[Chapter 36 Comment]
"You should know it's impossible. You have to challenge my warriors first!" the king shouted confidently.
Li Wei furrowed his eyebrows, realizing the challenge that lay ahead. The skeletons may individually be weak, but their sheer numbers posed a threat. Charging head-on would only lead him into the king's traps. He needed to find a solution quickly.
Fortunately, his talented friends understood the situation. Oliver took out bags of explosives and requested Maya to throw them. In a swift motion, the bags rained down on the skeletons, triggering a series of explosions that decimated the skeletal soldiers.
When Li Wei witnessed the explosions, he had a sudden realization. The skeletons before him were merely empty, lacking any armor or weapons. In other words, they were incapable of fighting. His perception had been clouded by their sheer number.
Taking a deep breath, Li Wei calculated the path he needed to reach the king. Pointing to the right side, he shouted, "Attack there!"
Oliver and Maya didn't understand Li Wei's reasoning but chose to trust him. They threw more bags of explosives according to Li Wei's instructions.
The king, realizing the threat, ordered the giant to catch the bags and throw them back. However, this was exactly what Li Wei had planned. Seizing the opportunity, Li Wei stomped the ground and leaped into the air.
Using his skill "Fleeting Step," Li Wei's body moved gracefully like a feather, eventually landing on the giant's hand.
His intention was to use the giant as a means to bypass the skeletons. With the giant's outline now complete, Li Wei could feel the essence solidifying in reality. Although the space was narrow, thanks to the giant's size, it provided enough room for Li Wei to climb.
The king hastily attempted to control the giant, commanding it to slap Li Wei away, completely forgetting about the bags of explosives.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Once again, the explosives scattered the remaining skeletons. Nana had caught up to the group and used her purification talismans to eliminate over two hundred skeletons in one powerful spell. The combined efforts had demolished two hundred other skeletons that were still standing.
With only about one hundred skeletons left, Nana took charge. She opened fire with her guns, unleashing a storm of giant bullets upon the remaining skeletons. Oliver, on the other hand, readied his sniper rifle and aimed at the enemy king.
Aware of Oliver's aim, the king didn't pay it much mind, considering the previous misses. He raised his hands and commanded, "Rise!" More skeletons emerged from the ground, seemingly an endless army under his control.
Observing from above, Li Wei noticed a crucial detail. The giant was releasing its essence into the area, which was connected to the skeletons. Once the skeletons perished, the essence would scatter in the air only to return to summon more skeletons. It was the trick that allowed the king to summon an unlimited number of skeletons.
However, Li Wei understood that the king's true intention was to buy time until he could fully absorb the essence from his subordinates. Standing atop the giant, Li Wei saw the gradual appearance of detailed body structures, a sign that the king was nearing completion.
Pouring his energy into his sword, Li Wei struck the giant's arm, using his ability "External Sword Rush." The essence around his sword created a speeding circle, cutting the arm multiple times.
The king raised his head in surprise. Li Wei's ability aimed to sever the giant's arm, potentially preventing the regeneration of the essence, even if it lingered in the air.
Seizing the opportunity, the king jumped into the air, sword in hand. Li Wei realized he had limited time before the side effect of the pill he had consumed would occur. He had to make this attack count.
Li Wei jumped off the giant's arm and swung his sword. The two blades clashed fiercely. Li Wei's blade carried the Sword Intent, while the king's blade was imbued with dark essence, resilient enough to counter the Sword Intent. Despite being cut, the black essence persisted, just like the skeleton soldiers.
"You are strong. You would have become a capable general in my army, but…" the king admitted, loosening his grip and allowing Li Wei's sword to push through.
"!!!" Li Wei's body shook with hesitation. Despite Nana's assurance that she would take responsibility for killing the three individuals, Li Wei couldn't help but feel the urge to save them. As a young cultivator with limited combat experience, he grappled with the moral dilemma of whether killing the king was the right course of action.
Exploiting Li Wei's hesitation, the king seized his wrists and threw him to the ground. Li Wei realized his mistake, clicking his tongue in frustration.
Bam!
Li Wei crashed into the ground, immediately being swarmed by the skeleton soldiers. Meanwhile, Oliver saw the opportunity left behind by Li Wei and took a shot at the king.
"!!!" The king swiftly turned around. Although Oliver had positioned himself on the ground for stability, his aim was now significantly more accurate. The king struggled to keep up with the bullet's movement, as it broke the speed of sound.
However, his instincts kicked in, allowing him to predict the bullet's trajectory and barely dodge it. The bullet still managed to hit the upper right arm, obliterating the flesh it struck.
"What is that?" The king gritted his teeth, witnessing the destructive power of Oliver's weapon firsthand. While he had seen Oliver shoot earlier, the experience of facing it directly was entirely different.
