EFB Chapter 386 Skeleton Chieftain, a Great Crisis in the Hill of Corpses!
Chapter 386 Skeleton Chieftain, a Great Crisis in the Hill of Corpses!
Chapter 386 Skeleton Centurion, a Major Crisis in Corpse Hills!
Since Ark's strength attribute reached 100 points, he estimated that with the help of many common skills of Black Iron-level warriors, his racial combat power coefficient far exceeded that of ordinary skeleton warriors and zombies.
He was now absolutely invincible amidst the hills of corpses.
Therefore, Fang Zhou resolutely led his skeleton minions, which had all been upgraded to Black Iron, deep into the Corpse Hills.
He originally thought that with these powerful subordinates, he could rampage through the Hill of Corpses without restraint.
However, reality was not as simple as he had imagined.
Even though the skeletal clones of the Ark, as well as the mutated skeleton warriors like Tryndamere, Varus, and Sion, all possess the strength to crush ordinary skeleton warriors.
However, when entering this area, the Ark still needs to be careful, rather than recklessly harvesting and enslaving skeletons.
There is no other reason.
Of all the undead creatures encountered in Ark before, the most powerful were mutated undead creatures like zombie wolf packs or swarms of zombie spiders.
They do not have the instinct to kill and devour each other. Although they have formed a cluster of a certain size, there are at most only twenty or thirty mutated undead creatures.
Compared to the nearly one hundred skeleton minions under the Ark, this is nothing and not worth worrying about.
However, for some reason, in the area that Ark is currently exploring, large-scale legion battles are the mainstream.
In the heart of this hill of corpses, lone skeleton warriors are ultimately few and far between.
The vast majority of the skeleton warriors who reached the pinnacle of the Black Iron rank were recruited!
Yes, to incorporate them.
In Ark's previous understanding, ordinary skeleton warriors had no intelligence whatsoever, and naturally would not understand the essence of team combat.
He had never encountered a mutated undead creature other than himself that could enslave or command skeleton warriors.
However, he witnessed it now.
At the foot of the hill where he stood was a massive army of over a hundred skeletons.
This is not just a scattered group of undead creatures, but an organized and disciplined army.
Leading the group was a mutated skeleton warrior whom the Ark had named the Skeleton Centurion.
The reason Ark named this skeleton commander the Skeleton Centurion is because, according to the division of the Blue Star Human Alliance army, the most basic combat unit is a squad of 10 people.
Ten teams make up a squadron of 10 people.
Ten squadrons can form a battalion of 10 men.
Ten battalions can form a battle group of ten thousand men.
Ten battle groups can form a main force division with a strength of 100,000 men.
Depending on the size of the battlefield, different numbers of main force divisions can be organized into super-large-scale formations at the army or even legion level, with personnel ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions.
Of course, on the battlefield of Blue Star's homeland, the most powerful human legion is naturally the Dawn Legion on the battlefield between the Dragon Summer Federation and the Calamity Demon Kingdom.
This is a powerful battle group with a legendary King-level expert as the legion commander, several glorious champion experts as division commanders, and dozens or even hundreds of gold-level experts as regimental commanders, with a combat force of up to 50.
According to the organization of the Human Alliance army, the skeleton group that Ark encountered in this area was at least a squadron level.
As their commander, the mutated skeleton was naturally named the Skeleton Centurion by the Ark.
Led by a skeleton centurion, the entire skeleton legion wandered aimlessly through the Hills of Corpses, hunting down any stray undead creatures that happened to encounter them.
Fortunately, Ark used the skeletal bat Bruce's aerial reconnaissance to carefully track the skeleton squadron for a long time and found that they did not have any clear purpose.
These skeleton warriors were simply patrolling along a fixed path, seemingly on some kind of patrol mission.
Fangzhou, seeing an opportunity, decided to lead his skeleton minions, which had already reached the size of a squadron, to bravely confront this rare skeleton squadron.
Compared to the ordinary skeleton warriors who merely obeyed orders, Ark's true prey was this skeleton centurion he had never seen before.
During the past two months of hunting and devouring, Ark now has more than 10 mutated skeleton warriors under its command.
These mutated skeleton warriors each have their own unique characteristics; some have undergone significant changes in their entire form, such as the skeletal bat Bruce.
