Chapter 61: That's how witchcraft works!

Death kept colliding, annihilating.

Bones kept piling up, being trampled.

The undead's slaughter swelled into a beautiful symphony, unfolding as a long, sustained performance that gradually built to a dense climax.

Finally, as the performance neared its peak, amidst constant shaking… it was cut off.

"Ta Ke, Ta Ke, wake up!"

Ta Ke, slowly opening his eyes, pushed away Ta Ni Lu, who was frantically shaking him.

This guy must be trying to deliberately push me down!

"What's going on?" Ta Ke rubbed his brow.

This guy really knows how to pick a time; I was just one step away from completely clearing the gloom's pollution.

As a result, Ta Ni Lu shook me awake.

Fortunately I don't have OCD; otherwise Ta Ni Lu would surely make me see some blood today.

"Some things can't be held." Ta Ni Lu pointed outside.

"It's only been a little over a day since the undead outbreak; weren't we supposed to be able to hold out for two or three days?"

"Besides, I don't sense any danger at all."

Ta Ke frowned slightly.

As he rose to look outside.

If you don't look, you won't know; but once you look...

"Well, those who run slow end up in the front line, right?!"

Ta Ke remembered that when he was sitting cross-legged clearing his mind, the front rock racks on both sides of the rock valley were packed with casters and necromancers.

Ta Ke and his group's position was basically at the rear.

As a result, only a day had passed.

Those casters had all run to the rear.

Now, this two-story small fortress has actually become a genuine front-line fortress.

Moreover, those casters are still relatively far from the fortress.

The current situation highlights being 'isolated and helpless'.

And around the small fortress, drifting undead creatures constantly attack it.

Fortunately, this is the wall from the Great Wall World.

If it were an ordinary wall, these soul-type undead could probably slip through in a moment to claim lives.

Below, A Man Di's talent points also seem to have been invested in skeleton-type undead.

For these spirit-type undead, we are also somewhat helpless.

As for Ta Ni Lu.

As a priest, he has hammer-based damage.

"This ash ember dark tide is special, making the number of undead creatures extraordinarily high."

"Especially these spirit-type undead, whose attack is fierce; the necromancers lack effective countermeasures, so they fled on the spot—a bunch of cowards who love life and fear death."

Ta Ni Lu cursed.

And Ta Ke glanced at those outside with higher agility, the spirit-type undead.

He rose, loosened his limbs a bit, and fixed his gaze on those drifting undead.

I can let you run first for 40 meters.

"What? You're not running? Then sorry about that."

Ta Ke raised his hand, and a fire oil bomb was released.

Containing divine aura, plus being inherently a special flame-damage fire oil bomb, when it touched that undead's body,

"Peng!" it exploded.

Then, that soul-type undead, covered in a large amount of adhering fire oil, was directly ignited.

The ignited spirit let out a shrill wail, darting up and down, flying wildly everywhere, showing utter panic.

It even smeared some fire oil onto two unlucky spirits it collided with.

The two spirits that got smeared with fire oil also emitted sharp wails.

Soon, that ignited undead stopped running, because Ta Ke's flames had completely burned it to death.

And the adhering fire oil, as those few undead died, fell down, spreading across the ground, continuing to glow and heat, inflicting burn damage on the countless spirit skeletons on the ground.

Ta Ke's move obviously intimidated those attacking spirit-type undead.

Perhaps they aren't very smart, but they understand what fear is.

The sharp wails of their kin just now were fear.

As one fire oil bomb after another flew out,

Each spirit, ignited into 'ghost fire', flew wildly through the air while carrying the fire oil farther.

"Ah... this..."

Ta Ke's witchcraft undoubtedly challenged Ta Ni Lu's cognition again.

Even A Man Di, who had resolved the crisis, also looked up from the small stairway entrance.

"Your fireball, how..."

Ta Ni Lu made a gesture with both hands in the air, although Ta Ke didn't know what he was gesturing.

"Being able to adhere to spirit-type undead, and... the flame's burn causing them such severe damage?"

Watching those performing aerial acrobatics, the 'ghost fires' in the air.

Ta Ke said lightly.

"First, that's called a fire oil bomb, not a fire ball."

"Second... witchcraft isn't supposed to be like this, is it?"

Ta Ni Lu opened their mouth, feeling their intelligence insulted.

"Damn it, witchcraft isn't like this."

Ta Ni Lu fiercely rebutted in their heart.

Their gaze fell on those undead covered in fire oil, continuously burning.

The fire oil bomb's adhesion capability, Ta Ke used precise deep insight, then utilized the system's specialized enhancement.

