Volume 3 Takeoff Chapter 435: The Summoning of the Sphinx
After temporarily handing over the command of the troops to Donna and Elegy and informing Khalida, Levi asked Sefa to go first to support the Sphinx.
Not to mention that Levi had already given her many Death Guards and Sphinxes, relying solely on her own outstanding strength and combat wisdom, it should not be a problem for her to protect herself in a short period of time.
Because the other party just said that some undead were threatening it, and Sefa was an expert in fighting against the undead.
So Sefa was teleported over first through the contract to prevent the egret-headed sphinx from suddenly dying. Levi also immediately asked the bear-headed gods to try to crack it based on the vague information she gave.
Since teleportation is a 5th-level magic that all of them know, the process is not particularly difficult.
Soon, the elite among them, Bill, was the first to reap some rewards, and then many bear-headed gods joined forces to cast spells.
As the light of magic flashed, Levi, Elegy, Cindy, Maltis, Sally and Sonia, as well as some of the more powerful celestial creatures summoned in advance, such as Cindy's battle angel, came to another place together.
Levi's first feeling was dryness and heat, followed by yellow sand flying all over the sky. A huge pyramid could be vaguely seen not far away.
At this moment, there are already two armies fighting in the front. One side is the Undead, with a large number of Dire Wolves, Ghouls, Black Knights and Grave Demons as the main force, occasionally mixed with some mutant bats.
The average strength of the troops was not strong, but they were overwhelming in number. Levi couldn't count how many of them there were for a moment, but a rough estimate was that there were at least three or four thousand.
Moreover, because the wind and sand were so strong that it even blocked out the sunlight for a while, they would hardly be affected even if the battle took place in broad daylight.
The other side is composed mainly of skeletons, mummies and constructs, which is a typical Tomb King army style.
But occasionally there are also some dwarves, halflings, elves and elemental creatures, as well as a small number of human mercenaries.
Even those humans were not from the same camp. Some had their heads wrapped in white cloth, some had knight emblems on their shields, and some simply looked like bandits.
With this kind of troop configuration, you can tell at a glance that the opponent most likely has a God-chosen hero, and there is a high possibility that there is more than one.
Compared with the Undead, their army size and average strength were not much different, and they even had God-chosen heroes cooperating with them, but at this moment they were still at a serious disadvantage.
Because they had no mobile troops at all, either they didn't bring any or they had been killed, but on a plain like this, this would be extremely deadly.
Levi could tell after just a few quick glances that these undead had obviously discovered this and were trying to take advantage of it.
At this time, they were using a large number of cannon fodder to hold back the enemy's main force, while faster units such as the Black Knights and Dire Wolves were constantly patrolling around the enemy's battle formation.
Once they find an opportunity, they will probably pounce on it and give the other party a ruthless blow.
After this happens a few more times, even if the Tomb Kings are not defeated, those God-chosen heroes will probably try to escape or take a risk.
In contrast, Sefa, who Levi was originally somewhat worried about, was now guarding a small oasis about a mile away with a team of Death Guards he summoned.
Above the oasis, among the egrets, there is another one that is obviously ten times larger than the others, but it insists on huddling together, as if trying to hide its body.
Seeing this scene, Levi was speechless. These egrets were less than one meter tall and weighed at most ten kilograms. You have the body of a lion, but your head is the same as theirs. Only a fool could not find you, right?
Although sphinxes are known as the wisest among sphinxes, they are also rare sphinxes that understand magic and make magic props.
But sometimes, the wisdom they display is really hard to compliment...
Seeing the two sides fighting fiercely, there was not much reaction even when they saw their appearance. After all, compared with the large army of thousands of people, their small team of only dozens of people seemed so inconspicuous.
Levi naturally went to meet Sefa first. During the whole process, he hardly suffered any attacks. This made him look at the sphinx with an increasingly strange look.
The two sides were fighting so fiercely, how did you judge that your life was in danger?
Sefa was also a little embarrassed. She knew how important the war on the other side was. However, after she arrived, she found out that the sphinx was just worried that its water source would be robbed, so it described the matter as very serious.
