Chapter 137

Of all people, Negrilis knew best the situation of the Undead Empire—now that the Palace of Rest had turned into this mess, where was the Undead Empire anymore? Where did this Gold Tooth Kebeng come from?

"The naming style does have the flavor of the Undead Empire," Negrilis asked. "Who is your king?"

"Our king, Solid Bone Luo Ke, Lord of Mourning, King of the Undead! Tremble at the sound of its name, foolish mortals!" The single-headed Gold Tooth Kebeng chattered and roared.

Everyone turned to Lisa: "This aesthetic is wrong—it's more like the Church of Light."

Lisa nodded: "I used to act this way."

"What do we do?" someone asked.

"Treat it first, then talk later," Negrilis said.

Holy light swept over Gold Tooth's skull; black smoke rose. Layers of bony flakes peeled off its skeleton. Upon closer inspection, the slow corrosion had vanished—the pathogen rotting the bones was gone.

"Holy… holy light?" Gold Tooth Kebeng was stunned.

Beneath the meadow lay countless bandit corpses. Ange casually selected one reduced to white bone, removed its skull, and mounted Gold Tooth's head onto it.

The golden skeleton possessed a soul heart. Gold Tooth's soul strength surpassed everyone except Ange and Brucek.

Once it regained its body and mobility, it moved a few times, then surged—flames of soul erupted across its bones, burning them.

This skeleton was a decayed bone buried underground, unrefined. After the golden skeleton's transformation, it rapidly became ash bone. Then, slowly, a Scythe of Death emerged from its hand: "Foolish mortals…"

A swift figure slammed into it, nearly scattering its bones, sending it clattering and rolling away.

The swift figure pursued relentlessly, its hands gripping two hoe-headed weapons, digging furiously like a dog paddling, striking Gold Tooth's body again and again, flinging bone fragments from the newly forged skeleton.

CLANG! One hoe jammed into Gold Tooth's bone.

Gold Tooth kicked the little zombie, bringing down the Scythe of Death.

CLANG! The Scythe of Death stuck fast against the little zombie's soul armor, unable to pierce through.

Gold Tooth tugged hard on the Scythe of Death, then realized: "Soul armor?"

Using the tug as leverage, the little zombie slammed into Gold Tooth, swinging its hoe like a shovel, just as it did when digging its usual pits.

Gold Tooth was thrown into disarray. Its Scythe of Death was a long-hafted weapon, while the little zombie's hoe was a dagger-like close-range weapon—once pressed close, Gold Tooth was at a severe disadvantage.

It glared fiercely—soul flames blazed in its eye sockets—Soul Shock.

The most practical technique for higher undead against lower ones: if the gap was great enough, it could shatter the lower soul outright. Due to this soul suppression, lower undead rarely defeated higher ones.

But Gold Tooth's Soul Shock hit like a wall. It struck a weak soul, expecting it to explode on the spot—but instead, it found that soul like a single brick jutting from a wall, behind which loomed a vast, towering presence.

Gold Tooth was stunned by the backlash, then pummeled again by the little zombie—CRACK—one rib snapped under the strain.

Enraged, Gold Tooth dropped the Scythe of Death and punched the little zombie's ribs.

The little zombie slightly drew in its chest, absorbing the blow outright, while its right hoe drove into Gold Tooth's cheek.

Negrilis and Brucek's eyes lit up: "Huh, that deflection was well done—who taught it?" Negrilis asked.

The little angel patted its chest without turning, letting out a loud "Ow!"

TING! The hoe struck Gold Tooth's cheek, sparking a tiny flame. Gold Tooth's cheek bore only a faint white mark—not flaking like its body.

"The gap is still too great. If Gold Tooth hadn't lost its body, the little zombie would have had no advantage," Negrilis said.

Philin turned back, expression odd: "Uh, Lord Negrilis, isn't this already incredible? The little zombie's only at Tough-Skin Zombie rank, yet it's overpowering a golden skeleton—even the Scythe of Death can't cut through."

"Purely because of gear. Without soul armor, see? Without Ange shielding it, see? Without Death-Infused Liquid baths, see? Enough playing—grab it and interrogate."

"I'll do it, I'll do it! Ancestor, you rest," Brucek volunteered. This golden skeleton claimed to serve Solid Bone Luo Ke—but Luo Ke was dead, so no backing left. Perfect chance to prove himself, avoid Negrilis's daily mockery.

Brucek charged in with a barrage of spells, shattering Gold Tooth's body into fragments—again, only a skull remained.

He extracted the soul, crushed it, and performed Soul Search. Only Ange could search a golden skeleton's soul. After the procedure, Ange received key memories: "It… serves the Light."

"Ah, Guoran," Negrilis wore an "I knew it" expression.

Solid Bone Luo Ke's bones still rested in Ange's hands. These beings couldn't be Luo Ke's subjects. The only possibility: impostors—and impostors from an enemy faction.

True remnants of the Undead Empire dared not impersonate Luo Ke's name—out of enduring reverence.

"So these undead pathogens were created by the Church of Light? Is Darkside City so important that they'd send one golden skeleton and twelve silver skeletons to spread the disease?" Negrilis exclaimed.

"No. They got infected… by accident," Ange said.

Ange relayed the memories he'd gleaned. Everyone's heads spun—he was terrible at narration. Each phrase popped out like a single word; they had to keep pressing him to understand.

Yet his communication with the little angel and little zombie was seamless—just a few "ow" sounds conveyed volumes. It was bizarre.

According to Ange's retrieved memories, these undead served the Church of Light and had fought continuously in the Lands of Descent. For some reason, they suddenly became infected with this pathogen that rotted undead flesh.

Originally, no big issue—the pathogen could be purified with holy light. But the Silver Knights suddenly had a brilliant idea: use it to breach Darkside City. The city was mostly undead. If they infected them, the city would collapse.

"Lands of Descent? Wait—I recall Anthony mentioned the Three Dioceses. One was the Diocese of Descent. Ask him."

Soon, Ange found Anthony through soul-link. After hearing Ange's account, Anthony hesitated: "My lord, do you remember the Divine Knight insignia in your hand? The highest mobilization order that flashed upon it?"