"Look~ I found a little cutie~"
The soul of Norland's deceased wife drifted lightly beside Kurose Akira, gazing at him with undisguised delight.
Her tentacles wriggled softly as well, as if eager to toy with this novel new plaything before her.
Kurose Akira was filled with question marks.
Was the effect of [Soul Allure] really that strong?
It directly lured over someone else's dead wife's soul?
And more importantly—Lady of the manor, what exactly are you?
Why is it that only your head and torso look normal, while your limbs have all turned into tentacles?!
"Little brother~ want to come play with big sister?"
The undead spirit floated in midair, circling around Kurose Akira, occasionally striking deliberately flirtatious poses. She even brushed his skin lightly with a tentacle. Fortunately, she was only a soul form—the sensation wasn't particularly intense.
Even so, Kurose Akira's expression grew slightly solemn.
Madam!
You're a married woman, you know?!
At that moment, the undead woman's voice rang out again, tinged with coquettish grievance.
"Why aren't you saying anything, little brother~? Don't ignore me~ My life is so miserable… I married an undead lord and never once lived a single day like a real woman~"
Hearing this, Kurose Akira raised an eyebrow.
An undead lord… yeah, that part was indeed absurd.
Wait.
If the hidden boss really is undead, then maybe Alice's soul-type weapon could come in handy—
No, no, that won't do.
Kurose Akira shook his head.
The undead lord's wife was no ordinary undead. Her remains should still be buried beneath that gravestone—that was where her true combat power resided. Acting rashly would only alert her.
And once she entered the battlefield, the situation would become extremely unfavorable for the players.
Just as Kurose Akira was thinking this through, Shen Siqi gently tapped him on the shoulder.
"Kurose Akira? What are you spacing out for?" Shen Siqi asked curiously.
"Hm?" Kurose Akira looked at her, only then noticing that the surrounding players were all staring at him.
"Honglian recommended your knight, Loserine, to participate in the operation to kill the undead lord," Shen Siqi explained. "We wanted to know whether you agree."
"Loserine is really strong! She can absolutely handle it!" Honglian thumped her chest confidently.
She had personally witnessed Loserine's combat prowess and firmly believed she was the most suitable candidate. In fact, among all the adventurers present—aside from the two level-50 veterans—no one else could compare to Loserine in raw combat capability.
Many players remained skeptical of Honglian's assurance.
After all, Loserine's level wasn't outstanding—she wasn't even in the top twenty.
Still, since the recommendation came from Honglian, no one voiced an objection.
Kurose Akira glanced at Loserine. She stood quietly, awaiting his command.
"Then go," Kurose Akira decided.
After all, his main purpose for entering the Demon Cavern was contribution points. There was no reason to pass up a boss kill.
"Since the candidate's decided, we need to move fast," the players quickly organized themselves, preparing to launch another assault on the undead lord.
Before Loserine set out, Kurose Akira transferred Lady Zhenbai's Phasing ability to her.
"Stay safe," he reminded her.
"…Mm."
Loserine nodded lightly, then followed Honglian and a dwarf warrior as they charged toward the undead lord at the center of the battlefield.
On the distant flank, two high-level mages began chanting. Flames and frost lit up the sky as elemental magic rained down, striking first.
"Insignificant intruders! I will bury you all in this land of nothingness!"
The undead lord roared in fury, smashing its massive hammer into the ground.
In an instant, shattered stone surged upward, forming a barrier that blocked the elemental magic rushing in from the front.
Then it raised the hammer again and slammed it toward the rapidly approaching Honglian.
"Die!"
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rang out as the hammer crashed down, sending debris flying everywhere.
Yet Honglian evaded the devastating strike with astonishing agility.
Her greatsword blazed with scorching flames, tearing through the dust as it transformed into a majestic firebird, slashing straight toward the undead lord.
The intense heat made even the undead lord recoil in fear. It hastily retreated, barely avoiding the blow.
"What a shame—missed!"
Honglian tightened her grip on the flaming greatsword, a confident smile curling at her lips.
As her words fell, she stepped forward lightly. Flames erupted beneath her feet, transforming into fiery chains that wrapped tightly around the undead lord's body.
The undead lord snorted coldly.
"Despicable insect!"
A ghastly green aura erupted from its body, corroding the fiery chains as it struggled to break free.
But in the next instant, a figure descended from above, landing squarely atop the undead lord's head.
"Kite Moon!"
Loserine activated her sword art.
Pure moonlight poured down like a dream. With every swing of her blade, luminous arcs traced dazzling patterns through the air, as if painting radiant murals in mid-sky.
Shh—shh—shh!
Moonlight cascaded like flowing water, engulfing the undead lord completely.
Under the relentless barrage of sword light, that massive body began to split open with clearly visible wounds!
The terrifying sword flashes left the surrounding players stunned.
No one had expected Loserine's swordsmanship to be this powerful—powerful enough to inflict such devastating damage on an undead lord whose level far surpassed hers!
"So refined!"
"That has to be a high-tier sword art, right?"
"High-tier? That's at least super-tier!"
"I didn't expect her combat output to rival Honglian's!"
"Damn… I really underestimated her earlier."
"…!"
The crowd erupted into excited chatter.
As the moonlight gradually faded, the undead lord's form reemerged.
Its armor was shattered beyond recognition, black bones exposed beneath.
Even those bones were carved with countless deep sword marks left behind by Loserine's strikes.
"You deserve death!"
Completely enraged, the undead lord erupted with ghostly green soul-fire and hurled its massive hammer toward Loserine in the sky.
But at that very moment, Honglian's charged attack was already complete.
"Hey! Your opponent—is me!"
A fire dragon condensed around Honglian's greatsword, roaring as it surged toward the undead lord—
—
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Kurose Akira was locked in a fierce struggle with the undead lord's wife.
While maneuvering against her, he simultaneously commanded Ivsha and the others to swiftly clear out the skeleton warriors.
Though each skeleton warrior only granted 1 contribution point, their numbers were vast—and they were easy to kill. Not to mention the higher-value undead knights and undead mages. Naturally, Kurose Akira had no intention of letting those go.
What truly gave him a headache, however, was the undead lord's wife—Madina.
Her tentacles were tightly wrapped around Kurose Akira's body as she continuously teased him both verbally and physically.
"Hey~ little brother, I'm talking to you~ Don't leave big sister all alone~"
Madina gently stroked Kurose Akira's cheek with her tentacles, the suction cups clinging to his skin.
Madina—that was the undead spirit's name.
In their earlier exchange, she had already revealed much to Kurose Akira.
She had once been a noble daughter of a demon clan, betrothed by her father to the undead lord Norland.
Ten years after their marriage, the undead lord cruelly buried her alive and refined her corpse into a demon undead, thereby obtaining immense necromantic power.
Because of this, her hatred toward the undead lord ran unimaginably deep. Yet since her bones remained under his control, she could only lie dormant in the abyss as a soul.
Until Kurose Akira's [Soul Allure] awakened her and drew her before him.
"Lady Madina."
"Hmm~?" Madina poked Kurose Akira's cheek with a tentacle.
Kurose Akira rubbed the bridge of his nose and asked, "Have you ever thought about breaking free from the undead lord's control?"
"Oh~? What are you planning to do?" Madina blinked, watching him with interest.
"How about we blow your husband up?" Kurose Akira said softly. "I'll help you temporarily sever the undead lord's control over your body. When the time comes… I'll be counting on you."