He snapped back to his senses, trembling as he raised his bow. He hurriedly notched an arrow and drew the string, locking his gaze on the head of the Heavy Armored Skeleton and pulling with all his might.
The arrow whistled through the air, accurately piercing the skeleton’s empty eye socket. However, it only became lodged in the hard bone, failing to cause any substantial damage.
The Heavy Armored Skeleton did not react at all, as if the arrow were nothing more than a mosquito bite. It continued to turn and pursue Lily.
Its battle blade swung with increasing ferocity, every strike lethal, giving Lily no room to breathe.
Lily could only dodge desperately. The resistance of the water eventually slowed her down, and every evasion was fraught with danger, barely avoiding the fatal blows.
Owen gripped his heavy sword and charged forward once again.
He knew very well that he was no match for this skeleton in a direct confrontation. He could only look for opportunities to launch sneak attacks and find its weaknesses.
Taking advantage of a gap when the Heavy Armored Skeleton’s blade missed and its stance was unstable, Owen lunged forward. He hacked his sword fiercely into the back of its knee, the sharp blade instantly embedding itself into the gaps of the armor.
The Heavy Armored Skeleton’s leg buckled, and it involuntarily knelt halfway down, its movements stalling for a brief moment.
But this pause lasted only for an instant. The Heavy Armored Skeleton swung its blade back in a reverse strike, the sharp edge coming straight for Owen’s face, forcing him to retreat in a hurry to barely avoid the attack.
Afterward, it stood back up and resumed its pursuit of Lily. Although its speed was reduced by the resistance of the water against its armor, its movements remained swift.
The battlefield fell into complete chaos. Everyone was struggling on the edge of life and death, without a single moment to catch their breath.
Every collision of weapons was deafening, and every dodge pushed them to their limits.
Bai Xuan stood where Karl had fallen into the water, his expression grim. He took a deep breath and slowly reached his hand into the bone-chilling river water, his fingertips searching beneath the surface, trying to find Karl’s figure.
Soon, his fingers touched a body—it was Karl’s arm.
Bai Xuan immediately gripped it tightly and slowly pulled upward.
Under his pull, Karl’s body was dragged out of the water and slowly floated beside him.
The wound extending from the left shoulder to the waist was gruesome and terrifying, deep enough to see bone. Blood was still gushing out continuously, mixing with the cold river water and dripping steadily from his body.
Karl’s head hung limply to the side, his eyes half-closed. His lips were as pale as death, and his chest no longer rose or fell; he had clearly stopped breathing.
Bai Xuan carefully laid him flat on a reef protruding from the water and immediately pressed the Whispering Staff against his chest.
The golden light of Holy Light Catalyst lit up, gently covering the gruesome wound in an attempt to reclaim his life.
But no matter how much mana he used, the wound showed no signs of healing. He hurriedly added Pain Empowerment, but Karl’s body remained unresponsive, cold and stiff.
Bai Xuan’s heart sank. He slowly looked up at the status panel, which clearly displayed Karl’s condition.
【Karl Lv. 3 Axe Warrior】
【HP: 0/240】
【Status: Deceased】
The writing on the panel remained clear, but the value in the HP column had already become 0.
Following that, the entire line of text began to blur, gradually fading until it completely disappeared from the panel.
Bai Xuan’s hand froze on Karl’s chest, his fingertips still feeling the man's last bit of warmth. A wave of unspeakable bitterness welled up in his heart.
Not long ago, this man had been carrying his axe at the front of the group, patting his chest and saying he was thick-skinned and would be Bai Xuan's meat shield.
But now, he lay here silently, his body cold, never to speak again.
Bai Xuan slowly stood up, suppressing the bitterness and heaviness in his heart as he turned his gaze toward the Heavy Armored Skeleton that was still frantically attacking his teammates.
He let out a slow breath, and the status panel appeared before him:
【Heavy Armored Skeleton (Lv. 5)】
【Status: Curse Augmentation】
【HP: 997/1020】
【Mana: 250/280】
【Magic Soul Seed (Fragment): A seed created by the demon race. With only a small fragment remaining, it can gather undead power to generate curses and can also serve as a consumable medium to reach the Demon Continent.】
Clearly, this Heavy Armored Skeleton was being strengthened by this so-called Magic Soul Seed fragment.
Although its level was only Lv. 5, its stats had reached the level of a Lv. 7.
Bai Xuan’s brow furrowed slightly. He had never fought an enemy at the Lv. 7 level, so he was naturally cautious.
But he soon calmed down. His Holy attribute had a natural suppression effect on undead creatures; this was his greatest advantage.
