Chapter 237: Battle of the the Beast Kings
"King what???" Zich was stunned when he saw this. However, he wasn’t able to process it quickly, as his attention was pulled toward the distance.
Within the ghastly green fog, more and more points of light representing players simultaneously changed direction.
All of them began rapidly converging toward Zich’s location.
Only now did they realize something.
There were far more challengers inside Bone Mist Swamp than they had imagined.
Nadia lowered her gaze toward the ghostly blue flame in her hand before looking at the black gold fire in front of Zich that was continuously devouring the surrounding soul power.
For the first time, a noticeable fluctuation appeared within her deep purple eyes.
"So that’s how it is. The person sensed by that ancient beast was you."
After saying these words, the Level 29 Nether Eye White Tiger beside her slowly raised its head.
The vertical slit in the center of its forehead, which had remained tightly closed until now, opened.
The instant the Nether Eye White Tiger’s third eye fully opened, a layer of gray white ripples, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, spread outward, passing through the bone mist, the black water, and the countless beast bones scattered throughout the swamp before finally enveloping Zich and the skeletons positioned around him.
Nadia observed for a moment before noticing something unusual.
"So that’s how it is."
Her gaze swept toward a skeleton in the distance.
"You didn’t scatter these skeletons around just for reconnaissance."
Zich looked at her.
"Your spatial ability requires your own summons to serve as coordinates, doesn’t it?"
Nadia gently stroked the Nether Eye White Tiger’s head.
"So scattering skeletons everywhere won’t help you. My White Tiger doesn’t watch bodies. It can see one’s soul."
Kane’s expression immediately became solemn upon hearing this.
Zich, however, showed no reaction on the outside. Inside, he was slightly shocked by how easily she had seen through his ability.
Quickly, his gaze went to the White Tiger, and a sharp gleam flashed across his eyes. Then he turned his head toward the black gold flame floating beside him.
Deep within the bone mist, aura after aura was approaching.
"Do you want it?" he asked, turning to Kane beside him.
Kane naturally knew what he was asking about.
"I do." There was no hesitation in his answer. "If I thought I could take it from you by myself, I would try."
Kane raised his right hand, and the injured Golden Armored Lion stepped out of the summoning space once again.
"But our agreement lasts until the trial of the Second Beast Altar is over."
The Golden Armored Lion let out a low growl and positioned itself slightly ahead of Zich.
"Until then, anyone who wants your flame has to get through us first."
The moment those words fell, sharp sounds suddenly tore through the bone mist.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Six silver spikes, each more than a meter long, flew in from different directions and instantly pierced the swamp surrounding them!
Buzz!
Complex patterns lit up simultaneously.
The surrounding space abruptly solidified.
[The surrounding space has been sealed.]
[Spirit Exchange is temporarily unavailable.]
Kane’s expression changed drastically.
"Soul Sealing Spikes?"
The bone mist parted to both sides.
Adrian slowly walked out, and behind him, aside from his original teammates, there were actually two additional teams.
After the failure at the First Beast Altar, he clearly had no intention of making the same mistake twice.
"Zich."
Adrian stopped outside the sealed area, his eyes fixed firmly on the black gold flame.
"Hand over the King Grade Beast Soul Flame, and we’ll let all of you leave the trial alive."
Zich didn’t reply. Instead, he lowered his head and looked at the black water beneath his feet.
Ever since entering the Bone Mist Swamp, he had already noticed that the number of corpses buried beneath this swamp was far greater than what could be seen above the surface.
And after the King Grade Flame appeared, the lingering beast souls that had originally lain dormant had already begun to stir.
The only reason a large scale disturbance had yet to occur was because Zich had been using his own power to suppress the flame’s power.
Since space had already been sealed, there was no longer any reason to keep suppressing it.
Zich released his control over the flame.
BOOM!
The black gold flames instantly surged several times higher!
Their radiance pierced directly through the black water.
Crack.
A rotting beast claw suddenly emerged from beneath the surface.
Then came a second, followed by a third. Under the gazes of everyone present, the claws continued to emerge until their number surpassed a hundred!
RUMBLE!
The entire swamp seemed to come alive at that moment as countless magical beast corpses sleeping beneath the black water frantically crawled out, eerie green soul flames burning within their hollow eye sockets as they all charged toward the location of the King Grade Flame!
The sneer on Adrian’s face instantly disappeared.
"How are there so many?!"
Even worse, the spatial seal created by the Soul Sealing Spikes had not only trapped Zich inside.
It had trapped all of the newly awakened corpse beasts as well.
The cage Adrian had originally prepared for Zich had, in the blink of an eye, become a deathtrap for everyone.
"Golden Armored Lion!" Kane roared.
BOOM!
The golden beast crashed head on into a gigantic corpse beast, its sharp claws smashing apart half of the creature’s skull, but even more corpse beasts were already surging toward them from every direction.
