After much deliberation, Nie Yan finally made up his mind. He would give it his all. Sometimes, high returns required high risks. He had already soloed a Lord before, so what was there to fear?
Nie Yan walked up to the entrance of the stone chamber on the right and pushed the door open with all his strength.
The golden door of the stone chamber slowly swung open. Looking inside, this chamber was much larger than the previous ones, about six by six yards in size. In the center of the chamber stood a massive golden coffin, five yards long. Every part of the coffin was intricately carved, exuding luxury. If this golden coffin belonged to a deceased individual, that person must have held an extremely prestigious status in life.
Nie Yan couldn’t help but wonder what treasures might lie inside the golden coffin.
His heart began to race with excitement and curiosity. He approached the coffin, found the mechanism to open it, pressed it down, and quickly stepped back.
He retreated to the entrance of the chamber, which was relatively narrow and convenient for dodging. If anything happened, he could hide behind the wall.
The previous explosion and curse still left him shaken.
Creak, creak—the coffin lid slowly opened. A golden glow emanated from within the coffin. A giant figure gradually appeared within Nie Yan’s vision, causing his nerves to tighten to the extreme.
Finally, the golden coffin was fully opened. Inside lay a massive body, about three yards tall, entirely made of gold, with a solemn expression.
Nie Yan patiently waited, needing to confirm whether this figure would come back to life.
The corpse had its eyes closed, lying silently. In the quiet chamber, the scene was eerily unsettling.
Suddenly, the corpse opened its eyes, radiant light shining from its pupils. Slowly, it sat up.
It was a monster! Nie Yan cast Analyze on the corpse.
Pharaoh Branigan: Level 110 Lord, Undead Archmage, HP 3,000,000.
“Damn, it’s an Archmage!”
If it were just a Level 110 Lord, Nie Yan might have been able to handle it. But this was an Undead Archmage, a step above ordinary Lords.
Fleeing at this point would be the most foolish move. Nie Yan quickly surveyed the surroundings and immediately maneuvered his Golden Earth Dragon to block the entrance of the chamber. Based on his understanding of the Archmage class, he absolutely could not let this creature into an open area. In wide-open spaces, Archmages were practically invincible. Even top-tier classes like Shadow Dancers would avoid direct confrontations with Archmages in open fields without obstacles.
Pharaoh Branigan stood up. In a distant, heavy voice, he angrily declared, “You have disturbed my slumber, you insignificant insect. I shall reduce you to dust.”
Pharaoh Branigan climbed out of the golden coffin. A long scepter materialized in his hand out of thin air.
Nie Yan looked up. Pharaoh Branigan’s entire body was golden, like a golden sculpture, exuding a metallic sheen. The scepter in his hand was over two yards long, made of metal, with a large crystal at its tip, emitting a brilliant blue glow.
Pharaoh Branigan’s movement was somewhat restricted within the chamber. The golden coffin alone occupied a large portion of the limited space, leaving little room for maneuvering, making his movements awkward.
Nie Yan had precisely calculated this. He positioned the Golden Earth Dragon at the chamber’s exit. No matter what, the Golden Earth Dragon could not retreat—if it did, they would all be doomed.
“We are the oldest race. Any who dare obstruct the path of the gods shall be reduced to nothingness. Begone, insignificant worm!” Pharaoh Branigan raised his scepter and struck toward the Golden Earth Dragon.
As Pharaoh Branigan swung his scepter, Nie Yan quickly maneuvered the Golden Earth Dragon to dodge aside.
With a thunderous crash, the scepter struck the chamber’s entrance. The golden door trembled slightly. Being forged from metal, it was not easily destroyed.
The confined space made it difficult for Pharaoh Branigan to move freely. As he attempted to exit the chamber, the Golden Earth Dragon stubbornly blocked his path, spewing a jet of dragon breath that struck Pharaoh Branigan directly.
With a loud boom, Branigan staggered backward, a damage number over 5,000 appearing above his head.
The Golden Earth Dragon’s attack was quite powerful. Since Branigan was a spellcaster unit, his defense was relatively low.
Provoked, Branigan raised his scepter and unleashed a bolt of lightning.
With a deafening crack, the lightning surged through the Golden Earth Dragon’s body, instantly draining 60,000 HP.
The Golden Earth Dragon’s health dropped by nearly a third.
Such terrifying damage! Nie Yan could hardly imagine any warrior being able to withstand it. It would probably take at least a Divine Warrior to endure such an attack.
Behind him, Lephus quickly cast a healing spell on the Golden Earth Dragon, restoring its health completely. At level fifteen, the healing spell was very effective.
Nie Yan kept the Golden Earth Dragon firmly blocking the chamber’s exit. In this cramped space, Branigan couldn’t even unleash a third of his original combat power. Obstacles surrounded him from all sides. Every time he raised his hand, his scepter might even hit the ceiling of the chamber.
