Chapter 125: Challenge Quest, Rich Rewards

Chapter 125: Challenge Quest, Rich Rewards

"Who are you, and why have you intruded into our resting place?" the undead demanded.

Braum, walking at the very front, was shivering.

This seemingly very robust big guy appeared to be extremely terrified of these phantoms.

Seeing that they did not answer, the undead warrior immediately raised its longsword.

As the killing intent radiated from its body, the temperature dropped by a few more degrees.

Just at this moment, Ji Xinyue walked out timidly and said, "It's me, the Chosen Lord from outside…"

Seeing Ji Xinyue, the undead's eyeballs began to roll. "It's you? You untrustworthy woman!"

"We were just preparing to drag you into the tomb tonight, tear you apart bit by bit, and let our warriors taste your flesh and blood!"

Ji Xinyue's face instantly turned pale, and she said with a tearful voice, "Wh-Why are you treating me like this?"

"Because you violated our agreement!"

"We gave you warriors and help, yet you kept stalling on fulfilling your promise and refused to rescue our kinsfolk!"

Ji Xinyue blurted out anxiously, "Y-Y-You… You only gave me a few Tier 6 Ascalon Warriors scrolls! With this little power, how could I possibly deal with the monsters inside?!"

"Even you yourselves said the monsters inside have Tier 3 strength! I'm just a tiny Tier 1 warrior, how am I supposed to fight the guys in there?!"

However, the undead firmly stated, "We don't care about that! You accepted our gift and agreed to our request, so you must fulfill it!"

Hearing this, Ji Xinyue was so anxious she was almost about to cry.

"You didn't tell me back then that there were such powerful monsters inside! You only said you wanted me to go into the underground palace to rescue other Ascalon undead."

"I don't even know the specifics and just foolishly agreed…"

Hearing this, the Ascalon Warriors immediately said in an icy tone, "Hm? Do you mean you intend to break our agreement?"

Right as its voice fell, three or four glowing blue undead appeared once more from the surrounding walls.

All of them stared at Ji Xinyue with malicious gazes.

The chilly undead aura continuously radiated, and the temperature dropped yet again.

The temperature in the passageway had already reached -58°C.

It was on the verge of breaking the -60°C limit.

Cao Xing glanced at the information of this group of undead; sure enough, they were all creatures above Level 20.

Then, Cao Xing spoke up, "Alright, you old fellows, stop making things difficult for a little girl."

"Combining your lives and deaths, you've lived for thousands of years without even feeling embarrassed?"

Hearing this, that group of undead immediately shifted their gazes toward Cao Xing.

"Human, this has nothing to do with you!"

"You broke into our resting place, and we haven't even settled accounts with you yet!"

An undead holding the phantom image of an iron hammer said, "Velf, should we take down this arrogant kid together?"

"Just right, it's been a long time since we tasted the flesh and blood of living beings!"

Hearing this, the recruited creatures in the entire passageway instantly entered a combat state.

Clang!

Assam directly drew his longsword. "Show no disrespect to Lord!"

Meanwhile, Sarah had already sneaked up behind one of the undead, ready to unleash a fatal strike at any moment.

The atmosphere instantly became tense as a hair trigger!

And that group of undead floating in mid-air also seemed ready at any moment to pounce on Cao Xing.

Even Liu Muxue raised her shield, blocking in front of Cao Xing.

However, Cao Xing calmly said, "Are you sure you want to make a move against me?"

"You better think carefully, because most likely, I am the last living person who will come to rescue your kinsfolk."

Those few undead immediately cast their gazes at Cao Xing.

"You mean… you are willing to go into the underground palace to rescue other Ascalon people?"

Cao Xing shook his head. "Tell me about the situation inside first. If I feel it's appropriate, I'll go; if it's too dangerous, I won't go throw my life away."

Several Ascalon undead looked at each other.

Then, the undead holding the phantom sword stepped out and said, "Alright, I will take you down to the Eternal Watch Hall."

"Then our Captain Karhan will tell you the specifics."

Cao Xing nodded, then said calmly, "Make way."

Hearing this, that group of Ascalon undead gradually cleared the path.

As for Cao Xing, he led his team and continued deeper into the passageway.

