Chapter 125: Fierce Battle

"Focus fire on this stitched abomination!"

A stitched abomination was shackled by thick chains of ice, its head marked with three distinct symbols. At Leiming's command, all ranged attackers unleashed their fire. Mages channeled volleys of ice lances that struck with brutal force, tearing the creature apart in mere seconds.

"Switch to this one!"

The mage downed a mana potion and once again cast Ice Chains to freeze another abomination. Chu Cheng immediately applied a Spatial Mark, followed by two others doing the same. Under a barrage of ranged attacks, the second abomination was quickly felled.

With the two monsters dead, the area near the gatehouse became significantly clearer, allowing the mages to unleash area-of-effect spells.

At this moment, the Death Knight who had been commanding from the rear could no longer hold back. He drew his commander’s blade and pointed it toward the sky. As he let out a guttural cry, the Necromancer Tower, which had been dormant in the center of the fortress, began to glow with a deathly gray magical aura.

This shift immediately drew the mages' attention. They shouted to the group:

"The Necromancer Tower is preparing a high-power spell! Fall back into the gatehouse and prepare damage-mitigation spells to tank the hit."

The elite group, well-coordinated, immediately began an orderly retreat.

Chu Cheng decisively took a Purification Potion and held it in his mouth, ready to swallow if things went south.

The Necromancer Tower’s gray aura reached its peak in just seven or eight seconds, then shifted into a sickly gray-green. It flowed along the tower's structure to the apex, forming a massive, glowing eye. A beam of green light shot out toward the gatehouse.

"Prepare for impact!"

The green light struck them in a flash. Chu Cheng braced himself, legs sinking into the ground, but instead of a physical impact, the light exploded. A scalding green liquid splattered everywhere, accompanied by a sickening stench that coated them from head to toe, turning everyone into green-skinned figures.

A second later, Leiming shouted:

"It’s corpse poison, infused with curses and diseases! Get your antidotes ready!"

Chu Cheng glanced at his system prompt:

"Notification: You have been affected by the Necromancer spell 'Corpse Poison Nova.' You will take 2000 points of corpse poison damage, and an additional 125 points per second for 120 seconds."

"Notification: Your talent has activated, absorbing 100 points of corpse poison. Your Magic Resistance negated 26% of the poison, and your Blood God’s Physique negated 24%. You take 950 points of initial damage, and 12 points of poison damage per second for 120 seconds."

"Oh, small problem."

But for the others, it was a major crisis. The initial damage wasn't high, but the duration was lethal—120 seconds of 125 damage per second meant a theoretical total of 17,000 damage. Even after factoring in magic resistance, it still amounted to several thousand health points, posing a massive threat to both the front-line tanks and the back-line squishies.

"Damn it, the poison level is too high! My antidote can't clear it. Can anyone spare a potent one?"

"I've got extra. Want it for 3 gold a bottle?"

"You're a lifesaver."

"Put it on my tab; pay me later."

The group scrambled in a panic, but fortunately, the front-line tanks held firm, activating their damage-reduction abilities to survive until the back-line could recover. Though the poison remained and everyone stayed a sickly green, the situation stabilized.

Just then, the Death Knight raised his blade again, and the Necromancer Tower began to hum once more.

Leiming yelled:

"Hold on a little longer! Such large-scale war spells consume immense mana. At most, it can fire twice, or perhaps it won't have enough power for another."

"But I just used my life potion—it's on cooldown!"

"Anyone feeling unstable, pull back outside the walls!"

The Necromancer Tower’s death mana surged, rapidly coalescing into a familiar, massive cloud of death that slowly parted to reveal a giant eye.

"Damn it, it's the Eye of Death!"

Leiming’s voice sounded panicked:

"The walls won't block the Eye of Death! Everyone, use your defensive cooldowns to survive!"

The pupil slowly opened, and a cold gaze swept over them.

Chu Cheng decisively activated Blade Storm. As he spun, he felt a frigid current wash over him. For a split second, his mind felt frozen. When he snapped back to reality, his health had plummeted by 2,000 points.

He could still hold on, though; his health remained high at 5,000, bolstered by 180 points of health regeneration per second.

Then, Leiming’s calm voice echoed in his ear:

"Tanks, pull back into the gatehouse. Everyone else, recover immediately. Who has spare resurrection scrolls? I need two."

"I have a Perfect Resurrection Scroll."

"I have one too."

"Everyone, bear witness. Revive those two; they can pay for the scrolls themselves once they're back up."

Fortunately, after firing the Eye of Death, the Necromancer Tower lacked the mana for another strike, giving them a moment to breathe.

The Death Knight, Rum, seized the opportunity to order a full-scale assault. Vampires and ghosts bypassed the walls from other directions, ambushing the injured adventurers.

Chu Cheng wasn't sure how the others were coping, as he had no time to worry about them—the Death Knight himself was on the move.

The boss summoned a massive Nightmare steed with hooves burning in hellfire and charged directly at them, wielding a death lance wreathed in ashen flames.

Death Knight Rum (Terror-grade): Level 45, 185,000 HP.

Large numbers of Liches summoned clouds of death to bombard the area, turning the gatehouse into a scene of chaos. Fortunately, the gatehouse was sturdy, severely limiting the undead’s numerical advantage.

Facing the charging Death Knight, Chu Cheng assumed a combat stance. Leiming’s voice came from behind:

"The Death Knight’s charge is devastating. I’ll take the first wave; Chu Cheng, be ready to cover me."

Chu Cheng didn't hesitate and stepped aside.

"CLANG!"

The towering Death Knight smashed through a crowd of skeletons, slamming into Leiming’s shield with the momentum of his charge. With a long, ringing echo, Leiming slid back nearly two meters before stopping. His sturdy shield was pierced by the lance, but he had successfully blocked the brunt of the charge.

The Death Knight flicked his lance, parrying an arrow from an unknown source, and the force of the swing knocked Leiming back another step.

Just as the boss prepared to follow up, Chu Cheng leaped forward, his dual blades precisely locking onto the lance and pressing down with all his might.

It didn't work. The Death Knight’s strength far exceeded his own; with one arm, the boss effortlessly lifted his lance, forcing Chu Cheng’s crossed blades upward inch by inch.

Chu Cheng didn't hesitate to change his stance, twisting his body to dodge the springing lance before lunging with both swords.

However, the Death Knight’s technique was faster and more fluid. The lance whipped upward like lightning, slamming into Chu Cheng’s waist and throwing him into the horde of undead, where seven or eight bone swords immediately hacked at him.

Chu Cheng detonated his Eight-Fold Spatial Blade Wave, all of it striking the Death Knight.

"This guy's weapon mastery is at least Master level!"

Chu Cheng’s own one-handed sword mastery was only at Expert level; to be suppressed like this, the boss had to be at least Master level.

Fortunately, he wasn't fighting alone. Leiming, having recovered, used a Charge to interrupt the Death Knight’s attempt to throw his javelin. Leiming’s body erupted in light, a massive phantom appearing behind him. He brought his shield down with a thunderous crash, forcibly knocking the Level 44 Terror-grade Death Knight to the ground and stunning him.