Chapter 307: Sudden Appearance of the Undead

In the Rodoro Plane, the White Dragon Lord and Priest Sinod stood around a mountain of bones—the remains of the white bone monster after its soul had collapsed.

The White Dragon Lord used Mage Hand to lift a piece of bone to his eyes. A dead tiger's might still remains: the monster's bones still pulsed with dense necromantic magic and resentment. If an ordinary person touched these objects brimming with negative energy, they would quickly fall ill and go mad.

The White Dragon Lord and Priest Sinod had fallen into a dispute over how to handle these remains.

"Lord Amos, these bones carry negative energy at the Abomination Rank. I cannot allow such evil to remain in this world. It would be best to let me purify them."

The White Dragon Lord felt a pang of frustration. Even if the white bone monster was an artificial Abomination, its power level was genuine. Its remains were far more precious than those of an ordinary High-Tier Legend undead, yet Priest Sinod actually wanted to destroy these invaluable magical materials.

"Priest Sinod, I understand your desire to purify this evil," the dragon said, "but please trust me. These will absolutely not cause any negative effects."

"I apologize, but my god teaches us to strike down and purify evil. We can discuss the distribution of other resources, but on this matter, I cannot compromise."

When it came to purifying the undead, Priest Sinod's stubbornness defied imagination. It practically bordered on fanaticism.

The White Dragon Lord felt a headache coming on. He had a lich and a pseudo-lich back home; if these Abomination Rank materials fell into their hands, they would yield unimaginable value. But since he was negotiating with Priest Sinod, he absolutely could not voice that reason.

Priest Sinod could see the White Dragon Lord's internal struggle, but purifying all things related to necromancy was the Holy Sanctuary's unwavering principle. He could not back down.

"I am aware of the value of these Abomination remains," Priest Sinod offered. "The Holy Sanctuary is willing to compensate you with other resources."

The priest's firm tone made the White Dragon Lord realize there was no room to maneuver. Coupled with the promise of concessions elsewhere, he could only nod in agreement.

In truth, Priest Sinod couldn't be blamed for his inflexibility; his attitude was dictated by the will of the higher-ups.

Like the vast majority of the living, most deities despised the undead. The Gods of Justice hated them to the core. On one hand, the undead slaughtered the living; on the other, souls were supposed to pass on to a Divine Kingdom after death. When the undead lingered in the material plane, it directly harmed the gods' interests. With their superiors setting the example, the members of the Holy Sanctuary naturally held an extreme loathing for the undead.

Priest Sinod began preparing the purification ritual. Purifying this mountain of bones would be no easy task.

Unable to bear watching a massive fortune slip away right before his eyes, the White Dragon Lord flapped his wings and flew off to inspect the Rodoro Plane, which had been thoroughly plowed over by the white bone monster.

The monster's destructive power was terrifying. After more than three years of its rampages, the Rodoro Plane no longer had a single peak taller than five hundred meters. The land was littered with loose soil and rubble. Whenever the wind blew, sand and dust filled the sky.

"Looks like Elena is going to be busy," the White Dragon Lord sighed.

With that lament, he began scanning the landscape. The white bone monster had destroyed everything on the surface, but it had also unearthed treasures buried deep within the earth. Boosted by a dragon's innate talent for sensing treasure, the White Dragon Lord quickly spotted several exposed mineral veins.

Even heavily developed, the value of a medium material plane far surpassed that of any sub-plane.

He made a rough estimate of the Rodoro Plane's worth. It was likely comparable to the entirety of White Castle. Even after giving half to the Holy Sanctuary, White Castle was still making an enormous profit.

In the future, if Elena completely purified the necromantic energy of the Rodoro Plane and made it habitable again, the entire plane's value would multiply. If they put it up for sale in the Star Realm, plenty of factions would gladly pay a high price for it.

Of course, that scenario was almost impossible. A material plane of this caliber, even if they couldn't use it themselves, would be kept and absorbed internally by the Council.

The White Dragon Lord felt deeply satisfied. Even his frustration over losing the Abomination Rank materials vanished.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, magical fluctuations of teleportation emanated from Priest Sinod's direction.

'Who would teleport here at a time like this?'

The White Dragon Lord found it strange but didn't pay it much mind. A moment later, a battle broke out behind him. Necromantic magic and divine energy violently clashed, painting half the sky in black and gold.

Something had happened!

He hurriedly turned and rushed back.

Greater Light body spell!

Legendary Flight!

Bolstered by magic, the White Dragon Lord flew at breakneck speed. In just one minute, the battlefield came into view. In the distant sky, Priest Sinod was being besieged by three undead: a pale-gold skeleton warrior wielding a bone saber, a skeleton knight holding a spear and shield, and a skeleton mage clutching a staff topped with a Demon skull.

The bone saber slashed against Priest Sinod's holy shield, sparking golden flames. The priest cast a spell to intercept an attack from the skeleton mage—the greatest threat—and dodged the skeleton knight's spear, only to be struck again by the skeleton warrior's saber. The brilliance of his holy shield dimmed slightly.

