Jack Williams took a brief respite, as if recovering from a grueling trek, before straightening up and methodically surveying the battlefield alongside his five skeletal squads. The battle had resulted in the slaughter of forty-nine griffins, while four had escaped with injuries. However, the cost had been steep—fifteen skeletal soldiers were shattered beyond recognition, twenty were heavily damaged, and the rest bore varying degrees of minor wounds. Fortunately, as undead beings, their broken bones could simply be reassembled, allowing them to return to service. In less than an hour, they were once again neatly lined up in formation, ready for the next battle.
Jack nodded in satisfaction. This was precisely why he prized his skeletal warriors—they had no concept of life or death, no fear of pain, and even if reduced to a pile of bones, they could be put back together and continue fighting. Moreover, as their levels increased, their resilience improved. They never fatigued, making them capable of training for over twenty hours a day without rest.
After careful deliberation, and with guidance from Toby and Cons on the strengths and characteristics of the magical beasts of Oksas Continent, Jack began restructuring his skeletal army. He converted Dragon Four and Dragon Five's units from infantry to archers and javelin throwers, instructing them on crafting bows, arrows, and javelins. Their primary objective was to train daily in precision and accuracy.
Although Dragon Four and Dragon Five's squads were not highly intelligent, relentless training—twenty hours a day—gradually refined their skills. In just two days, their accuracy had improved significantly. While they were still far from striking targets with absolute precision, they now possessed enough ranged capability to hold their own against another griffin assault, ensuring they would no longer be entirely at a disadvantage.
Meanwhile, excavation efforts were also underway on a massive scale under Toby and Cons' direction. With ten skeletal soldiers assisting in digging and transporting, the process was significantly expedited.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Jack unearthed an overwhelming number of weapons, spatial rings, and other valuable items, casually tossing them into his own spatial ring like discarded trash. It was not that he did not appreciate their worth, but in this isolated canyon, surrounded only by Toby, Cons, and magical beasts, such treasures held no immediate use. Besides, he had more pressing concerns—the sudden surge of magical beasts had become a major headache. His top priority now was to find intact, formidable skeletons and use his "Corpse Manipulation" ability to bring them under his command, expanding his undead army.
"My god, two hundred skeletal soldiers—what an incredible force!" Toby gawked at the neatly arranged phalanx before him, rendered momentarily speechless by sheer astonishment.
Jack smiled faintly. "This is all thanks to you and Cons. With this army, even if we face another griffin assault, we can handle it with ease." He had reorganized the two hundred skeletal soldiers into five squads, increasing each squad's numbers from fifteen to forty, significantly boosting their combat effectiveness. The archery and javelin units alone now boasted eighty skeletal soldiers—though their arrows and javelins had limited individual damage, sheer volume alone could inflict devastating casualties.
"Hehe, boss, you're too modest. All we did was dig up some dirt—the real credit belongs to you," Toby said with a cheeky grin, though his eyes gleamed with pride.
Jack flicked the little mole on the forehead, smirking. "Getting cocky, huh? From now on, I want four tombs excavated daily. No complaints, or no dinner for you. Understood?"
"Nooo! Mercy!" Toby wailed dramatically.
Ignoring Toby's antics, Bruno stepped forward and spoke in a low voice. "Master, there's something I've been meaning to ask."
Jack, still observing his skeletal squads' training, replied absentmindedly, "Oh? What is it?"
"Master, have you ever considered leaving this Aleta Canyon?" Bruno had been juggling two responsibilities over the past few days—supervising the training of the two hundred skeletal soldiers and dedicating the rest of his time to studying dark magic in hopes of strengthening himself.
Jack arched a brow and shot him a glance. "You think I don't want to? This cursed canyon seems to be under some kind of magical restriction—we can't leave. If I had the choice, I wouldn't be wasting my time here with a bunch of skeletons and two overgrown rodents."
"I'm a mole, not a rat!" Toby protested indignantly.
Jack flicked him on the forehead again, making him wince. "Mole, rat—it's all the same. Both dig holes. If I say you're a rat, you're a rat. Keep yapping, and I'll turn you into braised rodent stew."
"Waaah, darling, we're so mistreated…" Toby whined dramatically.
Bruno, unfazed by the exchange, continued in a serious tone. "Master, don't you find this situation odd? First, it was the Earthquake Bears, then the Gale Direwolves, and then the griffins. How could so many magical beasts suddenly appear all at once?"
