Laina frowned as he heard Abis's words and looked around at his zombies in shock. He was astounded to see that these zombies, who shouldn't even have the emotion of fear, were all trembling on their legs, unwilling to take a step forward.

"What is going on?" Laina snatched the staff from the elven woman next to him and loudly recited an ancient incantation in a language long forgotten. He struck the handle of the staff on the ground, and a dim green light spread outwards from the staff, affecting all the zombies. Their eyes lit up with a green glow, and the groaning noises coming from their mouths grew louder.

"Ah, the Necrotic Infusion spell. It amplifies the bloodlust in the undead," Abis calmly nodded. "You seem quite proficient in it. You must have been studying necromancy for quite some time."

"What!?" Laina looked at his zombies in astonishment. Although they were groaning loudly, not a single one of them, as he had hoped, made a move towards the young couple in front of them.

Flora whispered to Abis, "Do you need me to help fight them? I may not know anything, but at least I have strength..."

"Your turn comes later," Abis smiled at her. "Let me deal with the trivial matters first."

Enraged, Laina pointed at Abis and yelled, "What are you whispering about..."

"Kneel!" Abis suddenly shouted, his voice full of authority.

"Ah!!" All the zombies let out terrified cries upon hearing this command. The Necrotic Infusion spell that Laina had just used on them didn't even give them a moment's hesitation. They immediately dropped to their knees, their decaying bodies hitting the ground, too afraid to look up at Abis. Even the elven woman resurrected by Laina with his most advanced necromancy spells couldn't escape this fate. Though her joints were not as stiff and rotten as the others, her kneeling position was even more standard.

Laina could hardly believe his eyes. His proud undead army didn't even put up a fight and surrendered immediately?

"Tell me your purpose. Why did you create this army of zombies?" Abis thought for a moment and adjusted his neck. "The zombies on top, throw him down to me. I don't like looking up at others."

Before Laina could say a word, he felt his clothes being grabbed tightly by two hands like iron clamps. Then he was thrown out, soaring from the second floor and landing on the ground floor. His body, already weakened by age and further deteriorated by necromancy, couldn't handle such a fall. He felt his ribs break and couldn't breathe. He struggled on the ground, gasping for air, before finally managing to lift his head, coming face-to-face with Abis's icy gaze.

"Now, speak to me," Abis's breath sprayed onto Laina's face, lacking the warmth that a human's breath should have. It was even colder than the winter night outside, quickly freezing Laina's face.

"You... you are also a necromancer!" Laina finally realized. "You can control other people's undead."

"Don't answer a question with a question!" Abis suddenly yelled, grabbing Laina's collar. "Tell me your purpose!"

Laina felt a chilling coldness spreading through his body from Abis's hand. If he let this coldness continue to spread, he would soon freeze to death!

"I... I want to intrude into Princess Leona's tomb!" Laina's previous arrogance and coldness disappeared completely. Abis's grip on his collar was weak, and Abis's face, still somewhat youthful, didn't have much intimidation. However, Laina clearly felt the pressure exerted by the other. He couldn't help but shout out loud, a feeling of submission coming from deep within his soul.

"You also want to intrude into Princess Leona's tomb?" Abis leaned his face close to Laina's, his blue-green eyes like an abyss, seemingly ready to devour Laina's soul. "And what do you plan to do once you're inside?"

"I... I want to obtain an item from Princess Leona's stomach for the Council of the Undead. I don't know what it is! I swear!" Laina's voice almost sounded tearful. He trembled all over, a foul stench emanating from his lower body, nearly causing Flora, who was watching nearby, to vomit.

"And then!?" Abis still didn't release his grip on Laina's collar.

"There... there is nothing else...""You're lying," Abis's voice grew colder again, "and I really don't like it."

"I-I said, I said they promised to give me Princess Leona's body after it's done!" Laina instantly regretted his words, reporting loudly, "When I was young, I was a court mage apprentice in the Western Empire and I had always harbored a secret love for Princess Leona. After her death, I wanted to have her in some way so I learned necromancy and later joined the Undead Council!"

"You've been preparing for over forty years?" Abis couldn't help but laugh, "All for Princess Leona's body?"

Laina's expression turned manic, "You don't understand how beautiful, how lovely Princess Leona was..."

"What does your Eye of Fear have to do with that Undead Council?" Abis didn't care at all about this guy's twisted infatuation and took out the pendant from his pocket again, which seemed to be absorbing Laina's fear, emitting a gentle purple glow.

"This is a piece of an artifact called 'Hell's Visage' held by the Undead Council. They were afraid I couldn't complete the task, so they lent it to me!" Laina immediately explained, "If you want it, please take it!"

"I don't particularly want it, but I won't give it back to you either." Abis directly put the Eye of Fear back into his pocket, "Tell me the location of Princess Leona's tomb."

Laina immediately gave an address, and after Flora heard it, she thought for a moment and said in surprise, "It doesn't seem too far from this city."

"I planned to collect zombies as guards while making my way to the destination. After stealing Princess Leona's body, I would retreat immediately. These undead are disposable; they'll rot quickly and won't harm anyone." Laina hurriedly explained.

"I see, not something you keep with you all the time, but discard after use?" Abis seemed relieved.

"Yes, yes! I originally planned to retire after completing this task! Never get involved with any council again! And now, I won't even finish this task!" Laina seemed to have said everything he knew, his emotions slightly brighter, "Can I go now?"

"Go?" Abis seemed surprised, "We'll talk about that later. Can you recite the Necromancer's Creed for me? You wouldn't be ignorant of the rules of our Necromancy School, right? Every apprentice must memorize the Necromancer's Creed before starting their study. You should know it, right?"

Laina's expression suddenly froze.