Walking all the way, more and more undead appeared in the walls on both sides.

Because of the characteristics of [Ghost Body], they could move through them freely without being restricted by the walls.

Dozens of hollow eyes gazed at Cao Xing and the others.

On the way down, Ji Xinyue came to Cao Xing's side and whispered, "Thank you."

Cao Xing glanced at her with some puzzlement.

This straightforward woman said with a face full of gratitude, "Thank you for speaking up for me just now."

When she was being interrogated by that group of undead, Ji Xinyue was almost frightened out of her wits.

At that time, Cao Xing stepped out to speak for her, which deeply moved Ji Xinyue, and a warm current seemed to sweep through her heart.

Cao Xing smiled. "It's nothing. You were indeed deceived by these undead."

As they talked, they had already reached the lowest level of the stairs.

The view here suddenly opened up.

They seemed to have arrived in a spacious hall.

However, the atmosphere of this hall was similarly gloomy.

Orange-yellow candlelight was burning and swaying continuously, stretching everyone's shadows very long.

Furthermore, in various corners of the hall, a large number of coffins were placed.

Those coffins shimmered with a dark cyan color and were covered in thick dust, looking quite old.

Moreover, the stone slabs on top of the coffins had all been opened, as if a large number of resentful spirits had crawled out from inside.

At this time, with the arrival of Cao Xing and the others…

Clusters of blue ghost fires appeared from the walls.

Those were all the undead of the Ascalon people.

Cao Xing glanced at the information above their heads, seeing Ascalon Warriors, undead mages, undead monks…

Before long, the undead gathered here already exceeded two hundred.

The astonishing undead aura continuously spread, and a layer of frost condensed within the walls of the entire hall.

And the temperature here also reached an astonishing [-65°C].

Waves of chill spread out.

Especially the bearded Braum; whether he was frozen or scared, he clenched his teeth at this moment, his muscles constantly trembling.

Including Liu Muxue and Ji Xinyue, both of their faces were somewhat pale.

It was completely normal for girls to feel fear toward these undead.

However, Cao Xing did not feel much fear; instead, he slowly spoke,

"So, now let your person in charge come out and tell me what you need me to do."

Hearing this, a commotion broke out among the undead.

Before long, an undead creature wearing a full set of undead armor and a bull-horned helmet appeared.

From it, Cao Xing sensed an extremely strong undead aura.

[Ascalon Undead Lieutenant: Karhan (Lv28)]

[Race: Undead]

[Tier: Tier 3 Boss-class]

[HP: 45380 / 45380]

[Attack Power: 1544 ~ 1673]

[Armor: 472 ~ 499]

[Skills: Winter Swordsmanship, Soul Slash, Spirit Form (attributes same as above), Soul Drag (Karhan releases undead aura to drag enemies to its side, dealing 189% damage, cooldown 180 seconds), Undead Flame (Karhan erupts with full-body undead power, igniting undead fire to deal 174% burn damage to all surrounding enemies, effect lasts 15 seconds, cooldown 5 minutes)]

[Talent: Undead Body]

[Bonds: Ascalon Legion (Activated)]

…

A Tier 3 Boss-class monster with very formidable attributes.

However, in a one-on-one state, Sarah could steadily suppress him.

This undead likewise spoke in a hoarse voice, "Ascalon Lieutenant, Karhan."

Cao Xing nodded. "Lord Cao Xing, greetings to you."

After a simple greeting between the two, Cao Xing said, "So now, Lieutenant Karhan, tell me about the situation in the underground palace and what you need me to do."

The undead named Karhan nodded and then said, "The general situation, I believe this human female should have already told you."

"A Soul-Devouring Demon has appeared in our underground palace!"

"I don't know how this demon appeared; it has devoured many of our companions and is still hatching a large number of Soul-Devourers."

"Those Soul-Devourers are not considered formidable among the same tier, but they are the bane of the undead. Even I am no match for these guys."

"They first appeared in the Eternal Watch Hall. Inside there are more than three hundred coffins, and inside each coffin, an Ascalon undead is slumbering."

"Including myself, I was also slumbering among them before."

Cao Xing was extremely puzzled: "You mean, coffins like the ones in the corner are where you Ascalon undead reside?"

