Chapter 130: The Hand of God (Part II)

How is this possible? Guo Lang was struck with shock!

Having spent twenty years in the field, Guo Lang was well-versed in the fundamentals of many professions, and that certainly included the lofty and prestigious mages.

In his understanding, no type of mage specialized in a specific branch during the early stages; their training was always systematic. Whether it was evocation, transmutation, curses, summoning, illusions, or defensive spells, a novice mage had to study them all. However, that did not mean one couldn't have a bias. Just like when you are applying for medical school and cannot afford to slack off in biology or chemistry, or applying for a military academy and cannot afford to lack physical fitness, necromancers typically leaned toward alchemy in their later stages. While some might lean toward curses or summoning, he had absolutely never heard of a low-level necromancer who was a master of illusion!

Knowing how to cast a spell did not mean one was a master of it. A standard illusion would never deceive the eyes of an assassin of Alice’s caliber, especially at such close range. To pull that off, one would need mental power on the level of Jiang Liuying, combined with a primary focus on the school of illusion!

Despite his shock, Guo Lang reacted the moment he saw Alice immobilized. A flash of purple light flickered in his eyes: "Arcane Analysis!" The rune structure displayed before him was not complex—it was far inferior to the barrier downstairs. He felt a sense of relief, then pointed a finger: "Dissolve!"

"Oh? A mage, after all? No wonder the barrier broke so quickly!" Standing a few meters behind Guo Lang, Ian, dressed in an elegant white shirt, stood quietly with an expression of sudden realization.

Guo Lang shuddered. His analysis spell had failed! It wasn’t because of a flaw in the spell, but because the energy within a two-meter radius around him had been completely drained. Guo Lang looked up abruptly, only to see a giant, bat-like stone gargoyle hanging above him, its eyes glowing with a faint, eerie green light.

"Anti-Magic Field... a Gargoyle!" Guo Lang’s expression grew increasingly shocked. *Damn it, isn't this a Silver-tier exotic creature?* The fact that the opponent could create something like this made their level abundantly clear. Even with the reality staring him in the face, Guo Lang still found it hard to believe. *Are you kidding me? This is way too fast!*

"Oh? You recognize it?" Ian smiled elegantly. "You've certainly done your homework."

*Hiss, hiss...* The gargoyle suddenly came to life like a statue awakening, spread its wings, and lunged at Guo Lang. Seeing this, Guo Lang’s eyes revealed a tulip-like pattern, and his figure vanished from the spot like a phantom!

"Oh? A mage with such speed? Interesting!" Ian wore an intrigued expression, but in the next moment, Guo Lang’s figure appeared behind him. This time, Guo Lang did not bother to respond to the opponent. The man was walking as if in a garden, chatting away and courting death, but Guo Lang certainly couldn't afford to play along. The situation no longer allowed him to put on an act.

Just as his dagger was about to pierce the man’s back, Guo Lang’s eyes froze, and he retreated instantly. He could feel that there was no impact upon striking—this, too, was an illusion!

It was a truly formidable illusion technique, but it defied common sense. Guo Lang frowned. Even if the opponent had reached Silver rank, he had only just attained it; how could he have such high mastery of illusions? He wasn't a specialist in that field... *Wait, could he be some kind of unconventional freak?* That seemed unlikely. Based on his previous display, he was a very orthodox necromancer, and his combination of exotic creatures was perfectly reasonable—it was textbook quality!

As he pondered this, a sudden, bone-chilling sensation crept from his heels up to his spine. Guo Lang had experienced this feeling countless times in his past life; he reacted instantly—it was an assassin!

He dodged with a sliding step, but the opponent seemed highly professional, sticking to him relentlessly. A coldness settled in Guo Lang’s heart. Even with the speed he had mimicked from Alice, he couldn't shake the opponent off. What was happening?

Forced into a corner, Guo Lang had no choice but to trade injury for injury. He shifted his body to avoid a fatal blow, and as the enemy's dagger plunged into his flesh, he immediately adjusted his body's constitution attribute to the maximum!

