Battle Begins

The undead had souls. Green Soul Flames burned within their bony skulls, and specks of green light could be seen through the cracks in their skulls. This was their only weakness. Only by shattering an undead creature's soul could it truly be destroyed. Otherwise, even if its bones were ground to dust and burned to ashes, it would merely lose the ability to fight and move.

A skeleton's soul was not the soul it possessed in life. When a living being died, its soul was either taken away by the gods or swallowed by the River of Fate. Without outside assistance, it was almost impossible for it to remain within the body. Thus, the souls of the undead were entirely new existences born from the erosion of Death Qi. Their Soul Levels were no higher than those of rats or rabbits. Because of this, most undead lacked intelligence and wandered aimlessly day and night under the drive of instinct. Since a classed individual's power came entirely from the soul, even if an undead body had belonged to a powerful professional in life, it would not inherit that person's strength or class level.

If it had belonged to a combat professional, the kind whose soul and body were tempered together, then the undead inheriting that body might retain two or three class levels as an "inheritance." But if it had belonged to a mage, the kind who specialized in tempering the soul, the undead inheriting its body would suffer a drastic decline in strength, perhaps even losing nearly all of it.

Among the undead wandering through the small forest, around five were "dressed" far more lavishly than the others. Even filth and damage could not conceal the inscriptions on their armor and weapons, which carried faint magical fluctuations. The Soul Flames in their sockets shone brightly like green lanterns. Unlike the dull-looking undead around them, these few radiated a savage aura at every moment. Like silent beasts patrolling their territory, they passed by while the surrounding undead instinctively made way for them.

Soon, the system's analysis results appeared. These undead actually possessed warrior levels—the lowest was level two, while the highest was level four! This meant they had been at least Journeyman Level warriors in life!

Near the center of the forest, Punk even spotted figures clad in mage robes. This meant that this unknown Kamos army had even possessed its own accompanying mages!

Punk's expression turned subtle. A squad with several Journeyman Level powerhouses could absolutely turn the tide in an ordinary war. For a small kingdom like Kamos, they were undoubtedly the cream of the elite, treasured beyond measure. Yet now, these elites had somehow been completely wiped out on this inconspicuous little wasteland. If this did not involve some major incident, who would believe it?

But Punk was not concerned with those tangled threads that were impossible to sort out. He cared more about the wandering corpses themselves—or rather, the equipment on those skeletons. Those armor pieces and weapons glowing with faint halos still retained weak magical fluctuations despite having been corroded by undead aura for so long. Anything with magical fluctuations counted as magical equipment, no matter how damaged it was. Even dismantled for materials, it could fetch two or three hundred gold coins, and besides...

Punk looked toward the two Mage Robe Skeletons wandering in the depths of the forest and could not help rubbing his smooth chin. One had to know that they might carry the entire fortune of a Journeyman Level powerhouse...

In the end, Punk decided to explore the forest. No matter how strong these skeletons had been in life, they were now merely a pile of mindless Apprentice Level bones. With two Journeyman Level pieces of equipment, he was confident he could defeat them one by one. Moreover, neither his powerful perception nor Analysis Ability had detected any hidden danger. Faced with such a great mass of wealth so close at hand, what was there to hesitate over? Punk did not like taking risks, but that did not mean he would let such a fine opportunity slip away for nothing!

"And besides... I have an overly enthusiastic helper, don't I?" Punk looked to the side, and a cold smile crept onto his lips.

Not far from the Forest of Undead, the young priestess had already taken out a round gemstone-inlaid emblem and begun preparing for battle!

"Miss Priestess, although we had some minor misunderstandings on the road, we are now facing an evil enemy together. I believe we can work together." Punk gave the priestess a noble salute and spoke in an almost toneless voice. This priestess was lower level than him and had no particularly good equipment. If she truly wished to "purify evil," she would certainly consider his proposal.

The priestess seemed stunned for a moment. She frowned, clearly conflicted, but in the end, between "refusing the detestable mage and fighting alone" and "joining forces to purify evil," she chose the latter. Thus, she put on an expression as though she had suffered an immense grievance, loudly enough for Punk to hear as she confessed to the Lord of Dawn the sin of cooperating with a mage. At the same time, she spared no effort in disparaging mages while tearfully praying for the god's forgiveness.

Although Punk knew this was the priestess signaling her compromise, the more he listened, the more irritated he became. He nearly wanted to send her to meet that damned Lord of Dawn with a damage spell. In the end, Punk simply ignored the religious lunatic's nonsense and began calmly preparing his spell!

First, he fired a Minor Telekinetic Projectile at the nearest level-three Apprentice Skeleton Warrior wielding a longsword. The incantation rose like a murmur in a dream, then faded just as faintly. Immediately afterward, the Minor Telekinetic Projectile whistled through the air in a streak of light, accurately shooting toward the undead's skull. The pebble wrapped in kinetic force was about to rush into the undead's eye socket and shatter that vigorously burning Soul Flame, but at that critical moment, the sword-wielding skeleton actually relied on the physical memory trained in life to swiftly turn its head aside, causing Punk's spell to miss.

The suddenly attacked undead tilted its head in a daze. Then its Soul Flame flared brilliantly, the emerald flames even rising from its sockets to its brow ridge. It opened its jaw so wide it nearly dislocated and let out a soundless roar at Punk—it had been enraged.

The young priestess on the other side was no less willing to yield. She lowered her head and pressed the round emblem against her chest. As her ethereal yet resolute prayer grew louder, a magnificent golden phantom of a warhammer above another level-two Skeleton Warrior wearing a helmet became increasingly solid. In only two seconds, it had become no different from a real hammer.

The warhammer came crashing down with lightning speed. The hammer that struck the skeleton's head burned with blazing golden flames, and the skeleton's imposing helmet was immediately covered in cracks. Golden holy fire passed through the gaps in its armor, where gray motes drifted, and scorched the skull within until it crackled and hissed.

The undead twisted every joint in agony, and every bone in its body rattled with groans. But its remains had once belonged to a Journeyman Level powerhouse, and the excellent elemental resistance of a Journeyman Level warrior allowed it to endure this attack.

With its shattered helmet still on its head, the Soul Flame in the undead's sockets had dimmed somewhat, but it still charged furiously toward the young priestess! As it ran, gray, loose dust was kicked up everywhere!

At the same time, the undead provoked by Punk also began charging at him. Gray-black undead Death Qi coiled around its rusted longsword. Strands of gray mist seeped from the gaps in its undead armor and drifted away. Several sickly green streams of light began flowing faintly across its originally dull, pale bones.

Punk, who had already activated Lesser Deflection Field, had long been prepared. With deep eyes flowing with blue radiance, he watched the Skeleton Warrior clutching its longsword as it covered more than three meters in a single stride. Parting his lips slightly, he sighed in an eerie tone!

"Let the show begin, baby!"