Played!

The Great Cavern was already in complete chaos.

Fang Zheng was tightly surrounded by two Undead Giants and a Flesh Golem. On the other side, Stone and Malte had joined forces against the Deathbringer. The other Holy Knights were no better off, surrounded by another Flesh Golem and more than a dozen Skeleton Soldiers. They were struggling to hold on and looked close to 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 taken him by surprise. In Fang Zheng's view, the situation could not possibly have gotten any worse. Even Stone and Malte working together could not defeat an Undead creature casually summoned by Duke Frank the Bone. Under such circumstances, forget disrupting the ritual—even protecting themselves was difficult.

The Flesh Golem and Undead Giants were equally troublesome. The Flesh Golem seemed impossible to kill. Fang Zheng had torn it to pieces with Holy Storm more than once, but it had been useless. Even when it had become like a tattered rag riddled with holes, it still stubbornly attacked Fang Zheng. Combined with the two towering Undead Giants, even Fang Zheng had no choice but to evade.

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

Rolling away from another Undead Giant attack, Fang Zheng gripped his sword in his right hand and drew it behind him before swinging forward. The Skycleaver Sword whistled through the air, trailing a streak of Sword of Light, and slashed across the Undead Giant's head, leaving a deep wound. The heavily struck giant roared and dropped to one knee. Just as Fang Zheng intended to finish it off, a long strip of flesh resembling machine-ground minced meat suddenly shot out from the side. A human mouth emerged at its tip, and it let out a shriek like anguished sobbing as it charged at Fang Zheng.

Again?

Hearing that strange, chilling sound, Fang Zheng's gaze sharpened, and he helplessly retreated. He had nearly ground this Flesh Golem into pulp. Yet even so, the thing showed no signs of being destroyed. Instead, it had become increasingly difficult to deal with. Fang Zheng had tried several Paladin skills in succession, all without effect. Perhaps he should throw five fireballs at it and roast it into charcoal?

Unfortunately, Fang Zheng did not have Jaina in his Soul Stones. As for whether Psionic power would work on Undead creatures... he held little hope.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!"

The jerky-like Flesh Golem charged again. Fang Zheng raised the Skycleaver Sword, and a golden shield appeared out of thin air before him. The Flesh Golem slammed headfirst into the shield, screamed, and recoiled. But Fang Zheng did not let the opportunity pass. He raised the Skycleaver Sword and brought it down with all his strength.

Judgment!

Golden Holy Light instantly enveloped the Flesh Golem. Bombarded by omnipresent Sacred Power, it let out another piercing scream, and its once-upright body began to soften. Though it was a puppet without blood or tears, Undead creatures were still naturally restrained by Sacred Power.

Taking advantage of the instant the Flesh Golem went "soft," Fang Zheng dashed past it. The Skycleaver Sword in his hand came down again without hesitation, cleanly severing the Undead Giant's head. The giant, which had suffered grievous wounds earlier and had yet to rise, collapsed with a thud, dead beyond doubt.

Finally, he had taken one down!

Fang Zheng took a breath, but the death of that Undead Giant brought him little joy. The Undead Giants, Flesh Golems, and even the Deathbringer were merely minor threats. Fang Zheng had not forgotten that above them stood a powerful Lich—one of the five councilors of the Council of the Undying, the Lich Lord, Duke Frank the Bone.

Fang Zheng did not know how powerful he was, but judging by Stone and Malte's expressions, he was probably not much weaker than Kel'Thuzad. While Fang Zheng could deal over 250% Sacred damage to the Undead due to his title and various bonuses, that still required a base value. He could pull off instant kills against ordinary Undead creatures, but against these high-level, thick-skinned foes, the weakness of his own low attack power immediately became apparent.

What should he do next? How much longer did he have to wait?

Fang Zheng clenched his left hand and took a moment to sweep his gaze around. If he had been alone, he would have activated Arthas's Soul Stone without hesitation. The Lich Lord might be terrifying, but the Lich King... well, he could not be that bad, right?

