On the corpse of the Flesh Golem.
The revealed Corpse Demon began casting spells in rapid succession.
Its casting speed was incredibly fast.
The "Cooldown" between spells was also extremely short. It probably had the enhancement of some other metamagic techniques.
The first wave of spells all belonged to the protection school.
Accompanied by hurried incantations, multicolored radiance rose before falling onto the Corpse Demon itself.
In the blink of an eye.
Aside from the magical armor brought about by its transformation, it now had three additional spells on it: "Mage Armor," "Air Shield," and "Frost Ring."
The combined effects of these spells were tremendously powerful.
At this point, even if Dorothy or Terry stood still and hacked at the Corpse Demon, it would probably take more than ten seconds to barely break through its defenses.
"Even this Corpse Demon is a cowardly bastard."
Roger rubbed the tip of his nose, unexpectedly feeling the delight of having met his match.
The second wave of spells followed immediately.
Second Ring Spell—"Multiple Summoning: Skeleton Soldiers"! The chanting time for this spell was longer than that of the previous three spells combined.
Unfortunately, everyone was too far away to interrupt it. They could only watch helplessly as it summoned one Skeleton Soldier after another from the Netherworld! These Skeleton Soldiers were slightly different from the ones that had been destroyed earlier.
Their bones were thicker and sturdier, and their levels were also a little higher.
But the number of Skeleton Soldiers far exceeded everyone's expectations.
A mere Second Ring Spell had actually summoned forty-eight Skeleton Soldiers!
This not only shattered the Adventurers' understanding, but also overturned the rules of summoning spells!
As everyone knew, summoning spells had a limit on their numbers, and that limit was generally a multiple of six:
A First Ring mage could summon no more than six creatures.
A Second Ring mage could summon twelve.
And so on.
"Is this Multiple Spellcasting? Four times the usual number of summoned creatures?"
Roger couldn't help clicking his tongue.
This metamagic feat was too outrageous. No wonder Qi Divination Technique had listed it separately!
The summoned Skeleton Soldiers did not attack the Adventurers. Instead, they surrounded the Corpse Demon layer upon layer.
The latter did not waste words with the Adventurers and directly cast its third spell.
Second Ring Spell—"Pool of Corruption"! The cold, hard ground beneath everyone's feet suddenly became muddy and soft.
An indistinct black mist drifted over from somewhere unknown and gradually grew denser.
Someone began coughing violently.
Others developed itchy, swollen skin.
All sorts of minor but troublesome negative effects began appearing on everyone one after another.
"Pool of Corruption (Second Ring Spell)" "Overview: Creates a constantly decaying space, using the air and earth as mediums to gradually corrode all living and nonliving things within the area." "Effect 1: Every 30 seconds, creatures inside the Pool of Corruption must make a negative-effect resistance check. Those who fail will randomly develop symptoms such as coughing, fever, edema, itching, tearing, and weakness." "Effect 2: Once every 60 seconds, activates 'Bone Imprisonment.' Those who fail the resistance check will suffer the restraining effect of bone claws." ...
Qi Divination Technique had thoroughly probed the properties of the Pool of Corruption.
The Corpse Demon seemed to be extremely patient.
It had not acted recklessly out of arrogance. Instead, it had chosen a strategy of slowly devouring them.
Perhaps this had been its plan from the very beginning.
Skeleton Soldiers were the summons most suited to a war of attrition.
Throughout the entire process.
What impressed Roger most was the Corpse Demon's fluid spellcasting.
He had no idea how many times it had practiced in private to achieve such silky smoothness.
Roger's gaze remained fixed on the Corpse Demon.
And in the latter's eyes, there seemed to be only Roger.
A moment later.
Facing the restless Skeleton Soldiers, Dorothy covered her mouth and shouted in a muffled voice, "Roger! What do we do now?"
Roger drew the Crimson Moon Blade and gripped its hilt with both hands. His eyes gradually grew sharp and clear.
"Cover me!"
After saying this, he held the Crimson Moon Blade and began walking step by step toward the Corpse Demon.
Dorothy did not hesitate. She nodded at Terry, then shouted sharply, "Everyone, cover Roger's advance!"
"Don't let the Skeleton Soldiers stop him!"
"Watch out for the bone claws coming out of the ground. Just avoid them!"
The members of the Subjugation Squad responded in unison.
Their morale flared up again. They gathered around Roger and charged toward the Skeleton Soldier formation!
Soon, the two sides collided, and the curtain rose on a chaotic melee.
Roger's steps were not fast, but they were extraordinarily steady.
He trusted his teammates to create an opening for him to kill the Corpse Demon.
There was only the Corpse Demon itself in his eyes!
With every step he took, the aura around Roger quietly began to change.
Large amounts of magic crystals formed around him.
Then they rapidly collapsed and vanished.
