Chapter 25: Necrotic Orb, Doubled Attributes

The moment the Vampire Lord retreated, Gu Chen immediately administered a life restoration potion to it.

After the sacrifice, the Red-Robed Priest was terrifying. As soon as the twenty or so vampire guards entered the range of its "Death Echo," they were instantly wiped out. Such damage was likely more than even the Vampire Lord could withstand.

"Must not enter its skill range."

The most critical task now was to buy time for the Nightmare Sovereign. Skill cooldowns were tied to stamina; as long as more stamina could be recovered, the Red-Robed Priest could be trapped within a deep dream.

"Roar!"

The Red-Robed Priest let out a shrill shriek. Immediately following this, figures began to appear throughout the sanctuary—the temple guards had respawned. And this time, it wasn't just a dozen or twenty; it was a swarm, a massive, dense crowd, too numerous to count!

All the guards had been mobilized!

The swarms of temple guards charged toward Gu Chen’s position like madmen, their piercing roars echoing from every direction.

"Fall back, now!"

Without a second thought, Gu Chen turned and ran, his two summoned beasts in tow. In this situation, kiting was the only option. If the temple guards blocked the path and the Red-Robed Priest closed the distance, escape would become impossible.

The Red-Robed Priest had locked onto the Vampire Lord, and with its immense speed, it caught up in the blink of an eye. The Nightmare Sovereign turned back, a shadow darting from its body and latching onto the Priest, binding it in place.

Nightmare Servants had no health points; they were essentially manifestations of a skill and could not be "killed." They could only be dispelled by effects like purification. Taking advantage of the Priest being pinned, the Nightmare Servant and the Vampire Lord cleared the surrounding guards while Gu Chen retreated rapidly.

To be honest, a cold sweat was already drenching Gu Chen's back. The number of guards summoned by the Red-Robed Priest was overwhelming, packing the sanctuary so tightly it was nearly impassable. Despite the Vampire Lord and Nightmare Sovereign carving a path, their efforts were barely making a dent in such a horrific sea of enemies.

The two summoned beasts shielded Gu Chen in the center, attacking the blocking guards as they retreated. The Nightmare Sovereign was wreathed in black mist that burned like dark fire; every time its form flickered, another guard bound by a Nightmare Servant was slain. Yet, the efficiency was too low. Faced with the relentless tide of Fallen Guards, its killing speed was negligible.

Fury burned within the Nightmare Sovereign. This battle was its debut, and it never imagined it would be reduced to such a desperate state—surrounded on all sides with nowhere left to run.

"Alright, that’s enough."

Suddenly, Gu Chen stopped retreating, his stance firm as he let out a long, relieved sigh.

"What do you mean 'enough'? Run! If we don't, the Red-Robed Priest will catch us!" The four observers in the dream looked on, completely bewildered.

Gu Chen, however, focused his gaze on the Nightmare Sovereign. More specifically, he was looking at the orb hovering beside it. Since the Nightmare Sovereign had started killing guards, Gu Chen had been tracking the stacks of "Whispers of the Dead." It was now at exactly 20 stacks—the cap.

One stack of Whispers of the Dead granted a 5% bonus to all attributes. At 20 stacks, that meant a 100% bonus—doubling all attributes!

Gu Chen nodded, and the Nightmare Sovereign did not hesitate to activate the orb’s effect. A dark, eerie light bloomed from the Orb of Whispers, bathing the Nightmare Sovereign. The next moment, the black mist around it surged, its stats skyrocketed, and its physical form doubled in size.

"Die!"

The Nightmare Sovereign soared into the air with a roar, and a nearly imperceptible pale-gray energy rippled outward from Gu Chen, spreading in all directions.

[Deep Dream]

Under the effect of the Orb of Whispers, the Nightmare Sovereign’s attributes doubled, its stamina surged, and it reconstructed the Deep Dream. Around Gu Chen, the charging Fallen Guards suddenly crumbled like collapsing wooden blocks, turning into piles of debris.

[Orb of Whispers effect activated: Nightmare Sovereign gains +100% to all attributes for 1 minute.]

Though it would only last a minute, for the Nightmare Sovereign, it was more than enough. The guards trapped within the Deep Dream had no power to resist. Whether they were the lowest level 5 guards or the highest level 10 guards, all were crushed into dust by the terrifying power of the dream. The only difference was the few seconds of variation in how long they lasted.

[Killed Fallen Guard LV.6, EXP +589]
[Killed Fallen Guard LV.8, EXP +852]
[Killed Fallen Guard LV.9, EXP +923]
[Killed Fallen Guard LV.7, EXP +694]

A barrage of kill notifications flashed before Gu Chen’s eyes. His experience bar shot up like a rocket, gaining over two thousand points in a mere ten seconds. He was nearly level 9. Though Gu Chen felt a secret thrill watching the massive slaughter of the Fallen Guards, he knew the Nightmare Sovereign could only maintain this for one minute. If he wasted all that power on these minions, he would have no way to deal with the Red-Robed Priest once the time limit expired.

"Kill the Red-Robed Priest!" Gu Chen shouted immediately.

Black mist roiled around the Nightmare Sovereign as Nightmare Servants transformed into shadows, instantly binding the Red-Robed Priest. One shadow meant double damage; ten shadows meant ten times the damage—this was the current limit of the skill "Nightmare Entanglement."

Within the Deep Dream, the figure of the Red-Robed Priest began to warp and blur. With the Nightmare Sovereign’s attributes doubled, "Deep Dream" erupted with tenfold continuous damage!

The Red-Robed Priest’s health bar began to plummet at a visible rate. Its body was continuously twisted, crushed, and blurred, until, like the Fallen Guards before it, it shattered into a pile of red debris.

[Killed Red-Robed Priest - Elite LV.15, EXP +2731]
[Loot Obtained: Ritual Robes LV.10 (Rare)]
[Loot Obtained: Ritual Grimoire LV.10 (Rare)]
[Loot Obtained: Ritual Trousers LV.10 (Rare)]
[Level Up]
[Level: LV.9 (122/6900)]
[Strength: 207]
[Agility: 206]
[Constitution: 208]
[Spirit: 209]
[Summoned Beasts: Vampire Lord LV.9 (Legendary★), Nightmare Sovereign LV.9 (Epic★)]
[Talent: One Dark Bloodline can be acquired.]

Level 9. One more level to 10, and he could contract a third summoned beast. Gu Chen didn't rush to use his talent; just as he had at level 4, he decided to save this Dark Bloodline as a backup for the third beast.

He then examined the three pieces of equipment: the Ritual Robes, the Ritual Grimoire, and the Ritual Trousers—all level 10 Rare gear. This was already considered high-quality equipment, and as a set, it would easily sell for over a million on the trading platform—the kind of items that would be snatched up the second they were listed.