Skeleton Tide vs. Cave Lord

Lin Mu commanded the skeleton army.

They skirted around the lake that emitted an eerie, dark green glow.

And stepped onto the land on the opposite shore.

The passage ahead grew increasingly dark and deep.

The stench of decay in the air was almost tangible.

Nauseating.

The rock walls were covered in massive holes.

From deep within those holes came occasional rustling, scraping sounds.

"Hiss—"

A creature far larger than the ghoul elite they had encountered earlier.

Its entire body covered in pitch-black, gleaming carapace.

Shaped like a grotesque fusion of a giant scorpion and centipede.

Suddenly burst forth from the cave depths ahead!

[Dark Magic Insect] (LV.9, Elite)

[HP: 1500]

[Traits: Hard Carapace, Venomous Tail Stinger, Acid Spray, Burrow Assault]

Lin Mu's eyes narrowed at the sight.

He raised a hand and unleashed [Grasp of Bones]!

"Boom!"

A massive, ghastly white bone hand.

Precisely burst from the ground beneath the [Dark Magic Insect], clenching tight!

The [Dark Magic Insect], caught off guard, stumbled.

A damage number of "-23" floated above its head, its charge momentum abruptly halted.

Lin Mu followed up with a wave of his hand, sending three [Bone Tooth] spells whistling forth!

Each [Bone Tooth] contained a full hundred sharp fangs.

Like three dense white jets.

Slamming viciously into the [Dark Magic Insect]'s hard carapace!

"Clink clink clink clink—"

A rapid series of metallic clashing sounds exploded, sparks flying.

The [Dark Magic Insect]'s head was instantly flooded with a dense sea of "-2" and "-3" damage numbers.

Because there were so many, these numbers stacked into a dark red block.

This insect's carapace defense was indeed astonishing.

The total damage from the three [Bone Tooth] spells still wasn't enough to kill it!

Lin Mu raised an eyebrow slightly.

Too lazy to waste talent modifying any descriptions.

With a thought.

Dozens of Steel Skeletons beside him surged forward.

Their cold steel blades gleamed with frost, like the sharpest cutting machines.

Instantly engulfing the [Dark Magic Insect].

Under the frenzied hacking and slashing of countless steel blades.

The [Dark Magic Insect] didn't even have time to use another skill.

Before being completely dismembered in less than three seconds.

Reduced to a mess of shattered carapace and mangled flesh.

[Necromancer Lin Mu's level increased to LV.6!]

A flood of experience poured in, raising his level again!

He quickly allocated the 5 new free attribute points in a 3 Intelligence, 2 Constitution ratio.

And gained 1 precious skill point, which he saved for now.

After killing the [Dark Magic Insect].

Lin Mu habitually glanced at the dungeon info.

[Time Elapsed: 01:05:47]

[Current Rating: B]

"Only B-rank? Looks like the bonus from elite monsters isn't that high either."

Lin Mu rubbed his chin.

Staring at the ninety imposing Steel Skeletons before him, he suddenly felt a bit bored.

A flash of inspiration struck him, and a bold idea surfaced.

"Since that's the case... why not let them go hunt on their own?"

Lin Mu immediately left ten Steel Skeletons behind to guard him.

He split the remaining eighty skeletons into ten squads.

Each squad had eight skeletons, with one acting as squad leader.

They advanced on their own along the winding, branching paths inside the cave.

Free to seek enemies, free to kill!

And to collect equipment...

He, on the other hand, leisurely found a relatively clean rock to sit on.

Closed his eyes and rested.

Only tracking the movements of those skeleton squads through his mental connection.

For a moment.

The depths of the entire [Wailing Cavern] seemed to transform into an automated, efficient slaughterhouse.

"Your Steel Skeleton has killed [Cave Lurker]×3, gaining experience..."

"Your Steel Skeleton has killed [Venomous Lasher]×2, gaining experience..."

"Your Steel Skeleton has encountered a [Small Corrupted Wolf Pack] and annihilated them, gaining experience..."

Kill notifications like these rang out in his mind like a cascading screen.

Lin Mu's experience bar surged at an absurdly fast rate.

His level, amidst the continuous chimes, rose by two more.

