Reversal of the Situation

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

Urgent hoofbeats rang out as Fang Zheng rode his Holy White Warhorse straight into the army of Undead creatures before him like a storm. Hearing the hoofbeats, the Undead creatures instinctively turned to look behind them. But it was already too late, because Fang Zheng had reached them!

"Ha!"

Seeing this, Fang Zheng swung his longsword without hesitation. A golden Sword of Light energy blast shot from the blade and slammed heavily into the Necromancer directly ahead. Struck by Fang Zheng's fierce blow, the Necromancer shuddered before bursting into a pile of shattered bones that scattered everywhere. The staff clenched in its hand fell to the ground, and the dim glow gathered upon it immediately faded considerably. At the same time, several nearby Skeleton Archers quickly stepped in front of the Necromancer, raising their bows and aiming at the enemy before them.

"Whoosh!!"

At that very moment, the Holy White Warhorse beneath Fang Zheng vanished instantly. He rolled across the ground without hesitation, evading the first volley of arrows, then raised his longsword and slashed forward.

Crusader Strike!

Boom—!!

Several cross-shaped symbols erupted, engulfing the Skeleton Archers before him in explosions and dust, forcibly tearing open a gap in their encirclement. Faced with this sudden assault, the Undead creatures were greatly startled, but hurriedly turned to defend against the attack from their outer perimeter.

"Maintain the barrier! Focus!"

With one of the three Necromancers taken down by Fang Zheng, the previously stable Weakening Barrier began to malfunction. Sensing the unstable fluctuations of magic, another Necromancer controlling the barrier's core let out a low shout. At the same time, he raised his staff toward Fang Zheng and began quietly chanting a spell. But before the Necromancer could finish preparing his magic, he saw Fang Zheng raise his longsword and point it at him from afar.

What is he trying to do?

Seeing Fang Zheng's movement, the Necromancer froze. Several Undead Giants and Skeleton Soldiers stood between him and the young man. Could Fang Zheng really intend to attack him?

But before the Necromancer could finish thinking, he felt as though someone had struck his soul heavily with a hammer. His vision abruptly went black. Then the Necromancer lowered his head and, as if asleep, became completely motionless.

Done!

Glancing at the second Necromancer standing still like a puppet, Fang Zheng immediately rolled to the side, dodging an attack from the Skeleton Soldiers behind him. What he had just used was the Paladin skill "Repentance" from World of Warcraft. It was a skill that could forcibly paralyze an opponent. Though it only worked on Undead, demons, dragons, and giants... fortunately, those were precisely what this place had no shortage of!

"Haah!!"

At that moment, Knight Conan finally charged over from the other side as well. His combat ability was not as strong as Fang Zheng's, but as a battle-hardened Knight, he possessed extensive combat experience. While Fang Zheng drew the other Undead creatures' attention, he immediately acted to tie down the last Necromancer.

With the core Necromancer forcibly paralyzed by Fang Zheng and the other two Necromancers unable to focus elsewhere, the already unstable Weakening Barrier naturally collapsed completely, bursting apart like a bubble with a pop.

"Everyone, hurry! Break out while we can!"

Freed from the suppression of the Weakening Barrier, the Holy Knights who had been surrounded by the Undead creatures immediately rallied and began fighting their way out.

Having landed a successful blow, Fang Zheng naturally would not let this opportunity slip away. Holy energy gathered once more. As Fang Zheng swung his sword, golden Holy Power suddenly erupted like a hurricane rising from the ground. Dozens of longswords condensed from Holy Light spread outward in every direction from his side, while the Undead creatures surrounding Fang Zheng were instantly pierced through by the blades of light. They screamed as holy flames burned them into ash.

When Fang Zheng lowered his longsword, only white flames that continued to burn and bone ash swirling through the air remained around him. Like snowflakes, they drifted everywhere before silently settling onto the ground. At Fang Zheng's side, dozens of Lightsabers spread out in straight lines from him as their center. They continuously circled, gradually fading before vanishing into the air.

What terrifying power!

Seeing this, the Undead creatures, the Holy Knights awaiting rescue, and even Knight Conan all sucked in a breath of cold air. These were no ordinary Undead creatures—they were the Lich's most loyal guards. In terms of pure strength, even the weakest Skeleton Archer among them possessed enough power to fight a regular soldier. This was why the elite Holy Knights had been trapped here. Yet they had never expected this suddenly appearing reinforcements to be so formidable. In merely the blink of an eye, the undead dead had been reduced to ashes before him. Even they had to admit that if they faced these damned monsters alone, they likely could not have killed them so easily.

Of course, they did not know that Fang Zheng alone was not responsible for creating this situation. In truth, it was the result of several factors. First, the Royal Cross Swordsmanship Fang Zheng had chosen came with Holy Light and naturally countered Undead creatures. In addition, the Skycleaver Sword in his hand increased holy damage by 100%—and that was not all. Fang Zheng had embedded Arthas's Soul Stone, which gave him a 50% damage increase against all Undead creatures. The Sacred Guardian title he wore also granted a 100% damage boost against evil-aligned targets. Altogether, every attack Fang Zheng made against Undead creatures dealt over 250% damage. Against ordinary Undead creatures, attacks of that level were practically instant kills.

The Undead quickly changed tactics. Soon, an Undead Giant strode toward Fang Zheng. It opened its mouth and let out an enraged roar, while raising its club high before smashing it down at Fang Zheng with all its strength.

