True and False Corpse Demons

Learning Mystra's Ninth Spell here was an unexpected delight.

This meant the Suicide Ring on Roger's right index finger was finally no longer just decoration.

Setting aside the self-inflicted damage, Extreme Flame Storm was an extremely useful spell.

Roger had a feeling that the Suicide Ring might prove unexpectedly effective in the battle against the Corpse Demon.

He placed the Spell Book into his backpack before sorting through the rest of the spoils.

There was not much of value in Moss's laboratory—at least, the human organs and limbs he valued most were utterly meaningless to Roger.

After working for a while.

87 Copper Coins, 13 Magic Scrolls, 1 Scroll Pouch, 1 bottle of Dragon Acid Glue, 1 bundle of Magic Rope...

That was everything Roger had looted from the laboratory.

"Not even a staff. He was so poor he hardly seemed like a mage."

At least there were the Spell Books.

Besides the spellbook, Roger also took four Spell Books.

He was not a mage, so naturally he could not understand their contents.

But Spell Books could be sold for money, and if he was lucky, they might fetch a high price.

Of all these Spell Books, the one that caught Roger's attention most was a mysterious volume with a gilded vertical eye engraved on its cover—

"Book of Extreme Evil."

The author was "Velenus."

From Moss's experiment log, Roger knew that Velenus had been Moss's former mentor.

Qi Divination Technique showed that Moss's class was Blood Mage Apprentice.

That meant this Velenus was very likely a genuine Blood Mage.

"This vertical eye feels strangely familiar."

"And the name Velenus too..."

Roger frowned.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs.

He hurriedly packed everything away and left.

White Bone Sentry Post.

Terry lived up to expectations and captured the eastern tower without suffering any casualties.

This greatly boosted the Adventurers' morale.

Roger, who had captured the western tower single-handedly, was likewise showered with praise.

But the fellow had vanished as soon as he took the tower, leaving everyone deeply puzzled.

It was only much later that someone discovered the Blood-colored Pit.

But by then, Roger had already emerged from it with a bulging backpack on his back.

He gave Dorothy a full account of everything he had seen and heard inside the Blood-colored Pit.

He merely skipped over the part about killing Moss.

When they heard that the Corpse Demon had been abducting people along Knight Avenue, Terry's face instantly turned deathly pale.

The other Adventurers also looked furious.

And when they saw those bloody corpses with their own eyes, several young Adventurers vomited all over the ground.

The horrific scenes in the Blood-colored Pit greatly dampened the joy of capturing White Bone Sentry Post.

Yet everyone's morale was also ignited to its peak.

Their hatred for such utterly depraved evil would drive them to give everything they had to slay the Corpse Demon.

That night, for safety's sake, everyone temporarily retreated to Dwarf Demon Mountain to camp.

Before going to sleep.

Roger found Dorothy and voiced his thoughts:

"Based on what we know so far, the human skins in the laboratory are important to the Corpse Demon."

"He probably won't give up this batch of human skins so easily."

Dorothy immediately understood. "You mean using those human skins as bait?"

"Yeah. Even if we can't lure out the Corpse Demon, we can at least wear down some of the Skeleton Soldiers."

Roger said.

The most troublesome thing about the Corpse Demon was the hundreds of Skeleton Soldiers under his command.

An individual Skeleton Soldier was not very strong, but once they formed an army, their combined combat power underwent a qualitative leap.

Adventurers were often skilled at fighting alone or working in small groups.

Having them face an army head-on, even a weakened legion of Skeleton Soldiers, would be an extremely poor decision.

Roger's proposal won everyone's approval.

Over the next two days.

The main force lay in ambush on the road between the depths of the Southern Mine and White Bone Sentry Post, and sure enough, encountered several groups of Skeleton Soldiers that had come to investigate the outpost.

Led by Dorothy and Terry, the main force of the expedition team eliminated every reinforcing Skeleton Soldier with almost no injuries.

The only Adventurer who got hurt had been so excited during the charge that he accidentally twisted his back.

They had eliminated 49 Skeleton Soldiers in two days.

Such results were enough to excite everyone.

Some of the younger Adventurers had already begun fantasizing about the wonderful days after killing the Corpse Demon.

Fortunately, Roger, who had been taking it easy these past two days, remained calm:

"No need to get carried away. The Corpse Demon isn't stupid either."

"There probably won't be any more small groups of Skeleton Soldiers coming. If they come at all, the Corpse Demon will make a move personally."

In Roger's mind, the latter possibility was more likely.

Over the years, the Southern Mine had become the Corpse Demon's exclusive territory.

If he still wanted to control this land, he had no reason to keep ignoring the provocation of these visitors from the north.

At Roger's urging, the Adventurers in both the main force and support group sharpened their focus and made thorough preparations.

It was time to Fight to the Death with the Corpse Demon.

But the days passed one after another.

Yet the Corpse Demon's main army remained nowhere to be seen.

Though everyone was puzzled and suspicious, all they could do was wait near White Bone Sentry Post.

Until five days later.

A scout from the vanguard group finally arrived, bringing important news—

"The Corpse Demon has fled!"

Two afternoons later.

In the western Southern Mine, where it bordered the Dragon Slaying Mountain Range.

Roger lay atop a mountain peak. He took the Monocular Telescope from Dorothy and observed the grim, orderly army for a while.

"They really are retreating."

"This direction... they should be heading toward the Land of Buried Bones..."

As the most experienced Adventurer in the group, even Terry was confused. "Why are they retreating? Did they flee because they somehow foresaw our campaign against them?"

He did not even believe that explanation himself.

Roger was equally surprised.

Though he was certain of victory, why would the Corpse Demon fear a newly formed human expedition force? It did not look like a trap either.

After all, if the scouts had not discovered the abnormal movements of the skeleton army, Roger and the others would have kept waiting near White Bone Sentry Post for their prey to come to them.

This kind of migration-style march meant that something major must have happened.

It had even abandoned the human skins it valued so highly.

What major event could it be? Roger glanced toward the dark clouds in the north.

The faint unease in his heart surfaced once more.

But soon, the dark clouds drifted farther north.

After they vanished, his state of mind returned to normal.

"We can't just let him go."

Dorothy said, her eyes red and voice hoarse. "At the next pass, we have to stop the Corpse Demon and his lackeys!"

No one objected.

They had gathered here to eliminate this monster that had plagued the region for years.

Fortunately, the Skeleton Soldiers marched slowly, and the group had taken a shortcut, giving them the chance to catch up.

"We need to determine which one is the real Corpse Demon first."

Roger suddenly spoke.

"Huh? Isn't it obvious?"

Someone beside him pointed at the largest monster in the marching formation. "'Huge and bloated, with an obvious evil aura—an evil monster that is very easy to identify.' It matches the description exactly."

Roger silently shook his head.

"Not him."

Terry said gravely:

"I believe the real Corpse Demon is the inconspicuous lame Skeleton Soldier beside that giant creature."

"The Corpse Demon is an exceptionally cunning monster. Why would he place himself in plain sight?"

"I observed carefully just now. There are plenty of inferior types among the Skeleton Soldiers, but only this one is so obviously lame that it has trouble walking."

"That is far too abnormal!"

Only then did everyone notice the little skeleton trailing behind the bloated monster.

"Indeed."

Roger agreed. "That little lame skeleton is the real Corpse Demon."

If Terry had identified the Corpse Demon's true body through his many years of rich experience.

Then Roger's method was much simpler and more direct.

"Qi Divination Technique!"

Corpse Demon LV10 HP 96 ???