Lu Jun did not wish to ever use Sacrificial Strike. If that moment came, it would mean he had reached the brink of despair. The essence of six-element magic, even the sacrifice of soul and life, would release a sword as dazzling as a falling star.
The Monarch-level creature before him was strong, but he had defeated such beings before—there was no need to use a sacrificial strike yet.
From the hill several kilometers away, he turned and glanced back, seeing under the pyramid's spectral glow a towering figure. With a single stroke of its sword, it cleaved a deep chasm stretching over a thousand meters into the earth; the sword scar was intensely pronounced.
Dark Sword Lord! Sub-Monarch level!
Seeing this, Lu Jun's thoughts turned, recognizing this humanoid knight demon shrouded in darkness. In his memory, the original story had a Dark Sword Lord guarding the Mirage Pyramid in Pusini, Egypt.
This was extremely rare. Monarch-level beings only guarded actual pyramids, not mirages. At that level, demons possessed extraordinary intelligence; unless deliberate, they would never mistakenly guard an illusion.
If Wrath Sword Death Servants were the Pharaoh's personal guards, then the Dark Sword Lord was the general commanding the palace guards.
Lu Jun speculated that this Dark Sword Lord might have accidentally absorbed some dark-class celestial material, fortuitously ascending from Commander-level peak to Sub-Monarch, which explained why it had been guarding the Mirage Pyramid's edge all this time.
This was dangerous—beyond the scope of Pusini City's response, even exceeding expectations.
It must be noted that Pusini City had only deployed three Super Mages for this Mirage. One remained in the city, guarding the base camp, while the other two led the army outward.
Two Super Mages alone would not be enough to slay the Dark Sword Lord.
Especially since all three Super Mages were ordinary ones—single-element Super-Level without transcendent power.
Lu Jun's mind probed into his personal space, hesitating over a vial of translucent Time-Space Elixir, wondering whether to play his trump card to take down the Dark Sword Lord.
He had faced Monarch-level beings multiple times, but mostly relying on external force to counter them, and there had been no precedent of outright killing one. This temptation stirred him.
However, when he saw four hundred Wrath Sword Death Servants surge from beneath the pyramid and converge with the remaining fifty he had slain, clustering around the Dark Sword Lord, uniting their forces, the overwhelming dark aura blotting out the sky, he abandoned the thought.
If it were only the Dark Sword Lord, he could have had the Mermaid girl ingest the Time-Space Elixir and fuse with him, possibly attempting to slay it.
But if a Monarch-level demon had a cluster of its kin surrounding it, it was not so easy. Better to wait until the Egyptian army had fully assembled.
As for the Blood Abyss Curse Seal, temporarily transforming him into the White Tiger Ascension, the endurance was too low. Killing a life-resilient Monarch in two to three minutes was unrealistic.
If Lu Jun rashly entered the pyramid and was surrounded, it would be disastrous. The five hundred Wrath Sword Death Servants, according to the original text, could not even be handled by A Super-Level Mages.
The key was that they could combine into a sword array, coordinating with one another, their killing power staggering.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Lu Jun thought of the army and then heard the roar of hills behind him, the sounds of battle approaching.
The army surged like a tidal wave, breaking through the Wild Corpse Forest in one go. Magic roared across the sky, brilliance illuminated the dusk, and the aura of destruction swept endlessly…
The Dark Sword Lord beneath the pyramid shifted its gaze, turning attention to the thousands of mages from Pusini City's army.
Beside him, the Night Thunder Dream Beast quietly appeared, carrying him into the shadows, rapidly moving toward the most prominent forty-year-old woman at the center of the army—Strategist Finna, also an Super Mage.
Lu Jun intended to relay information about the Dark Sword Lord and the Wrath Sword Death Servants to Finna. In the original, these two elements had caused heavy losses to the army, nearly wiping them out.
At the army's center, Finna rose above with her Six Wings of Wind, surveying the battlefield. She suddenly sensed shadows writhing nearby, mistakenly thinking assassins were attacking, almost striking.
Fortunately, Lu Jun spoke in time: "It's me, Strategist Finna."
Finna raised her stern brows, speaking low: "You? Captain Lu Jun of the China National Guard? I know you. You led a squad to break through the Poison Gold Mummies—well done. What brings you here now?"
Lu Jun's expression was solemn: "I bring urgent military intelligence. This Mirage Pyramid has a Monarch-level creature—the Dark Sword Lord."
At these words, Wanko beside her was shocked, nearly jumping in fright: "What did you say?! Is it true?!"
Then, screams rang out ahead—human mages being cut down like grass.
Lu Jun said calmly: "You can see it now. Still don't believe me?"
"No!" Wanko swallowed and suggested to Strategist Finna: "General, let's retreat, prepare, and then launch the attack, what do you think?"
"Hehehe…" Finna sneered coldly: "Look around you!"
The last five kilometers were the area with the highest density of undead, and also the strongest undead. Dark corpses were scattered throughout this yellow basin, and the Mirage Pyramid was right at the center of the basin.
The battle, which had started in an orderly manner, gradually descended into utter chaos. The forest-like mass of undead made it impossible to see where the pyramid was. Many units had lost all sense of direction, only instinctively clashing with the undead.
If Finna gave the order to retreat, the entire army would collapse. There would be no way to organize a proper retreat; most of the mages would be left behind.
Only a few high-level elites could withdraw safely.
Moreover, the terrifying aspect of the undead was that they could revive the dead. When they returned next time, this army would serve as nourishment, and they would face an even stronger undead faction.
"We cannot retreat! We must annihilate the Mirage in one blow! Once the Mirage disappears, Pusini City will be safe!"
Finna resolutely stepped forward. The wind wings behind her flapped as she advanced to confront the Dark Sword Lord.
However, she was a Wind-type Advanced Mage. Agile enough to dodge, her offensive power was insufficient. At best, she could stall before a Sub-Monarch but could not stop the Dark Sword Lord's rampage.
Seeing this, Lu Jun frowned. More than ten members of the National Guard present on the battlefield sensed the danger and gradually gathered near him.
Guan Yu asked nervously, "Captain, what should we do now?"
Mu Tingying frowned and said anxiously, "Shall we run? Otherwise, the entire army will be annihilated, and we'll die together."
Upon hearing this, Mo Fan strongly opposed: a cold sneer escaped him. "We cannot run. Wouldn't that make us cowards and deserters?"
He made up his mind to use the Time-Space Elixir, giving it to Fire Spirit Empress, transforming her into the Flame Queen to turn the tide.
Although the battle with a Monarch-level creature would still cause massive casualties among the army's mages, there was no better choice.
"I will act," Lu Jun suddenly said calmly. "I have an idea to restrain the Dark Sword Lord alone, without affecting anyone else."
"Huh?" Everyone was puzzled. "What idea?"
"Dark Duel Contract!" Lu Jun explained. "The Dark Sword Lord is a creature that has signed a contract with the Dark King, so it must abide by certain dark agreements."
"One of these dark contracts states that if someone issues a duel challenge to it, it must accept unconditionally. Because darkness granted it rebirth and immense power, it cannot allow the Dark King to be provoked in any way."
Jiang Yu froze. "Dark Duel Contract? How come I've never heard of it?"
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