Chapter 153: Whip of Freedom

Sharing Li Ye’s vision, the paper roll also saw the moment the Skeleton Monarch incinerated the piece of toilet paper. It stammered, “Li Ye, I probably can’t beat that guy right now…”

At the paper roll’s current strength, ordinary fire couldn’t possibly damage it.

But the Skeleton Monarch had effortlessly burned a piece of toilet paper to ash. Moreover, it had detected his perception from thousands of miles away and was now staring right back at him.

This was a blatant provocation.

It had slaughtered at least two-thirds of the living beings on the continent of Ounide, its influence great enough to make a three-year-old stop crying. It had also absorbed Divine Fragments from Michael—though it was unclear how many. The Skeleton Monarch’s power had already far surpassed that of the Puppet Silk from the last world.

Ninth Elder didn’t have perception that spanned thousands of miles, and what’s more, the Skeleton Monarch could even project its voice into his mind…

Li Ye didn’t avoid the Skeleton Monarch’s gaze. He stared right back, unblinking. A mocking smile crossed his lips as he raised his left hand and arrogantly flipped the Skeleton Monarch the middle finger.

‘I can’t show any fear.’

‘If I reveal even a hint of cowardice, the Skeleton Monarch might charge over immediately.’

The Skeleton Monarch was clearly taken aback for a moment. Li Ye distinctly sensed it make a subtle move to stand up, only to force itself to sit back down.

‘The bluff worked!’

Li Ye let out a breath of relief and began to ponder how to deal with the Skeleton Monarch.

Drenched in Dog Blood could counter the Skeleton Monarch, but it had to hit. Now that the creature was on its guard, the chances of a successful strike were probably low.

‘Then my only remaining effective method is perhaps sacrificing a teammate for a power-up!’

But sacrificing a teammate wasn’t a panacea. The power boost might seem fast to an ordinary person, but in the eyes of an expert, the increase in strength probably wasn’t fast enough.

If he couldn’t match the Skeleton Monarch’s power in a short amount of time, a single careless moment could lead to him being counter-killed.

Just like with the Puppet Silk in the last world—even if he sacrificed a teammate, he would still end up being controlled by it!

‘This is gonna be tough!’

…

The Purifying Cloth blotted out the sky, and toilet paper drifted everywhere, from the heavens to the earth.

Even the powerful Bone Dragon Knights were no match for the paper roll, unable to withstand a single exchange. Li Ye single-handedly held back the Undead Army’s assault.

The soldiers in Hoshan Canyon cheered wildly, as if they were witnessing a miracle.

Many even dropped their weapons, turned in Li Ye’s direction, and knelt reverently on the ground, their eyes brimming with tears.

‘The Divine Spirits truly haven’t abandoned us.’

‘Aragon is truly our Savior…’

Fiona couldn’t perceive the Skeleton Monarch. Seeing Li Ye on a rampage filled her with envy, and her fear of the Skeleton Monarch diminished considerably.

“Aragon, leave a few enemies for me,” Fiona said excitedly, raising her leather whip. “I want to test if my skills work on the Undead. We had an agreement.”

‘That’s right!’

‘There’s still Fiona!’

‘If I train her up and help her awaken a few more Derived Skills, our chances of success against the Skeleton Monarch will be much higher.’

‘After all, the Skeleton Monarch is their common enemy. I can’t always be the one charging ahead alone!’

Li Ye smiled and nodded at her. With a shake of the paper roll, he let a few Bone Dragons through.

The Bone Dragon Knights possessed intelligence, but having been resurrected by the Skeleton Monarch, they were incapable of disobeying its commands. Even knowing it meant certain death, they had to brace themselves and charge forward.

The Purifying Cloth suddenly dropped its blockade and let them through. For a dazed moment, the few Bone Dragon Knights seemed at a loss.

But after a moment’s thought, they spurred their Bone Dragons onward, charging toward Aragon.

