Sovereign of the Ashes

After Sein and the undead knight began fighting at close quarters, the other three Rank One undead creatures joined the fray.

Each boasted considerable strength, and among them, the mummy was the most formidable. Shrouded in a deathly aura, it rivaled the undead knight in strength.

While slightly less powerful, the purple Eye Demon and the Black-Shelled Worm possessed unique abilities.

The Eye Demon, capable of long-range attacks, unleashed several purplish-red rays from its pupil, targeting Leena in mid-air.

Meanwhile, the Black Shelled Worm demonstrated its impressive burrowing skills by vanishing suddenly, leaving behind a steep, deep pit where it had been.

This creature, the king of its kind, was the strongest among many smaller worms that mingled discreetly with the undead horde.

Their modest size and burrowing prowess enabled them to move undetected under the cover of other undead creatures.

As these Rank One undead creatures launched their assaults, Leena and Angreas focused on suppressing the lower-level undead creatures while simultaneously mounting a counterattack.

Although these Rank One undead creatures were individually weaker than the three of them, the sheer number of lesser undead creatures was overwhelming them.

The old adage that even ants could kill an elephant with sufficient numbers held true.

In this case, the disparity in strength between Sein’s group and the lesser undead creatures was not even nearly as vast as between an ant and an elephant.

“Shouldn’t we withdraw?” Angreas asked Sein after several attempts to fend off the surprisingly resilient mummy.

As a warlock, Angreas’ prowess in melee combat matched Sein’s, when Sein activated his verdant flame body.

Although Angreas could withstand the mummy’s lethal claws during brief encounters, sustaining a prolonged battle was another matter.

Mages were usually far-sighted. As more undead swarmed from all directions, the risk of being completely encircled or exhausting their focus and mana loomed large.

By that point, escape would not be an easy option.

Leena, hovering in mid-air, had already harvested many souls. The gray crystal ball in her hand was gradually turning white, a sign that it was being filled with high-purity soul energy.

Below, on the battlefield, Sein and Angreas efficiently gathered soul crystals and a handful of soul essences into their space rings, aided by the Animate spell.

The potential gains from continuing the fight were significant, but so was the risk.

In this short amount of time, Sein had already exchanged several blows with the undead knight, sending red and green sparks scattering in all directions.

Instead of replying to Angreas’ suggestion, Sein stole a quick glance at Leena.

Leena, now in her adult form, was focusing intently. Her long, black hair billowed around her as she unleashed a few umbra elemental spells into the distance.

At the same time, her umbra elemental halberd struck the graveyard, eliciting a hiss of pain—apparently hitting the Black Shelled Worm.

Even without verbal communication, Sein understood Leena’s thoughts.

“Hold on a bit longer. If we can take down one more of those Rank One creatures, our harvest will be greater. Even if we can’t, gathering as many soul crystals and materials as possible here will justify our venture into this graveyard,” Sein replied, prompting a nod from Angreas.

Angreas looked at the mummy, wrapped in thick white bandages and exuding a deathly aura. Given its formidable resilience, Angreas doubted he would be able to defeat it quickly.

Among the Rank One undead, the Eye Demon and the Black Shelled Worm seemed more susceptible to a swift takedown.

However, one was positioned too far away, and the other had burrowed into the ground, complicating their efforts.

The intense battle was expected to last about fifteen more sandglasses before Sein and his companions would need to withdraw.

Around the seventh sandglass, however, the situation took a dramatic turn.

From the moment Sein and his group entered the graveyard, undead creatures had continuously emerged from the ground.

It was almost as if there was an endless reservoir of slumbering undead creatures buried beneath.

At the seventh sandglass, the heart of the graveyard trembled, hurling rotten soil into the air as a powerful deathly aura surged from the depths.

This time, it appeared that a creature more formidable than Rank One was about to emerge—could it possibly be a Rank Two undead creature?

This was the first Rank Two creature Sein had encountered since entering the Knight Continent’s trial space.

It became apparent that the trial zone did not strictly segregate creatures by life levels.

The emergence of this Rank Two undead creature was likely just the beginning.

As the trial progressed, it was likely that even more formidable Rank Two and Three creatures would appear, pushing Sein and the other trialists to their limits.

Rumble!

The ground of the graveyard sunk, forming a large depression. From this pit, a Rank Two undead creature with a formidable aura began to rise.

The first to break through to the surface was a pair of massive skeletal wings, spanning more than ten meters.

With a powerful flap that churned the deathly aura enveloping the graveyard, a gigantic dragon head burst out from the ground.

More specifically, it was the skull of a skeletal dragon.

White soul flames flickered slowly in the dragon skull’s empty sockets.

Having just awakened from its slumber, the skeletal dragon surveyed its surroundings.

“A skeletal dragon?!” Angreas exclaimed, recognizing the creature first.

As a warlock from the West Coast who frequently interacted with the Dragon Warlock Clan, he was familiar with such beings.

Skeletal dragons were transformed from the remains of dragon-like creatures in various ways.

Some arose through natural processes, while others were deliberately created by necromancers.

It was unclear which origin this skeletal dragon had, but it retained traces of its draconic legacy, granting it formidable strength and an intimidating presence over other lesser undead creatures and even those of the same rank.

It seemed that even in death, the “dragon’s might” lived on in its undead form.