The five mid-Earth rank powerhouses were respectively a wraith, a lich, a Qing Dynasty zombie, and two abnormally tall skeletons carrying sword and shield while bearing longbows on their backs.
"All out?" Guarding the gate behind them was the Qing Dynasty zombie. With its thick hide and immense strength, Wang Hao and the others believed that Chu Lian would never be able to break through in a short time. As long as they could surround her, capturing her would essentially mean success.
"Interesting." Chu Lian had no intention of fleeing. They were scheming, but was she not making her own plans as well? She was not foolish enough to miss something as obvious as a trap. In the end, it was because her skills gave her confidence—and because Ayase stood behind her.
Right now, she only wanted to understand their true objective. Although everything happening around her seemed to point toward another truth, she knew that the real reason could not possibly be so simple.
"Please stop struggling. With your strength, leaving under our encirclement is nearly impossible." The one who spoke was the lich. Compared to the other undead, its intelligence was clearly higher. Its speech even carried a hint of human mannerism, making it hard to tell whether it was truly a lich or merely pretending to be one.
"Why should I leave? Just because I can't win, I have to run?" Chu Lian rolled her eyes. These guys were far too self-assured. Yes, she was in a dangerous situation, but that did not mean she had lost confidence. That condescending attitude of surrender now, you have no chance of winning—were they really that certain?
"Then let's see if you have the ability." Seeing her response, the lich said nothing further. It raised the bone staff in its hand. The skull at the tip opened its mouth, and a green light condensed into a beam that shot straight at Chu Lian.
"Suicune."
Even without being called, Suicune would protect its master automatically. It spat out a water bullet that smashed the green beam aside and slammed into the lich, which had only managed to hastily erect a bone shield. In an instant, it was drenched like a soaked rat.
But Chu Lian had no time to celebrate. The moment the lich acted, the wraith had already slipped into the Shadow Plane to lurk, while the two skeleton warriors moved as well—one charging forward with sword and shield, the other drawing its longbow and firing from a distance.
"Troublesome."
Jumping down from Suicune's back, Chu Lian flipped several times midair to evade the incoming bone arrows. Then she extended her leg in an exaggerated arc and kicked at the wraith that suddenly appeared above her.
As she descended, she did not forget to step on the shield raised by the sword-and-shield skeleton, using the force to regain her balance before landing on the ground.
Facing one skeleton at close range and one at distance, with the zombie standing motionless at the doorway, Chu Lian's expression grew serious. That alone was troublesome enough. Not to mention the wraith that could emerge from the Shadow Plane at any moment, scythe in hand, waiting for the perfect chance to strike.
For now, Suicune had gone to deal with the lich. Although the lich was the weakest among those present in terms of raw combat power, it was the best at controlling the battlefield. Skilled in death curses, undead enhancement magic, and dark control spells, it could double the effectiveness of the others.
To avoid being overwhelmed by debuffs or allowing her enemies' strength to multiply, having Suicune pin it down was the best choice.
Even though that meant she had to face a group of undead who appeared stronger than her, it was still better than leaving someone lurking at the side, ready to interfere.
"It's always you people ruining things. Can't you ever settle down?" Chu Lian straightened up, sweeping her gaze across the surrounding undead as she shook her head and sighed.
"If you want us to settle down, as you wish." It seemed the time they were stalling for had arrived—or perhaps the moment was ripe. The instant she finished speaking, the entire building collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Through the faint haze of dust, Chu Lian saw that she now stood inside an enormous white bone cage.
This white bone cage was nothing like the childish spell cast by that red-robed mage from Overlord whose name she could not even remember anymore.
Instead, it was a true death prison, reinforced continuously by the magic of a peak Earth rank lich. Unless one possessed destructive power at Heaven rank, shattering it was impossible.
"So this is your goal?" Suicune abandoned its clash with the lich and retreated to Chu Lian's side, guarding her cautiously. The situation was obvious. She and Chu Lian were trapped inside the cage, reduced to prey.
It did not matter if something happened to itself. But if its master were harmed, Suicune could not even imagine what would follow.
Unlike the two of them, the undead powerhouses had rapidly withdrawn the moment the building collapsed, leaving only Chu Lian and Suicune inside the white bone cage.
Examining the tightly spaced bars, Chu Lian could not help but admire the design. The white bone cage spell was originally meant to imprison large enemies. The spacing between the bars followed its own pattern and would widen as the cage grew larger. Once it reached five meters in size, even a two-meter-tall burly man could walk straight through without issue.
But the cage trapping her was different. The gaps between the bars were extremely narrow—only about ten centimeters. Sharp bone spikes covered them, giving off a chilling impression.
The spacing had not widened with the cage's size. It remained fixed at ten centimeters, firmly restricting the girl's range of movement.