Ta Ke combined it with the Light-Shaping Spear, forming perfect coordination.

What bursts into flame is holy light, a natural bane of the undead.

"What? You don't have the details of the SSS-rank extraordinary talent for insight into the witchcraft sequence, and you used the system to complete the enhancement?"

"Oh! Then it's fine!"

Soon, those wandering soul creatures drifting around were completely cleaned up by Ta Ke's fire ball.

Not to mention those nearby, those undead that, like iron-headed babies, charged forward without retreat.

Even those undead trying to flee could not escape Ta Ke's precisely aimed fire oil bomb.

With the death of dozens of wandering soul-type creatures,

A Man Di reestablished the front line.

The front line consisted of heavy shield skeletons.

Behind the shield skeletons were a certain number of skeleton archers.

Further back were some undead casters.

Even to protect those undead casters, Ta Ni Lu also put shields on those undead.

It was a very standard formation, coordinated with rear support from the undead territory and efficient conversion.

A Man Di's defense was watertight.

"How's the harvest?"

Ta Ke poked their head out, looking down the small stairway toward A Man Di.

"Not bad." A Man Di nodded.

Aside from some initial fluster, now facing the pressing army, A Man Di could calmly command their undead legion.

"Those ordinary white bone skeleton undead have little extraordinary trait, but those silver bone skeletons can produce a certain degree of undead-type extraordinary trait."

"Those skeletons with a hint of golden luster, when killed, yield undead traits that are quite excellent."

"These three portions of shadow material are meant just for you."

A Man Di casually tossed the stuff up.

Ta Ke deftly caught it, examined it carefully, and stored all three items.

The three portions of crystal are all condensed shadow traits.

Their levels all range from 13 to 16.

"If we get a few more portions of shadow material, combined with leader-level shadow trait, the Shadow Ring Staff can be upgraded to tier three."

Ordinary shadow trait, when precipitated, can only serve as upgrade experience, a stepping stone.

Whereas leader-quality shadow trait is innately a sharp 'spear'.

It allows extraordinary equipment to undergo a tier transformation.

Ta Ke looked out at the undead skeleton army.

What they saw was no longer danger, but walking shadow raw material.

The dark and deathly ecology of the foreign undead also nurtures shadow traits.

Ta Ke had A Man Di massively kill skeleton undead, which is still relatively easy to obtain shadow trait raw materials.

But once they miss this village, obtaining shadow traits becomes very difficult.

Ta Ke sat cross-legged again.

Ta Ke turned toward sensing the witchcraft ecology.

First, there were still some lingering traces of gloom sun pollution.

That extremely dilute pollution, under the glow of the Light-Shaping Spear's sequence phantom, would be burned away by holy light in a few days even if Ta Ke didn't actively clean it.

The gloom sun pollution problem is basically solved.

Second, Ta Ke's breaking free of the protective trait of La Mo Er High Tower's steam ecology.

I don't know if it's because of Ta Ni Lu's priest's nurturing and recovery spells,

or because Ta Ke is enduring the scouring of the foreign ecology,

or perhaps both.

This is only a little over a day.

Ta Ke then discovered that the effect of breaking free from the mother body ecology's protection was surprisingly good.

Comparable to the effect of the previous week.

This undead rift area is just perfect.

"In another two days, at most three, I should be able to initially break free of reliance on La Mo Er ecology's protection."

"By then, even if La Mo Er Steam High Tower is polluted, I won't lose control and mutate on the spot, becoming a burial offering for La Mo Er."

With that thought, Ta Ke rubbed their brow.

The struggle against extraordinary ecology has always been this brutal.

The pond has been polluted; how could the fish inside possibly survive?

Ta Ke raised their head and looked upward.

The top of the cave wall there is dark and oppressive.

Ta Ke, through the high tower's ecology and their own connections, can see the Lamore high tower steam city-state, which is constantly being eroded by the dark sun's power.

When Ta Ke had just arrived at this cave.

It was also the time of the dark sun ritual's outbreak.

During that time, the speed of pollution erosion was fastest.

Now, the speed has become increasingly slower.

But the extent of erosion is already considerable.

Ta Ke does not know how this stage will turn out.

Ta Ke can only wait for Oberli to return and then report the situation.

All they can do is make a killing here, after all, who knows if such an opportunity will come again.

If Oberli comes and says there's no need to flee.

This harvest is sure to profit, with no loss.

If they flee, Ta Ni Lu is right nearby.

Ta Ke believes this guy must have long planned an escape route.

At worst, Ta Ke also has an escape plan.

A true mage, when facing danger, must have two plans... no, three plans!

(Chapter complete)