Chapter 12: Friendship? Family? Bonds? Miracle!

The flaming arrow struck with precision, and the ghostly green fire flickered dimly for a moment.

Yet the lead Skeleton Wolf seemed unfazed by pain, its bony claws still charging forward without pause.

“Lumiya, Fireball!”

At Lin Xing’s call, several golden Fireballs gathered in front of Lumiya.

She hurled them fiercely at the Skeleton Wolf.

One Fireball struck right at the joint of the Skeleton Wolf’s bones.

With a loud “bang,” the Fireball exploded, snapping the wolf’s front leg bone and sending it stumbling to the ground, bone fragments scattering everywhere.

“Attack the joints!”

Lin Xing instantly called out, his sharp eyes catching the moment.

He fired a second arrow, aiming straight for the hind leg joint of another Skeleton Wolf.

Little White also reacted quickly, urgently commanding Snowball.

“Snowball, Ice Spike—block the road! Don’t let them surround us!”

Snowball threw back her head and let out a sharp cry.

Instantly, a row of Ice Spikes shot up from the ground, halting three Skeleton Wolves three meters from the trees.

But undead creatures feel no pain.

The four remaining Skeleton Wolves charged on, trampling their companion’s scattered bones.

Some even crashed straight through the Ice Spikes.

Their eerie green eye sockets locked unerringly on Lumiya—as if they sensed the greatest threat came from her, though their dim wits did not grant them the instinct to flee.

Lumiya darted nimbly between the trees, her tail lashing out with a Fire Whip at the Skeleton Wolves’ joints.

Each strike sent another shard of white bone tumbling away.

But there were simply too many Skeleton Wolves.

As soon as one was crippled, another leapt forward, its sharp bone claws nearly grazing her.

“Watch out!”

Lin Xing’s heart leapt into his throat.

He shot three arrows in quick succession, forcing back the Skeleton Wolf that lunged at Lumiya.

Taking the opportunity, he circled behind a tree and pulled from his backpack a specially prepared Armor-Piercing Arrow, its tip inlaid with shards of Wind Demon Crystal, made for piercing tough targets.

“Little White, hold off the one on the left for me!”

Little White nodded immediately, ordering Snowball to release Ice Mist toward the leftmost Skeleton Wolf.

In the thick white mist, the Skeleton Wolf’s movements slowed. Lin Xing seized the chance.

With a sharp “swish,” the Armor-Piercing Arrow shot out, piercing straight through its skull.

The Skeleton Wolf’s motion froze, the green fire in its eye sockets flickered twice, then faded away—leaving only a heap of scattered white bones.

Just as they thought they had stabilized the situation, a chilling laugh echoed from deeper within the grasslands.

“Not bad. You actually managed to deal with my Skeleton Wolves.”

A man in a black cloak strode out from behind a low hill, clutching a staff topped with a skull.

Faint black mist swirled about him, his footsteps so light they barely disturbed the air.

“You’re the one controlling these Undead-type Beasts!”

Lin Xing glared at the man, gripping his bow tightly.

The man lifted his hood, revealing a pale face twisted into a strange smile.

“You little Academy brats really are naïve. Did you think you could just play house with your classmates in this little world?”

He swung his staff, and the ground shook.

The scattered bones suddenly vanished.

Behind him, a massive skeletal beast appeared, its eye sockets burning with two blazing red flames.

It was at least three times the size of the Skeleton Wolves before.

“That’s… a Bone Puppet!”

Little White’s face went pale.

She’d seen it in the Forbidden Beast Compendium—created by fusing multiple undead skeletons, using human bone as a core and dark magic to bind them together.

Such rare, artificial beasts required at least a second-tier Beastmaster to control.

“Lumiya, we need to retreat!”

Lin Xing decided instantly, crushing his Communication Badge to call for help.

But nothing happened.

Looking closely, he realized the surroundings were already sealed beneath a faint, ghostly barrier.

“Kid, I’ll tell you what this is. This is a rare Barrier Beast. Never heard of it, have you~?”

