Chapter 152: White Bones

Ordering everyone else to step back, Luo Yong set up his formation atop the precipice, with Gatling guns and artillery all primed and ready.

The magical girls were on standby to provide support at any moment, the Serpent Queen slithered in an erratic pattern amidst the battle formation, and the Unmatched Swordmaster stood at the ready...

Although Luo Yong was directing all of this, deep down, he had a faint feeling that perhaps he was being a bit too overly cautious.

However, the anxiety of insufficient firepower had existed since ancient times; being cautious was always a good thing, as it brought peace of mind!

Had he possessed the materials, Luo Yong would have even considered making a tactical nuclear—ahem, even though this was a world of magic, he at least wanted to conjure up some kind of individual-use forbidden spell.

"Attack!"

With everything prepared, Luo Yong waved his hand. Mana surged atop the cliff, machine guns roared, and countless bullets and artillery shells, along with the black beam spat out by the Serpent Queen, rained down upon the skeletons below.

"Roar!"

Countless roars blended together into a chaotic mess, making it impossible to count the voices. It felt as though someone was screaming frantically right beside your ear every second, almost enough to drive a person mad.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dozens of shells exploded amidst the countless skeletons, shattering white bones into fragments that scattered everywhere.

Rat-tat-tat!

The Gatling guns wove a web of firepower for blanket coverage. Many skeletons had their skulls directly blown apart, extinguishing their dim, greenish soul fires bit by bit.

Yet, after bombarding for quite a while, the skeletons down below showed no signs of diminishing.

"Light of Annihilation!"

Several magical girls chanted simultaneously, unleashing brilliant rays of magical light that scoured the area beneath the cliff like a plow.

Before their eyes, a massive number of skeletons were slain, turning into fragments of withered bone, while a magic book radiating a green glow revealed itself.

However, the characters on it were illegible.

"Could that be the legendary [Necronomicon]?" Fiona muttered under her breath as she looked at the scene before her, though she quickly shook her head. "There's no reason for it to appear here, though!"

No matter what, this was only a low-tier mystic realm; the chances of high-tier items dropping here were practically zero.

"Captain, should I go fetch that book?" Fiona stepped forward, summoning her wings of light and volunteering eagerly.

"No need." Luo Yong waved his hand, stopping her.

"Uh..." Fiona froze, standing aside with her head lowered as if she had done something wrong.

Her enthusiasm was constantly and ruthlessly dampened.

"The battle isn't over yet. Going over there now is too dangerous," Luo Yong said indifferently.

Then, he cast an emotionless glance at the other temporary team members nearby, who had also been harboring thoughts, eager to show off or perhaps hoping to pick up scraps.

Beneath the cliff, around that book, a massive amount of black Qi suddenly surged forth, seemingly concealing an exceptionally evil yet immensely powerful force within it.

"Huh?"

Luo Yong felt an illusion welling up in his heart, as if an entity within that black Qi was attempting to take over the book and was currently trying to corrupt it with all its might.

"Chances are, this place originally had a situation similar to the Demon Mystic Realm..."

Luo Yong muttered to himself.

He figured that this Skeleton Mystic Realm must have undergone some unknown changes, which was why it appeared so "desolate."

Following the emergence of that black Qi, a vast horde of skeletons poured out from the ground once more, tangling together while letting out wailing cries, as if countless tormented souls were imprisoned within them, struggling in agony.

"Oh, Captain, this place is so weird!" Fiona sighed.

"Fall back."

Luo Yong waved his hand once more, maintaining his emotionless demeanor as he commanded the magic puppet legion—

"Resume attack!"

At the same time, Luo Yong summoned the Holy Light Guardian and activated the Holy Light Domain as a precaution against any unexpected accidents.

Clatter...

A pile of tactical scrolls tumbled to the ground beside him.

"Fiona."

"Huh?"

"If any unexpected situation occurs later, use these scrolls to counterattack. Stay close to me and don't run around."

"Oh, got it! Yes, Captain! Fiona understands!" The young girl snapped to attention and replied with utmost seriousness.

Once the skeletons beneath the cliff were cleared out once more, the black Qi surged, rushing upward and forcing back the heroes who were standing slightly too close, while also sweeping in one hero who had been too slow to retreat!

"Ah! Help—"

The hero only managed to utter a single cry before his sentence was cut short. His figure was completely engulfed by the black Qi, and his voice was muffled, unable to pass through.

There remained only endless malice and desperate roars, as if trapped by long stretches of time, lingering endlessly in this mystic realm, unnoticed by anyone...

Swish!

A unique golden light, brilliantly radiant, pierced through the black Qi almost instantly, carving out a pathway and seemingly reviving a glimmer of hope.

Yet, no matter how brilliant this light was, it lasted only for a fleeting moment before being surrounded and swallowed by the endless black Qi, until its energy was completely exhausted and it vanished.

Clatter!

