The phoenix descended upon the battlefield, exuding majesty and elegance as its lustrous feathers blazed brightly with flames.

Rawelkan stared dumbfounded at the phoenix, and even his undead legion seemed mesmerized by the legendary creature.

Rekil clenched his fist and shouted, “I bet you were surprised! You bastards! This is the newest member of our congregation!”

The wyverns and the harpies formed a line in the air behind the phoenix. The phoenix breathed out fire, while the wyverns and harpies dropped rocks on the undead legion.

“Keeaaaaaaah!” The phoenix let out a deafening cry, unleashing a mighty pillar of flame that carved a line right through the undead legion.

Fwaaaaah!

“Guoooooh…!”

“M-My body… is… burning…!”

The stench of burning corpses filled the air where the undead had been, and when the black plumes of smoke dissipated, only ashes remained. It was a shocking sight, as hundreds of undead had been incinerated in mere moments.

The tide of battle had suddenly shifted in favor of the congregation army. Kang Yoon-Soo capitalized on the momentum, shouting out another command, “All followers and the Templar Knights are to attack along the path paved by the phoenix’s fire.”

The phoenix’s flames were deadly for the enemy, but provided a sense of gentleness and warmth to the congregation army, slowly healing their wounds. The monsters and the Templar Knights charged at the enemy while wrapped in phoenix fire.

‘The entire tide of battle has shifted just because of one monster…’ Rawelkan thought.

Normally, it would be nearly impossible to see a phoenix; it was a famed monster of legend, and anyone fortunate enough to see one in their lifetime would pass the story down for generations.

‘This is getting interesting,’ Rawelkan thought, and his eyes glinted. He cast a spell, calling out, “Bone Sacrifice!”

Two hundred skeletons disintegrated as Rawelkan used the spell, and a sinister aura surrounded his body. He clapped his hands together and cast another spell. “Oh, frost and blizzards! Sweep through this battlefield!”

The sacrifice greatly amplified his magic power, and a wave of chilling air swept across the plain. The phoenix’s flames grew weaker as the plain grew colder and colder.

“Euk!”

“Damn it!”

The freezing cold not only rendered the phoenix’s flames ineffective, but also gave each of the undead an ice javelin.

‘I’m sending these guys in as well,’ Rawelkan thought, ordering the high-ranking undead that were protecting him to join the battle.

The undead threw their ice javelins at the phoenix.

“Keeaaaaaaah!” The phoenix let out a cry, retaliating by breathing out an intense pillar of flame.

Rawelkan furrowed his brow and concentrated on casting another spell. “Javelin Rainfall!”

Countless ice javelins formed from thin air and clashed against the pillar of flame breathed out by the phoenix.

Boooom!

“Keeaaaah!” The phoenix cried out as an ice javelin pierced through its wing. It slowed down drastically, and the flames surrounding the battlefield gradually grew weaker.

Kang Yoon-Soo observed the intense ongoing battle and thought, ‘It’s still weak because it’s not fully mature yet.’

The phoenix that was on their side was still in its juvenile phase, and it was much weaker than a fully-matured phoenix that had lived for hundreds of years. The flames from a fully-matured phoenix would have had no problems against the cold cast by a mere Necromancer.

The high-ranking undead charged ferociously the moment the phoenix’s flames grew weaker.

“Kihihihi…!”

The eerie, spine-chilling cry of the Crying Witches blasted through the air, sending the wyverns and harpies crashing to the ground.

Sukeok! Sukeok!

The Dark Dullahans charged on their headless steeds, cutting down dozens of enemies.

Fwaaaah!

The Flame Skullknights absorbed the remaining flames on the battlefield and burned the congregation army’s forces.

Ravotel gritted his teeth and cursed while swinging his sword, “Damn it! There’s no end to them!”

It was at that moment that the hideous arms of the Corpse Knights grabbed his body.

“Damn it! Let go of me!” Ravotel shouted.

“You… Come… Become… like… us…” the Corpse Knights moaned.

Just as Ravotel was about to be ripped apart, however, the musky smell of tobacco filled his nostrils. Reanna, who had a blood-drenched cigarette in her mouth, walked toward him while dragging her sword across the ground.

Kwachik!

“Euuoooh…!” The Corpse Knight cried out before being cut to pieces by Reanna.

Reanna walked over to the captain of the Templar Knights, who was on the ground looking up at the sky, and said, “It’s a shame that there are no stars today.”

Ravotel was speechless, completely unable to offer up any comeback.

The momentum had shifted back toward the undead army, and the congregation army was left at a severe disadvantage.

Kang Yoon-Soo shouted out loud, “Phoenix.”

“Keeah?” the phoenix responded, looking at Kang Yoon-Soo from above.

