"..." ### The voice fell silent for a long while. ### Just as Bai Zhou began to wonder whether it had vanished— ### A thunderous explosion rang out from the sky. ### The dead silence of the Sky Light was torn apart. ### From the Inverted Giant City hanging upside down in the sky, a pillar of light plunged straight down onto the ruined wasteland. ### Something descended from the sky. ### Then, a vast sandstorm rose on the horizon, turbid waves surging into the heavens with magnificent force. ### "What is that..." ### Bai Zhou widened his eyes and looked toward the sandstorm rising on the horizon. ### But he soon froze in place, his scalp prickling. ### The clatter of hooves echoed as a tall Skeleton Pegasus with growing bone wings broke through the air. ### Its hooves stepped through the void, sending ripples rolling outward. Ghostly green flames burned in its eye sockets, while the Undead General sat upright on its back, clad in rotting armor. ### The general's skull was especially hideous. A battle flag fluttered behind him, and an Undead Army of more than a thousand riders followed close behind. ### The dark, oppressive army crossed the sky. Its thunderous rumble was as grand as rolling thunder, and its countless soldiers blotted out the heavens and earth like a white bone cloud of death. ### —What sandstorm? ### Wrapped in heavy, imposing might, what came rushing over was clearly a charging army of thousands! ### "Where did this Undead Army come from?!" ### Beneath the Blood Moon, a terrifying monster like a swarm of flies swept across the ruined wasteland's sky. ### It came charging straight at him with overwhelming momentum. ### The horrifying sight made Bai Zhou draw a deep breath. Cold sweat instantly drenched his entire body. ### For a moment, he did not even know where to run. ### —What did it feel like to encounter a cavalry legion thundering toward you across a wasteland? ### —And what if that cavalry legion was riding flying horses? ### Bai Zhou frantically calculated in his mind roughly how long he had been here. ### If he remembered correctly, it should be almost time... ### Suddenly, Bai Zhou frowned and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. ### Then his scalp seemed to explode. ### —No, this wasn't an army of thousands! ### It was the Undead General riding the Skeleton Pegasus, holding a long whip in his hand. ### The whip extended without end like a terrifying, winding serpent. It pierced through the chests of more than a thousand desiccated corpses, stringing them together like candied haws. ### Their limbs were stiff and their expressions frozen. Strung together by the whip and dragged through the sky, they looked like dolls hung out on a clothesline. ### At that moment, they bobbed and swayed with the general's movements, their armor clinking. At first glance, they seemed to be marching. ### Yet weapons or scraps of bone would occasionally patter down, creating a shower of "bone rain" wherever they passed. ### He simply dragged more than a thousand dry corpses through the sky, flying over in grand fashion. ### "Relay my command!" ### "All troops, halt!!" ### The Undead General pretended to issue a military order, as if he had no idea that the thousand-plus figures behind him were merely lifeless corpses he was dragging along. ### "Whoa—" ### He proudly reined in his warhorse and straightened his back, as if ten thousand horses and a thousand soldiers truly stood behind him. ### Then he raised the saber in his hand and pointed it at Bai Zhou from afar. ### That hoarse, low voice was unmistakably the voice of the person who had spoken earlier. ### Yet he had to use that voice to shout a grandiose and contradictory line at this moment, making it extremely awkward and unpleasant to hear— ### "Young general, state your name!" ### The good news was that there was no army of thousands. ### The bad news was that a monster even more terrifying than an army of thousands had come to kill him. ### And its brain seemed to be seriously abnormal! ### ...But the moment he saw this person, ### Bai Zhou immediately solved two questions that had been circling in his mind. ### He had always wondered why this ancient Battlefield Ruins contained only abandoned armor, with barely any corpses. ### Now he saw the answer: they were all strung along the general's whip. ### What kind of fetish was this? ### It was impossible to imagine how long he had spent collecting these corpses. ### It was even harder to imagine ### the horrifying sight of him dragging this huge string of dry corpses and skeletons from the sky to the ground, then from the ground back into the sky, his massive procession rumbling back and forth overhead every day. ### —As for the second matter, it was the final missing piece of the Corpse Pit's Last Will. ### He finally knew where that missing piece was. ### —Because above the head of this rather abnormal Undead General, ### there was also a scarlet Last Will Bai Zhou knew all too well: ### [Let Me Rest!] ### This Last Will was exactly the same as the dozen or so Last Wills he had seen in the Corpse Pit. ### But the one above the Undead General's head was redder and brighter, so darkly red it almost turned black... as if it were the sum of a thousand Last Wills. ### "Fool Who Digs the Earth." ### "I acknowledge your character. I acknowledge your existence." ### Seeing that Bai Zhou remained silent, the Undead General simply dismounted, then slowly walked toward Bai Zhou through the sky with his saber in hand. ### Sweat beaded more thickly on Bai Zhou's forehead as he backed away repeatedly. ### So you could fly even without riding the horse? ### Now you're even walking through the air... ### The Undead General raised his saber toward the sky and spoke in a low, hoarse voice: ### "Surely, you must be the one I have been waiting for." ### "--I imagine you must have come looking for me as well?" ### "Come! Defeat me! Use my bones as the altar for your ascent to heaven!" ### "And... help me find release!" ### He finally solemnly stated the purpose of his arrival. ### As he spoke, the scarlet Last Will above his head flashed wildly. ### This was a formal plea from the Deceased. ### Once it was fulfilled, those words of Last Will would surely shatter. ### Even the dozen or so Last Wills buried below would shatter together with them. ### When that happened, Bai Zhou would obtain an unimaginably generous reward in one go. ### But... ### "Me? Defeat you?" ### Bai