Some did not shed their skeleton warrior form, but their weapons and abilities underwent many changes, such as Tryndamere, Sion, Varus, and Yone.
The combat power of these mutated skeletons has naturally increased dramatically.
However, none of them were like the skeleton centurion before them, who was able to awaken the ability to command hundreds of skeleton warriors.
In a sense, the abilities displayed by this Skeleton Centurion are very similar to those of the Skeleton King in Ark.
This undoubtedly filled Fangzhou with curiosity.
Ark's Skeleton King skill was awakened during the process of evolving into a Skeleton Warrior after all four of his attributes reached the apprentice limit and he received the Blood Moon Blessing.
This skill allows him to enslave and control large numbers of skeleton warriors, greatly enhancing his combat power.
Now, what exactly is the ability of this seemingly ordinary skeleton centurion to enslave his own kind?
What excites Ark even more is whether such a rare Skeleton Centurion can be enslaved by his Skeleton King skill, thereby indirectly enslaving more Skeleton Warriors for him.
If successful, this would greatly enhance Ark's power, giving him a greater advantage in the Corpse Hills.
With these questions and expectations in mind, Fangzhou led his Skull Squadron directly to meet the enemy head-on.
He ordered Tryndamere, Sion, Varus, and other mutated skeleton warriors to launch a surprise attack and draw the enemy's attention.
He himself led the remaining skeleton warriors to follow closely behind, forming a tight formation.
However, Fangzhou felt somewhat disappointed as soon as they started fighting.
This rare skeleton warrior in the skeleton squadron was significantly weaker in combat compared to his own skeleton servants.
While their four-dimensional attributes may not differ significantly, the Skeleton King skill in Ark provides a certain degree of all-around bonus to the skeleton servants under its command.
This makes the Ark's skeleton servants far superior to these ordinary skeleton warriors in every aspect.
Not to mention that Olaf and a group of mutated skeletons were also present in the skeleton squadron under the Ark.
Their combat power far surpasses that of ordinary skeleton warriors.
Olaf, as one of the best among them, is not only huge in size, but also has extremely strong attack and defense capabilities, and can almost take on dozens of ordinary skeleton warriors by himself.
The mutated skeleton warriors Tryndamere, Sion, Varus, Yone, and others each have their own unique characteristics.
Some are good at close combat, while others are good at ranged attacks, making their overall combat strength extremely balanced.
What disappointed Ark even more was that this skeleton centurion's strength was utterly unremarkable.
Not to mention the terrifying combat power of the Corpse Clone, which has undergone several evolutions and mastered a series of common skills for Black Iron-level combatants, even Olaf is no match for it.
Even in Ark's perception, this skeleton centurion's combat strength was far inferior to Tryndamere, the weakest of his subordinates, the decapitation giantsword skeleton warrior.
It's as if all of this skeleton centurion's abilities are focused on controlling and commanding skeleton warriors, and he's not very good at one-on-one combat.
Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit.
Although somewhat disappointed, Fangzhou still gave it his all.
Led by Ark, Olaf, and a host of mutated skeleton warriors, the two groups of skeletons quickly engaged in a head-on battle.
From the start of the battle, the Ark's skeleton servants displayed an overwhelming advantage.
Tryndamere wielded his massive decapitation sword, severing the bones of several skeleton warriors, sending bone fragments flying.
Varus then fired a series of arrows imbued with death energy, pinning the enemy skeleton warriors to the ground one by one and rapidly eroding their bones.
Sion wielded his heavy tower shield, blocking enemy ranged attacks and creating more offensive opportunities for his teammates.
Olaf, with his massive size and powerful attacks, became a core force on the battlefield; with a single axe strike, several skeleton warriors were sent flying.
The mutated skeleton warriors of the Ark are not only powerful in combat, but also work together seamlessly, forming a highly efficient combat system.
The ordinary skeleton warriors were almost powerless against them and were quickly suppressed.
Ark focused his main efforts on the Skeleton Centurion, ordering Tryndamere and Varus to concentrate their firepower on him in an attempt to defeat him as soon as possible.
While the Skeleton Centurion may be mediocre in individual combat, his command abilities are not to be underestimated.
