Descendants of the Gravekeeper
[Kill level 10 Goblin Patrolman, experience + 300]
[Kill level 11 Goblin Warrior, experience + 350]
[Get Goblin Finger Bone × 1]
The prompt sound exploded on the retina like raindrops, and 44 bronze skeleton warriors drew a death arc in the Shadow Forest. Irene Mercer sat beside the remains of the fallen Corruption Lord, watching the experience bar advance at a speed visible to the naked eye - although the experience requirement increased three times after level 10, the instant kill efficiency of bronze summons still allowed her to maintain a 15% upgrade rate per hour.
"At this pace, I can reach level 11 before midnight." She muttered to herself, her fingertips brushing the skeleton warrior's bone blade, and the bluish-white light reflected the mottled crow feather emblem on the bark. The density of the grassroots monsters in the Dark Corrosion Cult far exceeded expectations, and it became the best leveling resource.
The bonfire was dancing on the pile of rotten leaves, and the sparks were drifting towards the night sky filled with star tracks. As Irene was chewing on air-dried venison, she suddenly noticed that the soul fire array in the southeast was fluctuating. The detection feedback from a skeleton warrior showed that a living being was approaching in a strange trajectory.
"The steps of a Shadow Crow Assassin." She recognized the way the figure moved to evade detection, exactly the same as the black-clad man she had encountered that afternoon. When the figure emerged from the mist, the faded crow feather emblem on the leather cloak confirmed her judgment.
"Can you share some food?" The other party took off his mask, revealing a delicate elf face, with silver-gray pupils flowing in the firelight. "I am Illya Shadow Blade, a level 19 shadow assassin."
Irene handed over the venison jerky and noticed that the shielding badge on the other party's fingertips was flickering. It was an anti-detection device specially made by the Star Council, which could interfere with detection skills 10 levels lower than its own. The fact that this rare item appeared on the assassin of the Dark Eclipse Cult was full of contradictions.
"Thank you!" Illya wolfed down the food, the chain mail under her cloak was covered with scorch marks. "I was chased by the mad dogs of the Eternal Night Academy for three days. They wanted the intermediate skill scroll in my bag."
Irene did not respond, but just watched quietly. When Illya mentioned the "nightmare-level copy of the Eternal Mine", she suddenly remembered the scar her sister Leila had suffered last year - the burn mark that went through her shoulder blade was exactly the same as the fire magic of the Dark Corrosion Cult in the mine.
"Try to detect each other?" Illya suddenly chuckled, and a faint light appeared on her fingertips. "Don't worry, I turned off the shielding badge."
[Detection Skill Takes Effect]
[Name: Illya Shadow Blade]
[Level: 19]
[Profession: Shadow Assassin (Rare)]
[Equipment: Shadow Blade (Bronze), Star Exploration Badge (Rare)]
Irene raised her eyebrows. The logo of the rare profession was particularly conspicuous in the detection results. When she tried to check the opponent's skills, the detection technique suddenly failed. The interference range of the shielding badge was limited to basic information, and the deep data was still protected.
"Smart little fellow." Illya noticed the skeleton warriors quietly surrounding them. "Are these your summons? Bronze-level skeletons with the remnants of the Star Tower... Are you an orphan of the Star Council?"
The night wind suddenly turned cold, and the soul fires of the 44 skeleton warriors flickered at the same time. The emblem on Irene's sleeve was slightly hot. It was the emblem of the Star Council left by her mother, responding to the same energy. Illya's pupils suddenly contracted, and she obviously recognized the symbol.
"Don't be nervous. I'm not in the same group with the cult." Illya raised her hands, revealing the crow feather tattoos on her palms - that was the mark of the Dark Order's defectors. "I stole their 'Shadow Crow Strike' scroll, and now the entire Western Territory is hunting me."
The sound of a bowstring being tightened came from afar. Irene's bone soul suddenly sounded an alarm, and 44 skeleton warriors turned to the northwest at the same time - three waves of magic power were approaching in a triangle formation, one of which carried a familiar wave of fire element.
"Marking arrow!" Illya cursed, and blood suddenly bloomed on her shoulder. A blue arrow was locking onto her position. "Damn it, it's the Demon Hunting Team from the Eternal Night Academy!"
Irene looked at the fluorescent mark on the other person's head and suddenly remembered the fire mage she encountered in the afternoon. When the second arrow came, she thought about it, and two bronze skeleton warriors stood in front of Illya like door panels. The defense matrix formed by the cross-bone swords shattered the continuous arrows into powder.
"Why are you helping me?" Illya panted, looking at the unharmed skeleton warrior, "We've only known each other for half an hour."
"They want to kill me." Irene's answer was concise. 44 skeleton warriors had formed a circular defense line around them. "Your scroll will be useful to me."
The bonfire swayed in the wind, stretching the shadows of the two people. When the third wave of attacks approached, Illya suddenly smiled and took out a scroll with black mist from her backpack: "Deal. But first help me get rid of these three annoying flies - their captain is a level 21 fire mage."
Irene stood up, the bone sword of the bronze skeleton warrior glowing in the moonlight. She knew that this unexpected encounter might be the key to uncovering the deep conspiracy of the Dark Eclipse Cult - just like the burn mark that her sister Leila brought back, which would eventually guide her to the core secret of the Star Tower.
