In the Snowy Forest

Li Lin finally understood what Angela meant by "Heroic Dungeon".

Since they ventured deeper into the forest the next day, their once uneventful journey suddenly turned dangerous. Undead creatures lurked in the gaps between the snow and branches, waiting to deliver the fatal blow to their prey. They had no body temperature, no smell, and not even breath; they were like truly inanimate objects. Even stepping on them would not elicit a reaction from their conditioned reflexes, making them arguably the most terrifying killers.

Without the female priest's "Detect Undead" spell, Li Lin and Geligao Li would probably have been in a panic long ago.

"Watch out on the left!!"

With the priestess's warning, Li Lin brandished his longsword, which flashed with a silver light. This wasn't due to his incredible speed, but rather the divine magic imbued in the sword. Only in this way could they truly harm those undead creatures; otherwise, these terrifying monsters wouldn't care whether their claws or tails were severed.

With a mournful howl, a dark figure flew away amidst Li Lin's sword light. The wolf's body was already covered in wounds, but it showed no sign of retreating. Its bright red eyes gleamed as it stared intently at its prey. Even the numerous corpses not far in front of the three did not deter the undead creature from its advance or intimidate it. Its mind had long been stripped away; all that remained was the instinct to carry out its mission.

It must be said that the three of them worked together quite well on the fly. Facing the overwhelming horde of undead, Geligao Li's two-handed greatsword kept them firmly within its defensive range. Those that slipped through were eliminated by Li Lin's lightning-fast sword strikes. The priestess maintained the magical barrier to prevent them from falling into the ambush, and also tended to their wounds—of course, for the two experienced adventurers, these undead were not enough to injure them.

However, they are also very difficult to deal with.

"Call..."

After the last wolf was hacked to pieces, Geligao Li looked at the priestess and breathed a sigh of relief only after confirming that there were no more enemies around.

"This is quite a troublesome situation."

"That's true."

Li Lin, sheathing his sword again, shared the same sentiment. From the previous attacks, he could sense that Angela had no intention of holding back. She had even deliberately summoned several undead creatures to bypass Geligao Li's defenses and launch sneak attacks on Li Lin was currently engaged in combat. If he hadn't been strong enough to stop her, he would have already become a victim of her claws. He wondered if Angela wanted to test his new body or if she had other intentions. However, Li Lin wasn't surprised at all by Angela's actions and arrangements.

Compared to Angela's scheming, Li Lin was more attentive to the combination of the female priest and Geligao Li. The divine magic cast by the female priest was exactly as Li Lin had expected, brimming with positive energy, and when this energy was imbued with weapons, it would be much easier to deal with undead creatures. Judging from the defensive attacks just now, those undead creatures that would normally be immune to most physical attacks were easily wounded. Although the agility of these undead creatures would make them difficult for ordinary soldiers, they were not insurmountable opponents for well-trained warriors. In future wars, this could very well become the key to victory or defeat.

Geligao Li's fighting style was quite novel to Li Lin. Although he wielded a heavy two-handed sword, his speed far surpassed that of ordinary one-handed swordsmen. While not quite at Li Lin's level, his reaction speed was still considerable, making him a formidable opponent. Moreover, his coordination with the priestess was clearly not something that had been developed overnight. Under the protection of divine power, Geligao Li could even use centrifugal force for precise counterattacks. He would swing his greatsword backward as the beasts leaped, and when the undead pounced on him, the heavy greatsword would appear precisely in front of them. In the clash of these two forces, the weaker body would naturally fare poorly. Not to mention, no matter what they transformed into, the undead's bodies were far less robust than a two-handed sword forged from refined iron.

As for the female priest, she was clearly not as simple as she appeared. Although most priests seemed to lack combat power, Li Lin discovered that she was not like that. Every time the wild wolves threatened to harm her, the female priest would immediately shift her position, placing herself at the center of Li Lin and Geligao Li's defense. This was not something an ordinary priest could do. Defense is not simply about being protected by standing between two people. Because of changes in movement, distance, and direction, the center of protection will also change. Sometimes, standing on the side of two people is far more protective than standing in the middle. However, this is not a technique that a simple priest can use. To accurately observe the combat trajectory, protective zone, and movement posture of two people also requires a great deal of accumulated combat experience.

Clearly, neither of them were easy to deal with. Although the pastor was somewhat naive in politics, she was far more skilled in combat than Catherine.

While Li Lin was secretly observing the two of them, the female pastor and Geligao Li were also carefully and cautiously observing Li Lin.