“Eat the Flame Skullknights,” Kang Yoon-Soo commanded.

The phoenix immediately flew down to the battlefield and let out a cry. “Keeaaaah!”

“Guoh… W-We’re being eaten…!” The Flame Skullknights moaned.

The phoenix used its sharp beak to devour the Flame Skullknights. After it consumed twelve of them, its flames surged once more across the battlefield, burning hotter than ever before.

Rawelkan grimaced as he thought, ‘Summoning the Flame Skullknights was an error…’

It was a mistake to use a fire-attribute undead being in front of a phoenix, but who would have known that it was possible for the legendary monster to eat undead to grow stronger?

‘I’ll be left at a disadvantage as long as the phoenix recovers its strength and makes the battle drag on,’ Rawelkan thought.

The battlefield was left in utter chaos. Undead, monsters, and Templar Knights clashed in an intense melee, with blood spurting everywhere.

It was at that moment that Rawelkan suddenly shouted loudly, “Skeleton Church Leader! I have a proposal for you!”

The undead suddenly stopped attacking, and the monsters and Templar Knights finally had a moment to catch their breath.

Rawelkan shouted once again, “Just sacrifice yourself. My only objective is you. You can choose to stop this meaningless slaughter. My undead have been reduced in number, but your followers are dying.”

The undead opened a path between them, with Rawelkan standing at the other end. He opened his arms wide and said, “I’ll stop my attack on the cathedral as long as you walk over here.”

The Templar Knights promptly shouted to Kang Yoon-Soo.

“It’s an obvious provocation!”

“It’s definitely a trap! Don’t be fooled by such petty tricks!”

Rawelkan snapped back at them, “Silence, you imbeciles! Did I ask you for your opinion? No! I’m speaking to the Skeleton Church Leader!”

Kang Yoon-Soo stared at Rawelkan in silence.

Rawelkan continued in a gentle and relaxed tone, “Now, Skeleton Church Leader. Don’t you have an obligation to sacrifice yourself if you truly are the head of your church? Are you simply going to let your followers die like this?”

Step… Step… Step…

Kang Yoon-Soo slowly started to walk toward the other side.

Rekil and the Templar Knights cried out in surprise.

“Hey! You stupid numbskull! Are you planning to die on your own?!” Rekil shouted.

“I’m undead,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Damn it! You still have to live!” Rekil protested.

Kang Yoon-Soo looked at him and asked, “Why?”

“What?” Rekil was taken aback by his response.

“Why do you want me to live?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked. Unlike his usual tone, the skeleton’s voice was deep and serious.

“T-That is…” Rekil hesitated for a moment, then scratched his cheek and replied, “Do I really have to say it? You’re a good person, that’s why.”

It was then that someone interrupted, saying, “A subordinate can’t just idly stand and watch their commander die.” It was Ravotel.

The monsters growled in agreement as well. Nobody could understand what they were trying to say, but their meaning seemed clear to all those present nonetheless.

Reanna took a puff from her blood-drenched cigarette and asked, “You have a reason for going over there, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“You won’t die, right?” Reanna asked.

Kang Yoon-Soo looked at her for a moment before replying, “I won’t die until I achieve my goal.”

Then, he walked toward Rawelkan. The undead army growled and hissed at Kang Yoon-Soo, but he was unfazed by their threatening cries.

“This was unexpected. I didn’t think you would actually come here,” Rawelkan said, standing behind the protection of the high-ranking undead. His gaze swept across every inch of the skeleton in front of him before he said, “That’s strange… You’re an undead, no matter how I look at it…”

Kang Yoon-Soo had not brought any weapons with him, but Rawelkan did not drop his guard at all. He continued, “You’re an undead being, and I’m a Necromancer. Do you know what that means?”

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“I like the fact that you have few words,” Rawelkan said. He raised his hand and imbued his mana into it, then muttered, “Corpse Domination.”

Corpse Domination was a high-ranking Necromancer skill that granted total control over a low-ranking undead being.

A surge of mana enveloped Kang Yoon-Soo, but an unexpected message popped up in front of Rawelkan.

[The target is a skeleton blessed by the underworld.]

[You have failed to dominate the target.]

Rawelkan’s eyes opened wide as he muttered in surprise, “Blessed by the underworld…?”

The underworld was the world of the dead, and there was only one Necromancer qualified to bestow such blessings.

Rawelkan’s eyes trembled as he asked, “Y-You... Where did a mere skeleton like you get the blessing of the underworld…?”

Kang Yoon-Soo nonchalantly replied, “Nakron.”

The Ultimate Necromancer, Nakron? Was this skeleton saying that he had been blessed by such a great being?

