The Situation Reverses

"Clop... clop... clop...!"

Urgent hoofbeats rang out as Fang Zheng drove his Holy White Warhorse beneath him, charging straight into the undead army like a storm. Hearing the sound, the undead instinctively turned their heads to look behind them. But it was too late—Fang Zheng was already upon them!

"Hah!"

Seeing this, Fang Zheng didn't hesitate. He swung his longsword, and a golden blade of light shot from the edge, slamming heavily into the Necromancer ahead. Struck by Fang Zheng's fierce blow, the Necromancer shuddered, then shattered into a pile of broken bones that scattered. The staff it had clutched fell to the ground, its dim glow fading significantly. Nearby, several Skeleton Archers quickly moved to block the Necromancer, raising their crossbows to aim at the enemy before them.

"Shww!!"

At the same moment, the Holy White Warhorse beneath Fang Zheng vanished instantly. He rolled without hesitation, dodging the first volley of arrows, then raised his sword and swung it forward sharply.

Crusader Strike!

"Boom---!!"

Several cross-shaped sigils erupted, engulfing the Skeleton Archers in an explosion of dust and debris, tearing a gaping hole in the encirclement. Caught off guard by the sudden assault, the undead were stunned, but they quickly turned to fend off the attack from outside.

"Maintain the barrier! Focus!"

With one of the three Necromancers downed by Fang Zheng, the Weakening Barrier, which had been functioning smoothly, began to falter. Sensing the unstable fluctuations in magic, another Necromancer holding the barrier's core barked a low command. He raised his staff, aimed it at Fang Zheng, and began chanting a spell in a low voice. But what this Necromancer didn't expect was that before his spell was ready, Fang Zheng lifted his sword and pointed it at him from a distance.

What was he trying to do?

Watching Fang Zheng's move, the Necromancer froze. Between him and this young man stood several Undead Giants and Skeleton Soldiers—could he really be planning to strike at him from here?

But before the Necromancer could finish his thought, he felt as if his soul had been hammered by a heavy blow, and his vision went pitch black. Then the Necromancer lowered his head, as if asleep, and fell still.

Got it!

Glancing at the second Necromancer, now standing motionless like a puppet, Fang Zheng rolled to the side without hesitation, dodging an attack from a Skeleton Soldier behind him. The skill he'd just used was Repentance from the Paladins of Yamagoe Mountain—a skill that forcibly paralyzed the target. It only worked on undead, demons, dragons, and giants... but luckily, that was exactly what was in abundance here!

"Hyaaah!!"

Just then, Knight Conan finally charged in from the other side. His combat strength wasn't as high as Fang Zheng's, but as a battle-hardened knight, his experience was rich. While Fang Zheng kept the other undead occupied, he struck, locking down the last Necromancer.

With the core Necromancer paralyzed by Fang Zheng and the other two distracted, the already unstable Weakening Barrier completely collapsed, shattering like a bubble with a "pop."

"Everyone, now! Break out!"

With the Weakening Barrier gone, the Holy Knights who had been surrounded by the undead rallied, fighting their way out with renewed vigor.

Fang Zheng, having seized the advantage, didn't let it slip. Holy energy gathered once more, and as he swung his sword, golden Holy Power erupted like a hurricane sweeping across the plains. Dozens of swords formed from holy light burst outward in all directions around him, piercing the undead that surrounded him. They screamed as they were consumed by holy flames, turning to ash.

When Fang Zheng lowered his sword, only white flames burned around him, and bone ash drifted through the air like snowflakes, settling silently to the ground. At his side, dozens of Lightsabers fanned out in a perfect circle, slowly spinning and fading until they vanished into the air.

What terrifying power!

Seeing this, both the undead, the waiting Holy Knights, and Knight Conan drew in sharp breaths. These weren't ordinary undead—they were the Lich's most loyal guards. Even the weakest Skeleton Archer here could match a regular soldier in combat. That was why these elite Holy Knights had been trapped. But they hadn't expected this sudden reinforcement to be so overwhelmingly strong. In the blink of an eye, the undead were reduced to ashes before him. Even they doubted they could have taken on these monsters alone and dispatched them so easily.

They didn't know, of course, that this outcome wasn't solely Fang Zheng's doing. In fact, it was the result of multiple factors. First, the Royal Cross Swordsmanship he'd chosen came with holy light, naturally countering undead creatures. Add to that his Skycleaver Sword, which boosted holy damage by 100%. And that wasn't all—don't forget Fang Zheng had embedded the [Arthas] Soul Stone, granting a 50% damage boost against all undead. Plus, his [Sacred Guardian] title added another 100% damage boost against evil-aligned foes. All told, Fang Zheng's attacks dealt over 250% damage to undead—enough to crush and obliterate ordinary ones in a single blow.

The undead quickly changed tactics. Soon, an Undead Giant stomped toward Fang Zheng, opening its mouth in a furious roar. It raised its massive club high and slammed it down at him.

