Chapter 123: Phase-2
Xingluo was still looking at the final notification when Ruan Mei reached her.
"You actually did it."
Xingluo lowered Heavenfall slightly and released a long breath. "Apparently."
Xiaorou approached from the other side, glancing between Xingluo and the dead Ironwing Drake. "Congratulations. Now please tell me the dungeon is going to throw us outside before something else tries to eat you."
Nothing happened.
Xiaorou slowed.
"Wait."
Xingluo looked toward her.
Xiaorou turned toward the basin entrance, then checked the academy token in her hand.
"The dungeon hasn't cleared."
Ruan Mei looked toward the Drake's corpse.
One of its wings jerked.
Xingluo raised Heavenfall again.
The claw nearest its chest scraped across the stone.
"That thing is dead," Xiaorou said.
The corpse twisted sharply.
Its back struck the ground as the muscles beneath the scales contracted, forcing the dead body into an unnatural arch. Cracks spread across the dried blood around its wounds while the entire frame began shaking.
Wuxia moved closer to Xingluo.
The Drake's ribs shifted beneath its scales.
Then the dungeon reacted.
[Hidden Condition Fulfilled.]
[Burial Ground Activated.]
[Phase II Activated.]
The corpse convulsed once more.
Its scales split along the chest and spine as a much larger skeletal structure forced itself free. Thick bones tore through the collapsing body while an elongated skull rose above the remains, followed by a massive spine and two enormous skeletal wings.
The remains of the Ironwing Drake dropped around it.
Dark energy connected the exposed bones like cords stretched through empty space.
A new identification appeared.
[Bone Dragon — Level 150]
[Emperor]
Xiaorou stared upward.
"This dungeon definitely didn't have a second boss before."
The Bone Dragon swung its tail.
"Move!"
Xingluo jumped toward the nearest ridge.
Ruan Mei threw herself in the opposite direction while Xiaorou barely cleared the sweeping bones before the tail smashed through the ground where they had stood.
Wuxia no longer needed to watch from the edge.
Varkhiel appeared directly in front of the Bone Dragon.
The skeletal creature brought one claw down.
Varkhiel raised his greatsword and caught it.
The collision drove both armored feet into the stone.
Yue Qianyin appeared behind him, followed by several stronger Soul Soldiers spreading across the Bone Dragon's sides.
Xingluo rushed back in.
Heavenfall struck through three exposed ribs.
The bones cracked apart.
The Bone Dragon turned its skull farther than a living Drake ever could and snapped toward her without moving the rest of its body.
Xingluo ducked beneath the jaws.
Ruan Mei reached the front leg and struck the joint beneath its knee.
The bone shifted sideways.
Xiaorou attacked from the opposite side and drove her short sword between two smaller bones near the ankle.
For a moment, the limb buckled.
Then dark energy pulled the damaged sections back into alignment.
The Bone Dragon stepped forward anyway.
Its shoulder caught Ruan Mei and threw her several metres.
Xingluo cut toward the same leg again, but the Dragon opened one skeletal wing and struck her across the basin.
Yue shifted space behind Xingluo before she hit the ridge at full force.
She landed hard but stayed upright.
Wuxia raised one hand.
Monarch Threads tightened around the Bone Dragon's left wing.
The creature pulled against them.
Several Soul Soldiers attacked the exposed side while Varkhiel forced its front claw away.
"Joint again," Xingluo said.
Ruan Mei was already moving.
She struck the damaged knee twice.
Xiaorou cut across the rear joint at the same time.
Xingluo drove Heavenfall between two ribs and twisted.
Three bones broke loose from the torso.
The Bone Dragon did not slow.
Its neck bent sideways, jaws snapping toward Xingluo while one wing slammed down behind Ruan Mei.
Wuxia tightened Monarch Threads and dragged the wing off course.
Varkhiel stepped inside the opening.
His greatsword struck the Bone Dragon's shoulder.
A thick section of bone cracked.
The Emperor turned on him immediately.
Its claw came down hard enough to force Varkhiel onto one knee.
The second claw followed.
Yue shifted him away before the strike landed.
The Bone Dragon's claws tore through the stone instead.
Xiaorou moved beside Ruan Mei.
"I preferred the one with muscles."
Ruan Mei avoided a tail strike and answered while moving. "It was easier to hurt."
"That was the important part."
The Bone Dragon swung its skull toward them.
Both separated before the jaws reached the ground.
Xingluo attacked from behind the neck.
Heavenfall cut through one of the smaller vertebral projections and sent fragments across the basin.
The Dragon twisted far enough to strike her with the side of its skull.
Xingluo blocked with Heavenfall and slid backward.
