The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 73 A Masterful Way of Insulting (4.8k words, please continue reading)
It is known that the bard's potential depends on the strength of his teammates.

Now, the strongest teammate has disappeared due to magic.

Please provide the result.

"What else can I say?"

They knew that the other party couldn't actually take 'Wolf's' head.

Tang Qi gritted his teeth and had no choice but to analyze the rapidly deteriorating situation.
"Is it because he didn't release the [Arcane Eye], or does he inherently possess two fourth-ring slots?"

[Exile], a fourth-circle protection spell.
Sends a visible creature to a harmless plane, rendering it incapacitated for one minute. When the spell ends, the target will reappear in the space it was in before being banished.

If the target is not a creature from this plane, it will be banished back to its original home.

And the very act of banishing the 'only dwarf who has caused harm so far'.

This already implies that he wants to resolve everything within this minute.

And he still possesses at least two third-circle spells—

If he had prepared a Fireball spell, burning the entire camp to ashes wouldn't seem like a problem.

But he hasn't done that yet.

Is it because all his remaining spells require him to maintain focus?

Apart from a few exceptionally gifted individuals, most spellcasters are unable to maintain two focuses.

The [Exile] spell happens to occupy one of those slots.

The situation may not be as bad as he imagines.

"Stop playing dead, Kuru!"

Tang Qi swept down the chords, and the rhythm of the song quickened due to the sudden change in the situation.
"Don't blame me for being sharp-tongued; the descendants of dragons should not be so humble!"
Don't be a coward begging for mercy; this is an opportunity to prove yourself to our ancestors with courage!

As Tang Qi sang, Kuru, who had been kneeling on the ground kowtowing repeatedly, suddenly felt a warm current surge in his chest.

This strangeness is actually not unfamiliar—

For the weak kobolds, the dark, sunless dungeons are no safer than the surface.

The giant spiders, ochre-frozen monsters, and countless other unnamed beasts and earthworms that lurked underground had repeatedly plunged it and its kind into peril...

But whenever it is on the verge of despair, it always hears the call of its ancient ancestors.

The murmuring whisper seemed to be telling itself that it shouldn't die yet, causing its blood to burn.

Only at this moment is it calm and fearless enough.

Now, that song makes its blood boil again, and makes its narrow eyes become incredibly clear.

Kuru straightened his knees, and a faint blue light flashed from the tip of his wand.

The ice crystals that were swung out pierced the night and struck the 'skull' squarely in the chest!

"Rua!"

Just as Kuru was about to shout with joy, he noticed a wisp of black smoke rising from the dark sternum at the end of the cold light.

As the ice crystals shattered, the frost flowers exploded in mid-air.

Clearly, even with encouragement, Kuru's current level is still quite weak.

"You've never been to a hair salon; you've already lost your hair follicles!"

The ensuing curses made 'Skull's' already dizzy head ache.

He even noticed that the hole on his forehead was bleeding profusely due to his emotional outburst.

A distorted vortex nearly erupted around him, so he quickly reached out and forcefully closed the dimensional portal—

The insults actually affected his mind and disrupted his concentration!

Is it a spell that inflicts psychological damage?

Why has he never heard of it before?
"Shut up!"

He flew into a rage, flipping through the pages of the book, muttering obscene curses. Suddenly, a withered vine, twisted into a ring, emerged from the pages.
"【Blooming Leaves】!"

Tang Qi's "Alertness" did not activate, which meant that the vines were not targeting him.

The emerging vines instantly crumbled into black ash, drifting into a tent behind the 'skull's' fingertips—

Those were the tents of several mercenaries!
As the powder scattered around, the large fern leaves on the damp soil looked as if they had been drained of nutrients, visibly decaying.

Their vibrant branches drooped until they withered.

A series of mournful cries suddenly echoed from inside the tent.

Tang Qi did not see any mercenaries escape.

Only a touch of new green, a glimmer of light symbolizing vitality and nourishment, connects back to the 'skull's' fingertips, clinging to his arms and reaching the bloody hole in his forehead.

The wriggling flesh begins to close, repair itself, and even return to its original smoothness.

If it weren't for the blood covering his gaunt face, no one would have thought he had been injured.

Tang Qi realized the situation was dire and quickly began to pluck the strings of his zither:
"You might as well stay the way you were before, so your head doesn't shine like the sun!"

"Rua!"

The [Freezing Ray] arrived at the same time as Tang Qi's curses, but neither of them had any effect.

"Perhaps those lunatics who only know how to use Fireball and Rising Ring Fireball are right..."

Why didn't I spend a fortune back then to copy and memorize a scroll for the [Fireball] spell?

This is certainly because magic is monopolized and cannot be easily obtained.

But for the first time, 'Skull' regretted the path he had chosen.

If he possessed this 'most popular spell,' he wouldn't be in such a predicament or facing such trouble.

Three fireballs would be enough to burn the entire camp to the ground.

Now, because of the occupied focus position, he can only choose to ascend to the ring to cast spells.

