Leveling up wasn't mutation—it didn't take long.
So, just as Pask realized Orlis was about to advance, before he could react, Orlis had already reached Level 5.
"Leave now, and I won't kill you."
"Well, aren't you generous, little skeleton?" Pask's eye-flames flared. He lifted his greatsword high, then swung it down to point at Orlis. "Don't get ahead of yourself, skeleton. You think you've got me figured out? Hah! That's laughable. So you're Level 5 now—do you know how many Level 5s I've beaten?"
Yes—was a skeleton from the previous era really so easily beaten? Probably not.
Pask's bones suddenly blazed with light.
Boom!
One moment he was standing still, the next he vanished. Orlis's eye-flames flashed, and he barely had time to raise his bone shield before an immense force slammed into it. Even with his newly gained Level 5 strength as a sword-and-shield skeleton, Orlis was driven back several steps.
"Do you know, skeleton? The battle skill you just tasted—that's my signature move. No skeleton of the same level has ever withstood it."
Pask appeared beside Orlis, sneering, his greatsword crashing down again. Orlis was forced back three steps. Then Pask went full throttle—his figure blurred, disappearing from Orlis's view. Another bone-cracking impact followed, and Orlis staggered back once more.
"Oh? Still blocking? As expected of a sword-and-shield skeleton… but let's see how much longer you can last."
With that chilling remark, Pask launched a storm of blows. His terrifying speed allowed him to appear at any angle, striking from all directions in a relentless assault.
Fast—unbelievably fast.
To the eye, Pask's figure was gone. All that could be seen was a faint gray blur darting around Orlis, each pass accompanied by a heavy thud. Orlis was pushed back step by step, clearly under pressure and unable to go on the offensive.
Still, Orlis wasn't truly in danger yet. Though he had been driven back far and beaten down to the point of barely lifting his head, he held his defense firm. Not a single one of Pask's strikes had landed directly on his bones—because if even one did, it could shatter him completely. Indeed, any skeleton who had survived from the previous era was no ordinary foe.
But that was all it was. This kind of explosive speed could not last. Once it faltered, Orlis would have his chance to turn the tide.
"Why keep fighting back so stubbornly? Do you still think you can win? Or are you just waiting for my battle skill to run out?" Pask sent another blow crashing into Orlis, forcing him back a couple of steps.
"You're dreaming!"
Pask's speed surged again—by another thirty percent. With a brutal charge, he knocked Orlis back several more steps, then unleashed a torrential downpour of sword strikes.
Block—he had to block—no matter what.
ROAR!
Seeing the rain of blows falling toward him, Orlis's eye-flames flickered wildly. He suddenly dropped his right-hand sword, gripped his bone shield with both hands, and charged straight into Pask's attack.
"You can't block this—die!"
Pask stopped mid-stride, his greatsword hammering the shield with impossible speed. A sharp ding-ding-ding of bone striking bone rang out, one blow after another, too many to count. Orlis braced behind his shield, absorbing every strike without yielding a single step.
Pask might not have known how many times he struck, but Orlis counted every blow.
One hundred thirty-seven strikes—cracks appeared in his hands gripping the shield.
Two hundred seventy-seven strikes—the shield itself began to split.
Things were getting worse—at any moment, Pask could break through and kill him. So this was Pask's true strength.
Hold on—just a bit longer. This level of speed and power couldn't last forever. Outlast him, and there might be a chance to win. Only then could he take that damned spear-wielding skeleton back. His master's order—he had to complete it!
Orlis suddenly raised his head, his eye-flames blazing with fierce will. Pushing against the crushing pressure, he tried to force his shield forward with all his strength—
And then, Pask's roaring assault stopped dead.
Did I… endure it? Orlis thought in disbelief, looking up at him.
"Despair. Give up. There will be no hope."
No—it wasn't over. Pask's attack hadn't ended. This next move was his true trump card, and if Orlis couldn't block it, he really would die.
A wave of mortal danger wrapped around Orlis, making his briefly loosened heart tense again. His soul-flame thrashed violently, and every scrap of battle energy his new Level 5 body could muster poured into his shield.
"I've seen your future. It's endless darkness and fear."
Pask's voice was cold. His greatsword swung down like a streak of silver lightning, aimed to cleave Orlis in two—
Whoosh! A sharp sound split the air.
Pask's blade flicked up, and with a crack, a gray bone spear was sliced clean in half.
"I… don't… need… you to… save me… This… is my fight… I'll… handle it… You… leave…"
Not far behind Pask, Felis—his bone arm reattached—stood watching Orlis's battered form with a complicated look.
"Hmph, as if I wanted to save you. If it weren't for the master's orders, I wouldn't bother coming." Now at Level 5, Orlis spoke more smoothly, adjusting his shield with effort and snorting. "This is my fight. The one who should leave is you."
"Leave? None of you are leaving." Pask sneered.
"None of them are leaving. You, too, will stay!"
At that moment, a group of dozens of skeletons charged over from the distance—and leading them was none other than Zhao Lun.