Chapter 150: Piero's Trial

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“Clang!”

Lu Kuan swung his sword at the orc’s thick neck bone, but the foe raised his head to block the blow, producing a harsh metallic clash!

The strike was powerful, but the hardness of the opponent’s bone far exceeded Lu Kuan’s expectations. His right hand tingled painfully; the Blood Throat sword almost slipped from his grasp. He quickly withdrew, narrowly avoiding the spear tip that swept past him.

Picking up his short sword, Lu Kuan noticed a bend forming in the middle of the blade—the weapon’s durability had sharply dropped to 60%.

“What a lousy weapon…” Lu Kuan spat to the side, displeased.

He clearly understood it wasn’t the Blood Throat’s quality that was poor, but rather “overwork.” Swinging at bones every second, often breaking them, occasionally encountering such incredibly hard bones as these…

“Whoosh!”

Lu Kuan dodged again as a half-broken longsword stabbed from a nearby small skeleton. He pivoted and kicked, scattering the foe’s frame, then bent over with hands on his knees to catch his breath, glancing at the system timer.

Fifteen minutes had already passed.

“Clatter, clatter~”

The skeletons’ unique rattling grew louder and denser within the great hall. Lu Kuan was gradually forced back to the edge of the chamber, surrounded within three meters by dense piles of white bones—no place to step.

Agile among the monstrous horde, Lu Kuan ducked low and leaped deeply forward. Using momentum, he stepped twice on a nearby stone pillar, launching himself into the air!

At the same time, Lu Kuan flicked his left hand, silently unfurling a scroll that suddenly exploded with a blinding white light!

“Whoosh~”

“Sizzle…”

All skeletons bathed in the white glow instantly burned and melted at a visible speed, emitting a strange, low growl.

When Lu Kuan landed at the outer edge of the encirclement, the skeletons behind him had turned to ash, drifting away in the hall’s air until disappearing completely.

Lu Kuan’s face remained calm, showing no joy. “The Holy Word scroll is indeed useful, but it can only be used once…”

As if in response to his concern, the death energy in the hall surged with the mass death of the undead. Dense, brittle bones slowly began to levitate, forming over a dozen tall skeletons before Lu Kuan.

This time, these skeletons wore thick armor, their weapons noticeably varied. Lu Kuan licked his lips, eyes blazing with battle fervor.

…

On the shore of Heart Island.

“Pfft…”

Master Hong crawled from the water, spitting out river water with a grim expression, then glanced back.

In the river’s center, a massive water python writhed violently, its sinewy body emerging and submerging on the surface. The snake’s distinctive hissing filled the air, while flashes of piercing white light sporadically flickered in the water.

Those were fallen members of the Flame Demon Sword team.

Master Hong raised his right hand, releasing the collar of the grasshopper—now a gnome rogue whose face was deathly pale, lips trembling, legs utterly weak as he stared at the thrashing giant python.

“What the hell is going on? Is this some kind of mutant?” someone who had just reached the shore cursed, still shaken. “At this hour, shouldn’t these creatures be resting in their lairs? Why are they so active?”

“Yeah, at this temperature, it’s rare even to see one swim around twice, let alone attack so fiercely,” another player added, equally puzzled.

All were bewildered, somewhat stunned.

Twelve had come to explore this time; five were lost in the river, two of whom had just leveled up—now all would regress.

Master Hong frowned deeply, silent, scanning his team’s list. Several yet to reach shore had their portraits grayed out.

He turned back to the center of Heart Island, where a dazzling golden light shone ever brighter through the dense jungle. If one listened carefully, a low, murmuring chant could be faintly heard.

The anomaly had appeared on the island halfway through their river crossing. Just as the group was about to hurry forward, the giant python ambushed them in the water.

It was a nightmare!

Well-trained professional players could manage fear well, but against a giant water python, players of this level had no chance to resist.

The barbarian berserker’s eyes were cold; the muscles on his cheeks twitched, the scar on his bald head twisting along with the movement, terrifying.

“Rest for one minute, then depart immediately. Old Deer has probably triggered the quest,” Master Hong ordered in a low voice.

“Yes!” came the unanimous reply. It seemed they had shaken off the shadow of the recent skirmish.

Someone asked, “Captain, the boss said to find Old Deer and negotiate terms to buy his quest progress. So, what do we—?”

“Do you think Old Deer is shortsighted?” Master Hong asked, looking at his companions. They exchanged glances and shook their heads in tacit agreement.

“The boss doesn’t understand Old Deer, so…”

Master Hong removed his twin axes from his back beneath the golden light shield in the distance and said gravely, “When we meet him, strike immediately—kill him at least once. We can’t let his quest progress get ahead of ours.”

…

At the same time, inside the great hall of the Temple of Piero.

“Bang!”

“Ugh…”

A massive skeletal monster swung its arm in a wide arc, sweeping away countless foes. Lu Kuan, caught off guard, was struck in the back, tumbling through the air before crashing heavily to the ground. A bright red “-41!” appeared above his head.

Lying on the ground, Lu Kuan’s whole body ached; his back felt like it was shattered, pain relentlessly tormenting his nerves.

But there was no time to rest now. Lu Kuan rolled to his feet, dodging a spear thrust, then fiercely slashed, cutting off the spear tip chasing him.

“Die, all of you!” Lu Kuan roared, using momentum to leap forward, slicing through the ribs of two skeletons before squeezing through a crowd of bones. With a casual swipe of his twin swords, he felled another group.

“System alert: Your weapon ‘Blood Throat’ durability is at 1%. Continued use may cause permanent damage.”

“Warning: Stamina below 10%, imminent fainting.”

“Warning: Please rest or replenish stamina immediately.”

The bright red warnings flashed before Lu Kuan’s eyes. He cursed under his breath, tossed the two short swords into his backpack, drew his hunting bow, and fired an arrow without turning.

“Crack!”

The feathered arrow struck the beast-shaped skeleton’s head perfectly, the tip piercing through its skull and emerging from the back of its head.

Against ordinary monsters, this would have been a fatal shot, but the undead only swayed slightly and charged at Lu Kuan relentlessly.

“Swish!”

A vine trap at Lu Kuan’s feet triggered, ensnaring enemies within one meter. But its effect was negligible—the beastly skeletons behind crushed their trapped comrades underfoot with crisp cracking sounds.

In the next moment, one raised a massive axe high above his head and brought it down hard on the slowed Lu Kuan’s head!