Just as Karnak lifted the coffin lid, intending to wake the ghost, a dark figure flashed out in an instant!
It turned out that although Li Shaolin's potion had dispersed all of his mana and strength, his spirit had not weakened. Unable to contact the skeletons within the Bronze Coffin from the outer sitting room, he had been filled with regret. Who would have thought that this man would actually bring him down to the cellar himself? The moment he entered, he established a mental connection with the three skeletons in the coffin. He had been considering how to make them attack without alerting Karnak, but Karnak had unexpectedly opened the lid himself. Li Shaolin had finally found his chance.
The Black Skeleton leaped out from within, driving a Bone Blade straight into the old mage's chest. Then it turned slightly, and its other black Bone Blade sliced across his throat.
"Cough, cough..." Dark red blood spilled from Karnak's mouth. He seemed unable to believe it. With a bang, the wooden lid he had just lifted fell heavily shut again.
"Y-you..." His hand slowly rose, pointing at Li Shaolin, whom he had controlled with Puppet Mastery. Yet before he could finish a single sentence, he collapsed with a crash! His eyes seemed unwilling, sorrowful, before finally fixing on the Bronze Coffin. It appeared that his relationship with the ghost had been far from ordinary.
With the mage's control gone, Li Shaolin's legs gave out and he fell to the floor, letting out a long breath. He had not expected people's hearts to be so treacherous. He had nearly fallen for it.
"Crack..." A tooth-grinding sound rang out as the wooden coffin lid was pushed open. Another skeleton, its entire body blue-green, stood up and stepped out of the coffin, approaching Li Shaolin. It held a long blade in one hand and a Bone Shield in the other, completely blue-green, just like the coffin itself.
"This one... mutated after advancing too? Did it absorb the material of the Bronze Coffin?" Unable to move or use Detection, Li Shaolin naturally had no way of knowing what had happened. Still, it was his skeleton after all, so he no longer had anything to worry about.
An hour later.
A familiar power surged through his body. His strength and mana instantly returned to their peak, and Li Shaolin was delighted. It seemed the potion's effects had worn off. He pushed himself up to stand, only for his leg to go limp. After remaining still for so long, the foot trapped beneath him had lost circulation and gone completely numb.
After waiting a short while, he finally stood again. Without even checking the Skeleton Warrior's mutation first, he strode over and viciously kicked Karnak's already dead body, finally venting the anger in his chest.
Karnak's blood flowed from his wounds into the Pentagram beneath the coffin, sending ripples of blood-red light spreading outward. The two skeletons within it seemed to enjoy themselves immensely.
Li Shaolin cast Detection on the newly mutated skeleton. A line of blue text appeared: Fourth Tier Bone Warrior (1, Bronze Skeleton).
"Bronze Skeleton? So it really did mutate by absorbing the Bronze Coffin. Judging by its appearance, its defense should be higher." After thinking for a moment, Li Shaolin suddenly remembered there was another skeleton. Hadn't he put three inside? He hurriedly looked into the coffin and found the third one lying steadily within. Black aura continuously flowed into its bones, and it seemed to be on the verge of advancing as well. Thinking about it, it made sense. Since being summoned from beside Stele Lake, it had participated in quite a few battles. It should have met the requirements to level up.
He summoned the Clay Golem and had it absorb Karnak's corpse. Why had this golem not leveled up? Back in Fargodeep Mine, Hogger had shattered all three summons at once, and they had all been summoned again afterward. The golem, like the two mutated skeletons, had experienced so many battles. Why was there still no sign of it advancing?
Li Shaolin could not understand it. Perhaps golems simply leveled up slowly by nature.
By then, Karnak's corpse had already been absorbed. All that remained on the ground was a Blue Gem Staff and a small cloth pouch.
"No way. Could this guy really be this poor?" Puzzled, Li Shaolin picked up the staff and tested it. He felt waves of icy power surging from the gem. This man had probably been an ice mage. He then picked up the pouch and probed it, only to find that it would not open!
After studying it for a long time, he realized it was a Spatial Item.
After the Clay Golem absorbed Karnak, the spiritual imprint on the pouch had been erased. Li Shaolin casually probed it with his mind, and it opened. Inside, all twelve slots were full. Gems, bones, gold coins, and books were neatly sorted and arranged.
This guy had quite a stockpile.
After sorting through it briefly, he found more than a hundred gold coins. Adding those he had gotten from the Goblin Overseer, he now had over two hundred gold coins. Sure enough, being a professional made money fast.
Suddenly, several Black Wooden Barrels in the Spatial Pouch caught his attention.
He took one out and saw a swarm of White Ants clearly printed on it. "What is this?" Though curious, he did not dare open it recklessly. After Karnak had tricked him once, he had become more cautious.