The king landed on the ground, his right arm severely impaired. Despite the wound, he continued absorbing energy from his two subordinates. Oliver attempted to take another shot, but the king commanded his skeleton soldiers to charge straight at Oliver, disregarding Maya and Nana.
Nana's talismans were running low, forcing her to rely on her glaive to dispatch the skeletons. Maya, armed with her gun, found it futile as new skeletons continuously emerged from the ground, marching forward relentlessly.
"Oliver, find another position. I'll hold them back," Maya said, searching for Li Wei in the midst of battling the skeletons. It appeared that Li Wei was surrounded by a hundred of them. While he dispatched them with ease, the sheer number hindered his escape, especially as the side effects of the pill took hold.
"The situation is dire once again," Maya sighed, contemplating their next move. They couldn't see a viable path to kill the enemy king, yet disappointing Theo was not an option.
"Once it wears off, I won't be able to take another pill for 24 hours, and my physical abilities will be halved for one minute. Keep this in mind and adapt our approach accordingly."
Maya's mind raced as she recalled Li Wei's earlier words, realizing the significance of the time limit for his pill's effects.
Maya's eyes glanced at the screen as she asked, "How many seconds have passed since Li Wei's pill duration ended?"
The AI assistant provided her with an answer on the screen. "38 seconds."
"Calculate the time I need to reach Li Wei."
"6 seconds."
Maya made a rough simulation in her mind before shouting, "Change of plan. Miss Nana. Do your best to protect Oliver. I will be helping Li Wei."
Nana, although initially perplexed by Maya's unwavering confidence, chose to trust her instincts and the potential plans she had in mind. Despite feeling strange relying on inexperienced youngsters, Nana acknowledged their exceptional talent and believed they were capable of surpassing her soon. The students' method might be unorthodox but effective after all.
Having received confirmation from Nana, Maya directed her attention towards Li Wei, raising her voice to capture his attention. "Li Wei, trust me!" she exclaimed, determination evident in her voice.
Li Wei's eyebrows raised in surprise, but a smile gradually formed on his face. It appeared that Maya had a plan in mind, utilizing the information he had provided.
In that moment, Maya charged forward, her determination evident. She commanded the assistant, instructing it to allocate sixty percent of the essence into the thruster, boosting her speed. With incredible agility, she effortlessly crushed the skeletons in her path, who were preoccupied with attacking Oliver.
The king, uncertain of Maya's intentions, prepared to intercept her, ready for any outcome.
"Li Wei, jump!" Maya shouted as she rapidly approached him.
Without hesitation, Li Wei leaped into the air, disregarding the surrounding skeletons. He focused his attention on Maya, who extended her arm as if preparing to strike him. However, Li Wei remembered her earlier request to trust her, limiting the range of possibilities.
Realizing that Maya couldn't explicitly state their plan due to the king's awareness, it was now Li Wei's turn to comprehend her intentions and catch the king off guard. To his surprise, the robotic hand opened its palm, shifting from a punch to a makeshift platform for Li Wei.
A surge of excitement ignited within Li Wei as he skillfully rotated his body mid-air, successfully landing his feet on Maya's outstretched hand.
"What?!" The king was shocked and immediately understood what they wanted to do. Maya had actually used herself to launch Li Wei.
But he reacted a bit too late. Maya had used her momentum and thruster to propel Li Wei straight towards the king. Li Wei flew like a bullet, reaching the king in just one second. During that time, he positioned his sword to the side, attempting to strike the king's head.
"Aaaahhhh!" The king screamed in pain. As one would expect from the enemy leader, he was capable enough to tilt his body and avoid a fatal blow. However, that strike alone severed his entire right arm.
Li Wei landed on the ground and used his feet to slide, stopping his momentum. He was ready to charge at the king again, not planning to waste this opportunity to kill their king. But that was when the king unleashed his anger.
"I don't care anymore. All of you are going to die!" The king actually grabbed his severed arm and used the energy within to power up the giant. In addition to his two subordinates, the king used his own energy to fuel the giant. Not only that, but the energy within the king himself began to flow towards the giant. It seemed that the king no longer cared about his own life; he just wanted to kill them.
Due to the surge of essence, the giant's body structure was immediately completed, and its color rapidly filled up.
"!!!" Li Wei was surprised and hurriedly rushed towards the giant, aiming to prevent its completion.
Amidst the intensity of the battle, none of them had realized that Theo had disappeared. Unbeknownst to them, Theo had actually moved to a new position where he could interfere with the battle. Watching this scene, he couldn't help but comment, "Yeah, I know that if I try to kill the king, it will be like this. The author is just trying to make the king appear stronger to give an additional problem. I have waited too long. It's time to wrap it up. I don't know why I didn't receive a single comment this time, but sorry, I will blame you for it."