Chapter 211: Racing Uphill
KAT! KAT! KAT!
As the skeletons rushed towards them, their jaws kept clattering, accompanied by the bone-chilling howls.
Meanwhile, Yi Chen and the others were also charging towards them and were on the verge of making contact.
Just when only a few feet separated the two groups, Yi Chen used the Crimson Fire Arts and engulfed a large portion of them in his fire.
KAAAHHH!
They all cried in pain.
Seeing this, a bright expression instantly formed on Yi Chen’s face and with expectant eyes, he initiated another attack. However, before it could take shape, something stole the smile off his face.
The moment the skeletons were engulfed in flames, the golden tattoos etched on their bones shone with an even more intense light and the very next instant, the painful cries stopped; the Crimson Fire Arts seemed to have lost its effect.
"This..."
Yi Chen, who wasn’t expecting such a scenario, was naturally a bit shaken by this unexpected change. However, his shock didn’t last long as Gao Zhen’s commanding shout stirred him awake.
"Qi attacks don’t work on them! Cut their limbs off and keep proceeding towards the black temple!"
As she said that, she lunged forward and demonstrated exactly how it was done. She first chopped off the legs to restrict their movements and to ensure they wouldn’t continue crawling towards them, she chopped off their arms.
’So that’s how it’s done...’ Yi Chen tightened the grip on his sword and charged forward the next instant.
Cling!
Klang!
Cling!
Bones and metal clashed against each other as the resulting sound reverberated all around.
After clashing with dozens of skeletons, the four of them had gotten used to the process and had started gaining confidence in fighting against them.
’They are much easier to deal with than I had thought...’ Yi Chen thought while slashing away the arms of an incoming skeleton.
Using this opportunity, he also opened up one of the skeleton’s status panels to understand his enemy better.
===========STATUS=============
Name:
Undead Skeleton Grade: 1
Remark: Cannot be killed. [Regenerate: 10,000 EXP]
===============================
’So, they aren’t remnant souls...’ Yi Chen widened his eyes in realisation, and the next instant nodded in understanding as his eyes fell on the remark.
’It only makes sense that the flames would be useless if this is the case...’ he thought to himself.
’So what if they cannot be killed? Without limbs, they can only scare others with their howls.’ Yi Chen thought in amusement and dealt with the skeleton whose status panel he had just gone through.
Seeing that by now they all had familiarised themselves and were confident in dealing with these skeletons, Gao Zhen ordered.
"We’ll start pushing through the horde now. Our goal is to reach the black temple as fast as possible. That’s the only way this horde can be stopped! Conserve your energy at all costs, otherwise we’ll die at the hands of these dastardly skeletons!"
After saying that, Gao Zhen chopped off the head of a pestering skeleton and asked loudly, "Is everything clear?!"
"Yes, ma’am!"
A firm reply came from the three of them.
"Good! Let’s go!" Gao Zhen bellowed and, using all her strength, pushed back a portion of the skeletons and began her barrage of sword attacks.
Yi Chen followed suit and stood next to her as a support while continuing to push through the horde, slowly but steadily.
Meanwhile, Zhou Lan and Xie Rou ensured that the skeletons missed by Yi Chen and Gao Zhen couldn’t approach them from the side and rear and were dealt with accordingly.
KAAAHHH!
The harrowing cries pierced their ears as the previous fearful expression was replaced with that of irritation.
"Can’t these bastards tone it down a little?!" Gao Zhen snorted in frustration while shoving away an incoming skeleton.
"Should I try requesting?" Yi Chen asked with a joking smirk while kicking a few of them away and chopping all their legs simultaneously.
Gao Zhen softly chuckled at those words and said, "Please do. Make sure to be more polite than usual."
"Aye, I’ll be the politest I’ve ever been." Yi Chen smiled back at her, using bursting fire steps the next instant, and bulldozed a dozen of them the very next second.
Zhou Lan and Xie Rou met each other’s eyes and shook their head in amusement.
"Junior Brother Chen, while it’s good to have fun, remember to conserve your Qi as there’s still a long way for us to go," Xie Rou reminded him from the side.