But the other party is the undead, why would they steal your water source? It's really unreliable.
After listening to this, Levi became even more speechless. No wonder those ancient tomb priests abandoned him one by one. They probably already knew about the other party's deceptiveness from other aspects.
But now that things have come to this, there is no use complaining about it. They can only try their best to gain more benefits.
And anyway, the coordinates here have been obtained. After a little preparation, he can teleport here directly with magic.
Just as Levi was about to summon more celestial creatures to deal with the undead, he suddenly felt a strange throbbing.
He immediately understood that this was a mutual resonance between the nine volumes of Nagash, and that this throbbing came from two different locations, which meant that two of the volumes were very close to him!
He originally looked down on the sphinx, but his attitude immediately changed.
Although it is stupid, it has really good luck. The main world is so big, but two volumes can be put together. This is simply the favor of the goddess of luck!
But soon he frowned slightly, because one of the volumes was constantly moving. It was not a coincidence that the two volumes were placed together, but someone was collecting them like him!
He immediately thought of Arkhan the Black, Nagash's most loyal lieutenant, strategist, apprentice and general, and the Vampire Queen's former lover.
In terms of wisdom, Levi is not going to make too many comments for the time being, because he has only read some historical records but has not come into contact with it personally.
After all, past reputation only represents the past, not current ability, and Khalida and the generals under his command are proof of this.
But no matter what, Black Arkhan has enough power, clues, and reasons to collect the Nine Volumes of Nagash!
Moreover, the volume he mastered was called Secrets of the Dead. He was a lich himself, and now he was even more adept at controlling the undead. After the defeat of Nagash, he appeared several times, and each time he was accompanied by a large number of Soul Bound Knights.
Levi felt that the situation was a bit troublesome. Black Arkhan was a legend that had been famous for thousands of years. Now he was outnumbered. With his current strength, the possibility of defeating the opponent was really low.
At the same time, there was some unrest within the Tomb King's army.
Several guys who looked like God's chosen heroes started shouting and cursing, then immediately turned their heads to look at the pyramid in the distance.
Levi also looked over there, because he immediately noticed that the sky above there was quickly covered by a dark cloud as dark as ink.
From afar, it seemed that resentful souls emerged from time to time, not to mention the strong undead energy in it, which made Levi, a celestial mystic, even more sensitive.
There is no doubt that this should be a more powerful version of Dark Sky.
At the same time, some soul-binding knights with translucent bodies rushed towards the interior of the pyramid under the cover of wind, sand and darkness.
It is certainly impossible for ordinary knights to adapt to the special terrain inside the pyramid, but for them, it is not a big problem.
Now those God-chosen heroes became even more anxious. They had already suffered setbacks here one after another, and now the opponent was going to steal the base directly? This was simply too much !
Unfortunately, they were unable to escape from the undead that besieged them for the time being, so in desperation, someone thought of Levi who was not far away.
Originally they didn't care at all. After all, there were only a few dozen people on the other side, and they were still staying in that small oasis. They were probably newcomers who had accepted a small mission. But now they seemed to have grasped the last straw.
Hearing the other party's call, Levi naturally did not refuse. Although he was anxious, he had no information about the interior of the pyramid at the moment. It would be unwise to go there rashly.
But if we can draw on the opponent's strength, perhaps we can change the situation of the battle.
So he threw some magic scrolls and potions to the sphinx, and left the oasis with Sefa and others. Now its life or death was no longer important to them.
Sefa had no objection, because when she first received the scroll, Levi had told her clearly that they were just looking for a coordinate, and the others were just gifts.
Moreover, the performance of the sphinx today really disappointed her.
A wizard can have many shortcomings, such as greed, lust, arrogance or ruthlessness, etc. Those are actually just moral issues and are insignificant. But there is only one thing that can be extremely fatal, and that is stupidity.
Likewise, the mages' followers or the beings that sign contracts with them should not have this shortcoming.
