How come this arcanist is invincible?

Chapter 223 Saving the Lamplighter

"Line up! Retreat! Watch out for arrows from behind!"

Serena shouted a command, and Shar suddenly dodged the hidden arrow that came from behind.

She nocked an arrow with her other hand, drew the bowstring, and released it. The arrow suddenly pierced the darkness and accurately struck the eye socket of the attacker's skeleton.

The eerie green flames vanished instantly, and the entire skeleton shattered.

But there was no joy on Sha'er's face.

The instant the skeletal archer fell, more pale skeletons emerged from the darkness, densely packed and covering the entire mountainside.

They sealed every crevice of the pass tightly, like a deathly, desolate mass of bones.

The crisp, grating sound of bones grinding together, mixed with the hollow roar of the skull, echoed repeatedly within the narrow cavern.

The next second, countless skeleton archers simultaneously raised their decaying bone arms and tightened their bone longbows.

Countless arrows gathered a chilling, deathly aura and rained down from the sky.

The arrows were dense and overwhelming, leaving almost no blind spots, and they covered all the lantern bearers in the pass.

The lantern bearers dodged and avoided the arrows by using the cliffs and rocks, but many of them were still hit by arrows.

In a short while, several cold corpses fell one after another on the cold stone ground.

Among the fallen were seasoned rangers with rich experience and years of battles, and budding adventurers who had just broken through to the next level and were full of vigor.

There were also veteran warriors who were already exhausted and planned to retire peacefully after completing this secret realm mission.

Regardless of past status or experiences, all the past vanishes in the face of the overwhelming onslaught of the undead.

All that remained was a cold, stiff corpse.

"Get out of the way! More arrows are coming!"

Shar rolled on the spot, using the agility and combat instincts of a second-tier expert to barely avoid the fatal arrow aimed at her heart.

Only his forearm was grazed by the arrowhead, leaving a shallow gash from which warm blood slowly seeped out, staining his sleeve red.

She forced herself to look up at the battlefield, enduring the stinging pain. The moment she saw her surroundings, her heart sank. Her teammates Pippen and Orion were seriously injured. Pippen's left leg had been pierced by an arrow, and Orion's shoulder had been torn apart by a bone arrow.

Their blood stained the lantern badges on their chests, and despair surged in both of their eyes.

The team's core leader, Finn the Lantern Knight, is currently locked in a fierce battle with a powerful Tier 3 Skeleton Wanderer.

The high-ranking undead wielded a rusty, broken bone blade in each hand, its moves bizarre, cunning, swift, and ruthless, displaying a strange dagger fighting style far surpassing that of ordinary undead.

The blade flashed like a ghost, each strike carrying a dense, decaying negative energy.

Finn used the dim light from the lantern to parry and retreat with one hand while holding his sword, barely managing to hold on.

His originally black and white hair has turned quite a bit whiter due to overexertion of his vitality.

"How...how could it have turned out like this—this shouldn't be happening at all—"

The half-human skinned man huddled behind a rock, his voice trembling uncontrollably, fear creeping across his round face.

Shar took a deep breath, suppressing the thought of comforting others, her heart filled with only self-reproach.

As they entered the cave from the abandoned riverbed, they encountered only a handful of scattered low-level skeletons along the way. The ranger in the group had an early warning of danger, and only one person suffered minor scratches throughout the entire journey, with negligible consequences.

At that time, everyone relaxed their vigilance and subconsciously thought that this mission to clear out the secret realm was not difficult and could be easily completed.

The deeper you go into the cave, the more acute your sense of danger becomes; the chilling feeling of being watched by countless eyes sends shivers down your spine.

But all the team members knew that, according to Finn the Lamp Knight's previous account...

The anomalies in this underground cavern are no small matter; the dark hidden dangers behind them have already involved a common crisis in six countries.

Because of this heavy responsibility, even though many team members had thoughts of quitting, not one of them took the initiative to back down or run away.

After all, the lantern bearer's oath was to swear by the lantern, to burn away the abyss.

The moment the team passed through the narrow passage and stepped into the cavernous wall, disaster struck.

A second-tier Lantern Bearer captain was ambushed and assassinated from behind by a suddenly appearing third-tier Skeleton Wanderer, his blood splattering and staining the rocks red.

The other person didn't even have time to scream before collapsing to the ground.

In the critical moment, Finn the Lantern suddenly rushed out of the ranks, bravely withstood the undead's attack, and held it back, giving everyone a chance to catch their breath.

At the same time, from both the front and back of the acupoint, accompanied by the crisp sound of bones rubbing together, a dense army of white bones suddenly emerged and surged to surround the site.

The skeletons trampled over the remains of their own kind, advancing wave after wave, and instantly surrounded the lantern bearer in the center of the pass, completely cutting off his escape route.