'Where did these undead come from?!'

And all three were High-Tier Legends of the skeleton race. The White Dragon Lord's expression turned grim. The chances of three High-Tier Legend skeletons gathering spontaneously were minuscule. That left only one plausible explanation: they all belonged to the same faction.

Some skeleton faction had set its sights on the Rodoro Plane!

Seeing this juicy prize about to be snatched away right from his lips infuriated the White Dragon Lord. He let out a furious dragon roar.

Roar!

Priest Sinod rejoiced. Reinforcements had arrived.

The three skeletons intensified their assault, leaving the priest struggling to hold on.

The enemy had three fighters; he needed to even the odds. The White Dragon Lord rapidly chanted an incantation. His spell sounded vast and ancient, like the dead, unchanging winds of the Great Glacier.

A massive ice-blue Portal appeared in midair. A gigantic figure stepped through, accompanied by a deep, echoing rumble.

"Honoring the ancient pact, Winter Guard—Hodalam answers your call!"

Summon Winter Guard!

Hodalam, an Ice Elemental at the High-Tier Legendary Level, flew toward the battlefield alongside the White Dragon Lord, wielding a flail in one hand and a tower shield in the other.

But the dragon's offensive had not finished.

Rain of Ice Arrows!

Countless Ice Arrows condensed around him. As soon as he entered spell range, the volley rained down on the three skeletons, shattering their coordinated rhythm and finally giving Priest Sinod a moment to breathe.

Seizing the opening, the Ice Elemental blocked the skeleton warrior's blade, shielding the priest behind it. The White Dragon Lord flew in behind the elemental, joining Priest Sinod.

Priest Sinod looked battered. His usually immaculate robes bore scorch marks from a spell, and his holy shield flickered dimly as he gasped for breath. Had the shield's defensive power not been so absurdly strong, he likely would not have survived until the White Dragon Lord arrived.

Keeping a wary eye on the three skeletons, the White Dragon Lord pulled out a mana potion and chugged it. Summoning a High-Tier Legend Ice Elemental had drained nearly forty percent of his mana.

The skeleton trio desperately wanted to interrupt his recovery, but the Ice Elemental with its tower shield gave them no chance. The skeleton mage had no choice but to use the window to cast buffs on itself and its allies.

Once they stepped into the High-Tier Legendary Rank, even lowly undead like skeletons underwent an earth-shattering transformation. The skeleton warrior before them stood five meters tall, clad entirely in bone armor. It gripped a ghastly pale bone saber covered in jagged, irregular nodules along its spine.

The skeleton knight was equally encased in bone armor. Its mount was no ordinary skeletal steed; it bore curving, Demon-like horns on its head, and pale flames blazed around its four hooves. The White Dragon Lord had seen the skeletal horse kick Priest Sinod's holy shield from a distance. Clearly, the mount was a combatant in its own right.

The skeleton mage was draped in a pitch-black cloak, clutching its Demon skull staff. Its exposed bones gleamed with a pale gold hue, and even the flames of its soul flickered with a faint dark-gold light.

As the potion washed down his throat, the White Dragon Lord felt his mana rapidly restoring, settling his nerves.

"Which faction do you skeletons belong to? Where did you get the coordinates for the Rodoro Plane?!"

In truth, the three skeletons were just as bewildered. They had simply been ordered to scout the plane, entirely unprepared to bump into a priest of the God of Justice and Light upon arrival.

Finding a mortal enemy isolated, there was nothing to discuss—they attacked immediately. But they hadn't expected the enemy to have a companion nearby, leading to this stalemate. Still, the skeleton trio felt no fear. In a three-on-three fight, protecting themselves wouldn't be an issue.

"Who are you supposed to be? Why are you in a plane belonging to the King of Ten Thousand Bones and the Lord of Withered Bones?"

The skeleton warrior invoked the Lord of Withered Bones' name, trying to scare them off.

'The Lord of Withered Bones?!'

The White Dragon Lord quickly understood the situation. As for the claim that the Rodoro Plane belonged to the Lord of Withered Bones, he had no interest in debating it. Whether it was true or false no longer mattered; neither side was going to let this plane go.

If both sides had been normal creatures, perhaps there could have been a negotiation. But... The White Dragon Lord glanced at Priest Sinod, who was currently casting a spell. Getting the Holy Sanctuary to compromise with necromantic creatures was even harder than wiping the Holy Sanctuary out entirely.

Furious after enduring their long beatdown, Priest Sinod struck first. Golden flames spewed from his long staff, rivaling a Dragon Breath as they blanketed the sky and engulfed the three skeletons.

The skeleton mage teleported to open up distance. The skeleton knight raised its shield to protect itself and its mount, while the skeleton warrior ducked behind the knight.

Chanting rapidly, the White Dragon Lord cast four swirling Frost Shields over the charging Ice Elemental.

As the golden flames ceased, the Ice Elemental arrived, swinging its frost flail in a wide arc and slamming it against the fiery shield.