Zhou blinked his clear eyes. ### Who came looking for you? I don't even know you, bro... ### What did this inexplicable Ghostly Things that had attacked him actually think it was saying? ### Even Laia, the little girl who could only "glow," had become the Goddess of Light in later generations. ### What on earth are you supposed to be, monster...? ### In the Undead General's hand, the gleaming saber swept across the dim night sky, its purple-gold radiance glittering. ### A purple gemstone set into the end of the hilt constantly supplied a translucent purple stream of light, which clung to the blade. ### —It practically had the words Extraordinary Weapon written across its face! ### And it was a saber, too! ### Bench Leg, the cobbled-together Mechanical Spear-Gun, and half a flagpole... ### This was the first time Bai Zhou had seen a saber-shaped Extraordinary Weapon apart from Ya's blade! ### It looked quite powerful. ### What a pity... he couldn't have it. ### Because this Ghostly Things was about to use it to chop off his head... ### A chill ran down Bai Zhou's neck, colder even than when he had first seen Louis XVI's portrait. ### "I have to say, those two black holes of yours really have mistaken me for someone else." ### Bai Zhou hunched his head and waved both hands repeatedly. ### However, the Undead General neither heard nor saw him. ### Bai Zhou had to suspect that the mad skeleton's head had no visual or auditory systems at all. ### Perhaps the hollows of its ears and eyes were only there to let air through. Otherwise, how could it keep talking to itself like this— ### "Come! A fair duel!" ### "I won't let the army behind me interfere." ### "And you may use everything at your disposal!" ### A terrifying aura spread from the Undead General in all directions. The gravel on the ground trembled on its own, while a ghostly green light shot from his body into the heavens. ### Compared with Bai Zhou, who stood on the ground holding a Spear-Gun and a Short Club, he looked like he belonged to an entirely different world. ### Yet Bai Zhou simply faced him across the air. ### "Make your move! You go first." ### He held his blade at an angle and said this. ### Now you're talking about fairness... Anyone who didn't know better would really think you had troops to command. ### Bai Zhou could not see anything fair about this and cursed inwardly. ### How fair. ### Apparently, one-on-one was all that mattered. Every other difference went unmentioned. ### He felt that this skeleton had become completely immersed in his general cosplay game and could not escape. ### —A self-important mad general, ### performing the textbook villainous general who was skilled at offering his head on a platter with such perfection that it was almost an art. ### On the surface, however, Bai Zhou could only face the Undead expressionlessly and play along with his game. ### Just stall for time. It's almost here... ### Fortunately, the Undead General insisted on waiting for him to attack first... giving Bai Zhou an opportunity. ### —As long as Bai Zhou did not attack, his opponent would wait for him to make the first move for the time being. ### During that period, Bai Zhou was temporarily safe. ### At that moment, Bai Zhou gripped his weapons tightly, his expression solemn, as if considering the right moment to strike. ### In reality, his muscles were tense with nervousness. He was doing nothing but stalling for time. ### Three seconds later, ### Bai Zhou finally waited for... ### "Dong—" ### Above his head, the Inverted Giant City in the sky. ### Just like last time, at thirty-six points exactly, a thousand bells rang in unison right on schedule. ### His goal of stalling for time had been achieved. ### [Jurassic Pass], activated! ### In the next instant, ### time seemed to freeze. ### Holding the adorable Wooden Horse, Bai Zhou let out a long breath. ### "See you next time!" ### He waved at the Undead General, whose bewildered expression remained frozen as he stood motionless in place. ### Time to make a getaway! ### In the blink of an eye, golden light swallowed him. ### The scene before him abruptly changed. ### His surroundings became the warm, familiar Dormitory once more. ### The familiar, reassuring scent of Coffee mixed with a faint citrus fragrance and filled his nose. ### Ya approached, her pupils widening slightly. ### Those ruby-like eyes reflected the boy's ragged, miserable appearance. ### Even the shirt beneath had been reduced to half of its original state. Who knew what had happened to it? ### ...At first glance, Bai Zhou looked utterly wretched, like he had just returned from scavenging. ### But Ya remembered clearly— ### When Bai Zhou went to the Reflection Ruins Realm, he had brought only the Mechanical Spear-Gun. ### When he returned, however, he was holding a strange Wooden Horse in his arms, with a Short Club added to his left hand. ### They were clearly two comical props resembling circus magic-juggling toys, yet Ya sensed an extraordinary aura from them. ### Mysterious items...?
Even Bai Zhou himself seemed to have undergone some strange, indescribable change.
Had he really gone to the Reflection Ruins Realm and found a way to deal with Deputy Han?
Could someone really get whatever they thought of?
The words with which she had previously urged Bai Zhou to abandon his delusions still rang in her ears,
but now...
Ya's ears were burning hot.
They were even hotter than when he had first touched flames as a Beyonder.
He didn't understand.
He was quite curious.
"You..."
Ya looked Bai Zhou up and down, shaking his head from time to time as he said uncertainly:
"Did you go shopping?"
Then, faced with Bai Zhou's innocent, clear eyes,
Ya sighed.
He finally realized that he had to admit...
This Destined One, who was supposedly favored by fate, might be a fake.
"But you—you're the true Destined One, Bai Zhou."
Could the Ritual of turning Romantic Luck into Career Luck really be this effective?
Should I try it next time too?
Ya thought suspiciously.
Even so, this gave him confidence in Bai Zhou tomorrow night.
Two trips to the Reflection Ruins Realm had brought him two windfalls.
He had never heard of anything like this...
Perhaps Bai Zhou's desire for revenge had moved fate to respond.
But what could make the truth of this clearer?
Destiny had descended here.
Those favored by destiny would be invincible.
Ya felt...
Perhaps, this time.
Luck really was on Bai Zhou's side.
Before you continue