Abium suddenly became tense and asked.
'Why didn't you wake me up? What if these undead skeletons tried to do something?'
'Why are you looking anxious? You have the protection of light, right?' Azolla said calmly.
He recalled the presence of Dragon's Heart nearby and breathed out a sigh of relief.
'Don't worry. If these skeletons tried to do something, I would have awakened you.' Azolla added.
'Got it,' Abium nodded and waited for the darkness to disappear.
Two hours later, a dim light came from the opposite direction and brightened the surroundings. But due to the presence of dark clouds, Abium couldn't even see a glimpse of the sun.
At that moment, Fennelis, Umi, and Nicolaus also woke up from their sleep and started freshening up.
On the other hand, Abium started taking out multiple utensils and cooking items from his space ring and arranged them on the ground for cooking.
Once he was done, Fennelis took the role of chef and started to cook.
After an hour, they finished cooking and had their breakfast. In the meantime, the undead soldiers also prepared their weapons and got ready to depart.
Soon, the group moved away from the nether pond and started marching towards the north.
Their journey continued for two days. At first, the group only encountered Tier-1 Undead Magical Beasts and didn't face any struggle. But as they neared the Death Land Pillar region, Tier-2 Undead Magical Beasts started to show up. During their first encounter with a Tier-2 Undead Magical Beast named Ash Ghoul, the undead group lost more than 12 Undead Warriors and one Death Knight.
After that, the casualties continued.
They met two Tier-2 Phantom Spectre, two Undead Lizards, and three Bone Wyrms at the end of the third day and lost more than 70 Undead Warriors, three Undead Assassins, and six Death Knights!
It was around 4th noon.
The group entered a rocky region with small mountains and neared the Death Land Pillars region.
"We still haven't entered the core region, but there are only 40 skeletons left. Can we reach our destination without any trouble?" Abium looked up at the eerie dark sky and asked.
At that moment, he saw reddish lightning rays spread across the clouds and looked eerier.
He also saw undead ravens on the nearby withered tree branches from time to time and felt a prickling sensation.
It was as if someone was looking at him from all directions.
Azolla also noticed the discomfort in his heart and asked.
'What happened, kid?'
'I feel a strange sensation-'
Before he could speak, Azolla seemed to have noticed something and warned him.
'Get down and hide. A strong being is coming.'
ROAAAAAAAAR!
As she spoke in his mind, a deep roar came from the front and sent shockwaves rippling through the air!
Withered tree branches cracked one by one, and the wind started blowing everywhere, blocking everyone's sight.
Abium instantly tried to warn others but felt his whole body stiffen up.
Like him, everyone around him also stood frozen and soon shivered.
Soon, they all shifted their gaze towards the direction where the roar came from but only managed to see a small hill obstructing their path!
'It's a Dragon's Roar. Those skeletons are no match for that monster.' Azolla spoke in a calm tone.
'But why are you saying that in a calm tone?' Abium lowered his head so as not to be affected by the dust and asked.
'Try your best to hide your spiritual power and stay where you are.'
While Azolla was speaking, Abium returned his gaze to Rit'zyk and asked.
'What about him? Is he strong enough to face an Undead Dragon?'
'It's a Tier-3 Magical Beast. That guy isn't strong enough to hold off a powerful Tier-2 Magical Beast in a one-on-one battle.'
While Azolla and Abium were discussing inside his mind, Rit'zyk looked at the Undead Assassins and gave an order.
"Scouts, head out and check on the monster. If it is another Tier-2 Beast, we have no choice but to change the route."
The seven Undead Assassins stepped forward and sprinted towards the small hill, leaving blurry images.
While others were waiting for the Assassins to return, Abium calmly looked around and then looked at the sky.
A total of one hundred undead ravens hovered in the sky and cawed continuously.
'As I thought, those Undead Ravens are watching us. No, it should be the main enemy.'
But there was not a single worry in his eyes.
'Why aren't you warning him? What are you scheming, kid?' Even Azolla was confused by his behavior and asked him.
'I've been waiting for someone.' He smiled mysteriously, then glanced at Grurdin and spoke in a nether tongue.
"Grurdin, undead ravens are gathering up in the sky. Tell Captain Rit'zyk that something feels off."
Everyone was startled by Abium's sudden warning and immediately followed his gaze. At first, only a few Undead Ravens were hovering above their heads.
But as time passed, more undead ravens flew from different directions and started circling them while cawing continuously.