The fire mage's illumination illuminated the entire forest, and the mark on Illya Shadowblade's head shone like a beacon. Irene Mercer stood behind a defense line of 44 bronze skeleton warriors, watching the opponent deploy a triangle formation: the storm archer on the left tree had fully drawn his longbow, the top of the fire mage's staff in the center was jumping with a second-level fireball, and the Templar on the right was charging with a heavy shield engraved with stigmata.
"Filthy undead bastards!" The Fire Mage's voice trembled with holy power. "Hand over the scroll obediently, and I may leave your body intact."
Illya gripped the Shadow Blade tightly, her silver-gray eyes reflecting the approaching knight: "They are the elites of the Eternal Night Academy's 'Ashes Ring', starting at level 21. Are you sure you want to get involved?"
Irene did not answer, but waved her hand gently. Two skeleton warriors rushed out like arrows, with bone swords pointing directly at the knight's face. The heavy shield of the holy scar smashed down, but at the moment of contact, there was a sound of metal breaking - the head-on collision of 3000 points of power caused spider-web-like cracks to appear on the knight's holy shield.
[Violent attack triggered! Target: Templar Knight (Lv21)]
[Causes 6000 damage, destroys target's armor by 70%]
Amid the knight's muffled groan, Irene noticed that the fire mage's fireball had arrived. 44 skeleton warriors turned at the same time, and their bone armors were spliced into an airtight shield wall. The fireball exploded on the bone wall, but only caused slight cracks on the front row of skeletons - the bronze skeleton with 3000 points of physical fitness was enough to withstand the second-level magic.
"How is this possible!" The Storm Archer's arrows froze in mid-air. He clearly saw that his high-level armor-piercing arrows only left white marks on the skeleton's body. "They are only level 10!"
Illya took the opportunity to throw a smoke bomb, but it was dispelled by the illumination spell. Irene's mind moved, and the eight skeleton warriors suddenly accelerated and went around to cut off the archer's retreat. With the sound of the bone sword cutting through the leather armor, the opponent's scream of fear stopped abruptly.
The pupils of the fire mage shrank sharply, and he finally realized that the summoned creature in front of him was not an ordinary undead creature. When the second wave of the Templars' charge was shattered by the skeleton warriors' bone blades, he decisively released the life-saving flash spell - but ran into the skeleton encirclement that had been waiting for a long time.
"Mental entanglement is ineffective against the undead." Irene looked at the mage's magic shield being pierced by the bone sword and explained for the first time, "Your stigma magic is useless against the fragments of the dead guard."
The last Templar's heavy sword chopped the skull's neck, and the recoil cracked his knuckles. Irene noticed that the emblem of the Eternal Night Academy on the opponent's wristband was the same as Sera Winter's, but with a few dark red stains - that was a sign of long-term staining with the blood of the Dark Corrosion Order.
"The scroll is for you." Illya kicked the knight's body away and threw the parchment covered with black mist to Irene. "Shadow Crow Strike, a forbidden technique of the Dark Corrosion Cult, may be useful for your summons."
Irene took the scroll and touched the crow feather rune on it with her fingertips. Suddenly, the scene of her job change flashed in her mind: when the Star Tower collapsed, countless skeleton warriors used this rune to tear the dragon's scales. She suddenly understood why her sister Leila's scars could never heal - it was a curse contaminated by the Shadow Crow.
"Why are they chasing you?" She watched Illya check her wounds. The tips of her ears, revealed between her long silver-gray hair, were pointed, typical of her elven blood.
"Because of this." Illya lifted her cloak, and the tattoo on her back was revealed in the firelight. The complete Star Tower pattern was exactly the same as the emblem on Irene's sleeve. "My mother was the gravekeeper of the Star Council. Before she died, she asked me to steal this forbidden technique."
The howling of wolves could be heard in the distance, mixed with the unique soul fire fluctuations of the Dark Erosion Cult. Irene recalled the skeleton warriors and found that the power of the holy marks on their bone blades was automatically dissipating - the resistance brought by the global amplification was far stronger than she had imagined.
"Come back to Silvermoon City with me." She suddenly said, "Your tattoo is related to my mother's emblem."
Illya raised her eyebrows and suddenly chuckled: "You sound like a little adult when you talk. But let me make it clear first, I am only responsible for leading the way--" Her eyes fell on the piles of goblin skeletons, "Can you give me some of these bones? I need to make new invisibility runes."
When the first ray of sunlight penetrated the treetops, 44 bronze skeleton warriors had lined up at the edge of the Shadow Forest. Irene held the Shadow Crow Strike scroll and felt the resonance coming from the summoning space - that was a sign that the bronze-level skeletons were about to unlock new skills. She knew that her encounter with Illya was no accident. This shadow assassin with the Star Tower tattoo might be the key to solving the mystery of her mother's disappearance.
In the Supreme Council Hall of the Eternal Night Academy, an old man looked at the disappearing signal in the crystal ball and muttered to himself: "The orphans of the Star Council and the descendants of the gravekeepers actually appeared on the same day... It seems that the truth of the Eclipse Rebellion is about to surface."