Chapter 149: Heavy Blows
After Lowell's reminder, the cultivators quickly caught on. Many who were farther from the encirclement, whose spirit artifacts lacked offensive power, began casting lightning-based spells. The casting was slower, but with the core disciples holding the line at the front, they had plenty of time to prepare.
As the cultivators continuously adjusted their strategy, the green-armored skeleton's expression turned ugly. These humans were weak, but their reactions weren't slow. If this dragged on too long, the sheer number of them would eventually wear him down. The skeleton let out a sharp cry and raised its bone spear toward the sky. A foul, rotting gray mist began spreading outward.
The cultivators closest to the mist cried out in alarm. "What is this foul thing? It's corroding my shield!"
Leo focused his gaze. The Water Spirit Shields and Diamond Shields of those touched by the mist were flickering, on the verge of collapse. The skeleton seized the opportunity, launching dozens of bone spurs. The sharp projectiles pierced through the nearly shattered shields and embedded themselves in the cultivators' bodies. Several of those spurs were flying straight toward Leo.
Leo cursed under his breath. He activated several Diamond Shield talismans in quick succession, then had a sudden inspiration. Yang fire might be able to counter this baleful yin energy. He hurled a dozen small fireballs. They crackled and hissed as they entered the gray mist, and the mist visibly began to shrink. Lowell was even more formidable. His Lightning Spear crackled with electric energy. With a few thrusts, the dancing arcs burned away the mist before him. The Black Flood Dragon Shears, the Lightning Spear, the small red ring, and Vera's flying sword knocked down the bone spurs coming their way. But the Black Flood Dragon Shears' collision with the spurs sent a massive recoil through Leo, paling his face. The spiritual energy consumption was enormous. Others likely weren't faring as well.
The Palace squad had Quincy, Leo, and several other core disciples, plus Lowell, a lightning cultivator who specialized in countering ghosts. Their pressure was relatively lighter. But cultivators from other sects couldn't withstand such relentless attacks. Sure enough, screams soon erupted. More than twenty cultivators, first harassed by the gray mist and then caught off guard by the bone spurs, were struck and fell bleeding to the ground.
The skeleton grunted. It raised its bone spear with its right hand, deflecting six or seven magic artifacts aimed at its head. It ignored the ones striking its green armor — they couldn't breach its defenses. With its left hand, it recalled the dozens of bone spurs, which circled and hovered around it.
Crackle.
Fortunately, the cultivators farther back unleashed lightning techniques like Thunder Strike and Lightning Bolt, along with numerous Fireball Talismans and Rain of Fire Talismans, all hurled at the skeleton. The scattered gray mist was quickly cleared. Without the mist's harassment, dealing with the bone spurs alone was manageable.
"Kill the Bloodshadow Lizard first, then the skeleton!" Ethan shouted, sweat pouring down his forehead. His Blazing Sun Sword had clashed head-on with the bone spear dozens of times. Formidable as he was, his mind was beginning to waver, his spiritual energy struggling to keep up. Compared to the savage skeleton, the enormous Bloodshadow Lizard, though also terrifying, relied mainly on its physical strength. It didn't have nearly as many deadly techniques.
"Earth Sink!"
"Quicksand!"
Hundreds of talismans were hurled. The ground beneath the lizard, which had barely managed to break free of the Iron Thorn Vines, suddenly sank. The lizard thrashed wildly, as if trapped in a muddy swamp.
With wave after wave of lightning techniques crashing down, the skeleton was forced to withdraw its bone spurs and raise its gray shield again. Now the skeleton was thoroughly frustrated. The lizard was temporarily trapped. If he remained on its back, he would have to stay in place and be attacked by over two hundred cultivators in rotation. Spirit artifacts and even magic artifacts couldn't breach his green armor. But lightning techniques could penetrate it and cause real damage — and they also had a paralyzing effect. With enough lightning strikes, even his reaction speed had slowed slightly. These despicable human cultivators had already found a way to counter him. Though he could still inflict heavy casualties, he would inevitably be worn down and killed.