In their eyes, Li Lin's swordsmanship was truly bizarre. Not only was his speed unusually fast, but even his attack trajectories were quite strange. Generally speaking, sword attacks are divided into three types: slashing, chopping, and thrusting. Geligao Li's two-handed greatsword specialized in slashing and chopping, which was normal. However, with the one-handed sword wielded by Li Lin, thrusting was clearly more advantageous than slashing. After all, slashing and chopping require strength and skill, which are not very suitable for tactics using a one-handed sword. Especially against these undead creatures that were not afraid of death, cutting off or chopping off their limbs was obviously meaningless. Unless they were split in two like Geligao Li had, in their opinion, stabbing into the heart was safer.

However, Li Lin's fighting techniques were unique. His sword-wielding speed was extremely fast, and he clearly compensated for his lack of strength with speed. The undead creatures he killed often had more than one wound on their bodies, but they were all in the same place. In other words, in that split second, Li Lin struck several times in succession to increase his damage output.

Of course, this was a part that Li Lin intentionally displayed. With his current physique, wielding a sword at such speed was not unusual. Of course, if Li Lin wanted to, he could naturally use his strength to crush his opponent into mincemeat like Geligao Li. But now was clearly not the right time, and besides— Li Lin also needed to review his previous techniques.

The feel is still too poor.

Extending his ten fingers, Li Lin lightly grasped the sword hilt, feeling the icy chill emanating from it, and couldn't help but sigh. Ordinary iron was, after all, ordinary iron, incomparable to divine weapons. Any one of the seven Ring Spirit Envoy be more comfortable to handle than this iron sword. Thinking of this, Li Lin couldn't help but recall the journey he had undertaken long ago to test his seven weapons. Apart from Nia, who was almost half his body, Li Lin would personally take each of the other six weapons on a journey after forging them, familiarizing himself with their use and improving their compatibility during these long travels. It was precisely because of this that they became his strongest weapons, his strongest allies and subordinates. Li Lin believed that if he had "Gloomy Curse" or "Holy Wrath" in hand, his performance would far surpass that of this iron sword. But for now, it was already more than enough.

The pastor's voice came through the phone. This forced Li Lin to reluctantly pull his attention back to reality, instead of continuing to immerse himself in his memories.

"Mr. Li Lin, there are no undead creatures nearby. I think we should rest and resupply immediately."

"Certainly."

Li Lin carefully observed his surroundings and, after confirming that Angela was no longer nearby, sat down in front of the already lit fire. They didn't specifically look for a place; after all, their opponent was an undead creature. Compared to a dark cave, this snow-covered hillside was much safer. At least here, although the undead couldn't make a sound, their footsteps on the snow would still make noise.

"It's obvious that the other party is definitely an undead creature."

At this point, the conclusion is already clear.

Drinking the boiled snow water, the female pastor reached a conclusion with considerable certainty.

"But this doesn't seem like the tricks of those necromancers."

"Why?"

Before Li Lin could speak, Geligao Li asked the question.

"Because I feel that necromancers... or rather, those liches, simply don't possess such power. Geligao Li, you've also gone with me to eliminate liches before. Those terrifying and abominable undead creatures, though powerful, didn't exhibit such fighting methods. Moreover, I've never heard of any necromancer using animals as a medium for undead creations. Besides, we've already continuously killed forty evil undead creatures along the way. In my experience, undead created by necromancers are usually very valuable; generally, they wouldn't use them like this."

"However, we have not yet found any trace of them."

Geligao Li took over the conversation, his expression grave.

"Judging from the sheer number of undead creatures, they have clearly discovered us, which means our next steps will become increasingly difficult."

That's for sure, given it's Heroic difficulty.

Li Lin opened his mouth, but ultimately refrained from saying anything.

"But I still don't understand. If the other side's intention was to attack, why didn't they continue? If it was just for an experiment, they should have evacuated long ago. Why are they still hiding in these mountains and forests?"

Fortunately, Geligao Li only mentioned it casually and quickly changed the subject.

"Perhaps he believes he has enough power to eliminate the invaders, or perhaps he is secretly carrying out some plan, or even more likely, it's for revenge."

Li Lin naturally had plenty of reasons and speculations about these things.

"I've had contact with some mages before, not the dangerous necromancers, but in my opinion, mages are generally a very arrogant group. They don't like to admit their failures or the unfavorable situations they face. Even those necromancers, I don't think, would be much different. Of course, these are just speculations... We don't have enough evidence to prove these things yet, so it's best to take the simplest and most convenient approach—find them directly and see what they really want."

