BXBX NOVEL Chapter 556 555: Undead Queen
What had risen from the bronzed sarcophagus was a true threat to us on a deep level, its power, speed, technique and battle acumen all far above everything that we had faced so far on this island, while the weapon it wielded and armor it wore were of superb quality.
The chains on its forearms acted as shields that it used to block our strikes, while the serrated blade coated in an intense flame threatened to decimate and devour our flesh should we get hit, pushing our defensive and dodging capabilities to the limit as we avoided this undead\'s incredible technique.
Even with the blizzard roaring around us, the heat emanating from the undead\'s body counteracted my Domain and rendered it rather useless, so I severed my connection with the spell and allowed it to run on the vestiges of mana left inside its runes, focusing the rest of my mana into my body as I pushed myself further.
My rapier whisked through the air with speed as I tried to pierce the undead\'s skull from behind, only for it to sidestep the attack and flick the serrated sword towards me, forcing me back and granting it a moment to focus on the other two instead of all three of us.
Protective rested in my off hand, the heavy dagger ready to cast a shield as I lunged back into the fray, joining Jahi\'s whaling and Nirinia swift slashes as we tried to overwhelm the Undead Queen with numbers.
Stabbing the rapier out again, I unleashed a flurry of blows on the skeleton\'s back before waving Protective in front of me, my eyes widening as the sword clashed against the rounded shield of mana in front of me, nearly rending it apart as the jagged blade and flames chewed away at the interwoven layers of mana.
Focusing its red orbs on me, the Undead Queen parried Nirinia\'s Dadao with its chains before pushing her back a step, giving it the space to duck beneath Jahi\'s wild swing and allowing it to lunge for me, its serrated blade aimed at my throat as it aimed to kill me in one blow, reducing the enemies it needed to face.
I jumped away from the Undead Queen\'s path, avoiding the attack and allowing the other two to reengage, all while I raised my hand and swiftly traced out the spell for my burst attacks, giving me a broader arsenal to work with as our dance of death resumed.
It was dealing efficiently with my precise strikes, the measured blows from Nirinia, and the random attacks from Jahi, the three separate styles not overwhelming it despite it needing to alternated between different parrying styles as it withstood the crashing waves of attacks we sent its way.
But, it only took one small attack of ours going through to begin knocking the dominoes down to signal our victory, and that attack belonged to me as I staggered the Undead Queen with a well timed wind burst, the sharp blades of wind scoring shallow nicks across its back as I pushed it off balance for just a moment.
That moment allowed Nirinia to slide her Dadao around the Undead Queen\'s sword and slash across the breastplate, damaging some of the runes and quenching some of the flames that brushed out from beneath the bones.
Its speed diminished somewhat after that, and it staggered again as Jahi\'s heavy blade slammed against its own, giving me another opening to send it staggering into Nirinia\'s awaiting Dadao, though it parried that attack with its chains once more.
Steam rolled off of us all as we continued to fight, the Undead Queen still providing a challenge as it tried to retaliate by utilizing its own mana more often, the flames from inside its skeleton erupting out periodically and forcing us back, giving it more room to fight as it alternated between us all, trying to figure out who it could eliminate first from the fight.
As it tried to rush Jahi and overwhelm her with a coordinated set of attacks planned to overload her simple style, the Undead Queen was met with a dagger of Light Mana that sliced into its breastplate as well as a horizontal swing that slammed against its lower torso, knocking it back as the damage from the dagger bought us a moment to capitalize on.
Nirinia lunged forwards next, her Dadao cutting into its back and sending it closer to Jahi, before I slipped in from the side and pierced its skull from the side, just near the temple.
The gale of wind surrounding my rapier flared outwards as the blade slid inside the Undead Queen\'s cranium, making it explode in a burst of green mana and pale grey powder, the rest of the bones and metal clattering to the ground as we killed the Undead Queen.
It dissolved nearly instantly, and we looked around the snow covered courtyard before Jahi sighed, saying "That was harder than I expected..."
"But rather fun, no? It\'s always a treat finding enemies that exceed expectations~!"
The Demoness nodded at the Djinn\'s words, before rubbing her jaw as she glanced at the frozen over pits of bone and demolished hall.
"Well... we\'re done here. Let\'s get going to the mountain. I wouldn\'t mind staying in this place for a few more days, but I really am starting to miss having a variety of foods... and a bed."
She smirked at me with that last part, making me roll my eyes as we set off towards the towered mountain quickly, leaving the Bone Fortress behind us.
[Calculating...]
As we ran, I opened up the System and gave it a moment to calculate everything, wanting to get my bundle of experience now before entering the mountain to face whatever lay inside.
[3,871,946 Xp awarded!]
[Summary available, would you like to read it?]
Affirming that, I ignored everything else and instead read the last few entries, making me smile slightly as they appeared in my mind.
[Undead Keeper (Greater) assisted! 825,000 Xp awarded]
[Undead Queen assisted! 1,930,000 Xp awarded]
[Mission : Assist your Mistress against this threat!]
[Mission Completed! 500,000 Xp awarded , 1,500 Sp awarded]
With that I went up to level 43 and gained some points in my stats.
[Stats :
STR : 97 -> 100
CON : 104
AGI : 106 -> 107
DEX : 106 -> 107
CHA : 77
WIS : 103 -> 105
INT : 100 -> 102]
I used my two stat points that I got for leveling up right away to get my STR to 100 and bring my INT up another point, wanting to even it out again with my WIS for my own vanity.
All in all, a pretty good haul for the Bone Fortress on our end, and for me it was an amazing haul since I got all of my noticeable stats up to triple digits now, with my two stats that were affected by my Shop Made Item getting even larger, providing an even more noticeable boost.
A boost that would hopefully prove to be useful in the mountain as we made our way to pluck out the heart of this island.