Volume 9: From Green Leaves to the Undead Chapter 10: The Decisive Battle at Aska

Looking at the charred remains of his subordinates, Li Bin felt as if his heart had been hacked and slashed hundreds of thousands of times. He shouted in fury, "Reed, find a way to drag him down! Little Carter, stop jumping around over there; go and see if there are any other troops left and bring them all to me!" Li Bin’s order was the best tactical choice available. Reed led the remaining pseudo-bone dragons, bone dragons, and nether dragons in a swift charge, swarming Aska from multiple directions as the latter prepared his next magical assault. Aska was unfazed; he shattered two pseudo-bone dragons on the spot, but he himself was firmly clamped by two nether dragons and dragged toward the ground.

At the same time, Little Carter gathered several undead units that had been wandering leaderless nearby. Patching them together into three squadrons—including two battalions of vampires—he led them toward the main battlefield, taking care to have them collect the corpses from the ground along the way.

Little Carter soon reached the main battlefield. Seeing the reinforcements, Li Bin understood immediately; he ordered Little Carter to use those troops to pin Aska down while he and the few remaining mages began to channel necromancy in unison.

As wave after wave of skeletons rose from the piles of corpses, Li Bin’s mana was finally exhausted. He said to Sannei, "I know you still have some magic in reserve. Do not rush to use it, and temporarily suppress the casting speed of the mages; we will need their support at the most critical moment." Having said this, Li Bin left behind all the mummy curse mages, skeleton mages, vampire mages, and even the Nether God Lamp. Accompanied by his personal guard of sword-wielding mummies, staff-wielding mummies, and sand-mummies, he charged out, followed by fewer than ten death ballistae. Facing Li Bin’s final look of trust, Sannei watched the battlefield with agitation. After losing three pseudo-bone dragons and one nether dragon, Reed and his team finally managed to pin Aska to the ground again.

However, even when using only a wooden staff to strike, Aska’s attack power was shockingly high. The multiple fractures on the two remaining bone dragons were caused by the blows of his small wooden staff. One Terror Knight had even been knocked unconscious and was currently unable to mount his steed.

When Reed charged into the fray, apart from the two nether dragons, only the newly gathered ragtag troops were entangled with Aska; the rest of the forces were currently receiving healing from the vampire priests near Deirdre.

Seeing the enemies around him diminish, Aska’s mind stirred. Gathering his remaining mana, he turned and transformed into a greyish-white bear standing five meters tall. With a few swipes, he sent the blocking skeletons flying and bolted toward the south, where the nearest forest lay.

Li Bin, having just arrived with his men, saw Aska attempting to reach the forest to recover his strength. Without a word, he transformed into his sand form and lunged forward. Although he lacked significant offensive power, he was capable of entangling Aska with his sandy body. As Aska charged, he was tripped by Li Bin’s hold and slammed heavily into the ground.

Immediately, all the skeleton grunts and mummies swarmed forward, disregarding their own safety as they struck Aska with everything they had. Faced with the growing accumulation of sand clinging to his body, Aska knew he could not revert to human form. He gritted his teeth, moving southward step by step, all the while swatting away the sand-mummies. He endured the attacks of the other undead troops, as their sheer numbers did little real damage to him. Seeing that Aska was about to enter the woods, Li Bin understood clearly that if he succeeded, not only would they lose control over him, but Aska would unleash his full combat potential. Roaring, Li Bin lunged at Aska’s face, pulling him backward with all his might. Aska’s massive bear paw struck Li Bin repeatedly, but Li Bin gritted his teeth and endured the onslaught.

Just then, Reed and the others, who had retreated to heal, returned. Renewed and invigorated, they dealt Aska a punishing blow. The two nether dragons forcibly dragged Aska from the ground into the air and hurled him down; the impact of his massive weight falling from such a height caused severe injury. As he was dragged back into the sky, Aska was forced to abandon his bear form—which prioritized defense and strength—and shift into a cat form to prioritize agility, narrowly avoiding being killed by the fall.

However, this cost Aska the bit of mana he had just recovered. Now, he had to choose between his human form and his cat form to face the relentless onslaught of Li Bin’s subordinates.

Perhaps realizing something, Aska finally made his choice. He abandoned the agility and high attack power of the cat form and slowly reverted to human form. He then straightened his tattered clothes and said coldly to Li Bin and the others, "To force me to this point, you are truly strong." Li Bin and his men stared at Aska from a distance, not daring to relax for a second. They knew that one slip would render all their efforts meaningless.

Yet, Aska ignored the enemies who were tense to the point of breaking. He casually pulled a small rabbit from somewhere and smiled, saying, "Do you not think this land is beautiful?" In the wake of these inexplicable words, Li Bin felt a flash of fire erupt from where Aska stood. A moment later, he felt his body being torn into countless pieces, and his soul was cast into the abyss.

His final perception was the unyielding notification sound of the system: "Legendary Archdruid Aska Repudus Wukodo Misa has self-destructed. You have died in battle..."