Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 441 - 325: [Harvest Festival] Fully Charged, Black Iron Breaking Limit!_2

With various buffs active, Fang Zhou could kill an opponent in a Heavy Armor Profession with just two Skeleton Flying Spears. As the battle raged on, the number of skeletons in his Skeleton Legion had surpassed one hundred.

This made Meng Hongzhuang complain helplessly, "Who’s the Summoner here, you or me?"

As a Natural Summoner and a contestant who specialized in pets, Meng Hongzhuang was frustrated to find herself so far behind Fang Zhou in both the quantity and quality of her Summoned Creatures.

However, with Fang Zhou’s skeletons taking the brunt of the attacks, the team no longer needed to worry about linear attacks. With the skeletons also obstructing melee fighters, Fang Zhou’s team unleashed terrifying combat power.

Although Meng Hongzhuang’s Attack Power wasn’t high, her pets had very unique abilities and were far from useless, despite her claims. They formed natural obstacles on the battlefield that hindered the enemy’s movements.

However, despite their fierce firepower, the situation grew grim as more and more contestants joined the fray. If not for the limited space in the courtyard slowing the entry of new combatants, Fang Zhou’s team would have already been overwhelmed by a sea of people.

Even so, the situation remained dire. As time went on, the contestants grew more frenzied, launching relentless attacks. Faced with their swelling numbers, Fang Zhou’s defensive formation felt increasingly precarious.

The spectating cadets were firmly on Fang Zhou’s side, and most of them worried that the team had reached its limit.

Back at the Sea City Military Academy, Liu Diewu and Gu Yueyuan were continuously analyzing the situation. They, too, weren’t optimistic about Fang Zhou’s chances, as the number of contestants swarming him kept increasing.

"Are these people crazy? Risking so much for a Portable Concentration Meditation Array?" Gu Zhiqiu asked, his forehead already beaded with sweat.

The opponents’ attacks grew fiercer, and the pressure to clear out enemies was immense. If it weren’t for Fang Zhou’s skeletons continually taking the hits, they would have been swamped long ago.

"These people have skill, but they aren’t too bright," Meng Hongzhuang remarked, unleashing a wave of entangling vines into the crowd. "And now there’s no turning back for them."

"Why do you say that?" Bai Xiaochan asked, still confused.

"It’s simple. They’ve been played by the academy principals and don’t even know it. Now, it’s too late for them to realize," Yue Lingyun explained. "Think about the Portable Concentration Meditation Array. There are a hundred contestants in the New Recruit Competition, and dozens of them think they can kill the great Fang Zhou to get it. Well, let’s assume for a second that they succeed. There’s still only one array to be won from him. In this dangerous city, they’ve been completely blinded by this so-called reward." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Hmph. Every one of them thinks they’re the protagonist, that they’re the one destined to get the Portable Concentration Meditation Array," Fang Zhou said, his hands never slowing as he continued to hunt down the attacking cadets. "But there are always clever ones. While these people were blindly wasting their time searching for me, the truly smart ones were already accumulating points. It’s a gap they can no longer close. In other words, most of them are already destined to be losers."

"Exactly. They’re like losing gamblers who’ve just realized they can’t make it into the top ten on the points leaderboard, so they have to go all-in," Meng Hongzhuang sighed, despairing at their foolishness. "Killing Fang Zhou is their last bet. At least then there’s still a Portable Concentration Meditation Array to fight for. If they lose even that chance, they will have truly lost everything."

"These maniacs have completely thrown caution to the wind," Fang Zhou said, his own forehead glistening with sweat. The constant spellcasting was starting to fatigue him. "We can’t hold on. We need to retreat up the steps of the main hall and implement the next phase of the plan."

Just as his teammates had analyzed, the contestants who had wasted time searching for Fang Zhou had gone completely mad. They had no path of retreat. If they killed Fang Zhou, they could still fight for the Portable Concentration Meditation Array. If they failed, they would become the definitive losers of the New Recruit Competition.

