Ashton stared at the boss across the opening in front of the room. Soon enough, the Undead Generals also began pulling out of the next room.
The boss resembled a humanoid like Goliath, but the human part of the humanoid was long ago. Instead, what Ashton saw was a walking chunk of flesh and bone consisting of hundreds of individuals who were sent to explore the cave before them.
As for the generals, they were pretty simpler to the shadow soldiers Ashton raised from death now and then. The resemblance between the two was too much to be a coincidence.
Someone had left these soldiers behind to protect the treasure from getting into the wrong hands. It was probably a Precursor's curse that took such a horrifying face.
All five were at least ten feet tall giants, looking down on their prey until their eyes met. Ashton thought he was seeing things for a moment, but the dungeon boss smiled at the generals as if he was reuniting with long-lost friends.
At that moment, Anna realised they fucked up big time, and Ashton's expression told a similar story. The entire point of simultaneously opening the doors was to allow the generals and the boss to wear each other out, and then the two of them would take down whoever was left standing.
However, if the monsters were going to act all buddy-buddy, then their plan was pretty much busted. The best they could do now was for one to stall the boss till the other got rid of the generals. Once the boss was weaker, they'd strike him down together.
The only question was, who would become the bait?
Ashton was faster, had [Perception] and [Battle Tactics]. Ideally, he could predict and dodge the boss' attacks. But on the other hand, Anna was suffering from mana exhaustion after causing so many explosions and couldn't kill the generals by herself.
Since mana exhaustion also affects physical abilities, letting Anna stall the boss wasn't a viable option either. Not that Anna would make any excuse to back out of facing the boss if Ashton asked her.
Just like that, the couple was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
[There is one thing you could do.]
'I'm not gonna use a skill if I'm not certain about its effects.'
Ashton immediately understood what Astaroth was suggesting to him. Hell summon was a skill he earned along with Seraph's crystal but had never used because the skill itself was an unpredictable one.
The skill description was very vague, and all it mentioned was that it could call a creature from the depths of hell to the world of the living if the user wished it so.
However, if the summoned beast were at a higher level than the user, they would gain their freedom and cause havoc everywhere. Using [Hell Summoning], he could effectively worsen their lousy situation.
Going all out against the beast wave didn't seem a good decision anymore. Thanks to that battle, most of Ashton's deadly skills were currently on cooldown.
With a quick movement, the boss jumped behind the generals. Simultaneously, the four undead generals drew their swords, pointing towards Ashton.
"Oh, the successor of the Grim reaper," They simultaneously spoke, "Prove your worth or let your blood be the sheath to our blades!"
"What kind of drama have they been wasting their time on?" Even in the face of danger, Ashton's sarcasm was on point.
Even though having the generals focused on him was bad news, Ashton was relieved that Anna wasn't on their radar.
Instead of idling around and wasting time, Ashton immediately drew Balmond and got ready to take them on as the generals lunged at him.
In one fluid motion, Ashton crouched, and their attacks whizzed past his head. Ages of inaction had slowed their movement, which was perfect for Ashton.
Enraged, the generals struck again. Their lifeless eyes turned red inside the helm. Despite increasing the power, the result remained the same. But they didn't stop.
Slowly but surely, their attacks were becoming more coordinated and fast. It was progressively turning difficult for Ashton to keep up with their ever-changing attack patterns.
Even Anna could see with every attack, Ashton was being pushed back. It was almost as if the undead were adapting to his moves and simultaneously coming up with plans to counter him.
'I need to help him!' She cursed her uselessness at such a crucial time.
But alas, there was nothing she could do. Without mana, she was no different than a powerless human. Just then, she turned towards the dungeon boss; surprisingly, his eyes were glowing like the generals.
Suddenly, it all made sense. The reason the undead generals were getting better with every passing moment wasn't their strength or abilities. Instead, they were simply puppets being controlled by the puppeteer, the dungeon boss.
'I must take him down or sever the connection between him and the generals.' Anna thought to herself and slowly walked to the boss' blind spot.
She might not have any mana, but she had years of training as a werewolf. That should be enough to rip out the bastard's eye, at the very least.
However, the boss waved her into silence before she had the chance to do anything.
"This is a trial for the successor. No interference shall be tolerated henceforward, and refusing to cooperate would lead to instant execution of the troublemakers." The boss spoke as the ground froze her into place, "Insignificant beings like yourself are only allowed to spectate from a distance. Nothing more."
"W-Who are you?"
Anna could help but blurt out. However, the boss ignored her existence and continued guiding the generals in their fight.
The generals once again struck Ashton. But this time, he didn't back down or try to dodge. Balmond slipped out of his hands as Ashton leapt to deliver a debilitating blow to one of the general's necks, nearly severing it apart.
"Blows like those wouldn't be sufficient to pass the trial-" The boss spoke up again but was interrupted by Ashton.
"Watch and learn," Ashton smirked.
Almost instantly, Balmond flew over to the general Ashton had hit and finished the job in one strike.
The general's head flew over to the boss' feet as the glow in its eyes disappeared. Once done, Balmond immediately took his place beside Ashton, floating in mid-air.
"A Soul Blade... It's been long since I have seen one." The boss mumbled, "You have me impressed. Take pride in astonishing the arch lich who served under the first necromancer, the great Grim Reaper!"
The room's appearance changed into that of an arena in an instant. Anna was nowhere to be seen in that stony arena. Ashton and the generals were the only ones facing each other.
'Teleportation magic?'
[I don't think so. Look up.]
Ashton did that, and the Arch lich stood looking over them, with Anna frozen on his side.
"Let the trial begin!"