Boom!

No sooner had the club in the Undead Giant's hand begun to fall than Fang Zheng rolled backward. The massive club nearly brushed his afterimage as it slammed heavily into the ground. But before the Undead Giant could raise its club again, Fang Zheng, who had rolled away to evade, suddenly lunged forward. His Skycleaver Sword swept from behind in a crescent arc, carrying a dazzling streak of Holy Light as it slashed diagonally downward. Silver light flashed, and the Undead Giant's movement abruptly stopped. The next instant, its head slid from its neck with a wet sound, followed by its enormous body crashing to the ground.

"Excellent swordsmanship!"

Seeing that strike, the middle-aged Knight leading the group narrowed his eyes. He had seen the swordsmanship Fang Zheng displayed earlier, but had not been particularly surprised. After all, this world contained all kinds of swordsmanship. Some were inherited, some were gained through fortuitous encounters, and some were even created by people themselves—so there was nothing unusual about their power. Fang Zheng's earlier attacks might have made an ordinary person's legs go weak with fear, but to most genuinely capable warriors, they were merely "very powerful."

But Fang Zheng's counterattack after evading the Undead Giant was completely without flourish, truly demonstrating the depth of his swordsmanship. Clean and decisive, without the slightest wasted movement. Amateurs watched the spectacle, while experts saw the method. Fancy techniques were suitable for creating a dramatic scene, but true battlefield combat was always brutal and direct, nowhere near as flashy as films, television, and novels portrayed it to be. Not to mention that while swordsmanship was one factor in victory, a person's true strength still depended on their fundamentals.

However, now was certainly not the time for mutual praise. With Fang Zheng's unreasonable breakthrough, the tide of battle immediately reversed. A third of the Undead creatures had already been eliminated, and even the Necromancers and Undead Giants serving as their main strength had been killed one after another by Fang Zheng. Free from the restraints of the Weakening Barrier, the other Holy Knights could finally unleash their original strength as well.

Thus, the roles of hunter and prey were instantly reversed. The Undead creatures that had previously beaten the Holy Knights so badly they could barely raise their heads were now surrounded by their own prey. Without the Necromancers' protection and the intimidating offensive force of the Undead Giants, the remaining Undead creatures were quickly cut down by everyone.

"Thank you for your help!"

Only after the danger had passed did the middle-aged Knight leading the group step forward. He looked at Fang Zheng and gave him a friendly nod.

"It truly is rare to encounter a companion here. I am Malte, Commander of the Thirteenth Bishop Brigade directly under the Bishop Council. May I ask who you are...?"

"My name is Fang Zheng."

Fang Zheng gave the man before him a faint smile.

"I am a Guardian Knight Trainee from the Holy Temple of Starmoon City. I came here with Great Knight Stone to conduct a rescue operation, but unfortunately..."

At this point, Fang Zheng glanced around and shrugged helplessly.

"It seems something went wrong. We got separated. Fortunately, I ran into Knight Conan..."

"Indeed, that was fortunate."

Hearing Fang Zheng's answer, Malte nodded. He had already questioned Knight Conan earlier, so he naturally had some understanding of Fang Zheng's identity. Learning that this young man was merely a Guardian Knight Trainee had greatly surprised Malte. Fang Zheng's final strike earlier had been exceptionally refined. He would never believe that clean, decisive slash, without the slightest hesitation, had not come from a veteran who had struggled on battlefields for years. Yet seeing how young Fang Zheng was now left Malte even more astonished.

After all, Fang Zheng's earlier swordsmanship, though flashy and powerful, could still be explained by an impressive family inheritance. But for a young man under twenty to possess such a profound understanding of the sword was beyond Malte's comprehension. Even if he had started practicing swordsmanship in the womb and trained without pause until now, he should not have been able to achieve such a level.

Naturally, Malte could never have imagined that the reason someone could be so proficient was because, between life and death... he had died countless times already.

"My lord, the battlefield has been cleared."

As the two spoke, a Knight tasked with clearing the battlefield jogged over to them. After respectfully bowing, he handed over several pitch-black objects that looked like crystals.

"Mid-Rank Spirit Crystals?"

Looking at the crystals handed over by his subordinate, Malte frowned. He then reached out and picked up one of the black crystals, about as thick as a thumb in diameter. These were Soul Crystal Cores left behind after Undead creatures died. In fact, every creature on this continent possessed something similar. It depended on the species, however. Demon Beasts and Undead creatures, beings that existed due to magical influence, could drop Soul Crystal Cores after death. Human beings and animals, on the other hand, required special methods to extract their souls and condense them into Spirit Crystals.

Of course, such methods were dangerous, cruel, and forbidden. Only Necromancers would use them to plunder power.

Soul Crystal Cores were extremely valuable. They could be used as energy cores for alchemical constructs or as energy supplies for magic arrays and teleportation arrays. Judging from the quality of these Spirit Crystals, selling them at an alchemy shop or the Mage Association outside should earn a considerable sum.

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

As he spoke, Malte handed the Soul Crystal Cores over. Fang Zheng reached out to take them and weighed them in his hand. Just as he was about to say something, a system notification suddenly rang in his ear with a ding.

A valuable convertible item has been detected. Would you like to convert and recharge it?

What?

Seeing the system prompt before him, Fang Zheng froze.

Recharge?