"We can only hold off two more waves of attacks at most, and we're running out of arrows."

Orion coughed up blood, his eyes gradually dimming.

"It's completely over—"

Serena's eyes were resolute; she was ready to fight to the death.

Shar gripped the longbow tightly, her fingertips turning white from the force. A familiar figure flashed through her mind, leaving only a trace of regret.

It's good that I didn't get to see him again. He has become a truly important person and will no longer have to be trapped here like me.

Just as all the lantern bearers were resolute in their determination to die and prepared for the final battle.

A clear, distant sound pierced through the howls of the undead and the clash of weapons, reaching everyone's ears clearly.

"Mercenaries, form your ranks! Mages, prepare to cast a Restoration Spell and unleash a Flame Storm!"

Upon hearing the calls of unfamiliar humans, the lantern bearers were first taken aback, then their faces lit up with ecstasy.

Shar froze, looking up in disbelief. That voice was etched into her memory.

In the distance, a group of mages dressed in red robes and wearing hoods chanted in unison, protected by lightly armored mercenaries.

Sensing the threat, the densely packed skeletons turned around and swarmed towards the mage group.

Before long, the spell was complete.

Several first- and second-ring fire spells merged and amplified each other, while several other mages simultaneously activated second-ring wind spells, causing a sudden gust of wind to sweep through.

The raging flames were pushed into the sea of ​​skeletons by the gale, and exploded with a roar as the spell was activated.

The violent explosion instantly swept in all directions, and raging flames spread throughout the area.

Both the skeleton warriors and the skeleton archers were shattered and disintegrated under the bombardment of the flame storm.

Thousands of skeletons were lost in this single attack, with 30% of them being wiped out.

But the remaining undead's eye sockets suddenly flared up, and they continued their fierce attack, fearless of death.

But the arrival of reinforcements completely shattered the lantern bearer's despair.

The group quickly assembled and launched an organized counterattack.

Under the protection of mercenaries, the red-robed mage followed Logan Susas's orders, using terrain-altering spells to reshape the landscape and then employing evocation spells to sweep away the skeleton enemy army on a large scale.

Kane breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the battle gradually stabilize.

After discovering traces of the Lanternman's badge, he ordered the troops to march at full speed, and along the way they encountered several more Lanternman's remains.

Fortunately, they relied on speed-up magic to travel quickly and arrive at the battlefield in time, preventing the entire team from being wiped out.

Aside from old acquaintances and friendships, the Lantern Bearer is a pillar in resisting the evil of the plane, and he cannot stand idly by and watch it perish.

His gaze fell on the fierce battleground on the cliff.

Finn the Lantern Knight was locked in a fierce battle with a swift third-tier skeleton wanderer.

The aftershocks of their battle continuously shattered the scattered bones around them, but in the chaotic battlefield, no one paid attention to these minor disturbances.

Finn's left-hand lantern glowed softly, casting a white light on his right-hand sword.

Each time the sword struck the undead's bone blade, a piercing corrosive sound rang out, and fine cracks continuously appeared on the surface of the skeleton weapon.

The concentration of negative energy inside the cave is extremely high, and these injuries will heal in a short time.

"We can't delay any longer."

Kane made a quick decision, turning to Logan Susas and instructing, "You and Sophia continue to command the battle; I'm going to provide support."

Logan Susas gazed at the boundless tide of bones, his face showing worry, yet he still nodded emphatically.

Kane immediately activated his Spider Walk technique, and his figure suddenly darted out.

He strode across the cliff face, leaping swiftly between the rock walls above the vast army of white bones, heading straight for the site of the most intense battle between the two third-tier warriors.

"Damn it!"

On the other side, Finn, unable to break through after a long attack, frowned and became increasingly serious, his speed and power increasing once again.

Just then, a swift figure rapidly approached from the side.

Finn took a step back after blocking the undead's attack, and only then did he see who it was. His pupils suddenly contracted.

Isn't he a mage?!

Finn watched as Kane slid down the cliff as if it were flat ground.

A dark, eerie scimitar slashed through the air, colliding violently with the skeleton wanderer's bone blade.

The moment the scimitar clashed with the bone blade, the skeleton wanderer staggered back half a step, the ghostly fire in its eye sockets trembling violently before finally stabilizing after a long while.

Finn frowned slightly and subconsciously glanced at the black scimitar in Kane's hand.

Kane wasn't surprised; the Shadow Blade inflicted Mind Erosion damage, giving it a natural advantage against undead.

However, the negative energy environment here is exceptionally rich, enough to nourish a thousand skeletons.

It's difficult to completely kill this Tier 3 undead by relying solely on psychological damage.

Kane looked at Finn and said in a deep voice, "Hold it off for a moment, I have a way to deal with it."