The Black Cloak Man said smugly, relishing the sight of his prey losing all hope, step by step.

Step by step, stripping away any chance for resistance.

Little White, her face deathly pale, turned to Lin Xing.

“A Barrier Beast… My elders told me it’s standard gear for officials! Its main feature is sealing off everything inside, preventing escape—and even causing spiritual attacks!”

Lin Xing was stunned.

He hadn’t expected the enemy to possess a Barrier Beast—this meant they had no hope of outside rescue.

The Black Cloak Man watched their panic and grinned even more darkly.

“Scared now, are you? Where’s that arrogance from earlier, when you took care of my Skeleton Wolves?”

He waved his staff, and the Bone Puppet let out a deafening roar, raising a massive claw and smashing it down at Lin Xing.

“Get down!” Lin Xing shoved Little White aside and rolled to the other direction to dodge.

The massive claw slammed into the earth, kicking up a cloud of dust and splitting the ground with a crack.

“Lumiya!”

Taking the chance, Lumiya gathered a blazing Fireball in her palm, larger than any she’d used against the Spiny Boar before, and hurled it at the Bone Puppet’s back with a “bang.”

The flames exploded, charring its outer bones black—but the Bone Puppet remained unscathed.

Instead, it turned, its crimson eyes now fixed on Lumiya, and charged.

“Snowball! Ice Mist, then Ice Spike!”

Little White’s voice trembled in her urgency.

Snowball instantly unleashed a thick Ice Mist, enveloping the Bone Puppet, while countless Ice Spikes sprang from the ground.

The Bone Puppet slowed, but still pressed forward steadily through the spikes.

The sound of ice snapping—“crack, crack”—rang out, but the beast was unharmed.

Lumiya continued launching Fireballs at its joints, but each attack landed as if striking cotton, leaving only faint scorch marks.

“This won’t work! We need to find its weakness!”

Lin Xing shouted, eyes locked on the Bone Puppet.

He noticed a black magic crystal embedded in its chest, pulsing with dark energy.

“Little White, distract it! I’ll aim for the magic crystal in its chest!”

Little White nodded at once, commanding Snowball to unleash the strongest Ice Mist they could muster.

The effect was so miraculous that both she and her beast could hardly believe it—

The Bone Puppet froze completely, encased in solid ice!

Lin Xing was momentarily stunned, but overjoyed.

“Lumiya! With me!”

He drew his bow, channeling all his magic power into the Armor-Piercing Arrow.

Lumiya exhaled a stream of Dragon Flame, winding it around the arrow.

The arrow blazed with brilliant firelight.

With a “swish,” it shot toward the magic crystal at the Bone Puppet’s chest.

But just as the arrow was about to strike, the Black Cloak Man whipped his staff, and the Bone Puppet abruptly turned, raising its arm to block.

With a thunderous “bang,” the arrow exploded, shrouding the scene in billowing smoke…

“It’s useless! The Bone Puppet’s core is shielded by layers of bone and my magic barrier—you’ll never reach it!” The Black Cloak Man laughed triumphantly.

Lin Xing and the others collapsed to the ground, staring anxiously at the smoke-covered battlefield.

They’d already spent all their magic—if this didn’t work…

As the smoke cleared, the Black Cloak Man’s expression froze.

The Bone Puppet, which should have been untouched, now had a gaping hole bored through it, as if its very mouth was mocking him.

“No! Impossible! You must be joking!” the man screamed, half-mad.

And not only that—the arrow seemed to have shattered the Barrier as well!?

At that moment, Little White realized she had unknowingly gripped her Communication Badge tightly.

The situation was clear as day.

Never before had Little White known so clearly what she had to do.

What happened next was her own decision, entirely of her own will.

She raised her hand high.

“Crack.”

The man in black stood there, frozen, watching helplessly as Little White crushed the badge in her palm.

Lin Xing was dumbfounded too.

What? Bro??

Why break it right in front of the enemy?