Clearing the trials

The skeleton, of course, couldn't speak; he simply stared at Kronos, then suddenly drew the longsword from his waist.

This action startled Kronos, who thought a war was about to break out.

Then the Skeleton General raised his sword and slammed the spine of the blade against the breastplate on his chest.

With a clang, the Pyramid Mausoleum at the center of the Ghost Empire trembled, and then Kronos vanished from the spot.

After all these changes settled down, the Ghost Empire set sail again.

As the Ghost Empire slowly sailed away from the Small Island, the Skeleton General at the bow of the ship respectfully bowed to the Messenger Lady on the shore.

The Lady Messenger slightly and returned the greeting.

Kronos was sucked into the Mausoleum of Trunsoest in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, countless thoughts burst forth in Kronos's mind, and all the plots from novels where the protagonist encountered extraordinary adventures that he had read before came flooding back.

It seems that in this situation, one usually encounters a powerful monster who then Possession their body.

Thinking of this, Kronos hugged his weak, pitiful, and helpless body tightly.

Facing a "veteran monster" of Trunsoest's caliber, Kronos had little confidence in the Time Stone in its current state. The Time Stone was certainly powerful, but he himself was too weak.

Although Trunsoest was Justiciar, that is, Arbiter Pathway, he was at a disadvantage by Possession his own body.

But what if Trunsoest has a trusted Confidant who Mystery Pryer Pathway? It seems I'm doomed here.

At this moment, Kronos's adolescent spirit completely overwhelmed his reason, and his thoughts wandered freely.

Just then, a voice rang out in the Mausoleum, interrupting Kronos's thoughts.

"Trial participant, congratulations on entering the challenge set by His Night Emperor. Successfully completing the challenge will reward you with a gift from His Night Emperor."

Coming to his senses, Kronos quickly asked, "What kinds of levels are there? What are the requirements? Is it possible to die in there?"

"His Night Emperor has set up four levels, corresponding to the Low Sequence, Mid-Sequence, Demigod, and Angel respectively. Each time a level is cleared, the player has the right to terminate the challenge once and can continue later. However, if the player is too weak and dies inside, then it's truly over."

Kronos, being quick-witted, suddenly remembered something. "The Low Sequence here refer to Sequence 9 through Sequence 7, right?"

"Yes," the voice replied.

Previously, Sequence 7 was also considered Low Sequence, but now that the world is much calmer, Sequence 7 has been reclassified as Mid-Sequence.

If someone from Sequence 8 who is unaware of this were to barge in, they would likely never come out alive.

Kronos approached this challenge with great caution, so he continued, "Can I use Beyonder Item during the challenge? And since I'm a Warlock, can I use spellcasting materials?"

This Rules is quite humane. "You can use any power that belongs to you."

"Who are you? Your Night Emperor?" Kronos was careful not to address Trunsoest by his full name.

"No, I am a follower of His Night Emperor. I sailed with the Ghost Empire back then, but something unexpected happened. If one day you manage to reach the Angel Level checkpoint, you will see me."

"Can I choose to quit now? What will be the Punishment if I decide not to complete the level?"

The voice continued answering his question, "There will be no Punishment, but you will need to have your memories of the Ghost Empire erased, and then you will no longer be eligible to enter the Ghost Empire."

The Ghost Empire presented such a great opportunity that Kronos would certainly be unwilling to give it up, but he hesitated simply because he was too weak.

Since the first hurdle is reaching the power of Sequence 7, Kronos feels it's worth a try.

"I'm about to pass the first hurdle. What should I do?"

As Kronos finished speaking, a skeleton clad in armor suddenly appeared in the center of what had been an empty hall.

This suit of armor is clearly of the same type as the one worn by the person at the bow of the Ghost Empire ship, except that the Skeleton General's armor is obviously of a much higher grade, at least two or three levels higher than the one in front of him.

These armored skeletons are the guards who once ascended this Ghost Empire.

On the eve of the War of the Four Emperors, in order to preserve the empire's resources, Trunsoest selected a group of geniuses and sent them aboard a ship carrying a portion of the empire's resources.

This is the origin of the four main halls guarding the Mausoleum.

The four main halls served as the military garrison, the residences of nobles, the residences of Artisan Scholars, and the storage area for supplies.

During the War of the Four Emperors, the Black Emperor and the Blood Emperor fell one after another. The Death Consul stole the Blood Emperor Tudor's Uniqueness Red Priest and Conqueror traits, and then fled the battlefield.

Originally, Trunsoest should have been the victor in this war; otherwise, how could the nobles of the Trunsoest Empire have been entitled to divide up the entire Northern Continent?

