Chương 203: Chapter 92: A Battle Between an Army and Rogues

The Golden-Armored raised his massive blade high into the air. In an instant, an ocean of pale white Slaughter Qi erupted from the weapon, condensing into a blinding streak of light. With a deafening whistle that tore through the stagnant air of the tomb, the blade swept downward, aiming directly for the skull of the Shura Secret Bone. Facing this ferocious, mountain-cleaving strike, the Shura Secret Bone let out a low, guttural growl.

Inside its hollow eye sockets, the orange soul flames flared violently, dancing like twin embers of a dying star. Without a hint of hesitation, it clenched its skeletal hand into a massive fist and drove it straight toward the Commander's chest. The Golden-Armored did not even attempt to evade. Instead, he let out a harsh, metallic grunt, forcing his massive blade to descend even faster. The pale white Slaughter Qi enveloping the edge surged, doubling in intensity within a fraction of a second.

From the very first exchange, both combatants abandoned all pretense of defense. They chose an extreme, mutually destructive style of combat—trading blow for blow, pouring every ounce of their power into pure, unadulterated offense. Boom! Although the Commander's massive blade was not of an exceptionally high grade, the terrifying amplification of the Slaughter Qi pushed its destructive capabilities to the absolute limit, making it no weaker than a high-grade magic treasure.

However, the Shura Secret Bone was no ordinary skeleton. Its entire skeletal frame had been tempered over countless millennia, possessing a durability that easily rivaled a mid-grade magic treasure. Its skull, which served as the sanctuary for its soul flames, was refined to an even greater degree, far exceeding the hardness of its other bones. Clang! The heavy blade slammed directly onto the Shura Secret Bone's skull, producing a sharp, metallic screech that echoed through the cavernous tomb.

The pale white Slaughter Qi exploded outward upon impact, transforming into thousands of razor-sharp needles that wrapped around the skull, grinding and cutting against the bone in a frenzied attempt to pierce it. Had this strike landed on an ordinary cultivator, even if they survived the initial impact, their head would have been shredded into a bloody pulp by the relentless Slaughter Qi. Yet, against the Shura Secret Bone, this terrifying energy was entirely useless.

Though the Slaughter Qi possessed formidable power, it lacked the sheer piercing force required to leave even a single scratch on that ancient, hardened skull. At the exact same moment, the Shura Secret Bone's heavy fist slammed directly into the Golden-Armored's chest. Boom! The skeletal fist collided with the breastplate, producing a dull, heavy thud that sounded like a massive iron ram striking a solid block of profound iron.

Upon receiving this colossal impact, the golden armor worn by the Commander flared with a brilliant, protective light. Enveloped in this golden radiance, the Commander was sent flying backward through the air, his boots carving deep grooves into the stone floor as he skidded. Yet, when he finally came to a halt, there was not a single crack on his armor, nor did he show any signs of injury. This initial clash between the Shura Secret Bone and the Golden-Armored was incredibly violent.

Both had chosen to trade blow for blow, yet neither had sustained even the slightest damage. This single exchange was more than enough to demonstrate just how terrifyingly durable their physical bodies truly were. Roar! The Shura Secret Bone unleashed a furious, earth-shaking roar. Failing to inflict any damage on its opponent after such a direct strike wounded its pride.

As a supreme skeleton king, allowing an enemy to strike its head without instantly tearing them to shreds was an intolerable humiliation—a disgrace that could only be washed away with the enemy's absolute destruction. In an instant, its skeletal frame blurred, transforming into a streak of brilliant orange light as it charged forward to pursue the retreating Commander. On the other side, the Golden-Armored stabilized his body after being thrown back dozens of zhang.

He let out an angry, metallic roar of his own, his hollow visor glowing with a cold, murderous light. Without a moment's hesitation, he surged forward, turning into a golden comet to meet the oncoming Shura Secret Bone head-on. Boom! Boom! Boom! The two powerhouses clashed once more, locked in a desperate struggle to the death. They completely abandoned any attempt to defend themselves, unleashing a relentless torrent of blade strikes and heavy punches.