“This terrain is working out well,” Nie Yan thought with a slight smile. He took out the Headless Rider Doro’s crossbow, aimed at Branigan, and fired a volley of bolts.
Thud, thud, thud—the bolts struck Branigan, each dealing a few hundred points of damage.
The chamber was too narrow for Nie Yan to enter. Stepping inside might result in instant death. He could only stay outside and attack with his crossbow.
Branigan roared in fury but couldn’t break free. The Golden Earth Dragon stood like an immovable rock.
Magical attacks rained down on the Golden Earth Dragon. As long as they couldn’t kill it outright, all the attacks were in vain. Lephus’s healing was too effective—so long as the Golden Earth Dragon had even a sliver of HP left, he could restore it completely. With so much HP, it would be extremely difficult for Branigan to instantly kill the Golden Earth Dragon!
If an Archmage couldn’t unleash his terrifying magical power, he was no different from an ordinary mage.
Seeing an opportunity, Nie Yan had Lephus sit down and rest, occasionally casting healing spells on the Golden Earth Dragon. As long as Lephus didn’t run out of mana, there wouldn’t be any issues. Nie Yan couldn’t help but regret not bringing any Master-level mana potions, which would have allowed Lephus to sustain longer.
With Lephus’s mana reserves and recovery speed, there shouldn’t be any immediate problems.
Counterattack Storm!
Counterattack Storm!
The Golden Earth Dragon unleashed several Counterattack Storms, dealing over 200,000 damage to Branigan. Counterattack Storms had a probability of triggering—sometimes they could activate multiple times in a row, while other times they wouldn’t activate at all.
Branigan charged in frustration. Many of his spells were interrupted by the Golden Earth Dragon. Close-range combat was extremely disadvantageous for a ranged unit like an Archmage.
The Golden Earth Dragon summoned a ball of flame, igniting the entire chamber in roaring flames.
Time passed minute by minute. After about fifteen minutes, Branigan’s HP dropped to around 20%.
So easy!
Originally, he had thought Branigan would crush them. Ultimately, it was all thanks to the terrain. Sometimes, controlling the battlefield properly could yield twice the result with half the effort.
Once Branigan’s HP dropped below 20%, he became agitated. Waving his staff, he unleashed a wave of frost. Instantly, the Golden Earth Dragon was covered in thick ice, its movements becoming extremely sluggish.
Branigan charged forward. The Golden Earth Dragon slowly retreated. It seemed as if Branigan was about to break free from the trap that nearly cost him his life.
Seeing the emergency, Nie Yan immediately maneuvered the Paladin Lephus to stand up. After activating skills like Radiant Presence and Holy Shield, Lephus charged toward Branigan.
Man and dragon stood firm against Branigan, blocking his advance. Branigan swung his scepter at Lephus. With a loud crash, Lephus staggered backward, losing a third of his HP. His Holy Shield trembled but did not break. After all, it was a level eleven Holy Shield, with strong protective capabilities and durability.
Lephus cast Solar Glow on the Golden Earth Dragon. The ice covering it slowly melted away, and the Golden Earth Dragon regained its mobility, pushing back step by step.
Branigan staggered backward, returning to the confined space. He waved his staff, and three skeletal warriors rose behind him. These skeletal warriors were three yards tall, clad in full metal armor, wielding massive axes. They looked extremely powerful. However, the tragedy was that they couldn’t even get out! Instead, they were stuck in the cramped space, spinning in confusion.
Ultimately, these were low-intelligence monsters. Branigan lacked strategic thinking. Using summoning skills at this point was useless. The three skeletal warriors behind him couldn’t even reach the Golden Earth Dragon or Lephus.
Branigan’s HP dropped below 5%. He became increasingly frenzied, radiating a blood-red glow. Black skulls swirled around his body.
Nie Yan’s heart sank. This monster was about to unleash a powerful ultimate move!
Lephus retreated slightly, chanting a spell. Holy Radiance!
A powerful beam of holy light descended from the sky, striking Branigan directly. Where the holy light touched his body, sizzling sounds emerged, and white smoke rose. He let out a piercing scream as the holy light slowly melted his body.
Holy Radiance had a certain probability of instantly purifying all creatures within a 30×30 yard radius. If purification failed, it would still deal fatal damage.
Amidst the holy light, Branigan suddenly charged forward, rushing toward the Golden Earth Dragon.
Dark Judgment!
A black shockwave struck the Golden Earth Dragon’s abdomen. The force sent the Golden Earth Dragon flying backward, crashing heavily against the opposite wall before falling to the ground with a loud thud.
Branigan lowered his head and stepped out of the chamber, letting out a piercing roar, “Cursed Paladin! I shall sacrifice your body to honor our great ancestors!” He swung his scepter toward Lephus’s head.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage