Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone

Chapter 763 - 493: Full Firepower, Decisive Victory, Secret of the Soul Box!

The Skeleton Mage before him was clearly the former.

A Mage’s Magic Equipment generally has Constant Magic imbued in it, but in the fierce battle just now, it had been entirely exhausted by Fang Zhou and his Undead Summoned Creatures.

Now, the mage had to resort to his hard-earned Magic Scrolls.

After advancing to the Bronze rank as a Professional, Fang Zhou had learned a bit about the Scroll Master sub-profession. Scroll Master was a variant of the Alchemist profession. Every Magic Scroll was crafted by a Scroll Master using precious and rare materials. The process required long periods of focused concentration, making each scroll incredibly expensive. They were so expensive that even high-level Mages generally didn’t keep many on hand.

From the Sea City Military Academy to the Fierce Beast Mountain Range, Fang Zhou had fought several Mages, but none of them had used many Mage Scrolls.

But the Skeleton Mage before him was different. Even though he had been in slumber for who knows how many years, he still had stock. Seeing this stack of Magic Scrolls, Fang Zhou was already prepared to flee at any moment. As a "Krypton Gold" player himself, he naturally understood that an opponent who paid to win was even more difficult to deal with than a genius or a Lucky Man!

Seeing Fang Zhou on high alert, the Skeleton Mage let out an arrogant laugh.

"Young man, let me show you what it means to be a qualified Mage."

"Go to hell!"

The Skeleton Mage shrieked, infusing his mana into the scrolls. Just like the Constant Magic on equipment, Magic Scrolls only needed a simple activation to cast, requiring no lengthy preparation.

Seeing the Skeleton Mage’s actions, Fang Zhou’s heart tightened. He immediately used Skeleton Flash repeatedly, instantly teleporting outside the main chamber. When a Krypton Gold Mage unleashed their full power, their combat effectiveness was absolutely terrifying.

However, a dim magical light merely flickered before nothing happened at all. Dozens of Frost Spears had formed, only to dissipate into specks of white light.

It didn’t fire? All thunder and no rain? Just a sound and light illusion?

"Damn it! These Magic Scrolls... they’ve expired!" the Skeleton Mage roared in anger, feeling utterly baffled.

Fang Zhou was also taken aback.

Wait... they expired?

Of course. So many years had passed. Even this once-mighty and invincible Undead Mage from the Naraku Civilization couldn’t maintain his Lich form and had degenerated into a half-crippled Skeleton Mage. How could the Magic Scrolls buried with him have possibly survived for so long?

Fang Zhou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Compared to the other enemies he had faced, this Skeleton Mage seemed a bit muddle-headed and slow on the uptake, perhaps as a result of having slumbered for far too long.

Strike while he’s vulnerable!

"Attack!"

THUD!

THUD, THUD!

THUD, THUD, THUD!

Berserker Heroic Spirit Olaf strode forward, with the Six-armed Snake Demon Warrior following close behind. The Corpse Knight leader and the Corrupt Hatred leader, enhanced by Undead Coronation, charged again from the left and right.

Then the skills rained down.

"Blood Fury Strike!"

"Six-blade Fury Assault!"

"Desperate Charge!"

"Corrupt Breath!"

"Skeleton Heart-Piercing Flying Spear!"

Under the barrage of attacks, the Skeleton Mage’s skull was finally pierced by a Skeleton Flying Spear from Fang Zhou, who had activated his Harvest Festival Rune Resonance.

A burst of frost erupted, and ice crystals filled the air, their coldness anathema to all living flesh.

The Skeleton Mage was an Undead and had no vital weaknesses. Hacking off an arm or a leg, or even slicing off his head, couldn’t kill him. This was the advantage a Skeleton Mage held over a living Mage. But these undead traits posed no problem for Fang Zhou.

BAM!

"No, I will not accept this!"

"I will not die! You’ll never find my Soul Box! I’ll be back! I will be back!" the Skeleton Mage shrieked, clearly unwilling to accept his fate.

But it was useless. Weakened from his revival, his original tomb guards had already been annihilated. Now, besieged by Fang Zhou’s elite undead creatures, defeat was inevitable.