The skeleton knight's bones creaked under the immense force, forcing its skeletal horse to take a step back.

Seizing the moment, the skeleton warrior hiding behind it swung its massive saber at the Ice Elemental. The elemental blocked the blow with its spiked tower shield.

Wave after wave of divine spells and magic continued to buff the Ice Elemental. Its combat prowess spiking several Tiers, the elemental swung its ferocious flail and clashed directly with the skeleton warrior.

The White Dragon Lord fired an Ice Arrow at a netherfire orb launched by the skeleton mage. The orb detonated prematurely, its pale flames blossoming like fireworks.

Magic and divine spells, raw power and qi—six High-Tier Legends unleashed their respective abilities, plunging into a fierce battle above the mountain of bones. Violent shockwaves blasted outward, ripping up loose soil and rocks in a chaotic storm of flying debris.

As time wore on, the scales of victory gradually tipped in the White Dragon Lord's favor.

Skeleton-type undead were fundamentally low-tier undead. Even as High-Tier Legends, they were still slightly weaker than average beings at their rank. Furthermore, as subordinates of the Lord of Withered Bones, most of the good loot they found was claimed by their master. When it came to potions, scrolls, and equipment, the skeleton trio lagged far behind the White Dragon Lord and Priest Sinod.

After blocking another Ice Burst Bomb, the skeleton mage watched the white dragon down yet another potion and realized things were going south. If they kept fighting, it would be their side—despite their numerical advantage—that would collapse first. But fleeing in disgrace would make it hard to answer to the Lord of Withered Bones.

Suddenly, the skeleton mage noticed the mountain of bones on the ground, radiating terrifying waves of negative energy. The mage's eyes lit up. If it brought back some Abomination Rank bones, even the Lord of Withered Bones would be thrilled.

Mind made up, the skeleton mage cast a few more support spells on its allies, then broke away from the skirmish and flew toward the bone pile.

Seeing his primary opponent try to slip away, the White Dragon Lord flew in to intercept, hurling Ice Burst Bombs at the skeleton mage as if mana cost nothing.

The skeleton mage had no intention of staying to fight. It fired several bone spears to detonate the bombs, using the explosion of ice dust as cover to slip out of the dragon's line of sight, its mouth rapidly chanting.

Soul-Bewildering Fog!

An ominous gray mist blanketed the entire mountain of bones, and the skeleton mage seized the chance to collect the remains.

With his vision obscured by the fog, the White Dragon Lord hurriedly flapped his wings and moved erratically to prevent the mage from locking onto his position or launching a sneak attack. At the same time, he began a rapid chant.

Soul Sight!

"Oh?!"

Boosted by Soul Sight, the White Dragon Lord finally spotted the skeleton mage's actions.

Cursing the skeleton mage as a sneaky thief, the White Dragon Lord also felt a surge of greed.

"You think I can't touch you just because you're hiding in there?!"

Protection from Undead!

Wrapping himself in a shield against necromantic energy, the White Dragon Lord dove headfirst into the Soul-Bewildering Fog, simultaneously firing an ice spear at the skeleton mage who was busy gathering bones.

Startled, the skeleton mage hastily cast a spell to intercept the attack.

'It can see me?!'

Soul-Bewildering Fog was a Master Tier spell that blocked the vast majority of magical probing. There were only a few spells capable of piercing it, but the problem was that the White Dragon Lord hadn't cast any of them just now.

Recalling that momentary throb in its soul, the skeleton mage felt that this white dragon was becoming increasingly enigmatic. Just as it prepared to focus entirely on brawling with the dragon, it realized the White Dragon Lord had landed on another part of the bone mountain and had begun hoarding bones himself.

'Sly dragon!'

The skeleton mage realized the white dragon's intentions. Mumbling a curse, it resumed gathering bones as well.

As they harvested the remains, the dragon and the skeleton occasionally lobbed spells at each other. The spells collided and exploded, creating the illusion that they were locked in a desperate battle.

Thus, while the sky above was a chaotic melee, the two beings on the bone mountain maintained a bizarre tacit understanding. Completely ignoring each other, they frantically hoarded the bones left behind by the white bone monster.

Several minutes later, its spatial container nearly full, the skeleton mage voluntarily dispelled the Soul-Bewildering Fog.

Sensing the rapid dissipation of the fog, the White Dragon Lord regretfully stopped. With a flick of his tail, he struck the bone pile, sending bones tumbling down to bury the traces of his excavation. Meanwhile, he quickly chanted a spell.

Giant Ice Lance!

The skeleton mage used Blink to dodge the massive ice spear. As it opened up distance, it sent a telepathic message to its two companions in the sky.

"Retreat!"

Finding their opening, the skeleton warrior and knight unleashed simultaneous qi slashes to force the Ice Elemental back, then bolted after the skeleton mage.

"Don't chase them! The Ice Elemental's summon duration is almost up!"

Receiving the White Dragon Lord's telepathic warning, Priest Sinod could only reluctantly let them go.