It’s okay to have shortcomings, but at least you have to be honest so that the mage can make targeted arrangements for the next plan.
But now it has undoubtedly made all the mistakes it shouldn't have made, so she has no psychological burden at all about abandoning it. At least it is out of danger now.
Although the sphinx did not seem to be particularly smart, it was not a complete fool. As soon as it saw Levi and the others' actions, it immediately realized the problem.
It suddenly barked a few times, somewhat anxiously.
Levi couldn't understand its bird language, but Sefa was a little surprised. After turning her head to look at it, she leaned towards Levi and said, "It said it knew it was wrong, so it is willing to change the contract to make the conditions more relaxed."
Levi didn't even turn his head: "Unless it is willing to become the most ordinary summoned creature, or directly join the team and become your follower, otherwise there is no need to discuss anything!"
With his current strength and power, this is equivalent to giving it a chance, otherwise it might be killed by a passing God-chosen hero tomorrow .
The elegy beside him couldn't help but chuckle: "That's how it should be!"
To put it mildly, it overestimated the danger it faced today, but to put it in a broader sense, this was a deception.
If it wasn't for Sefa's sake, but for herself, she might have rushed up and hacked the other person to death by now.
It's fine if it wastes her time, but it would be terrible if it wastes everyone's time.
Maltis also joined in the fun: "Or I can control its corpse to atone for my sins."
Although she does not have such ability at present, she got a magic scroll for controlling corpses when she was in Lahmia City. I just don’t know how much of its ability will be left after it becomes a corpse?
Levi, who had been indifferent at first, couldn't help but be a little surprised when he heard it. Oh my god, was she telling a joke?
Sefa had no objection, so she explained the matter to the other party through the short-distance mental link provided by the contract.
And during this whole process, they did not stop for a moment.
After understanding, the sphinx immediately lowered its head like an eggplant hit by frost.
But seeing Levi and the others walking further and further away, it had no time to express its feelings. It just made a few short chirps, as if saying goodbye to those ordinary egrets and this small oasis, and then it accelerated to catch up with Sefa.
It seems that it has made a very wise choice, which is to become a follower of Sefa and officially join the team.
Sonia looked at her good friend in surprise: "Sefa, what did you say to it?"
"I told it that the oasis it loved was only valuable in the desert. In the outside world, water is not a particularly rare thing."
At the same time, Levi also received a system prompt that the other party had indeed joined sincerely.
He took a quick look and found that the other party was actually a level 5 elite.
In addition to the ability to create magic items and magic scrolls, it can also use several skills such as cure light wounds, neutralize poison, remove disease, talk to animals and summon natural allies. Overall, it is obviously similar to an auxiliary druid.
Its various attributes are just OK, with no particularly outstanding advantages, but no obvious weaknesses either, and it can fly and carry people.
But Levi felt that Sefa would definitely not choose to ride it, because it had the body of a lion, the wings of an egret and a slender head, the proportions of which were seriously disproportionate.
Even though it is a magical creature, with a body like this, its flying speed and agility are definitely not much better, at least not as good as that of a griffin.
But this was just a small episode. Levi didn't even plan to assign it any tasks. It was enough to just let it help Sefa with some tasks.
As the distance between them continued to close, the undead, who had originally paid no attention to them, also allocated part of their forces and actively launched an attack on them.
It's not just because they have an instinctive aversion to the living, but also because of the very nature of the celestial beings that they are extremely disgusted with.
Levi and his men naturally would not sit still and wait for death, and in order to have more say in the future, he also showed a little bit of strength in the process of approaching the other party.
Yes, just a little bit, because if he showed too much strength, the natives might be ecstatic, thinking that they had gained an unexpected strong ally.
But it’s hard to say about those heroes chosen by God. Human nature has always been complicated, and jealousy often drives them to make wrong choices.
Fortunately, even though he, Sefa and the others were holding back, they still had considerable strength. They "hardly" repelled several teams of black knights and tomb demons, and opened up a path leading to the enemy's position.
So the other party welcomed them with great surprise.
