Chapter 81 – The Power of the Temple

Boom—

A massive rock several meters tall shattered like brittle wood as the Undead Behemoth thrust out its claw, then exerted force to sweep its entire right forelimb across the surroundings.

The mountain rocks first fractured, then exploded violently, sending chunks of debris flying dozens of meters. Wooden walls, fences, watchtowers—everything crumbled into rubble with a cacophony of destruction. In just two strikes, a gap spanning several to over a dozen meters was torn open.

Deadbone could easily create such a breach with his own strength, perhaps even faster.

But unleashing a twenty-meter-long sword aura came at a significant cost for him.

The Undead Behemoth was different—a casual swing could cause widespread devastation. This was the power of a war machine, something an individual could scarcely achieve.

It was also the fundamental reason Deadbone had racked his brains to develop war skills.

Boom—!

The Undead Behemoth continued its rampage. Its colossal frame towered several meters above the Arrow Towers, casting a cold, immense shadow as it effortlessly leveled entire structures with a single sweep.

Throughout this, the Undead Behemoth naturally faced relentless attacks from countless Snakemen.

Arrows, acid, rolling stones, and even massive Fireballs several meters in diameter rained down one after another.

But the prudent Deadbone had done more than just assemble a skeleton when constructing the Undead Behemoth. He had covered its exterior, especially vulnerable areas like limb joints, with thick bony shields.

Unlike fragile skeletal monsters, the Undead Behemoth was an integrated whole, its bones connected to Deadbone’s own, making it exceptionally sturdy.

Clad in white armor, the beast wreaked havoc on the Battlefield. Even when Fireballs struck, sending bone fragments flying, the Undead Behemoth remained invincible.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

More Advanced monsters appeared: roaring giant snakes, four-armed Snakemen wielding sabers, and even a Snakeman Wizard commanding the marshland’s Elite monster, the ‘Spitting Poison Dragon,’ rushing to the scene.

「White Scale Giant Serpent: A war weapon cultivated from Flesh and special methods, not a true living being.」

「Snakeman Trickster Dancer (Rare★): Profession Tier Level 3, skilled in saber techniques, often kills enemies imperceptibly.」

「Spitting Poison Dragon (Rare★): Profession Tier Level 1, adept at spewing corrosive acid.」

Lord Mu was not on the Battlefield, but after Deadbone’s promotion to Hero, he possessed the same ‘instant appraisal’ ability as a Chosen Lord.

Simultaneously, Deadbone acted like a signal relay station. His Mental Link power, channeled through the Hero Deadbone, spread seamlessly to over a hundred allied units, connecting them all.

His Mental Energy was fully unleashed, his eyes glowing with a faint silver light.

Under his command and control, dozens of Skeleton Warriors advanced under the cover of the bone behemoth, reaching the forefront of the Snakefolk Tribe. Though the area was shrouded in dust, through multiple reconnaissance feeds—the vision of Hurricane Falcons—Mu Yuan could always spot targets, directing the Skeleton Warriors to execute precise strikes.

Further away, Sharpshooters, Silver Slimes scattered around, Specters, and other units coordinated in unison.

Over a hundred elites moved like a tightly interlocked giant gear, rolling forward to crush everything in their path.At the core of the gears was Deadbone, rampaging and destroying, single-handedly withstanding the greatest pressure as the first-generation Undead Behemoth.

A white-scaled giant serpent lunged, attempting to entangle the behemoth’s forelimbs, but was slammed into the ground by a single palm strike. As the earth trembled, the serpent’s entire body withered, oozing bluish-green blood.

Snakemen tricksters continuously harassed the behemoth. Against such agile opponents, the skeletal giant’s attacks struggled to land, but Deadbone had never intended the behemoth for these foes—he sought siege-breaking power.

On the battlefield, deafening roars echoed one after another, shattered earth and stones scattering everywhere.

Moments later, having drawn massive enemy fire, the skeletal behemoth finally buckled. Its thick bones cracked and splintered, the colossal entity crashing down like a collapsing mountain, churning clouds of dust into the sky.

From within the behemoth’s fractured skull, Deadbone in his black cloak was revealed to the Snakemen’ eyes.

The tables had turned—now it was their turn!

Several Snakemen tricksters closed in, baring teeth in savage grins.

Deadbone pulled out the Bone Spikes connecting him to the behemoth and stepped forward calmly. Dozens of saber gleams seemed to slash toward him simultaneously—a lesser warrior of the same Rank might have been dismembered in an instant.

But for Deadbone…

Had he lost the Undead Behemoth’s protection? Wrong.

Had he cast off heavy shackles to reveal his true power? Correct!

