Is he crazy?
As a member of the Skeleton Alliance's border sandcastle, the Punisher naturally had frequent "minor clashes" with the Imperial border scouts.
He was very familiar with the fighting style of those imperial scouts—
They were a group of people who valued their lives. Whenever the battle became critical, they would enter a state he couldn't understand, as if they had become one with their mounts, and then they would be able to escape the battlefield with ease.
Therefore, the Punisher seems to have forgotten when the last time they faced an enemy who attacked relentlessly.
The figure of the Soul Returner in his eyes grew larger and larger, its two hard iron fists moving up and down, about to smash into his head and lumbar spine.
In that instant, the long-dormant ferocity within the Skeleton Punisher was also unleashed.
The opponent neither dodges nor avoids, showing no fear of death. Does that mean it's a cowardly piece of trash?
The Punisher still controlled the bone whip with his right hand, while his left hand instantly brought its five fingers together. A layer of crystals, shimmering with an eerie luster, grew from his finger bones like a supersaturated solution, instantly transforming his tightly joined fingers into a sharp dagger.
The next instant, the skeleton twisted its waist violently, its right hand instantly retreating so that the tip of the bone whip changed from stabbing to slicing, while its left hand transformed into a short knife and thrust it forward with all its might, the blade pointing directly at the heart of the Soul Returner.
Head, neck, chest, lumbar spine...
In a mere instant, the two unleashed four deadly moves simultaneously, displaying an unspoken understanding that would decide the outcome in a single round.
"Ding ding ding ding!"
Although the four sounds rang out one after another, they seemed to occur in an instant. The violent impact even made the [ Dark Archmage ], who was still suspended, shake. Fortunately, the dungeon beneath the sandcastle was of good quality, and there was no demolition scene as one would expect when masters clash.
The next instant, the [ Dark Archmage ] felt his grip loosen, and he fell to the ground.
As the dust settled, the outcome of the battle was revealed to everyone.
In the corner of this slightly spacious cell, [ Clear Soup Master ] and the skeleton punisher seemed to have merged into one.
Between their bodies, two thick-backed knight swords served as the dividing line.
The two longswords were deeply embedded in the rammed earth-like wall, lying horizontally between the two men, one above the other.
One blocked the iron fist that shattered the lumbar vertebrae and the short blade that pierced the heart; the other blocked the heavy blow that smashed into the head and the bone whip that pierced the neck.
The crystal at the very tip of the bone whip Shattered instantly upon impact, spinning outwards to sever the ropes suspending the [ Dark Archmage ] from the rafters, causing him to crash to the ground without warning.
The Essence Knight who had been behind the stone table had now stood up, both hands in the same throwing motion, making it immediately clear who was interfering in the battle.
"Slap, slap, slap!"
The applause produced by the clinking of bones sounded rather awkward, but that didn't stop the Essence Knight from calmly stepping forward and showing off.
He strolled over to the two men, placed his hands on the hilts of the two knight's swords, and easily pulled them out of the rammed earth wall.
At the same time, [ Dark Archmage ] received a message from [ Clear Soup Master ]:
"So that's why we wanted to have a friendly competition; turns out it just wanted to show off."
"But he really is quite handsome, I recorded it."
"Great! Send it to me in a bit. I remember it came in without a weapon. I need to see carefully where it pulled out its knight's sword."
"OK."
The Essence Knight, having drawn his longsword, remained silent, his empty eyes fixed on the surfaces of the two thick-backed broadswords of unknown material, scrutinizing the scratches on them.
After observing for a moment, it grunted, but instead of looking at the Soul Returner, it looked at the Skeleton Punisher:
You lost.
"What?!"
The skeleton's tone was filled with astonishment and resentment. Although the Soul Returner couldn't understand the words, they had grasped their meaning from the tone.
The Essence Knight displayed his longsword before the punisher:
"Look closely at these scratches and dents. If those two punches had hit your head and spine, you would be dead by now."
The discipliner retorted somewhat indignantly:
"But if my attack hits, he will also..."
"No, he won't."
The Essence Knight said in a serious tone:
"Because he is a ' Soul Returner '."
"But we also..."
You lost.
The Essence Knight interrupted the Punisher's speech again:
"I don't know if it's the Imperial scouts' skill in escaping that made you arrogant or the prisoners' lack of resistance that made you careless, but in any case, it's time for you to improve your combat skills."
The Punisher wanted to retort, but looking at the two Soul Returner, one sitting and one standing, he swallowed his words.
"Yes, Sir Knight."
"Go train. There's nothing for you to do in the dungeon."
"Yes."
The disheartened punisher obeyed and left the spacious cell, not forgetting to drag along its long, slender, and powerful bone whip.
Inside the cell, the Essence Knight looked at [ Clear Soup Master ] with considerable appreciation:
"My men are quite good. You are equally good, just as well."
Empty eyes gazed at the Soul Returner, their tone filled with inquiry and longing:
"Tell me, warriors, how many men like you, Adrian, command?"
How many soldiers are like me?
Looking at the bright "18" in the level column on his panel, [ Clear Soup Master ] finally felt a sense of accomplishment, as if his efforts had been recognized.
Although he's been investigating the hidden storyline for the past few months, the battles he's encountered are no less than those faced by regular players.
Monsters in the Wilderness of Chaos, man-eating giant trees deep in the Theocracy's forests, three-headed hyenas on the empire's borders, giant sandworms within the territory of the Skeleton Alliance...
Unbeknownst to me, I'm already close to advancing to the Middle Tier?
I don't know if I'll be the first player to reach the Middle Tier.
Meeting the skeleton's "gaze," [ Clear Soup Master ] earnestly explained:
"Some Soul Returner aren't good at fighting to begin with. If you remove them, and then remove those far weaker than me, those roughly my strength number..."
His eyes darted around in their sockets, seemingly recalling something but actually making it up on the spot:
"About five thousand people, but if the requirements are relaxed a bit, it could be ten thousand."
He deliberately kept his words to a minimum to prevent the other party from discovering the true nature of the Second Holy See.
The Essence Knight stared into the eyes of the Soul Returner, trying to find any trace of deception.
However, the person in front of me had an unusually sincere gaze, even with a hint of inquiry in it.
That's actually true; after all, anyone stared at by a skeleton would want to stare back.
But then the Essence Knight looked at the Soul Returner and said seriously:
"A strongman, like you, hired, one hundred."