This happened several times in succession.
If everyone had not been locked in close combat with the Skeleton Soldiers, they would have noticed this scene long ago.
But the Corpse Demon saw it.
The Ghostfire in its eyes flickered rapidly. There seemed to be confusion in it, as well as unease.
"There's actually an Adventurer who hid his strength just like me!"
"Hehehe, you won't succeed!"
The Corpse Demon sneered and lightly pointed one claw at Roger.
All at once, the oppressive black mist grew even denser.
The black mist seemed to solidify. The members of the Subjugation Squad instantly lost sight of the path ahead.
Before Dorothy could speak.
Roger had already acted.
Every movement of the Corpse Demon was locked onto by Qi Divination Technique.
"He can't escape."
The moment Roger finished speaking, a bright yellow mark descended from the heavens and struck the Corpse Demon directly on the head!
"Extermination Order!"
This was his first time using the other Special Abilities of the Hidden Hero class.
"Extermination Order: You may lock the Extermination Order onto a humanoid creature. By killing that humanoid creature, you can obtain unexpected extra rewards." "Restriction: Only applies to elite templates and above." ...
With the guidance of the Extermination Order, the united Adventurers once again broke through the Skeleton Soldiers' defenses and escorted Roger toward the Corpse Demon.
Roger, meanwhile, adjusted his condition to its peak.
The Hidden Hero class.
The most important thing was "Charge Up"! The longer one accumulated power,
the stronger the eruption.
Now, Roger's momentum had been charged to its absolute peak!
He glanced at the data panel.
"Your level has risen to LV9" "Your attributes have increased" ... "Your level has risen to LV10" "Your attributes have increased" "You have gained one Attribute Point" ... "Your level has risen to LV12" "Your attributes have increased" ...
By investing the experience points he had accumulated over ten years.
Roger instantly completed a massive leap from LV8 to LV12!
What Roger needed most was not the attribute increase brought by leveling up.
Instead, within one minute of every level-up, the Hidden Hero gained one additional layer of the "Charge Up" attribute.
Raising four levels in succession meant that four layers of "Charge Up" had been added.
Combined with the four layers of "Charge Up" attached to the feat "Ten Years One Sword."
At present, the Crimson Moon Blade in Roger's hand
had eight layers of "Charge Up" stacked upon it.
It was brewing power equivalent to 900%!
"How is this possible?!"
"Stop him!!"
The Ghost Mage felt intensely uneasy. Fear that had not surfaced for a long time enveloped it. It tried to use a cantrip to conceal itself, but the existence of the Extermination Order left it with nowhere to hide!
It could only hope that the Skeleton Soldiers and Pool of Corruption would hinder Roger's advance.
It needed to rest for a while before it could cast any other spells.
After all, that last combination of spells had already exceeded the limit a normal Second Ring mage could withstand!
Aside from cantrips, it did not even have the strength to activate a scroll now!
"Do I have to use the forbidden item?"
"This man is too dangerous."
"But after using the forbidden item, I'll be doomed as well..."
Because of its hesitation, the Ghostfire in the Corpse Demon's eyes flickered even more erratically.
Over by the Subjugation Squad.
Everyone finally noticed that something about Roger was different.
They were inspired by the steadily rising aura around him.
Under the blood-pumping charge led by Dorothy and the others, the Skeleton Soldiers suddenly began retreating step by step. Before long, a huge gap had been stabbed through their formation!
"Now!"
Roger shouted in a low voice, "Move!"
Without waiting for those ahead to react, he leaped straight over them.
He began sprinting across the muddy ground! In one breath, he broke through the Skeleton Soldiers' entire defensive line! His figure was as fast as lightning, and the Crimson Moon Blade in his hand blazed like fire!
A faint killing intent ignited along the blade.
"Crimson Moon: Eye Cut" activated! In an instant.
Roger's body drew out afterimages.
He crossed the roughly thirty-meter distance in the space of a breath.
Before the Corpse Demon could mount any effective response, that blood-moon-red blade light sliced in like a knife through tofu.
Magical armor.
Mage Armor.
Air Shield.
Frost Ring.
Before the Crimson Moon Blade's ninefold power, they shattered upon contact! After a moment of daze.
The Corpse Demon turned its head blankly toward the Hidden Hero who had already sheathed his blade. As the Ghostfire in its eyes slowly died out, it seemed an entire century passed before it heard the delayed murmur caused by its words moving too slowly.
"For Tongma Town, for Kane."
"This blade is called 'Ten Years.'"
Whoosh! A cool breeze swept past, and the Ghostfire went out.
In the distance beyond the pass, the last ray of sunset finally sank away.
Immense darkness swallowed everything.
The first small climax is complete. I wonder if anyone is reading this. Hopefully, I can get a few recommendation votes.