathing person.
"Rise. Do you have a name?" Lin Yi asked.
The girl stood up, her serene crimson eyes holding a fleeting ripple of emotion only when gazing at Lin Yi.
She gently shook her head.
Lin Yi felt a slight headache coming on.
He was notoriously terrible at naming things.
If she had come with a name, it would have been much easier to address her in the future.
Now, however, he would definitely have to bestow one upon her.
After a brief moment of thought, Lin Yi said, "Since you hail from the realm of the dead, according to our Great Xia traditions,
the place you come from is called the Netherworld.
We shall take the single character 'You' from it, and combine it with my surname. From now on, I shall call you Lin You."
The girl tilted her head slightly,
as if pondering the meaning of the name.
Then, Lin Yi noticed a trace of imperceptible joy flash across the girl's face, as though she deeply appreciated the poetic imagery behind the name.
She spoke softly once more, "Yes."
Lin Yi looked at Lin You, and immediately her attribute panel manifested in full before his eyes.
[Lin You]
[Level: LV.1]
[Rank: Sovereign]
[HP: 57,842 / 57,842]
[Mana: 26,331 / 26,331]
[Attack Power: 1,855]
[Defense: 1,855]
[Magic Resistance: 1,720]
[Skills: Soul Sever, Necrotic Sword Qi, Thousand Souls' Pull]
[Remarks: The supreme monarch of the undead realm, though she seems to have forgotten her past.]
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[Elegy of Souls]
[Type: Weapon (Two-Handed)]
[Grade: Dark Iron (0.00%)]
[Equipment Level: LV.1]
[Exclusive Weapon, Soul-Bound]
[Weight: 22.34 kg]
[Physical Attack Power +150]
[Strength +10]
[Stamina +10]
[Spirit +10]
[Agility +10]
[Durability: Indestructible]
[Unique Effect: Soul Devourer]
[Upon slaying a target, their soul will be devoured, granting a portion of attribute values to be added to the wielder's base stats.]
[Note: The stronger the target slain and the higher their rank, the greater the attribute values acquired.]
After reviewing Lin You's base attributes and the properties of her weapon,
what truly caught Lin Yi's eye were the two skills currently at Lin You's disposal.
[Soul Sever]
[Type: Passive Skill]
[Tier: First Tier]
[Category: Necromancy]
[Cost: None]
[Chanting Time: None]
[Cooldown: None]
[Effect: When dealing damage to a target possessing a soul, simultaneously inflict soul damage equal to 20% of the damage dealt. Once the target's soul perishes, the target will die instantly.]
[Note: For all living beings with souls, soul strength differs from physical strength. Damage dealt to the flesh and the soul will be calculated separately, and the death mechanism will be triggered the moment either party's HP drops to zero.]
[Remarks: The blade cleaves the flesh, while the heart cleaves the soul.]
This skill completely overturned the damage system of all conventional skills known so far,
introducing the concept of soul damage.
Against the vast majority of monsters, it promised to yield unimaginably terrifying effects.
It was highly likely that even if a monster's physical HP was only reduced by half, as long as its soul HP dropped to zero, an instant kill would be triggered.
Aside from this extraordinary skill,
what truly made Lin Yi draw a sharp intake of breath was Lin You's other passive skill—Thousand Souls' Pull!