The skeleton warhorse, in pain, lowered its forelegs and raised its hind legs, kicking fiercely!
Bai Pu's ribcage was grotesquely deformed, causing his entire skeleton to ripple like fluid. Two distinct hoof prints even appeared on his back!
A tremendous force surged forward, sending Bai Pu's body flying backward as he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. That kick was incredibly powerful, causing over a hundred points of blunt damage! Including the two-level higher level suppression of the skeleton warhorse, there was an additional 20% damage bonus inflicted on Bai Pu.
Fortunately, Bai Pu had previously switched to [Fluid Skeleton], which provided special mitigation against blunt damage. Even so, he lost more than 50 points of life value.
Taking 50 points of damage in a single hit is completely different from taking 50 points of chip damage; a single strong attack could result in additional disabling effects!
Bai Pu coughed while clutching his chest.
[Your ribcage has fractured, which will affect the efficiency of your exertion.]
The prompt from the Spirit Realm Will came through clearly.
Bai Pu straightened his back. Although he hadn't received professional combat training, enduring illness for so long had made his will exceptionally strong, and the pain of a fractured ribcage wasn't enough to reduce his combat strength.
The skeleton warhorse received a [Helical Strike], suffering an extraordinarily high single slash damage on its foreleg, nearly breaking. It wanted to run but lost its proud speed, limping like a crippled donkey.
The injury to its foreleg affected more than just its speed. The skeleton warhorse's trampling and side-kicking attacks were all impaired, significantly reducing its threat.
The commotion of the battle attracted other monsters from the entrance to the third layer. Several soul fires lit up, accompanied by "graah," "graah" growls, as three to five staggering figures slowly approached.
The other monsters on the third layer were generally around level 3. Most of them were still standard template ordinary monsters, but the proportion of elites had significantly increased, and even individual enhanced elites had appeared.
For instance, the skeleton warhorse before him was definitely not a simple level 3 elite; it might be a level 3 enhanced elite, equivalent to Cwieg's Adjutant in level.
Bai Pu stepped forward, blocking the narrow passage. He took a deep breath, switched from the flexible fluid skeleton to the scaly skin form through [Adaptive Evolution], and simultaneously activated the [Flesh Armor].
He intended to hold off these newly awakened monsters, buying time for the Skeleton Warriors.
The Skeleton Warriors swung their giant swords, cutting down one blow after another. The skeleton warhorse, having lost a leg, was very inflexible; its kicking side attacks were greatly weakened, leaving it only to receive hits passively, occasionally letting out a long whinny.
Meanwhile, Bai Pu didn't concern himself with the few newly awakened monsters behind him. He swung his bone hammer repeatedly at the skeleton warhorse. Given his tanking ability, he could hold out for several minutes under the siege of the monsters behind him, even without dodging.
Ultimately, the skeleton warhorse let out a long whinny and fell to the ground dead, the soul fire in its bony sockets extinguished.
A level 3 virtual treasure chest transformed into light and merged into Bai Pu's body.
Bai Pu had just intended to turn around and take care of the monsters behind him when an angry roar suddenly came from the depths of the cave.
This roar wasn't any known language but a peculiar rhythm that somehow allowed one to "hear" the intent of the roaring entity, as if it were a kind of thought wave.
"Who dares to tamper with my beloved horse! I swear to dismember you!"
Under the strange roar's rhythm, the entire third-layer cave shook, and one after another, skeletal monsters awakened from their dormant state, brandishing their weapons as they charged toward Bai Pu at the cave entrance!
"What the hell."
Bai Pu cursed under his breath. He hadn't anticipated that the skeleton warhorse was the mount of the third-layer leader and the trigger for the entire third layer's monster rampage! Once the warhorse was taken down, the leader would go berserk, and the entire third layer's monsters would riot.
The skeleton warhorse should have been patrolling the territory of the third layer. It was simply his bad luck to have encountered it just as he entered!