But fortunately, as a scholar who studies 'the undead,' he understands that what separates life and death is actually an unobstructed bridge—

Magic can kill.

It can also bring people back to life:
"Rise, my servant!"

As his whispers raged, the tent that had been wailing not long ago suddenly emitted a series of intermittent gurgling groans.

In the darkness of the night, Tang Qi saw two mercenaries clad in chainmail and wielding longswords slowly move out of the shadows—

By the light of the fire in the center of the camp, he could see that beneath the mercenary's iron helmet were a pair of empty, lifeless eyes.

"It still came to this."

Upon realizing that 'Skull' was studying the necromancy faction, Tang Qi had already given up the idea of ​​calling on mercenaries to join the battle.

That's a necromancer!
The more henchmen he has, the more advantageous it is for him.

The mercenaries' corpses have been desecrated. Grayish-black mist still lingers on their shriveled skin, constantly corroding the flesh and exposing the stark white bones beneath the tissue, yet not a single drop of blood can be seen.

All the 'vitality' has already flowed through the lungs and heart of the 'skull'.

Third Ring Spell: [Revitalize the Dead]

The 'Skull' understood perfectly well that the 'hero' who played the piano was too strange and possessed methods that he could not comprehend.

With spell slots nearly depleted, a minute is not enough to wipe out the entire camp.

Then he had no choice but to accomplish his initial objective, pointing the finger at Catherine and issuing the order:

"Catch her."

The two mummies roared and charged toward Catherine in an instant!

Corpses brought to life by necromancers are even more threatening than they were in life.

Despite his pigeon-toed gait, which appeared unsteady and shaky, he was surprisingly fast.

When Kuru's [Freezing Ray] shot straight at them, it couldn't even keep up with their nimble steps.

Having discerned the source of the ice crystals, 'Skull' snorted coldly and snapped his fingers.

A deep, muffled chime suddenly rang in Kulu's ears.

"Om-"

The bell tolled into its eardrums, its trembling, intermittent ringing like the cracking of teeth against its ear, faintly tinged with a mournful, bone-chilling wail…

"Rua—"

The dog-headed man had a splitting headache and tightly covered his ears.

Then, with its eyes rolling back, it let out a whimper and foamed at the mouth.

He fell directly into a large patch of fern leaves.

"Kuru!"

Tang Qi knew that the dog-headed mage was thin-skinned and weak.

Who would have thought that a simple "Death Knell" trick would be enough to make it lie more upright than a zombie?

Hmm, something's not right?

He looked closely and saw the dog-headed man, hidden by ferns, crawling away into the distance...

Damn it, playing dead again!?
Clearly, Kulu believed he had exhausted his only remaining ring position.

The freezing rays were ineffective, and they were already prepared to slip away if things went wrong—

That bell tolled just now almost killed it; it still hadn't had time to wipe the drool from the corner of its mouth.

They dare not show their faces again!
Considering that he had just encouraged Kuru, the reward he received was minimal.

Tang Qi was too lazy to force a kobold to join him, and suppressed his cowardly nature.

Instead, he made up his mind and issued the order:
"Ambi, take your sister away from the forest!"

Then, suddenly, he began to pluck the strings.
"Hey!

I know what you looked like in the past; you certainly didn't have rigor mortis back then—

"My hair used to grow like thick seaweed, not as polished and shiny as it is now!" 'Skull' couldn't understand why this damned poet cared so much about his hair.

What did the bald man do to offend him?

But what's even more incomprehensible is—

He knew perfectly well that the other party was deliberately provoking him.

The brain, however, still cannot withstand the stimulation and feels pain and dizziness.

"shut up!"

As he maintained the [Exile] spell, the white mist in his hand transformed into an illusory skeletal hand, enveloped in a chilling aura, stretching out its ferocious claws towards Tang Qi.

"Without the dwarves, who else can stop it for you?"

He seemed incredibly confident, believing that the [Frozen Touch] would be enough to pierce his throat, rendering him unable to sing another song.

However, Tang Qi's "alertness" did not activate, so he neither avoided nor dodged.

The bone claw veered past his shoulder and disintegrated in mid-air.

"How can it be!?"

Amidst the shock of the 'skull', Tang Qi continued singing:

"The wind blows by without any obstruction, and I no longer feel an itchy scalp!"

"Isn't that great!?"

That's what they said, but 'Skull' almost gritted his teeth as he retorted—

The lyrics seem to sing about the advantages of being bald, but in the end, they're still talking about his baldness!

Sarcasm is also a form of cursing!
He quickly glanced at the two running corpses out of the corner of his eye; they had already passed Tang Qi.

Tang Qi did not swat at them, so the corpses staggered toward Catherine at the edge of the camp.

Anbi's beastly eyes flashed with ferocity, and her sharp wolf claws blocked her sister's path, leaving her with nowhere to retreat—

"Don't worry about your sister, just take care of yourself!"