The air filled with the deafening sounds of metal colliding with bone, creating a chaotic dome of golden and orange shockwaves that rippled outward, shattering the surrounding stone pillars. Given their absurd physical durability, it was clear that this brutal deadlock would not be resolved anytime soon. While the two leaders were locked in combat, a far more chaotic battle was unfolding on the ground below.

The ninety-nine Golden-Armored Sentinels and the one hundred Blood Skeletons collided with a thunderous crash. It was a direct clash between a disciplined golden phalanx and a chaotic, crimson tide. The Golden-Armored Sentinels, moving with the flawless coordination of a highly trained army, instantly gained the upper hand in the initial collision. More than twenty Blood Skeletons were sent flying backward like shattered red waves crashing against an immovable cliff, slamming heavily onto the stone floor.

The ninety-nine Sentinels moved as a single, lethal arrow. With a simple, coordinated thrust, they pierced through the chaotic ranks of the Blood Skeletons, dividing them into a dozen isolated groups and inflicting significant damage on several of them in the process. In contrast, the formation of the ninety-nine Golden-Armored Sentinels remained perfectly intact.

Aside from a few Sentinels whose armor flickered slightly due to the desperate counterattacks of the Blood Skeletons, their overall combat effectiveness was virtually unimpaired. In this first clash, even though the Blood Skeletons possessed superior individual strength, they were completely suppressed by the Sentinels.

The disciplined, synchronized attacks of the Golden-Armored Sentinels, combined with the amplification of their Slaughter Battle Array, nearly doubled their offensive power, allowing them to dominate the battlefield. The Shura Secret Bone, still locked in a fierce duel with the Golden-Armored, glanced down at the battlefield below. When it saw its carefully assembled army of Blood Skeletons being scattered and dismantled so easily, it was so infuriated that the orange soul flames in its eyes nearly flickered out.

Its skeletal frame wobbled mid-air, almost causing it to lose its balance and plunge to the ground. But in the next instant, the twin orange flames within its dark eye sockets erupted with renewed fury. It opened its jaw wide and unleashed a series of thunderous, commanding roars directed at the chaotic Blood Skeletons below. Hearing the furious roars of their monarch, the one hundred Blood Skeletons stopped their chaotic movements and raised their heads, their bodies trembling with instinctual terror.

Among them, eight exceptionally tall Blood Skeletons stepped forward. Their bones were a deep, blood-red color, and the thick bone plates on their skulls gleamed as if coated in flowing, fresh blood. They let out a series of low, submissive growls, acknowledging their king's anger. The Shura Secret Bone continued to trade blows with the Golden-Armored, its fists clashing against the massive blade while it barked out a continuous stream of guttural roars.

The eight elite Blood Skeletons nodded their heads repeatedly, occasionally letting out low growls of their own. If this skeletal exchange were to be translated into the human tongue, the conversation would flow roughly as follows: Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Shura Secret Bone: "You brainless, calcium-deficient idiots! You are rogues! Do you even understand what a rogue is? Why the hell are you trying to fight a disciplined army head-on?

You are completely embarrassing me! Don't you dare tell anyone you work for me if you get wiped out by these shiny golden tin cans!" Blood Skeletons: "But Boss! We don't know how to fight any other way! Without your brilliant, god-like leadership, we are no match for these golden birds. Please, give us a plan!" Shura Secret Bone: "Listen up, you fools! Rogues excel in individual strength and small-group skirmishes. Stop clashing with their shield wall! Scatter! Flank them! Break their formation!

Once you isolate them, their fancy battle array will lose its effect, and your raw strength will tear them to pieces!" Blood Skeletons: "Boss, you are truly wise and martial! Our admiration for you is as vast as the heavens! Following you to glory is indeed our destiny!" Shura Secret Bone: "... Did you actually understand what I just said?" The elite Blood Skeletons growled in unison: "We understand, Boss!" Shura Secret Bone: "Then what are you waiting for? Go rip those shiny golden birds to shreds!

