How come this arcanist is invincible?

Chapter 86 Demon Followers

Albrecht smiled, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes:

"You're very honest. Go to the third area; the books on those two rows of bookshelves will give you the answer."

As soon as he finished speaking, the bespectacled girl who had guided him earlier came over. Kane thanked her respectfully and followed her into the depths of the library.

Upon arriving at the third area, the girl gestured for him to browse the pages himself:

"The books here have no protective spells, so you may read them freely, but copying or taking them out is prohibited."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Kane's gaze swept over the two rows of bookshelves, and he instantly understood Albrecht's intention.

The bookshelf on the left is filled with books on the school of sculpting, which focuses on the ultimate destruction of elements;

On the right are works by the change school, which focuses on altering the physical form and properties of organisms and objects.

"This allows me to choose my own path in the future," he murmured to himself.

The Evocation school is extremely destructive; for example, Reed can form a powerful offensive system by combining appropriate spells.

The Transformation School, on the other hand, can adapt to various environments through form transformation and even strengthen its own physical body.

This aligns better with his style of relying on immortality and close-quarters combat.

After a moment's thought, Kane reached out and took down a copy of "The Theory of Morphological Transformation" from the bookshelf on the right. His fingertips traced the yellowed pages as he began to study it intently.

……

In the following days, Kane became trapped in a monotonous life, going back and forth between two points:

During the day, I studied the classics of the Transformation School in the library. Several gray skills were gradually unlocked on the panel. They could be activated by investing skill points, laying the foundation for the second-tier advancement.

At night, they would sneak into the sewers to clean out giant rats, carrion crawlers, and even encounter rust monsters, mud monsters, and drowned people.

The sludge monster is the most troublesome. Scimitars and spikes are difficult to use to inflict fatal damage, and it can split and regenerate, requiring repeated attacks to eliminate it, while yielding very little experience.

Even so, he still managed to level up to level 19 within a week, just one step away from level 20.

……

On the day of the mission, Kane and Team Thirteen headed to the Seventh District, where they met up with Hans's team outside an abandoned church in the slums.

To his surprise, Talia appeared in the group.

She was wearing the Night's Watch robes and the same Dead Apostle ring as him. When he looked at her, a faint smile appeared on her face.

Kane simply nodded slightly, then turned to look at Reed and Hans, without offering any pleasantries.

This caused a hint of disappointment to flash in Talia's eyes, while Sienna gave her a friendly smile.

"Alright, let's get down to business."

Reed averted his gaze, exchanged a glance with Hans, and said in a deep voice:

"The stronghold we are going to attack this time is called the 'Alms Society'."

This church is their core operating location, and their mission objective is to capture their leader, Ansel.

He appears to be a businessman who helps the poor, but in reality, he is a follower of a demonic cult.

"Our team will break through from the front, while Hans' team will block the back door. We must not let him escape."

"Almsgiving party?"

Sienna frowned.

"I've heard of this organization. Ansel claims to follow the way of priests in the age of gods and uses his chamber of commerce assets to help the poor."

He has many followers in the Seventh District and has indeed done a lot of practical things.

Whether it's true or not is not for us to judge.

Hans shook his head, his tone icy.

"The intelligence has been confirmed; he is a member of the Demon Cult. We are merely the executors. Let's move out."

Kane nodded, and without further hesitation, Brad stepped forward and smashed open the dilapidated church door.

A loud crash shattered the silence of the slum.

The church was dimly lit, with peeling and mottled walls covered in tattered strips of cloth.

Dozens of poor people lay on the ground groaning, some holding earthenware bowls and drinking murky porridge, their eyes numb and empty.

In the center of the church, a man in a gray robe stood quietly, his face thin and his expression calm as he looked at the intruder, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

"You've finally arrived."

Ansel spoke, his voice gentle yet tinged with pity.

"You knew we were coming? Who told you?"

Reed stepped forward, his hand poised to rise at any moment, his expression wary.

Ansel chuckled, his gaze sweeping over the poor people present, his tone laced with mockery:

"No one needs to tell me."

I'm helping those high-ranking big shots who wouldn't even glance at the bottom of society; I'll be purged sooner or later.

They're busy preparing for a pointless war with the descendants of the Drow, and someone like me, a "destabilizing factor," is naturally a thorn in their side.

These words ignited the emotions of the poor like a spark.

Hateful gazes were cast upon the Night's Watch, filled with anger and despair.

A thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy suddenly stood up, clenched his fists, and roared:

"Don't take Lord Ansel away! You bloodsucking hyenas!"

With the boy taking the lead, the other poor people followed suit, and insults rose and fell, but no one dared to actually step forward and throw things at him.

The fear of the Night's Watch was ingrained in their very bones.

Even so, the intense hostility was overwhelming and suffocating.

Hans stepped forward and looked directly at Ansel: "The followers of the Demon Cult need not be misled."

"A demonic cult?"

The pity on Ansel's face vanished instantly, replaced by a playful smile.

"So, this is the crime you've framed me for."

He slowly raised his hand, making a gesture of surrender.

"I surrender, but please spare these civilians; they just want to live."

As he spoke, he walked slowly and calmly toward the crowd.

Kane's vigilance suddenly rose—something was wrong, something very wrong.

Just as Ansel approached, the poor who had initially been merely hurling insults suddenly became agitated, with some picking up stones and pieces of wood and hurling them at the Night's Watch.

Kane drew his scimitar and precisely cleaved a flying piece of wood. Braden, standing beside him, immediately raised his shield to protect everyone behind him, while the others also took precautions, blocking the projectiles.