"I'll have to abandon this lizard for now. What a shame." After a rapid calculation, the skeleton leaped off the Bloodshadow Lizard's back, light as a swallow, and charged toward a thinner part of the cultivator formation. More than twenty lightning techniques missed the skeleton but struck the lizard, which had been struggling to rise. Dozens of lightning strikes were no small matter. Even the lizard, with its physical resilience, couldn't withstand them unscathed. It screeched in pain, a faint smell of scorched flesh rising from its body as it sank back down.
"Palace and Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion disciples, surround and kill the lizard!" Leo shouted at the right moment. "Everyone else, focus on the skeleton!"
The Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion had only one core disciple present, but over twenty ordinary disciples. Positioned close by, they could join the assault on the lizard.
Did you know this story is from NovelFire? Read the official version for free and support the author.
"Core disciples, attack in rotation. Ordinary disciples, take turns using Quicksand and Earth Sink to trap the lizard. Senior Sister Quincy, if it looks like it's about to break free, I'll need you to use your whip to bind the beast."
Leo shouted his orders, though his arrangement was not without calculation. The green-armored skeleton was powerful — not something that could be dealt with quickly. By bringing the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion into the fight against the Bloodshadow Lizard, the demon core would naturally fall to his side. With only one core disciple among the Pavilion's ranks, there was little question of who would end up with it.
The lizard was indeed a tough opponent. Ethan acknowledged the plan with a grunt. The battlefield, which had been one, split into two.
Lowell watched as Quincy and the others obeyed Leo without question, and jealousy gnawed at him. He didn't show it on his face, but he had to admit — among the hundreds of cultivators here, Ethan's authority had been earned through raw power. Leo, though not as strong as Ethan, had been the one to expose the hidden skeleton. In terms of influence, he was probably not far behind Ethan. And Leo had already killed Kazan on the Teleportation Array, as well as Junior Brother Mint of the Ancient Sword Sect. By now, everyone knew Leo had three magic artifacts in his possession. Once he refined the other two, his power would surge, placing him among the very best of the core disciples.
Once the skeleton left the lizard's back, it carved a bloody path through the cultivators. The lizard, though terrifying, had been trapped and neutralized by so many cultivators. It had actually been more of a hindrance to the skeleton. Now, free of the lizard, the skeleton became even more lethal, leaving corpses in its wake. Of course, the skeleton wasn't having an easy time either. Wave after wave of lightning techniques shattered its gray shield and struck its body, and it had begun to suffer minor injuries.
Watching cultivators fall one after another to the skeleton's bone spear, the disciples of the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion — and especially the Palace — felt a quiet relief. Trapping and killing the lizard was difficult, but at least no one had died yet. Winnie, Frost, and Quiver realized that ever since Leo had taken the lead, even when facing great danger, casualties had been kept to a minimum. Apart from situations beyond their control, there had been no major losses.
Crack, crack. Quincy's whip lashed the lizard repeatedly. The Black Flood Dragon Shears and Lowell's Lightning Spear struck in relentless succession. Though the lizard was physically formidable and incredibly tough, it couldn't withstand the continuous assault of multiple magic artifacts. As its wounds grew larger, its strength drained. Half an hour later, the lizard let out a final, pitiful screech and collapsed, its towering frame crashing to the ground.
On the other side, over two hundred cultivators were locked in a bloody struggle with the skeleton. Bodies lay strewn across the field. By now, fifty or sixty had fallen, including five core disciples. The skeleton's strength was probably greater than that of an average Foundation Establishment cultivator. Still, after fighting this long, even the skeleton was starting to show signs of serious injury.
Leo stowed the lizard's demon core into his storage pouch. No one objected. A faint smile tugged at his lips. He had taken on the task of dealing with the lizard precisely for this reason. The Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion disciples were too few and too weak to compete with him.
"Now, join the fight against the skeleton," Leo barked. "If it escapes, the consequences will be disastrous."
