Chapter 153 Who Moved My Spoils?

"Is it dead?"

Fiona stared at the skeleton for a moment, then turned to Luo Yong, her eyes asking if they could go over and take a look. She seemed fully determined to play the role of a dutiful little sidekick.

"I don't know."

Luo Yong believed that when dealing with these anomalies within secret realms, one could never be too cautious.

"Firepower saturation, target the skeleton beneath the cliff! Fire!"

Boom!

The massive skeleton was blasted away by overwhelming firepower, repeatedly struck by various elemental spells, especially lightning magic, which dealt double damage. The already shattered regions were pulverized all over again.

Countless white bones were sent flying into the air, then rained down in a clattering cascade, resembling a flurry of snow.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a figure burst out from the pile of bones, its entire body shimmering with a glaze-like radiance that looked exceptionally crystal-clear under the moonlight.

This was a special skeleton creature. Although it was only the size of a normal human being, judging from the magical fluctuations, it should be around level 20.

In theory, Luo Yong and his companions should not have been its match.

However, at this moment, within its body and bones, a book was bound, radiating a faint green light. Within it, a will seemed to be awakening.

Its own native will had constantly been battling the awakening will within the book, attempting to erode and devour it, ultimately fusing them into one. Naturally, its own consciousness was supposed to remain dominant.

Yet, this process was excruciatingly difficult, requiring vast stretches of time to complete.

And yet...

Right at this very moment, Luo Yong had obtained the key to the skeleton secret realm and barged in with a group of people, bringing regiment-level firepower along with him.

Under this barrage of confrontation, its consciousness began to falter. The book bound within it seized the opportunity to launch a fierce counterattack, nearly extinguishing the soul fire it had taken an untold amount of time to condense.

Moreover, the indestructible power of thunder made it feel a trace of dread.

Therefore, finding that playing dead was of no avail, it revealed its true form and began to flee across its own territory.

"Pursue!"

Though he did not know the exact details, Luo Yong knew that he must absolutely not let it escape.

Empress Boa manifested her true form and dashed off in pursuit with a whoosh.

That level-20 undead creature moved at extreme speed, fleeing far away in the blink of an eye, leaving Luo Yong and the others lagging far behind.

Crossing a small hill, they saw a burst of pink energy erupting ahead.

The skeleton had already been overtaken by Empress Boa and blocked in its path. No matter which direction it tried to escape, it would be kicked right back.

"Hey, she... she..." Fiona flew over to Luo Yong's side, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

She had naturally seen the woman's appearance before, usually resting on Luo Yong's shoulder like a peculiar ornament. Yet, she could never have imagined that this was actually a powerful magical item!

"The captain must have an extraordinary background!" Fiona thought to herself at that moment.

"Roar!"

Afflicted by the Empress's charm skill, the small skeleton could hold on no longer, the effect acting as the straw that broke the camel's back.

It let out a roar as powerful magic overflowed from its crystalline body. A green light lit up on its chest, and another wave of magic surged, as if struggling to break free and escape its control.

Swish, swish, swish!

A wave of pink arrow rain blanketed its body, forming a third wave of magic.

Crack!

The small skeleton's body slowly began to transform into stone.

However, this process was somewhat slower compared to the human heroes or monsters that had fallen victim to it previously. The Empress's level was likely slightly higher than its, but the small skeleton was, after all, no ordinary entity; it was a special existence formed by condensing the most potent essence of the entire secret realm, having given birth to its own will—not something that could be easily subdued on a whim.

Accompanied by a cracking sound, the small skeleton let out an angry roar. Within its skull, the soul fire flared, violently fluctuating and burning.

A powerful wave of intent instantly swept across the entire secret realm!

This was an indiscriminate mental attack!

Had they not been some distance away and protected within the Holy Light domain, all the human heroes, including Luo Yong, would have suffered a severe impact.

Luo Yong fared better; having consumed secret potions to strengthen his stamina and constitution, and with his own level being sufficiently high, he could withstand it completely.

The same could hardly be said for the others.

"Ugh..."

Fiona let out a startled cry, her body swaying as dizziness washed over her.

"Captain, I feel a bit dizzy!"

"..."

Luo Yong sighed, steadying her to a seated position to prevent her from falling, and then commanded the various magitech puppets to unleash another round of concentrated fire.

The Empress retreated to a safe distance, watching calmly as the small skeleton was submerged in the epicenter of the artillery fire.

It was still struggling and roaring, black Qi swirling around its body, its soul filled with despair and resentment.

Boom!

A loud explosion echoed.

Yet another Susanoo—no, a massive, crystal-clear skeleton monster manifested, blocking all the artillery fire.

