Warrior-Level Ambush!

The sky was still slate gray, but the streetlights had already come on.

The Ancient Capital was even bleaker at night than by day. Darkness stretched as far as the eye could see, and the winter wind stung their faces.

The wind also carried the nauseating stench of rotting corpses.

Suddenly, pairs of withered, decaying, grotesque arms burst from the ground. They sprouted like shoots after rain, waving and clawing at the hard earth beneath a thin layer of snow!

Then the cold, rigid ground heaved and split open. Humanoid creatures crawled out one after another, stood upright, and stared toward the massive city wall in the distance.

The next moment, they lifted their stiff feet.

Greedy crimson eyes gleamed in their dark, hollow sockets. They had only one desire: to tear you apart and devour you!

Anyone stared down by those eyes would have nightmares.

Zhou Sining stood at the edge of the Outer City Wall and looked down. "It's only six, and it's already this dark... Come to think of it, shouldn't the cold winter weather slow the Undead down? Why are so many still coming out?"

"Cold as it is, this weather won't freeze them in place like Ice Magic. The Ancient Capital gets so little snow every winter. If it snowed like it does up north, with drifts thicker than their coffins, they'd never crawl out, let alone wreak havoc on the city," Su Zhe said beside him.

He sighed. "Another hard fight tonight. A lot of the Magic Association's people went home to rest, and the Hunter Mages from the Hunters' Alliance would rather take jobs outside the city than stand night watch."

"You've got some nerve saying that. Just how broke is your Third War Zone? If you hadn't run into a kind soul like me who only wants to kill Undead and asks for nothing in return, nobody would've taken that job you posted," Zhou Sining grumbled.

They wanted eggs but wouldn't feed the hens. What kind of deal was that?

"In past years, the Magic Association handled recruiting independent mages. This year, the higher-ups suddenly told each department to recruit some themselves. We'd already spent our spare funds on benefits for the soldiers. The money for that job came from what the few of us managed to scrape together," Su Zhe explained.

Zhou Sining did not entirely believe him, but it was not his place to debate the matter.

"Anyway, you're taking the college entrance exam this year, right, Zhou? Have you decided which school—"

"They're coming," Zhou Sining interrupted.

In barely a dozen seconds, the Undead had formed a vast black tide surging toward the wall!

Su Zhe's expression changed. He turned and vaulted onto the Sky Eagle's back.

Its snow-white wings spread. With a single beat, it carried Su Zhe high into the air, giving him a view of the entire Third War Zone's section of the Second Defense Line.

He raised his right fist. "Everyone, ready!"

The Military Mages along the defense line immediately prepared for battle. Stardust linked together into Star Tracks around them.

"Fire!"

The next instant, spells of every color rained down, mercilessly bombarding the black tide. Shattered bones and rotting flesh flew everywhere!

Zhou Sining joined in, casting his own spell.

The Military Mages were divided into squads by element, so everyone near him was a Fire Mage. He did not have to worry about his spells interfering with anyone else.

"Gangsha: Flame Burst: Explosion!"

Red Stardust rapidly linked into a Star Track around him, and a white Flame Seed appeared in his palm.

The Flame Seed did not flicker in the wind. It seemed harmless; only up close could anyone sense its faint power.

That unremarkable white Flame Seed traced a graceful arc through the air and landed amid the mass of corpses surging forward below.

"Boom!"

The instant the Flame Seed exploded, the fierce power compressed inside it erupted. A wave of white flame swallowed everything within ten meters!

[Killed one (low) Servant Level Bone Undead. Gained 2 Life Points.]

[Killed one (low) Servant Level Rotting Undead. Gained 9 Life Points.]

[Killed one (low) Servant Level Rotting Undead. Gained 5 Life Points.]

[Killed one Servant Level Bone Undead. Gained 7 Life Points.]

[Killed one Servant Level Venomous Corpse. Gained 18 Life Points.]

Zhou Sining ignored the Blue Text and looked down.

White sparks from the explosion scattered outward, setting off another rapid series of pops!

"He's gotten quite a bit stronger. He really is promising!" Su Zhe nodded with satisfaction from above.

Most of the first wave of Undead to reach the wall had been wiped out, but everyone knew this was only the beginning.

Sure enough, they had barely caught their breath when the black tide below formed again and came rumbling toward them with terrifying force.

"Screech!"

The Sky Eagle circling overhead suddenly gave a warning cry.

Su Zhe stopped watching Zhou Sining and looked in the direction the Sky Eagle had indicated.

"Grrr!"

"Grrr!"

Two low growls shook the night. Then great slabs of hard-packed earth burst apart, and creatures with upright bones like the giant horns of bulls climbed out.

As their bodies came down on the ground, dust shuddered and rolled away from them.

Their stark white bones made a dreadful clatter as they moved. Each pair of blood-red eyes shone like searchlights, casting an utterly chilling glare!

One of the skeletal creatures had barely awakened when it spotted the white Sky Eagle flying above. Instantly enraged, it grabbed a large rock nearby and hurled it upward.

The Sky Eagle reacted at once, tilting aside to dodge the flying boulder.

"Fierce Bone Demon Generals! We've only just started, and already we're facing monsters like these! Damn it!" Su Zhe cursed.

"Fire Mage squad! Nine o'clock!"

Zhou Sining quickly drew his Star Track with the others, white flames flaring around him.

"Fire!"

About thirty Flame Bursts flew over the wall together. They fell like a small shower of fire, blasting the Undead below into charred fragments!

"Again!"

Another thirty Flame Bursts flew farther out. Flames lit the black earth red and spread into a carpet of fire, burning the clustered Undead to ash.

At last, they could see the Fierce Bone Demon General below. It raced toward the wall like a truck, charging at an unstoppable speed.

At that distance and speed, unless every Flame Burst struck it dead-on, casting more would only waste Magic Energy.

Su Zhe reached the edge of the wall. "Keep firing! Clear my line of sight!"

Stardust appeared around him one point after another. Star Tracks linked together rapidly, forming a dazzling ice-blue Star Map behind him!

"Ice Lock: Pierce!"

"Clang! Clang!"

Six Ice Locks, each as thick as a bowl, shot up from beneath the ground!

The Ice Locks whipped through the air, then flew straight toward the Fierce Bone Demon General under Su Zhe's control.

The long chains wrapped around the undead general's legs, arms, and waist, wrenching it to a halt midcharge!

"Raaagh!"

The Fierce Bone Demon General roared and thrashed wildly, trying to break free of its icy restraints through brute force.

"Not a chance!"

Su Zhe pulled down hard. With a cold snort, he gripped the other ends of the Ice Locks tightly in both hands.

Biting frost traveled along the Ice Chains into the Bone General, rapidly spreading through its body.

"Creak, creak, creak!"

A thin layer of ice quickly spread across its entire pallid skeleton and seeped deeper. Even the Fierce Bone Demon General, renowned for its brute strength, lost its ferocity against Su Zhe's practiced Level Three Ice Lock!

Feeling its struggles weaken, Su Zhe pressed his advantage. He suddenly twisted his hands, sending force along the chains to their tips.

"Crack!"

The next instant, the Fierce Bone Demon General, frozen into an ice sculpture, was crushed to pieces. Shards of ice scattered across the ground.

"Officer Su, look out!"

A sudden warning came from beside him. Su Zhe looked up and saw a blood-red mass of demonic energy hurtling toward him!