Necromancer: I Am A Disaster Chapter 66 - It's Either Him Or Me

Jiang Taotao’s expression shifted dramatically, “Fall back!”

The party immediately retreated from the foot of the mountain.

Hundreds of Mermaid-type monsters surged down from the summit, completely cutting off the path upward.

“Someone lured them here on purpose.” Lin Moyu thought to himself, spotting a figure running ahead of the horde.

The person wore a strange outfit—clearly not from Xiajing Academy or the Shenxia Empire.

Jiang Taotao narrowed her eyes, “He's from the Sakura Kingdom, likely an Onmyoji [1]. It’s a class unique to their country.”

Embroidered cherry blossom patterns decorated his clothing.

Lin Moyu frowned. He had never heard of the Onmyoji class.

“I’ve heard it’s a sinister one.” Ning Yiyi said darkly.

Jiang Taotao nodded, “It is. Full of underhanded tricks.”

The Onmyoji pulled out two talismans and hurled them—one to the left, one to the right.

They exploded midair, summoning two massive phantoms that charged toward the mountain's base.

Like the Skeletal Warrior, the phantoms lured the monsters in the pools at the foot of the mountain.

The students from Qianlong Institute, already retreating, were quickly surrounded.

They unleashed their skills one after another, desperately trying to break through—but the number of monsters was overwhelming.

Most couldn’t escape. One by one, white light flashed over them, teleporting them away.

The Mission Stones given to the students before entering the island doubled as Teleportation Stones.

In moments of danger, students could use the Mission Stones to escape—but doing so meant failing the trial.

Ning Yiyi said grimly, “That’s the Onmyoji’s Shikigami [2] skill. It’s said to summon Ancient Gods.”

Miao Yu asked quietly, “Why would he do this?”

“He’s trying to stop us from reaching the mountaintop.” Jiang Taotao replied.

The base of the mountain was now swarming with over 200 monsters. Another hundred crowded the mountain path. More than 300 monsters in total stood between them and their goal.

Clearing them all would take hours.

The Onmyoji sat atop one of his Shikigami, which floated in the air, “You’re not going anywhere. This dungeon belongs to Sakura Kingdom now.”

With that, he disappeared in an instant, riding atop his Shikigami.

“Shameless bastard.”

“Onmyoji is a legendary class... Sakura Kingdom’s going all out.”

“By the time we deal with these monsters, we’ll have lost too much time.”

“Our parties are a mess, and many people have already withdrawn from the trial.”

“It’s fine. We’ll regroup once we reach the dungeon.”

“The real issue is—how do we even get up there?”

“Maybe someone could sacrifice themself and lure the monsters away?”

“Oh, come on. What do you think we are, level 40 class users who have undergone the second awakenings? Luring monsters isn’t that simple.”

“These aren’t just a dozen. There are hundreds!”

“Let the Summoners do it.”

“Summoners aren’t miracle workers. A handful of monsters, sure—but hundreds? Be serious.”

Jiang Taotao turned to Lin Moyu, “Can you handle it?”

Lin Moyu nodded silently, and the Skeletal Warrior sprinted away.

“Huh? A skeleton? An undead summon?”

“Whose summon is that?”

“What’s it doing?”

“It’s drawing the monsters away. Damn, it’s fast.”

The Skeletal Warrior quickly became the center of attention as a wave of Mermaid-type monsters shrieked and gave chase.

In an instant, nearly a third of the monsters had been lured away.

Jiang Taotao let out a sigh, “That helps, but there’s still too many left.”

Click, click.

A second Skeletal Warrior emerged and sprinted away.

“There’s two?” Jiang Taotao’s eyes lit up. She hadn’t expected Lin Moyu to summon another.

Hope reignited.

The second skeleton drew away another group of monsters.

The monsters at the base of the mountain were mostly gone—only the ones on the mountain path remained.

But compared to before, clearing them would be much faster.

“Nice work!”

“Brother, you’re amazing.”

“Brother, I owe you a drink after this trial!”

“Next dungeon run, you’re with us!”

Cheers and praise echoed around Lin Moyu.

Ning Yiyi smiled radiantly, clearly more delighted by the recognition Lin Moyu received than if it were her own.

Only Ling Zhen stood stiff, his face pale and expression bitter—like he’d swallowed something foul.

Just then, a third skeleton appeared.

“There’s a third one?!”

“It’s settled now!”

The group erupted into cheers.

“Get ready to climb.” Lin Moyu said in a quiet tone.

Jiang Taotao was already prepared, “Got it.”

The third Skeletal Warrior dashed forward, luring away the remaining monsters on the mountain path.

Seizing the moment, Jiang Taotao took the lead and bolted up the mountain. The other parties immediately followed.

In truth, Lin Moyu didn’t need to go to such lengths. He could have used Corpse Explosion to wipe out the monsters in an instant.

But he didn’t—because of Ling Zhen.

Lin Moyu had no intention of helping him.

Since they were in the same party, using Corpse Explosion would mean sharing the EXP equally. And after being provoked over and over again, Lin Moyu had no desire to let Ling Zhen benefit.