He pointed at the opened stone coffins in the hall and asked.

The undead Karhan nodded and said, "Correct!"

"Although the coffins can protect us from harm…"

"However, that group of Soul Eaters is extremely sensitive to the aura of the undead, and they immediately discovered that the coffins in the Eternal Lookout Hall hide a large number of Ascalon undead."

"They started forcibly destroying the coffins inside!"

"When I woke up, more than half of the coffins in the entire Eternal Lookout Hall had already been opened, and many of our clansmen were ruthlessly devoured."

Speaking of this, a trace of sorrow appeared in Karlhan's eyes.

"And the moment I woke up, I realized that the Eternal Lookout Hall had fallen, so I forcibly awakened all the sleeping Ascalon undead inside, and then brought them to escape from the hall and came here."

Cao Xing nodded. "What about that group of Soul Eaters? Didn't they chase after you?"

Karlhan replied, "Of course they chased after us, but because we sealed the gates of the underground palace, those Soul Eaters couldn't get through."

"And we could only hide outside the gates of the underground palace, not daring to go in."

Karlhan lowered his head, looking extremely depressed.

And Cao Xing glanced at the gate Karlhan mentioned.

Behind them, there was a huge iron gate more than ten meters high and seven or eight meters wide, tightly closed.

Passing through this iron gate, one could reach the underground palace of Ascalon.

Cao Xing nodded and continued to ask, "Then what do you need us to do? You don't want me to go and deal with that Soul-Devouring Demon, do you?"

"I'm telling you, we are definitely not that Soul-Devouring Demon's opponents."

"If you want us to go die, I won't accompany you!"

Cao Xing said this with utmost determination.

Karlhan shook his head and said, "I know. I don't need you to deal with the Soul-Devouring Demon. I just need you to go into the underground palace and rescue the souls of our clansmen."

Cao Xing asked in confusion, "There are still many Ascalon undead inside?"

"That's right!"

Karlhan nodded. "Besides this batch of undead in our Eternal Lookout Hall, there are still a large number of coffins in the four temples of the underground palace and the Kasha Cathedral."

"Inside those coffins are the undead of our Ascalon people."

"While in a state of deep sleep, their stone coffins were pried open by those Soul Eaters, and then they were ruthlessly devoured."

"Therefore, I need you to head to the four major temples of the Shield, Holy Sword, Torch, and Great Hammer to open all the coffins and rescue the undead of our Ascalon people."

Hearing this, Cao Xing asked doubtfully, "Didn't you say that those Soul Eaters would forcibly destroy the coffins?"

"These four temples should have already fallen long ago, right?"

Karlhan shook his head. "No, these four temples are important areas of our underground palace, and each temple has an advanced magical energy gate."

"This gate can block the attacks of that group of Soul Eaters."

"However, because that group of Soul Eaters has been constantly attacking the temple gates during this period, I can sense that the defense power of the magical energy gates is getting weaker and weaker."

"It won't be long before the gates of the four major temples are breached…"

"That's why we urged this human female to go and rescue our clansmen."

Cao Xing nodded in sudden realization. "We just need to head to the four temples, open the gates, and release the Ascalon undead inside, right?"

"More than that."

Karlhan said sonorously, "After rescuing the Ascalon people in the four temples, you also need to go deeper into the underground palace, which is the location of the Kasha Cathedral. That is where the coffin of Duke Baradin is located."

"That is also the most important target."

Cao Xing asked, "Duke Baradin?"

This undead continued to reply, "That's right, Lord Duke's coffin is one of the most important places in the entire underground palace. However, I must remind you that that Soul-Devouring Demon is also there…"

"The Soul-Devouring Demon also knows that the Duke's undead is the key, so it has been trying to untie the seal of the Duke's coffin and devour it."

Cao Xing rolled his eyes.

"So in the end, we still have to go head-to-head with that demon?"

Karlhan pondered for a moment, then nodded. "That demon is not very powerful; it is only a Tier 3 demon… If it were a Tier 4 powerhouse of the former empire, they would be enough to deal with it."

"Duke Baradin in his prime could even destroy its physical body with a single sword strike."