Since the matter was indeed extremely urgent, the other party did not waste time. The leading Tomb General, after learning that Levi was a celestial mystic and a pure lawful good camp, immediately told Levi their identities.
It turned out that they came from the famous Bronze City - Kasabai.
A long time ago, Kasabai, which was rich in bronze and various bronze products, was originally one of the most prosperous cities in the Tomb Kings. It was also one of the first cities to stand up against the brutal rule of Nagash.
Then they were killed as an example by Nagash. They had some advantages at the beginning, but not long after, under the overwhelming strength of the opponent, the entire city was destroyed by his general, the Black Arkhan.
Later, Nagash was defeated, and the Bronze City was rebuilt after the war. It was rewarded by the gods for its bravery and justice.
Except for those whose souls were completely destroyed or enslaved by Black Arkhan, most of the rest of the dead were resurrected as mummies.
The gods also rewarded the Bronze City with the method of manufacturing the bronze lion-headed gods guard.
As the name suggests, the materials used are all bronze, and the finished product looks like a lion's head.
Although ordinary weapons made of bronze are much inferior to steel weapons in many aspects such as strength and toughness, things blessed by God are naturally no longer ordinary bronze.
Compared to the most common jackal heads, their combat effectiveness is obviously much stronger, and when fighting against attacks such as arrows, their corresponding resistance will be greatly increased. This has become a unique specialty of the Bronze City.
At the same time, the gods also bestowed them with an honor, but in Levi's view, it was a heavy responsibility, which was to guard some evil magic items used by Black Arkhan.
Today they were on patrol as usual, and then they were ambushed by the other side.
It just so happened that the Tomb General had personally fought against Black Arkhan during his lifetime.
So he immediately realized that it was very likely that the other party came for revenge, and this happened to be their chance for revenge!
Although he looked like a mummy, just by listening to his words, Levi could roughly understand the other person's mood at the moment.
But unfortunately, his strength is totally mismatched with his ambition. Levi estimates that he is only in his early level 10s. Compared with the stronger God-chosen heroes at this stage, he does not have much advantage, let alone fighting against Arkhan.
Even Levi felt a little sorry for them. Perhaps their god had never told them that one of those evil magical items was the Nine Scrolls of Nagash?
Is it because you don't trust them to resist temptation in front of it, or do you think chess pieces don't need to know too much?
Whatever the possibility is, it's quite sad, and the reward is so little.
In contrast, Lilith is much more honest and generous.
But no matter what, Levi has roughly figured out where they are currently.
This place is about 1,200 miles away from the dwarf fortress of Drakadrin, and is slightly west of the south.
A few hundred miles further south is the Orion Camp, one of the important strongholds of the Wood Elves.
Well, it’s the lair of the group of wood elves who owed Levi a favor when they were fighting against the beastmen of Malar.
Further east of the Orion Camp is the Golden Tower, one of the Lizardmen's strategic locations, which belongs to the territory of Kuja.
Compared to Kalida, Kuga's territory is much larger.
If the Tomb Kings want to advance into the eastern coastal areas, they basically have only two options: go south through the territory of the Wood Elves and then take the Golden Tower.
Or you could go north, first trek through the mountains, fight against the evil forces such as the greenskins and ratmen that are everywhere in the mountains, and then take down Astrid under Khalida's command.
However, even the most warlike Immortal Emperor, Settra, did not have the time to do so, not only because the process would be extremely long and difficult.
Moreover, whether it is the rainforest or the humid environment of the coastal areas, the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages for these mummies, as it will make their bodies more prone to decay.
The power of the Egyptian gods allowed their souls to remain in their bodies forever, forming a disguised form of immortality, but it did not say what the body would look like.
So up to now, the relationship between the Tomb Kings and Khalida or Kuja is still acceptable.
There is only one exception, and that is the Beetle Prince, who is notoriously sinister, vicious and mentally ill.
But when Levi thought about it afterwards, he could roughly understand the other party's intentions.
He was surrounded by enemies in the desert and was beaten by everyone, but if he could defeat Khalida and replace her, his situation would suddenly become much better and he would be able to turn passivity into initiative.
