Chapter 056: The Corpse King of the Fragrant Stone Tomb

“What’s that sound?” The three brothers were immediately drawn by the strange noise. When they had been leveling up on the first floor of the Fragrant Stone Catacombs before, they’d never heard anything like this. Usually, it was either the groaning and wailing of zombies or the thunderous blasts from Lin Jia’s lightning spells. But this was the first time they’d heard a metallic clanging.

The catacombs were pitch black, with visibility almost zero. The candles the brothers carried barely illuminated a small circle around them. They had no choice but to advance in a tight formation, their rings of light overlapping as they searched around. Since it had been a while since they’d last trained on the first floor, the zombie population had once again returned to its former density. Fortunately, Lin Jia and his brothers were no longer the newbies they were when they first entered; each of them could now guarantee their own safety.

The presence of electric zombies made things a bit more dangerous for Lin Jia, but with his superior micro-control skills, he’d honed his movement to perfection over the past few days. As long as he didn’t stand on the cross-shaped lines extending from the zombies, the electric zombies couldn’t touch him. In his high-magic state, two level-2 lightning bolts were enough to finish one off instantly.

Very soon, a tall figure emerged from the shadows at the edge of their light. Its skin was a silvery grey, its appearance fearsome, and deep, guttural roars emanated from it. Thick, rusted black iron chains coiled around its body clattered together with crisp metallic notes as it moved!

“What kind of monster is that?” The brothers froze, stunned. They had never seen such a creature in the Fragrant Stone Catacombs. A quick sweep with the mouse revealed its name: “Corpse King.” It was far more burly and imposing than any ordinary zombie—clearly a boss among the undead!

Whatever this thing was, it was definitely rare—and rare monsters usually meant rare loot. Old Fourth, freshly armored in heavy plate, was brimming with confidence. Brandishing his horse-chopping blade, he charged with a battle cry. But before he could land more than a couple of blows, the creature swung an iron chain at him, and a single strike dropped his health to one-third. Terrified, Old Fourth turned and ran, shouting at the top of his lungs, “This one’s tough! Time to bail!” As he fled, he frantically gulped down several strong healing potions from his quickbar.

Lin Jia and the eldest brother were both startled. They’d never encountered a monster that could nearly kill their thick-skinned warrior in one hit. If this thing could do that to a level 22 heavy-armored fighter, wouldn’t Lin Jia’s frail mage be dead from a single scratch? And the eldest, a Taoist, wouldn’t survive a single embrace?

Old Fourth was so desperate he started shouting in gaming slang. The eldest and Lin Jia wasted no time—they darted behind the nearest E-shaped broken wall. Not bothering with the pursuing Corpse King, Lin Jia immediately unleashed lightning to clear out the nearby electric zombies, while the eldest’s skeleton minion hacked away at the regular zombies outside the wall. Compared to these zombies, the minion was skinny, but in this place, it reigned supreme!

Any Taoist player would know that it’s difficult to get your skeleton minion behind cover when monsters are around; the eldest could only stand at the edge of the broken wall, forming an L-shaped corner, forcing the low-IQ zombies to wander aimlessly outside.

Old Fourth was in a perilous spot outside, but he didn’t dare duck behind the wall until Lin Jia and the eldest were ready, for fear of luring his train of monsters onto them—then the wall wouldn’t block enough. If he used a random teleport scroll to escape, he’d just have to lure the Corpse King again after Lin Jia cleared the area, and bring another horde of zombies with it. So Old Fourth had to dodge the Corpse King’s attacks in a small area, ignoring the zombies’ damage—so long as the boss didn’t hit him, he was satisfied.

Lin Jia quickly finished off dozens of zombies and called out, “Alright! Bring it over!”

Old Fourth, hearing this like the voice of an angel, was overjoyed—he was down to his last strong healing potion. If he didn’t finish this soon, he’d have no choice but to flee. Like a man with his pants on fire, he dashed behind the wall, finally able to breathe easy as he joined the eldest to form a human barrier, swallowing his last potion.

His maneuver brought the Corpse King and a dozen zombies with him, but because he moved so quickly, only the boss and a handful of zombies followed; the rest, losing their target, simply stood there in confusion.

The eldest’s skeleton, left outside the wall, mindlessly shuffled about on its stick-like legs. When the Corpse King approached, it bravely charged forward, but a hero needs help to win the day. The skeleton didn’t stand a chance—it was swatted several times by the iron chain, and with a final blow its head lolled aside, collapsing into a pile of bones. Most people would just lose a few teeth after a slap, but the skeleton lost everything at once…

After painstakingly raising his skeleton to level 3, the eldest actually felt relieved when it died. He immediately summoned another, positioning it next to Old Fourth to form a complete barrier. In this game, Taoists and mages could control their pets’ actions. Pressing Ctrl+A would prompt a green “Subordinate Action: Rest” message in the chat, causing the minion to stay put and not retaliate if attacked. Pressing it again would switch to “Subordinate Action: Attack,” restoring its activity.

Positioning the skeleton for a barrier took some skill. Taoist players would maneuver their pet to the desired spot and quickly hit Ctrl+A to freeze it in place. Some seasoned players could even estimate the spawn location and use their own position to instantly summon and freeze the skeleton where needed, but that took practice.

The Corpse King’s defense and health were insane! Lin Jia hurled over a dozen lightning bolts at it with barely any visible effect, and could only continue his relentless assault. After dozens more blasts, the boss was still outside, howling and pacing in fury. With a sinking heart, Lin Jia downed his last strong mana potion… He was out of magic!

Staring at the nearly empty magic globe in his interface, Lin Jia cast lightning one last time. With a thunderous crash, the Corpse King reeled backward, and the brothers’ hearts leapt into their throats. Yet still, the boss remained standing, letting out a guttural roar as it staggered. Crushing disappointment washed over them. Lin Jia could only give a helpless shrug, admitting he was spent. Old Fourth, fired up, roared, “Give me all the healing potions! I’ll go all in! Eldest, keep healing me!”

The eldest had already given all his mana potions to Lin Jia. Seeing the meager amount of magic left in his own globe, he handed Old Fourth his only three medium healing potions and four small ones just picked up. Lin Jia, never much for healing items, gave both his medium potions to Old Fourth as well.

Old Fourth arranged the potions in his quickbar, then charged out, shouting. The eldest, swept up in the frenzy, released the new skeleton and joined the assault, launching a fire talisman; the skeleton waded in, swinging its tiny axe.

At that moment, Lin Jia’s mana regenerated just a sliver. Instinctively, he cast lightning once more…

A thunderclap resounded.

With a bloodcurdling wail, the Corpse King—simultaneously struck by fire talisman, sword, skeleton, and lightning—finally exploded in a blinding shower of loot!

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[Note: The Corpse King appearing in the Fragrant Stone Catacombs in this chapter wasn’t something I personally experienced, but at the time, my friends at the internet café all swore it happened, even showing me a Memory Bracelet and a Half-Moon Tome they got from it. It was taken down by a mere level 23 warrior… He was so excited, he bought sodas for all the girls in the café… I despise him! There were only four girls in the whole place!

PS: This book is about to drop off the rankings, and a period of wanton, unrestrained updates is coming! Let your wild cries ring out! For this, won’t you hit the amplifier below and give a few lusty shouts in bed?]

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