Tricked!

The interior of the great chasm was now in utter chaos.

Fang Zheng was tightly surrounded by two Undead Giants and a Flesh Golem. On the other side, Stone and Malte were jointly dealing with a Deathbringer. The other Holy Knights were faring no better, encircled by another Flesh Golem and over a dozen Skeleton Soldiers, barely holding on and seemingly on the verge of collapse.

What should he do?

Keeping a wary eye on the two Undead Giants before him, Fang Zheng thought carefully. Duke Frank the Bone's appearance had completely caught him off guard. In Fang Zheng's view, the situation had already deteriorated to the worst possible point. Even Stone and Malte working together couldn't defeat a single Undead creature casually summoned by the Bone Duke. Under these circumstances, forget about disrupting the ritual—even self-preservation was a struggle.

The Flesh Golem and Undead Giants were equally troublesome. The Flesh Golem seemed utterly unkillable. Fang Zheng had used Holy Storm to tear it into pieces more than once, but it was all useless. Even when reduced to a tattered rag full of holes, it stubbornly kept attacking him. Paired with the two towering Undead Giants, even Fang Zheng had no choice but to dodge.

Damn it... If it weren't for Stone and Malte being here...

Rolling again to evade an Undead Giant's attack, Fang Zheng gripped his longsword, pulled it behind him, and swung forward. The Skycleaver Sword howled with a trail of light, slashing into the Undead Giant's head and leaving a deep gash. Struck by this heavy blow, the Undead Giant roared and dropped to one knee. Just as Fang Zheng moved in to finish it off, a mass of flesh resembling machine-ground meat suddenly shot out from the side. A human mouth appeared at its tip, letting out a wail like weeping as it screamed toward Fang Zheng.

Again?

Hearing that eerie, chilling sound, Fang Zheng's eyes sharpened, and he reluctantly dodged backward. This Flesh Golem had nearly been ground to dust by him, yet it still showed no signs of being destroyed. Instead, it grew more troublesome. Fang Zheng had tried several Paladin skills to no avail. Maybe he should blast it with a Five-Fireball and turn it to charcoal?

Unfortunately, there was no Jaina among the Soul Stones under his command. As for whether Void Energy would work on Undead creatures... Fang Zheng held little hope for that.

"Aaaaah!!!"

The jerky-like Flesh Golem charged again. Fang Zheng raised the Skycleaver Sword, and a golden shield materialized before him. The Flesh Golem slammed into it, shrieking as it recoiled. But Fang Zheng didn't let the chance slip. He lifted the Skycleaver Sword and swung it down with force.

Judgment!

Golden holy light instantly enveloped the Flesh Golem. Bombarded by the omnipresent Sacred Power, the creature let out another agonized scream, its rigid body beginning to soften. Though it was a puppet without blood or tears, Undead creatures were inherently weak to Sacred Power.

Seizing the moment the Flesh Golem went "soft," Fang Zheng leaped past it, his Skycleaver Sword slashing down without hesitation, cleanly severing the Undead Giant's head. The giant, already heavily wounded and unable to rise, crashed to the ground, dead beyond doubt.

Finally took one down!

Fang Zheng caught his breath, but the Undead Giant's death brought him little joy. The Undead Giant, the Flesh Golem, and even the Deathbringer were just minor players. He hadn't forgotten that above them all loomed a powerful Lich—one of the five Councilors of the Council of the Undying, the Lich Lord, Duke Frank the Bone.

Fang Zheng didn't know how strong he was, but judging by Stone and Malte's reactions, he likely wasn't far off from Kel'Thuzad. Though Fang Zheng could deal over 250% Sacred damage to Undead creatures thanks to his titles and bonuses, that still had a baseline. Against ordinary Undead, he could one-shot them, but against these thick-skinned, high-level foes, his own low attack power became a glaring weakness.

What now? How much longer did he have to wait?

Clenching his left fist, Fang Zheng glanced around. If he were alone, he'd activate Arthas's Soul Stone without hesitation. The Lich Lord might be terrifying, but the Lich King... well, at least he wouldn't be too far off.

But not now. Malte and Stone were still here. The Lich King's traits were too obvious. Once Fang Zheng activated the Soul Stone, he was certain the two would immediately identify him. Then everything he'd painstakingly built would be wasted. He hadn't worked so hard to infiltrate the Holy Temple just to flee before reaping any benefits.

Of course, Fang Zheng had prepared. He had a Divine Shield ready to trigger the moment things went south. That was one of his fallbacks. Thank goodness that Prince Arthas had learned a full set of Paladin skills; otherwise, he'd be even more passive right now.

But if this dragged on, they'd all die.

Honestly, Fang Zheng had a good opinion of the two Great Knights, Stone and Malte. If it were that crazy woman Connie, he'd have activated the Lich King already, killed the madwoman on the side, and pinned it on the Lich Lord. Fang Zheng didn't like killing, but he wouldn't be polite to those who wanted him dead.

As for Stone and Malte, if possible, Fang Zheng hoped they'd survive. Not only because they got along well, but also because they had a good relationship and held considerable influence in the Holy Temple. Fang Zheng wasn't sure if such people were the majority there, but regardless, more friends meant more paths.

Right now, though, that hope seemed slim. More importantly, what exactly did that Lich Lord want?

Thinking this, Fang Zheng grew restless. The enemy's strength was enough to crush them all. A single blow had gravely wounded Stone, and adding Malte didn't help much. One AOE attack could wipe them all out. So what was it waiting for? Did it have a hobby, like in novels, of watching enemies suffer before dying?

Grumbling inwardly, Fang Zheng glanced upward—and his eyes widened in shock.

Gone!

The Lich Lord, who should have been there, was gone!

For a moment, Fang Zheng thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He blinked, quickly scanning around, and confirmed it: while they were locked in fierce battle with these damned Undead, the Lich Lord had quietly slipped away!

What kind of act was this?

"Teacher, Great Knight Malte, the Lich is gone!"

"What?"

Hearing Fang Zheng's voice, the two Great Knights, still struggling with the Deathbringer, were stunned. They too looked up and around, only to find that the Lich Lord had indeed vanished!

What was going on?

The battle continued, but everyone was baffled. Like Fang Zheng, none of them thought they could scare off the Lich Lord. Not even Stone and Malte. In truth, they were just struggling—a primal instinct to resist and survive. They knew they were no match for Duke Frank the Bone, and they knew he wouldn't let them go.

After all, the core tenet of the Council of the Undying was "death is better than life," wasn't it?

But now, the Bone Duke had left?

What kind of move was that?

"Boom!!"

Suddenly, a dull thud rang out. Hearing it, both sides froze. The sound wasn't loud, but it carried a strange pull, so much so that even the least intelligent Undead Giant turned its head to stare at the source. Fang Zheng, like the others, looked that way.

It was the center of the Magic Circle, where a massive stone coffin sat. The sound was coming from inside it.

"Boom!!"

As everyone watched, the coffin shuddered violently again. Only then did Fang Zheng notice that dozens of thick chains were bound around it! And now, those chains were cracking from the impacts, some even starting to break loose!

Wait!

Seeing this, a chill ran down Fang Zheng's spine. A thought struck him.

Great Knight Malte had said the Lich was planning to perform some ritual here, which was why they'd come to stop it. Since everything had seemed ordinary when they arrived, Fang Zheng hadn't paid it much mind. But now, a question occurred to him.

What if the Lich Lord's ritual had already finished before they arrived?

What if it had just been waiting for them to show up?

At this thought, Fang Zheng's face turned ashen.

Damn it, he'd been played.