novelODS Chapter 26 Dungeon
Chapter 26 Dungeon
An unimaginably vast space unfolds beneath your feet!
This is a vast and terrifying ancient city ruin that lies dormant deep underground!
As far as the eye could see, there were only broken walls and ruins. The towering but dilapidated towers, like the broken spine of a giant, leaned towards the dark dome; the magnificent archways were reduced to charred skeletons, stubbornly supporting the crumbling stones.
The streets, wide enough to allow giant beasts to pass, were covered with thick dust, gravel, and scattered huge skeletons—some of which looked like wild beasts magnified several times, while others took on humanoid forms, but with twisted bone spikes and horns.
Broken magic crystal lamps are scattered across the crumbling walls and toppled stone pillars, emitting an unstable blue or pale green light, like the dying pulse of a city, illuminating this desolate place in a bizarre and eerie way, adding to its sinister and unsettling atmosphere.
The city's architecture is rugged and ancient, mostly constructed of massive black stone blocks carved with faded reliefs depicting stars, colossal beasts, and distorted, unsettling humanoid creatures. The entire city is shrouded in a heavy, oppressive atmosphere, as if frozen by time and despair.
"My God... this scale..." Lin Tian muttered to himself, his voice unusually clear in the empty silence, stirring up subtle echoes, as if disturbing the sleeping souls of the dead. The giant wolf beneath him also seemed unusually restless, howling uneasily.
Lin Tian steadied himself and turned his gaze to the very center of the city ruins. There, a relatively well-preserved, massive, black pyramid-shaped building could be vaguely seen, exuding an ominous aura in the dim light. The final marker on the treasure map was there!
"Our target should be the center of this abandoned city!" Lin Tian patted the wolf's neck, and the giant wolf understood, taking steady steps to carry him into this city of the dead.
Walking through the empty, desolate streets, each step felt like treading on the dust of history. Lin Tian vigilantly observed his surroundings, his mind highly focused. The scenes along the way silently testified to the city's destruction:
A massive skeleton leans against a broken wall, its body covered in rusted fragments of armor, its empty eye sockets staring at the sky (if the dome can be considered the sky), its ribs pierced and shattered by some terrifying force.
In what appears to be a plaza, countless tiny bones are scattered, layer upon layer, like a white carpet. In the center stands a statue base that has been cut in half. The remaining half of the body reveals a majestic figure holding a scepter and wearing a long robe.
Inside the dilapidated houses lining the streets, one can occasionally see frozen traces of life: an overturned stone table, shattered pottery jars, and even the skeletal remains of a mother curled up in a corner, clutching the skeleton of a child who has long since turned to ashes…
On some walls, large patches of charred burn marks remain, along with terrifying claw marks deeply etched into the stone, each containing chilling destructive power.
Lin Tian wasn't an archaeologist, but what he saw before him, combined with the faint, lingering echoes of violent energy in the air, gradually formed a vague outline in his mind:
This was once a glorious and powerful city, but it was instantly destroyed in a sudden and unimaginably brutal war! The enemy was extremely terrifying, ruthless, and perhaps even...possessing some kind of undead or cursed characteristics? Because the state of those skeletons and the deathly aura permeating the city could not have been formed naturally.
Walking through the empty, desolate streets, each step felt like treading on the dust of history. Lin Tian vigilantly observed his surroundings, his mind highly focused. The scenery along the way silently spoke of the city's destruction and tragedy.
When they reached a relatively open intersection, something unexpected happened!
"Click...click...click..."
A synchronized, rhythmic sound of bones grinding together, like the beat of a marching drum, came simultaneously from the depths of the street in the front, left, and right directions!
Immediately afterwards, bathed in the pale blue light, three squads of skeletal soldiers, arranged in neat square formations, stepped out of the shadows! They were no longer scattered soldiers, but were equipped with standard bone shields and bone spears, their movements stiff yet exuding a cold discipline.
Each squad consists of twenty [Skeleton Spearmen].
[Skeleton Spearman] (Level 10)
[Rank: D]
【Life: 1800】
Attack: 150
[Defense: 130]
【Speed: 40】
At the core of the formation stood a [Skeleton Commander], draped in a tattered cloak, with eerie green soul flames burning in his eye sockets, and wielding a twisted bone staff.
[Skeleton Commander] (Level 10)
[Rank D+]
【Life 2200】
[Attack 100]
[Defense 100]
[Speed 60]
Skill: Undead Inspiration (Passive): All skeleton soldiers within 30 meters gain +20% attack power and +10% defense power.
