"HUAAA—!"
A Behemoth swung its massive claws.
With a single strike, countless skeletons were sent flying, bones scattering through the air like rain.
A Titan unleashed a bolt of lightning, instantly clearing a massive swath of the battlefield.
And yet—
It didn't stop the skeletons at all.
They advanced mechanically, relentlessly.
Anything in their path, they climbed.
Once on top, they hacked away with blades so rusted they were nearly rotten.
A Behemoth collapsed.
In an instant, it was buried beneath white bones.
By the time the skeletons moved on, the massive body had been reduced to nothing but a skeletal frame.
"My god… that's terrifying."
The spectators all shuddered.
The undead army was horrifying beyond words—like marching army ants.
Wherever they passed, nothing remained.
"I-I'm really glad I didn't choose Necropolis…"
Xiangling patted her chest, still shaken.
The scene was far too disturbing.
No matter how strong it was, she wanted nothing to do with it.
Many others felt the same.
Whoever wants to use this thing, go ahead.
I'm out.
Nearby, Huohuo had her eyes tightly shut.
Even so, the dying howls of the Behemoths still reached her ears, making her tremble nonstop.
"Look at you—open your eyes already. This is a great chance to build courage."
"No…"
"What are you afraid of? The skeletons aren't going to jump out at you."
"I'm still scared…"
When Hu Tao only had a few thousand skeletons, Huohuo could barely handle it.
Now?
This sea of bones was pure nightmare fuel.
If she wanted to build courage, she'd rather go home and watch horror comedies.
At this moment, every player watched the battlefield in horror—
Except March 7th, who casually glanced around at everyone's reactions.
"Well? Now you all understand what it felt like when I faced this undead army, right?"
She was the first one to experience Hu Tao's troops firsthand.
Back then, she'd nearly been scared out of her wits.
Now everyone else finally got a taste.
"Skeletons… necromancy…"
Ruan Mei's eyes sparkled.
"…Interesting."
The more she watched, the more fascinated she became.
Animating beings with no biological function at all—
She found it deeply intriguing.
"You want to research it?"
Herta glanced at her in surprise.
"Don't you?"
"Of course I do. Keep going—maybe the rewards will include something like that."
That reminded Ruan Mei.
The rewards were incredibly diverse.
Something like this might exist.
Only Screwllum looked uneasy.
He wasn't optimistic about Ruan Mei getting her hands on such things.
She was already dangerous enough.
If she caused another Emperor Rubert–level incident…
He quietly wondered if he should stop her.
Then again—
Even he wanted to study it.
How could he possibly stop her?
On the battlefield—
The skeletons had finished off all ground units: Behemoths, Titans—everything.
Now, empty eye sockets turned skyward.
Deep within those hollows, faint red lights flickered.
Meanwhile, Feixiao had already eliminated all of Hu Tao's other units.
"Black Dragons, Gold Dragons—breath attack."
Feixiao finally made her move.
Skeletons were ground units.
They couldn't reach flying dragons.
But dragons could breathe fire.
Which meant—
Only she could attack now.
"You—how is that fair?!"
Hu Tao stared wide-eyed.
"Isn't this cheating? You're the only one who can attack!"
Feixiao didn't care.
"Dragons breathing fire is perfectly normal."
As long as she could kill more skeletons, she would.
Roaring through the sky, dragons unleashed torrents of flame, sweeping across the battlefield.
Hu Tao was furious.
This was blatant abuse.
If she weren't in the middle of battle, she'd already be running to Valerius to complain.
Is this really allowed?!
Watching skeletons fall under dragonfire, Hu Tao began thinking hard.
She couldn't let this continue.
Then suddenly—
Feixiao spoke.
"How about… we call this a draw?"
"…And the rewards?"
"We fight again."
No.
Something was wrong.
Hu Tao stared at Feixiao, trying to read her expression.
But she found nothing.
Feixiao, on the other hand, was far more anxious.
She'd realized this situation was bad.
Hu Tao's Cursed Armor had crippled her army's damage output.
That's why she suggested a draw.
If they returned to the arena—
She could remove the Anti-Magic Orb.
Without it, Hu Tao could use magic again.
But Feixiao could tell—
Hu Tao wasn't a mage.
She was a warrior type, just like her.
Magic damage wouldn't be high.
If Feixiao could dispel those debuffs—
She'd regain a massive advantage.
"Fight again?"
Hu Tao refused.
"And then you fly into the sky again?"
"…Fly?"
Suddenly, Hu Tao's eyes lit up.
She looked at Feixiao with a knowing smile.
"No… your troops will come down soon."
"What do you mean?"
"These creatures are huge. You think they can fly forever? Don't they get tired?"
Damn it.
Feixiao's heart sank.
Hu Tao had hit her weakness.
Flying units consumed stamina.
Once exhausted—
They'd be forced to land.
And then they'd be targets.
"Your skeletons are running on the ground too. Don't they get tired?"
"They're skeletons."
"…They don't need stamina."
"…Ah."
No rebuttal.
That was painfully true.
"This is checkmate."
"Skeletons don't get tired. What about you?"
"What if my dragons fly for two or three days before landing?"
"Heh."
Hu Tao scoffed.
She found a comfortable spot, lay down, and pulled her hat over her eyes.
"I'm resting. Do whatever you want."
Let's see who lasts longer.
Feixiao's mouth twitched.
She never imagined things would turn out like this.
With no other choice—
She ordered the Angels and Phoenixes to descend.
Those units couldn't do much in the air anyway.
Better to fight than waste stamina.
As for the Black and Gold Dragons—
Let them keep breathing fire for now.
As Angels and Phoenixes landed, the skeletons finally had targets.
They surged forward instantly.
A slaughter began.
Archangels struck first.
With their overwhelming stats, skeletons couldn't compete.
The angel formations became massive meat grinders, shredding skeletons apart.
But as more and more skeletons swarmed in—
Their movement space shrank.
Eventually, they were forced into tight defensive circles.
Even that wasn't enough.
Skeletons didn't stop.
If one died, another took its place.
They charged relentlessly—
A suicidal tide rushing the strongest Tier-7 units head-on.
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