Unfortunately, after the war, Trunsoest was somehow tainted by the corruption of the Nation of Disorder, which led to the Night Emperor's downfall.

Solomon and Tudor were both killed, so they had no chance to activate their backup plans and leave a glimmer of hope for Resurrection. Only Trunsoest had that chance.

Therefore, after Trunsoest's fall, his contingency plan and a property of the Hand of Order flew to the Pyramid Mausoleum Above the Ghost Empire.

The Hand of Order Augustus and the Castiya Family obtained were clean, but because of Trunsoest's contingency plan, the corruption of the Nation of Disorder remained, and it was this corruption that changed the Fate of the entire Ghost Empire.

The polluted stench instantly killed everyone on board, turning each person into a skeleton imbued with Beyonder Characteristic.

These were still the relatively powerful chariot soldiers and nobles; as for the scholars and Artisan, most of them simply died.

The challenge for Kronos is to defeat this Soldier in front of him.

He was personally selected by Trunsoest back then, and he was an outstanding figure among the Sequence 7, representing the Empire's hopes for the Taxi Driver.

Although the Soldier might be somewhat weaker due to losing his body, he would certainly not be ridiculously weak.

Although Kronos was unaware of these matters, he knew that the trials left behind by the Night Emperor Trunsoest would be anything but easy.

He cautiously took out the Lucky One Cane. The reason he didn't use the Disease Triangular Dagger was because his opponent was wearing armor, and it was hard to say whether the Triangular Bayonet could penetrate his defenses. Besides, he was a skeleton, and by all accounts, he didn't seem to have the ability to get sick.

He gripped the Lucky One Cane with his right hand, while his left hand rested in the Mystic Pouch, ready to grab materials and unleash Spell at any moment.

The two remained locked in a stalemate, neither willing to make the first move.

In the end, Kronos was no match for his opponent's composure and chose to strike first.

Not knowing whether these Skeleton Soldier could be considered Undead or anything like that, Kronos cast a Holy Light first.

A beam of golden Holy Light shot straight towards the Skeleton Soldier opposite, but the opponent neither dodged nor evaded, and directly took the beam of Holy Light head-on.

Okay, it won't have any impact.

In fact, these skeletons have nothing to do with the power of death. They were formed because the Order Above the Ghost Empire was affected by the Nation of Disorder, which eventually turned them into this state. Therefore, the power of light and Purification will not cause them any additional harm.

Consciousness this, Kronos didn't hesitate at all, quickly taking several steps back before throwing out a "Wind Blade.

Kronos didn't know what Sequence his opponent was, but for him, the best approach was to keep his distance and use a kiting tactic.

The ensuing battle was quite comical. The Skeleton Soldier would advance a few steps, and Kronos would retreat a few steps, then unleash one offensive Spell after another, as if it didn't cost him Spirituality, raining down on the Skeleton Soldier.

Through these repeated attacks, Kronos gradually came to understand his opponent's strength.

This opponent should be a Sequence 7 Nightmare on the Sleepless Pathway. This makes sense, since during the era of the Four Emperors, the Cowardly Trio supported Tudor, the Primordial Demoness supported Death Consul, the True Creator supported Solomon, and the one supporting Trunsoest is the current True God Churches.

Therefore, it's quite normal for Trunsoest to have people under his command who have these Pathway.

In fact, Kronos has a certain advantage over his opponent, because Nightmare's ability largely lies in pulling the opponent into Dream Infiltration, and even if it fails, it can still affect the opponent's mind.

This move is less effective against opponents of the same Sequence, especially since Kronos has practiced the "Nine Secrets" for so long, his mental fortitude is already among the best of his Sequence.

Therefore, each exertion of force by this Skeleton Soldier had little effect on Kronos; it was like a light touch, something he wouldn't even feel if he wasn't paying attention.

It's good that the opponent's Beyonder Ability aren't very effective, but there's one problem that's quite troublesome: the armor worn by the Skeleton Soldier.

This armor must have been worn by the most elite chariot soldiers of the Trunsoest Empire at the time. Even with all his might, Kronos's Spell could only leave a white mark on it, completely unable to penetrate its defenses.

Although Kronos has one chance to use the Time Ray each day, he cannot guarantee that the Time Ray will be able to penetrate this armor.

The only defensive weakness of this suit of armor is probably its face. Although it has a helmet to protect its head, it doesn't have a matching Mask, so it can't protect its face. As long as a suitable opportunity is found, a Time Ray can hit the Skeleton Soldier's face, and that will end the battle.