If you don't dismantle them cleanly, I will personally disassemble every single one of your ribs when we get back!" Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! The human cultivators watching the battle stood frozen, utterly bewildered by the sudden turn of events. They could not fathom why the orange-glowing skeleton—the Shura Secret Bone—had suddenly unleashed those seemingly incoherent, guttural roars. Yet, the effect on the horde of Blood Skeletons was instantaneous and terrifying.

It was as though they had been injected with some maddening, berserk elixir. One after another, the crimson undead threw their skulls back and howled toward the cavern ceiling, their jaws clicking in a chaotic, bone-chilling symphony. A dense wave of Slaughter Qi erupted from their skeletal frames, flooding the chamber. The sudden, suffocating pressure of this murderous aura sent a collective shiver down the spines of the onlookers, drenching their backs in cold sweat.

Following the command, the eight Blood Skeleton minor leaders unleashed a synchronized, deafening roar. Instantly, the chaotic and scattered ranks of the crimson horde began to shift with terrifying coordination. Using the eight leaders as focal points, the crimson skeletons rapidly coalesced into eight distinct, agile squads. In a matter of breaths, they completely encircled the ninety-nine Golden-Armored Sentinels.

Instead of launching a reckless frontal assault, the skeletal squads began to circle their prey, their bony feet scraping against the stone floor in a rhythmic, menacing cadence. They moved like a pack of starving wolves on the desolate steppes, their hollow sockets locked onto the golden phalanx, patiently waiting for the perfect moment to deliver a fatal, tearing bite. This sudden, sophisticated tactical shift threw the rigid minds of the ninety-nine Golden-Armored Sentinels into immediate disarray.

As refined puppets, their combat instincts were bound by strict formations. They were currently locked in a piercing arrowhead formation, a spearhead designed solely to drive a devastating, singular wedge through a concentrated enemy line. Against a foe that had suddenly dissolved into eight separate, highly mobile groups surrounding them from every conceivable angle, their offensive array became completely useless, leaving their flanks and rear dangerously exposed.

"Roar!" Sensing the crisis, the Golden-Armored opened his metallic jaws to bark out a tactical command, intending to guide his subordinates into a defensive posture. But before the first syllable could escape his throat, a massive, orange-glowing bone fist tore through the air. The fist expanded rapidly in his field of vision, carrying a mountain-like weight. With a brutal, metallic crunch, the heavy skeletal fist slammed directly into the bridge of his golden-plated nose.

The sheer force of the impact shattered his concentration, violently choking the command back down his throat. Though his command was violently interrupted, the Golden-Armored's combat reflexes remained lethal. In the exact instant he was struck, his heavy golden saber swept outward in a blinding arc, hacking viciously into the side of the Shura Secret Bone's neck. The blade bit deep, sparks showering into the darkness as several hairline fractures spiderwebbed across the dense, orange-tinted bone.

However, the Shura Secret Bone merely flared with a brilliant orange luminescence. The radiant energy surged through its skeletal frame, and within a heartbeat, the fractures knitted back together, healing completely before the Commander's eyes. The Golden-Armored retreated in a blur of motion, desperate to create enough distance to issue his orders. But the Shura Secret Bone pursued him like a relentless shadow, refusing to grant him a single breath of respite.

Completely ignoring the defensive openings in its own posture, the orange skeleton unleashed a frenzied barrage of heavy punches aimed squarely at the Commander's head. Each strike whistled through the air, forcing the Commander to defend himself and scattering any attempt to speak. As it hammered away, the Shura Secret Bone let out an exasperated, furious roar, clearly frustrated by the Commander's stubborn resilience.

