Rino smirked to himself. The bog boss could not keep running and hiding forever. In a war of attrition, he would not lose. Even if this necromancer had been borrowing the power of the magic cypress tree to grow his zombie army, they were no match for his infinitely regenerating shadow army. Besides, these hobgoblins were only a small part of his army. He still had another half of the goblin army in the village, preparing to go to war if the swamp master attacked his base.

Fighting a necromancer was like smoking ants from a nest. He had no idea how many zombies his hobgoblins destroyed, but with Mutt running for reinforcements and fiercely guarding the teleportation pad, it should not be long for this old fart to come out of seclusion. They would not come out of hiding willingly until their homes were on fire or flooded beyond saving.

The bog master came out of hiding, and while he could not fly like Rino, he used telepathy to tell Rino to come down if he wanted a fight. 

It was a blatant bait and a trap, but Rino had confidence that he could easily win even in this necromancer's terrain. Moreover, with a powerhouse mana plant like the World Tree, Rino had nothing to worry about. 

The necromancer tutted silently when Rino came down from his aerial advantage to meet him on the murky swamps. This young magician was talented, but he was simply too naive as a dark sorcerer. His aura was too clean and pure to be a dark magician, even if he was talented in his control of magic. From how Rino used his magic, the bog magician could tell that he had exceptional magic command but a poor understanding.

Even if the necromancer had a weak magic capacity, his research was not for nought over the centuries. He was able to build an army this large single-handedly despite his inability to summon any undead creature more powerful than zombies. The sheer number of his rotten army was enough to take down ten villages easily, but the necromancer waited. It was not time yet to claim his rightful throne.

Then, this pompous lich came along and ruined his plans for world domination in just a few hours. The sheer amount of hatred he had could not be so easily appeased. Liches were half-gods with the power of immortality, but the necromancer wasn't afraid. He had a trump card up his sleeves. Even if his powerful zombie army wasn't able to take down the lich's shadow minions, he could still trap the lich in this swamp to act as his fuel.

In the swamp, Rino found no lizardmen in the area. He relaxed a little at that knowledge. Although this necromancer was crafty, Rino didn't think he was too troublesome to deal with. The hobgoblins are doing a good job, and everything he did thus far hardly put a dent in his massive mana reserves. He landed on some mossy ground and looked at the necromancer.

The man was mortal, but he had longevity. The hair, beard and brows were completely white. Rino could not tell if the braiding of that beard was done deliberately so that it would hover just above the ground, but he did not think it was fashionable. His opponent also used a wooden staff that was discoloured in some places, especially the handle. He could not help but feel slightly superior, knowing that this magician still required a medium. He was too weak to be a threat!

The wooden staff struck the ground with a dull thud, and Rino watched as the swamp shook. Trees curved inwards, and branches created a barricade where Rino stood. The area around the magic tree became pitch black from some kind of coloured fog that thickened until there was no visibility.

Rino conjured his fire spell, but no amount of flames could penetrate through this darkness. Was this what true darkness felt like? Rino wasn't sure what was going on, but he had some guesses. This old necromancer must be triggering a very meticulously prepared trap using the swamp's natural terrain and the magic tree's power to his advantage. In that case, Rino would retaliate in kind by borrowing the six elements from his World Tree.

Ordinarily, the best way to counter one magic element was with another opposing element. However, they were both dark mages. It was ridiculous for Rino to use holy magic on the necromancer when he would also suffer damage. Another way to counter a spell was by deconstructing it. Unfortunately, Rino wasn't very knowledgeable about dark magic or its nature to interfere with the casting. Hence, the only way he could think about was to overpower this array.

Every magic array will have a weakness. There will always be a power source, a medium, and a pattern. Rino knew the power source. He knew the medium from the stench in the swamp. He also knew the pattern. Did the necromancer really think that illusions and combination magic will fool the greatest magician of all times? Naive!

Chanting his spell with deep concentration, the bearded necromancer thought that the lich was successfully trapped within his earth tomb. The entire swamp was his castle, and once a body was pulled into the mud, it would never resurface. Countless tough warriors died here, and their vengeful souls were slaves for his puppets. If one body was destroyed, he would simply find another to transfer those souls. The young lich cannot escape his spell.

The ground continued to shake as water and earth parted to drag Rino deeper into them. The lich looked like an ordinary skeleton now. Once he is fully buried, the necromancer will borrow the magic tree as a medium to host the battle of their souls. He had enough hatred stored in his swamp to overwhelm the lich's mind. Every known weakness of humankind was here. Their terrors, greed, lies and regrets stored individually as a wisp in this fog gathered like a tornado around the magic cypress as Rino's head disappeared under the water.

The bog master cackled. It was time to create the greatest puppet of all times!