It quickly commanded the surrounding skeleton warriors to defend themselves, attempting to withstand the ark's attack.
However, the Ark's skeleton servants, with their superior combat power and more seamless teamwork, gradually broke through the enemy's defenses.
Yone's twin blades severed the Skeleton Centurion's longsword, Varus's arrow pierced its breastbone, Sion's shield shattered its body, and Olaf sent it flying with a single axe blow.
Ultimately, this squadron of over a hundred skeletons quickly collapsed under the combined attack of Ark and his skeleton servants.
The Ark's forces suffered only the loss of a dozen or so skeleton minions.
Ark doesn't care about these cannon fodder materials at all.
After the battle, Fangzhou grabbed the skeleton centurion, who had been shaved into a bone club, and unleashed the Skeleton King skill.
Based on previous experience with Arknights, the Skeleton King's skills are an unparalleled natural enemy to skeletal undead creatures.
Once these undead creatures lose their ability to resist and are unable to effectively resist the soul connection of the Skeleton King, they will completely submit.
However, things took an unexpected turn.
When the soul link generated by the Skeleton King's skill touched the Skeleton Centurion's soul fire, the originally blazing soul fire instantly shattered.
Ark's original idea of enslaving it naturally failed.
Fangzhou was somewhat surprised.
But then his soul link captured some memories from the fragments of the dead skeleton centurion's soulfire, and his expression became even more solemn.
It turns out that the skeleton centurion's ability to command skeletons did not come from its own mutation, but was granted by a skeletal talisman by a skeleton lord who was in his mind incredibly powerful, majestic, and terrifying.
The skeleton centurion offered his soul fire as a token of loyalty to the skeleton lord, and in return received a skeletal token from the lord, which allowed him to command hundreds of ordinary skeleton warriors.
From these scattered memories, Fangzhou learned that there were no fewer than 100 skeleton centurions and skeletal talismans like this one in this even more treacherous hill of corpses.
This means that there are at least hundreds of skeleton squadrons of the size that Ark just wiped out scattered throughout this region.
Even more terrifying is that these hundreds of skeleton squadrons, totaling tens of thousands of skeleton warriors, all submitted to that unknown skeleton lord through this means of bone talismans.
Fang Zhou's expression was extremely serious. Although the information he obtained from the skeleton centurion's soul fire was only fragmented and unsystematic, it was still a glimpse into the whole picture.
The power and might of this skeleton lord are so great that the Ark cannot afford to ignore it.
It could even be said that this skeleton lord was the most terrifying undead creature Ark had encountered in its six months of exploration and hunting in the undead realm.
A strong sense of urgency welled up in Fang Zhou's heart.
The situation on this hill of corpses was far more complex and dangerous than he had imagined.
The presence of the Skeleton Lord not only signifies the high level of organization among the undead creatures in this area, but also foreshadows a powerful enemy lurking in the shadows, ready to launch a deadly attack at any moment.
However, the only saving grace is that in the few remaining memories of this skeleton centurion, the skeleton lord's realm was still at the Black Iron level.
However, after countless trials and tribulations, it has undergone many evolutions.
Although this skeleton lord has not yet been able to break through the bottleneck and advance to the Bronze rank due to the limitations of its innate race, there are almost no undead creatures in the Iron rank that can compare to this skeleton lord.
Based on the information he had gathered, Fang Zhou's fighting spirit surged.
For ordinary skeletons, even for this Skeleton Lord who is considered a genius among skeletons, the upper limit of the skeleton race's racial talent is capped at the upper Iron rank.
The inherent disadvantage prevented this skeleton lord from breaking through the bottleneck and advancing to the Bronze level, no matter how hard he tried.
Therefore, it had to find another way to expand its power by enslaving skeletons to create skeletal tokens.
Furthermore, Ark was certain that this Skeleton Lord must have also received the blessing of the Blood Moon of the Dead, which was why it possessed such an ability that even Ark envied.
In the memory of this skeleton centurion, the skeleton centurion was subservient to the skeleton chiliarch.
The Skeleton Centurion submits to the Skeleton Lord.
The Skeleton Lord resides within the Bone Castle, silently accumulating strength, awaiting the day he breaks through the bottleneck, advances to Bronze, and transcends racial boundaries.