In fact, he spotted groups of skeletons patrolling the walls of the Brocchi Stronghold!

An expedition team numbering around 600 players arrived some distance away from Nie Yan and set up base. They were here to investigate the origin of the skeletons, a path of bones in their wake.

They quickly realized the mistake they’d made. While they were still setting up camp, more and more skeletons swarmed them from all around.

These skeletons were actually fairly organized. They knew how to encircle a target and strike fast and hard.

The players held out for about 10 minutes before eventually being swallowed up by the endless sea of skeletons. A black miasma corroded their corpses, melting away their skin, flesh, and muscles and leaving behind only white bones. They all transformed into skeletons and crawled back up to their feet.

The skeleton army grew ever larger.

Seeing these events unfolding from the safety of stealth, Nie Yan’s heart was filled with fear. This was precisely how these skeletons multiplied so quickly in the previous timeline. The Vengeance of the Undead event back then had engulfed the entire continent and forever changed the layout of the Viridian and Satreen Empires. The power balance was completely reshuffled.

If God Executioner Sword really was behind the resurrection of Necromancer Vorderman, Nie Yan had no choice but to be careful. He definitely had to put a stop to this disaster before it spun out of control.

Nie Yan wasn’t afraid of ordinary players. Someone capable of rivalling him in the game hadn’t emerged yet. However, Necromancer Vorderman was a different story. He had no way of gauging the strength of this legendary NPC.

Nie Yan thought of Karsi. If he could rescue those imprisoned Paladins, Karsi would become his servant. One legendary NPC versus the other, while he could sit to the side unafraid.

However, that simply wasn’t feasible for the time being. Recruiting an NPC like Karsi wasn’t something that could be rushed.

Thinking back to the events of the previous timeline, these undead would require at least 10 days to pose a serious threat to the continent, possible even up to two months if they were slow. Back then, after reviving Necromancer Vorderman, the fallen player immediately began slaughtering villages and crazily expanding his power. However, this unstable foundation ultimately led to his downfall at the hands of the players and the temple’s Paladin Legion. In stark contrast, God Executioner Sword exercised much more restraint, slowly building up their army in the Brocchi Stronghold.

Nie Yan sent word to Guo Huai to send the Hundred Thieves over. Their mission was to closely monitor the movements around the Brocchi Stronghold. If anything unusual happened, Asskickers United would immediately take action. In addition, if his conjecture was correct and this was the start of the Vengeance of the Undead event, their allies Battle Crazed Alliance would be the first target. It was pivotal to fortify the defenses of their strongholds too.

The horde of skeletons finished off the last of the expedition team at this time. They returned to an idle roaming state.

A group of five skeletons were making their way in his direction. Nie Yan halted his steps. These skeletons were clearly stronger than the child one he dealt with previously.

“If I take out some of these skeletons, I can slow down the rate at which the undead are multiplying...”

Thinking to this point, Nie Yan had a plan. He chanted out an incantation and summoned Lil’ Gold. With his Golden Dragon’s attack power and defense, dealing with these skeletons would be a piece of cake.

After discovering Lil’ Gold, the jaws of the five skeletons rattled as they charged toward him.

Lil’ Gold opened his maw and spewed out Dragon Breath, blasting the skeletons with scorching hot flames.

?13,231

?11,988

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...

A blanket of damage values rose up into the air.

The skeletons surrounded and attacked Lil’ Gold.

Explosive Counter!

Explosive Counter!

Two powerful whirlwinds swept out from Lil’ Gold and instantly tore the skeletons apart, scattering their bone fragments on the ground.

Battle Angel Kalenna waved her staff and purified the skeleton remains. Several white souls floated into the air and disappeared.

Nie Yan felt a warm feeling coming from the Holy Imprint on his hand. It had become ever so slightly clearer and more visible.

The commotion had attracted the attention of the surroundings skeletons. They all started swarming towards Lil’ Gold. Their numbers kept increasing until there were more than 600 of them.

Nie Yan hurriedly hid away in stealth. “These skeletons are stupidly durable. It’s best if I let Lil’ Gold deal with them.”

Lil’ Gold let out a deep dragon cry. A giant meteor came hurtling down from the sky. BOOM! Some of the skeletons were instantly blown away. Rock and dirt flew everywhere as scorching hot flames engulfed the area.

Most of the skeletons had survived the impact. However, their movement speeds were greatly reduced. As they trudged through the inferno, they collapsed into pieces.

Meteor Drop had swept away several hundred skeletons in one go.

The surviving skeletons swarmed Lil’ Gold and started attacking without a care for their own lives.

Explosive Counter!

Explosive Counter!

Explosive Counter!

...

Lil’ Gold let out a deep roar as a powerful maelstrom swept out.