Upon hearing this furious roar from their master, the eight Blood Skeleton minor leaders shuddered in unison. A wave of nervous irritation flickered within the crimson soul fires dancing in their hollow eye sockets. Realizing they could delay no longer, the squad of Blood Skeletons positioned directly in front of the Golden-Armored Sentinels unleashed a collective, bloodcurdling shriek. Spurred by their leader's annoyance, they charged forward, initiating the assault. Clatter!

With mechanical precision, the Golden-Armored Sentinels reacted instantly. Their long spears snapped upward in perfect unison, pointing diagonally toward the ceiling before leveling forward. A terrifying wave of Slaughter Qi erupted from their ranks, coalescing into a sharp, visible pressure. With a collective, low grunt, they surged forward like a massive golden arrow loosed from a heavy bowstring, their spearheads gleaming with a cold, lethal light as they drove toward the oncoming skeletons.

Seeing the ninety-nine Golden-Armored Sentinels charging toward them with such overwhelming, murderous momentum, the leading Blood Skeleton minor leader let out a sharp, panicked screech. On his command, the twelve Blood Skeletons in his squad instantly scattered like startled beasts, turning on their heels and fleeing in every direction. Deprived of a solid target, the charging Golden-Armored Sentinels ground to an awkward, mechanical halt, their movements stiffening with confusion.

As refined puppets, they lacked true sentience. Aside from their Golden Core stage Commander, these sentinels possessed only the most rudimentary programming—basic friend-or-foe identification and simple attack-and-defense protocols. Without direct, real-time commands from their leader, they were utterly incapable of adapting to such fluid, deceptive tactics.

"Roar! Roar!" Seizing the moment of hesitation, two savage roars erupted from directly behind the Golden-Armored Sentinels. Two separate squads of Blood Skeletons, each spearheaded by a minor leader, lunged forward in a pincer movement. The crimson soul fires in their hollow eye sockets flared with a cruel, bloodthirsty light as they closed the distance to the exposed rear of the golden phalanx. Swish! With flawless, mechanical synchronization, the Golden-Armored Sentinels pivoted on their heels.

Their formation shifted instantly, turning the arrowhead into a defensive rear guard. With a collective, metallic roar, they thrust their long spears forward in a wall of gleaming steel, aiming to impale the incoming attackers. Whoosh! The Blood Skeleton minor leader leading the charge from the rear let out a low, mocking growl. On his signal, the ten skeletons behind him instantly split, veering off to the left and right to easily evade the thrusting spears. But this was merely a distraction.

Before the Golden-Armored Sentinels could recover their stance, a third squad of Blood Skeletons, which had been lurking on their flank, launched a devastating, coordinated strike directly into the side of the golden formation. *Boom! Boom! Boom! Although the Blood Skeletons lacked a disciplined formation and had no concept of complex Battle Arrays, their individual physical strength was significantly superior to that of the average Golden-Armored Sentinel.

Their leader, in particular, possessed raw power comparable to a Late Foundation Establishment cultivator. Concentrating their entire offensive force on just five specific Golden-Armored Sentinels, the skeletal squad struck with explosive violence. The impact shattered golden armor and sent the five sentinels flying out of the protective formation, heavily damaged.

This agile squad of Blood Skeletons had acted precisely like a cunning wolf of the steppes, pouncing on the blind spot of a mighty tiger and tearing away a massive chunk of its flesh. The moment those five Golden-Armored Sentinels were isolated from the main body, two more squads of Blood Skeletons swarmed them from the flanks. Over thirty crimson skeletons descended upon the isolated group in a frenzied, chaotic mob.

Deprived of the collective defensive synergy and the power amplification of their Battle Array, the five sentinels were vastly outmatched. Under the relentless, crushing blows of thirty-odd berserk skeletons, they stood no chance. Within a mere dozen breaths, their golden armor was completely pulverized. The brutal onslaught tore them limb from limb, leaving nothing but a scattered, silent pile of dented gold plates and severed metallic limbs upon the cold stone floor.