The Battle of the Quarry (Part 2)

Not only was Stone pale-faced at this moment, even Fang Zheng's expression was hardly better. Think about it—you were planning to head into Shadowfang Keep, and the moment you step inside, you run into Kel'Thuzad. How would you feel?

This is completely off-script! We're not even in the same version here.

Looking at the lich floating in the air before him, Fang Zheng quietly took a few steps back. No wonder he and Stone hadn't anticipated this—the enemy's disguise was just too convincing. As one of the top powerhouses of the Council of the Undying, it was almost certain that this being possessed the ability of the Legendary Domain. Logically, someone like this would have powerful subordinates; basic undead like skeletons were standard, and having a few banshees or Bone Dragons wasn't out of the question. If Fang Zheng and his group had run into higher-tier units, they probably wouldn't have been able to push in so easily.

But what happened? This big shot had clearly read his web novels and mastered the "playing dumb" routine to perfection! All the way in, Fang Zheng and Stone had only encountered basic undead like Skeleton Soldiers and Undead Giants, so not only did Fang Zheng not think much of it, even Stone assumed it was just some crazed lich inside. An ordinary lich—while still dangerous for Great Knights like Stone and Malte—was at least manageable.

What they hadn't expected was that inside was one of the most terrifying and powerful beings of the Council of the Undying! A Lich Lord!

You're supposed to be a boss-level existence—have some dignity, will you? Why mess with us like this? And why are you dressed so low-key? In any game, boss characters are decked out in gold and silver, not wearing a tattered black robe like you... Fang Zheng admitted he'd misjudged.

Oh... right, liches don't have faces.

"Perfect timing. Since you're here, don't bother leaving..."

Frank, still utterly composed, reached out and made a grasping motion in the air toward Fang Zheng and Stone.

But at that very moment, a streak of fire suddenly appeared from the side of the Lich Lord, shooting forward like a meteor.

"Stop!"

Great Knight Malte raised his longsword high, flames blazing hot along its edge. He roared as he gripped the sword and swung it down, and a spiraling inferno surged toward the Lich Lord hovering in midair. Yet the Lich Lord didn't even glance at Malte. Before the fierce flames could reach it, a translucent ectoplasmic barrier materialized around its body, and the roaring fire shrank like a candle in the wind, dwindling and then extinguishing completely.

The Lich Lord's movements didn't pause. It extended its right hand and gave a light squeeze. The next moment, Fang Zheng and Stone felt the ground tremble, and behind them, walls of congealed bone rose from the earth, swiftly cutting off their retreat.

This is really bad!

Watching this unfold, Fang Zheng's expression darkened to rock bottom. He gripped his Skycleaver Sword tightly, his eyes wavering with hesitation. Honestly, he hadn't expected the big shots in the Main World to be this cunning one after another. If he'd been more cautious... not that it would've helped! His understanding of this world was shallow at best, and without enough intel, he had to rely on others' judgment.

"Since you're here as guests, why not join my ritual?"

"Absolutely not!"

Hearing the Lich Lord's words, Stone roared and charged forward again, raising his Greatsword. But the Lich Lord clearly knew the trope about villains losing from too much talking, so it didn't waste words—it simply made a few gestures in the air with its hand. Then, a spine-chilling scene unfolded.

The corpses of over a dozen Holy Knights lying on the ground suddenly burst open with a sharp crack. Their bones, as if pulled by invisible threads, flew out of the bodies, spinning and reassembling. In moments, they formed a terrifying monster with a massive upper body and a long scythe clutched in both hands.

"A Deathbringer—watch out!"

Seeing the creature, Malte's face twisted in alarm. He rushed forward, joining Stone in an attempt to flank the horrific monster. But its reaction was faster than they'd anticipated. The moment it took shape, the Deathbringer raised its arms and spun its scythe in a full 180-degree arc, striking both Malte's and Stone's weapons. Both Great Knights shuddered and were forced back. Yet they could see icy cold spreading rapidly up their arms, coating them in a thick layer of frost in an instant.

Such terrifying power!

Malte and Stone shook their hands, shattering the ice binding their arms, and exchanged a glance, both seeing shock and fear in each other's eyes. This was just a Deathbringer casually summoned by that Lich Lord, and it could already match the two of them working together?

