After completing the summons, the crimson glow in Blood Raven's eyes faded, and her movements became fluid once more. She cast an obscure glance toward the three of them. Letting out a rhythmic low growl from her mouth, the Hungry Dead that had crawled out obediently retreated back into the cemetery soil.
Blood Raven continued to growl lowly; with a clack-clack sound, two yellow skeletons walked out from the crypts.
[Skeleton: Level 36.]
The skeletons walked to Blood Raven and stood there blankly until she pointed toward the graves. The two skeletons squatted down and began to level the earth that had been overturned by the zombies. After completing Blood Raven's instructions, the two skeletons began to wander aimlessly. Blood Raven let out another low growl, and the two skeletons walked back into the crypts with a clack-clack sound.
Leo scrutinized the tombstones, and a cold sweat broke out instantly. He had been deceived by the surface tranquility; with such a massive number of tombstones, there was no telling how many undead lay beneath the ground.
After the two skeletons left, Blood Raven walked to the withered tree and stood still. She took down the bow and arrows from her back, drawing the bow and firing at the Dark Rogues tied above. The struck Dark Rogue snapped awake, letting out a roar of agony.
[Dark Hunter, Level 36.]
Leo hurriedly opened his app; many of the Dark Hunters tied to the tree were actually alive.
Blood Raven drew her bow, one arrow carving a large gash into the Dark Rogue's arm. She drew again, this time directly shattering the arm bone with an arrow. She drew again, and the entire arm fell off. Then came the other arm, followed by the left leg, and the right leg. Finally, she fired at the Dark Hunter's torso, arrow by arrow, until the victim stopped reacting.
Leo felt a chill in his heart; this Blood Raven was so cruel, taking pure pleasure in torturing her own kind.
Seeing the victim stop reacting, Blood Raven lowered her head slightly, as if savoring that twisted pleasure. A moment later, she raised her longbow again. It was only after torturing six Dark Hunters to death in various ways that she stopped and walked somewhat staggeringly back into the Mausoleum.
Seeing Blood Raven leave, Leo spoke in a low voice: "This must be Blood Raven. It seems she truly has fallen; these methods are simply atrocious."
The faces of both women looked a bit pale, especially Majesty, whose small face was deathly white.
"Get your Stamina Potions ready; we'll retreat to the stairs first. Majesty, summon your Shadow Warrior to go in and test the waters. If we can't match her strength, we retreat immediately." Leo felt that the number of monsters hidden underground was unknown; it was best to be careful in all things.
Both women nodded. The group slowly crawled backward until they reached their predetermined position. Majesty summoned her Shadow Warrior. As soon as she appeared, the shadow immediately used Burst of Speed, then quickly used Cloak of Shadows just before stepping into the cemetery.
Soon, the Shadow Warrior reached the withered tree. An icy-blue arrow shot out from the Mausoleum, striking the shadow directly. The Shadow Warrior's movements stiffened, followed by a fiery-red arrow that blew the shadow into fragments.
The commotion from the Shadow Warrior's run disturbed the monsters dormant underground. A massive number of monsters crawled out from the earth, crowding the cemetery so tightly that not even water could seep through—Leo estimated there were two or three thousand of them.
Looking at these black-green, rotting, and pus-leaking Hungry Dead, and the yellow skeletons wearing tattered leather armor hanging loosely on their bodies, the three of them turned and ran. Seeing them flee, the undead let out excited roars and gave chase.
The Hungry Dead were very slow and soon fell behind. The skeletons were slightly faster, but they still couldn't reach the speed of the Fallen.
Finding that Blood Raven was still in the Mausoleum and hadn't pursued them, the group began to lead the skeletons on a chase at a moderate pace, soon arriving at the gate at the foot of the hill.
Leo turned around, activated his Concentration aura to hold the entrance, and the hundreds of pursuing skeletons surged forward.
His right-hand shield was like an indestructible city gate, while his left-hand short mace added massive elemental damage, complemented by bonus damage against undead from his weapon and charms. As soon as these skeletons rushed up, they were harvested in swaths by Zeal.
Majesty had also learned to balance work and rest. She placed five Lightning Sentries—two on the left and three on the right—beside Leo, spraying out a large number of Charged Bolts. She summoned her Shadow Warrior to crouch on the stone wall, incessantly tossing out Shock Webs and Fire Blasts. She herself sat on the ground to meditate and regenerate mana; once she had recovered enough, she stood up to toss out another set of skills.
Since the enemy had no monsters capable of resurrection, Gerdie's job was much easier; she only needed to maintain the Shout buff. She brought out her Exploding Bow and fired at the monsters. Normally, skeletons were full of gaps and difficult to hit, but with the monsters so densely packed, she didn't have to worry about missing. Explosions rang out continuously among the monster ranks, severely disrupting their pace.
Now, the greatest pressure was on Leo, who was incessantly downing health and mana potions. These skeletons had no flesh or blood, making it impossible to leech life or mana; in an instant, he had turned from a "perpetual motion machine" into an "internal combustion engine."
Seeing that the durability of the green weapon in his hand was nearly half gone, Leo quickly swapped it out for his new favorite acquired during the last great battle.
> Soul Cleaver (Balanced Axe)
> * Quantity: 130
> * Throw Damage: 37-45
> * One-Hand Damage: 14-31
> * Attack Range: 1
> * Required Dexterity: 47
> * Required Level: 19
> * Attack Speed: Very Fast
> * Enhanced Damage: +109%
> * +51 to Attack Rating
> * +1-3 Fire Damage
> * 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit
> * Replenishes Quantity
> * Ethereal (Cannot Be Repaired) (Note 1)
>
This type of weapon, suitable for both melee and range, had always been Leo's favorite. Unfortunately, their damage was usually low, but with the attribute bonuses from the Charm Space, damage was no longer a major issue.
Although the attack damage and range had decreased, the attack speed was much faster, and overall efficiency hadn't dropped much—only his mana potion consumption had increased.
He would encounter various monsters in the future that he couldn't leech life or mana from; it seemed he needed to get some equipment that restored health and mana upon killing an enemy.
Just as he was hacking away happily, the axe in his hand suddenly shattered. A certain part of Leo's body tightened, but fortunately, an axe in an energy state immediately appeared in his hand again.
Although the battle was somewhat grueling, with the experience from two previous "grinding" sessions, the group eliminated these skeletons without much danger and reached Level 21.
Seeing that the hour was late, Leo let the two women clear the battlefield while he chose a slightly elevated, open area facing the stairs to set up camp. Originally, he wanted to find a spot sheltered from the wind, but he was worried those undead might creep down at night, so he ultimately found a place convenient for a quick escape.
After setting up the tents, the two women walked over.
Gerdie said with a smile, "These skeletons are truly poor; everything they drop is White equipment. Fortunately, they drop more gold and potions than other monsters."
"They've rotted down to just bones; any good things they had were probably left inside the graves." After all, the heroes of this world were different from the heroes in the game; Leo began to lay the groundwork for their future actions.
"That might be one reason, but I feel that the Hell aura contained in these monsters is somewhat impure; it might be because they were summoned." Majesty provided a serious analysis of the cause.
Leo felt it was very likely; these monsters were somewhat like Blood Raven's summons, not "proper" monsters. The group distributed the potions. The sun had begun to set, and the temperature was dropping significantly. They lit a campfire and prepared dinner.
"Gerdie, you take the first half of the night watch; I'll take the second half. Everyone stay alert tonight; watch out for the undead in the cemetery." After saying this, Leo entered the tent to begin his rest.
(Note 1: Unique equipment in Diablo that appears in an energy state; base attributes are much stronger, but it cannot be repaired.)
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