The glowing lines across her armor were still visible, though their light had begun to weaken after the prolonged fight.
She did not stop.
Varkhiel engaged the Bone Dragon's front again while the Soul Soldiers spread around its limbs.
Wuxia watched the creature move.
Something felt wrong.
Death Perception responded strongly to the undead creature, which was expected.
The strange part was how often the Bone Dragon's skull shifted toward him.
It happened only briefly.
A turn between attacks.
A pause before striking Varkhiel.
Then its attention returned to the visible fighters.
Wuxia dismissed the thought when the Dragon tore free of the Soul Soldiers surrounding its rear leg.
Three were smashed apart by the tail.
Two more disappeared beneath one claw.
He replaced them with another group before the Bone Dragon could advance.
Left side.
Xingluo changed direction immediately.
Wuxia pulled one wing backward with Monarch Threads while Varkhiel struck the opposite shoulder.
The Bone Dragon's torso turned.
Xingluo entered through the opening.
Heavenfall cut across the lower spine.
Two thick vertebrae cracked.
Ruan Mei hit the rear joint at the same time.
Xiaorou drove her sword through a smaller connecting bone.
The Bone Dragon dropped onto one side.
Varkhiel raised his greatsword.
The blade came down across its neck.
Bone shattered.
The skull struck the ground.
Xiaorou stepped back quickly.
"Please stay down."
The dark energy between the broken vertebrae tightened.
The skull lifted.
Several shattered pieces dragged themselves across the stone and reconnected around the damaged neck.
Xiaorou stared.
"Of course."
The Bone Dragon rose violently and spread both wings.
Wuxia's Monarch Threads snapped away from one side.
The sudden movement threw several Soul Soldiers backward before the wings swept across the basin.
Ruan Mei crossed both arms and took part of the impact against her body.
She was still driven across the stone.
Xiaorou rolled beneath the higher edge of the opposite wing.
Xingluo jumped, caught one exposed rib with her free hand and used it to pull herself above the sweep.
She landed against the Bone Dragon's torso and drove Heavenfall downward between two vertebrae.
The Emperor shook its entire body.
Xingluo lost her grip and dropped.
Varkhiel caught the next claw before it reached her.
The greatsword and bone collided hard enough to crack the weapon into the rocky ground beneath him.
Ruan Mei returned from the side and struck the Bone Dragon's wrist joint.
The claw shifted.
Varkhiel forced it outward.
Xingluo rolled away and regained her footing.
Xiaorou attacked the rear leg again.
For several exchanges, the group kept the Bone Dragon near the centre of the basin.
Varkhiel held its attention from the front.
Xingluo broke exposed bones whenever he created space.
Ruan Mei attacked the joints that carried its weight.
Xiaorou moved between the rear legs and wings, cutting through smaller connections before retreating.
Wuxia restrained whichever limb threatened to break their formation.
The Bone Dragon suddenly drove both foreclaws into the ground and swung its spine sideways. Varkhiel absorbed the first impact with his greatsword, but the second caught two Soul Soldiers and scattered them across the basin.
Yue shifted Xingluo behind the creature before its head could turn. Heavenfall struck through another rib, and Ruan Mei used the opening to hammer the damaged rear joint again.
The leg collapsed briefly before dark energy dragged it back into place.
The Bone Dragon endured everything.
Cracked ribs hung loosely from dark energy.
One rear leg dragged slightly.
Several bones around its right wing had been broken and reconnected unevenly.
It still attacked with enough force to scatter the Soul Soldiers whenever too many gathered around it.
Then its behaviour changed.
The Bone Dragon stopped pursuing Xingluo after she moved away from the front.
Its skull lifted.
Both skeletal wings opened fully.
"It's going up," Xiaorou said.
Wuxia tightened Monarch Threads around one wing.
The Bone Dragon beat them once.
The dark force holding its bones together surged through the frame.
The Threads stretched.
Varkhiel jumped and struck the lower wing joint, cracking another section.
The Bone Dragon pulled free anyway.
Its enormous frame rose above the basin.
Ruan Mei moved closer to Xingluo while Xiaorou repositioned toward the ridge.
Varkhiel looked upward with his greatsword raised.
Xingluo adjusted Heavenfall in both hands.
The Bone Dragon climbed higher and began circling.
Wuxia prepared another command.
Then the skull turned.
Not toward Xingluo.
Not toward Varkhiel.
Its empty sockets settled directly upon Wuxia.
He stopped.
The Bone Dragon completed another slow turn overhead without attacking.
Wuxia felt the System respond.
[Undead Dragon has detected your Authority.]
[Undead Dragon recognizes your Authority.]
[Would you like to tame the Bone Dragon?]