Grasping Death Lament, Deadbone watched as tendrils of black mist drifted from all directions, merging into the sword’s blade.

With one sweeping strike, his overwhelmingly powerful blade shattered the frontal saber gleams, smashing the Snakemen’s scimitars and twisting their arms into unnatural angles, forcing them to retreat in horror.

Simultaneously, saber attacks from both flanks nearly reached Deadbone.

Multiple bone swords abruptly pierced from his shoulders, elbows, knees and other joints, not only blocking the incoming scimitars but twisting like serpents to stab at the surrounding Snakemen tricksters.

Chopping, thrusting, hacking, lifting, sweeping—

The clang of metal against metal persisted, dozens of exchanges occurring within mere seconds.

The Snakemen tricksters realized with horror that despite their numerical advantage and their two additional pairs of arms… they seemed to be the ones surrounded by a single skeleton!

Gradually they found themselves overwhelmed, their strength mysteriously draining away.

Thud—

The Bone Joint Sword pierced through a Snakeman trickster’s torso. Fearful the serpent might survive, Deadbone closed in, countless Bone Spikes protruding from his body and impaling the Snakeman until its form convulsed violently.

Seconds later, as if wielded by a dozen blades simultaneously, Deadbone manipulated the Bone Joint Sword to run through a second Snakeman, pinning the creature against a giant rock like a speared loach. Raising his hand, he fired volleys of Bone Spikes that whooshed through the air, piercing the Snakeman and blasting the massive boulder into crumbling fragments.

In the blink of an eye, only the highest-Ranked Snakeman trickster remained before the toppled behemoth’s corpse.

This was a disheveled Snakewoman. She staggered back two steps, then charged forward with crimson eyes blazing.

Her sharp shrieks pierced the air as four scimitars carved dark trajectories through space. In this life-or-death struggle, the Snakewoman seemed to achieve a Breakthrough, her techniques growing increasingly refined!

But Deadbone’s response was to violently surge his energy output.In an instant, Deadbone drew forth several meters, even over a dozen meters, of pitch-black sword radiance. The energy surging around him stained the earth withered and dark. Gripping his sword with both hands, he unleashed a heavy strike imbued with intense undead energy.

BOOM——!!!

A fan-shaped energy shockwave erupted, carving a deep, 60°-expanding trench into the ground, enveloping the Snakewoman who, despite her Snakeskin Movement, was unable to evade.

The earth trembled! The aftershocks rippled outward, and within the dust-shrouded crater, only the remnants of a snakeman’s body, faintly discernible with its curvaceous outline, remained.

Deadbone cautiously approached and, while there was still time, delivered several more sword strikes.

…

Simultaneously,

Squad Leader Dolai, who had not shown itself throughout the entire battle, had quietly slipped to the front of the Mysterious Shrine amidst the chaos. This was, of course, the Lord’s command.

Mu Yuan had prepared two strategies for this battle.

He was uncertain whether they could conquer the Snakefolk Tribe. If they failed, he could at least seize the opportunity to scout the Shrine’s situation. If they succeeded, the chance to receive the Shrine’s blessing would make the battle easier.

Thus, while Deadbone piloted the Undead Behemoth to assault the city, Mu Yuan directed Dolai and Bone Two Three Four to charge straight toward the Shrine’s gate located on the western side of the Tribe.

“Gurgle~!”

“Thud!” “Whoosh!”

Dolai extended two giant palms and swiftly slammed them down, while Bone Two and several other skeletons fiercely hurled Bone Spears, blasting the snakemen one by one.

At this moment, snakemen were rushing in from the distance, led by a Snakeman Wizard standing atop a giant snake, riding it forth.

Dolai stood before the gate, hands on hips, a single history holding the line.

Under Mu Yuan’s guidance, Bone Two and the other skeletons, along with a camera-equipped Hurricane Falcon, quickly entered the Shrine and arrived before the statues at the end.

There were seven statues, six of which were already damaged, leaving only the last one with its hands outstretched, each emitting a faint, shimmering light. However, the light from the left hand was extremely dim, reduced to mere threads.

Ding!

Prompt: Your unit ‘Skeleton General · Bone Two’ has discovered the ◆◆ Shrine and may choose one of two blessings.

Blessing One: Breakthrough—The Shrine’s blessing allows a unit that has accumulated to Perfection in its current stage to assault barriers. The higher the major Rank being broken through, the lower the success rate. (The power of this blessing has been exhausted and is recovering.)

Blessing Two: Enhancement—The Shrine’s blessing can elevate the level of the target unit.

Note: Within this Shrine, any unit can receive a blessing only once.

(End of Chapter)