Chapter Seventy-Eight: Crimson Skull King

From a distance, Link watched the temporal rift and the people gathered beside it. Hidden in the grass along with two Saints, he spoke in a low voice, “There’s no mistake. That disgusting form with tentacles matches the description of temporal rifts in the chronicles. Someone is using a temporal rift to release monsters from the negative space to attack us. Who are they? Are they from the Cult of Baal?”

The brothers Aiolos and Aioria volunteered to fight, but Link did not immediately consent. Soon, Altair, who had gone to scout, returned.

Altair’s strength had recently broken through to the early stage of the fourth tier. After joining the Church of the Father, Link taught him the Nine Suns Divine Art. With mastery of this skill, Altair’s power soared; though it didn’t directly enhance his stealth, the explosive force of the Nine Suns Divine Art made his assassination techniques far more deadly—he could even hold his own in direct combat against others of the same rank.

His enhanced abilities also refined Altair’s stealth, enabling him to gather enemy intelligence with ease.

Altair reported, “Archbishop, those people are remnants of the Star God cult. The leader is the Star God Archbishop, LeBron–Anthony. However, there seems to be internal strife; some of them were killed. Judging by the wounds, they were likely slain by hellhounds.”

“So they’re Star God cult remnants!” Link exclaimed, understanding dawning. “No wonder they’re attacking Kinco Town—they’re targeting the Church of the Father. Hmph, I never expected the self-styled righteous Star God cult to collude with heretics. Their method of opening the temporal rift probably came from the Cult of Baal. These people are truly mad, daring to commit such outrage against heaven and earth!”

His words were charged with anger, inciting those around him. As he gazed toward the temporal rift, Link mused that hatred indeed drove people to madness. For the sake of avenging his son, LeBron had thrown caution to the wind. The Star God Archbishop’s actions had long stirred discontent among his followers, but LeBron, being more skilled, suppressed the rebellion with the power of the rift.

After considering the situation, Link assigned roles: “Aiolos, Aioria, don your sacred armor and launch a frontal assault with me to attract the enemy’s attention. Altair, move to the rear and wait for an opportunity. I’ll have Phantom assist you; see if there’s a chance to assassinate LeBron–Anthony.”

Everyone responded in unison. Altair immediately slipped away, stealthily moving toward the rear of the Star God cultists. When the time was right, Link signaled for action. The brothers donned their sacred armor and charged with Link toward the cultists.

The hellhounds, charging ahead, were the first to notice the four approaching figures. They halted their attack on Kinco Town and turned their gaze. The Star God cultists forgot their previous quarrels and, seeing Link and his companions, LeBron was unfazed—he had anticipated this. With a cold voice, he ordered, “What are you waiting for? Swallow the pills I gave you and go kill them.”

As he spoke, LeBron sent the hellhounds to attack Link and his allies. The two Saints immediately unleashed their skills to meet the charge.

The cultists hesitated, looking at the black pills in their hands. LeBron had just handed them out, claiming they would greatly enhance their strength. But how could such power come without side effects? None dared to take them immediately.

LeBron snorted and unleashed earth spikes, impaling two cultists and making their bodies look like honeycombs. “Swallow them or die. The choice is yours.”

Terrified, the remaining cultists did not hesitate further. They swallowed the pills, and the effects took hold instantly. They felt their strength surge at an astonishing rate, the sensation so overwhelming they moaned in pleasure.

But in moments, that pleasure turned to agonized screams. Their muscles bulged, skin darkened to a purplish-black, fangs and claws grew, and even their eyes became black. When the transformation ended, each had become a hulking, savage beast—over two and a half meters tall, broad-shouldered, their aura wild and frenzied.

More frightening, their power had risen by at least one tier; the strongest reached the peak of tier three, the weakest were at the mid-stage of tier three.

Seeing this, LeBron’s face twisted into a mad, sinister smile. He pointed at Link and his companions, who were battling the hellhounds. “Go, kill those mongrels!”

The mutated cultists howled and charged, their heavy steps thunderous yet swift, rushing toward Link and his allies.

Witnessing these transformations from afar, Link warned the Saints, “Be careful! They’ve lost all reason, and each one is at least tier three!”