The Bone Dragons spewed Breath of Aging, while the knights aimed their Dragon Spears at Li Ye from afar, firing off streams of black energy like sharp arrows.

‘Kill him!’

‘If we kill him, we’ll have rendered a great service! The Skeleton Monarch will surely help us improve the quality of our Soul Fire.’

CRACK!

CRACK!

Fiona flew off the city wall.

She cracked her whip. The leather whip, just over a foot long, instantly extended to a length of several hundred meters, accurately striking the Bone Dragon Knights and their mounts.

The moment the whip struck them.

The flickering Soul Fire in the Bone Dragon Knights’ eyes suddenly froze.

The Bone Dragons stopped breathing their attacks and flapping their wings. They began to tremble violently.

They unconsciously craned their necks, jets of black smoke puffing from their nostrils. The bony claws tucked under their bellies instantly straightened…

Although they had long lost their flesh and blood, one could still sense their pleasure from their movements.

Fiona raised her hand and launched a Fireball, igniting the rigid Bone Dragon Knights.

The moment the Fireball seared them, the Bone Dragon Knights snapped to their senses. Plumes of black gas billowed from their armor, extinguishing the flames on their bodies.

But as they looked at Fiona, they didn’t attack. The Soul Fire in their eyes flickered and danced, as if with a trace of hope.

A voice rumbled from the throat of one Bone Dragon Knight, “Do it again, and I will pledge my allegiance to you.”

The Bone Dragon held its head high, a gurgling sound coming from its throat.

Clearly, the knight’s sentiment was also its mount’s.

On the city wall, Geser and the others stared back and forth between Fiona and the Bone Dragon Knights, their faces a picture of astonishment.

This was the first time they had ever encountered such a situation. The Bone Dragon Knights were resurrected by the Skeleton Monarch and were bound to serve it for life. How could they possibly betray it?

‘Ever since Aragon appeared, more and more strange things have been happening!’

Fiona looked to Li Ye, her eyes asking for guidance.

“You can give it a try,” Li Ye said with a smiling nod.

CRACK!

CRACK!

A few more lashes!

Strange gurgling sounds came from the throats of the Bone Dragon Knights, and their Soul Fire once again froze.

The Bone Dragons stretched out their claws once more.

This time, Fiona didn’t take the opportunity to attack. Instead, she waited quietly for the Bone Dragon Knights to recover.

A dozen or so seconds later.

The Bone Dragon Knights came to their senses. They all lowered their Dragon Spears, placed a hand on their chests, and bowed to Fiona. “Venerable goddess, you have allowed us to feel the joys of our past lives once again. We are willing to serve you as our master and follow your every command. But as a condition, you must flog us at least ten times a day.”

“No, ten times is too few! At least twenty!” another Bone Dragon Knight said.

“Thirty times.”

The Soul Fire in yet another Bone Dragon Knight’s eyes flared violently.

Clearly, his self-control was the weakest.

The Bone Dragon Knights seemed to have forgotten they were on a battlefield, forgotten the Skeleton Monarch behind them, as they focused on haggling with Fiona.

Geser and the others were dumbfounded.

“Ten times.” Before Fiona could speak, Li Ye answered for her. “If you render meritorious service on the battlefield, Fiona can reward you with three extra lashes.”

“We need the goddess’s answer.” The Bone Dragon Knight seemed to have regained its wits. When it saw Li Ye, the Soul Fire in its eye sockets dimmed significantly out of fear, but it still forced itself to object.

“Aragon’s will is my will.” Fiona didn’t dare defy Li Ye, just as the Bone Dragon Knights were unwilling to defy her. Around Li Ye, her every emotion was laid bare.

Even if she had her own thoughts, she didn’t dare show them.

“At least fifteen times,” one Bone Dragon Knight said, unwilling to give up.

A strip of paper suddenly coiled around it, crisply crushing it into bone fragments.

The sudden scene terrified the remaining Bone Dragon Knights.

