Marcus III took a deep breath as he faced the Mummy King, the Dark Knight, and the Ghoul Sovereign.

He was confident that he could win against them as an Immortal. However, that would exhaust a lot of his Divinity.

He also knew that his Storm Knights could win against these creatures, but that would use most of their life's essence. He didn't want that to happen this early.

At the very least, he was planning to use the trump card of the Storm Knights as a backup once something went wrong with his confrontation with the new Immortal.

With all of this in consideration, he decided to use a risky but effective strategy.

"Knight Joseph and Knight Val! Form two squads under your leadership and stop the Dark Knight and the Ghoul Sovereign! They're weak against lightning! I will deal with the Mummy King!" Marcus III said and the two Storm Knights immediately divided the remaining knights into two.

On the other hand, Marcus III didn't wait and fought against the Mummy King using some of his Elemental Arts.

After some time, he started the next phase of his plan.

Boom!

He was hit by the Mummy King's scepter and was thrown to the ground!

'That's a good one' Marcus III thought as he pretended to be exhausted and wounded. Then, he lowered his guard to appear even weaker.

This worried the Storm Knights, but they knew that the Pontiff had a plan.

Furthermore, they knew that they would be called if the Pontiff really needed some assistance.

Boom!

Once again, Marcus III let the Mummy King hit him with his scepter while he was flying...

This time, however, he landed near the Summoner, below the castle wall, and he acted as if he was unconscious. No, it wasn't just acting, he cast a spell that would make him seem like he was unconscious and slowly dying.

Thud!

Marcus III could tell that the Summoner was already smiling after seeing his defeat.

As expected, the Mummy King stopped attacking after he fell unconscious.

'I did it! I won!' Marcus III thought as he heard the Summoner's footsteps.

The Summoner had indeed gone down to check on his condition or capture him!

Just like what he thought, this person would certainly not kill a Pontiff of a powerful church so easily! This opportunity wasn't something they would waste. They would undoubtedly try to keep him alive to obtain his wealth, his Sovereign Artifacts, or even to get the secrets of the Eminence of the Sea.

Soon, the Summoner approached the Pontiff and checked his condition.

After confirming that he was unconscious, the Summoner reached for Pontiff's Scepter. It was the most valuable item that he had.

But before the Summoner could touch it, the Pontiff opened his eyes, and he grabbed the Summoner's hand!

"You're dead!"

As he said this, he activated his glove's Drain Touch, and he drained the Summoner's energy!

After utilizing the drain touch, Marcus III, the Pontiff, felt a surge of energy entering his body.

'This is it! Your life is mine!'

He celebrated in his mind.

However, the potency of the energy was not as substantial as he had expected. It left him puzzled, pondering the true nature of the being he had just confronted.

'Why is it so weak?' He thought.

Then, something unexpected happened.

The "Summoner" vanished, leaving behind only its garments, and with the Grimoire nowhere to be found.

Before it completely disappeared, however, the Pontiff glanced at the figure that he had just Drained with his gloves.

Marcus III immediately realized the unsettling truth!

"A Shadow Soldier!" He exclaimed, his mind racing to comprehend the gravity of the situation. He didn't expect that the "Summoner" was merely a decoy!

'Impossible It doesn't make sense! My Divine Sense and Divinity failed?!'

He couldn't comprehend how he hadn't noticed this from the very start!

"Hahaha! That was a good one, Pontiff!"

Suddenly, a chilling laugh echoed from above the castle walls, sending shivers down the Pontiff's spine.

The laughter signaled a new twist in the unfolding events

'Not good...'

Marcus III braced himself, knowing that the true challenge was far from over.

As expected, he didn't even have the chance to recover his strength, and he was attacked by the Summoner.

He found himself in a dire situation as the man above the castle walls used Chain of Souls to bind him. Despite deflecting it with his Robe's Radiance, he faced a barrage of subsequent spells!

An Abyssal Fire emerged beneath his feet, and just as he prepared to escape using his flight spell, the mysterious man cast a Spell Dispersion!

His flight spell didn't even activate!

'He's not just a Summoner! This person practices other Arcane Paths!' Marcus III thought but he didn't think that this Summoner was an Immortal.

After all, no Immortal uses Grimoire to summon creatures. If they have a summons, they could do it without relying on a medium like a Grimoire.

Nevertheless, he had no other choice in this situation. Marcus III had to shield himself with his Divinity. It protected him from the Abyssal Fire, but he was still in danger.

He was planning to use his Scepter's Elemental Protection, but a Spell that was aimed at his soul was released by his enemy!

It was Soul Reaper!

If he didn't invoke his Divinity, he would surely die from that attack!

Then, he was bombarded by other spells. They were Cursed Flame, Holy Smite, Water Vortex, and Toxic Tempest!

After the Toxic Tempest hit him, his Divinity was critically low!

Marcus gritted his teeth as he knew that he couldn't win with his current strength!

He still had two more trump cards, but once he used them, the other powerful beings within the castle that he felt a moment ago would crush him!

There was no point revealing everything he had at this point!

'I need to escape for now, but I shall return!'

With that thought, his eyes, seemingly adorned with ancient Runes, glowed brightly as he attempted to flee!

However, an unexpected attack targeted his mind - the dreaded Slave Mark!