Rawelkan’s hands trembled as he exclaimed, “What do you mean by that?! How did you get blessed by Nakron?!”

“None of your business,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“The blessing of the underworld is a blessing that the Ultimate Necromancer, Nakron, intended to bestow on only one person, who would be his successor! T-That…! That blessing should have been mine!” Rawelkan cried out.

“Then you should be aware of the condition needed to steal the blessing, then,” Kang Yoon-Soo said nonchalantly. He continued, “Unfortunately, the blessing of the underworld can only be stolen by an undead being. However, you’re a human.”

“Hahaha! You have no idea,” Rawelkan replied. He laughed madly and covered his face with one hand. Then, he shouted while continuing to laugh, “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment! I’ve always worshiped Nakron, just as you worship your gods! I fought with a bone sword just as he did when he was still alive, and I kept this skill just in case I would be able to receive the blessing of the underworld!”

Rawelkan stabbed his finger into his temple. His bone sword was absorbed into his body, and his skin started to melt.

[The Evil Necromancer, Rawelkan, is transforming into a gigantic undead being.]

Kang Yoon-Soo took a few steps back, and Rawelkan, who had become a skeleton like Kang Yoon-Soo, opened his ribcage with a grin. Then, the undead legion under Rawelkan’s control all rushed into his ribcage.

“The blessing of the underworld will be mine!” Rawelkan shouted. The undead he absorbed melted and turned into bones, then fused into his body. Afterward, his final form towered above the plains.

[The Hideous Bone Dragon, Rawelkan, has appeared!]

“O-Oh my god!”

“What the hell happened just now?!”

“Kyaaaaak!”

“Kyaruruk!”

The Templar Knights and the monsters were shocked by the appearance of the Bone Dragon.

The Bone Dragon unleashed a terrifying roar that turned the entire congregation army’s faces pale. “Gruuuuwaaaaaaah!”

Kang Yoon-Soo immediately began to run. A split second after he moved, the Bone Dragon stepped on the spot he had just been in. The Bone Dragon seemed to have lost all reason, going on a destructive rampage.

Ravotel shouted loudly, “Everyone! Protect the Skeleton Church Leader!”

“Kyarururuk!”

The wyverns and harpies flew around the Bone Dragon to confuse it, and the Templar Knights and monsters on the ground tried their best to attract its attention.

‘I have to kill that Bone Dragon to get the additional reward of the third trial,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought. He called out, “Phoenix.”

“Keeah?” the phoenix responded.

“Go commit suicide,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“…”

“It’s the will of Mad God Urnokra,” Kang Yoon-Soo added.

“Keeaaaaaah!” The phoenix let out a deafening cry, then crashed into the head of the Bone Dragon.

Fwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

An immense, fiery explosion engulfed the Bone Dragon’s head.

“Guaaaah!” The Bone Dragon roared in agony as the flames swept over its head.

The explosion was so intense that the Templar Knights and monsters on the ground could not even open their eyes.

Kang Yoon-Soo shouted, “Reanna, give me your sword.”

Reanna wasted no time and immediately threw her sword toward him. Kang Yoon-Soo received the sword and dashed toward the Bone Dragon. Then, he took out a magic scroll, which was one of the scrolls he had fished out from the Library of Knowledge.

He would have easily swept through the undead legion if he had used the scroll earlier, but he had saved it for the latter part of the trial, which was much more difficult than the battle against the undead legion. Additionally, any item he used in the trial would be gone forever; he could no longer bring it back to reality.

Kang Yoon-Soo tore apart the first magic scroll.

[You have used a forbidden magic scroll containing the spell ‘Life Force Explosion'.]

[You will gain superhuman strength in exchange for your body parts dissolving.]

[Your tongue has dissolved.]

[Both of your eyes have dissolved.]

[A massive quantity of your blood has dissolved.]

[One of your kidneys has dissolved.]

[A portion of your liver has dissolved.]

Kang Yoon-Soo’s physical ability rose explosively, but he was not damaged at all, as the body parts the spell demanded in return did not exist for a skeleton in the first place.

He tore apart another magic scroll right away.

[You have used a destructive magic scroll containing the spell ‘Meteor Strike’.]

[An unimaginable disaster will soon fall upon the plains.]

“Everyone, run away,” Kang Yoon-Soo said. The Templar Knights and monsters backed away as he spoke. Then, he gave another command. “Hide in the cathedral if you don’t want to die.”

“B-But…!”

“Quickly.” Kang Yoon-Soo cut them off.

The Templar Knights and monsters ran toward the cathedral in the distance.

Meanwhile, Kang Yoon-Soo charged alone at the Bone Dragon that was engulfed in the phoenix’s flames, even as an unstoppable disaster fell from the sky.