With an amused expression on her face, Gao Zhen nodded, "That’s right. Let’s not overindulge in jokes for now. Though I must say...Young Master Chen is really polite."
Her last set of words made them all snicker simultaneously before fully immersing in the act of slaying these skeletons.
After this momentary respite, their pace of clearing the skeletons increased tremendously as they kept getting nearer to the hill, which was just about three kilometres away now.
However, soon another horde of skeletons rushed at them from behind, making Xie Rou and Zhou Lan’s task more stressful.
Despite that, they didn’t complain and kept dealing with the skeletons as the entire group gained tremendous ground.
However, that didn’t last long as exhaustion began to take a toll on them soon.
Completely covered in sweat, they kept hydrating themselves while slowly advancing forward. However, there seemed to be no sign of recovery on their faces.
While Gao Zhen, due to her vast experience, was able to utilise her mental grit and push forward, the same couldn’t be said for Zhou Lan and Xie Rou.
CLANG!
One of Zhou Lan’s strikes failed to produce the required force and got stuck in the middle of chopping a skeleton’s legs.
KAAAH!
With the intention of biting her neck off, the skeleton shoved its mouth towards her neck.
Caught unguarded, her eyes widened at the unexpected attack.
"!!!"
Smash!
Yi Chen launched a punch which completely crushed the skull of the skeleton and jerked it away.
"Be careful!"
He reminded and kept chopping off the hordes of skeletons that rushed at them from ahead.
At this moment, his higher strength stats were showing their effect, accompanied by his advanced swordsmanship skills.
Thanks to these factors, among the four of them, he was still in the best condition.
Seeing that even Gao Zhen’s movements had dulled, Yi Chen took the lead and, while ensuring that no accidents ended up costing them their lives, pulled them through the horde towards the hill, which was not just a kilometre away.
Half an hour later, the skeletons were chasing after the four of them relentlessly while their figures rushed uphill with all their might.
When they arrived at the bottom of the hill, they noticed that on the way up the hill, there were no skeletons at all.
With the path leading to their destination all clear of skeletons, how could they not be enticed?
Immediately bashing away the skeletons pestering them, they bolted uphill with all their might.
"Keep running! They are just behind us!"
"Utilise your movement techniques to the fullest! Don’t conserve anything!"
Yi Chen kept shouting and nudged their exhausted selves to keep running.
’No...This won’t work...’
He thought with worry, seeing Gao Zhen and the others lagging far behind.
The skeletons were faster than he had anticipated and had begun to close in the distance they had managed to create at first.
’That’s the only way now.’
His gaze shone with a resolute glint the next instant as his figure appeared before Zhou Lan the very next instant.
She was the slowest of the three, so he decided to take her to safety first.
"You-"
Before Zhou Lan could say anything, she felt his arm wrap around her waist, and the next instant, she was flung up over his shoulders.
"WH-"
She tried to raise her voice in protest, but Yi Chen didn’t give her the chance to do even that.
BURST!
BURST!
BURST!
Utilising the Bursting Fire Steps to its extreme, he rushed towards the black temple the next moment.
"I’ll come back after dropping her off!"
The trailing voice entered Gao Zhen’s and Xie Rou’s ears, who soon nodded in understanding while forcing themselves to keep running forward.
Five minutes later, he arrived at the top as the robust walls that had materialised around the temple came into view.
Entering through the gates, he dropped Zhou Lan down and said, "Close the gate and leave only a minimal gap for us!"
Understanding what his intentions were, Zhou Lan immediately nodded, "I understand."
Hearing this, Yi Chen immediately turned around and rushed back towards Gao Zhen and Xie Rou.
’The horde shouldn’t have caught up with them, right?’ he thought with worry and intensified his rate of descent.
However, in his hurried state, he failed to keep track of his Qi pool, and when the expected burst didn’t propel his legs ahead, he fell face-first on the ground.
SLAM!
His figure rolled several meters before he clawed the ground and forced himself to a stop.
’Goddammit!’