The skeleton legion surged forward under Adonis's command, their bone weapons gleaming dully under the mountain's eerie light. Jay followed closely behind, his eyes fixed on the summit where the plateau awaited. The anticipation of battle filled the air, and as the legions advanced, a horde of wolves appeared above them—at least 10,000, snarling and growling, blocking their path. Their eyes gleamed with feral intent, muscles tensed, and the ground trembled under their numbers.
Adonis tilted his skull slightly, his golden hollow eyes gleaming with delight. "Hmm, we have company." A sinister grin spread across his skeletal face.
Jay's lips curled into a smirk. "Let's begin."
Adonis mirrored his grin and snapped his bony fingers. "Mages, release your spells! Archers, fire! Swordsmen and shielders, advance and attack!"
The skeletal mages began chanting in hollow voices, and soon, a storm of fireballs, ice shards, and bursts of lightning streaked toward the wolves. The wolves, swift and agile, dodged what they could, their movements a blur of fur and muscle. But with such a massive horde, there wasn't enough space for all to escape. The elemental spells detonated in their ranks, flames igniting fur and ice immobilizing limbs, while others were electrocuted mid-leap.
As the wolves recoiled from the magical onslaught, the archers followed up with a rain of bone-tipped arrows, aiming primarily at the wolves closest to the legion. Arrows sank into the bodies of those retreating from the first barrage, their growls turning into whimpers of pain.
With their momentum broken, the skeletal swordsmen and shielders surged forward, attacking in perfect formation. The swordsmen slashed with mechanical precision, their blades slicing through the thick hides of the wolves, spilling dark crimson across the rocks. The shielders defended their ranks, anticipating every swift strike from the wolves, intercepting claws and elemental bites with bone-forged shields.
Some of the shielders didn't just block—they used their shields as weapons. With powerful bashes, they sent wolves flying into their own ranks, scattering them and disrupting their formation. The once-coordinated wolves fell into disarray, snarling in frustration as their lines were shattered.
Adonis's hollow eyes scanned the battlefield until he spotted something unusual—a large wolf with bright green fur standing at the edge of the horde, howling commands to the others. The wolves immediately responded, snapping back into formation. This wasn't just a pack leader—it was a commander.
"There," Adonis muttered to himself, locking his gaze on the green wolf. "That one is the key."
Jay's gaze followed Adonis's, and he spotted the green-furred wolf as well. "Interesting," Jay muttered, eyes glowing with curiosity. "He's definitely leading them. Let's see what his stats are." With a flick of his hand, he activated Detection.
[System - Great Forest Wolf]
[Rank - Warrior (lvl 24)]
[Special - none]
[Bloodline - none]
[Skills - wolf control , wind blade , ? ]
Only two skills visible... Jay's brow furrowed. Why is the third hidden? Still, he relayed the wolf's level and known abilities to Adonis and the rest.
The 9-Headed Serpent hissed with amusement. "Master, one bite, and that mutt's gone. Shall I have some fun with it?" It chuckled, eager to join the fray.
Before Jay could respond, Pluto's voice cut in, low and confident. "Master, let me handle it. I feel the edge of a breakthrough—I can reach level 30 if I take this one down."
Jay turned his gaze toward Pluto, a shadowy figure standing quietly beside him. Level 29 already... impressive. After a moment's thought, he gave a small nod. "Alright, you can take it. But be quick. I don't want to lose any skeletons here—it's still too early in the fight."
Pluto grinned and bowed slightly. "Understood, Master. Consider it done."
Pluto activated his phasing ability and dissolved into a blur of black mist, weaving through the chaos on the battlefield. The wolves flinched in terror as he passed through them like a shadow, their claws and teeth passing harmlessly through his incorporeal form. Some whined in confusion, not understanding what sort of being they faced.
Pluto's misty form steadily solidified the farther he drifted from Jay, forcing him to rematerialize as he approached the Great Forest Wolf. It stood at the rear of the pack, its emerald eyes glowing with intelligence as it noticed Pluto's presence.
The wolf's green fur shimmered under the moonlight, and it let out a low growl as its eyes locked onto the shadowy figure before it. Pluto's grin widened. "Hey, mutt. I'm here to give you death. I hope you'll make this interesting."
The Great Forest Wolf snarled in fury at Pluto's blunt words, its hackles raised. With a sharp howl, it charged forward at full speed, wind gathering around its paws. The ground trembled beneath its powerful steps as it closed the distance in seconds.
Pluto's eyes glinted with excitement. "Good. Come at me." He phased out of sight again, dodging the wolf's first lunge effortlessly. The wolf's jaws snapped shut on empty air, and it whirled around in frustration, releasing a Wind Blade attack from its claws. The blade of wind sliced toward Pluto, but he slipped into shadow just in time, letting the attack pass harmlessly through where he had stood moments before.
Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, the skeleton legion advanced steadily. Adonis commanded them with precision, his skeletal warriors maintaining perfect formation.