Bai Pu had no choice but to end the trial. A burst of light flashed, and his figure vanished.
The scene before him changed, and he entered the settlement interface.
The background of the settlement interface was the entrance of a grim and frightening graveyard, with ghostly flames faintly flickering. This was likely the entrance to the first layer of the White Bone Cave.
Swish, swish, swish——
Rows of virtual treasure chests lined up neatly, and the 3 Level 1 treasure chests and 4 Level 2 treasure chests had already been opened, the virtual rewards displayed behind the corresponding chests.
The last level 3 treasure chest was still unopened.
Bai Pu chose to open it.
[Congratulations, newcomer (Bai Pu), for receiving the reward: Unstable Shield Skill Book. Please collect it at the corresponding station of the Divine Strategy Army.]
"Unstable Shield?"
Bai Pu's eyes lit up. He hadn't seen this skill book on the exchange list at the Divine Strategy Army supply department.
What does this mean?
This skill book is a scarce item that Bai Pu's current permissions couldn't access!
All the treasure chests disappeared, with the final reward appearing as text in front of Bai Pu.
[Congratulations, newcomer (Bai Pu), based on your excellent performance, you've earned the qualification to enter the Boundary Land: Bone Mountain Range. Please collect it at the corresponding station of the Divine Strategy Army.]
That was the reward Qilin mentioned earlier, the qualification to go to the real "Boundary Land"!
The just completed [White Bone Cave] was merely a virtual dungeon based on the Boundary Land's design, only allowing one to train combat specialization proficiency inside without gaining professional level experience; the rewards obtained were all virtual and needed to be redeemed at the Divine Strategy Army's supply department upon return.
The real Boundary Land is a secret realm where the Spirit Realm and reality intersect, an absolute treasure lands!
The settlement countdown ended, and Bai Pu exited the White Bone Cave's dungeon. The scene in front of him changed again, and he was back at the end of the underground tunnel, at the position of the black iron gate.
The black iron gate was tightly closed, and Bai Pu tried pushing it, but it didn't budge.
It seemed that only when Bai Pu regained the qualification to explore the White Bone Cave again would he be able to open the black iron gate.
"Damn, you're awesome!" Black Tiger's slightly exaggerated voice rang out.
"I always thought Mad Dog was invincible in the second wave, but I didn't expect there to be a monster like you. It's a pity you showed up a year late; there's definitely a gap with the current Mad Dog," Qilin said.
Behind Qilin and Black Tiger, Su Xiaoxiao was also there.
The three had rushed over from the tactical research center specifically to welcome Bai Pu.
This was the ripple effect of strength; in the Spiritual Era, personal power was highly valued, and a strong person would command respect wherever they went.
"Little Bai Pu, your potential is temporarily classified as S-level by Instructor Qiu, which is the organization's highest rating for newcomers." Su Xiaoxiao said, handing over a finely decorated watch, "Here's your personal info terminal, with an embedded identity card. Now you can directly check your honor, browse materials within your permissions, and exchange military supplies."
In the era preceding Spiritual Energy, the personal information terminal was called a "phone."
Of course, compared to phones, personal information terminals offer much higher security and comfort. For instance, the personal information terminal "Star II Super" series issued by the Divine Strategy Army to Bai Pu is shockproof, features iris recognition, a smart assistant, spiritual energy recording, and other powerful functions. It can connect to spiritual particle signals, ensuring full signal in the Boundary Land and Wilderness Area.
Bai Pu didn't stand on ceremony, thanked them, and accepted the info terminal. To other Awakened, a high-end personal information terminal's cost was trivial, but to the currently broke Bai Pu, it was like delivering charcoal in snowy weather.
"You look a bit tired. Would you like to rest for a bit? You can redeem the virtual rewards later," Su Xiaoxiao looked at Bai Pu's slightly pale and handsome face, her hidden maternal instincts stirred.