Hmm?!

With a crisp crack, the piercing skill Xiao Yang had dismissed as useless suddenly proved remarkably effective.

The Justice's Condolence in Xiao Yang's hand slammed into the back of the Skeleton Knight's head, striking its mottled, rusted helmet. The piercing attack dealt two points of defense-ignoring damage. Then came Elite Killer, followed by Undead Slayer (Skeleton). A number popped up: nine damage.

That wasn't much damage, but the level gap between them was enormous. Xiao Yang had been fighting enemies above his level all along, and now, at level eight, he was facing a level-twenty enemy.

He didn't pause for a moment. His overwhelming agility let him attack faster. One strike, two, three—the Justice's Condolence was gripped in reverse like a dagger and thrust forward. Xiao Yang's movements now resembled a mantis, drilling into his target again and again.

God Game wasn't entirely like a game. Its skills didn't have cooldowns in the strictest sense. As long as you could pay the price and withstand the consequences, you could use any skill like a basic attack.

The repeated jabs made the Skeleton Knight's neck creak sharply. Xiao Yang's movements stirred the other monsters in the dim corridor: the Bloodthirsty Bats. Like cockroaches in a dungeon, these creatures nested in the dark and could be found everywhere.

With a shrill screech, a black Giant Bat flapped out of the darkness and shot straight toward Xiao Yang's face. He didn't bother dealing with the incoming Bloodthirsty Bat, but the damn thing had picked an all-too-perfect moment to attack.

His vision blocked, the Skeleton Knight reacted. Its body, encased in heavy armor, swung around, and its chain flail swept across Xiao Yang's chest with tremendous force. The blow drove him back several steps, until he slammed against the damp, cold wall.

The Skeleton Knight turned around, its blue Soul Flame flickering faintly. The Bloodthirsty Bat's attack had thrown off Xiao Yang's rhythm. Rather than press its advantage, the Skeleton Knight began calling for its followers.

In the distance, the Skeleton Warriors in the square stirred at the commotion. Beside the Skeleton Knight, a gray-white magic circle slowly appeared, and several Skeleton Warriors began crawling out of it.

Xiao Yang grabbed the Bloodthirsty Bat flapping wildly against his face and squeezed hard. As several red numbers popped up, the bat struggled, then went limp. Of course, bare hands could deal damage too; it was just rather low.

Unarmed damage seemed to convert at roughly one-quarter of your Strength. That was far too low a conversion rate. Without specialized skills or bonuses tailored for it, it was best not to fight bare-handed.

The Skeleton Knight quickly raised four Skeleton Warriors. Fortunately, it was alone now. If Xiao Yang had let it remain among that small skeleton army, its ability to command skeletons and raise Skeleton Warriors would have made it at least twice as dangerous.

That sweep had dealt Xiao Yang far more damage than the Skeleton Knight's listed stats suggested.

The situation Xiao Yang least wanted to face had come to pass. The stronger the enemy, the less reliable its stats became as anything more than a reference. Powerful enemies wouldn't stand there like fools and compete with you based on numbers. They had all kinds of skills, traits, and equipment of their own.

After summoning its followers, the Skeleton Knight charged with its four Skeleton Warriors, its heavy footsteps echoing. The four summoned minions weren't all the same type: one Skeleton Archer, two Skeleton Swordsmen, and one Skeleton Lancer.

The two Skeleton Swordsmen charged at Xiao Yang first. Sure enough, with their ragged leather armor and single long blades, they were among the fastest runners in the Skeleton Warrior ranks.

Xiao Yang let out a breath and flung the Bloodthirsty Bat's corpse aside. He had no intention of wasting time on these cannon fodder. His high attributes gave him plenty of confidence. The Skeleton Swordsmen's slashes couldn't even pierce his defense; a string of zeros popped up. With his nearly two hundred health, he looked more like a real boss than the Skeleton Knight did.

The barrage of attacks from earlier had taken a quarter of the Skeleton Knight's health. Xiao Yang swung his staff quickly, but he wasn't literally made of iron. The Skeleton Warrior with the spear stabbed him hard, taking five points of health.

Xiao Yang shot the spear-wielding skeleton a glare. Clearly, Skeleton Warriors of this type could pierce armor; he'd have to prioritize them in future encounters. Xiao Yang charged the Skeleton Knight again. The Knight was clearly much better at fighting than he was.

It was a monster with Knight's Instinct, after all. When Xiao Yang deliberately fought it at close range, it even elbowed him. And, believe it or not, that was a skill. The blow sent Xiao Yang stumbling, and the Skeleton Warriors immediately swarmed him, trying to pin him down.

If Xiao Yang hadn't grabbed a Skeleton Swordsman and rolled to the ground with it, creating a gap in the oncoming swarm, the Skeleton Warriors might really have managed to subdue him.

This was the first time Xiao Yang had encountered a situation like this. Sure enough, intelligent enemies were the hardest to deal with.

There was no denying it: this was the toughest fight Xiao Yang had faced so far in the Skeleton Dungeon, even harder than the one with the Dungeon Guardian. It put him on full alert, as if he were facing a powerful foe.

But he didn't really need to be so cautious. As long as he didn't let those Skeleton Warriors surround him completely and treat him like a world boss to be farmed, Xiao Yang was in very little danger. The Skeleton Knight and its minions were unleashing all manner of fighting techniques, raining blows down on him—but in reality, Xiao Yang had only lost a quarter of his health.

No, not even a quarter. He'd just recovered a little.

The Skeleton Knight's blue Soul Flame flickered as another wide, powerful sweep knocked back the lightly armored man in front of it. Its Skeleton Warriors surged forward all at once, but they couldn't stop him from closing in again. He shoved his way back into range and, shouting, swung the thick black club in his hands at the Knight.

At that moment, the Skeleton Knight felt an inexplicable flicker of hesitation. The instant it appeared, a delighted voice rang out.

"Hmm?!"