The Knight with the Lantern's eyes flickered slightly, and he solemnly replied, "Yes."

In the next instant, the two surrounded the skeleton wanderer from both sides.

The ghostly flames flickered violently as the undead attacked, wielding bone blades in both hands simultaneously.

Kane raised his hand and hurled an iron blade, shouting, "Shard Scatter!"

The iron dagger instantly disintegrated into fine iron powder, which swept over the skeleton wanderer.

The undead sensed the danger and tried to retreat to avoid it, but Finn immediately swung his sword and attacked fiercely, forcing it back into the battle.

"Close your eyes!"

Finn closed his eyes and retreated without hesitation.

The next instant, a giant, burning hand of flame slammed down on the flying iron dust.

A blinding white light suddenly exploded, instantly illuminating the entire dark cavern for a moment.

The hot iron powder exploded and ignited, instantly engulfing the Skeleton Wanderer in flames.

The intense negative energy forcibly sustained his body, turning him into a walking human torch.

"Let's do it!"

Kane leaped into the air and charged forward, while Finn simultaneously opened his eyes and charged.

The scimitar and the one-handed sword were swung out simultaneously, two flashes of cold light disappearing in an instant.

The burning skeleton wanderer's arms were severed on the spot, its head flew into the air, rolled to the ground, and the ghostly flames in its eye sockets flickered a few times unwillingly before being completely extinguished.

The will-o'-the-wisp flickering in its eye sockets flickered for a few more breaths before finally going out completely.

A third-tier undead, who had the home-field advantage, was instantly killed!

Finn let out a long sigh of relief, his eyes filled with shock as he looked at Kane.

The opponent's endless tricks had already overturned his preconceived notions about mages.

The opponent's combat power was more like that of a wandering magic user, something never seen before.

Almost the instant the undead's head hit the ground, a joyful shout came from below the cliff: "They've retreated! They've gone away!"

Kane and Finn turned to look at the same time, and as their leader perished, the remaining skeleton army instantly collapsed.

The chaotic sounds of bones grinding together rose and fell as countless skeletons fled in panic toward various caves and passages in the walls.

All that remained were broken bones and inferior weapons scattered on the ground.

The lantern bearers, who had survived the ordeal, collapsed to the ground, some weeping bitterly for their fallen comrades.

Kane's gaze fell on Shar, who and her two teammates knelt on the ground, looking down at the ranger Orion.

The opponent was shot in the abdomen and had already lost his life.

Kane sighed inwardly and looked up at the mage formation.

Logan Susas nodded in acknowledgment, the group of mages looking exhausted from the depletion of their spiritual energy.

The mercenaries guarding the area were busy bandaging their wounds, all of them exhausted both physically and mentally.

They had even exhausted their strength to clean up the battlefield and collect the spoils of war.

"We have no choice but to withdraw and reorganize first," Kane concluded.

Finn the Lantern Knight immediately stepped forward, his voice urgent: "Dean Kane, once we retreat, the darkness and evil will continue to expand."

I believe you came here for the same reason as us.

"So? Do you want all your men to die in battle? Or do you want my mages, whose spell slots are exhausted, to continue their pointless slaughter?"

Kane spoke calmly, but his words hit the nail on the head.

Finn looked at the wounded and exhausted men in his team, his anxiety fading, and finally he said dejectedly, "Then I'll trouble you to lead my team to retreat."

"Are you planning to stay behind and continue on your own?"

"A crisis is imminent, and the strange phenomena here have already proven it."

Finn's expression was resolute, full of a willingness to die.

"Please tell my companion."

"Utterly ignorant."

Kane coldly refuted it.

"You only have the strength of a third-tier warrior thanks to the amplification provided by the lantern. How many skeletons can you kill by yourself? A hundred? Two hundred?"

Once surrounded, they will only fight to the death.

"What will happen to the lantern if you die? Your organization doesn't have many of these kinds of equipment."

Finn's face flushed red and then turned pale. Just as he was about to argue, Kane continued, "A day's rest won't cause any problems."

We returned to Twin Harbor, went to the Noble Council to dispatch troops and sheriffs, and gathered all the mercenaries in the port, bringing all the fighting force we could muster.

"We can't be the ones fighting and bleeding on the front lines while they reap the benefits in the rear."

"Will the Speaker agree to this?" Finn hesitated.

"Demands?" Kane sneered. "He was able to hand over command of the legion at will under duress from the Duke, so do you think he would ignore the pressure from the Mage Academy?"

"If they insist on shirking their responsibilities and failing to act, the noble council of Twin Harbors can simply replace its speaker."

There have always been many people who covet this position.

This blatant intimidation left Finn, a proponent of law and justice, speechless.

After a moment of silence, he bowed solemnly: "I understand, Dean Kane. The Lamplighters here will follow your instructions."

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