If they were anywhere else, Ling Zhen might already be dead.

Everyone raced up the mountain path.

The mountain wasn’t especially tall—just a few hundred meters—and within minutes, they reached the summit, where the dungeon entrance finally came into view.

At that same moment, another group appeared from the opposite side of the mountaintop.

“Get in the dungeon! Don’t let them beat us to it!” The students from Qianlong Institute shouted.

Jiang Taotao sprinted toward the entrance.

“Huh?”

“How did they get up here?”

“Can they fly or something?!”

Seated atop his Shikigami, suspended midair, the Onmyoji wore a strange expression.

He had gone out of his way to lure a horde of monsters to block their path. With that many monsters, he expected it would take Qianlong Institute hours to break through. By then, the Sakura Kingdom would’ve already cleared the dungeon and left.

But against all expectations, the Qianlong Institute’s students had climbed the mountain faster than anticipated.

Now, both sides reached the mountaintop at the same time. After exchanging a brief, tense glance, they rushed toward the dungeon’s entrance.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Arrows sliced through the air, then rained down like a storm.

“Watch out! It’s the Archer skill—Rain of Arrows!”

Sakura Kingdom's Archers launched a sudden barrage.

The Qianlong Institute’s Knights immediately raised their shields, while Mages cast defensive spells.

Two skeletons appeared in front of Lin Moyu, shielding him and Ning Yiyi from the onslaught.

“That bastard dares to attack us first?! Let’s wreck him!”

“Yeah, let’s give him a proper beating!”

In retaliation, the Qianlong Institute’s Archers and Mages unleashed their own barrage. Arrows flew and magic spells exploded in all directions, lighting up the battlefield.

Although they were only around level 20, their skills were still dazzling.

Healers stood in the rear, continuously providing treatment, while supports provided status buffs. Pillars of healing light bloomed across the battlefield.

Knights from both sides charged into the fray, clashing violently with one another.

There had been no time for formation—no time for strategy.

The battlefield was chaos.

With both sides evenly matched in strength, neither could gain the upper hand.

From what Lin Moyu could tell, Shenxia Empire’s side should have the upper hand.

The students from Qianlong Institute were all elite class users, their skills and equipment both top-tier.

The Sakura Kingdom group was also made up of elites—but compared to Shenxia Empire’s group, they still fell a bit short.

The only issue was that the Onmyoji from earlier lured monsters, causing the Shenxia Empire's parties to become incomplete, drastically reducing their combat strength.

This resulted in the battle reaching a stalemate, making it difficult to declare a victor.

Both sides clashed fiercely in front of the dungeon, but neither could push forward.

As the fighting dragged on, Mages began to run low on spirit force and downed potions to replenish it. The skills of Archers and Knights entered cooldown.

The skirmish gradually slowed.

Eventually, both sides pulled back, weapons lowered but eyes wary.

From start to finish, Lin Moyu never made a move. His skills were simply too devastating.

He figured if the Skeleton Warriors landed even one hit, the enemy might drop dead.

And if he followed up with a Corpse Explosion, there probably wouldn't be anyone left standing.

Jiang Taotao had mentioned that while the rivalry between the two nations ran deep, it rarely led to casualties.

Despite how fierce the fight appeared, it ended with only a few injuries—quickly healed by the Healers.

The first clash ended without a clear victor. Both sides remained on high alert, neither daring to let their guard down.

The dungeon lay just ahead, and the prize—Mermaid’s Tears—was something neither side was willing to give up on.

“Our parties are a mess. We need to reorganize.”

“If we regroup properly, we can definitely overpower them.”

The earlier monster ambush had caused many to drop out, leaving parties in disarray and at a disadvantage in battle.

“We need a long-range damage dealer. Mage or Archer. Must be level 22 or lower.”

“Healer needed—level 21 or below. Come join if you're available!”

“Looking for a Mage, level 23 or below!”

There was a shortage of damage dealers—followed closely by a shortage of Healers.

When the monster ambush happened earlier, many Mages had been forced to quit the trial.

To make matters worse, party level restriction added extra pressure.

The average level of a party entering the Mermaid Dungeon couldn’t exceed 20.

Just then, Ling Zhen said abruptly, “Party leader, I want to switch parties.”

Jiang Taotao blinked in surprise, “What?”

“I can’t stand being in the same party as him anymore.” Ling Zhen pointed straight at Lin Moyu, “Either he goes, or I do.”

Not just Jiang Taotao—Duan Gao and Miao Yu also looked stunned.

He chose now, of all times—right in front of the dungeon entrance—to throw this ultimatum?

Duan Gao’s expression darkened, “Ling Zhen, you’re out of line.”

Miao Yu added, “Seriously. If Lin Moyu hadn’t lured those monsters away, none of us would’ve even made it up here.”

Ling Zhen shrugged, “Not my problem. Like I said—him or me.”

Ning Yiyi scoffed, her voice full of contempt, “Ling Zhen, you really are trash.”

He ignored Ning Yiyi, staring straight at Jiang Taotao, “Party leader. Choose.”

[1] - Onmyoji

[2] - Shikigami