The skeleton swordsmen sliced into the wolves with ruthless efficiency, their strikes severing limbs and tearing through thick hides. The shielders stood at the front, absorbing the wolves' retaliatory strikes with their massive bone shields, forming a near-impenetrable wall. Behind them, archers unleashed volleys of arrows, their shots striking down any wolf that tried to break through the ranks.
Even skeletons that were heavily damaged—missing limbs or crushed beneath wolves—continued to fight. Some bit at their enemies with whatever remained of their jaws, while others, dismembered, crawled along the ground to stab wolves with broken swords.
At the rear, skeletal healing mages worked tirelessly to repair the fallen, reattaching bones and mending cracked skulls with glowing necrotic energy. The shielders formed a defensive perimeter around the healers, ensuring no wolves could disrupt the restoration efforts.
The wolves, realizing their efforts were failing, began to falter. Though they still outnumbered the skeletons, their fear was growing. Many instinctively tried to pull back, their morale wavering.
Then, a sharp, commanding howl echoed through the battlefield. The Great Forest Wolf—angered by Pluto's taunts—called its pack back into the fray. Terrified of disobeying their leader, the wolves regrouped and threw themselves recklessly at the skeletons once more, even though the battle had already turned against them.
Adonis sneered from the back lines, his skeletal grin stretched wide. "Fools. Throw yourselves into death's embrace—it will make no difference."
Pluto stood firm, his ghastly figure flickering like a mirage, a grin widening on his face as he taunted the Great Forest Wolf. "Mutt, you called your pack just to send them to their deaths. Beasts like you... this is why your kind is looked down upon." His voice dripped with mockery, each word like a dagger twisting deeper into the wolf's pride.
The Great Forest Wolf snarled viciously, its green eyes burning with rage. With a sharp bark, it unleashed a powerful Wind Blade glowing with an emerald sheen. The air split violently as the blade raced toward Pluto, slicing through anything in its path. But Pluto stood his ground, eyes glinting with amusement.
"Ghost Sword Technique."
A spectral green sword materialized in Pluto's hands, shimmering with ethereal light. He swung it in a wide arc, sending a ghastly blade of energy straight toward the wolf's attack. The two forces collided midair with a deafening boom. The impact was so immense that every wolf within a 20-meter radius was caught in the shockwave—either blasted away like ragdolls or reduced to minced flesh by the swirling energies.
As the dust cleared, Pluto chuckled, unfazed. "Not bad, mutt," he said, brushing off the debris that settled on him. Across from him, the Great Forest Wolf stood panting, its left leg bleeding heavily from a deep gash inflicted by the clash. The beast's green fur was stained crimson, but its emerald eyes still burned with defiance.
Pluto's grin widened further. "Since you attacked first, now it's my turn. Let's see if you can survive this."
He lowered his stance, focusing his energy as the air around him grew cold and heavy with killing intent. A flicker of blue light danced along the edges of his blade as he whispered, "Sword Intent – First Formation + Soul Blaze."
The moment he finished, a thin, blazing-blue arc appeared in the air above the Great Forest Wolf, as if the sword slash had teleported right onto its position. The wolf barely had time to react before the strike hit.
The world seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, with a bone-chilling howl, the Great Forest Wolf's body shuddered as a deep, vertical slash tore through it—from head to tail. Blue flames erupted along the length of the wound, engulfing both halves of its body in spectral fire. The beast's soul itself felt as if it were being consumed, writhing in agony as the ethereal blaze scorched not just its flesh but its very essence.
Pluto watched with grim satisfaction as the wolf's two halves split apart, slowly falling in opposite directions. A faint shimmer ran along the ground where the wolf stood moments before, splitting the earth beneath it as if the strike had cleaved through the land itself. The shockwave extended beyond, forming a long crater, its edges alight with flickering blue flames.
The battlefield grew eerily silent as the wolves nearby stopped in their tracks, horrified by the gruesome display. The Great Forest Wolf—once their mighty leader—now lay divided and burning in the crater, its body reduced to nothing more than kindling for Pluto's ghostly flames.
Pluto exhaled slowly, feeling the surge of power from his victory. He could sense his own strength growing as the familiar sensation of leveling up washed over him.
Jay stood with his arms crossed, observing the battlefield with a satisfied smile. The clash between Pluto and the Great Forest Wolf had ended decisively, with blue flames still flickering in the deep crater left behind by Pluto's devastating attack.
As Jay scrolled through his system interface, a soft chime echoed in his mind. A new notification appeared, drawing his attention.
[System Notification: Pluto has reached Level 30]
Jay's eyes lit up, and his grin widened. "Looks like you've finally done it, Pluto," he muttered to himself, pride swelling within him.
Pluto returned to Jay's side, phasing effortlessly through the lingering wolf carcasses and broken skeletons along the battlefield. His ghastly form flickered briefly before solidifying, and the moment he stood next to Jay, his crimson eyes gleamed with newfound power.