Perhaps because Li Lin's suggestion was so correct, the discussion came to an end. No one said anything more; recovering their strength before the undead attacked again was their most pressing concern. However, it was clear that some people did not enjoy a peaceful daily life.

"Heroes, your MP should be almost fully restored by now."

Standing in the woods, Angela looked at Li Lin and the other two who were resting in the distance with a smug smile.

"Well then, now for the main event!"

As she spoke, she snapped her fingers.

"Aww----!!"

A loud roar echoed throughout the forest, startling flocks of birds into flight and causing the three who had been enjoying a brief rest to jump up and warily survey their surroundings. In any case, this was certainly not a good thing for them.

"Everyone be careful!!"

As the female pastor offered her reminder, she stood between the two men and whispered a prayer. Soon, faint holy light emanated from the longswords of Li Lin and Geligao Li once again, and an invisible holy barrier unfolded around them.

The snow began to loosen.

Suddenly, black streaks appeared in the snow, drawing black lines as they sped towards the group's location. Then, accompanied by sharp teeth and claws, the immortal wolves, long dead but still unwilling to be forgotten, reappeared before them.

"Get out of here!!"

Geligao Li roared, his greatsword swirling with snowflakes as it descended, cleaving a wolf in two. Behind it, two other wolves had already changed course, attempting to flank from the left and right. But at that moment, a silver whirlwind arose again, and Li Lin's longsword transformed into an impenetrable wall of storm, firmly keeping them at bay. Sensing the divine aura emanating from the sword's edge, the undead hesitated for a moment, and then Geligao Li's roaring second sword struck. One of the unfortunate creatures didn't even have time to react before its head was severed. The other was far from spared—it had barely made its choice when it was sliced into three pieces by the silver sword light, never to rise again.

"These guys are just the beginning; our troubles are yet to come."

A silvery-white light flickered as Li Lin repelled the wolves that attempted to ambush him from behind, issuing low warnings. He knew the little one's temperament well; ordinary combat wouldn't satisfy her. The most intense part was yet to come. Meanwhile, his figure began to waver. Soon, the wolves realized that the man wielding the longsword had deliberately left the defensive perimeter, attempting to attack. This was their best chance to retaliate. Faced with the man breaking through the defensive line, the target wolf immediately retreated, while the remaining undead creatures, who had been observing from the sidelines, bared their sharp teeth and pounced on their prey. However, they only saw a blur before the man vanished, and they were rendered unable to move further—long, sharp wounds had cleaved the opportunistic attackers without mercy. Li Lin, having completed his role as bait, returned to the defensive perimeter.

"They can think!?"

The other two were astonished by Li Lin's performance. They knew that only a minority of undead creatures possessed intelligence; most were mere puppets, devoid of their own consciousness. Generally, only top-tier undead like necromancers or liches possessed true wisdom. But what they had just witnessed had shattered their expectations—these undead creatures were intelligent enough to use feints and simple observation, which was already astonishing. In previous battles, while they had been equally dangerous, they had never displayed such combat intelligence.

Things are getting increasingly complicated.

Clearly, this time the undead creatures had abandoned their previous fearless fighting style. After losing more than a dozen undead wolves, they changed their strategy and began to surround the three from a distance, within sight of the group. Their bright red eyes no longer revealed only greed and desire for life, but also a hint of cunning.

"It seems that wolves are wolves; even in death, their cunning nature remains unchanged."

Li Lin wasn't surprised by this change in the wolf pack; he had long witnessed Angela's ability to command undead creatures with ease. Therefore, he didn't care about what was happening now. However, that didn't stop him from trying to lead the other two to imagine things in a negative direction.

"This is really troublesome..."

Whether it was because they heard Li Lin's words or because they had also sensed the danger of the situation, the expressions of the female pastor and Geligao Li gradually became serious.

While undead creatures are formidable, they are not without weaknesses. One is that, lacking life, most of them also lack thought, resorting only to mindless charging. This presents a significant opportunity for humans, allowing them to utilize alternative methods to deal with and eliminate these terrifying beings. However, once these creatures also learn to think and become cunning, eliminating them will no longer be so easy. Consider this: if wolves transformed into undead retain their cunning traits, what about other animals?

What about humans?

The ground began to tremble slightly, and the undead creatures in the distance began to retreat gradually. A dangerous aura appeared, forcing the three of them to tense up.

Things have changed.

Then, a huge, dark figure leaped out of the woods.