Chapter 161: The Cornered Skeleton Monarch

‘An uncounterable, open scheme?’

The Skeleton Monarch’s mind raced.

It racked its brain for a countermeasure, but no matter how hard it thought, it couldn’t come up with a solution.

Dragging this out would only lead to the consequences Aragon had described.

‘Damn it!’

The Skeleton Monarch could almost see its end. The Sea of the Dead it had worked so hard to create was being devoured step by step, all of its forces turned into enemies.

It would have to face a Sea of the Dead all by itself…

A Skeleton Monarch who had unleashed the Undead Calamity, whose final enemy was the very Sea of the Dead it had created.

‘Fine!’

It really would become a joke.

‘Why did things turn out this way? I clearly had the upper hand…’

The Skeleton Monarch instinctively glanced toward Aragon, thousands of miles away, completely baffled.

It had clearly obtained Demon Qi that granted it immense power. It had even overcome Michael’s possession attempt and taken his Divine Power.

It had achieved a glorious feat no Skeleton Monarch before it ever had, with its Undead Calamity eroding more than half of the Ounide continent.

But in the end, it was becoming a joke!

‘Why is this happening?’

Just then, the small skeleton in the Bone Dragon’s belly finished developing. With a cry, it fell from the Bone Dragon’s abdominal cavity to the ground.

It was a hybrid skeleton with the wings of a Bone Dragon and the body of a human.

The Soul Fire in its eyes was so pure, as if it were full of curiosity about the world, devoid of the sinister, putrid aura that ordinary Undead possessed…

After its birth, it fluttered its wings and flew onto the Bone Dragon’s back, affectionately rubbing its head against the Bone Dragon’s cervical vertebrae. The Bone Dragon turned its head as well, its massive skull resting against the newborn’s small one.

The Skeleton Monarch actually felt a sense of warmth from this scene.

‘What the hell!’

‘Undead should absolutely not be like this!’

The Skeleton Monarch shook its head forcefully and suddenly made up its mind.

‘I can’t let this continue. I want to rule the world, not watch skeletons and humans living in harmony…’

‘Aragon was right. Caution can only protect me; it can’t win the war.’

‘Now is the best chance to defeat Aragon. I can’t let that guy keep getting stronger.’

‘Defeat him, snatch his Purifying Cloth and the Desire Celestial Maiden’s Spiritual Desire Whip, and I will be the most powerful Lord of Undead in history.’

‘I just have to be careful not to get caught by the Purifying Cloth and not to get hit by the Spiritual Desire Whip…’

‘A little caution, and it’ll be fine!’

‘The Purifying Cloth isn’t as powerful as I imagined. My Undead Flame can burn it to ashes!’

…

It acted on its decision at once.

Having made up its mind, the Skeleton Monarch immediately opened a Teleportation Gate and sent itself to the front lines, just as it had when it resolutely launched the war of the Undead.

It would not allow any existence in this world that could threaten it.

…

‘It worked!’

Li Ye’s perception had been monitoring the Skeleton Monarch the entire time.

The moment he saw it teleport over, he knew he had succeeded.

He had lived through two worlds and knew clearly that some things couldn’t be avoided just by hiding.

Avoiding battle meant he had already half-lost.

Because there was another source of Demon Qi in this world. What if it suddenly attacked while he was locked in a stalemate with the Skeleton Monarch? How would he handle that?

He would only be truly safe once all his enemies were eliminated.

In this world, “beating up my teammates” could no longer bring him any improvements. The development of the Purifying Cloth’s Derived Skills was full of uncertainty. He had no need to wait for a guaranteed chance to defeat the Skeleton Monarch.

Praise of Life was enough.

…

The Skeleton Monarch stood at the edge of the War Fog, its body wreathed in a white aura of death. It stared at Li Ye and quietly activated “Death Gaze,” attempting to break Aragon’s will to fight and instill fear in him.

“You’ve achieved your goal. Let’s fight.”

The Skeleton Monarch’s voice echoed in Li Ye’s mind like a great bell.

Li Ye smiled faintly and flashed in front of the Skeleton Monarch. The Purifying Cloth surged out, attempting to wrap around the Skeleton Monarch from multiple directions.

At the same time, he swung Fiona toward the Skeleton Monarch like a Meteor Hammer.

This time, the Skeleton Monarch did not choose to flee. It raised its Magic Staff, and a cold flame burned toward the oncoming Purifying Cloth.

In an instant, a series of holes were burned through the Purifying Cloth.

“Fuck, Li Ye, this thing has accumulated more Demon Qi than me!” the Purifying Cloth warned him telepathically. “We can’t get into a contest of Demon Qi, or we’ll be the ones to lose.” It was forced to mobilize its own stored Demon Qi to extinguish the Undead Flame.

As the Purifying Cloth spoke, the Skeleton Monarch’s figure vanished, reappearing behind Li Ye.

The tips of the wings on its back sharpened into bone blades, stabbing toward Li Ye’s vital points: the back of his head, his heart, and his spine.

An exclusive Undead skill—Stealth.

Stealth was faster than opening its Gate of Space-Time, almost reaching the speed of Instant Teleportation.

When it used Stealth to move away, Fiona’s whip and Li Ye’s Entanglement naturally missed.