Hearing this, Cao Xing gradually let out a sigh of relief.

As expected, it was a Tier 3 entity. In this way, it hadn't exceeded his endurance limit.

The undead Karlhan continued, "However, although that Soul-Devouring Demon is not strong, after we undead died, our powers were also significantly weakened."

"Moreover, it can continue to grow stronger by devouring our spiritual bodies, and has even begun to transform towards Tier 4."

"Once it becomes a Tier 4 demon, it can forcibly break the restrictions of the palace, destroy all the coffins, and devour all the undead inside."

"By then, this guy might even become a Tier 5 demon!"

"For the entire Gale Snowfield, it will be a disaster."

Cao Xing was stunned. "Then if I rescue the undead of Duke Baradin, will there be a way to deal with it?"

The undead Karlhan shook his head. "No, even if we rescue the undead of Duke Baradin, we still won't be able to deal with it."

"But only Duke Baradin has the authority to lead us undead to leave this area."

"At that time, we will go look for a new Ascalon ruin as our habitat."

Speaking of this, the undead Karlhan sighed, "With your strength, although you cannot defeat this Soul-Devouring Demon, you can barely manage to contend with it."

"So what you need to do is block the attacks of the Soul-Devouring Demon, then open Lord Duke's coffin. After that, you can come out."

After finishing, a hexagonal stone suddenly appeared in the hand of the undead Karlhan, carved with dense patterns.

"Take this. This is the key to our underground palace. You can use it to open most of the coffins and gates inside the palace."

Cao Xing took it over.

[Obtained: Ascalon Underground Palace Stone Talisman (Quest Item)]

[Item Effect: Can be used to open gates in the underground palace and lift the seals on the coffins.]

Cao Xing weighed the stone talisman in his hand. "Aren't you afraid that I will go in and open all the coffins, and then send them to that demon to be devoured?"

Hearing this, a trace of a smile curled up at the pale corners of the undead Karlhan's mouth.

"I advise you not to do that."

"Because if you do that, we will directly destroy the entire palace, and you will be forever buried inside to be buried along with our clansmen."

Cao Xing rolled his eyes. "Got it, I was just saying it casually."

The system prompt appeared.

[Ascalon Tomb Challenge Quest has been activated.]

[Quest Objective: Enter the Ascalon Tomb and rescue the Ascalon undead in the four major temples and Kasha Cathedral.]

[Head to the four major temples of the Shield, Holy Sword, Torch, and Great Hammer to rescue all Ascalon undead: 0/4 (Incomplete)]

[Head to Kasha Cathedral to rescue the undead of Duke Baradin: 0/1 (Incomplete)]

…

Seeing this prompt, a look of sudden realization appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

The objective was already very clear.

Head to the underground palace, open the four temples, and then go to the Kasha Cathedral to open the coffin of Duke Baradin.

The undead Karlhan urged, "So now, you guys can start taking action, right?"

However, Cao Xing shook his head and said, "Let's not rush."

"I want to know, if we complete this quest, what can you give me?"

"Right, don't think about trying to fob me off with a few soldier recruitment scrolls; I'm not that easy to fool."

Hearing this, Ji Xinyue, who was standing beside him, felt somewhat awkward.

The undead Karlhan glanced at Cao Xing, a look of contemplation appearing in his deep pupils.

"If you can rescue our clansmen, and even the undead of Duke Baradin."

"I can give you all the Ascalon soldier recruitment scrolls we possess. These scrolls are enough for you to form a squadron."

"At the same time, we will give you the training barracks blueprint capable of training elite-grade Ascalon Warriors, and additionally gift you 3 training books."

"Furthermore, you will also gain the friendship of us Ascalon people."

After the undead finished speaking, a system prompt appeared.

[Quest rewards have been updated.]

[Obtainable upon completion: Ascalon Soldier Recruitment Scroll * 112, Ascalon Warriors Training Barracks Blueprint * 1, Ascalon Warriors Training Manual (Elite-grade) * 3]

Seeing the system prompt, Cao Xing nodded inwardly.

I have to say, this reward is truly very generous.

Over a hundred recruitment scrolls, plus a training barracks and 3 elite training manuals.

Cao Xing was indeed tempted!

…