Apart from dealing with the pirates in the east and the lizardmen in the south, and firmly guarding Astri in the west, he has no other enemies that pose any major threats.
Unfortunately, his plan was good, but its implementation was a complete mess.
After a brief communication, the other side decided that the main force would continue to stay here to fight against the undead, and an elite team would go to the pyramid with Levi, the unexpected reinforcement.
There is no need to seek to defeat Arkhan, because that is simply impossible. He is a legendary hero who has been famous for many years. After the death of Nagash, countless people wanted to kill this loyal lackey of his, but no one has succeeded so far.
Even if one hated the other party's Tomb General in his heart, he would not have such an unrealistic dream.
Therefore, his real purpose was to find out why Arkhan came here.
So many years have passed, isn't it too long for him to think about getting his things back now? There must be a conspiracy.
Li Wei thought that since he realized this, he was not completely stupid and could still be saved. But after he really figured it out, his mood would probably become even more complicated...
But that had nothing to do with him. He had already received the mission and unlocked the reputation level of the Bronze City.
Depending on how much information he discovers next, he may receive rewards of varying degrees.
Most of them he had already seen in Lahmia or obtained from Khalida.
But there was still one thing that interested him, and that was the Level 5 Bronze Lion-Headed Death Guard.
It's not entirely because of their combat effectiveness. Now he has the ability to mass-produce the two types of dragon golems, which will definitely not be worse than the other side.
He was just curious why it was a lion's head.
Almost all Egyptian gods have some kind of animal incarnation with a human body and an animal head, or their prototypes are simply animals, such as the giant crocodile Sobek and the scorpion goddess.
Generally speaking, the Tomb Kings would create the Guardians of the Gods in the image of their own, but they usually had jackal heads and very few others, except for the Bronze City.
Before they received the reward from the gods, they had always used lion heads, but they were made of stone instead of bronze. He felt that there must be another hidden story behind this.
But these were not mentioned in Lilith's intelligence.
Among the Egyptian gods, there are two goddesses who have the appearance of lions.
One is Bastet, the goddess of pleasure, dance and cats. She usually only knows how to play and have fun. Her followers often hold parties, and she is so excited that she sends down her incarnation to participate in them in person, and this has happened more than once or twice.
Because of this, her lover, the god of war Anhe from the same pantheon, got angry with her more than once, but it was of no avail, because the egoistic cat would not obediently obey orders, even if the other party was a more powerful god.
In extreme cases of rage, she can transform into a lioness and fight.
The other is the goddess of rain and moisture - Tefnut. Her priesthood and divinity level are very low, but her status is not ordinary. She is the grandmother of the current king of the Egyptian pantheon.
The same idle salted fish in normal times will turn into a lioness when entering a fighting state.
But one of them is of divine nature 2 and the other of divine nature 1, which makes them at the bottom of the list in terms of weak divine power, or even among all gods. They are only slightly stronger than demigods like the Unicorn Queen or the shepherd god Pan.
Why would the Egyptian gods, who love to show off their presence in various ways, choose lion heads here?
Is this really just a coincidence? Respecting the elderly and loving the young has never been the character of the gods, or even the Egyptian gods.
Or did they fail in the competition, or did they do it to please one of them?
Levi was more inclined to the latter. He had heard that there were some so-called ancient gods in the Egyptian pantheon.
Just like Asuryan, the first God-King of the High Elves, their whereabouts are still unknown, and there is no faith in the main world. Many people or gods believe that they may have already disappeared in history.
Levi felt that with Tefnut's special identity, she might know something, or perhaps she herself was one of them, and she might also be hiding some power.
Unfortunately, the Bronze City generally believes in all Egyptian gods, and does not have any special preference for anyone. The churches of these two goddesses here also look very ordinary, and he has no way to judge for the time being.
But he was just a little curious. Even if the other party really had some power, it had little to do with him.
So far, he has only offended Set in the other side's pantheon, but this is not his territory.
