Chapter 513: Natural Enemy

Pei Mianman, reasoning that the opponent was an undead creature and would likely fear fire, conjured a fire dragon in her hand and sent it spiraling towards the foe.

The skeletal warrior evidently sensed the danger. It immediately turned around and pulled a round shield from its waist. Initially, the shield appeared quite small, about the size of a disk. However, with a spin, it suddenly elongated, expanding into a shield roughly a meter in diameter, blocking the flames shot by Pei Mianman.

Pei Mianman was startled. Just as she was about to maneuver the flames around the shield, the skeletal warrior twitched its hand, and countless sharp teeth extended from the edge of the round shield.

Not far away, Zu An stared, wide-eyed. "Wasn't it the Bronze Age during the Shang Dynasty?" he wondered. "How could such advanced craftsmanship exist then, creating such an intricate weapon?"

The skeletal warrior swung the serrated round shield and tossed it into the air. The shield whizzed towards Pei Mianman, its edges glinting coldly. Combined with the rapid whooshing sound, it was clear that a direct hit would instantly cleave her in two.

Pei Mianman, suspended in mid-air and unable to gain leverage, twisted her waist at the critical moment, leaning her upper body back and outward. Her entire body bent like a supple willow branch, demonstrating exceptional flexibility with an elegant posture.

Yet, the spinning shield seemed to have eyes. After flying past her head, it circled back and flew at her again.

Fortunately, Pei Mianman had already landed. She quickly tapped her toes and executed a backflip, narrowly dodging the attack.

Despite her agility, a piece of her skirt wasn't quick enough and was sliced off by the shield's blade, falling to the ground.

Pei Mianman's face went pale. If she had been even slightly slower, she might have lost half a leg.

The skeletal warrior casually caught the shield, spun it once, and launched it out again.

Pei Mianman burst into black flames, moving much faster than usual, and dodged to the side. However, the spinning shield clung to her like a maggot to bone, still circling and waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Zu An quickly charged the skeletal warrior. He noticed the red glow in its eyes flickering, clearly indicating it was controlling the flying shield. Fearing Pei Mianman couldn't defend indefinitely, he rushed in to attack.

The skeletal warrior wielded its long halberd, creating a fan-shaped zone of death around itself, making it impossible to approach.

Zu An, having just suffered a setback in a direct confrontation, knew he was no match for its strength. He immediately used "Sunflower Phantom," conjuring two illusory figures that charged at the warrior.

The skeletal warrior tilted its head, its red eyes showing a hint of confusion. *How did this person suddenly become two?*

Without hesitation, it swiftly swung its halberd, slicing the two figures into four pieces.

But then it froze. There was no familiar sensation of cutting flesh; it felt as if it had struck only air.

At that moment, Zu An's third figure appeared behind it, swinging the Tai'e Sword directly at its neck.

The Tai'e Sword was incredibly sharp, and combined with his charged strike, no matter how hard its bones were, it couldn't withstand the blow.

*Clatter*, a skull rolled onto the ground.

The shield that had been spinning in the air also seemed to lose power, embedding itself in the wall and no longer flying out to attack as it had before.

Zu An rushed over and helped Pei Mianman. "Mianman, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Pei Mianman replied, glancing back with lingering fear. "If it had woken up and ambushed us at the gate, we'd probably be dead by now."

"So, our luck isn't bad after all," Zu An chuckled. He walked over to the wall to examine the shield. Having witnessed its intricate design and power, he figured it must be a formidable piece of armor and a weapon, and wondered if he could use it.

He reached out to take the shield, when suddenly, with a *whoosh*, the entire shield began spinning again and flew out from the wall. Zu An swiftly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding becoming a "Salted Egg Superman" with a blade embedded in his head.

"What the devil? Does this weapon have a mind of its own?" Zu An exclaimed, watching the shield hover in the air, his face filled with shock.

"Zu An, look over there!" Pei Mianman's trembling voice came from beside him, as if she had witnessed something truly bizarre.

Zu An quickly looked. In that instant, his hair stood on end, too. The headless body of the skeletal warrior had not fallen. Instead, it was moving around, then approached where its head had landed, squatting down and fumbling on the ground. It seemed to be unable to see, for even though its skull was very close, it took a long time to locate it, repeatedly missing by a small margin.

Zu An reacted immediately, shouting as he swung his sword towards it. Unfortunately, the shield continued to spin in mid-air, blocking the path between them.

*Clang!*

Sword and shield clashed with a dull, heavy thud. Zu An reeled back several steps, his arm feeling numb.

By this time, the skeleton had found its head, picked it up, and placed it back on its neck. It then twisted it, seemingly to align the severed connection.

Immediately afterward, a flash of white light appeared on its neck. The large wound vanished, and its body was restored. Red light flared in its deep eye sockets, and it once again swung its halberd towards the two of them.

Dodging, Zu An exclaimed, "Is this thing immortal? What's the point of fighting then!"

Pei Mianman said gravely, "I'll see if I can burn it to ashes with black flames. I doubt it can revive from that."

She acted immediately, unleashing her flame techniques to attack the warrior.

This time, the skeletal warrior didn't use its shield to block. Instead, it pushed off the ground and instantly charged them.

Both were stunned. This creature's speed was incredibly fast, nothing like a typical clumsy skeleton soldier.

The three were soon embroiled in combat. Pei Mianman tried several times to immolate the warrior with flames, but its fierce attacks always interrupted her.

The skeletal warrior's attacks were exceptionally powerful. With its halberd swinging, its attack range extended several meters around it.

Ordinarily, long weapons are a disadvantage in close combat. However, once Zu An and Pei Mianman managed to get close, the warrior wielded its serrated round shield for both defense and offense, making it as formidable as a hedgehog, leaving them no way to attack.

After a while, both Zu An and Pei Mianman were struck, falling back against a nearby wall. Fortunately, at the critical moment, they managed to avoid the sharpest edge of the weapon, escaping being disemboweled.

Just as the skeletal warrior was about to press its advantage, distant roars suddenly echoed, accompanied by heavy footsteps.

In the great hall, the three instinctively turned their heads to see five Taotie beasts slowly approaching.

The skeletal warrior immediately abandoned Zu An and Pei Mianman, turning to face the Taotie beasts, its halberd gripped tightly. Though its face was bare bone, a sense of grimness was palpable.

The Taotie also didn't look at Zu An; instead, they snarled at the skeletal warrior.

Zu An was curious. "This is very strange. Given the Taotie's gluttonous instincts, they should be more interested in flesh-and-blood creatures like us. Why are they directly targeting the skeleton?"

Pei Mianman murmured, "The Shang people loved war and conquest. To intimidate the surrounding states, they captured and trained ferocious Taotie beasts to use in their armies. However, the Taotie are incredibly fierce and wouldn't be easily subdued. So, over hundreds of years of hunting, countless Taotie died at the hands of Shang warriors, and at the same time, countless Shang warriors were devoured by Taotie. Thus, they are natural enemies, and upon seeing each other, it's a fight to the death."

Zu An widened his eyes. "How do you know all of this so clearly?"

Pei Mianman also looked puzzled, instinctively pressing her hand to her forehead. "I don't know either. Just now, many images seemed to appear in my mind. They were both strange and familiar, and when you asked, I instinctively answered."