Moreover, a layer of material that nullified spatial abilities had been added to it, preventing Chu Lian from using Teleport to escape. This was practically a newly created spell—a magic designed specifically to imprison small-framed enemies.
Such preparation could only have been made by someone who understood Chu Lian thoroughly. Her Teleport, her true strength, her companions—every factor that might disrupt the plan had been accounted for to ensure she could not escape.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think I had a traitor by my side." Chu Lian felt a little speechless. Their intent was now unmistakable.
We want to capture you.
Looking at the five Earth rank undead standing guard around the white bone cage, Chu Lian raised her head and shouted, "Capturing a loli is illegal, you know! And shouldn't you at least use a Master Ball to catch someone? Why a white bone cage?"
Clap, clap, clap...
The undead powerhouses did not answer her. Instead, applause rang out, almost as if in praise. Wang Hao, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, slowly stepped out from the shadows. Looking at the stunned Chu Lian, he adjusted his glasses and said, "What? Surprised?"
"A little. I didn't expect a shameless person like you not to kneel and call the Otherside your master, but instead to become the leader of such a group of lowly lifeforms. Birds of a feather flock together, I suppose. Trash gathers with trash." Chu Lian tilted her head, her gaze filled with disdain.
Among the types of people she hated most, traitors who betrayed those around them for personal gain ranked near the top. Combined with her utter lack of goodwill toward the undead, seeing Wang Hao awakened her rarely used sharp tongue. Her rapid-fire remarks left even him unsure whether to laugh or cry.
"As expected of Li Mingxue's daughter. That sharp tongue of yours is almost identical to hers back then. However, no matter what you say, it won't change the fact that you're the loser. A prisoner should have the awareness of a prisoner." As he spoke, Wang Hao waved his hand. The ground beneath the white bone cage instantly collapsed, and the thirty-meter-wide prison began to fall downward.
Clang—
The metallic crash and the violent tremor beneath her feet made Chu Lian's heart skip a beat. She steadied herself by holding onto Suicune to avoid losing her balance.
When she looked around, torches ignited automatically. At that moment, Chu Lian could clearly see ahead—a spacetime rift floating with black particles, slowly rotating in midair.
"Ah, so you're planning to take me to the Otherside?" Chu Lian showed no fear. By now, she had already formed her own judgment. Wang Hao's plan was to detain her and bring her to the Otherside.
As for what would come next, it hardly needed explanation. As the Daughter of Fate, she was the key to opening the gate connecting the two worlds. Once she reached the Otherside, escape would become impossible.
At that point, she would be the fish on the chopping block, and they would be the knife. However they wished to use her, they could. Becoming the key to the gate would probably be the least severe outcome.
"Daughter of Fate, blessed by destiny itself. Now it is time to return everything." Wang Hao's figure appeared outside the cage. Chu Lian had not even sensed how he moved there. She vaguely realized he must possess some kind of spatial ability—and perhaps wield it even more skillfully than she did.
"Be reasonable. How exactly have I been blessed by destiny? I don't recall enjoying anything at all. Every time I go on a trip, I nearly lose my life. You call that destiny's favor?" Chu Lian ignored the rift, which seemed to be expanding gradually with Wang Hao's arrival, and instead complained about his claim that she had been favored by destiny.
"Why not? Do you need me to spell out what you carry? Something so precious, obtained at your age without paying any real price—only surviving a struggle over it—and you managed to keep it. If that isn't destiny's favor, what is?" Wang Hao turned slightly toward the rift, his tone faintly distant.
He was referring to the trace of divinity within Chu Lian.
If not for destiny's indulgence, how could she possibly possess such a thing? Someone like him—who toyed with everyone in the palm of his hand, who stood at the center of everything—did not have it. What right did she have? Such a treasure did not suit her. It should belong to him.
But to Chu Lian, his words sounded as if he had discovered the system within her—only that for some reason he could not speak of it openly. In that instant, killing intent surged within her. A person like this absolutely could not be allowed to live. If the system's existence were exposed, she would truly become the target of the entire world.
"So you want the thing on me?" Chu Lian clenched her fist. In her right palm was the jade dagger formed from Leng Yan. Was it time to settle everything here?
"Heh. What do you think?" Wang Hao did not answer directly. At this point, words were meaningless. Sending her to the Otherside was what mattered most.
"Then go to hell..."
In pale moonlight, Leng Yan's 141-centimeter-long form manifested in her right hand. She gripped it with both hands and raised it high. Spiritual power surged into the blade, forming a ten-meter-long massive sword of condensed energy.
Azure-blue light flared in the girl's eyes. Gritting her teeth, she swung with all her strength at the white bone cage.
Rumble—
In that instant, heaven and earth shook.