The Death Knight's roar was an invisible shockwave that swept across the entire battlefield.
The ground shook violently, and loose stones rattled down the hillside. Black fissures split open across the earth, and from them, ghastly, withered skeletal arms shot out, clawing at the sky!
More undead were crawling back to the mortal realm from the depths of hell!
"Dammit! This BOSS can detect us directly!" Zhao Shihao cursed, his face instantly turning grim.
Nearly a thousand meters away, and they were still within its perception range. This far exceeded their estimations for an Elite BOSS.
The faces of the other teams darkened as well.
"This is bad. The number of undead is still increasing," the captain of the four-person standard squad—a steady-looking Shield Warrior—said in a low voice. "We're surrounded."
Just as he said.
The newly risen skeletons and zombies from underground didn't charge toward the church. Instead, they turned and formed a massive, tightening encirclement around the hillside where the examinees were hidden.
The Death Knight was trying to clear the field first!
"What do we do now? Charge in, or break out?" Beside the Silent Swordsman carrying the door-panel-sized greatsword, the Frost Mage spoke coldly, her voice like colliding ice crystals, devoid of any warmth.
"'Break out? Break out where?'" Zhao Shihao sneered. "Behind us is an endless wasteland. How far can we run? The only path to survival is inside that church!"
He had a point.
This place had become a death trap. Forcing their way out would only lead to being hunted down by the endless undead until they collapsed from exhaustion and died.
The only variable, the only chance, lay within the church.
"But the Death Knight is guarding the church entrance. How are we supposed to get in?" The Priest from the standard squad asked, his voice trembling with worry.
The Knight's mere presence radiated a suffocating pressure. It was clearly not something they could challenge at their current level.
For a moment, a deathly silence fell over everyone.
It was a perfect checkmate.
Ahead lay a Lord-level BOSS and its elite guards; behind, an endless horde of undead minions. They were trapped, with no way forward and no way back.
Lin Xiyue's palms were slick with nervous sweat as she gripped the edge of her shield tightly.
She looked at Lin Qingyue, only to find her older sister standing perfectly still, gazing up at the gray, gloomy sky, lost in thought.
"Sis?"
Lin Qingyue didn't answer immediately.
Her mind was racing.
The situation was dire, but not without a weakness.
After its roar, the Death Knight hadn't charged them. Instead, it had turned and walked back through the church doors, leaving the entrance guarded by two rows of Elite Skeleton Guards wielding massive shields.
This meant its primary mission was to guard, not to pursue.
As for the undead minions on the perimeter, though numerous, they were slow-moving with simple attack patterns. Their only real threat was their sheer numbers—the classic "undead sea" tactic.
If they could break through the encirclement, reach the church entrance, and eliminate those elite guards, they would have a chance to enter the church and fight for survival.
The question was, how to break through?
With only a dozen people against hundreds, even thousands, of undead, a direct charge was suicide.
They needed a highly efficient method—something that could instantly tear open the encirclement.
Lin Qingyue's gaze swept discreetly over her "temporary allies."
Zhao Shihao was a Fire Mage with high burst damage, but his AoE was limited, and his advanced spells required casting time.
The Frost Mage likely had decent crowd control, but against such a vast number of undead, her Frost Storm would be a mere drop in the ocean.
No one else had a game-changing skill either.
So...
Lin Qingyue's gaze finally settled on herself.
The memory of that ridiculously embarrassing [Venti Trial Card] surfaced in her mind once more.
What was Venti's power?
Anemo.
The power to sweep up everything, to forge a path... the wind!
A bold plan instantly took shape in her mind.
She took a deep breath and turned to Lin Xiyue, her expression more serious than ever before.
"Xiyue, I have a plan. It might get all of us through."
"Oh, oh, oh! Flying?" Lin Xiyue immediately understood, but her voice was laced with worry. "Can you lift that many people?"
"I can."
Lin Qingyue glanced again at the others, still locked in their heated argument, completely oblivious to the sisters' hushed conversation in the corner.
The timing was perfect.
"Xiyue, follow my lead," Lin Qingyue said rapidly. "In a moment, I'll create a massive updraft that will sweep everyone into the air. Tell them immediately that this is my hidden trump card, and it can carry them across. Warn them not to resist, or they'll fall and be eliminated."
"Huh? Take everyone?" Lin Xiyue was stunned.
"Yes, everyone." Lin Qingyue's eyes glinted with cold calculation. "Right now, we're all in the same boat. Every extra person is extra strength. We need them to clear the Elite Guards at the church entrance."
It was an incredibly rational, even manipulative, decision.
But in this desperate situation, it was the only correct move.
"I understand!" Lin Xiyue nodded firmly.
Lin Qingyue darted behind a massive boulder, completely hidden from everyone's sight.
She closed her eyes, steeling herself.
Come on, you singing bard!
It's time for your performance!
"System, use [Venti Trial Card]!"
Emerald-green motes of Wind Element materialized out of thin air, instantly enveloping her like a swarm of a billion fireflies.
When Lin Qingyue opened her eyes again, the mortifyingly cringe-inducing bard outfit was already perfectly fitted to her body.
Her cheeks burned, but a competitive fire raged in her chest.
"For the championship, what's a little shame..."
