Chapter 72

"Damn, there are so many!" Lin Yun was startled. The number of skeleton warriors in this area had far exceeded his imagination.

In comparison, the skeleton warriors gathered around the Mysterious Iron Mine in the Bone Plane were not even worth mentioning. What did a hundred skeleton warriors matter when faced with the black mass before Lin Yun, which numbered at least a thousand...

What to do...

The first thought that popped into Lin Yun's mind was to use the Levitation Spell to leave from the cliff behind him.

But before he could even utter the incantation, Lin Yun remembered the notes left by the Grandmaster. This was a real and dangerous illusion...

This statement seemed somewhat contradictory, but Lin Yun knew that the key was in the word "real."

Lin Yun had already understood what a real Death Legion looked like from Sandro's notes. Lin Yun believed that if he really tried to use the Levitation Spell to leave from the cliff behind him, he would likely be met by a large group of gargoyles, or a dozen obsidian statues, or even a few bone dragons...

The existence of the Death Garden itself was unreasonable. The immense death force continuously gathered, eventually catalyzing the bizarre Death Garden. The Death Garden itself was a manifestation of death force, and to some extent, it already had a hint of the rules. How could such a bizarre existence allow him to easily take a shortcut?

The first wave of skeleton warriors had already climbed up the slope, their rusted scimitars raised.

Lin Yun no longer had time to think. He quickly cast several incantations, and a Flame Barrier immediately rose at the bottom of the slope. Lin Yun was now a High Mage, and his strength had increased tenfold compared to when he first entered the Bone Plane. The Flame Barrier, when it landed among the first wave of skeleton warriors, instantly unleashed terrifying power. Dozens of skeleton warriors didn't even have time to struggle before they were reduced to ashes in the intense heat of the Flame Barrier.

Moreover, the appearance of the Flame Barrier caused chaos among the skeleton warriors. The fear of fire was an instinct of every undead creature, and even the lowest-ranking cannon fodder, the skeleton warriors, were no exception. As Lin Yun's Flame Barrier landed, the front group of skeleton warriors began to retreat, but the subsequent skeleton warriors still wanted to climb up the slope.

Thus, chaos ensued...

Lin Yun took advantage of this chaos to complete the incantation of the Flame Storm. With a loud "boom," a ball of flame appeared among the chaotic skeleton warriors. As this ball of flame spun like a top, an endless amount of heat instantly erupted, like a tornado that devoured everything. Wherever the Flame Storm passed, almost all the skeleton warriors were reduced to ashes. The entire Flame Storm lasted exactly ten seconds, during which at least a hundred skeleton warriors disappeared. In the end, only a dozen or so skeleton warriors remained from the first wave.

But Lin Yun knew that this was just the beginning.

Sure enough, as the first wave of skeleton warriors was cleared by Lin Yun, the remaining skeleton warriors had already climbed up the slope. The closest ones were now less than a hundred meters away, and their numbers were almost ten times more than before.

Lin Yun knew that once these skeleton warriors surrounded him, even a High Mage, let alone a High Mage, would likely meet his end. Below the rank of Archmage, no one could survive the assault of a thousand skeleton warriors. It was a sea of skeleton warriors, and once one fell into it, the only outcome was to be drowned alive.

The only thing Lin Yun could do was to push his casting speed to the limit. The mana array was in a state of overload from start to finish, and fire spells poured out one after another. In a way that Lin Yun was unwilling to admit, he relived the battle tactics of the Flame Tyrant Max.

If it weren't for the sheer number of skeleton warriors, this battle would have been a good opportunity for Lin Yun. Almost every fire spell he cast made him understand the Flame Tyrant's battle style more thoroughly. In the end, Lin Yun even felt as if he had completely taken on the role of Max, fighting against the endless undead creatures in the Ghost City...

One after another, skeleton warriors fell, but more quickly filled their places.

For Lin Yun, the entire battle was like a test of patience and perseverance. In the end, Lin Yun couldn't even remember how many spells he had cast or how many times his mana had been depleted. All he knew was that every time his mana was depleted, he would draw some from the Blood Succubus's soul essence.

Fortunately, the Blood Succubus was a spirit of resentment, and the soul essence contained far purer mana than ordinary mana crystals. When Lin Yun absorbed mana from it, it was easier than from mana crystals. The only downside was that this pure mana always carried some nauseating negative emotions, and each absorption made Lin Yun's mind restless.

But there was no time to worry about that now...

If the Blood Succubus was the most troublesome enemy Lin Yun had encountered since coming to this era, then this battle was the longest he had experienced since coming to this era.

The cold crescent moon had gradually set, and the first rays of dawn were visible in the eastern sky.

A whole night had passed...

Lin Yun was still madly slaughtering. The slope was littered with charred bones, and fire spells poured out one after another from Lin Yun's hands, with skeleton warriors falling one after another. This battle seemed to have no end...

It wasn't until the sun rose completely that Lin Yun cast another fire spell and suddenly realized that there was not a single skeleton warrior standing on the slope...

"Finally, it's over..." Lin Yun panted heavily, trying to reach into his pocket to take out the soul essence for a final mana replenishment, but his legs suddenly gave out, and he stumbled and sat on the ground.

This battle had been too long. For the entire night, Lin Yun had been casting spells and fighting non-stop. Any other High Mage of the same level would not have been able to do what Lin Yun did. This had far exceeded the limits of a Level 1 High Mage.

Fortunately, everything was over...

Almost as soon as Lin Yun fell, the surroundings suddenly changed. The rotting corpses disappeared, the congealed blood vanished, and in their place was a lush, fragrant scene. Lin Yun knew that he had emerged from the illusion of the Death Garden.

Lin Yun was both excited and nervous about the upcoming rewards.

The Grandmaster wrote in the final part of his notes that every choice made in the illusion could affect the final reward.

Lin Yun thought carefully. In the illusion, he seemed to have made no choices, casting spells and fighting from start to finish. So, what would his final reward be?

**************

There will be another update tonight. I'm not being lazy; I just changed the word count per chapter so that the night update won't come too late.

Unfortunately, I've been updating close to midnight for several days now. If this continues, I'll eventually fall into the habit of updating after midnight, which is absolutely unacceptable for a diligent author!