Global Necromantic Specialist

David's expression changed drastically. "Retreat!"

The team immediately fell back, moving away from the foot of the mountain.

Hundreds of mermaid monsters swarmed down from the peak, completely cutting off the path upward.

"Someone deliberately lured them here," Marsh observed.

His sharp eyes caught sight of a figure running ahead of the monsters. This person had clearly attracted them.

Unlike the students from their academy, he wore different clothing—he wasn't from Xiajing Academy, nor was he from Shenxia Empire.

David also noticed him. "He's from the Cherry Blossom Kingdom."

"This guy must be an Onmyoji, a unique profession from their country," he added.

The man's clothes bore an embroidered cherry blossom pattern, a distinct mark of his origins.

Marsh had never heard of the Onmyoji profession before.

Jeny's expression darkened. "I've heard that their methods are disgraceful."

David nodded. "Yeah, full of deceitful tricks."

The Onmyoji pulled out two talismans, tossing them into the air.

The talismans exploded, and two enormous phantoms materialized, looming in the sky.

The moment they appeared, they charged downward toward the foot of the mountain.

Just like skeleton warriors, they instantly attracted all the monsters lurking in the pool below.

The students from Qianlong Academy, who had been retreating, were quickly surrounded by the creatures.

They frantically unleashed their skills, trying to break through.

But there were too many monsters.

Realizing they couldn't escape, white light flared around them—one by one, they teleported away.

Before entering the island, every student had received a mission stone, which also functioned as a teleportation device.

It allowed them to escape in case of danger.

However, using it meant failing the trial.

Jeny's voice was grave. "That's an Onmyoji's Shikigami technique. I heard it can summon ancient spirits."

Morkel asked quietly, "But why would he do this?"

David's eyes narrowed. "He's trying to stop us from reaching the mountain's peak."

Now, the foot of the mountain was crawling with monsters—at least two hundred of them.

Another hundred blocked the mountain path.

Over three hundred monsters stood between them and their goal.

Clearing them all would take hours.

From the sky, the Onmyoji watched the chaos below, seated atop one of his Shikigami.

He laughed mockingly. "You can stay right here. The dungeon belongs to my great Cherry Blossom Kingdom."

With that, his Shikigami carried him away, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Shameless," someone spat.

"A legendary-class Onmyoji… It looks like their country is pulling out all the stops."

"If we waste time clearing these monsters, we'll be too late."

"Our team is already in disarray. Too many have withdrawn."

"We'll reorganize when we reach the dungeon."

"The real question is—how do we get there?"

"Someone needs to lure the monsters away."

"Are you crazy? This isn't a handful of creatures—it's hundreds."

"Let the Summoner handle it."

"What do you think I am, invincible? I can control a few, but this is ridiculous."

David turned to Marsh. "Can you do it?"

Marsh nodded.

A skeleton warrior sprinted forward.

"Skeletons? An undead summoner?"

"Who summoned that?"

"What's it doing?"

The moment the skeleton appeared, the mermaid monsters shrieked and gave chase.

Just like that, a third of them were drawn away.

David exhaled in relief. "Still too many left."

Click. Click.

Another skeleton warrior emerged.

David's eyes lit up. "You have a second one?"

There was hope.

The second skeleton repeated the tactic, luring away another batch of monsters.

Now, the foot of the mountain was nearly clear, leaving only those blocking the mountain road.

Clearing the way would be much faster now.

"Nice work."

"Brilliant strategy!"

"Bro, I owe you a drink after this."

"You're a lifesaver."

The students cheered for Marsh.

Jeny beamed at him, looking more pleased than if she'd done it herself.

The only person who seemed upset was Ling Zhen. His face was dark as if he'd swallowed something bitter.

Then, a third skeleton emerged.

"Wait… There's a third one?"

"This is amazing!"

"We're set now!"

"Move up the mountain," Marsh instructed calmly.

David immediately took action.

The third skeleton charged ahead, pulling the monsters from the mountain path.

Seizing the opportunity, David sprinted up the mountain.

The other teams followed closely.

Truthfully, Marsh didn't even need to go through all this trouble.

His Corpse Explosion skill could have wiped out all the monsters in seconds.

But Ling Zhen was here.

If Marsh used Corpse Explosion, the experience points would be shared among the team.

Why should he let Ling Zhen benefit?

Ling Zhen had been provoking him again and again.

Marsh wasn't foolish.

If they weren't in a controlled setting, Ling Zhen would already be dead.

The team reached the top of the mountain in minutes.

Just ahead, the dungeon entrance awaited.

But at the same time, another group arrived from the other side.

"Get inside before they do!"

Qianlong Academy students surged forward.

The Onmyoji, still seated on his Shikigami, gawked.

"What? How did they get here?"

His plan should have kept them occupied for hours.

By then, his team would have already completed the dungeon and claimed the prize.

Yet, here they were—right beside them.

The two teams locked eyes before racing toward the entrance.

Whoosh!

Arrows rained down from above.

"Ambush!"

Cherry Blossom Kingdom archers had unleashed their Arrow Rain skill.

Mages raised their shields.

Knights activated their defensive skills.

Marsh summoned two skeleton warriors, shielding himself and Jeny.

"You wanna fight?" someone yelled.

"Then let's fight!"

Archers from Qianlong Academy fired back.

Spells erupted across the battlefield.

Though only around level 20, the students were highly skilled.

The healers stood at the rear, rapidly casting healing spells to keep everyone alive.

Knights charged into battle.

With no time to form proper formations, the fight was chaotic.

Despite this, Qianlong Academy was slightly stronger.

Their students were among the elite.

Better equipment, better skills.

However, their team was incomplete, thanks to the Onmyoji's earlier stunt.

This weakened their combat effectiveness.

The battle reached a stalemate.

Mages drained their mana, resorting to mental potions.

Archers and knights had skills on cooldown.

Slowly, both sides disengaged, stepping back.

Marsh hadn't lifted a finger.

His skills were too devastating.

One strike from his skeleton warriors could instantly kill an opponent.

And if he used Corpse Explosion, it would wipe out most of the enemy team.

David had once mentioned that fights between students rarely resulted in death.

The battle had looked fierce, but in the end, only minor injuries had been inflicted.

Healers quickly restored them.

The first clash had ended in a tie.

Both sides eyed each other warily, unwilling to back down.

The dungeon loomed ahead.

Both teams were determined to claim Mermaid's Tears.

"We need to reorganize," someone said.

"Our formation is a mess. If we regroup, we can overpower them."

Many had fled at the foot of the mountain, leaving their team unbalanced.

"We're short on long-range attackers. A mage or archer will do."

"We also need a healer, level 21 or lower."

"I need a mage—level 23 max."

Suddenly, Ling Zhen spoke up.

"Captain, I'm switching teams."

David frowned. "Why?"

Ling Zhen pointed at Marsh.

"Either he goes, or I do."

Everyone fell silent.

David, Morkel, and Jeny were all shocked.

They hadn't expected Ling Zhen to issue an ultimatum.

Duan Gao's voice was cold. "Ling Zhen, you're crossing the line."

Morkel agreed. "If it weren't for Marsh, we wouldn't have made it up the mountain."

Ling Zhen shrugged. "That's his problem, not mine. My decision stands. Either he leaves, or I do."

Jeny sneered. "Ling Zhen, you're pathetic."

She turned to David.

"Well? What's your choice?"

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