"Boom!"

In the nick of time, as the Undead Giant's club descended, Fang Zheng rolled backward. The giant club grazed his afterimage and struck the ground with a heavy thud. But before the Undead Giant could lift its club again, Fang Zheng, who had rolled back, suddenly lunged forward. His Skycleaver Sword traced a brilliant crescent arc of holy light, slicing diagonally down with a whistle. A flash of silver, and the Undead Giant froze. Its head slid from its neck with a "plop," and its massive body crashed to the ground with a "thud."

"Excellent swordsmanship!"

Watching this strike, the lead middle-aged knight narrowed his eyes. He'd seen Fang Zheng's earlier swordplay and hadn't been particularly impressed—after all, the world was full of various sword techniques, some inherited, some gained through fortune, and some self-taught. Any of them could have surprising power. To an ordinary person, Fang Zheng's earlier attacks might have been terrifying, but to a truly skilled warrior, they were just "powerful."

But this counterstrike after dodging the Undead Giant was pure skill, showcasing Fang Zheng's true swordsmanship foundation. Clean, decisive, without a hint of wasted motion. As the saying goes, amateurs watch the spectacle, experts watch the craft. Fancy moves were for show, but real battlefield combat was always brutal and direct, far less flashy than in movies, TV, or novels. And while swordsmanship was a factor in victory, true strength was judged by fundamentals.

But this wasn't the time for mutual praise. With Fang Zheng's relentless breakthrough, the battlefield's momentum reversed. A third of the undead had already been wiped out, and the Necromancers and Undead Giants that served as their main force had been taken down by Fang Zheng one by one. Freed from the Weakening Barrier, the other Holy Knights could finally unleash their full strength.

The roles of hunter and prey instantly swapped. The undead, who had been overwhelming the Holy Knights, now found themselves surrounded by their former quarry. With the Necromancers' cover gone and the Undead Giants' threat neutralized, the remaining undead were quickly cut down by the group.

"Thank you for your help!"

Once the crisis was over, the lead middle-aged knight stepped forward, looking at Fang Zheng, and nodded amiably.

"It's rare to meet an ally out here. I'm Malte, commander of the Thirteenth Bishop Brigade. And you are..."

"My name is Fang Zheng."

Glancing at the man, Fang Zheng smiled slightly.

"I'm a Guardian Knight Trainee from the Starmoon City Temple. I came here with Great Knight Stone for a rescue mission. Unfortunately..."

He paused, looking around, and shrugged helplessly.

"It seems something went wrong—we got separated. But luckily, I ran into Knight Conan..."

"Indeed, lucky."

Hearing Fang Zheng's reply, Malte nodded. He'd already pulled Knight Conan aside to ask questions, so he had some understanding of Fang Zheng's identity. Learning that this young man was only a Guardian Knight Trainee surprised him greatly. The final sword strike Fang Zheng had shown was highly skilled—clean and decisive, the kind of move that could only come from a veteran who'd fought on the battlefield for years. Seeing Fang Zheng so young left Malte baffled.

After all, Fang Zheng's earlier flashy and powerful swordplay could be explained by a deep family tradition. But a youth under twenty with such a profound understanding of the sword? That was beyond comprehension. Even if he'd been practicing from the womb until now, he couldn't have achieved this.

Of course, Malte had no way of knowing that the reason this man was so skilled was that he'd died countless times in life-and-death situations...

"Sir, the battlefield has been cleared."

As the two talked, a knight who had been cleaning up jogged over. After bowing respectfully, he handed over several pitch-black, crystal-like objects.

"Mid-Rank Soul Crystals?"

Looking at the crystals his subordinate offered, Malte frowned. He reached out and picked up one of the black crystals, about the size of a thumb—these were the Soul Crystal Cores left behind by undead creatures after death. In fact, on this continent, all living beings had something similar. But it depended on the species. Magical beasts and undead, existing under the influence of magic, could drop Soul Crystal Cores upon death. Humans and animals, however, required special methods to extract souls and condense them into Soul Crystals.

Of course, such methods were dangerous, cruel, and forbidden—only Necromancers would resort to such means to plunder power.

Soul Crystal Cores were quite valuable; they could be used as energy cores for alchemical constructs or as power supplies for magic arrays and teleportation circles. Judging by the quality of these spirit crystals, if taken to an alchemy shop or the Mages' Association outside, they should fetch a considerable sum.

"These are your spoils, Mr. Fang Zheng."

As he spoke, Malte handed over the Soul Crystal Cores. Fang Zheng took them, weighing them in his hand. Just as he was about to say something, a "ding" suddenly echoed in his ears—a system notification.

[Detected valuable convertible items. Proceed with conversion and top-up?]

What?

Seeing this system prompt before his eyes, Fang Zheng was momentarily stunned.

Top-up?