But he could not do that now. Malte and Stone were here, and the Lich King's traits were too distinctive. Once Fang Zheng activated the Soul Stone, he was certain the two would immediately identify him. Then all his painstaking efforts would be wasted. He had worked so hard to infiltrate the Holy Temple, not to flee before getting any benefits from it.

Of course, Fang Zheng had made preparations as well. He had an invulnerability ability ready in hand and would activate it immediately if anything went wrong. That was one of Fang Zheng's sources of confidence. Fortunately, Prince Arthas had learned Paladin skills rather thoroughly, or Fang Zheng would have been in an even more passive position.

But if this continued, they would all die.

To be honest, Fang Zheng rather admired the two Grand Knights, Stone and Malte. If it had been that crazy woman Connie, he would have activated the Lich King by now. At worst, he could kill that lunatic along the way and blame it on the Lich Lord afterward. Fang Zheng did not like killing, but he would not show mercy to those who wanted to kill him.

However, if possible, Fang Zheng still hoped Stone and Malte could survive. It was not only because he got along well with them and they were friendly toward him, but also because they held considerable influence within the Holy Temple. Fang Zheng did not know whether people like them were the majority there, but whether they were or not, one more friend always meant one more path.

But now, that hope seemed rather slim. More importantly, what exactly was the Lich Lord trying to do?

Thinking of this, Fang Zheng could not help feeling irritated. The opponent was powerful enough to crush all of them. A single attack had heavily wounded Stone, and adding Malte to the fight had not improved things much. One area attack was probably enough to wipe them all out, so what was he waiting for? Was he like those bosses in novels who enjoyed watching their enemies suffer before dying?

As Fang Zheng grumbled inwardly, he glanced upward—and suddenly his eyes widened in shock.

He was gone!

The Lich Lord, who should have been there, had vanished!

For a moment, Fang Zheng even wondered whether his eyes were playing tricks on him. He blinked, rapidly turned his head, and scanned the surroundings. Finally, he confirmed it: while they had been fighting these damned Undead creatures with all their might, the Lich Lord had quietly slipped away?

What the hell was this supposed to be?

"Master, Great Knight Malte, that Lich is gone!"

"What?"

Hearing Fang Zheng's voice, the two Grand Knights, who had been desperately entangled with the Deathbringer, froze. They too looked around, only to discover in astonishment that the Lich Lord had truly disappeared!

What was going on?

The battle continued, but everyone looked utterly baffled. Like Fang Zheng, none of them had imagined they could drive away the Lich Lord. Even Stone and Malte were no exception. In truth, they had merely been struggling. It was humanity's instinctive resistance and desire to survive. They knew perfectly well that they could not possibly be a match for Duke Frank the Bone, and they also understood that he would never let them go.

After all, the core doctrine of the Council of the Undying was "better dead than alive," was it not?

But now, Duke Frank the Bone had actually left?

What kind of move was that?

Boom!!

Suddenly, a dull sound rang out. At the sound, both sides of the battle froze. Though the impact did not sound loud, it seemed to possess a strange pull. Even the least intelligent Undead Giants turned their heads and stared toward its source. Fang Zheng, like everyone else, looked in that direction.

It was the center of the Magic Circle. A massive Stone Coffin sat atop it, and the sound had come from within that coffin.

Boom!!

As everyone looked toward it, the Stone Coffin suddenly shuddered again. Only then did Fang Zheng notice that dozens of thick chains were bound around its exterior! Now, those chains were cracking from the impacts, and some even showed signs of coming loose!

Wait!

Seeing this, Fang Zheng felt a chill run down his back. He suddenly remembered something.

Great Knight Malte had said that this Lich planned to conduct some sort of ritual here, which was why they had come to stop him. Since nothing had seemed unusual when they arrived, Fang Zheng had not paid much attention to it. But now, a question suddenly occurred to him.

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

What if he had merely been waiting for them to come?

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

Damn it, they'd been played!