Whether it was his Redemption Strike or Concussive Field, as long as they landed on this Heavy Armored Skeleton, they would produce effects far exceeding the usual. This was the key to his ability to contend with this strengthened skeleton.
At the same time, Bai Xuan was carefully observing the Heavy Armored Skeleton’s fighting style.
While its heavy armor provided immense defense, it also imposed significant limitations.
Its movements were already stiff, and combined with the resistance of the water, its speed only matched that of the Bone Amalgam in the tomb.
It was currently chasing Lily only because she was the closest to it.
Turning to slash at Owen earlier was also just because Owen had attacked it from the side, triggering its counterattack instinct.
It completely ignored the arrows Kieran had shot into it; even though they were stuck in its bones, it never once looked back.
It had neither the ability to judge the battlefield situation nor any combat strategy.
It only mechanically attacked the target closest to it, like a puppet with a set program, devoid of any wisdom or self-awareness.
However, the curse on its body was indeed a problem.
When Owen and Lily approached the Heavy Armored Skeleton, their movements were clearly off, and their faces grew increasingly pale. They were obviously being eroded by the curse on the skeleton, and their condition was worsening.
It seemed that even brief contact would lead to erosion by this powerful curse.
Worse still, the surrounding river water was beginning to swirl with an eerie dark green color again.
The area he had just purified with Purifying Severance was being constantly polluted and compressed by the curse power from the skeleton. They didn't have much time left.
Bai Xuan withdrew his gaze and gripped the Goldsand Iron rod tightly, silently sensing the mana within his body. He had a little over half remaining.
The continuous purification of the river water just now had consumed a fair amount, but it should be enough to deal with this skeleton.
Bai Xuan gripped the iron rod and charged toward the Heavy Armored Skeleton, kicking up a spray of water.
At the same time, he raised the Whispering Staff in his left hand, and the golden holy light spread out once more.
Purifying Severance was continuously activated, surging toward and suppressing the curse power on the skeleton while purifying the surrounding polluted river water to lighten the burden on his teammates.
Seeing this, Owen immediately seized the opportunity. He charged out fiercely from the side, his heavy sword hacking hard into the Heavy Armored Skeleton’s knee joint, attempting to restrict its movements again.
The Heavy Armored Skeleton turned instantly and swung its battle blade down. Owen reacted extremely quickly, hurriedly leaning aside to dodge.
However, the blade still grazed his chest, and blood instantly splashed out, staining the clothes on his chest red.
He stumbled back, his face growing even paler. The erosion of the curse combined with the pain of the wound made his condition even worse.
Lily also took the opportunity to launch an attack from behind. Her rapier accurately pierced into a gap in the Heavy Armored Skeleton’s armor, attempting to cause fatal damage.
But the Heavy Armored Skeleton’s reaction remained swift. It swung its blade back in a reverse strike. Lily hurriedly jumped back, but she couldn't completely dodge it. The tip of the blade cut her shoulder, and blood instantly welled out.
She stumbled to a stop a few meters away, her figure swaying. The marks of curse erosion on her body became increasingly obvious, and her face was so pale it was almost transparent.
After repelling the two, the Heavy Armored Skeleton once again pursued Lily, who was in the worst condition. With every swing of its blade, it radiated lethal killing intent.
At this critical moment, Bai Xuan had already closed in. He swung the iron rod high, and Redemption Strike was activated with full force, slamming heavily into the Heavy Armored Skeleton’s lower back.
Thanks to the Holy attribute’s suppression of the undead, this strike caused significant damage.
With a dull thud, the rod slammed into the thick armor. A section of the armor instantly cracked, and the massive force penetrated the iron plate, causing the skeleton inside to hum and even develop fine cracks.
The Heavy Armored Skeleton was knocked forward two steps by the force, and its battle blade missed its mark. The attack originally aimed at Lily instantly fell through.
It slowly turned around, its empty eye sockets fixing on Bai Xuan, the eerie green soul flames flickering violently.
The Heavy Armored Skeleton seemed to be provoked by this sudden attack, but it still had no extra reaction. It only mechanically locked onto Bai Xuan, who was now the closest to it.
Bai Xuan did not retreat at all. He stepped forward to meet its gaze, swinging the iron rod again. Another heavy strike slammed into its breastplate.
This strike was even swifter than the last. The breastplate was instantly dented, and clear, fine cracks appeared on the skeleton inside, showing how significant the Holy attribute’s suppression effect was.
The Heavy Armored Skeleton was forced back repeatedly. It then swung its blade in a reverse strike, the edge sweeping across.
Bai Xuan was agile. With a slight side-step, he steadily avoided the lethal blow, the blade grazing the edge of his clothes.