And that magic book, emitting a faint green light, had completely broken free, embedding itself onto the surface of the skeleton monster's body, mere moments away from entirely shaking off the small skeleton's control.

"Keep attacking!"

Luo Yong shouted aloud, continuously activating tactical scrolls. Powerful spells rained down upon the skeleton monster, knocking it off balance and leaving it powerless to resist.

The temporary team members also tossed their scrolls with immense joy. Having never encountered such a situation before, they felt an inexplicable and unique thrill.

Finally, after persisting for a while longer, the skeleton monster collapsed with a loud crash, the crystals on its surface shattering and scattering everywhere.

As it fell, the small skeleton's soul fire gradually dimmed until it was extinguished.

"Roar!"

With one final roar, countless white bones converged into a giant hand, slapping toward Luo Yong's position.

Boom!

Several tactical scrolls greeted it, causing the giant hand to explode into fragments scattered across the area.

Clatter...

A massive volume of white bones poured out from the small skeleton, submerging the entire vicinity.

The Empress returned to Luo Yong's side, transforming back into a miniature figure and landing on his shoulder.

"Ah, is the battle over?" Fiona stood up somewhat dazedly, gently shaking her head and looking at Luo Yong with an innocent expression.

"Over, I suppose..."

Luo Yong said indifferently, though his eyes held a complex and unfathomable expression that the young girl, having experienced nothing of the sort, surely could not comprehend.

Swish!

A green light flared, and a book materialized in mid-air, absorbing the ambient spiritual Qi around it and thoroughly suppressing the force that had originally tried to hold it down. Then...

Nothing happened.

Everything returned to tranquility.

The book slowly drifted down to the ground, as if waiting for someone to pick it up and open its pages.

"It's finally... over..."

A temporary team member let out a long sigh, exchanged glances with the others nearby, and then all of them looked toward Luo Yong.

"Captain, these scrolls... could we possibly..."

They knew very well that Luo Yong and the young girl Fiona, though numbering only two, were the absolute masters of this secret realm. With regiment-level combat power in their hands, they were an unstoppable, crushing presence wherever they went. Whatever the others wished to do, they had to secure Luo Yong's permission first.

Otherwise, dying would be a completely wasted death.

"Fiona..."

Luo Yong retrieved some gemstones from his storage space and handed them to Fiona, instructing her to distribute them among the temporary team members according to the reward promised for the mission, with a little extra to spare.

"Captain... actually, we..." A team member pointed at the tactical scrolls, hesitating to speak further.

"I need to take back the tactical scrolls; they have other uses." Luo Yong had thrown out quite a few scrolls earlier. Even though the battle had been intense and consumed a fair number, some still remained.

He had no desire to let these tactical scrolls leak onto the open market and drive down their value further. Worse yet, people holding these scrolls might one day use them against the members of the Gale Squad.

In short, he wanted to nip that possibility in the bud before anything could happen.

"You'd all better not hide any. If I catch anyone keeping them, the outcome won't be very pleasant." Luo Yong said emotionlessly while Fiona collected the remaining scrolls.

In truth, more than a few had harbored the thought that the captain surely wouldn't search their personal storage equipment, right?

Yet, the moment Luo Yong uttered those words, they obediently surrendered the tactical scrolls they had intended to conceal.

They figured that as long as they stayed close to Luo Yong, opportunities would abound in the future; there was no need to rush. If they stuck around long enough to become official members, or perhaps ended up like that little sidekick...

Fiona gathered the remaining scrolls and handed them over to Luo Yong. She had secretly hoped she might get to keep a few for herself, but Luo Yong didn't leave her a single one, treating her just like the rest and giving her only gemstones.

This left her somewhat displeased, secretly thinking that in the captain's eyes, she was no different from anyone else...

Luo Yong saw right through it all but remained indifferent. He simply didn't want the others focusing too much attention on the young girl, which would not bode well for her.

As for what she herself might think—let her think whatever she pleased!

"Huh?"

As Luo Yong turned around, he suddenly noticed that the magic book resting in the distance had vanished without a trace!

Yet he hadn't sensed any magical fluctuations whatsoever!

Still, he retained a faint connection with the avaricious treasure-hoarding spider. That creature moved far too quickly; if you took your eyes off it for even a second, it would pocket everything in sight.

Lately, he had been entirely preoccupied with fighting monsters and leveling up, and had no idea how many good things it had hoarded away, or if there was anything he needed among them.

"Ah!"

Fiona noticed the exact same thing, pointing in that direction and saying, "Captain, that magic book is gone! It was right there just a moment ago!"

"Who touched my loot?!"

Luo Yong suddenly shouted aloud, scanning his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over the people beside him before looking elsewhere.