Chapter 39: A Sneak Attack Devoid of Honor!

The skeleton warriors here were significantly higher in level than those on the first floor of the Skeleton Dungeon, almost all ranging between level ten and twelve. Their defense was their most prominent trait, while their other attributes remained relatively balanced.

Being surrounded and swarmed by such monsters would be difficult for an average level-eight player to handle, but unfortunately for the skeletons, Xiao Yang had already begun to take the shape of a "stat-check" monster.

Having weathered the recent hail of arrows, Xiao Yang’s health remained in a healthy state, with only twenty-two points lost—roughly one-tenth of his total health pool.

A green number "1" popped up once more; that extra health regeneration was constantly ticking, recovering about one point every ten seconds, and this regeneration functioned even during combat.

This health regen made the "Dark-Repelling Lantern’s" out-of-combat healing seem less appealing. As for the "World Fetal Membrane (Life)," its effects would only become truly significant once Xiao Yang’s base health increased further.

Before long, he would likely be able to regenerate his health to full on his own. However, now was not the time to lose focus; the battle between Xiao Yang and the skeleton warriors before him was about to ignite.

Wielding his "Justice’s Condolence," he struck the head of the nearest skeleton warrior with a heavy blow. Xiao Yang seized the initiative, and thanks to the "Heavy Strike" skill, a "10" damage number popped up, causing the skeleton warrior to stagger and its soul-fire to flicker.

Xiao Yang swung Justice’s Condolence without pause, ignoring the attacks of two other skeletons behind him to focus his assault on the one in front.

One strike! Another strike! Then a third! There were no flashy maneuvers—just plain, unadorned, continuous bashing.

Just like that, the skeleton warrior was beaten to death by Xiao Yang’s simple, brutal barrage.

Justice’s Condolence was not particularly effective against these skeleton warriors. More accurately, the "Blackstone Prison" three-piece set, which served as Xiao Yang’s main equipment, was generally ineffective against the undead.

Between the undead’s natural resistance to mental debuffs and the fact that Justice’s Condolence was a weapon typically designed to inflict those very debuffs, it proved weak against high-defense enemies. For instance, the skeleton warrior Xiao Yang had just pummeled never even entered a "cowering" state before being beaten to pieces.

But how should one put it? Brute force works miracles. Although Xiao Yang lacked suitable gear, specialized skills, or a formal class, he had the stats!

A true stat-monster—his basic attacks were so terrifying that his enemies felt insurmountable.

By tanking the damage and swinging his club repeatedly, Xiao Yang quickly reduced the three skeleton warriors to a pile of scattered bones.

In the heat of battle, Xiao Yang realized something that made his expression twitch: it seemed that every minor mob on this second floor was roughly on par with the skeleton warrior that had served as the final boss on the first floor.

Was it really the case that the bosses of the early-game maps were merely the stray dogs of the late-game maps?

He understood the concept of power creep, but wasn't this inflating just a little too fast?

After clearing out the faster skeleton warriors, a large group of them approached from behind.

Xiao Yang glanced back and spotted a skeleton knight clad in rusted plate armor, wielding a flail, mixed into the crowd.

He turned and bolted. This was not a fight he could afford to take. At the end of the corridor ahead lay the glowing safe zone. With the skeleton warriors in hot pursuit, his decision to max out his agility proved to be the correct one.

Xiao Yang was running at top speed!

He lunged into the safe zone, slammed the iron door shut, and threw the bolt. Instantly, the skeleton warriors stopped in their tracks.

They stood there as if they had lost their target, frozen in the corridor.

The sudden halt caused a pile-up; the faster skeletons behind slammed into those that had stopped, resulting in a loud crash as bones scattered across the floor.

They seemed unable to detect the existence of the safe house, though this was not absolute—the skeleton knight began to pace back and forth in the corridor.

Its intelligence appeared higher than that of the average skeleton warrior.

Gradually, the surrounding skeleton warriors retreated back toward the small plaza they had come from, but the skeleton knight continued to pace.

Xiao Yang noticed this while peering through the observation window on the safe house door.

This seemed like an opportunity. The skeleton knight had become separated from the horde; he might be able to take advantage of this moment to ambush and kill it.

However, there was a problem: the safe house was not far from the small plaza. If he started a fight and failed to kill the knight quickly, it would inevitably trigger another skeleton riot.

[Skeleton Knight
Rank: Common
Level: 20
Health: 200
Damage: 21
Defense: 48
Agility: 13
Traits: Undead Intellect, Minion Summoning, Undead Command, Heavy Weapon Mastery, Heavy Armor Wearer, Knight’s Instinct]

That was the skeleton knight’s stat panel.

Its defense was absurdly high. Currently, Xiao Yang’s standard damage was only twelve points—eight from the base damage of Justice’s Condolence and four from the strength conversion of the Blackstone Prison security protocols.

Even if the skeleton knight were to cower, and the Blackstone Prison Guard Badge were activated, combined with the doubled damage from Heavy Strike, it would still be a struggle against such extreme defense.

What a frustrating set of numbers.

And that was under the best-case scenario. In reality, Xiao Yang might swing his club until it smoked without ever inducing a proper "cowering" state.

Still, it was worth a try.

Xiao Yang also had the five points of non-resistible damage from "Elite Slayer" and the two points of bonus damage from "Undead Slayer (Skeleton)."

After brief contemplation, Xiao Yang made his decision. He had to wait, however—wait for the other skeleton warriors to clear out completely.

In the interim, Xiao Yang downed a health potion. He still had plenty left over from his last shopping trip. If he had time, crafting some "Unstable Life Congealments" would be safer, but there was likely no time for that now.

The skeleton knight began to turn back, exposing its spine to Xiao Yang.

The opportunity had arrived! Since such a chance presented itself, he could not let it slip away—he had to strike!

The moment the skeleton knight turned, exposing its back, Xiao Yang threw open the safe house door with a screech of metal. He lunged out, leading with a backstab, and drove Justice’s Condolence deep into the back of the skeleton knight’s skull.