A massive skeletal entity lifted a pair of hooked claws, and the sinister skull rotated around the neck bone before exhaling a scream.

The undeniable sound wave instantly transformed into an arc shape and spread out, creating a tumultuous chaos on the battlefield, which had become a ruin.

Suddenly, the ground trembled slightly, and those standing on it felt a slight vibration.

Wang scrutinized the skeleton, but his sword continued to move without pause because his opponent's reaction was equally fast.

With a swift movement, Yōu raised the butcher knife in his hand, aiming to strike Wang's neck.

In contrast, Wang's body hardly moved; he simply swung his right arm to meet the descending blade with the tip of his sword.

"Meeting" was only the first step of the movement. Immediately, the sword tip rotated slightly, forming a diamond shape against the opponent's weapon and deflecting it back.

Following that, Wang counterattacked, launching a sharp, quick strike toward Yōu's right side.

On the other side, Yōu quickly adjusted his defensive position, moving the blade down and placing its body horizontally in front of his right rib, preparing for defense.

There was no doubt that Yōu was a talented individual in close combat. His quick reaction just now was enough to make top-notch swordsmen in powerful nations feel inferior.

However, on the flip side, this talented individual seemed to lack luck;

After all, in comparison, the person facing Yōu could only be described with four words:

An exceptional genius!

Wang had already anticipated Yōu's next move, so he immediately turned his long sword and used the extended hilt to forcefully strike forward.

Before Yōu realized that he was being deceived, the metal hilt was about to hit his wrist bone;

If this blow landed solidly, his wrist bone would undoubtedly be shattered!

At this critical moment, the skeletal entity made a crucial response.

Unlike last time, the skeleton did not stack both hands to block the attack; instead, it did the opposite.

The best defense is offense after all!

The skeleton, possessing basic intelligence, seemed to understand this principle very well.

Therefore, almost at the first sign of danger to its master, it raised its bone claw fiercely and aimed to strike the shining long sword.

Wang knew that he had to block this strike, otherwise, he could potentially shift from taking the initiative to being on the defensive in consecutive battles.

However, changing the direction of the sword's strike again would not be possible in time, so he had to use different means to break through the situation.

Before the bone claw struck, Wang lifted his left foot and took a step back while maintaining his sword motion.

In an instant, he released his wrist, just before the sword fell from his hand, and used his palm to throw the sword away.

Using a sword as a throwing weapon was not usual, as swords were more suitable for close combat. This experience was quite rare.

Naturally, even if it were a real throwing weapon, its killing power would not be as strong.

The reason being, this kind of weapon primarily relied on the element of surprise rather than its strength.

A thrown sword would have completely different effects;

The weight of the sword itself and the force applied by the thrower were crucial.

However, the simple-minded skeleton couldn't think of such complicated aspects, so it chose the worst possible response: to block head-on. However, as the subsequent events proved, it couldn't withstand the strike!

As the sword swiftly approached and entered the striking range, its power remained undiminished, transforming into a fleeting white light.

Amid the sound of bones cracking, the massive claw detached from the wrist, and at the same time, the long sword was struck and reversed in the direction it came from.

Wang reached out and caught the sword, immediately hearing a dull thud, which was the sound of the bone claw hitting the ground.

When the skeleton blocked it for the first time, only a few marks were left on the back of the bone claw, but this time one hand (claw) was directly destroyed.

The only reason for the different results is the difference in strength.

The first time, Wang didn't really put his strength into swinging the sword;

After all, the sword was sharp enough, even if it was not used with full force, it would surely cut through a human body in the blink of an eye.

The second time, Wang carefully infused the strength into the sword because his goal was to shatter the obstructive and sturdy skeleton in front of him.

The difference in the applied force resulted in the pitiful outcome of the skeleton losing one claw under its careless mentality;

Through the two encounters, Wang had already understood the true nature of this monster.

It can be determined that:

The skeleton is an undead creature summoned from the dead!

The medium used for the summoning is none other than the shadow that accompanies the gloomy moments.

It is not surprising that qualified necromancers, unlike some ordinary mages who can only use elements, can almost everyone use summoning magic.

The only difference among these necromancers is:

Lower-level ones summon skeletal birds and undead dogs as placeholders;

Higher-level ones can summon large undead creatures for their own use.

Due to their low intelligence, even large undead creatures with strong combat abilities cannot act against their master's will when used as consumables.

During the battle, the gloomy itself occupied the main role in the attacks, while the skeleton played a supporting attack and "shield" role.