"I wonder if we've angered death," Nicolaus said stiffly and unsheathed his sword.
In the meantime, ravens continued to gather and reached around one thousand.
At that moment, Rit'zyk also sensed something was wrong with the situation and ordered.
"Move faster! It's not a safe area."
"But where should we go, Captain?" Grurdin asked while looking at the rocky mountain to his left.
Some shadows were standing at the summit at that moment, but when he took a closer look at it, nothing appeared in his sight.
'It must be the shadow of those ravens.' He muttered.
On the other hand, Rit'zyk pondered deeply and answered his question.
"We've no choice but to move forward now. Let's go." He stepped forward and marched towards the area where the Bone Dragon's roar came earlier.
'Fools! I forgot these morons only have bones in their heads. They are headed for their doom. Kid, prepare for the worst outcome-'
Before Azolla could finish her sentence, a monstrous figure flew from the small mountain's other side and landed before them.
The next second, a sinister aura emerged from that being, making their whole squad tremble in fear!
Even Abium felt suppressed by an invisible power and turned pale.
Still, he resisted the invisible power, looked up at the front, and took a clear look at the enemy.
A monstrous black lizard-like figure with its broad wings stood before them, blocking their path. That being was around 35 meters long, 7 meters high, had black skin with wounds all over its body, and looked enormous and eerie. Red flames appeared inside the being's sockets and sent shivers down everyone's spines.
It was an Undead Dragon!
In the face of such a large figure, everyone stepped back to retreat.
A second later, an oppressive aura came out from the bone dragon, forcing everyone to kneel on the ground!
The next instant, all the undead warriors, Death Knights, and even Nicolaus and Fennelis got affected by this strange power and knelt on the ground.
Meanwhile, Abium broke into cold sweats and then turned his gaze towards Umi to check if she was okay. But he soon saw an invisible shield-like power resisting the domineering aura and protecting her.
'This is Dragon's Might. The longer you stay here, the sooner you will die. Run.' Azolla warned him in his head and sent him a row of information.
[Name: Unknown
Race: Undead Dragon (Magical Beast type)
Level: Tier-3
Affiliation: Chaos
Physical Attributes:
Strength-16
Agility-15.1
Vitality-16.9
Spirit- ????
Chaos Spells: Poison Breath, Dragon's Might, Savagery of the Nether, Chaotic Invasion, Shadow Domain.]
...
'What the f*ck? It's too strong. But I was waiting for this opportunity.'
Abium quickly grabbed the metal case and spoke to Nicolaus.
"Cover your body with elemental aura and resist the invisible power. Lady Fennelis, you take Umi and protect her."
Just as he spoke, the undead ravens hovering up in the sky suddenly got affected by the Dragon's Might and fell like rain!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!…
Simultaneously, Abium noticed that more than fifty hooded humanoid skeletons appeared from the surrounding rocky areas and caves and quickly moved towards them.
They looked eerily black, had a reddish fire in their sockets, and held scimitar and scythe-like weapons.
"No good. There are the Phantom killers!" Abium said in a grim tone.
"Phantom Killer? Isn't that the same creature that severed my wrist?" Nicholas tensed up, ready to face the enemy at any second.
Fennelis also transformed into her beastform and asked Abium in a low voice.
"Is it time yet? Shall we leave this group and head out on our own?"
But Abium shook his head and locked his gaze on the Undead Dragon.
Then, he shifted his gaze towards Rit'zyk and answered.
"We shouldn't act recklessly, My Lady. I think the backup is still hiding among us."
In the meantime, Rit'zyk woke up from the shock and spoke gravely to his soldiers.
"Back off. You are no match for this being."
Saying so, he turned his gaze towards a particular hooded undead and spoke solemnly.
"We need your assistance, Lord Vregon."
"It seems nothing will work out as planned." The hooded Skeleton named Vregon said in an icy voice, removed the black robe, and revealed its appearance to others.
It looked around 2 meters tall, had two unique horns on the forehead, held a unique black sword, and wore bluish-silver armor.
But what surprised others was its bone color. Like Skaktak, this Skeleton appeared pure gold in color and even emitted some mysterious power.
This Skeleton named Vregon was a Skeleton Lord like Skaktak!
Without minding the other undead skeletons' shock, Vregon took a step forward and spoke.
"Back me up, Noradax. Rit'zyk, you and your minions should take care of the other pests in the meantime."
Saying so, he disappeared from there and reappeared in front of the Undead Dragon.