At this point, even with the protection of the Skeleton Army, they were no longer safe. As more contestants joined the fray, an increasing number of Rare Professions with ultra-long-range spells began to appear. Although the damage they inflicted on the Apprentice-Upper Tier skeletons was low, and mostly from area-of-effect attacks, enough ants can bite an elephant to death. The situation had become extremely grim.

Fang Zhou’s group went from effortlessly dishing out damage to once again having to dodge a barrage of area-of-effect attacks.

At Fang Zhou’s suggestion, the Sea City Military Academy Team began a fighting retreat, protected by a perimeter of nearly one hundred skeletons.

Bai Xiaochan, who was relatively inexperienced and had never faced such a large-scale battle, began to panic.

But as the core of the Sea City Military Academy Team, Fang Zhou remained perfectly calm and composed. He checked his attribute panel.

The once-dim [Harvest Festival] Rune Resonance was now fully charged, glowing with a dazzling radiance. Throughout the long and fierce battle, every creature that had fallen to his spells or his Skeleton Army—be they Demons or cadets—had become fuel for its charge. Now, he could activate this never-before-seen Rune Resonance at any moment and experience the massive surge of power it promised. Based on his current Spirit Attribute, and with the boost from [Harvest Festival] that could break through the chasm between Tiers, he might just get a chance to experience the terrifying power of a Black Iron Tier Undead Mage ahead of schedule.

Fang Zhou looked up at the chaotic battleground before him. Under the relentless assault from the other academy cadets, his defensive line of skeletons was on the brink of collapse. Due to the depletion of their Spiritual Power and stamina, the attacks from Meng Hongzhuang, Ye Fan, Gu Zhiqiu, and the others were gradually weakening. This led to a vicious cycle where they couldn’t kill enemies faster than they arrived.

We can’t keep going on like this. We must find a safe place quickly, or our defensive line will completely collapse.

Fang Zhou observed every corner of the battlefield, searching for the best direction for a breakthrough.

Hearing Fang Zhou’s words, Bai Xiaochan calmed down slightly, knowing she couldn’t afford to be a liability at this moment.

"Where should we retreat to?" she asked.

"Towards the main hall. The open space there is to our advantage, allowing us to leverage our long-range attacks," Fang Zhou said. "Plus, we can use the terrain for defense."

The members of the Sea City Military Academy Team naturally had no objections.

Looking at the enemy cadets fiercely swarming them, Fang Zhou’s eyes turned cold. It was time to activate [Harvest Festival]. He focused his mind on his attribute panel, connecting with the Rune Resonance.

A tremendous, warm power instantly surged from the Resonance Array—formed by the intertwining of the three World Runes: [Night Watcher], [Heart Steel], and [Gallows]—and poured into every fiber of Fang Zhou’s being.

[Harvest Festival] activated. Based on charge level: Power Attribute +3, Agility Attribute +3, Constitution Attribute +3, Spirit Attribute +5.

Spirit Attribute has exceeded the Apprentice Tier limit. Entering Breaking Limit state.

Under the powerful effect of the [Harvest Festival] Rune Resonance, Fang Zhou’s Spirit Attribute successfully surpassed 10 points. He temporarily broke through the Apprentice Tier’s restriction, entering a Pseudo-Black Iron Lower state.

This was the first time Fang Zhou had activated this Rune Resonance, so he wasn’t sure what exact boons it would provide. Guided by the instinct of a Magic Professional, the powerful Spiritual Power inside him began to spin rapidly within his mind.

Fang Zhou was momentarily taken aback; this was something he had never experienced before. However, recalling his instructors’ teachings, he quickly realized what was happening. This was the process an Apprentice Tier Magic Professional goes through to condense an invisible Mana core.

It was also the inevitable path for an Apprentice Tier Magic Professional to break through their bottleneck and advance to the Black Iron Tier. The ability to condense scattered Spiritual Power deep within the mind, completing the qualitative transformation from Spiritual Power to Mana and forming an invisible Energy Core—this was the most important milestone in becoming a Black Iron Tier Magic Professional.