The gloomy cannot be eliminated without destroying the skeleton!

Wang deeply understood this point, so he decisively changed his primary target in the next moment.

Years of war experience made the gloomy guess that this opponent's mindset had changed and that he was no longer the primary target.

At this point, the support roles quietly switched, with the skeleton now helping the gloomy resist fatal attacks, while the gloomy provided assistance from the side.

The gloomy did this not out of kindness, but because he understood a very basic truth:

If the skeleton gets destroyed, he will be the next unlucky one.

By then, the gloomy, with limited power, would definitely not be able to summon a second large skeleton and would have to face the formidable opponent alone.

The gloomy didn't want the worst outcome to happen, so he prepared to act at any time, showing the same seriousness as before.

Among this duo, the skeleton was the first to strike.

The fact that it only had one claw left did not in the slightest affect its revenge!

It straightened its spinal bones and swung its lone claw towards the empty space beside it.

The empty space was hit, causing ripples like water waves, as if insects were wriggling;

From within that distorted space, shrinking black shadows emerged one by one;

Not long after, they carried a circle of black smoke that was swallowing and emitted sharp howling sounds as they rushed over.

During the previous battles, Wang did not say a word, and now it was the same, as he silently prepared to respond.

He flicked off the blood on his cuff, jumped up into the air, and the worry that had fallen midway was nonexistent because a perfect stepping stone was right in front of him.

Snap!

Before the numerous black shadows completely closed in, Wang stepped on the black mist rising below him, his feet landing on top of one of the black shadows.

He approached and realized:

The essence of the so-called "black shadow" was a skull wrapped in black mist, attacking forcefully.

These skulls were summoned, and the summoner was none other than the giant skeleton, who was also a summoning creature;

This means that:

Summoning creatures without intelligence can do many things that even clever magicians cannot do, summoning many of their kind in an instant.

Since it requires "quantity" and "quality", it is difficult to guarantee.

By comparing the complete body and limbs (before being beheaded) of the giant skeleton, it is not difficult to see how incomplete these skulls are when they are summoned.

But increasing the number of "ants" can also backfire. To be safe, before beheading that big guy, Wang had to deal with the small fries one by one.

A strong silver light swiftly swept through, attracted by the rotating sword.

The essence of the silver light is a mixture of water and holy power, specifically.

Wang spun his left hand and used the control of holy power to guide the swaying water waves beside him to change shape and condense into the form of a long bow.

This "bow" is not just for show, it is also highly practical, just as Wang demonstrated next.

The clustered water droplets rose up and transformed into several "silver arrows", each one attached to the "bowstring".

Just at that moment, the nearby skeletons surged forward, their gnashing teeth looking like they wanted to devour their prey on the spot.

Wang understood the situation he was facing and calmly grasped the sword in his hand, swinging the blade inward, resembling the movement of plucking a string on a musical instrument.

Clang!

The "string" resounded, pushing out an arrow as it was plucked, the flowing air became damp through this slender object.

The flying arrow had obvious targeting, and in Wang's precise aim, it shot at a skull that was lunging at him.

Crack, crack, crack, crack!

Arrows shot out from the center of the skull, piercing the target with a shattering sound.

Wang looked up again at that skull, witnessing it turn into a pile of ashes, freely scattering on the ground.

His sword-wielding hand did not stop, only pausing briefly before plucking the string twelve more times, and suddenly a rapid symphony of "clang, clang, clang" sounded.

The symphony echoed in the wind, and when those thirteen piles of ashes on the ground would enter the earth, it would remain an unsolvable mystery.

With the movement of the sword, the tension of the string, the vanguard battle declared its end;

Except for the skull under his feet, there wasn't a single one left.

The effect of the sword in Wang's hand was equivalent to the best-used staff.

As long as he held this familiar weapon, no matter what form of element manipulation, it was effortless.

Calculating the time in his heart, Wang felt that the guy should have arrived by now.

"That guy" naturally referred to You, who didn't disappoint his opponent and swiftly killed him.

The thirteen arrows just now had depleted the precious water element;

Wang felt that the remaining water could not even fill a cup, so he displayed his style and sprayed the water out with a flick of his wrist.

The scattered droplets from the air immediately splashed towards You;

The latter, in a bad mood, revealed a fierce light in his eyes and dispersed the remaining water stains with a slash of his blade.

After hacking away at some elements, the downward plunge of his blade collided with the upward lift of Wang's long sword with a "one slash, two breaks" momentum.