Li Ye possessed Divine Power equivalent to three of Michael’s Angel’s Hearts. Coupled with the fact that he had raised his physical attributes to their peak in the previous two worlds, his close-combat reaction speed was not much weaker than the Skeleton Monarch’s—in fact, it was even a sliver faster.

The moment the Skeleton Monarch stabbed at him, he had already reacted.

He spun around instantly, dodging the assault of the six bone wings, and threw a backhand punch at the Skeleton Monarch’s head, spitting a wad of saliva at it at the same time.

‘Drenched in Dog Blood. If a paper towel I’ve wiped my hands with can be a defiling object, then my spit should count too.’

The moment the saliva shot out, the Skeleton Monarch was visibly stunned. It had observed countless battles between human experts, but this was the first time it had seen someone spit during close combat.

However, its cautious nature made it tilt its head reflexively, dodging Li Ye’s spit.

Throwing defiled paper towels on the battlefield was a tactic he had invented; it had to be wary of any move Aragon used.

But while it dodged Li Ye’s spit, it failed to dodge his fist.

BANG!

Li Ye’s fist smashed heavily into its jaw.

The immense force sent it flying backward, hurtling toward the fortress.

…

‘What a hard head!’

Li Ye instinctively shook his aching knuckles.

The force of his punch was enough to shatter a mountain, yet when it landed on the Skeleton Monarch’s head, it didn’t even leave a crack.

‘This thing’s head is too tough. Just as expected of the creature that slaughtered half a continent.’

‘What a hard fist!’

The Skeleton Monarch couldn’t feel pain, but it knew just how tough its Demon Qi-enhanced body was.

When Aragon’s fist flew toward it, it had deliberately chosen not to dodge, intending to use its own hard bones to shatter Aragon’s fist.

It didn’t believe Aragon’s fist could be harder than its body.

After all, Aragon was just a young man in his early twenties, not a true Divine Spirit, and he hadn’t been corrupted by Demon Qi.

But to its surprise, not only was Aragon’s fist unharmed, he had actually sent it flying.

‘Aragon’s strength is even greater than mine? How did he do that? Could he really be Gandalf’s disciple?’

…

The Skeleton Monarch’s combat instincts were exceptional. Even as it was sent flying, it didn’t forget to return the favor with a Breath of Aging, pointing its Magic Staff at the Undead at Li Ye’s feet.

The Undead exploded one after another, releasing massive ripples of death.

The Skeleton Monarch knew these things couldn’t harm Li Ye, but it didn’t mind using any means necessary to interfere with its opponent…

The abilities it had awakened were all related to the Undead; very few were for direct combat. It relied entirely on instinct and its immense power.

Fighting someone like Aragon would ultimately devolve into a battle of attrition and reserves. This was exactly what the Skeleton Monarch had wanted to avoid, especially with another source of Demon Qi lurking in the world, watching covetously. It never expected things to come to this.

…

Li Ye paid no mind to the Skeleton Monarch’s Breath of Aging.

The moment the Skeleton Monarch was sent flying, the Purifying Cloth shot out from behind him in all directions, wrapping not only toward the Skeleton Monarch but also toward the countless Undead behind it.

He also had the skill Binding with Ropes, which gave him a Full Attribute Bonus when using rope-like weapons. The higher his proficiency, the greater the bonus.

‘I can’t restrain the Skeleton Monarch now, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be able to later. I’m just increasing my proficiency.’

Under the cover of the sky-blotting Purifying Cloth, Li Ye once again swung Fiona at the Skeleton Monarch.

At the same time, a few tendrils of the Purifying Cloth shot toward Elsa and the others on the city wall, deftly snatching the packets of dirty paper they were carrying.

It shredded them and flung the pieces at the Skeleton Monarch.

These defiled pieces of the Purifying Cloth, now contaminated by them, already possessed a powerful Curse Power. With the added buff of Drenched in Dog Blood, if even a single scrap hit the Skeleton Monarch, victory would be assured.

Li Ye remembered all his skills. He was the one who was truly unscrupulous in a fight.

After all, the Purifying Cloth had said that its Demon Qi reserves were less than the skeleton’s. He had to end this quickly.

…

‘Despicable!’

The Skeleton Monarch ignited its Undead Flame, burning the filthy scraps of paper out of the sky. It then used Stealth again, retreating back into the Undead Mist.

Within the Undead Mist, its power and agility would receive a bonus.

But Li Ye had anticipated its anticipation.

It had just revealed its form when the Purifying Cloth charged into the Undead Mist right after it.

At the ends of the Purifying Cloth’s tendrils were various Undead he had bound, as well as Fiona, who was swinging her whip.

As the Purifying Cloth neared the Skeleton Monarch, he released the bound Undead, letting the ravenous creatures pounce on their chosen targets.

Under the stimulation of Praise of Life, they would lose their minds and choose the nearest target.

At least three Skeleton Generals locked onto the Skeleton Monarch and lunged for it. In the process, two of them made eye contact and ended up embracing each other.

Only one continued to charge at the Skeleton Monarch, its rapidly flickering Soul Fire filled with nothing but desire.

The enraged Skeleton Monarch unhesitatingly used Undead Burst on it, detonating the filthy creature. Then, it unleashed its Undead Flame on the incoming Purifying Cloth.

‘If it’s a battle of attrition, then so be it.’

It refused to believe that its five years of accumulation couldn’t outmatch Aragon’s two months of reserves.

The moment the Purifying Cloth could no longer extend would be the moment of its victory…