Dark Wizard: Rise! My undead army!

"No! Hold on! Kill the leader first!" the apprentice leader screamed, trying to get his companions to focus their attack on the mountain.

Sensing the danger, the mountain cunningly hid among the dragons, directing its kin to continuously attack the bone serpent's weak points.

In a violent collision, the bone serpent, in order to get rid of the several earth dragons clinging to it, suddenly made a difficult, rapid twist and roll.

It managed to break free from the earth dragon's entanglement, but it also freed itself from the four apprentices riding on its back.

"ah--!"

The apprentices who were performing witchcraft on the bone serpent were caught off guard and were violently flung away by the force!

Having lost the protection of the bone serpents, their fate upon falling into the earth dragon's lair was predictable.

Below were countless dragon snouts covered in sharp teeth, and earthen-yellow soul flames burning with vengeful fury.

"No!!!"

*Pfft!* *Snap!*

In just a moment, these elite apprentices were completely overwhelmed by the earth dragon horde.

The serpentine bone talisman used to control the bone snake clattered to the ground and was immediately crushed into pieces by a heavy dragon claw.

Without its controller, the bone serpent's movements visibly stiffened, and its soul fire became disordered.

Seizing the opportunity, the mountain let out a deafening roar, and all the remaining earth dragons launched their final all-out attack!

Countless heavy bodies crashed into the bone serpent, finally breaking its already battered bones in several places, and causing its soul fire to dim to its lowest point.

The bone serpent let out a sharp hiss, suddenly breaking free from the entanglement of several earth dragons, and its battered body briefly rose into the air.

It dared not linger in the fight any longer and fled in panic in the direction away from the dragons, soon disappearing into the end of the wasteland.

Seeing the "murderer" escape, the mountain let out a resentful roar, but it was powerless to give chase.

The battlefield gradually quieted down, falling into a deathly silence.

Only the scattered, broken bones on the ground tell the story of the fierce battle.

The once overwhelming flock of ravens has dwindled to just a few scattered, eerie green calves, circling aimlessly.

Of the hundreds of menacing earth dragons, less than half were still able to stand, and all of them were injured.

Many dragons have lost limbs, and their soul fire is extremely weak.

The mountain dragged a forelimb that had been almost bitten off, and the soul fire in its eye sockets had dimmed considerably.

It walked to Gale's side, looked in the direction where Megatron had disappeared, and let out a low, long hiss.

They paid a heavy price, nearly half the size of their population, to complete this seemingly hopeless attack.

For that human, and for the former king, he offered up that simple and pure loyalty among the dead.

With a whistle, the wind bid farewell to the mountains, then spread its bone wings and chased after Megatron in the direction he had gone.

With its master in imminent danger, it no longer had the will to protect the dragon clan.

The mountain silently watched as the gale transformed into a blue meteor and flew away, then turned its gaze to the devastated battlefield.

It walked with heavy steps to the place where the apprentices had died.

All that remained were charred marks left by the dragon's claws, some tattered cloth deeply embedded in the bone meal soil, and a few trinkets.

It began digging with its other, still intact, front paw.

The movements were somewhat clumsy, but exceptionally meticulous.

Soon, several relatively intact items were unearthed.

A shattered crystal fragment faintly emanating soul energy, several metal amulets engraved with twisted runes, and a jet-black serpentine dagger.

There were also a few small items that looked like cloth bags or rings.

The mountain lowered its head, picked up these "spoils of war" stained with the enemy's scent one by one, gathered them together, and wrapped them in a fairly large piece of tattered cloth.

It doesn't understand the function of these things, but it can sense the residual soul imprints and energy fluctuations on them.

Perhaps that human could use these things.

At the very least... we should take him back and wait for him to return.

Having done all this, it once again surveyed the devastated battlefield.

The broken bones of their kind creaked softly in the wind, like a silent requiem.

In this battle, it lost too many of its people.

The mountains silently bowed their heads, letting out a final, short, and deep wail towards this land of sacrifice.

It was as if a simple farewell and remembrance were taking place.

The surviving earth dragons let out low, long hisses, like heavy horns bidding farewell to their people.

Then, the mountain stopped, turned around, picked up the bag of belongings, and began its journey back to the valley.

The earth dragons followed their leader away.

Some earth dragons that had lost their legs or were unable to move on their own were not abandoned.

Those of lesser injury would lower their heavy heads and carefully wriggle with their still-intact forelimbs or neck bones.

Some even used their broad backs to support the broken bodies of their companions.

A ground dragon, having lost half of its hindquarters and crawling only on its forelimbs, was lifted up by two equally wounded companions, one on each side, and slowly but steadily dragged forward.

The entire procession moved at an extremely slow pace, yet it did not abandon any of its own kind.

This is how the undead survive.

As long as the soul fire of the skeletal earth dragons remains, and as long as they are not completely purified or devoured, even the most shattered bones can slowly absorb the minerals and free-floating bone essence from the earth under the influence of time and death energy, gradually healing and regenerating.

...

On the wasteland, a dark golden dragon-shaped skeleton was running with heavy steps.

Megatron was unaware of the battle unfolding behind him; he simply kept his head down and ran towards the academy.

The master is on the verge of death. The only way is to send him to the academy as soon as possible, where perhaps those powerful wizards can save him.

Lynn had previously ridden Megatron back to the academy after subduing it, so it wasn't afraid of getting lost.

Half a day later, Megatron was able to see the outline of the Bone Spire Academy.

At this moment, the skeletal Tyrannosaurus Rex was in extremely bad condition.

After a long period of desperate running, coupled with the fact that it had shielded Lynn from some of the energy shockwaves, its dark golden bones were covered with fine cracks, and its soul fire was dissipating from many joints, making its running posture unsteady.

But the soul fire in its eye sockets burned with a kind of madness as it stared intently at the increasingly clear black silhouette of the academy tower ahead.

Close, closer!

Just then, a crow cried out in the sky.

A blue shadow gradually approached Megatron; it was Gale, who had come through the soul connection.

With the wind attribute buff, the level 3 Gale barely caught up with Megatron, its eerie green soul flames fixed on Lynn on its back.

Lynn lay there motionless.

Around the hole in his chest that was forcibly filled by the dark gold heart, the flesh and blood showed signs of being stained by starlight and then rapidly necrotizing and carbonizing.

The dark gold heart beat slowly and heavily, each beat causing the golden veins at the edge of the wound to flicker, forcibly maintaining a sliver of life.

But this vitality clashed violently with Lynn's own collapsing body, making him like a container that could explode at any moment.

Lynn's face was ashen, his breath barely perceptible, and the fluctuations of his soul were extremely weak, as if they would be extinguished completely at any moment.