The brothers responded together. When the mutated cultists attacked, they ignited their cosmos and engaged in battle. Link fought with all his might. For a time, both sides were evenly matched, though the Star God cultists held a slight advantage.

LeBron watched the battle, a cold smile on his lips. He recalled the hellhounds to resume the assault on Kinco Town, determined to keep the pressure on. As for Link and his team’s fighting prowess, he dismissed them as unworthy of concern.

But LeBron did not realize that their apparent advantage was a deliberate ploy on Link’s part. While LeBron believed he had repelled the enemy, Altair and Phantom, moving stealthily from opposite sides, launched their attack.

Altair feigned an assault, firing a sleeve arrow at LeBron, who was startled and quickly raised an earth wall to block it. In the next instant, Phantom, lurking in the shadows, launched a lethal strike. LeBron again used an earth wall, but it was shattered in moments by Phantom’s explosive force, forcing LeBron to retreat from her claws and fangs.

At that moment, Altair arrived. The force of the Nine Suns Divine Art and his assassin’s technique allowed him to dart like a ghost in front of LeBron, plunging his sharp dagger deep into LeBron’s chest—right where the heart lay.

LeBron’s eyes widened in disbelief. Altair wrenched the dagger free and kicked him to the ground. LeBron clutched his chest, his expression dazed, as if at death’s door.

Witnessing this, Link shouted to Saga and the others, “Altair and Phantom have succeeded! Finish off these monsters!”

The brothers responded together, igniting their cosmos and unleashing their signature skills. After much insight, they had developed their cosmos and mastered the sacred armor’s inherited abilities. Now, both were at the late stage of tier three, and their Saint techniques could even erupt with late tier four destructive power.

A Saint’s attack was far more destructive than a Holy Knight’s, and vastly superior to mages of the same rank. Their two ultimate moves unleashed a nightmare upon the frenzied cultists.

White Pegasus and Golden Lion!

The battle techniques took form, engulfing the cultists and blasting them away. Six were directly caught in the attack and torn apart.

The terror of the Saint techniques was evident!

Link prepared to press the advantage and deal a fatal blow, but suddenly, a chilling laughter rang out: “Hahaha—so that’s it, so that’s how it is, Neil–Night, you little bastard, so you came in person. Good, that saves me the trouble of hunting you down!”

The voice crescendoed into a shout. Powerful magic erupted. Countless earth spikes shot up, radiating outward from LeBron—who should have been dead—forcing Altair and Phantom to retreat in haste, and impaling the blasted cultists like hedgehogs.

Then, to everyone’s shock, LeBron stood up. Though his chest bore a gaping wound, not a drop of blood flowed, and the injury was rapidly healing. His savage smile brimmed with chilling madness. “Neil–Night, you really came. Hahaha, I only summoned one temporal rift and used those worthless fools to lure you out—and it worked!”

“What? Damn, we’ve been tricked! He was baiting us!” Everyone was startled, realizing LeBron’s actions had been a trap for Link, with all the cultists used as bait.

Before Link and his allies could act, LeBron produced a new magic scroll and activated it. Instantly, another temporal rift formed in the sky.

This time, instead of hellhounds or lesser beasts, a colossal crimson skeleton—over eight meters tall, wielding a giant scythe—emerged.

The skeleton exuded a dense aura of death. Its presence caused the lush grass nearby to wither and die rapidly, and the cultists’ corpses shriveled into mummified husks within seconds.

Seeing this, Link and his companions couldn’t help but gasp. LeBron laughed in excitement, “Hahaha, do you see? This is the Crimson Skeleton King from negative space—a monster of early tier five! You ants have no chance against it. Neil–Night, you damned brat, today you’ll pay for my son’s death! Crimson Skeleton King, slaughter these insects!”

At LeBron’s command, the Crimson Skeleton King’s eyes blazed with red necromantic fire and it let out a raspy screech. The sound seemed to summon the underworld, making all present shudder as if their souls were about to be taken. Fortunately, their will was strong and divine arts shielded them. Phantom, being a system-born spirit beast, recovered quickly.

But the call of the dead was not aimed at Link’s group. The previously slain Star God cultists, whose bodies were still intact, and the hellhound corpses rose, transformed into undead.

In the next moment, under the Crimson Skeleton King’s command, the undead launched their assault against Link and his allies.