Chapter 160: The Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountains

Compared to the knight who had birthed the Bone Dragon.

The Bone Dragon’s own situation was much better. Inside its belly was just a tiny human skeleton. The Bone Dragon’s body was so massive that gestating a small skeleton didn’t consume much of its energy.

Shabei’s situation was also quite dire. The rotting flesh on his body had all turned into nutrients for the fetus inside him, and he had now become a complete skeleton.

He periodically looked at the fetus in his belly, his Soul Fire seeming to flicker with bewilderment and confusion.

He still couldn’t accept the fact that he was pregnant, or that the Undead could even give birth.

But as he watched the little skeletal elf gradually taking shape in his belly, a trace of tenderness unexpectedly flickered within Shabei’s Soul Fire.

If one had to define that hint of tenderness, it would have to be motherly love!

…

The Skeleton Monarch’s Teleportation Gates could only be opened within the Undead Mist.

Without the Teleportation Gates catching people off guard, the Breath of Aging didn’t spread as quickly.

Most of the experts on the city wall dodged it; only the ordinary soldiers were affected.

The Breath of Aging was the counterpart to a Priest’s Light of Life. But in a world where even Divine Spirits no longer existed, Priests had long vanished into the river of history along with the Divine Teaching. Therefore, being struck by the Breath of Aging was now irreversible.

Those young soldiers, stripped of their vitality, were doomed to spend the rest of their lives in aged bodies.

It was tragic, but there was nothing to be done.

No one had expected the Skeleton Monarch to be able to release the Breath of Aging on such a massive scale. It had never stepped onto a battlefield before…

Ordinarily, having a large number of soldiers struck by the Breath of Aging would be a devastating blow to morale. Such a desperate situation should have made the remaining soldiers fear the war and lose their will to fight.

But to Geser’s surprise, the fresh soldiers who replaced them were still in high spirits.

Even the soldiers who had been stripped of their youth still had eyes gleaming with hatred, clamoring that they wouldn’t retreat from the walls and would fight the Undead to their last breath.

It was another miracle created by Aragon!

After all, though the Savior’s methods were outlandish, he always stood firm on the front lines against the Undead…

Geser wanted to ask Aragon if he could undo the Breath of Aging for the soldiers.

But now was clearly not the time…

…

“Aragon, what happened?” Fiona’s voice trembled slightly. “Does the Skeleton Monarch have the ability to use Instant Teleportation?”

Her perception range was no match for Li Ye’s. Wrapped up like a mummy from head to toe, she had no idea what had just occurred.

“That’s right. It does have the ability of Instant Teleportation. Unless we can match its speed, we’ll never be able to land a hit on it.” Li Ye floated outside the fortress, his slender figure seeming broader than the city walls themselves.

He single-handedly held back all the attacking high-level Undead.

“But it doesn’t dare to fight us head-on either.” Fiona sharply grasped the key point. “Does that mean we can go back if we just hold on for a few more months?”

When she said this, she didn’t speak in Chinese.

Many of the people present heard her.

It was a good thing Li Ye had his innate “Morale Like a Rainbow” skill; otherwise, that sentence alone would have been enough to cause their morale to collapse.

Fiona’s meaning was crystal clear: in a few months, even if they hadn’t killed the Skeleton Monarch, they could still leave this terrible world.

But their departure also meant this world would be destroyed by the Skeleton Monarch.

The expressions on Geser and the others’ faces changed abruptly.

‘Such a foolish woman, thinking she’s clever!’

Li Ye knew what she was trying to do.

She was merely trying to remind the Skeleton Monarch on the other side, as well as him, that there was no need to fight to the death.

In a few more months, they would be gone.

For a Time Traveler, putting survival first was perfectly understandable.

Her mistake was saying it out loud in public.

“Morale Like a Rainbow” didn’t affect the home front. Once this news spread, it was highly likely the people in the rear would stop researching the Purifying Cloth. That, in turn, would cut off his supply of Demon Qi, leading to a total collapse.

‘Idiot!’

Li Ye cursed inwardly before declaring in a righteous, stern voice, “Fiona, defeating the Skeleton Monarch is my mission. I will not leave until the Undead Calamity has been quelled.”

“Gandalf wouldn’t allow me to leave either. The common soldiers are still holding the front line. If you dare to flee on your own, I will kill you.”

Half-truth, half-lie!

The part about him not leaving was a lie, but the threat was real!

Despair washed over Fiona. “Aragon, you despicable villain! You never promised to let me return alive! I’ve been hit by the Breath of Aging and lost my youthful looks, and now you want to stop me from going back…”

“So, what do you plan to do about it?” Li Ye turned to look at Fiona.

At the same time, he was keeping an eye on the Skeleton Monarch in the Undead Mist while also using the Purifying Cloth to send those towering Undead Creatures back to gestate new life.

With his current abilities, Li Ye could multitask with ease.

The Skeleton Monarch was opening Teleportation Gates to send in more Undead while observing them, its Soul Fire flickering as if it were watching a play.

Meanwhile, the large creatures he had tossed into the Undead Mist were desperately trying to find nearby Undead to impregnate for new life.

They didn’t care what their other half was at all, and the scene became utterly chaotic…

“You have to promise I can go back, or I’ll tell them everything, including your true origins!” Fiona, having nothing left to lose, shrieked hysterically. “I mean what I say! Even if you kill me, if I can’t have what I want, neither can you…!”