But he still had a trump card. The reason Skeleton Mages were difficult to deal with was that even after degenerating, they still prepared a Soul Box for themselves. The Soul Box contained the life and soul of the Mage from before his undeath. As long as the Soul Box existed, the Skeleton Mage had a chance of resurrection. To kill a Skeleton Mage completely, one had to destroy their Soul Box.

A Soul Box wasn’t necessarily a literal box. It could be anything: a ring, a necklace, a gold coin, or any other object. These items are highly concealable and difficult to find without specific knowledge.

At this moment, the ground was littered with skeletal fragments, and a golden crown lay in shattered pieces. The luxurious purple Magic Robe was in tatters, covering cold white bones. A Skeleton Mage had finally met his end.

Though the formidable enemy was dead, Fang Zhou’s expression remained tense. The Skeleton Mage’s Soul Box might not have been on his person, and finding it would not be easy. If it were truly hidden in some obscure location, the Skeleton Mage might one day be resurrected.

What now?

Fang Zhou shook his head.

"The Soul Box must be in this tomb, perhaps even in this main chamber." He glanced around, his gaze finally locking onto the Skeleton Mage’s remains.

"Without the Soul Box, how could he have revived? He just revived; it’s impossible for him to have sent the Soul Box away. His Soul Box must be right here in this main chamber!"

If the Soul Box was here, the worst-case scenario was that he would have to pack everything up and sift through it all later. As long as it wasn’t forcibly destroyed, the Soul Box wouldn’t trigger the backlash from its Constant Magic. Containing only a portion of his life and soul, the Soul Box possessed no active Attack Power. There would be plenty of ways to destroy it later!

Fang Zhou stepped forward, arriving before the Skeleton Mage’s remains and belongings. He acted with the utmost vigilance and care, his entire body securely protected by the Shield of Death Protection. No one knew what traps or curses a Skeleton Mage might leave behind; it was essential to be fully prepared.

Instructor Su Xinyan had once warned him about this. An Undead Mage, while researching a Lich’s Soul Box, had been wounded by the curse upon it and ultimately lived for only another six months.

It was best to identify such a hazardous item on the spot if possible. If it couldn’t be identified, he would just have to pack it up and take it back. He could use the excellent facilities of the Undead Mage research group at Sea City Military Academy to study it slowly.

At Fang Zhou’s command, his other intact undead creatures began to move. Within a few minutes, the corpses of the tomb guards were dragged out and piled together with the Skeleton Mage’s remains and belongings. They gathered other things as well, piling up everything of any value in the entire main chamber. There wasn’t actually that much, as the chamber was not very large—at least, it was much smaller than the glyph workshop or the Servant Sleeping Area.

Besides the bodies, there were only broken coffins, stone platforms, nearly depleted Naraku Energy Crystals, and some decorations frightening enough to make women and children cry, all of which contained significant Magic Power.

Activating Soul Eagle Eye, Fang Zhou began to identify these precious undead spoils one by one. The process of identifying the Skeleton Mage’s Soul Box was smoother than he had imagined.

Ordinary equipment, food, and resources were soulless, so they showed no reaction under the gaze of his Soul Eagle Eye. But even the broken, low-level Soul Box of a Skeleton Mage still contained a part of its owner’s soul. Since it possessed soul fluctuations, and its various concealment enchantments had failed over time, the Skeleton Mage’s Soul Box was laid bare before Fang Zhou’s Soul Eagle Eye skill.

Fang Zhou looked down and saw, amidst the pile of the Skeleton Mage’s remains, a dust-covered black stone about the size of a baby’s palm. It was completely ordinary, with nothing special about it at all—like an unremarkable stone on the ground that no one would look at twice.

Who could have guessed that this worthless-looking stone was the Skeleton Mage’s Soul Box! It was expertly disguised. No wonder the Skeleton Mage had been so confident no one could find his Soul Box.

As the stone began to flicker with an involuntary gray-black light under his Soul Eagle Eye, a face suddenly appeared on it. It was a spiteful, featureless face.