Chapter 80: The Growth of the Great Tomb Lord

The school battle had entered its fifth month. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the players aligned with the Shadow attribute, the Grand Tomb Keeper finally reached the pinnacle of Lv0. On this day, every remaining Shadow attribute player received a mission from the Grand Tomb Keeper. The task required them to gather their undead minions and reach a designated location as swiftly as possible. There, they would face a legion sent from the side of the Ram-Headed Undead.

If they could defeat this force, the Grand Tomb Keeper would ascend to Lv1, becoming the last character from Third High School in Sun City to advance to Lv1. Perhaps, for the other players at school, the Grand Tomb Keeper’s progress seemed slow, but for those of the Shadow attribute, it was actually quite rapid. After all, the school boasted over five thousand students, while the Shadow players numbered just over a hundred.

Thus, for this battle, the Shadow attribute players were highly motivated. Even though only seventy-seven remained active in the game, everyone dropped their current pursuits and hastened to the designated spot, their undead followers in tow.

Upon arrival, the Shadow players realized they had underestimated the challenge. The Grand Tomb Keeper had nearly moved the entire core necropolis here. Countless undead Adara Insectfolk clustered around him, clearly the fruits of the Shadow players’ recent labors.

Once all the players had assembled, Li Shi stepped forward to converse with the Grand Tomb Keeper, receiving the details of the mission.

According to the game lore, the battlefield had existed for thousands of years. Back then, the newly arrived Adara Insectfolk and their adversaries, the Karia Demons, cohabited the region. They fought ceaselessly until the Karia Demons migrated to the northern part of the map, while the Adara Insectfolk settled in the south. Between them lay the neutral chaos zone, ruled by a creature known as the Forest Demon Worm.

Because of the Forest Demon Worm’s dominance, the Adara Insectfolk and Karia Demons had not clashed in centuries. This allowed the Grand Tomb Keeper the leisure to gradually purge the lingering souls of the Karia Demons from the southern district.

Now, with the players’ intervention, progress had accelerated. The undead of the Karia Demons, unwilling to be eradicated so easily, banded together. Using their unique methods of sacrifice, they summoned a formidable undead army.

At the heart of this force was a Karia Demon commander whose strength rivaled a Lv1 (5-star) Boss. His elite guard numbered around twenty, all at Lv1. In addition, all the Karia Demon undead from the southern district had gathered here—over a thousand strong. Though their power was only Lv0, their sheer numbers dwarfed anything the Shadow players had imagined.

Fortunately, the Grand Tomb Keeper clarified that he would lead the battle, with players serving in a supporting capacity. Any player who had participated in command missions could recruit twenty undead Adara Insectfolk to join the fight. The Grand Tomb Keeper intended to spare no losses to wipe out the Karia Demons entirely.

He explained that, if all the Karia Demons could be eliminated here, he would not only advance to Lv1, but also reap other significant benefits.

Li Shi had originally planned to lead the players in a direct assault, but upon hearing that they were not the main force, he felt relieved. Truthfully, he had been concerned; with just seventy-seven players, even if each brought their undead minions, their combat power would hardly suffice.

The number of players who had completed command missions was not large—just twenty-one. Not everyone favored this path, given the abundance of weekly missions and the lack of incentive to invest heavily here.

Only Liu Zong had managed to train his twenty Adara Insectfolk undead to a high standard. His minions were equipped with various gear and had quickly formed a well-organized small battalion.

The remaining twenty players had merely dabbled in the command missions initially and abandoned them afterward. Their Adara Insectfolk undead lacked weapons and equipment, serving only as cannon fodder.

Even so, this was a welcome reinforcement for the players. Before the battle began, Liu Zong approached those players, proposing to consolidate all their Adara Insectfolk undead for collective use.

They readily agreed. In their view, their command skills were lacking; keeping those undead by their side would only hinder their own fighting. It was better to entrust them all to Liu Zong.

Although Liu Zong’s level might not be as high as theirs, the proficiency with which he managed his Adara Insectfolk undead was undeniable. Handing them over was preferable to controlling them themselves.

Thus, without hesitation, the players consented, and soon Liu Zong had amassed 420 Adara Insectfolk undead around him.

He did not rush to lead them into battle, for he could only directly control the twenty assigned to himself.

At this moment, Liu Zong earnestly communicated with his Adara Insectfolk undead, instructing them to follow his lead and remain at the rear, throwing stones rather than charging into combat. For these mindless creatures, such simple orders sufficed.

With this plan, Liu Zong positioned himself at the very front of the formation. Behind him was the Ghostly Lolita, followed by his twenty trained Adara Insectfolk. Thanks to his guidance, they had developed solid combat awareness; at the very least, they knew how to maintain formation, ensuring no chaos would erupt during their assault.

Behind them trailed the disorganized mass of Adara Insectfolk, shambling like zombies, wandering aimlessly, their actions inscrutable.

Liu Zong was already familiar with such behavior. During the initial command missions, he had been troubled by them, as the untrained Adara Insectfolk undead would often stray and vanish. Sometimes, they would return, bringing clusters of enemies with them, forcing Liu Zong to divert his attention from ongoing battles to deal with the new threat.

Thus, he knew well that these untrained Adara Insectfolk undead were best kept at the rear to throw stones and not much else.