Chapter 57: The Indestructible Phylactery

"Master, hold on tight!"

As Frost's voice faded, the chill across its body instantly converged on its back.

A dark-blue solid ice throne formed in the blink of an eye, complete with bone-spur carved armrests on either side.

"You really know how to set the mood."

Su Mubai raised an eyebrow and sat straight down on the throne.

Although it looked freezing cold, there was no chill whatsoever upon sitting down.

Hearing his master's praise, a trace of delight flickered in Frost's eyes.

Feeling Su Mubai take his seat, the dragon beat its wings fiercely and soared into the sky!

Flying has always been a long-held dream for most humans.

Riding a giant dragon in flight felt completely different from sitting in an airplane.

Through the gaps in Frost's skeletal frame, Su Mubai looked at the scenery flashing past at breakneck speed, unable to help a silent sigh of wonder.

I wonder if I'll ever get to ride a true divine dragon!

While the Frost Dragon was pretty good, such a giant lizard still couldn't compare to an authentic celestial dragon.

During the flight, Su Mubai felt a thin protective barrier surrounding his body, perfectly insulating him from the rushing wind.

No matter how fast Frost flew, he didn't feel the slightest wind pressure.

It was a pity that the Forgotten Lands possessed a barrier that prevented Frost from flying beyond this region.

...

In the various novice villages, players had yet to recover from the shock of the mount leaderboard when their defenses were breached all over again.

"Quick, go look! White Night's mount has changed!"

"What do you mean changed? We're still stuck in the novice village, and he's already changing mounts?!"

"Am I seeing things? It was just a Legendary-tier Frost Dragon, how did it suddenly turn into a Mythic-tier Frost Dragon King?!"

"Could his mount have advanced in rank so quickly?"

"I seriously suspect that we and White Night are not playing the same game."

"Exactly! If what we're playing is Hell mode, then White Night is definitely playing a cracked version!"

"Heh, too bad Hell mode and the cracked version are on the same server."

"Please, stop talking. I'm going to go grind levels right now, okay?"

"Don't compare yourself to White Night. Think of something happy instead. I just saw my previous boss earlier—the guy is only level three and supposedly awakened an F-rank talent. Hahaha, I'm dying."

"Now that you mention it, I suddenly feel a lot better. I might not be able to compare to White Night, but surely I can still beat those heartless capitalists? Their money is useless here."

...

Su Mubai naturally remained unaware of the players' reactions, but even if he knew, he wouldn't care.

Especially after seeing Frost's brand-new attribute panel, his horizons had been vastly broadened.

After experiencing a few minutes of flight, Su Mubai put away his curiosity and ordered Frost to land.

Returning to their original spot, Rhode was still standing there with his eyes closed, sensing Franklin's soul signature.

"Haven't sensed it yet?"

Su Mubai frowned slightly at the sight.

A short distance away, Frost's body shimmered with an ice-blue glow as it shrank to the size of a palm, flapped its wings to perch on Su Mubai's shoulder, and tilted its head in curiosity. "Master, what is he doing?"

"Helping me find a lich's phylactery."

"A lich? I can sense it!"

"Where?"

Su Mubai's eyes lit up at those words. Rhode also opened his eyes, casting a resentful look at Frost.

Good grief, if you could sense it all along, why didn't you say so earlier?

Su Mubai hadn't expected Frost to possess this ability either. Waving his hand, he recalled the entire skeleton army back into his summoning space, and guided by Frost, they quickly located Franklin's phylactery.

[Current Exploration Progress: 95%]

[Franklin's Phylactery]

Epic-tier Item

Durability: 1,000,000 / 1,000,000

This is a life-saving artifact meticulously crafted by Franklin during his prime, preserving his soul flame within. As long as the phylactery remains intact, the lich is immortal.

(A lich's phylactery is its ultimate safeguard, usually indestructible. Destroying it will permanently eliminate the Forsaken One, Franklin.)

