At the moment when the Little Loach pendent advanced, Mo Fan's other magical elements also began to show subtle fluctuations. After previously experiencing the power of the light element, Mo Fan was now attempting to advance his light magic.
Meanwhile, in the ancient capital:
"Uuugh..." "Roooar...!!" "..."
The outer walls had been completely breached. The trembling of the earth and the deafening roars of the undead mixed into a terrifying storm sweeping through the city from behind.
Few people dared to look back, for the number of undead was far greater than the mages had imagined. Their footsteps on the ground caused the city walls and towers to shake uncontrollably.
The undead outside the ancient capital now truly resembled a massive "tidal wave."
Black! White! Gray!
Corpses, corpse generals, skeletons, bone lords, evil spirits, ghost generals—these creatures covered the land in such density that the earth seemed to crawl and undulate under their sheer numbers!
The undead of commander rank stood out with their massive figures, and amidst the surging undead tide, their towering forms appeared like lone peaks amidst a river. As they moved, the undead flowing around them split like water around a rock, continuing their relentless advance.
The most terrifying figure remained the Undead Emperor in the sky, whose breath of death had obliterated a kilometer of city wall. Rather than pursuing the human mages, it focused on destroying the walls of the outer city, one by one.
Dark clouds pressed low over the ancient capital, threatening to crush it. The icy rain, sharp as arrows, seeped into the city's very foundations.
Even more frightening were the vengeful spirits that crawled out of graves, tombs, and burial grounds, unwilling to depart. The land was now covered in their filth. The once proud and towering outer walls now seemed like a fragile dam, unable to withstand the onslaught of this deadly tide.
The outer walls were utterly demolished, with thick bricks crashing down and lofty towers collapsing as if made of mud. The streets and houses stood no chance either.
From the inner walls, looking outward, the ancient city's surroundings for over ten kilometers had been completely submerged by the black sea of undead. Buildings, streets, plazas, parks, schools, and hospitals were all destroyed, leaving no visible trace of their remains. The undead had swept it all away.
The undead had finally entered the city, flooding in from all directions. But the most horrifying sight was not the front line of undead closing in but the endless horde behind them, stretching for untold kilometers, making it seem like they were the true invaders of this land of death.
On top of the bell tower, Han Ji watched this scene, feeling both terror and relief.
As the supreme commander of the ancient capital, he was relieved that he hadn't underestimated Mo Fan's warnings simply because of the latter's youth. They had preemptively evacuated the civilians from the outer city.
Had they not evacuated earlier, the invasion of the undead would have resulted in a much larger death toll. The ancient capital would have faced an even more tragic fate than the one unfolding now.
In the Dark Abyss:
After receiving feedback from the Little Loach pendant, Mo Fan successfully advanced his light element to the high tier. Although his shadow element had yet to break through, he believed it was only a matter of time.
He found himself in a chamber filled with lifelike statues, all carved from white jade that resembled the smooth, pale skin of women.
Most notably, all these statues were of women with graceful, slender figures. Their postures varied—some bowed, some saluted, some knelt, some smiled. Walking past them gave the feeling that one was an emperor being welcomed by a long procession of concubines.
To emphasize their status as royal consorts, the sculptor had depicted them without any clothes, entirely nude.
One could say that the ancient king's pleasures were unimaginable.
However, no matter how perfect the sculptures were, no matter how flawless their forms or beautiful their faces, they were ultimately lifeless. None could compare to the real women, whose slightest smile or frown could stir the heart.
Mo Fan was not distracted by these creations. He pressed on, and soon, the surroundings grew dark.
"Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo~~~!"
The black wind howled mournfully, swirling around the stone platform on the edge of the abyss. It seemed like one wrong step could send a person plummeting into a bottomless pit.
There was no visible path ahead, but a series of bridges appeared.
These were not quaint little arched bridges, but grand, towering constructions that spanned vast distances, resembling giant flying dragons that stretched into the deeper darkness.
There were ten of these dragon-like arched bridges, and looking out, one could not see their ends.
This place was the Nine Bridges to Death, the trial left behind by the ancient king.
Mo Fan had no other choice. Each bridge looked identical, and the only way to find the path of life was to fight for it!
The bridges were pitch black, and the further he walked, the more unnerving the atmosphere became. Even though Mo Fan knew this was just a trial, the eerie surroundings filled him with unease.
More importantly, once he set foot on the bridge, there was no turning back.
Then, he felt himself being pulled forward.
Mo Fan experienced a wave of dizziness, and when he opened his eyes, everything around him was a swirling chaos. It felt as if he were sliding rapidly through an incredibly smooth tunnel, occasionally spinning as he went.
Suddenly, a silver vortex appeared high above, and from within the vortex, Mo Fan's figure emerged.
Not long after Mo Fan appeared, another silver vortex opened above him!
From this new vortex, creatures began to fall continuously.
Undead. They were all undead.
The silver vortex rained down a torrent of corpses, one after another—rotting corpses, skeletons, and evil spirits fell like a gruesome downpour!
Thousands of undead had fallen, with many of them at the warrior rank.
"Dimensional Summoning!"
"Contract Summoning!"
Seeing the horde of undead, Mo Fan wasted no time and summoned both the Winged Azure Wolf and Little Flame Belle.
"Little Flame Belle, gather fire beside me. Winged Azure Wolf, entangle that Corpse General!"
With his two reliable companions by his side, Mo Fan braced himself for the battle ahead. The space wasn't very large, so the undead quickly caught the scent of a living human. They let out hideous, hungry cries and broke into a sprint, no longer shuffling mechanically like before. They rushed forward like starving refugees fighting over food!
The ghouls were the most ravenous and led the charge, their footsteps creating cracks in the hard ground beneath them.
Behind them were corpse generals and bone lords, while the massive Corpse Lord slowly lumbered forward, shaking the earth with every step.
"Fiery Fist: Nine Dragons!"
With Little Flame Belle providing protection, Mo Fan didn't need to worry about defense. A blue flame burst from his fist, and he slammed it forward, sending nine fiery dragons roaring across the gray rocky ground. They twisted and surged wildly toward the front line of ghouls!
There were about fifty or sixty ghouls at the forefront, including several corpse generals among them.
(End of Chapter)