The attacks of the skeletons were quite strong. Lil’ Gold’s health started rapidly falling. Fluttering above Nie Yan’s shoulder, Kalenna waved her staff. A gentle radiance fell over Lil’ Gold, restoring his health back to full. She then cast Radiant Barrier, enveloping him in a thin membrane of light. The skeletons immediately went from dealing up to a thousand damage to only several hundred. Kalenna still wasn’t finished. She also gave Lil’ Gold several powerful blessings, instantly causing his stats to skyrocket.

After the horde of skeletons was wiped out, Kalenna purified them.

Nie Yan brought Lil’ Gold on a hunt around the outskirts of the Brocchi Stronghold, slaughtering all skeletons who dared to come near them.

The number of skeletons God Executioner Sword had raised probably wasn’t that large yet. If they knew Nie Yan had killed so many, they would probably feel their hearts ache.

Nie Yan discovered the amount of light energy he gained from purifying these skeletons was much greater than what he got from creatures of darkness. His Holy Spirit Heart progressed at an amazing rate. Before long, he reached another milestone.

A notification jingle rang out. Another one of the seals on Zennarde’s Sword had been broken.

Nightmare Curse of the Dead: Reduces the player’s stats by 16% (Effect halved by Barbarian Kelowitz’s Blessing).

Description: A godly weapon created by Kallander and imbued with the dark magic power of Dragon King Zennarde. Failing to subdue the evil energy within Zennarde’s Sword will result in a fatal backlash. Six Divine Seals were placed on this sword by the God of War Kelo. (Seals: 3/6)

Properties: Attack 2,560–2,827, Critical +350, 30% chance to deal 700% Critical Damage, Ignore Level +35, Ignore Armour

Hell Execution (Rank 6): Chance to instantly execute an enemy when their health falls below 20%. Success rate is determined by level difference and enemy defense. Energy Cost: 50. Cooldown: 3 seconds.

Advanced Apocalyptic Extinction: Inflict the enemy with five types of Curses: Rank 8 Exhaustion, Rank 10 Cripple, Rank 10 Disease, Rank 10 Fear, and Rank 10 Corrode. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 1 hour.

Annihilation Slash (Rank 5): Channel your energy into an enormous sword of dark fire and annihilate all enemies in your path. Deals 1000% damage to all enemies in a three by 20 meter area in front of you. Cooldown: 3 days.

Restrictions: None

-Creator: Kallander

After removing the third seal, Zennarde’s Sword’s stats had sharply risen again. Its attack power had reached an astonishing 2,560–2,827. It also had a new skill, Annihilation Slash, which could deal massive damage to all enemies in front of him in a straight line.

Zennarde’s Sword was even more overpowered than before. Its properties were already equivalent to that of a Level 160 Legendary weapon. Nie Yan finally began to grasp why it was widely regarded as a godly item.

A Divine weapon simply couldn’t be compared to an ordinary Legendary.

This was only with three of the six seals removed. There was a saying called throwing a rock away for a gemstone. Legendaries really were nothing in front of Divines.

Kraut’s Viper Dagger which Nie Yan was using as a secondary weapon was vastly inferior to Zennarde’s Sword.

Nie Yan thought for a moment. He wanted to see just how powerful his new Rank 5 Annihilation Slash was.

There weren’t many powerful creatures in the vicinity, save for the occasional Elite-class Skeletons. There was no harm in testing it out on them.

Nie Yan commanded Lil’ Gold to retreat. He took its place and started attracting the aggro of the skeletons to himself. Compared to Lil’ Gold, they were much more eager to attack him. Before long, a large horde converged on this area. A long train of skeletons followed closely behind him.

Nie Yan already had around 400 skeletons chasing him. The faster Elite skeletons were at the front with the ordinary skeletons in tow.

Seeing the skeletons getting closer and closer, Nie Yan slowly adjusted his position. As he ran around them, he gradually got them to form a straight line.

Nie Yan suddenly stopped running. He turned around and pointed Zennarde’s Sword up to the sky. Scorching hot flames as black as night poured out of the blade, transforming into 10 sword silhouettes which hung over the air above his head. As he slashed down, they merged into a single enormous, flaming sword which descended onto the crowd of skeletons. BOOM! The ground shook violently as though the earth were being rent apart.

The skeletons’ jaws rattled in a cacophonous symphony as they were transformed into ash by the annihilating inferno of the slash. As the flames subsided, a gaping three by 20 meter wound was left on the ground.

At least 100 skeletons were obliterated by the Annihilation Slash, including the several Elites.

“Wow...” Even Nie Yan was left speechless by the might of the attack.

A white light enveloped Nie Yan.

“I’ve levelled up!” Nie Yan glanced at his character bar. He had reached Level 101.