"Finish it while it's weak!"
Zhao Shihao's wolfish howl voiced what everyone was thinking.
Still reeling from the mental assault of the "Azure Dragon, White Tiger, eating less carbs" chant, the group now shared a common enemy.
They channeled all their complex, unspoken emotions—mostly the internal damage from suppressing their laughter—into a furious barrage, unleashing it all upon the Death Knight as it struggled to its feet, its shield shattered and smoke billowing from its body.
Magic, sword qi, axe shadows, and the cold glint of daggers filled the air.
Even Lin Xiyue, gathering her last reserves of Holy Light, slammed it with a final [Judgment].
Without its Anti-Magic Shield and left defenseless and dazed, the Death Knight stood no chance.
Its towering frame trembled violently under the concentrated fire. Its armor shattered piece by piece, and the crimson Soul Fire in its eye sockets flickered like a candle in the wind.
Finally, with a silent scream filled with unwillingness and venomous hatred, it crashed to the ground!
Its heavy body slammed into the floor, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The once-invincible, colossal skeleton was now pitifully pinned against a stone pillar.
Its chest cavity was pierced by a massive hole from incandescent flames, its limbs were covered in menacing frost, and its skull was charred black by Order Lightning.
The blue-white Soul Fire in its eye sockets flickered violently a few times.
Then, it was completely extinguished.
Crack...
With the sound of shattering bones, the Death Knight's remains slid down from the stone pillar, collapsing into a pile of ordinary, magic-less bones.
The battle was over.
Huu...
Zhao Shihao's tense nerves finally relaxed, his chest heaving.
He was about to say something when his gaze fell on Lin Qingyue nearby, and the words died on his lips.
The pink glow faded, and the overwhelming sword intent of the "Peerless Heroine" vanished with it.
Lin Qingyue reverted to her usual pink-haired Priest appearance, her head bowed and bangs obscuring her expression.
She radiated a "Leave me alone, I need some quiet time" aura of self-imposed isolation.
"Ahem, Sis, are you..."
Lin Xiyue wanted to comfort her but didn't know where to start. After a long pause, she couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from twitching upward.
"Xiyue," Lin Qingyue spoke softly, her voice low yet reaching everyone's ears with perfect clarity. "From now on, the word 'carbs' is forbidden between us."
Pfft...
This time it was Jiang Xue, the cool ice queen, who couldn't help but turn away, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Wang Lei leaned against the wall while his squad's Priest treated his wounds. He froze at her words, his face contorting in a painful struggle to suppress his laughter.
"Ahem! Be serious!" Zhao Shihao forced a stern expression. "We're in the middle of an assessment! Everyone, focus..."
His words trailed off.
Everyone's personal terminals were eerily silent.
No kill notification.
No points awarded.
The recently relaxed atmosphere in the church instantly froze again.
"What's going on?" Wang Lei was the first to notice something was wrong. "No points? Is the System bugged?"
"No," Mo Chen analyzed calmly. "We haven't received any points for either the Undead Warhorse or the Death Knight. This isn't normal."
Zhao Shihao's expression darkened completely.
A sudden thought struck him. He immediately pulled up the detection data his wristband had displayed when they first entered the church.
[Death Knight Lord · Lv.???]
[Undead Warhorse Elite · Lv.30]
The information was utterly bare-bones.
At the time, everyone had dismissed it as a BOSS's typical flair for mystery. But looking back now, it revealed a fatal, unsettling truth.
"There's only one explanation," Zhao Shihao's voice was strained. "What we killed... from start to finish... was just an 'extra,' a... summoned creature!"
This conclusion sent a chill down everyone's spine.
If the master lying in that coffin could summon such a powerful Death Knight as a mere guard, how terrifying must the master itself be?
Instinctively, everyone's gaze converged on the pitch-black stone coffin in the center of the church.
Previously, they had been so intimidated by the Death Knight's ferocious presence that they had almost overlooked this most conspicuous object.
Now, with the Death Knight fallen, the coffin's ominous, malevolent aura—an aura that seemed to emanate from the deepest pits of the underworld—spread through the air, completely unveiled.
"Rest up," Zhao Shihao decided instantly. "Everyone, restore your stats. In ten minutes, whether we're ready or not, we face it."
No one objected.
The team members found spots to sit, drank potions, and meditated to restore their mana.