Luo Yong dumped out another pile of tactical scrolls, glancing at the temporary team members who had taken the opportunity to hide inside the Holy Light Domain.

"You lot, just like Fiona, pick out wind-type scrolls, activate them, and hurl them at the source of the black Qi!"

"Yes!"

"Understood!"

Aside from Fiona, these temporary team members seemed to have never seen so many tactical scrolls in their lives—even if they had, it was only displayed in a shop window.

Who on earth carried this many tactical scrolls on their person?

Acting together, these individuals practically lunged at the pile of scrolls, shoving Fiona aside and earning a disgruntled look from her.

Whoosh!

A level-20 tornado was unleashed, sucking in the black Qi swirling near the cliff and growing continuously stronger. In the process, the originally transparent wind turned pitch black.

Following that, scattered white bones on the ground were swept into the vortex, along with the frantically howling skeletons.

The massive tornado raged beneath the cliff, disturbing the undead below and provoking a chorus of violent shrieks.

However, only a fraction of these intertwined skeletons on the outer perimeter were sucked in.

The majority remained jammed together in an indistinguishable mass.

Snap!

When the wind-type mana dissipated and the spell dissolved, the skeletons swept into midair were all torn to shreds. Even those that remained intact fell to the ground and shattered into broken bones.

However, the black Qi did not disperse along with them; instead, it reassembled and coalesced once more.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Several consecutive tornadoes were unleashed simultaneously, clearing out nearly all the skeletons and black Qi beneath the cliff.

However, this tranquility was short-lived.

The glowing green book had already floated up, slowly rising high into the air.

As the magical power dissipated and the black Qi condensed, it gathered around the book, forming a pitch-black heart at its center.

Crack, crack, crack!

An invisible energy surged around this black heart, molding a rigid framework of human skeletal bones.

When it stood up, stretching from head to toe several yards high, it stood there like a mountain, with the upper half of its body towering above the precipice.

It felt as though someone on the opposing side had activated a Susanoo...

Except that it wasn't a complete form just yet.

"Oh, mother!"

Luo Yong let out an exclamation as he gazed at the giant skeleton, which slowly twisted its body, igniting a fierce, greenish ghostly light within its skull.

The monster's level was rather difficult to define.

At that moment, the mana fluctuations were extremely chaotic; the giant monster looked immensely powerful, yet simultaneously gave off a fragile vibe.

Fluctuating between strong and weak, it made accurate assessment impossible.

Swish!

A brilliant beam of golden light struck the giant skeleton directly in the face!

Such a direct, right-in-the-face attack was utterly devoid of martial arts etiquette!

Fiona peeked out from behind Luo Yong, her eyes wide open and her cheeks flushed, looking thoroughly excited.

This ray of golden light plunged into the skeleton's skull, bathing the surrounding area in a golden hue.

The ghostly light that had just ignited was nearly beaten out!

However, black Qi surged across the skeleton's body, covering it entirely like a suit of armor.

Right at the center of its chest, a pinpoint of green light leaked out, as if threatening to pierce the barrier and fly out from within at any second.

"Roar!"

The giant skeleton let out a roar that shook the entire mystic realm, causing the earth to tremor slightly. It casually swung its two skeletal arms, stirring up billows of dust and sending jagged rocks flying everywhere.

"Attack!"

Luo Yong issued the command directly, addressing not only the magic puppet legion but also the temporary team members beside him.

At the same time, he activated the tactical scrolls in his own hands.

In an instant, magic bullets and magical artillery shells slammed into the monster simultaneously, blasting apart huge chunks of its body and sending massive bone fragments flying in all directions.

Combined with various level-20 powerful spells, the barrage battered the giant skeleton until it swayed precariously, retreating step by step and nearly tumbling over.

Most importantly, two distinct wills seemed to be fighting for dominance inside its body.

It was completely incapable of mounting any defense against external attacks.

Swish, swish, swish!

Streaks of pitch-black light struck its body, causing the hit areas to rapidly petrified, spreading like crystals across its entire form.

Before this process could even finish, fresh attacks landed on it once more.

"Roar!"

Ultimately, the giant skeleton collapsed in frustration, shattering into pieces. Both of its skeletal arms broke off, yet the fragments remaining on its body still twitched, trying to prop the torso back up.

It felt...

Much like a bone spirit that had cultivated to a certain realm, happened to be undergoing its heavenly tribulation right here, only to run into Luo Yong out farming monsters.

"Tsk tsk, I suppose this is destiny!"

Luo Yong shook his head with a sigh, tossing out several tactical scrolls in succession that struck the skeleton.

The black Qi was blasted apart repeatedly, failing to coalesce for a time, and the sturdy bone armor was blown to smithereens.

Crack, crack, crack!

Streaks of lightning crashed down, shattering the skeleton's skull. The soul fire was extinguished, all sounds ceased, and everything came to an abrupt halt.