Thud!!
A dull sound, like chopping wood, echoed through the air.
Taking advantage of the advanced skeleton's momentary vulnerability after its sword strike, Lucas's Bone Mòdāo slashed fiercely into one of the advanced skeleton's leg bones.
Bone dust scattered.
A large gap appeared in the leg bone, cutting through more than a third of its thickness!
The advanced skeleton roared in fury.
Ignoring the two Skeleton Soldiers charging at it, it swung its greatsword directly at Lucas.
Clang!!
A sharp metallic clang rang out.
Lucas blocked the advanced skeleton's strike with his Bone Mòdāo.
His body swayed slightly, his feet sinking deep into the soil. The Mòdāo, having blocked the greatsword, now bore a small notch where the two weapons had clashed.
Then Lucas smiled.
From this brief exchange, he had already roughly estimated the strength gap between himself and the advanced skeleton.
In terms of Strength, the advanced skeleton had at least a 5-point advantage over him.
In terms of Speed, Lucas had a slight edge.
In terms of Constitution, judging from the damage to the Bone Armament, the advanced skeleton was stronger than him, but only by a small margin.
All in all, even in a one-on-one fight, Lucas could hold his own against the advanced skeleton for a long time. And with nearly thirty Skeleton Soldiers at his disposal?
This advanced skeleton's class template...
He wanted it!
With a mental command, Lucas ordered five of his remaining twenty-seven Skeleton Soldiers to engage the dozen or so Skeleton Soldiers brought by the advanced skeleton. The remaining twenty-two Skeleton Soldiers surrounded the advanced skeleton.
Attack?
No!
With nearly double the Constitution, the Skeleton Soldiers' weapons could only deal minimal damage to the advanced skeleton.
Their role was to hinder the advanced skeleton's attacks!
At Lucas's command, the twenty-two Skeleton Soldiers dropped their weapons, leaped into the air, and pounced on the advanced skeleton!
Boom!!
Crash!!
The greatsword swung horizontally, tearing apart two Skeleton Soldiers in front of the advanced skeleton. But the Skeleton Soldiers on its sides and back... successfully latched onto its body!
Their slender, pale finger bones dug into the gaps of the advanced skeleton's bones; their smaller bodies clung to the advanced skeleton's tall, sturdy frame.
The greatsword was formidable.
Even Lucas dared not face its edge head-on.
But when it was swung, it was a weapon; when it was still, it was worth less than a broken bone on the ground!
One Skeleton Soldier, the advanced skeleton could easily shake off.
But what about five, ten, or fifteen Skeleton Soldiers?
Now, the advanced skeleton was like a strongman bound by countless ropes. No matter how much strength it had, it couldn't unleash it. Restricted by the swarm of Skeleton Soldiers, it couldn't even swing its greatsword!
Meanwhile, Lucas had quietly appeared behind the advanced skeleton.
Looking at the skull that the Skeleton Soldiers had deliberately left exposed, still struggling, he slowly raised his Bone Mòdāo and, with all his strength, brought it down!
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Thud!!
Thud!!
Thud!!
With each strike, the advanced skeleton's body trembled violently.
After three full-power strikes, the advanced skeleton's thick neck was finally severed, and its skull—the core of its existence—flew off!
At this point, the battle was over.
Without its skull, the advanced skeleton's body could only flail aimlessly; without its body, the skull could only struggle helplessly on the ground.
At least until the skull and body were reunited, the advanced skeleton had lost its ability to fight.
"Kill them."
With a command, Lucas ordered five Skeleton Soldiers to continue restraining the advanced skeleton's body, while the remaining Skeleton Soldiers assisted the initial five in eliminating the advanced skeleton's underlings. Lucas then walked over to the skull.
An advanced skeleton.
Staring at the skull on the ground, its jawbone still moving and making a "creaking" sound, Lucas was momentarily lost in thought.
He was considering.
Should he kill the advanced skeleton or enslave it?
Killing the advanced skeleton would grant him substantial experience points.
Using the [Erosion] talent to absorb the advanced skeleton's remains would allow him to obtain its class template and a significant boost to his attributes.
Judging by the attributes the advanced skeleton had displayed, Lucas could likely advance his class immediately after obtaining its template, evolving from a Skeleton Soldier to a higher-tier existence!
The benefits were immense.
As for enslaving it...
The biggest advantage was that he would immediately gain a powerful combatant!
With the first advanced skeleton under his command, facing a second one would be much easier. After enslaving the second, the third would be even simpler.
And so on.
Perhaps in just a few days, Lucas could replace his underlings from Tier 1 (basic tier) Skeleton Soldiers to Tier 2 (advanced tier) advanced skeletons!
"Kill..."
"Or enslave?"
After some silent deliberation.
Lucas picked up the skull.
[Erosion] talent activated, a force emanating from within him began to quietly seep into the advanced skeleton's skull.
In the end, Lucas chose to enslave the advanced skeleton!
The higher Lucas's level and tier, the less time it took to enslave skeletons; the higher the level and tier of the skeleton being enslaved, the longer it took.
Overall, the time it took to enslave this advanced skeleton wasn't much longer than the first time he had enslaved a Skeleton Soldier.
After a minute.
When the advanced skeleton stopped struggling, the system's prompt sounded in Lucas's mind.
"You have gained control over the Skeleton Warrior."
"You have enslaved this Skeleton Warrior."
"You can rename this Skeleton Warrior."
"You have obtained the class advancement information for 'Advanced Class Template - Skeleton Warrior.'"