He shot forward. Lowell and the others followed close behind. Even the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion disciples, though they had gained nothing from the lizard, didn't hesitate. If they were ever teleported out of here, they would have to search for treasures separately — hundreds of cultivators couldn't stay clustered together. How would they divide anything they found? Unless none of them wanted Foundation Establishment Pills. Only by killing the green-armored skeleton could anyone finally breathe easy.
Swish, swish.
The purple flames in the skeleton's eye sockets flickered. The bone spurs hovering above its head shot toward the surrounding cultivators again.
Bang, bang. Having experienced several rounds of combat, the cultivators raised various defenses and blocked the attack. One or two unlucky ones — or those who had exhausted their spirit stones and couldn't replenish their spiritual energy — were killed by the spurs. But most were stopped.
The skeleton was fast — faster than most of the cultivators. But enemies surrounded it on all sides. No matter which direction it charged, dozens of cultivators led by several core disciples blocked its path. Lightning techniques struck its body repeatedly. Even its skull had caved in slightly. The skeleton was both furious and alarmed. It let out a long, piercing cry. Its body swelled to over four meters in height. It swung its bone spear in a wide arc, sending more than twenty cultivators flying. Some were gravely injured; others were cut clean in half.
The skeleton strode forward, heading straight for the Teleportation Array.
"Damn it, the skeleton's trying to escape! Stop it!" Ethan had been caught by the edge of the skeleton's furious strike and sent flying dozens of meters. Now he regained control of the Blazing Sun Sword and slashed at the skeleton.
But few others had Ethan's courage. Several core disciples had just been killed. Who would dare get close, or stand in the skeleton's path?
"Everyone! Concentrate your lightning techniques on the blood banner beside the Teleportation Array!"
Leo was desperate. If the skeleton escaped, it would be like a blade hanging over their heads, ready to fall at any moment. His instincts told him the blood banner was no ordinary thing. Why else would the skeleton have gone to such lengths to make them fight on the Array and spill their blood? If the skeleton had struck before they gathered, they would have had no chance to resist — they would have been picked off one by one. That blood banner was likely an extremely powerful magic artifact, not yet fully refined. It still needed more blood and essence.
"Damn it!" Panic flashed through the skeleton. If the Blood Soul Banner was destroyed, even if he killed every last human here, the loss would be too great. Without the banner, how could he evade the detection of the great human cultivators while roaming the Bloody Battlefield?
Seeing the barrage of lightning techniques heading for the banner, the skeleton, despite his rage, did something that shocked everyone. He leaped forward, raised his bone spear, and spread a gray light screen over the banner. At the same moment, over a hundred lightning techniques crashed down with rolling thunder. Electric arcs danced like mad serpents. The light screen shattered. The skeleton's body was driven into the ground. Its previously swollen four-meter frame shrank by nearly a meter. The skeleton wailed in agony. Half its skull was gone, leaving only a single hollow eye socket. It looked pathetic and terrifying.
"Excellent! So this thing has a weakness after all!" The cultivators were overjoyed. They redoubled their efforts. Dozens more lightning techniques and fire techniques, along with countless talismans, surged forward like a flood.
The skeleton managed to block a few strikes, but after the heavy blow it had just taken, its strength seemed to have plummeted. In the next few waves, it lost both legs and one arm. Shrieking in agony, it abandoned its bone spear, grabbed the blood banner, and swung it with all its might. A blood-red barrier blocked the remaining attacks. Arcs of lightning struck. A flash of red light, and amidst the smoke and crackling electricity, the skeleton vanished. At the same time, the Teleportation Array began to glow.
When the red light flashed again, the skeleton was standing on the Array, laughing wildly. "If you're not afraid of destroying the Array, go ahead and attack!"
The cultivators' movements slowed. Their spells stopped. None of them knew whether the green-armored skeleton was telling the truth, but no one was willing to take that risk. Before, when they fought in pairs on the Teleportation Array, it hadn't caused any lasting damage. But now — with over a hundred cultivators attacking all at once? No one could guarantee the Array wouldn't be seriously damaged.