Chapter 80: Commanding the Undead!

This was a square-shaped underground chamber, surrounded by iron bars. At the top, several luminous pearls emitted light that illuminated the area below, allowing him to vaguely see what kind of place this was.

It must have been a sealed pit. On each side stood a prison cell, sealed tightly by thick metal bars. Beyond the bars, Nie Yan could see two massive skeletons. They must have been dragons when alive, with gigantic bodies over four yards tall and long tails.

Not far from this enclosed pit was the arena of the ancient city of Suogte. It seemed they were gladiators who participated in the contests.

As gladiators, they had no freedom at all. They were merely tools for nobles to admire and entertain themselves. When the ancient city of Suogte was destroyed, they were locked in cages and left to starve to death, becoming two skeletons.

Just as Nie Yan was lost in thought, the two skeletons moved slightly. Slowly, they rose from the ground.

Roar! Roar!

The two skeletons let out furious roars that echoed through the prison cells. Like two enormous ferocious beasts, they leapt high into the air and lunged toward Nie Yan.

With a loud thud, their bodies crashed into the metal bars. The bars trembled violently, cracking with deep fissures, and one metal bar even bent from the impact.

They roared furiously, charging at Nie Yan repeatedly, slamming into the metal bars. The bars gradually bent, and Nie Yan felt as though they were about to break free at any moment, the metal barrier rapidly disintegrating.

These dragon gladiators, dying with hatred and fury, had become far more powerful than ordinary undead after death. Their entire skeletal frames radiated a dark red, almost metallic sheen.

Nie Yan used Super Insight to check the attributes of these dragon gladiator skeletons.

Skeleton Gladiator: Level 10 Leader, HP 600/600.

These were leader-type monsters. Their HP was indeed low compared to other creatures of the same level, similar to most skeletal creatures. However, two level-10 leader monsters were still beyond Nie Yan’s ability to handle.

The two Skeleton Gladiators could easily tear Nie Yan apart.

Nie Yan looked upward. The pit was too deep to climb out of, and the height was beyond the reach of the Weaver’s Ring. There was a door at the front of the underground chamber, but it was blocked by thick metal bars and locked with a massive lock. It was impossible to break through such a thick metal gate. Nie Yan was no monstrous Skeleton Gladiator!

The Skeleton Gladiators continuously slammed into the metal bars, which kept breaking apart until finally shattering into pieces. The two Skeleton Gladiators smashed through their cells and charged toward Nie Yan.

In such a narrow enclosed space, facing two level-10 leaders was practically a death sentence.

Two massive shadows descended from the sky—solid bones, powerful limbs, and a spiked tail. Defeating them was simply impossible!

Fighting them was hopeless. Nie Yan quickly scanned his skill list. He had only one last hope: the Ritual of the Undead!

The Ritual of the Undead was Nie Yan’s only skill that might save him. With a 20% chance of commanding undead creatures, his life or death depended entirely on this skill.

Since the Skeleton Gladiators were far above Nie Yan in level, he couldn’t be certain whether he could successfully summon them.

At the moment both Skeleton Gladiators lunged at him, Nie Yan cast the Ritual of the Undead on one of them.

Ritual of the Undead!

System: You have cast Ritual of the Undead on the Skeleton Gladiator. HP -30%.

System: Skill failed!

Seeing the system message, Nie Yan quickly used Rapid Retreat, rolling sideways to dodge.

With a thunderous crash, one Skeleton Gladiator’s tail smashed into the spot where Nie Yan had stood, kicking up a cloud of dust and cracking the ground with spiderweb-like fractures.

Because both Skeleton Gladiators lunged at Nie Yan simultaneously, they collided with each other and staggered backward several steps.

Nie Yan rolled out from between their feet and barely steadied himself.

The two Skeleton Gladiators missed their attack. Their eye sockets flickered with green flames as they scanned the area and locked onto Nie Yan, who had hidden in a corner.

One Skeleton Gladiator raised its right foot and stomped fiercely toward Nie Yan.

Nie Yan quickly dodged.

With a loud crash, a deep footprint was left on the ground.

The other Skeleton Gladiator also attempted to stomp on Nie Yan.

With the force of their attacks, a single stomp from either Skeleton Gladiator could leave Nie Yan with barely half his life. Fortunately, the confined space limited their mobility, and their attack frequency wasn’t very high, allowing Nie Yan to barely dodge. However, if this continued, Nie Yan feared he wouldn’t survive.

Ritual of the Undead!

System: You have cast Ritual of the Undead on the Skeleton Gladiator. HP -30%.

System: Skill failed!

Three attempts in a row failed. Nie Yan’s HP was now only at 10%. While dodging and running, he drank a Slow Healing Potion and applied a bandage.

After checking his HP, which had recovered to 52%, Nie Yan cast the Ritual of the Undead again.

The two Skeleton Gladiators charged toward Nie Yan simultaneously.

System: Ritual of the Undead successfully cast.

Nie Yan felt something in his mind transform into a mysterious object, flying toward one Skeleton Gladiator and vanishing into its body.

After completing the Ritual of the Undead, Nie Yan rolled away to dodge.

With a thunderous crash, the two Skeleton Gladiators collided with each other, knocking each other backward and pausing briefly.

Nie Yan took cover at the side, intently watching the Skeleton Gladiator he had targeted with the Ritual of the Undead.

Did it work? What was the result?

Nie Yan had almost given up hope of successfully summoning the Skeleton Gladiator, considering its high level. He wasn’t even sure if it had worked. This might be his only chance, and if he missed it, there would be no more.

The two Skeleton Gladiators and Nie Yan stood in a triangular formation within the narrow underground chamber.

The two Skeleton Gladiators stared at each other.

Time seemed to rewind to the glorious days of Suogte, the bloody arena where gladiators clashed, blood splattering across the battlefield in a spectacularly gruesome crimson.

The Skeleton Gladiator that had been targeted by the Ritual of the Undead stood motionless, its eye sockets dim and uncertain, as if something was tugging at it. Slowly, it moved slightly, as if trying to break free from some restraint.

“May the gods bless me. It must have worked,” Nie Yan thought. He didn’t believe in gods, but at this moment, he was devout, like a pilgrim seeking divine favor.

The Skeleton Gladiator unaffected by the Ritual of the Undead moved first, leaping into the air and lunging toward Nie Yan.

It had driven Nie Yan into a dead end.

Just as the Skeleton Gladiator leapt high into the air, the other Skeleton Gladiator, affected by the Ritual of the Undead, charged sideways and collided with it. With a thunderous crash, the two massive figures collided, and the Skeleton Gladiator attacking Nie Yan was thrown sideways.

Perhaps Nie Yan’s prayer had been heard by the gods. Unexpectedly, his Ritual of the Undead had succeeded.

The Skeleton Gladiator affected by the Ritual of the Undead was now covered in a black sheen, glistening and smooth. Its entire body radiated a dark red hue, resembling a colossal metallic beast brimming with violent, untamed power.

System: Please name the undead creature you have commanded.

After a moment of thought, Nie Yan named the summoned Skeleton Gladiator the Dark Gladiator. The name seemed more fitting.

After being successfully commanded by the Ritual of the Undead, the Dark Gladiator’s attributes increased by 10%. Originally an immensely powerful creature, it was now unstoppable. Its only drawback was that it could only exist as a temporary entity for three hours before being destroyed by the Ritual of the Undead.

It was hard to imagine that he had summoned such a terrifying creature.