Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 87 - 84 Death Hunter

Kayla smiled, but the determination on her face was no joke, her eyes conveying an irrefutable intent.

Lyle glanced at the giant bear in front of the cave, realizing it was time for a life-or-death fight.

"By any means necessary, achieve the goal. That’s the rule of the jungle. We won’t assist you, nor will we retrieve your body after you’re dead. Fight for survival, Lyle." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Lyle pondered the meaning of these words, then an idea suddenly flashed through his mind, "So, if I trick that bear into coming out in front of you guys, forcing you into combat, that would still meet the requirements, right?"

Kayla laughed gleefully, and those once seemingly small and cute canine teeth now gleamed chillingly, "Of course that satisfies the rules. Any method is acceptable. Just remember, Lyle, you might find some things much harder than you think."

"As a word of advice from your friend, facing me will be far more difficult than facing that bear."

Lyle shivered, his instincts telling him to start the mission and leave the two hunters behind him.

The giant bear had returned to its cave. Lyle moved laterally, positioning himself behind a relatively closer tree.

He took out everything he could think of that might be useful. Medusa, grapes, the Talent Sphere, as well as some remaining talismans, and Five-Petaled Nightshade.

The wise Medusa became his strategist.

"I have to find a way to kill that monster. My capacity for inflicting damage is limited; there’s no use considering trap lethality—there’s no way I could set such an enormous trap."

"You only have one choice, my dear Lyle," Medusa said as she straightened up in front of him, her draconic eyes slightly squinted, like a devil scheming mischief.

"Necromancy and plague."

Lyle’s gaze turned to the Talent Sphere, which had morphed into a water snake with a mouth opened wide, showcasing sharp poisonous fangs that glinted with a green light at their tips.

The Talent Sphere had, at some point, become contaminated with human diseases and propagated them inside it, like a petri dish. He wasn’t sure, however, if a plague that affected humans would have any effect on such a massive beast.

As if answering his speculation, the blue surface of the Talent Sphere shone with a profound green light. Within its translucent body, pale green, faded blue, and ashen colors mixed together, and a drop of black venom carrying the scent of decay dripped from it, falling on a green sprout.

The wilt, like an infectious disease, spread among the plants, quickly creating a gray area for Lyle amidst the green—a blemish of Earth’s illness.

This was a plague that could target all living beings.

"It seems there’s finally something fortunate, though it looks quite evil," Lyle mused.

Medusa nodded, "Now we need to figure out how to introduce the plague into the bear’s body. You’ve seen it; the plague can instantly make a bear close to a ton in weight defy Earth’s gravity. You’d be risking your life, dear Lyle."

"And we can’t breach its hide, which means the only way is through oral ingestion. By the time it opens its mouth, I’ll probably be close to death."

"Lord Lyle," a grape flew over with a small object in tow, "perhaps this could be of assistance."

It was an arrowhead, teardrop-shaped, without the barbs to maintain maximum penetration power. Its base was covered with mud and moss, having evidently spent a long time in this dense forest.

"Maybe we can use it to pierce the bear’s fur and make a bow and arrow. Hopefully, my skills are up to the task. I can try."

"Don’t gamble with your life, you fool, Lyle. Didn’t you think where this arrowhead came from?"

Lyle looked at the grape.

"It was picked up from the grassland near the entrance of the cave."

Lyle looked towards the beautiful plot of land pointed out by Grapes, where white flowers spread out like a carpet.

Those bizarre flowers, white as dragon claws, soon triggered Lyle’s memories of herbal knowledge.

Flowering first, grass following, ghastly pale, thriving in damp shade, they were lycoris, toxic, their consumption causing symptoms of vomiting, ultimately leading to death. These had a name, Mandragora, and another common name.

Manjusaka.

It was, like nightshade, the flower of the deceased.

"I’ve found a graveyard."

"And you’re a Spirit Summoner."

"The arrows are what those Rangers left behind, who fell to the bear’s paws, they probably wouldn’t mind getting up again to stuff those arrows into that giant bear’s body."

Lyle crept with careful steps towards that hopeful land; perhaps it once served as the food dump for the bear, with nothing in between to offer cover from that massive den.

Lyle slowed his breath, and after three seconds, there was no response from the cave.

Lyle moved aside the mandragora and peeled back the superficial grass, revealing only mud – the unfortunate ones had long been buried by the years, asleep beneath the ground.

As he grappled with whether to continue digging, the Talent Sphere began the ritual, placing the flower in a depression and arranging his body in a circle around it, depicting a talisman from the summoning texts, representing the incantation for corpse revival.

Lyle felt the magic draining, passing through invisible channels towards the Talent Sphere.

The nightshade of death ignited; it burned in the air, a skeletal hand with a tattered glove emerged from the soil, lifting the nightshade high up as the petals were devoured by flame, spreading to the rest of the body and finally, lighting up within the gaping eye sockets of the fractured skull.

Three, no matter how hard Lyle tried, he could only summon three necromancies. Their bodies were but skeletons, their wooden bows splotched with dark spots, as fragile as they appeared. Lyle could not unleash their full strength, for even as dry bones, their power overshadowed his by far – they were Rangers of Liveser, sharpshooters amongst the branches.

The Talent Sphere burrowed into the chest cavity of one skeleton, the necromantic flame growing brighter, a surge of authority emanating from its body, significantly bolstered by the Talent Sphere, now stronger than Lyle.

This was bad news.

For that surge of presence, like a wave, also swept into the cave.

A loud, feral roar revealed the threatened bear emerging from its secure haven.

Lyle made a hasty retreat with Grapes and Medusa as the three Death Hunters steadied their bows.

As the bear gazed upon these three seemingly vulnerable forms,

Their spectral flames grew brighter.

The lead skeleton, now enveloped by the spreading Talent Sphere like a layer of jelly, lifted its skull; a chilling whisper froze the surrounding air.

"Twenty years have passed, finally, the second hunt has arrived, come forth, prey."