Chapter 9 The Death Mines

After another two days of waiting, the skeleton soldier sent to the magic tower returned, now transformed into a skeleton mage. Though he had only mastered three spells—Ice Arrow, Poison Bomb, and Poison Ring—it marked the official beginning of Li Bin’s magical troops.

During these two days, Li Bin was far from idle. The corpse research institute, which could produce corpse soldiers, had already been completed; two days was enough for Li Bin to assemble a small squad of corpse soldiers. Moreover, Li Bin had grasped the method of creating mummies. Once the soul research laboratory was finished, he poured all his energy into studying mummies.

The task of directing the graveyard fiends to drive off intruders was handed over to the bored Toutina and Dierdre. Thanks to the guidance of the mission map, the graveyard fiends reached the iron mine mentioned in the quest within three days. However, the size of the mine's entrance posed a dilemma for Li Bin. Though the lowest point of the entrance was more than two meters high, it was impossible for the massive graveyard fiends to enter. In the end, Li Bin left the fiends outside and ventured into the mine with his two heroes and their troops.

This was Li Bin’s first time fighting away from the graveyard fiends, so he made thorough preparations. At the front marched Toutina, the combat hero, and her squad. A small team of skeleton warriors with shields explored ahead, followed by a mixed unit of regular skeleton soldiers and skeleton archers, ensuring the safety of those behind in case of sudden attack.

After the skeleton troops came Toutina’s two skeletal nagas, clad in brand-new chainmail and wielding steel blades, scanning their surroundings cautiously. Behind them were Toutina, Dierdre, and Li Bin, each bearing their battle banners. Dierdre’s unit was guarded in the center by a squad of corpse soldiers under Li Bin’s command. Also surrounded by these corpse soldiers was a bone cart pulled by more than ten ghostfire slaves, along with four mummies wielding heavy two-handed swords.

Soon after entering the mine, Li Bin received a message from the system: "You have entered the Haunted Mine. There are 57 mutated undead troops inside." Li Bin understood this as a task reminder; dealing with these mutated undead would complete the mission.

Before Li Bin could figure out how to locate these undead, shouts echoed from the depths of the mine. Four ragged miners, brandishing their picks, charged recklessly at Li Bin and his group.

"Enemy attack!" Toutina planted her battle banner and drew four steel blades, ready to engage the miners, but the skeleton archers pinned all four to the ground with their arrows.

Then, over a dozen ghostfires burst out from the bone cart guarded by corpse soldiers, hurriedly sorting the belongings and bodies of the four miners onto the cart.

"Dead Miners, Level 1," Li Bin read their attributes as their bodies were carried past him. "What’s going on? Are all the enemies in this mine just trash soldiers?"

"Wrong, those were just the enemy's servants!" Toutina suddenly shouted. Following her gaze, Li Bin saw three squads of miners, their bodies rotting, advancing steadily with their picks.

Li Bin planted his battle banner and ordered, "Toutina, lead the attack. Dierdre, support from behind. Conserve magic and use the bandages we brought; there may be tougher fights ahead."

Before Li Bin finished speaking, Toutina and her troops clashed with the miners. These miners were far tougher than the first four, shattering two ordinary skeleton soldiers with a single blow.

Frowning, Li Bin commanded, "Skeleton archers, fall back three steps and fire at will. Corpse soldiers, move forward and protect the archers."

His orders were swiftly carried out. With the stronger corpse soldiers shielding them, the skeleton archers took advantageous positions, fighting in groups of three and focusing on the enemies before them.

Just as Toutina and her allies were about to clear the battlefield, two more squads of miners charged out from the depths of the mine.

Li Bin shouted, "Not good! This time the enemy is deploying level 3 units. Everyone, be alert!"

Toutina roared, her entire body ablaze with silvery light. Under her radiance, the skeleton soldiers beside her raised their weapons and hacked at the nearest enemies. Li Bin could see that, in that instant, the skeleton soldiers had leveled up.

Stunned, Li Bin ordered, "Dierdre, do you have any spells to quickly restore stamina? Once the skeleton soldiers start to flag, give Toutina your full support!"

Though Dierdre didn’t understand his reasoning, she nodded. Just then, Toutina suddenly staggered back two steps, her face flushed as if about to faint.

Luckily, Dierdre had already finished her spell. A beam of white light shot from her hand, striking Toutina’s head. Several skeleton priests followed with yellow light, replenishing Toutina’s stamina just in time.

Toutina cast Li Bin a grateful glance. She had taken a bold risk, forcefully activating her unadvanced special ability to temporarily boost her troops’ level, nearly dying in the process. If not for Li Bin noticing her condition, she might have lost a level herself.

But thanks to this, Li Bin and his group survived the crisis, defeating two waves of dead miners. After the battle, Li Bin instructed Dierdre to aid the troops, while the ghostfire slaves loaded the miners’ bodies onto the bone cart.

Before Li Bin’s forces could reorganize, footsteps echoed from the depths of the mine once more. This time, Li Bin could tell from the sound that the enemy wasn’t numerous, but each was formidable. He realized these might be the last foes.

He waved his hand, positioning the four sword-skilled mummies at the front and having the ghostfire slaves set up two small ballistae just in case.

Yet when this final group of enemies appeared, Li Bin’s newly kindled confidence vanished instantly. There were only eight, but their strength exceeded all expectations. The weakest were six level 4 dead miners, their picks likely granting a +1 attack bonus.

Behind them marched the foreman, probably level 5. He carried no weapons, but wielded a long whip that could command the miners, further boosting their attack power.

But that wasn’t the most important threat. The old man always at the foreman’s side drew all of Li Bin’s attention. Though only level 4, he radiated an immense aura of power.

Facing this pressure, Li Bin shouted, "Ballistae, target the old man—fire continuously..."