This was the second talent of the Shadow Speaker. The reason a Shadow Speaker could mimic the skills of all professions was not just because their shadow could steal the shadow of others in the shadow realm, but because they possessed the ability to adjust their own attributes. Each profession required vastly different attribute distributions. Normally, even if a skill was stolen, it couldn't be cast, but a Shadow Speaker could circumvent this by reallocating their stats. If they had 50 Strength and an average of 30 in other stats, they could shift everything to Strength or Intelligence when necessary. This was the greatest weapon of the Shadow Speaker!

With his constitution pushed to the limit, Guo Lang’s muscular strength reached its peak instantly, and he clamped down on the intruder's dagger. But when he saw the person’s face, he froze, stammering: "...Alice!"

"Oh? Your muscular capability just spiked that high?" Ian, standing in the distance, watched everything. When Guo Lang adjusted his constitution, the physical changes were so drastic that Ian saw right through his trick. "Your profession is interesting. Is it an all-purpose class?"

"Tsk, tsk, I underestimated you. You are quite dangerous." His expression turned cold as he suddenly shouted, "Kill them, Ifre!"

*Eh? There was someone else?* Guo Lang was startled, and then he saw a pink figure rushing toward them with speed rivaling Alice’s!

"Dodge! Wake up!" The moment Guo Lang saw Alice’s vacant eyes, he understood what was happening: she had been charmed. He bit his tongue hard, and with the aid of his heightened constitution, let out a roar. He was imitating a Berserker’s skill, but without the shadow’s skill analysis, he could only mimic it based on experience, and the effect was far weaker. Even so, it was barely enough for the current situation.

With that roar, the tempered glass around them instantly cracked. A shockwave erupted from Guo Lang as the center. Alice’s once-dazed eyes regained clarity. She was stunned for a moment by the scene, but her superior combat instincts allowed her to react instantly; she grabbed Guo Lang, and the two of them dodged the pink figure’s attack together!

They retreated nearly ten meters, finally setting up a defensive stance. Guo Lang stared fixedly at the pink figure, gritting his teeth, his face as dark as water: "A Succubus!"

The pink figure was almost entirely naked, with a graceful, shapely physique that exuded an incredibly seductive aura. This aura intoxicated both men and women alike, and her face was devastatingly alluring. Guo Lang recognized her identity at a glance!

After missing her strike, the Succubus did not pursue. With both of them having regained their mobility, she held no advantage in close-quarters combat!

Guo Lang narrowed his eyes. Everything could be explained now. Such an exquisite illusion and the ability to charm someone with mental power of Alice’s caliber—only a Succubus could do that!

A Succubus was not a low-end creature manufactured in an arms factory, nor was it a mere summoned beast; it was a soul-bound companion!

In the Dark Night, the Beastmaster Hunters of the Windrunner family could sign contracts with companion partners through the ancient beast spirits of demigods. It was an extremely rare profession, but Guo Lang knew that the Undead had such a class. The royal bloodline of the Undead Queen’s lineage possessed this innate talent, as the Undead Queen herself was the most brilliant war god of the Windrunner family: Sylvanas Windrunner!

This touched upon the history between the Undead and the Ancient Spirit races, which was recorded very vaguely. But one thing was certain: believers among the Undead who carried this gene possessed exceptionally powerful soul strength. In their early stages, they could withstand the compression and tearing of the dark matter dimension, allowing them to sign contracts with highly scalable, ghostly creatures within that space. These creatures were known to the world by another name: Demons!

The Succubus... was a demonic creature with extremely high potential and powerful growth talents. Looking at Ian’s dazzling blond hair, Guo Lang finally locked onto the man’s identity. In his past life, there was only one person who held a high position among the Undead and had an epic-level Charm Queen by his side!

Guo Lang said coldly: "Ian?"

"Oh?" The man was clearly surprised. "You know me?"

*How could I not?* Guo Lang sneered inwardly. *Truly flattering. To encounter a necromancer in this plane, and for it to be this very person!*

*The second seat of the six great epics of the Undead in my past life, the one titled the Hand of God: Ian Agnes! Tsk, tsk... I really drew a lucky card this time!*