I Created Scientific Magic

Chapter 451: Chapter 437: The Divine Punishment Knight Ivina!

In the northern part of the Empire, within a secluded village, the townspeople mechanically spurred their twisted bodies into action, beginning their day’s labor as usual.

They diligently farmed, fed livestock, and transported goods…

The village was a scene of extreme busyness, but everyone’s movements seemed somewhat stiff.

A middle-aged man who looked like a blacksmith robotically swung his hammer, repeatedly striking a glowing red sword blade.

His leaning body suddenly jerked, and his round, bulging head broke off, falling onto the hot sword blade. Yet, the blacksmith did not notice, continuing to hammer down, embedding the flesh and brain matter into the red-hot steel.

By noon, this serene village welcomed a group of uninvited guests.

Ivina led a team of Divine Punishment Knights into the village, but the moment she stepped in, she sensed something was amiss.

The village appeared desolate and rundown, many houses had collapsed, and the roads were muddy and barely passable. From numerous signs, it was evident that the place had recently suffered the ravages of war.

Yet, the villagers did not attempt to mend these broken places, nor did they sidestep like the usual impoverished folk upon seeing them arrive but instead went on with their labor.

A Divine Punishment Knight suddenly grabbed a passing man. Seeing the man’s wooden expression, his lifeless eyes, and the clear stab wound in his chest, a chill went down his spine.

“They have been dead for at least five days!” said the Knight gravely.

“Half a month!” Ivina corrected, judging from the traces of the war.

As she spoke, Ivina, with a solemn expression, took out a magic power-sensing device. The needle spun around and finally pointed towards a house within the village.

The twenty-something knights who had entered the village unsheathed their blades.

“Another set of Church dogs? They really are persistent haunts!”

A cold, scornful voice soon emanated from the house.

Following this, the face of an old, wizened man appeared before everyone, garbed in a black robe, his hair white and skin shriveled like tree bark, making him resemble a skeleton.

“Corpse Stealer Wally!” Ivina’s thoughts swiftly turned, and she recognized him soon, as his information was listed on the Holy Book of Sinners’ bounty list!

A bounty of fifteen thousand Imperial Gold Coins!

“I detest the term ‘Corpse Stealer’!” the robed Wizard frowned in displeasure.

These bodies were war’s creations, which would otherwise be discarded in the wilds, devoured by beasts, their bones left to crumble; such a waste!

But in his hands, they could create far greater value!

Thinking this, Wally, the Wizard, spread his arms wide, his face displaying excitement and zeal.

“Look how great the new type of Corpse Ghost I developed is! In this half month, how much grain they have produced, how many tools they have crafted, they don’t need to eat or rest, only to obey commands…”

“Perfect… this is simply the most perfect existence!” the Corpse Stealer said exuberantly. “Let the dead take care of the work, let the living enjoy life, is there a better world than this?”

The robed Wizard, finally having someone to share his grand research with, spoke incessantly. It took him several years and countless experiments to finally awaken these corpses’ former memories, leading them to autonomously start farming and smithing…

Next, he would teach these Corpse Ghosts even more tasks, putting them to even more work!

Ivina and others looked at the decayed, rotting bodies emitting a foul stench within the village, their expressions grew increasingly angry as they clenched their long swords, interrupting the Corpse Stealer.

“Stop your nonsense and accept judgment, sinner!”

Upon hearing the title ‘sinner,’ the expression of the Corpse Stealer, Wally, became distinctly uninterested. “It seems none of you can comprehend the greatness of my research!”

“Since that is the case, you might as well stay and contribute to my new venture!” the Corpse Stealer said with a sneer, and then, clumps of black mist emerged from his body.

“Realm of the Dead!”

The Corpse Ghosts, whose faces were expressionless and movements sluggish, immediately turned red-eyed and their bodies twisted and swelled into muscular, ghastly figures upon contact with the black mist.

“A realm? A grand wizard?!” The Divine Punishment Knights at the scene changed their expressions abruptly, shouting in panic, which completely contradicted the information about a third-ring wizard!

Although there seems only a single ring’s difference between the third and fourth rings, the disparity in combat power is vast!

“Fight!” Ivina’s face showed no fear as she charged forward, her sword slashing horizontally and instantly cutting an approaching Corpse Ghost in two.

“Corpse Explosion Technique!” The robed male wizard chuckled darkly, stretching out a hand to point, and the split body of the Corpse Ghost immediately exploded, the blood mist containing corpse poison and plague that even the Divine Punishment Knights who had taken the ‘Divine Grace Potion’ could not withstand.

But Ivina had already vanished beneath the blood mist with her extraordinary speed.

…

After half an hour of intense battle, more than thirty Divine Punishment Knights had perished, and Ivina had also accumulated several wounds emitting black mist on her body.

And the head of Corpse Stealer, Wally, had been impaled on a long, slender blade.

With the death of the Caster, all the Corpse Ghosts in the village had lost their reliance and collapsed to the ground, one after the other. An exhausted Ivina heaved a sigh of relief,

“We owe you big this time, Irena!” one of the Divine Punishment Knights said with a look of relief on his face. If it were not for the girl’s reckless fighting style that had disoriented the Corpse Stealer, giving them a chance to fight closely, they would have all died here, becoming nothing but Corpse Ghosts.

“Such a pity, they are still…” Irena glanced at the corpses of her colleagues around her and sighed.

“Dealing with these wizards, casualties are always inevitable!” the Divine Punishment Knight said, both angrily and helplessly.

In fact, the loss of fewer than twenty Divine Punishment Knights to take down a grand wizard was extremely fortunate.

At least they protected many more citizens of the empire from the opponent’s cruelty!

Irena nodded, mustering the strength to gather and burn all the bodies with the remaining companions to prevent the possible spread of plague.

Soon, the solemn hymns started to resonate throughout the village.

“May your souls evade hell, and may you rise to heaven and enjoy eternal bliss…”

Ivina prayed softly, watching the rising flames, and could not help but recall the past.

More than two years ago, in the port town, it was such a fire that had awakened her, breaking away from her family and exposing her to a broader world.