He stabilized his stance and gave the Heavy Armored Skeleton no chance to counterattack. The iron rod fell once more, precise and swift.
At this moment, before the Heavy Armored Skeleton could fully withdraw its battle blade, Bai Xuan’s iron rod slammed heavily into its shoulder blade.
The armor instantly split open with a large gap, and the shoulder blade inside snapped at the impact.
The Heavy Armored Skeleton’s leg went weak, and it knelt down heavily. The battle blade slipped from its hand and sank into the water.
Bai Xuan gave it no room to breathe. He took a quick step forward and aimed the iron rod at the gap between its helmet and breastplate, bringing it down with a Redemption Strike to end the battle once and for all.
Just as the iron rod was about to hit, a faint light suddenly flashed on the Heavy Armored Skeleton.
A surge of black mist erupted from the gaps in its armor, like something alive, quickly enveloping it.
The Heavy Armored Skeleton, which had been kneeling, actually stood back up slowly. The battle blade that had sunk into the water was also recalled by an invisible force, landing firmly back in its hand.
Bai Xuan subconsciously took a step back, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
He hadn't expected the power of this Magic Soul Seed fragment to be so strong that it could even quickly repair shattered bones.
The strike just now had clearly been about to land solidly, but it was forcibly blocked by that sudden surge of eerie light. Not only did it fail to cause fatal damage, but it also allowed the puppet to regain its combat strength.
At that moment, Kieran’s arrow flew in again, accurately pinning itself to the Heavy Armored Skeleton’s head and getting stuck in its empty eye socket, but it still failed to have any effect.
The Heavy Armored Skeleton’s movements did not slow down at all. The layer of eerie light on its body grew brighter, and the surrounding river water became dark and murky again.
Bai Xuan’s Purifying Severance was still continuously active, but the curse power on the skeleton was simply too strong. The purified area was being constantly compressed, and the suppression effect of the holy light was gradually weakening.
He took a deep breath. The curse was getting stronger; he couldn't delay any longer and had to settle this quickly.
Bai Xuan charged toward the Heavy Armored Skeleton.
Just as it saw Bai Xuan approach and prepared to swing its blade, a Concussive Field suddenly exploded.
Golden holy light centered on Bai Xuan and spread outward rapidly in all directions.
In the water, the shockwave of the Concussive Field was mostly weakened, but even so, it was enough.
The Heavy Armored Skeleton’s movements instantly stopped. It remained in its blade-swinging posture, and the eerie green soul flames in its empty eye sockets were also instantly frozen, entering a state of complete paralysis.
“Now!” Bai Xuan thought to himself. He swung the iron rod high once more, and 【Redemption Strike】 was activated with full force.
The suppression power of the Holy attribute was pushed to its limit. Golden holy light enveloped the iron rod, emitting a dazzling radiance.
The first strike slammed fiercely into its chest. The armor that had been repaired by the eerie light instantly shattered completely, and the skeleton inside was also crushed to pieces.
Without waiting for the eerie light to repair it again, the second strike slammed heavily into its skull. With a loud explosion, the skull instantly shattered, and the eerie green soul flames dissipated along with it.
The Heavy Armored Skeleton’s body swayed. It could no longer support itself and fell heavily into the water with a splash. It then sank to the bottom, motionless.
The eerie light on its body was still flickering, trying to repair the shattered bones.
But since the host had already perished, these lights only flickered futilely a few times before going completely dark, eventually dissipating into the river water without a trace.
【Experience +30, Pleasure +24】
The battlefield instantly fell silent, leaving only the sounds of the others groaning in pain.
Bai Xuan stood in place, leaning on the iron rod, slowly adjusting his breathing. There wasn't much exhaustion on his face.
Thanks to the Holy attribute’s suppression and his own ample strength, this battle hadn't cost him much. He had only expended a bit of physical effort.
With the death of the Heavy Armored Skeleton, the surrounding curse power was also rapidly weakening. The black mist in the air gradually thinned and dissipated, and the murky river water slowly regained its clarity.
The previously polluted area also gradually returned to its original state under the effect of Purifying Severance, and the curse could no longer spread.
Bai Xuan’s gaze turned to the shattered skeleton at the bottom of the water. In the position of its chest cavity, between the broken bones, something was emitting a faint light.
He could vaguely see a fragment glowing with an eerie light; it was likely the fragment of that Magic Soul Seed.
Owen stumbled over through the water, his face pale and the wound on his chest still bleeding.
His gaze first landed on the skeleton at the bottom of the water, then turned to Karl’s body on the reef. His lips moved, but he said nothing.
He then looked at Bai Xuan’s back, his heart filled with a complex mix of emotions.
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