Even as valiant Great Knights, cold sweat broke out on their brows—the Council of the Undying had a bad reputation, but they rarely appeared in public. Unlike the Church of the Day of Destruction or the Twilight Legion, which loved stirring up trouble everywhere, the Council believed that "all things will die," so they had the patience to wait for their enemies to destroy themselves. They were mostly active in graveyards or battlefields, their usual work being to dig up the remains of powerful beings and reanimate them as undead. Naturally, this desecration of corpses was never accepted or approved by the Holy Temple.

There were even rumors within the Temple that the Council, despite its low profile, was the most dangerous enemy of all living things. If they encountered a tough opponent, they wouldn't resort to any means like the Twilight Legion or the Church of the Day of Destruction to kill them—they would simply wait patiently.

After all, time was their ally. They didn't need to lift a finger; they could just wait for those once-mighty enemies to die of old age or be killed by others, then leisurely dig up their graves. How satisfying would that be?

Because of the Council's passive, evasive stance, most people mistakenly saw them as clowns like the Church of the Day of Destruction, only scheming in the shadows and scattering like rats on the front lines.

But now, with this Lich Lord making a move, that rumor was shattered—they just really didn't like direct confrontation, but that didn't mean the Council was a bunch of rats in a hole. A hastily conjured Deathbringer could already hold off the full assault of two Great Knights like Stone and Malte. In fact, Frank still showed no sign of getting involved; he seemed more interested in that ritual.

That didn't mean Frank would let them cause trouble. He snapped his fingers with his right hand, and soon the torn flesh of the Holy Knights began to writhe and merge like melting pudding, forming two man-sized Flesh Golems that lunged at Fang Zheng and the remaining Holy Knights.

What the hell!

Seeing this, Fang Zheng's eyes nearly popped out. He'd only heard about the Council of the Undying from Stone—that they had deep mastery over life-death transformation. But only now did he truly grasp how terrifying these liches were. Not content with stripping bones to make a Deathbringer, they were recycling the leftover flesh into two Flesh Golems. These were mid-tier undead, their strength determined by the "raw materials" used. If the flesh came from a few farmers, Fang Zheng would have no trouble. But since it came from Holy Knights, that was a different story.

The Flesh Golems moved faster than expected, closing in on Fang Zheng in a few breaths. Staring at the massive blob of flesh before him, Fang Zheng felt his scalp crawl. He'd seen disgusting monsters in Diablo and Dark Souls, but nothing this nauseating.

He didn't know the crafting principle behind Flesh Golems, but one look told him the creature's body looked like the limbs of those Holy Knights had been half-melted and fused together. What made it worse was that the organs seemed to still be functioning!

Especially when he saw five eyes, all misplaced, blinking and staring at him—it nearly made him throw up.

"Roooar—!!"

But the Flesh Golem had no such feelings. Acting on pure instinct like a wild beast, it roared and lunged at Fang Zheng. Two arms shot out from its jelly-like body, each gripping a bloodstained sword.

What a nightmare!

Facing this monster, Fang Zheng cursed under his breath, then rolled to the side, dodging a two-slash combo. He swung his sword back, and the radiance of Judgment exploded, striking the Flesh Golem's body and blasting small holes into it.

Since there was no blood, the flesh was an unsettling pale, revealing shriveled blood vessels and organs inside. What disgusted him more was that, perhaps due to magic, those organs were still working!

Fang Zheng felt like he needed to find a bathroom and throw up properly. But there was no bathroom nearby, and no time for it. After taking the hit, the Flesh Golem shuddered, and two more arms sprouted from the damaged area, gripping swords and slashing at Fang Zheng again. This time, he didn't retreat. He flipped his sword, and a dazzling holy light traced a pleasing silver arc through the air, cleaving the two arms in half. Then he raised his blade, and a glowing Lightsaber formed beside him, shooting forward with a roar.

Countless Swords of Light riddled the Flesh Golem in an instant, turning it from jelly to Swiss cheese. But that didn't seem to bother it much—its body only stalled briefly before starting to fuse and reshape again.

At the same time, Undead Giants from both sides stomped closer, surrounding them.