Stepping into LV.8!

And the dungeon rating had long since silently crossed A-rank.

Reaching a jaw-dropping S-rank!

This method of leveling up while sitting back and reaping the rewards.

Made Lin Mu once again deeply realize how broken the Necromancer class was, now that he had the [Description Tamperer] talent.

Just as Lin Mu was about to doze off from the boring wait.

A message completely different from the other kill notifications suddenly rang out in his mind!

[Your Steel Skeleton has died! Killer: [Cave Lord] (LV.10, Lord-class BOSS)!]

Lin Mu's eyes snapped open, a sharp glint flashing!

"Finally here? The real master of [Wailing Cavern]!"

He immediately used his mental connection.

Recalled the other nine squads roaming outside, ordering them to converge on him.

At the same time.

Following the mental imprint of the slain skeleton squad members.

He led the ten guard skeletons beside him and quickly rushed toward the scene.

The passages inside the cave twisted and turned like a maze.

But with the terrifying perception range of ninety-two meters from the [Silent Black Stone Necklace], getting lost wasn't even a possibility.

Soon.

He arrived at a massive underground stone hall.

In the center of the hall.

A ferocious monster, five meters tall, clad in thick bone armor.

Wielding a huge bone axe burning with ghostly blue flames.

Was locked in a fierce battle with seven Steel Skeletons (one nearby had already been reduced to a pile of scrap metal)!

[Cave Lord] (LV.10, Lord-class BOSS)

[HP: 9700/10000]

[Traits: Lord's Pressure, Bone Armor, Despair Roar]

At this moment, the [Cave Lord] seemed enraged by these unbreakable iron lumps.

Suddenly, it threw its head back and let out an ear-splitting roar!

"Woooh—!!!"

A powerful wave of negative energy, laced with despair and brutality.

Burst outward from it as the epicenter!

The seven Steel Skeletons surrounding it each had a "-50HP" damage number pop up above their heads.

Their movements visibly slowed by half a beat.

The [Cave Lord] seized this opportunity.

Its massive body leaped into the air.

The Ghost Flame Bone Axe in its hand tore through the air with a whistling sound.

It came crashing down viciously on one of the Steel Skeletons whose HP was running low!

"Crack!"

A sickening sound of bone splitting rang out.

"-453!"

A massive damage number floated up.

That Steel Skeleton was cleaved clean in two by the axe, collapsing into a heap of bones!

"Not bad."

Lin Mu narrowed his eyes slightly, but remained unflustered.

The Steel Skeleton squad that had gone out to clear mobs earlier had all returned.

They also brought back seven or eight pieces of equipment.

Mostly white, with only two green and one blue.

He waved his hand.

Aside from the skeletons guarding him, the newly returned skeleton squad dropped their equipment.

Then surged forward like a tide.

Layer upon layer, they surrounded the [Cave Lord] in an impenetrable ring.

Countless steel blades hacked at it relentlessly.

However.

The [Cave Lord] was enormous in size.

The skeletons on the outer ring couldn't even reach it for the moment.

The battle instantly turned into a war of attrition—the front-line skeletons kept getting shattered.

While the ones behind quickly filled the gaps.

Lin Mu also occasionally spent a negligible amount of mana.

Summoning new Steel Skeletons to replenish the ranks.

Maintaining the numerical advantage of his skeleton tide.

"Tch, this is the kind of moment where a ranged summon would come in handy."

Lin Mu watched the battle unfold and couldn't help but remark.

But even so.

Relying on the fearless and endless tide of skeletons.

The [Cave Lord]'s seemingly sturdy health bar was still dropping at a fairly noticeable rate.

Lin Mu occasionally got bored and fired a [Bone Tooth] at the [Cave Lord].

Unfortunately.

The boss's defense was too high.

A hundred Bone Teeth only managed to deal a continuous "-1" in forced damage—better than nothing.

And so.

Under the relentless assault of the Steel Skeletons, the [Cave Lord]'s HP quickly dropped to about half.

Just then!

The [Cave Lord] let out an even more shrill and furious roar.

The Bone Armor on its body shattered inch by inch.

A far more terrifying aura than before erupted from within!

It had entered its second form!