He flipped through the pile of books, which were all manuscripts and notes. At the very end, however, he found a black book: "Scourge Alchemy"!
That old bastard was actually connected to the Scourge Legion!
He was shocked, but the cellar was too dark. It would be better to go outside first. He put away the barrels, manuscripts, and notes. Naturally, the Spatial Pouch now belonged to Li Shaolin as well. Leaving the Skeleton Warrior that was about to level up inside the Bronze Coffin, he took the Clay Golem and the two mutated skeletons back to the sitting room.
He closed the wooden door, took out the notes and manuscripts, and began reading. He needed to figure out who this man was first.
One look was enough to give Li Shaolin a fright. This man had quite the background.
The notes recorded not only Karnak's origins, but also VanCleef's extraordinary life.
From the fragmented records, Li Shaolin learned that the mage named Karnak had originally been a noble of Stormwind City, and also VanCleef's former master. Later, VanCleef's exceptional abilities caught SI:7's attention. He left Karnak, gained commoner status, trained under SI:7 for many years, and even became one of the few spies to return alive from a special mission.
But that was not where his true talent lay. The younger VanCleef had been a talented youth with a passion for construction. After successfully retiring from SI:7, he joined the Stone Masons Guild. Years later, he finally succeeded the former leader as head of the Stone Masons Union. Just as his reputation reached unprecedented heights, he received an invitation from the Stormwind Kingdom Royal Family. The letter said that the royal family hoped he would undertake the reconstruction of Stormwind City.
Thus, the young leader of the stone masons clearly felt that he had reached the pinnacle of his career. Honor, wealth, noble status—everything that had once seemed unattainable now appeared to be beckoning to him.
But fate refused to grant his wish. When VanCleef set off celebratory cannon fire to mark the completion of the new Stormwind City, he received a notice: burdened by the war budget, the royal family no longer had the money to pay for the construction!
Did they truly have no money, or were they deliberately refusing to pay?
Stormwind City had promised VanCleef noble status, position, and wealth. But—
VanCleef saw only the brothers who had built Stormwind City with their blood and sweat, waiting at home for the wages they needed to support their families!
Thus, the first revolution in Azeroth's history erupted.
Later, he formed the Defias Brotherhood, amassing wealth by seizing mines and raiding farms.
Karnak, VanCleef's former master, naturally suffered along with him. It was a complete tragedy.
At the recommendation of Stormwind City's nobles, Karnak was sent to the Deadmines, which the Defias Brotherhood had occupied, to negotiate with VanCleef. The meaning was obvious. If the negotiations failed, there would be only one outcome: death!
Karnak was also a decisive man. After entering the Deadmines, he immediately swore loyalty to VanCleef. As for all the money and land he once possessed, to hell with it all. Staying alive was what mattered.
Seeing that the Defias Brotherhood had occupied all of Westfall and had even infiltrated Elwynn Forest, where Stormwind City stood, Karnak received no benefits at all because he had once been a noble. Of course, that might have been VanCleef's doing. After all, Karnak had been his former master.
While Karnak was privately resentful, a high-level mage came to find him.
The man claimed he could grant Karnak eternal life and endless magical power. After demonstrating the art of resurrecting corpses, Karnak was naturally tempted.
After obtaining "Scourge Alchemy," Karnak's magic became dual-element: frost and death!
And he had only one mission: plague all of Westfall! After that, he would become the master of this land.
As he read, cold sweat formed on Li Shaolin's forehead. When had the Scourge Legion's influence infiltrated this place? There had been no record of it in the game. And from the notes, it seemed that some members within the Deadmines had already been infected. Those Black Wooden Barrels contained Plague Ants. Given enough time, Karnak could have completely plagued all of Westfall!
What should he do?
There was nothing else of value in the manuscripts. Li Shaolin had no mood to read "Scourge Alchemy" either. If what the notes said was true, then once the Defias Brotherhood had been completely transformed into the Scourge, Elwynn Forest would naturally be doomed as well. Thinking of the mine he had just acquired, he found the situation utterly absurd. Should he go speak with VanCleef?
The thought immediately startled him. Who was VanCleef? He was the final boss of the Deadmines. How could he possibly allow an eleventh-level professional to meet him? Besides, Li Shaolin was more or less a landowner now. He had no title, but he had land! If VanCleef found out, with his hatred for nobles, would he not kill Li Shaolin on the spot?
After thinking it over, Li Shaolin shook his head. Forget it. He would take things one step at a time.
After all that trouble, night had already fallen.
Feeling the cold, he took flint and tinder from Storage Space and lit the long-unused fireplace.
In an instant, the whole room was filled with warmth.
"Knock, knock, knock." There came another knock at the door.
Before you continue