the Boss

Squish!

Bam!

Pow!

Killing, crushing, and smashing of undead continued as the group proceeded on their way deeper inside the dungeon. looking for a way to get rid of this constant swarming of

Zombies and skeletons.

Screech!

Screeching sounds echoed in the dungeon as the undead followed after them. Soon, they passed all the graves on the ground and reached a tombstone that had stairs alongside it leading underground. It gave an ominous feeling.

Stairs that went underground, there was nothing nearby and this was the only way that seemed to give them a path ahead. A way forward. Although their sense of security rang alarm bells to never go inside.

But they didn't have the time to consider another route as they were feeling a horrendous presence inside that was giving them a dreadful feeling of death and destruction. While behind them was the constant swarming of limitless and tireless skeletons and zombies. It was evident that it was the boss room.

behind them were hordes of undead that seemed endless and even more aggressive as they reached this tomb in the unholy mist that limited their sense of sight giving them insecurity and obscurity on their trail.

Slam!

"We have to go inside," said Armando as he kicked a skeleton far away while heading towards the stairway calmly. This calm attitude toward danger was a skill that only the most experienced fighters had. The ability to think calmly in critical times even in the face of death.

"But captain...! Said lan, a man in his early forties. He was a veteran of the mercenary association. he had years of experience as a hunter and he was sensing that going down there will be very dangerous.

"Yes! Captain, we should reconsider," said another of his teammate. Making sure that the captains heard their opinion.

"No! There is no other way, and we can't go back as these zombies will tire us out before we can go outside," said armando. he was talking with his sword still moving to kill more zombies. And no one had any other better options.

Swish!

Since it was decided no one had any other thoughts as they moved to enter the tomb the stairs were made of stone and had moss growing from the crevices. Like an old underground dungeon that was abandoned years ago.

Pitter-patter!

As they entered the dark stairs and reached the underground hall. the sound of water seeping and falling on the ground echoed. the hall was mostly empty other than a few bright stones used as a torch on the walls and an elevated throne made of bones of all kinds with a skeleton wearing a purple robe and holding a bone staff sitting on it. Exuding a sense of Majesty with his demeaner.

Shaa!

It was leaning against the large backrest of the simple yet sinister throne and its purple revolving core in his chest area was visible through the gap between the purple robe.

Its bones had a reddish sheen of blood and its eyes had a strange glow in them. that and its sitting posture gave the feeling that it disdained to even properly fight the enemy that was standing on the doorstep. Without even lifting a finger.

The group stiffened and had a cold sweat forming on their forehead as they gazed at the monstrosity looking at them. The lich sitting on the throne seemed like a piece of art. But this piece of art was emanating the smell of decay and death. So, the group was frightened at just the sight of it.

"Don't move!" Let out armando because as strong as he was even he knew that he was no match for it and the only way to defeat it was to work together. Working together was the only option they had.

Although he told them to not move it seemed that he never told anyone about not speaking and a certain someone couldn't stay still and not aggro the boss.

"A lich!" Exclaimed Alex as he looked surprised at the lich sitting on its throne like a king without a care in the world. His expression gave the feeling as if a child was looking at an animal in the zoo. It was crude.

The undead lich looked at him for a second and as if feeling something from him it lifted its staff to cast a spell. Without even saying anything it chose to let its actions do the talking. Not wasting his time on small fries.

And before armando could move to intercept its spell casting, a black circular field formed around it. It was a spherical barrier that encompassed it.

A defensive skill!

"That's just great!

Spoke out to someone from the chu family as he looked at Alex with extreme displeasure. He just wanted to complete this mission quickly to get enough money to buy the equipment he wanted for a while. But this dislikeable person named Alex was making trouble from the start. Making this simple but dangerous mission even more troublesome.

"Yeah! He just had to make the freaking monster keep its defense up."

Said another one from the tian family affirming with him but these words caused the lich to be displeased as he felt they were so relaxed that they had enough time to argue among themselves. So, he started to cast another spell. An offensive skill.

The lich seemed intelligent for a beast they thought him to be. and understood their words and actions. unlike the other mindless monsters who only knew how to hunt and kill like mindless hunters. But this lich was dangerous simply because he had consciousness. He was a complex organism like a human being.

"Take cover he is gonna attack, and don't speak nonsense!"

Armando let out as he moved ahead of the group. intent on taking the attack head-on. Fortunately, the undead from before stayed outside or they would have their hands full from fighting them instead of the lich. So it was a relief of stress however small.

Humm!

An obsidian ball the size of a basketball that gave a fearsome feeling as if one attack would be enough to kill, formed in front of the lich and revolved, making a humming sound in the air as he fired it at armando. Trying to kill the strong at the start. lowers their morale and kills them with enjoyment.

But the obsidian ball curved to avoid armando and missed him by a few inches. It looked like the lich sent a feint to scatter their attention and kill someone else. Armando tried to thwart it away but it was too fast even for him. So it whizzed past him speedily.

Vroom!

It was like a bullet as it tore through the air And instead of being deflected the ball went by him and hit the guy from the tian family that spoke about the lich before.

It was too fast and before anyone could respond to the sudden attack, a hole formed in the stomach of the man from the tian family.

Thud!

With a thudding sound, the man fell lifelessly on the ground. Like an unbalanced statue falling on the ground, slowly and listlessly.

Sss!

Everyone sucked in a cold breath of air as the room seemed dark even with the torches and their hearts were shaken because it was a one-hit kill. An instant had barely passed before a member of their group had already been murdered.

But the lich was not comfortable because that was not his intended target and someone manipulated the trajectory of his attack. he knew who had done it because of his soul sense.

he had seen Alex use his spiritual powers through telekinesis to change the trajectory to miss Armando and hit the tian family guy. So the feeling of rage had already clouded his intellect.

That is why it was looking at Alex as a frightening aura released from his body. Making the air heavy as it began to crackle.

Two of the five members of the tian family were killed and no other member died from any side. The Captain of the tian family team had a dark gleam in his eyes and no one knew what he was thinking.

But it was evident that the tian family had bad luck today. Because they were the only ones with casualties. And the loss was great as the S-Rank cultivators were not cabbages that could be grown.

All four ancient families only had a limited number of cultivators of this level simply because of resources. But these resources could be acquired from the dungeons that are why dungeon diving was extremely important and the situation was hectic.

"We have to attack, or it will kill us all one by one!

Armando gave commands to his fellow mercenaries and also the other teams to move in a formation so that the tanks are at the front while the mages or long-ranged fighters will attack from behind. Same old tactics but still very useful.

He told them about the plan to move. he moved first to attack as a golden sheen covered his body. Making his aura surge powerfully as he darted forward.

In the formation, Alex seemed unusually close to the tian family members even though he was a mercenary of the merchant association. But no one was suspicious of him and he kept going according to his plan.

Bam!

Armando struck the dark sphere covering the lich but it only formed some ripples making it evident that it was not in the S-Rank. But a level of power that is even higher than the s-rank.

"It is a legendary-ranked monster."

Armando declared with a solemn voice and the severity of his words was obvious by his and everyone's reaction. Their bodies stiffened as their mental conditions worsened. The event had arrived at a critical moment.