Li Ye said coldly, “Either enjoy your pleasure, or die a second time.”

“We are willing to submit to Fiona!” Seeing their companion crushed by the paper roll, the remaining Bone Dragon Knights were terrified and hurriedly declared their allegiance.

“Aragon, I’ve awakened a new skill,” Fiona said, her eyes lighting up as she lowered her voice.

Li Ye looked at Fiona and asked in Chinese, “What skill?”

‘The Skeleton Monarch’s perception can cover this area, so many things cannot be revealed.’

‘Neither Magic nor Spiritual Power can block its perception, just as I was able to listen in on the Sect Leader and the others on Cyan Yang Mountain right through their Array.’

‘When I first arrived in this world, the powerful Skeleton Monarch could use the mist to block my perception.’

‘Now, my perception can pierce the Undead Mist, but I have no way to block the Skeleton Monarch’s perception.’

‘Therefore, it’s necessary to encrypt our conversation by speaking in Chinese. As a native of this world, the Skeleton Monarch shouldn’t be able to understand it.’

‘Every Time Traveler has an eidetic memory, so mastering a few languages isn’t difficult for them.’

“Whip of Freedom.” Fiona also switched languages and said excitedly, “Targets struck by my whip can have their minds awakened, freeing them from all external control.”

‘Fuck!’

‘Why can’t I get a skill like that?’

‘If I’d had a skill like this in the last world, all the puppets controlled by the Ninth Elder would have become my own people after a few lashes.’

Li Ye felt a brief moment of frustration. He looked at the paper roll in his palm and asked, “Lord Ling, is it possible for you to awaken a skill like that? I feel like you should be able to do what the whip does. After all, you’re soft, yet resilient…”

The paper roll seemed to have been provoked by the Skeleton Monarch. It was silent for a long while before it said, “What I can become depends entirely on you. You promoted me as the Purifying Cloth, so I developed the ability to cleanse filth. You proclaimed that I could bring curses upon people, so I gained Curse Power. If you want me to produce the same effect as that whip, you should start using me in a similar way. Moreover, you need to get more people to accept that this method of use is normal. Only then might I be able to help you awaken such an ability…”

‘Get more people to accept it?’

Li Ye was stunned.

‘If I had promoted the paper roll in *that* way from the beginning, it might have worked. But the reach of that kind of publicity would have been much weaker, and it definitely wouldn’t have achieved the current effect.’

‘But now, the fame of the Purifying Cloth has already spread.’

‘It’s hard to turn a big ship. Trying to change course now to make it produce the effects of a Spiritual Desire Whip would be really difficult.’

‘I can’t just have everyone who gets a Purifying Cloth use it to polish their “spears,” can I?!’

“Aragon, can it do it?” Li Ye hadn’t turned away from Fiona while asking his question. Fiona, who couldn’t hear the paper roll’s reply, blinked and asked.

‘The Whip of Freedom skill is much more useful than my first one. I really hope Li Ye doesn’t come up with a similar skill, or I’ll truly have no way to survive.’

“It can’t.” Li Ye shook his head. Looking at Fiona, he said, “In a bit, you’ll bring your whip and follow me for a run through the Undead Mist. I’ll be on defense, you’ll be on offense. We’ll pull a batch of Undead back to use as cannon fodder. You need to increase your own strength, too.”

“I can?” Fiona asked, pleasantly surprised.

“Of course.” Li Ye smiled and nodded. “Only when you’ve grown stronger will we have a better chance against the Skeleton Monarch.”

“Alright, I’ll do my best.” Fiona looked excitedly toward the Undead Mist. “We won’t run into the Skeleton Monarch, will we?”

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t dare to come out,” Li Ye said with a light snort.

‘Fiona possesses the ability of Truth Discernment, so I have to choose my words carefully to avoid crushing my teammate’s confidence. Otherwise, if Fiona finds out I can’t beat the Skeleton Monarch, she might just throw in the towel and quit.’