She muttered to herself, giving herself a pep talk as she forcefully suppressed the urge to rip off the ridiculous green hat. Stepping out from behind the boulder, she called out:
"Now, Xiyue!"
Her voice had become crisp and melodious, carrying a strange rhythm like wind chimes tinkling under the eaves.
Lin Xiyue, already poised for action, lunged forward and roared at the bickering crowd: "Stop arguing! My sister has a way to get us across!"
Everyone froze, their heads snapping toward her in unison.
Zhao Shihao, at the peak of his frustration, yelled back in near-despair:
"What kind of way could she possibly have? Is she going to fly us up to the sky?!"
The moment his words left his lips—
A vast, world-shaking torrent of Wind Element erupted, centered on the "green-clad girl who had appeared out of nowhere" beside Lin Xiyue!
Lin Qingyue, fighting back the toe-curling shame, spread her arms wide and, in a near-operatic tone, chanted a poem of the wind:
"O Wind, answer my call! Carry us to our destined place!"
A massive, azure wind field, over fifty meters in diameter, materialized out of thin air, instantly enveloping the entire hillside!
All the examinees present, including Zhao Shihao who had just been shouting defiantly, felt the ground vanish beneath their feet!
A gentle yet irresistible updraft suddenly lifted them into the air!
"What?!"
"Holy shit! I'm flying!"
"What kind of skill is this? A group-wide flight ability?! Are you kidding me?!"
Horrified screams erupted one after another.
Everyone's mind went blank, utterly stunned by this miraculous turn of events. Their bodies, completely out of control, shot straight up dozens of meters into the sky.
Looking down, the Undead Army that had once crushed them with overwhelming pressure now looked like a teeming mass of writhing black dots on the ground.
"Everyone, stay calm! This is my sister's hidden trump card: Heroic Spirit Possession!" Lin Xiyue shouted, following the script they had agreed upon beforehand. "This wind field will carry us directly to the Church entrance! Don't move recklessly, or not even an Archon could save you if you fall!"
The crowd finally snapped out of their daze.
They stared up in utter shock, as if looking at a monster, at the green-clad girl hovering at the center of the wind field, her robes fluttering.
Though... that outfit was indeed a bit of an eyesore.
"My gods..." the Assassin from the Standard Squad gasped. "With power like this... forget this outfit, I'd fly naked if I had to!"
"Appearance is irrelevant in the face of such power," the Shield Warrior Captain said with genuine awe and envy. "This level of wind control is unheard of."
Zhao Shihao's face flushed red, then paled, stinging with humiliation.
Just moments ago, he had mocked her for "ascending to the heavens," and in the next instant, she had literally packed him up and sent him there.
Finally, he could only force out through gritted teeth, "Hmph, her style is bizarre, but this ability... it's just absurd."
Lin Qingyue listened to the chatter, her heart a whirlwind of conflicting emotions.
On one hand, she reveled in the sheer power she wielded. On the other, she felt like a clown tied to a post for public execution.
But with their lives on the line, she had no choice but to maintain her composure.
"Everyone, let us ride the wind together!"
She spoke in Venti's characteristic light and cheerful tone, guiding the massive wind field as it flew steadily toward the distant Dark Church.
"The wind will guide our way~"
The gale roared in their ears, the sea of death swirling below.
This transcendent perspective, high above the battlefield, left every prodigy present breathless, their hearts pounding with exhilaration.
So, this is another way to fight.
So, in the face of absolute power, a so-called hopeless situation can truly be erased... so elegantly, so unreasonably!
[Ding! The Host has turned the tide in a spectacular display before a captivated audience, successfully leading everyone to safety. You have earned a massive amount of Shock, Awe, and Admiration. Elation Value +1250!]
System, if you don't shut up, I swear I'll uninstall you the moment we land.
Lin Qingyue silently ground her teeth, praying this public execution of a flight would end quickly.
The thousand-meter distance vanished in an instant, propelled by the wind field.
Soon, they were hovering above the Church.
At the entrance, two rows of Elite Skeleton Guards stood sentinel, the soul flames in their hollow eye sockets flickering violently.
Having spotted the uninvited guests in the sky, they raised their massive bone shields in unison, the grating clack-clack of bone against bone echoing with menace.
"Oh dear, our friends below don't seem very friendly, do they~?"
Lin Qingyue finished speaking in a light tone, but her voice instantly hardened, becoming cold and filled with killing intent.
"Everyone, are you ready for the slaughter that awaits us upon landing? The wind field is about to dissipate. May the Anemo Archon protect you!"
Her voice rang clearly in everyone's ears.
"Understood!" the Shield Warrior growled, already raising his massive shield before him.
Zhao Shihao snorted coldly, a fist-sized, blazing fireball already spinning wildly in his palm.
The moment the wind field reached the plaza before the Church, Lin Qingyue willed it away, decisively dispelling the gale.
Over a dozen figures plummeted from dozens of meters high, like dumplings dropped into a pot!
But thanks to a final, gentle buffer from the Wind Element, everyone landed firmly on the ground, completely unharmed.
"Now! Charge!"
Lin Xiyue and the Shield Warrior Captain roared in unison. Charging from the left and right like two enraged rhinoceroses, they kicked up clouds of dust as they slammed into the grim skeleton defensive line at the Church entrance!
The heavy thud of impact instantly echoed across the plaza