Chapter 80 – Controlling the Undead (1/2)

Chapter 80 – Controlling the Undead

Nie Yan had fallen into a square room surrounded by prison cells. Above him hung several Night Pearls which illuminated the area below. As he took a good look at his surroundings, he then realized just what kind of place he had fallen into.

He was likely dropped into an underground dungeon. On either side of him were two enclosures with stout metal bars which firmly prevented escape. As he peered through the gaps and into the enclosures, he saw a gigantic set of bones in each one. The bone piles were over four meters high, and he could see an enormous tail, skeletal wings, and a lizard-like skull mixed in. These two skeletal remains had most likely been dragons when they were alive!

Since this dungeon wasn’t too far from the Sulgata Colosseum, it seemed these dragons were forced to fight in the gladiatorial arena.

As prisoners of the colosseum, all of their freedoms were wrested away, and they were made into tools of entertainment for the nobility. When Sulgata finally fell, they were most likely abandoned and kept locked in their cells, left to starve, and eventually turning into skeletons.

While Nie Yan was lost in thought, the two bone piles suddenly trembled and slowly began to reassemble.

「Roaaaar! Roaar!」

The two skeletons let out indignant cries which reverberated across the entire dungeon. They resembled two vicious beasts as they charged at Nie Yan.

「Bang!」The iron bars of their cells violently shuddered after being rammed by their large skeletal frames. Their cages slightly contorted as the bars had been bent askew from the collisions.

The skeletal dragons cried out furiously as they repeatedly slammed into their enclosure, causing the metal bars to warp just a little more each time. Nie Yan felt their cages wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer due to the continuous impacts.

These dragons probably held great resentment and vexation during their passing. Thus, their souls were unable to move on, and they became undead. They were much stronger than ordinary undead, and their dark red bones possessed a metallic lustre.

Nie Yan used Transcendent Insight to examine these skeletal dragons.

Undead Dragon Gladiator (Leader): Level 10

Health 600/600

They were Leader-class monsters, and they shared a common trait among most skeletal undead. Their healths were much lower in comparison to their living counterparts. Even then, these two Level 10 Leader-class monsters still weren’t something he could handle.

The Undead Dragons could easily kill him.

He glanced at the walls of the pitfall above him; it was too high. It would be impossible for him to climb out of it even with the aid of the Ring of Woven Silk. As he looked around for somewhere to escape, his eyes happened to fall on a tunnel in the distance that appeared to be the dungeon’s exit. However, the tunnel was sealed off by an iron gate. The gate was firmly clamped shut by a giant padlock. He didn’t have any thoughts of smashing the gate open, it simply wasn’t possible. He wasn’t like those Undead Dragons who possessed large bodies and robust frames.

After the repeated collisions from the Undead Dragons, many metals bars were visibly damaged and bent out of shape. The cages were becoming increasingly weaker with every passing second, and eventually, they collapsed, freeing the skeletal dragons as they charged towards Nie Yan.

Simultaneously facing off against two Level 10 Leader-class monsters in a such a confined space would undoubtedly mean his untimely death.

The two large skeletal frames came barreling towards him from the sky. They possessed strong bones that were stronger than metal, a powerful body that was full of strength, and a giant tail covered in bony spikes. No matter what he did, it would be impossible to defeat them.

It was hopeless to try and fight them directly; thus, he quickly scanned his eyes over his skill bar. He could only entrust his life into this final hope—Undead Rite!

This skill was the only thing that could save his life since it had a twenty percent chance of controlling a targeted undead. Whether he lived or died all depended on this skill succeeding!

Due to the level disparity between him and the Undead Dragon, he wasn’t sure he’d succeed in controlling it.

In the same instant the skeletal dragons neared, Nie Yan activated the skill and targeted one of them.

Undead Rite!

「System: You’ve targeted Undead Dragon Gladiator with Undead Rite. Your health has been reduced by 30%.」

「System: Undead Rite has failed!」

As soon as he read the system notification, Nie Yan activated Swift Retreat and rolled out of the way.

A giant tail whipped towards where he had just been standing.「Boom!」Clouds of dust rose into the air, and large cracks were left on the ground where the tail had struck.

Since the two dragons had charged at him at the same time, one of them ended up ramming against the other, and they were both sent staggering several steps back due to the impact.

Taking advantage of this brief window, Nie Yan activated Undead Rite once again, though the attempt was shortly followed by an announcement of the spell’s failure. Thus, before the dragons recovered from the collision, he rolled past their legs. Managing to stabilize himself with some difficulty, he then fled to the nearest corner.

Not only did the Undead Dragons miss with their attacks, they lost track of their target as well. Ghastly green flames flickered in their eye sockets as they searched for Nie Yan’s whereabouts, eventually finding him hidden in the corner.