"Damn, one million durability?"

Su Mubai was somewhat surprised.

The durability of this phylactery was simply too high!

Legendary-tier equipment only had around 1,000 points of durability.

He had been grinding here for so long, and his several pieces of Legendary gear had only lost a single point of durability altogether.

How long would it take to destroy something like this?

Furthermore, the phylactery was quite small—only about thirty centimeters across—giving the skeleton army no room to deploy their forces.

After a moment of thought, Su Mubai spoke up, "Frost, can you break this thing?"

"I'll try."

Miniature Frost nodded, gathering frost dragon breath in its mouth and exhaling it directly toward the phylactery.

Boom!

Terrifying cold air intertwined with scorching dragon breath, perfectly fusing two opposing forces as they battered Franklin's phylactery.

Yet, the unassuming phylactery didn't budge an inch, its durability not dropping by a single point.

"I refuse to believe it!"

A flash of anger crossed Frost's face. Its tiny form transformed into a blue-black bolt of lightning, and its dragon claws lashed out at the phylactery.

Thud!

A muffled, heavy impact echoed, but the phylactery remained completely undamaged.

Frost shook its tingling dragon claws and looked up at Su Mubai with a wronged expression.

"I'm sorry, Master. My level is still too low; I can't break it."

Suffering a setback on its very first attempt was clearly a blow to its pride.

As a Mythic-tier creature, it was utterly helpless against an Epic-tier lich's phylactery.

How humiliating—oh, make that humiliating for a dragon!

"It's that tough?"

Su Mubai's brow furrowed tightly. He recalled the dejected Frost and narrowed his eyes.

[Gaze of Death]!

However, the infallible [Gaze of Death] failed to work this time.

The phylactery was completely sealed; although Franklin's soul flame was hidden inside, the item itself was merely a box, rendering [Gaze of Death] ineffective.

At that moment, Franklin's hoarse, mocking voice rang out from within the phylactery: "Human, give up. With your current strength, you have no way to destroy my phylactery!"

Franklin's voice was filled with confidence. In his prime, although he was still only an Epic-tier entity, his level had reached as high as Level 200!

While he was shocked as to how Su Mubai had managed to form a contract with a Frost Dragon King, this dragon king was clearly in a newly born state and could not yet threaten the phylactery he had painstakingly forged at the height of his power.

"Lord White Night, let me do it."

Rhode spoke up suddenly. He hadn't uttered a word since arriving here.

Right now, he looked as though he had made a resolute decision.

"You? Just a wisp of a remnant soul, what could you possibly accomplish?"

Franklin's sneering voice echoed, but Su Mubai suddenly understood.

Is this going to be a scripted plot kill?

No wonder such an indestructible phylactery existed.

Sure enough, a flash of determination crossed Rhode's eyes as he said in a deep voice, "What I can accomplish, you will find out very soon!"

As his voice trailed off, a ghostly blue glow suddenly erupted from Rhode's form.

The next moment, the phylactery began to vibrate violently, and Franklin's voice turned to one of panic.

"Mortal, what have you done?!"

"Heh, I simply awakened the clansmen you devoured!"

"Franklin, your time of death has come!"

Rhode's voice was filled with rage, intertwined with the joy of impending vengeance.

As the light grew increasingly blinding, his soul form lost its human silhouette, transforming into a sphere of energy that completely enveloped the phylactery.

"Lord White Night, Sunset Town thanks you for everything you have done."

With Rhode's final words, the previously impregnable phylactery popped open automatically!

Inside the phylactery, a cluster of soul flame trembled, seemingly seeking an opportunity to escape.

However, before Frost or Su Mubai could move, a pale grey light suddenly lit up on the back of Su Mubai's left hand, and the [Book of the Dead] manifested on its own.

"What is this?! No...!!!"

Leaving behind a despairing cry, Franklin's soul flame was sucked completely dry and absorbed by the [Book of the Dead]!