"You saw that, didn't you, Master?" Pluto smirked, feeling the boost in strength. "Level 30 at last. I knew that overgrown mutt would be worth my time."
Jay gave him a nod, still glancing at his system interface. "Yeah, I noticed. Good timing, too—things will only get tougher from here." He dismissed the notification with a swipe of his hand. While pluto flexed his hands, feeling the energy surge through his spectral body.
The death of the Great Forest Wolf shattered the morale of the remaining wolves. The pack, now without their leader, fell into chaos. Fear rippled through their ranks as they howled in panic, but there was no escape—the skeleton legion was relentless.
Adonis raised his bone-clad sword high, grinning wildly. "Show them no mercy! Let them know the might of the dead!" His words were met with a thunderous clash of shields and weapons as the skeletal warriors surged forward.
The frontline skeleton swordsmen crashed into the disorganized wolves like a wave of death. Their rusted swords gleamed under the faint light as they hacked and slashed with cold precision. Wolves that lunged at them were met with brutal counterattacks—jaws shattered on iron shields, claws scraped uselessly against skeletal bodies, and throats were opened with vicious slashes.
Several wolves pounced at once, trying to overwhelm individual skeletons, but the shielders were ready. Huge shields smashed into the charging beasts, sending them flying back into their own kind, breaking bones with every impact. The shield wall advanced like a tidal wave, shoving the wolves into a crushing press.
"Archers! Keep firing!" Adonis bellowed.
From behind the frontline, skeleton archers unleashed a relentless rain of arrows. The deadly projectiles whistled through the air, piercing the wolves that tried to escape the chaos. Many wolves crumpled under the sheer number of arrows, their bodies riddled and bleeding out on the dirt. Some managed to survive the first volley only to be cut down by advancing swordsmen.
The wolf pack's elemental abilities were useless against the undead. A few wolves tried firing mini wind blades, but the skeletons were undeterred—one wind blade cleaved a skeleton in half, but even the severed upper half crawled forward with its bony arms, still trying to stab the wolf with a jagged sword. There was no fear, no hesitation, only the desire to kill.
The wolves were torn apart, limb by limb, as the skeletons fought with ruthless efficiency.
A particularly large wolf managed to tear apart a skeleton with a vicious bite, only to be swarmed by four more skeleton warriors. The skeletal swords stabbed into its hide from all angles, their cold, dead hands dragging it to the ground, where the wolf was hacked to pieces in seconds.
A group of wolves tried a desperate charge to breach the lines, hoping to reach the healing mages in the back. Adonis noticed the attempt and gave a sharp grin. "Reinforce the wall! They won't get through!"
The skeleton shielders tightened the formation, planting their massive shields into the ground. As the wolves collided with the shield wall, they were met with bone-crunching force. Shield bash after shield bash shattered ribs and skulls, turning the desperate charge into a futile mess of broken bodies.
Behind the wall, the healing mages calmly repaired fallen skeletons. Severed arms were reattached, and shattered bones were fused back together as the undead warriors returned to the fight with grim purpose. Each time a skeleton fell, it simply stood back up, more determined than before.
The battle had turned into a one-sided massacre. The wolves, though fierce, were no match for the sheer coordination and discipline of the undead legion. Their pack instincts shattered, they fought without direction or purpose. They fell by the dozens, their bodies piling up like worthless meat.
Adonis chuckled darkly as he watched his legion perform flawlessly. "This is what happens when you face the dead."
A wounded wolf tried to crawl away, whimpering as it dragged itself through the mud. A skeletal swordsman casually walked over, lifting its sword, and with one cold stroke, ended the creature's misery.
In the distance, Pluto's spectral form hovered, watching the chaos unfold. He smirked, pleased with the efficiency of the massacre. "A battle without fear... perfect."
As the last of the wolves fell, silence descended upon the battlefield, broken only by the clatter of bones as the skeletons reorganized into formation. The ground was littered with the bodies of wolves, many still smoldering from earlier magical attacks.
Adonis turned to Jay and gave a mock bow, a grin spread across his skeletal face. "The field is ours, Master. Not a single one escaped."
Jay looked over the battlefield, satisfied with the outcome. "Good. Gather the corpses. We'll raise whatever's useful later for the time being i'll store them in my inventory."
The skeletal warriors began dragging wolf carcasses toward the mages, preparing them for future necromantic rituals. Meanwhile, Pluto drifted over to Jay, his form flickering with spectral energy.
"Well," Pluto said with a grin, "That was fun. But I hope whatever's waiting at the summit puts up a better fight."
Jay gave a low chuckle. "Oh, I have a feeling it will. Let's not waste time—onward to the summit."
The undead legions reformed, their ranks unbroken despite the carnage they had unleashed. With the path cleared of wolves, Jay and his commanders began their ascent once more, heading toward the plateau at the top of the mountain, where the real challenge awaited.