"Bo!"
Slimy’s body rapidly expanded.
[Silk Barrier!]
A translucent barrier spread around several injured members of Kane’s team, blocking the corpse beasts attacking from the side.
Zich did not join the chaotic battle. His gaze rapidly swept across the six Soul Sealing Spikes.
One of them had already developed cracks after being repeatedly struck by the corpse beasts.
That one.
"Iron."
BOOM!
Iron smashed aside the corpse beast blocking the way with its greatsword.
Zich followed directly behind him, pale flames covering his right hand before he slammed his palm against the already damaged Soul Sealing Spike.
[Spirit Flame!]
BANG!
The silver spike exploded.
[Spirit Exchange has been restored.]
Zich’s eyes flickered slightly.
In the distance, Nadia had never participated in the chaotic battle.
The Nether Eye White Tiger’s third eye continuously swept across the battlefield, firmly tracking the spiritual connections between Zich and every skeleton.
The moment Zich attempted to use one of those skeletons to approach the altar, she would immediately notice.
But Zich had never intended to use the skeletons.
Long before Adrian’s six Soul Sealing Spikes had completely descended, the Blood Leech had already silently sunk beneath the black water.
Within a swamp filled with corpses and lingering souls, its faint fluctuations were almost completely concealed, and after crawling along the swamp floor unnoticed, it had already approached the Ancient Beast Altar.
The Nether Eye White Tiger suddenly turned its head.
Its third eye locked onto the depths of the black water.
But it was already too late.
[Spirit Exchange!]
Buzz!
Zich instantly disappeared. The next moment, he had replaced the Blood Leech and appeared beneath the Beast Altar.
For the first time, Nadia’s expression truly changed.
"Stop him!"
ROAR!
The Nether Eye White Tiger transformed into a streak of white light and shot across the swamp. Its third eye erupted with dazzling gray white radiance as a beam capable of directly tearing through spiritual defenses blasted toward Zich!
But just as the beam was about to strike him...
Buzz!
Zich disappeared again.
This time, he exchanged positions with Slimy.
The gray white beam struck empty air.
Before the Nether Eye White Tiger could lock onto him again...
[Spirit Exchange!]
A third time!
Zich reappeared beside the Blood Leech beneath the Beast Altar.
The continuous changes in position caused even the Nether Eye White Tiger’s third eye to hesitate for a fraction of a second.
Taking advantage of that instant, Zich raised his hand.
The black gold Beast Soul Flame dropped directly into the center of the altar.
BOOM!
The entire Bone Mist Swamp suddenly trembled.
The ghostly blue flames carried by every challenger simultaneously extinguished, and their remaining beast soul energy transformed into countless tiny streams of light that surged from every direction toward the black gold flame at the center of the altar.
[King Grade Beast Soul Flame successfully offered.]
[Second Ancient Beast Altar Trial completed.]
[Second Trial Mark obtained.]
[Ancient Beast Altar Trial Marks: 2/3.]
Nadia raised her hand.
The Nether Eye White Tiger, which had been preparing to charge again, immediately stopped.
Although Zich had somehow acquired the second Trial Mark, she showed neither anger nor resentment. She simply looked at him and couldn’t help but speak up.
"You used Adrian’s sealing formation. You used the corpse beasts to hold them back. You let Kane protect your front, and in the end, you even used my White Tiger to make me focus all my attention on those skeletons."
Zich put away the beast patterned token that now contained two marks.
"You were the ones who tried to use me first." He shrugged nonchalantly.
Nadia fell silent for a moment. Then, the faintest smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
"Fair enough."
ROAR!
Suddenly, a beast roar far deeper than anything they had heard before echoed from the deepest reaches of the Mountain.
Everyone’s system interface lit up simultaneously.
[Detected: The same challenger has consecutively obtained two Ancient Beast Altar Trial Marks.]
[Special Event Rules Activated: Battle of the Beast Kings!]
[From this moment onward, killing a Trial Mark holder will allow the killer to inherit all Trial Marks currently possessed by the target.]
[Current Trial Mark Holder: Zich Grave.]
[Once every hour, the holder’s approximate location will be revealed to all challengers.]
The entire Bone Mist Swamp suddenly fell silent.
On the regional map, the points of light that had originally been moving in different directions stopped one after another.
And every single one turned toward the Bone Mist Swamp.
Kane stared at the system notification and remained silent for several seconds before raising his hand and returning the already heavily injured Golden Armored Lion to the summoning space.
The second Trial Mark had been obtained, which meant their temporary alliance had officially ended from this moment onward.
Kane slowly turned his head and looked at Zich.
"Now I finally understand why the Players Association specifically warned us before entering the Mountain that killing between players isn’t forbidden here."