“Fiona, give it up. It’s useless,” Li Ye said with a sigh, looking at her.

“How do you know it’s useless?” Fiona yelled.

“The Skeleton Monarch won’t fall for it. It’s a cautious creature. Until it’s confident it can defeat us, it will never fight us head-on, no matter how you try to trick it.”

Li Ye shook his head. “In fact, the first time I entered the Undead Mist, I already tried to bait it out. My ploy was far more sophisticated than your little speech just now. It was much stronger than us back then, but it still resisted the temptation and didn’t fall for the trap. Your words are even more direct than mine…”

PHEW!

Geser and the others, who had been holding their breath, instantly relaxed. ‘So it was just a ploy! No problem, then.’

Hmph!

‘Such crude acting!’

The Skeleton Monarch snorted to itself. ‘Aragon understands me well enough to know I wouldn’t fall for it. An interesting opponent!’

“No, I’m not!” Fiona trembled all over. She never imagined Aragon would twist her threat into something else with just a few words. She argued desperately, “Everything I said is true! You’re not Gandalf’s disciple at all…”

“Fiona, stop talking. If you keep going, the Skeleton Monarch will just think we’re clowns.”

“You probably don’t know this, but I even considered making you pregnant and using your weakened state as bait. But in the end, I gave up on that idea. I’ve never seen an enemy as cautious as the Skeleton Monarch.”

Li Ye cut her off again, sighing. “Fiona, what you should be doing right now is turning the Skeleton Monarch’s subordinates into our own people. Perhaps that can force it into a decisive battle with us…”

‘Pregnant?’

Fiona swallowed all the words she was about to say, her heart filled with shock and terror.

Although her eyes were covered, she could still perceive everything happening outside.

Aragon’s idea of “pregnancy” certainly wouldn’t involve any sort of pleasurable process for her.

He would probably find a skeleton, or even a Bone Dragon…

The Purifying Cloth was wrapped around Fiona’s face, so no one could see how pale she had become.

She subconsciously swallowed, not daring to imagine the scene of a nearly meter-long baby Bone Dragon rapidly developing inside her stomach.

That would have to be the most miserable way to die in the world.

‘How can he make such a threat so nonchalantly…?’

Fiona had the courage to take Aragon down with her, but she couldn’t accept such a gruesome death.

“Give it up, Fiona. If he’s a Divine Spirit from the heavens, then you’re an ant on the ground. You’re not even on the same level. Stop fighting him and just accept your fate,” the Little Leather Whip sighed faintly. “Maybe you’ll suffer a little less when you die.”

“I…” Fiona was tongue-tied. It took her a long moment to finally say, “Aragon, I was wrong.”

“Fiona, it’s not your fault. We can only blame our enemy for being too cunning,” Li Ye said. “But it doesn’t matter. Every little bit counts.”

“As long as we persevere, even if we can only convert one thousand Undead a day, that’s thirty thousand a month, three hundred sixty thousand a year, three point six million in a decade, and thirty-six million in a century.”

“Time is meaningless to us. Sooner or later, the Skeleton Monarch’s Undead Army will eventually become ours…”

“We can turn this war into a game of endurance.”

“…” The Skeleton Monarch shuddered involuntarily, and its Soul Fire stopped flickering.

“…” Beneath the Purifying Cloth, Fiona’s eyes widened. ‘Aragon’s ability to lie is getting stronger and stronger.’ At that moment, how she wished she could expose Aragon’s lies to the Skeleton Monarch. But having just been threatened, she didn’t dare.

Aragon was indeed much smarter than her. The man was a devil who excelled at psychological manipulation!

But what Fiona couldn’t understand was why this man from the Eastern World was so insistent on forcing the Skeleton Monarch into a duel.

Didn’t he know duels were risky?

Ah!

‘Perhaps the people at Pandora Headquarters were right. Peace isn’t something you can have just by wanting it.’

‘The people of the Eastern World have an intense competitive spirit in their very bones. What flows in their veins isn’t blood, but potent combat genes…’

‘They always want to conquer everything, to hold everything in their own hands.’

“Without its subordinates, the Skeleton Monarch will only grow weaker and weaker,” Li Ye said with a smile. “And a hundred or two hundred years is enough time for our rear to produce a large population.”

“After all, the Purifying Cloth can accelerate the process of childbirth.”

“A large population means wider application of the Purifying Cloth, which means my power will also grow stronger. With a larger population base, some genius might even uncover the secret of Gandalf hidden within the Purifying Cloth.”

“When that time comes, we can defeat the Skeleton Monarch with ease, as simply as crushing an ant.”

‘It can work like that?’

Geser and the others’ eyes lit up. The more they thought about it, the more feasible Aragon’s plan seemed. The only downside was the hardship for His Excellency Aragon, who would have to stand guard on the front lines for hundreds of tedious years.

‘His Excellency Aragon truly is a great man. To think he would choose to stay here for a strange world.’

“Fiona, this is the surest way to defeat the Skeleton Monarch.” Li Ye’s face radiated confidence. “Advancing cautiously, gradually eating away at the enemy’s strength—this is an overt strategy that cannot be countered.”

“After all, caution can only ensure one’s own survival. I’ve never heard of anyone winning a war purely through caution. In the end, the Skeleton Monarch’s caution will only turn it into a joke…”