Jack had been pondering this very question for days. Hearing Bruno voice it only deepened his unease. "You're right—but the real question is, why are they here? Who or what is behind this?"
Bruno paused thoughtfully before speaking. "Master, have you considered the possibility that a powerful entity—perhaps even a god—is orchestrating this?"
Jack's heart skipped a beat, his mind racing.
Bruno nodded firmly. "Yes. I've heard tales of divine beings whose power surpasses even that of Supreme Beasts. They can seal off entire valleys or mountains at will and summon hordes of magical creatures to attack. After much deliberation, I believe this may be our reality."
Jack's brows knitted tightly as a storm of thoughts surged through his mind, as if unraveling a tangled web.
Why had he suddenly appeared in this world?
Why had the moment he arrived at Aleta Canyon coincided with its mysterious sealing?
Why did waves of magical beasts assault them every few days?
Then, a memory surfaced—just before he arrived in this world, he had been playing Warcraft, mercilessly crushing an AI opponent named "Beast God." The match had lasted over twenty minutes, a complete and utter rout. At the very end, a character resembling a Death Knight had appeared, snarling a furious tirade at him before everything went black.
Could all of this be the work of that so-called "Beast God"?
A cold sweat broke out on Jack's forehead. If that was the case, then he had unknowingly provoked a truly formidable adversary.
As he was still deep in thought, Bruno suddenly let out a sharp warning. "Master, another enemy wave is approaching! Looks like we're in for another tough battle."
His dark eyes gleamed with an ominous light as they locked onto the distant edge of the canyon.
Jack smirked coldly, brushing the dust off his cloak as he rose to his feet. "What kind of beasts this time? I don't care who's pulling the strings—if they come, I'll cut them down. Every last one."
Bruno gazed into the distance and replied in a measured tone, "This time, it's Rank Eight magical beasts—Bloodfang Drakes."
Bloodfang Drakes—Rank Eight beasts.
A heavy silence fell over them. Jack and his companions knew they were in for the fight of their lives.
Jack Williams felt an icy chill seep into his heart—was fate truly conspiring to drive him to the brink? The fifty-odd Rank Six Gale Wolves had nearly cost him his life, and now, out of nowhere, a horde of Rank Eight Bloodfang Drakes had appeared. His head throbbed at the thought—sending his meager skeletal soldiers to face these beasts? It was nothing short of a death sentence.
The Bloodfang Drake—an eighth-rank magical beast—bore within it a trace of draconic blood. On the continent of Oksas, any creature even remotely connected to dragons could be described with a single word: formidable.
Though its draconic heritage was faint, it still possessed a lesser form of draconic might. While insignificant compared to a true dragon, it remained a lethal menace to other magical creatures.
Its body was clad in an impenetrable layer of thick, armored scales, granting it immense resistance to both physical and magical assaults. Its razor-sharp claws could shear through tempered steel as if it were parchment, making the Bloodfang Drake one of the most dreaded predators in Oksas.
If the Gale Wolf's strength lay in its swiftness and wind-blade attacks, then the Bloodfang Drake's dominion was built upon its impervious scales and claws that could rend through anything. These fearsome attributes placed it above most other magical beasts, cementing its reign at the top of the food chain.
Jack cast a glance at his ragtag band of skeletal warriors, struggling to envision how their rusted, battered swords could ever hope to stand against such monstrosities. His brows furrowed, his mind churning for a strategy.
His mastery of the "Corpse Manipulation" spell had long since reached an unparalleled level—he could command an army of skeletal warriors as effortlessly as he moved his own limbs. But now, a far graver challenge loomed before him: where could he possibly find enough skeletal soldiers? Even if their numbers were multiplied tenfold, a hundredfold, they would still be woefully outmatched against the Bloodfang Drakes.
How was he supposed to break free from this desperate situation?
Just as despair threatened to take root, Jack's eyes suddenly flickered with an idea, a faint smirk curling at the corner of his lips.
"No way… Boss, don't tell me you've come up with another one of your sinister schemes? Heh… Boss, you're way too devious—I was such a pure-hearted little mole, and now you've completely corrupted me. Ouch, ouch! Darling, stop pinching me, I surrender! I surrender!"
Toby, his beady eyes brimming with feigned innocence, barely had time to finish his sentence before Constance's retaliation struck.