With the Death Knight defeated, the oppressive deathly aura in the church had indeed dissipated significantly, no longer making it difficult to breathe.
Lin Xiyue sidled up to her sister and whispered, "Sis, that 'Peerless Heroine' thing... was seriously amazing."
Lin Qingyue didn't even lift her eyelids. "Shut up."
"Especially that catchphrase. I thought it was great—so wholesome and inspiring."
"Lin Xiyue."
"Here, here!" Lin Xiyue grinned, handing over a mana recovery potion. "Seriously, Sis, if you ever run out of carbs, I'll give you half of mine."
Lin Qingyue took a deep breath, forcing the words through clenched teeth. "Do you want me to pin you to the ground and show you what 'Azure Dragon, White Tiger' really means?"
Lin Xiyue immediately fell silent, zipping her lips shut. But her sparkling eyes couldn't hide the laughter brimming within.
Ten minutes later.
Having mostly recovered, the group stood up again and gathered around the stone coffin, their faces grim.
The closer they got, the more bone-chilling the cold became, as if countless icy insects were gnawing at their souls.
The mages' elemental senses blared frantic warnings, while Lin Xiyue's Power of Holy Light faltered as if facing its natural enemy.
"I'll open it," Wang Lei said, taking a deep breath and raising his cracked shield.
"Together," Lin Xiyue declared, standing beside him. Her Holy Light Shield flared to life again—far dimmer than before, but still resolute.
Zhao Shihao, Jiang Xue, and Mo Chen formed a triangular formation behind them. The tips of their staves pulsed with unstable light as they prepared their most powerful spells.
Lin Qingyue stood at the very back, clutching her pink staff.
So, we're finally facing the dungeon's final BOSS.
She thought this, but her gaze was fixed on the stone coffin with keen interest.
What kind of creature is inside?
"Three... two... one... Open!"
At Zhao Shihao's command, Wang Lei and Lin Xiyue combined their strength and violently shoved the heavy coffin lid aside
BOOM—
The coffin lid crashed to the ground with a deafening thud.
A wave of dark green death energy, ten times denser than before, erupted from the stone coffin like a volcano, shooting toward the ceiling!
"Ugh!"
Wang Lei, taking the brunt of the blast, let out a muffled grunt as the force slammed him backward. His face turned deathly pale mid-air, his strength instantly drained.
Lin Xiyue's face also paled. Her Holy Light felt as if it had sunk into a mire, leaving her unable to even lift her arm.
The three mages behind them were struck as if by lightning.
An invisible needle pierced their minds, sending searing pain through their mental fortitude. The spells they had prepared instantly collapsed.
A mountain-like pressure pinned them in place, making it impossible to move even a finger.
And this was merely the leaked aura!
Horrified, the group stared into the coffin, their eyes filled with terror.
Lying inside was not the skeleton or zombie they had expected.
It was a woman.
A woman dressed in intricate black robes, her face pale but still retaining the exquisite beauty she possessed in life.
Her eyes were tightly shut, her skin a lifeless, ashen gray, yet her body showed no signs of decay.
The moment they got a clear look at her, a line of blood-red data appeared on their wristbands.
[Necromancer · Boss · Farina]
[Level: Lv.???]
[Points: ???]
[Trait: Dungeon Core. Within this Dungeon, the death of any non-undead unit will be converted into the purest energy and absorbed by her. When enough energy has been accumulated, she will awaken from her slumber.]
[Note: A powerful Necromancer always prepares loyal guardians for her tomb.]
The final sentence of the note confirmed their worst fears.
After all that effort—after fighting tooth and nail to kill the Death Knight—it turned out he wasn't the final boss, but merely a guard protecting the true final boss!
"She... she doesn't seem to be awake yet!" Zhao Shihao stammered, his eyes fixed on the woman in the coffin.
"She hasn't absorbed enough energy! We still have a chance!" Mo Chen roared urgently. "Before she wakes up, hit her with your strongest attacks! Interrupt her!"
However, the terrifying necromantic pressure enveloped everything.
Forget unleashing their strongest attacks—even the simple act of raising a hand was nearly impossible.
They were frozen in place, unable to move a muscle.
Time and space seemed to lose all meaning.
All they could do was watch helplessly as they became sacrifices for the Queen.