Early the next morning.
The entire canyon shook violently as countless boulders tumbled down from the canyon's entrance.
In an instant, many skeletons were smashed to pieces, unable to dodge in time.
The eerie blue flames in Li Xiuman's eye sockets flared up suddenly. He raised his head, staring intently toward the entrance of the canyon.
As if in response to his expectations, in the next instant, blazing orange-red fireballs shot in from the canyon entrance.
The opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
“Darkness deeper than the abyss.”
“Brewing the forbidden magic draught with the fruits of darkness, offered to the sublime Lord of the Abyss, the King of Darkness.”
“Tier 7 Spell, Dark Sacrifice.”
Ring after ring of pitch-black magic circles rose from the ground, soaring from the canyon floor to the canyon entrance, blotting out the sky.
And at the center of the magic circles, in the deepest darkness of the canyon...
Pound, the bone dragon, stretched his neck and chanted his Tier 7 Spell.
A pitch-black beam of light erupted from his mouth.
Under the black beam, the canyon's cliffside was instantly vaporized into nothingness.
A sweet yet foul scent of alcohol filled the entire canyon.
“The holy Lord sends down the savior angel.”
“The sacred light shall ultimately illuminate every inch of the land, praising the Lord's mercy.”
“Tier 7 Spell, Holy Angel's Judgment.”
Along with the chanting, a golden beam of light shone down from the sky.
It looked like a golden curtain draped from heaven, overflowing with holy light.
The faint, blurry figure of an angel seemed to appear.
And in front of that angelic phantom, a missionary dressed in gorgeous robes chanted while raising his golden scepter.
“Loathsome humans who worship the Goddess of Light, do you wish to suffer the wrath of Pound the Bone Dragon?!”
Pound flapped his massive bone wings.
The resulting gale instantly blew away countless skeletons near him, but he didn't care in the slightest, spreading his wings to charge toward the missionary.
Though Li Xiuman couldn't comprehend how Pound's wind-leaking skeletal wings could actually lift his body into the air...
But trying to apply scientific logic to a world of magic was illogical in its own right.
Pound charged at the missionary but was intercepted mid-air.
A figure clad in heavy purple armor blocked Pound's path.
Though that body looked tiny and fragile in front of the giant dragon, they firmly held their greatsword, blocking the furious, arrogant Pound.
A high-level practitioner of the Warrior class.
Li Xiuman felt that as a Low-Tier Skeleton of his level, it was better not to worry about the battle between these powerhouses above.
What he needed now was to seize the opportunity to escape Pound's clutches.
If Pound were to be slain here by the joint forces of that missionary and the warrior, that would be for the best.
With Pound the bone dragon pinned down by the two powerhouses, the other adventurers and soldiers eagerly rushed down into the canyon.
The ranged Mages stood along the edge of the canyon, chanting incantations and unleashing spells toward the bottom.
The skeletons below swarmed toward the humans, completely devoid of their usual mindless stupor.
Even Li Xiuman felt an impulse rise in his heart to kill the invaders before him at all costs.
He immediately realized it was Pound's influence.
If he were his old self, he probably wouldn't have been able to control his mind at all, blindly charging at the humans under the control of Pound's command.
But now, he could suppress the urge and resist Pound's manipulation.
Still, to avoid drawing attention, Li Xiuman blended into the crowd of Low-Tier Skeletons, clattering his jaw as he rushed toward the humans.
He mixed in with the skeletons for one purpose and one purpose only—to land the finishing blows.
If a human heavily injured a skeleton, Li Xiuman would slide over without hesitation and stealthily finish off the skeleton.
And when a skeleton managed to critically wound a human, bringing them to the brink of death...
He would charge forward with “utter disregard for his own life,” pushing his comrade aside to land the killing blow himself.
In short, it was all about kill-stealing and finishing off enemies.
All the while, he steadily made his way toward the edge of the battlefield.
Watching the experience points steadily ticking up on his status screen, Li Xiuman's jaw was practically dislocating from grinning so hard.
Damn, this other world was far too generous to outsiders!
Li Xiuman still refrained from showing his true strength.
Bide his time and wait for the opportunity.
The moment that would justify exposing his true power to seize an opportunity had not yet arisen on the battlefield.
If you couldn't be the strongest among everyone, then you had to be the one who hid themselves the deepest.
On this battlefield, whether on his side or the enemy's, those stronger than Li Xiuman were too numerous to count.
Under the relentless assault of the humans, the skeletons suffered heavy losses.
By now, the succubi had flown to the mouth of the canyon, launching attacks on the Mages stationed there.
The Mages were forced to defend themselves, leaving them unable to rain spellfire down on the skeletal army.
Seizing the opportunity, the skeletal army began a counter-offensive, relying on their sheer numerical superiority.
At the same time, High-Tier Skeleton Mages joined the fray, casting Necromancy.
One by one, the corpses of fallen humans rose again, turning to attack their former allies.
The Priests hiding among the humans stepped forward and chanted in unison:
“O holy Goddess of Light, may Your merciful radiance shine upon the earth, purifying every inch of defilement within Your divine kingdom.”
“Tier 1 Spell, Mass Purification.”
The chants joined together in a harmonious chorus, and a golden light illuminated the entire battlefield.
Evidently, the subjugation force was exceptionally well-prepared for this expedition.
Wherever the holy golden light touched, the reanimated corpses sizzled, letting out plumes of white smoke before collapsing once more.
Even the active skeletons grew weak and sluggish under the light.
Li Xiuman felt a brief wave of irritation and weakness washing over him as well, but he shook his head, easily dispelling the sensation.
However, seeing the surrounding Low-Tier Skeletons looking so drained, he played the part and mimicked them perfectly.
“Bide my time, bide my time,” he muttered.
This time, the human side's morale soared, and they charged forward, brandishing their weapons.
The skeletal army's numerical advantage and the humans' morale boost canceled each other out, locking the battlefield in a stalemate once again.
Li Xiuman couldn't care less about the war. Pretending to be weakened, he continued to steal kills while quietly slipping toward the edge of the battlefield.
“Bide my time, bide my time...”
He kept muttering.
“The bones sleeping deep beneath the earth hum, as the sweetest calamity brews in the dark.”
“Tier 1 Spell, Cry of the Bones!”
A familiar voice rang out—it was Lucia's.
She was currently leading a group of succubi in a chant. A violet-red magic circle expanded beneath her feet, sending ripples of energy sweeping across all the skeletons on the battlefield.
As if stimulated, the flames within the skeletons' ribcages and eye sockets suddenly flared violently.
Their presence ballooned.
Skeletons clattered and shrieked, charging forward in a state of wild frenzy.
The tide of battle turned in the undead's favor once more, and the humans began to retreat.
Li Xiuman also felt his own soul fire grow burning hot, urging him to pounce on a human, tear them apart with his teeth, and drench his bones in blood.
Horrified, he hurriedly doused his soul fire with Water Magic, only then calming down.
“Damn it. Bide my time, bide my time.”
Li Xiuman continued his stealthy advance toward the edge of the battlefield.
Since his 'colleagues' were acting erratic and crazed, he focused strictly on finishing off humans as he crept along.
Lest his simple-minded kin notice his odd behavior and wipe him out as a traitor.
Damn it, a traitor to the bone—he just couldn't help it!
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