Bone Prison: Costs 80 mana, 15-second cooldown. Instantly raises a sturdy bone prison in a designated target area (5-meter radius), trapping the target for 5 seconds. The bone prison can be broken (2000 durability).
"Interesting, they even know military strategy?" Lin Tian's eyes narrowed. Under the commander's wielding of his bone staff, the three formations advanced steadily, like three moving bone walls. Bone spears, like a forest, gleamed coldly, sealing off all of Lin Tian's escape routes. An overwhelming sense of oppression washed over him!
"Want to make dumplings?" Lin Tian sneered, making a decision instantly. He pointed his staff directly at the commander of the formation in front of him: "Freeze!"
call out!
The icy blue cold current precisely traverses the distance and hits the target instantly!
-3420!
The skeletal commander, along with the two unfortunate spearmen beside him, instantly turned into icy sculptures emanating chilling air! The aura of [Undead Inspiration] then extinguished.
"Fireball! Explode!" Lin Tian didn't stop, and the blazing white fireball followed closely, slamming hard into the frozen ice sculpture of the commander!
Boom! ...
-4940!
-1520! -1520! ... (Splash damage)
The frozen commander and seven or eight spearmen around him were instantly blown to pieces! The square formation directly in front of them collapsed instantly!
The commanders of the square formations on the left and right flanks seemed to be enraged, their ghostly green soul flames surging, and their bone staffs pointing at Lin Tian at the same time!
"Grumble grumble—!"
The ground trembled, and the stone slab beneath Lin Tian and the giant wolf suddenly cracked open, instantly revealing two thick, spiked, ring-shaped bone cages that trapped the man and the wolf within! This was the skill [Bone Cage Technique]!
"Roar!" The giant wolf angrily tore at and rammed into the bone prison, sending bone fragments flying, but the bone prison was exceptionally sturdy (durability 2000), making it difficult to break through in a short time. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the skeletal spearmen phalanxes on the left and right sides accelerated their advance, their bone spears gleaming with a deadly cold light, about to pierce the bone prison!
"Hmph, child's play!" Lin Tian, trapped in the bone prison, remained completely unfazed. He raised his staff high, and the fire element at its tip surged violently once more! "Fireball!"
Target—the commander on the left!
Boom—!
A blazing white fireball roared out, and Lin Tian deliberately adjusted the angle, precisely passing through the gaps in the bone prison and slamming it hard into the chest of the left commander!
-4940!
The terrifying damage blasted it into a pile of shattered bones! The [Undead Inspiration] aura on the left flank also instantly extinguished, and the soldiers' charge momentum clearly slowed down.
Immediately afterward, without even looking, Lin Tian pointed his staff at the commander of the right-hand formation again.
"Freeze!"
call out!
The icy blue cold front hit its target precisely once again!
-3420!
The commander on the right was also turned into an ice sculpture!
At this moment, the giant wolf finally broke through the bone cage that trapped it with brute force, and its durability was reduced to zero.
Lin Tian easily blasted open a corner of the bone prison beneath his feet with a small fireball. The fireball splash damage destroyed part of the structure, allowing him to break free.
"Hey buddy, deal with those popsicles on the right!" Lin Tian flipped over and leaped onto the wolf's back.
The giant wolf roared and activated [Rapid Speed], transforming into a black shadow as it pounced towards the frozen right flank!
[Pounce] and [Triple Claw Strike] were unleashed in quick succession, unleashing a bloody storm among the ice sculptures!
Lin Tianze tapped his staff repeatedly, unleashing several "fireballs" like a barrage of bullets at the left flank, which had lost its commander and whose morale had plummeted.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
-4940! -1520! -1520! ...
The explosion engulfed the skeletal soldiers in droves!
A moment later, the crossroads fell silent again, leaving only shattered bones scattered on the ground and a few eerie lights.
【叮！击杀骸骨指挥官x3！经验值+120x3！提升点+1x3！】
【叮！击杀骸骨长矛兵x40！经验值+50x40！提升点+1x40！】
Among the scattered ashes of the commander on the left, Lin Tian discovered a [broken tactical stone tablet] (special item). It contained a simple array maneuver diagram written in ancient script, along with a line of smaller text:
"...Remember, formations can defend against external enemies, but they cannot guard against... a backstab..."