Chapter 334 - Loyalty
Lin Li did not hesitate for long, as Ujfalusi’s presence itself was a tricky problem. He was a true Lich; while he had fallen from the Legendary-realm, his knowledge of it remained. Even though Lin Li had mentioned bringing him back to Roland City, he was only trying to scare Ujfalusi since he would never dare do that. Ujfalusi might surrender without a fight, but Lin Li still would not dare do that, as he could not guarantee that they could bear the consequences if anything happened…
Thankfully, Lin Li had always been straightforward with such matters. If he was unable to control it, he might as well destroy it.
“As for you, Mr Ujfalusi…” Lin Li drawled as he brought the silver flame in front of Ujfalusi.
In a flash, a blinding light filled the room, and the Holy Scent became almost tangible as it loomed there. Almost everyone felt pressure like nothing before, especially Ujfalusi, who was an Undead creature. He let out a terrible screech. “No… no… you can’t do this to me… I can’t die yet… there’s so many things I have yet to do…”
“Why can’t I do that to you?”
Seeing as the silver flame was slowly approaching him, Ujfalusi trembled. The fear he felt now was unlike the one he’d pretended to be in earlier—his senses of an Undead creature told him that the Divine Power in this bit of silver flame was definitely enough to cause him to perish instantaneously, and that knowledge made him collapse mentally under the immense fear he felt. “Don’t kill me… don’t kill me… as long as you’ll let me go… I swear… I swear on my soul fire that I won’t hurt you at all… I’ll… I’ll even become your servant!”
“Oh?” The silver flame that was almost on Ujfalusi froze. “You can become my servant?”
Suspicion was evident in Lin Li’s gaze. To be honest, Ujfalusi was quite attractive to Lin Li in terms of his capabilities. He was a true Lich that had lived for 400 years. It let him accumulate vast knowledge and power, making him a perfect assistant to anybody.
Just like Norfeller…
Whether it was Jarrosus or Alanna, Lin Li had to do everything himself, and while this decreased the risks, it also gave him more problems. Only after the battle at the Demon Fall Valley did he get Norfeller on his side, and things became much easier from there. Sometimes, Lin Li did not even have to step in personally—all he had to do was say the word, and it would be done for him.
Moreover, Norfeller was only level-17, while Ujfalusi was formerly a Lich above level-20. Even if he had fallen from the Legendary-realm, that was only temporary since he had once surpassed the Legendary-realm—it would not take him long to recover his lost strength!
Of course, this was all provided that Ujfalusi was not fooling him…
Otherwise, wouldn’t he be in trouble if he got a servant who might turn against him anytime?
“Alright, Ujfalusi, tell me what you’re thinking. I’m interested…”
“I… I can sign Soul Contract with you.” Ujfalusi did not hesitate this time.
“Soul Contract?” Lin Li paused. He was not well-versed with the various contracts Undead creatures had.
Thankfully, Norfeller came over from behind him, and whispered in his ear. “A Soul Contract works as follows: an Undead creature breaks its soul fire into pieces and hands over a piece to the owner of the contract. Through the piece of soul fire, you can attain a portion of its knowledge and strength, as well as have complete control over it, even deciding if it lives or dies. In terms of restrictions, the Soul Contract is just behind the blood oath we made.”
“So impressive?”
“Yes…”
After getting Norfeller’s confirmation, Lin Li smiled cunningly. “Very well, Ujfalusi, I’m interested in the Soul Contract. Should we discuss the details?”
“…” Ujfalusi glanced at this guy, and for a split second doubted if this person who was smiling like a hawker was really the one who held the scary Divine Power and destroyed the Humerus Wyrm and Humerus Domain.
Of course, he kept it for himself. He did not dare provoke this guy—wouldn’t that be suicidal? If the guy lost his temper and let the silver flame fall, Ujfalusi would surely turn into ashes.
Honestly, when Ujfalusi instantly released his soul fire, he looked so eager as though he was afraid that Lin Li would take back his words.
Undead creatures were undead because they did not have a soul—everything they had including their power, knowledge, and memories all came from their soul fire. As long as the soul fire was still burning, then their lives would be eternal.
And right now, Ujfalusi was handing over his power, knowledge, and memories…
A bit of fire started burning in Ujfalusi’s skull as he chanted in a low, throaty voice. Through the cracks in the skull, Lin Li could see that the flame was burning brighter and brighter. Every flicker of the flame brought Ujfalusi great pain, and the heavy breathing and whimpers made him sound like a cornered beast…
A ball of flames suddenly jumped out of his skull, followed by a shattering cry.
In a split second, a strong death aura filled the room even though the silver flame dancing on Lin Li’s finger had already filled the room with a Holy Scent. The death aura coming from the ball of fire was as heavy as a rock, weighing down on everyone’s breathing.
“Oh powerful mage, your servant Ujfalusi pledges you his loyalty…” Once the soul fire had been separated, Ujfalusi’s voice became very weak. Lin Li would not have heard him clearly if he had not been paying close attention.
The soul fire hovered silently in the air as time seemed to stand still. Even Lin Li could not help being in shock as he faced this strange sight. He did not dare move as he stared blankly at the ball of fire. Only Lin Li knew that the phenomenon before them was not as calm as it seemed to be—the moment the ball of flame had jumped out form Ujfalusi’s skull, Lin Li could already feel his mental strength boil. It felt like the flowing lava from a volcanic eruption; his mental strength was already freakishly strong, but now it had the ferocity of a starved wolf in front of fresh, bloody meat. The moment it saw the bit of flame, it seized it tightly…
Then, Lin Li felt countless scenes and voices coming from the bit of flame. His mental strength had coiled tightly around it, and the countless scenes and voices also melted within, finally becoming part of Lin Li. He had completely forgotten about everything around him now as he was immersed in this peculiar state; the world seemed to have vanished as there was only one thought left in the blank of his mind. It was to milk all the knowledge, power, and memories he could from that soul fire…
Time ticked by. Nobody knew how long it had been before a loud crashing sound appeared in Lin Li’s ears. It felt like he suddenly saw a bright light after walking through endless darkness, and in the bright light, Lin Li suddenly grabbed something. In a split second, he saw many vivid colors flash before his eyes as well as heard countless voices in his ears; when it all disappeared and silence returned, Lin Li knew that he was now a totally different person…
Lin Li knew that the bit of soul fire did not only bring him Ujfalusi’s knowledge and memories, it also gave him power in its purest form. The power had melded with his mental strength, and might have brought him past level-17— oh no, that was not right! The difference between level-16 and level-17 was not that obvious, so it should be the peak of level-17, or maybe… he had reached level-18!
“Ujfalusi, I accept your loyalty.” Lin Li closed his eyes as he felt the change spread throughout his body. Only when the change was sealed did he slowly open his eyes and extinguish the silver flame on his fingertip.
As the remnant of the debris of the stars vanished, so did the Divine Power in the air, but Lin Li was not bothered by it. Ujfalusi’s soul fire was burning within him, and Lin Li was able to control Ujfalusi’s life and death through this soul fire.
“Mage Felic, we found Miss Yvonne’s brother…”
Just then, footsteps could be heard at the door, and when Lin Li opened his eyes, he saw a few Adventurers push open the door. A young man around 16 years old followed behind them. He had silky golden hair and a delicate face; from his looks, he did resemble Yvonne.