Ansel simply stood there, arms outstretched, saying nothing, as if he had nothing to do with the chaos.

"What should we do? Accidentally injuring civilians will cause even greater chaos!" Sienna frowned, caught in a dilemma.

"Hypocrite."

Kane's voice was cold, cutting through the noisy din and reaching Ansel's ears.

Ansel raised an eyebrow:

"What makes you say that, Lord Night's Watch?"

I have given all I have to help the poor, but what have you Night's Watch and the ruling council given them?

Clean water? Enough food? Medicine to cure the disease?

What you gave me was nothing but poison coated in sugar.

Kane turned his gaze to the boy in the lead, his tone resolute.

"These are not words a thirteen or fourteen-year-old slum boy should say. You taught him, didn't you?"

He had dealt with many poor people in the Seventh District before and knew their state all too well—numbness and timidity.

Many people struggle to even fully express their needs, let alone use sharp terms like "hyena" to construct their language and accurately guide the emotions of the crowd.

This was clearly a staged performance.

A hint of surprise flashed in Sienna's eyes, and Reed and Hans reacted instantly, their eyes fixed on the boy.

The boy's face turned pale, and he looked at Ansel with a panicked expression, his previously resolute demeanor instantly crumbling.

"Hahahaha..." Ansel suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter filled with madness and despair.

"It seems I've been abandoned by that person after all."

He turned sharply to look at the boy, his tone icy, "Luan, it's your turn to sacrifice yourself."

"not good!"

Kane and Reed exclaimed in alarm at the same time, trying to step forward to stop them, but it was too late.

Ansel fired a stream of dark purple magic energy from his fingertip, striking the boy precisely in the chest.

"Magic Explosion!"

The boy's body swelled up instantly, his face filled with pain and fear. Before anyone could react, a violent explosion rang out.

Everything within a ten-foot radius was swallowed up; rubble and blood flew everywhere. Several poor people who were near the boy died on the spot, while others screamed and ran away in terror.

Reed reacted extremely quickly, instantly casting a shield spell. The pale blue energy barrier blocked the flying debris, preventing casualties among the team.

"This isn't an ordinary magic trick!" Kane frowned. "He gave the boy a special potion; the spell was just the trigger!"

Reed nodded, his expression grave:

"These poor people have probably all been given drugs by him. Every single person here, every corpse, could be a bomb! Chase him! Don't let him get away!"

The group immediately gave chase. Kane and Gavin were the fastest, rushing out of the church's back door and weaving through the narrow alleys of the slums.

More than ten minutes later, the two caught up with their target in an abandoned cemetery.

Hans' squad had surrounded Ansel in the center, but the battlefield was in chaos.

A one-eyed warrior stood before Ansel, carrying a heavy tower shield, desperately blocking Hans's rapier.

No matter how Hans turned and attacked, he remained unmoved.

Ansel, meanwhile, hid behind his shield, occasionally unleashing low-level tricks to harass and distract Hans's attacks.

Strangely, several members of Hans's team were covered in dust and dirt, and one of them had an injured arm and was standing aside getting it bandaged.

"Beware of invisible enemies!"

Talia's voice came, and she suddenly crouched down to avoid an invisible attack. The warrior beside her immediately raised his shield to block, and thrust his one-handed sword into the empty space, actually forcing back a phantom.

Kane frowned, realizing it was Quassamon again.

This creature is born with the ability to become invisible and is agile.

Although she is only at the first tier, she can easily flank and ambush from behind, making her a nemesis of ordinary professionals, especially spellcasters, thus forcing the other members of the team to be distracted and protect her.

Hans caught sight of Kane and Gavin and shouted urgently, "Get away from the tombstone!"

The two men were startled and immediately leaped back.

The next second, Ansel's voice rang out again: "Magic Blast!"

The tombstone they had just stood on exploded instantly, sending shards of stone flying like a torrential rain.

Kane narrowly avoided the attack, but Gavin's arm was cut by the loose rocks, and blood seeped out.

"Damn it, the bodies buried here have become traps... they could explode at any moment," Gavin gritted his teeth.

With a whoosh, a gust of wind blew, and Talia quickly gave a warning.

"Watch out! It's coming towards you!"

Gavin sensed the air movement behind him, quickly rolled away, and shouted at the same time:

"Kane, to the left!"

Kane, however, remained standing still, seemingly oblivious.

"Kane!" Everyone's hearts tightened.

Just as the sound of something cutting through the air reached his back, Kane suddenly took a half step back and drew his sword upwards with a backhand motion.

As the blade flashed, a dog-shaped figure suddenly appeared in mid-air, its head cleaved open, blood splattering everywhere.

The body fell heavily to the ground.

The melee members of Hans's squad looked stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.

The Quassamon, which even the three of them struggled to capture together, was instantly killed by Kane with a single strike, as easily as slaughtering a chicken.

But only Kane himself knew that having slain the Quassa demons many times in the Land of Souls, he was already familiar with the sneak attack habits and aura fluctuations of this low-level demon.

This kind of experience is something that ordinary night watchmen cannot acquire.

His gaze fell on the dog-like corpse of Quassa, noticing that the blood flowing from it was not the usual red, but a murky, dark black. Alarm bells rang in his mind, and he retreated rapidly.

Sure enough, Ansel's voice rang out again.

"Magic Explosion!"

boom.

The corpse of the Quassamon exploded violently, sending up a cloud of dark purple blood mist that left slight traces of corrosion on the ground wherever it passed...