Tang Qi gave another order, which made Anbi blink in surprise:

"I understand!"

She didn't actually understand Tang Qi's intentions.

But she knows how to be obedient.

"Let's see how long you can keep singing!"

'Skull' realized that his aim was going astray because of his headache.

He snapped his fingers, ringing a mournful bell in Tang Qi's ear.

Even though the howling of the "Death Bell" is so mournful, it sounds like someone is wailing in your ear.

Tang Qi, however, always managed to dispel the fear it evoked with a lighter melody and a more soaring voice:
"By day you reflect the sun's brilliance, by night you become the radiant moon!"

"The loss of nutrients to the hair is the inevitable fate of every necromancer!"

"It's not like I'm the only one like this!"

If this weren't mentioned, he wouldn't have cared much about his baldness.

But as the song played, he found it increasingly difficult to suppress his desire to refute it.

He desperately tried to maintain the [Exile] spell, but after exhausting all his rings, he found that his magic seemed to be completely ineffective!
He then realized that he had made a mistake:
"It should be this rotten mouth that should be banished!"

With the stalemate ongoing, their only hope is that the two corpses will succeed soon—

They are already within reach!

Catherine also trusted Don Qi and stopped running around recklessly.

But when danger approached, instinct made her close her eyes tightly.

But the rotten, withered hand failed to grasp the girl's shoulder as it had hoped.

Just before they were about to touch Catherine, a transparent aura, like flowing bubbles, enveloped her entire body.

"..."

The two corpses made gurgling sounds from their throats, as if they had lost their target, and froze in place at the same time.

After hesitating for a moment, he instead swung his longsword at Ambition!
But Ambi was agile enough to dodge the longsword and fled in another direction like a wolf, taking the two lifeless corpses with him.

"how come--"

The 'Skull' naturally knew the source of that light and looked at Tang Qi in surprise.

"How could you possibly use a protective spell!?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Tang Qi gripped the [Concentric Ring] pendant he had just put on his neck, feeling his spirit drain away.

I just felt a sense of weariness creeping in.

But he was certain it was enough to sustain the attack for at least a minute.

The fact that he can unleash [Vicious Words] without limit proves that his mental capacity has reached the requirements for using a first-level spell.

However, the spells of bards originate from the vibrations of music, which are difficult to comprehend, which is why Tang Qi still doesn't have a single decent spell to his name.

"Impossible, impossible!"

The 'Skull' glared at Tang Qi with obvious resentment.

He's a fourth-circle spellcaster!
After going through countless hardships, including acting, enduring beatings, exhausting his resources, and even using his life's work and pride in his magic, he managed to bring two exceptional corpses back to life...

All for the sake of obtaining that 'perfect head'.

Now all of this has gone bankrupt because of a poet who only cared about singing the whole time?
He simply couldn't accept this outcome!

But the truth was right in front of him.

The resentment building up in his chest was making him lose focus.

He knew he couldn't stay any longer.

Otherwise, once the [Exile] spell wears off, he, a mage whose ring level has been exhausted, will be no different from a fish on a chopping board waiting to be slaughtered!

Left with no other choice, he could only whistle.

A mournful neigh rang out, and a ghostly, transparent steed, its skeleton exposed, suddenly charged out from outside the camp.

Such spells, which take effect through 'rituals', do not occupy spell slots.

So before he disguised himself as a 'hunter', he had prepared it outside the camp in advance as a means to leave quickly.

Tang Qi, however, was unwilling to let him leave—

Please, they finally exhausted their ring positions!
If we let him escape, and then launch a surprise attack tomorrow after we've made full preparations, the situation won't be as easy as it is today.

The current advantage is largely due to the information gap created by the 'Skeletons' ignorance of the [Bard].

"Enjoy the freedom to roam the sea, and you're happy to help others—"

After all, its light shines like a lighthouse, always guiding the way forward and showing direction!

However, his overly eager singing caused him to lose his original rhythm and pitch.

The sarcastic curses could no longer stop 'Skull's' advance.

As he mounted his horse, he gave his final orders to the two corpses:

"Stop them!"

The skeletal colt beneath him moved like a ghost, galloping swiftly into the misty forest.

Kuru, who had been feigning death, realized the situation and tried to stop him with the [Freezing Ray].

But the howling death knell seemed to still echo in their ears, causing ice crystals to slam into trees not far away.

Just then, a vortex suddenly appeared in mid-air—

With a loud crash, the rubble plummeted from the vortex:
"Screw you, I was in freefall for a full minute!"

He cursed as he got up, then looked around, but couldn't see the spellcaster at all.

On the open ground, only two withered corpses remained, about to simultaneously swing their swords at Tang Qi—

As Tang Qi parried with his curved blade, Sui Shi rushed forward and smashed the head of a corpse with a hammer:

"Where is that mage?"

Tang Qi dodged the splattering brains, his mind preoccupied with figuring out how to catch up with the 'Skull' later.

Therefore, the answer is brief:
"They ran away after I yelled at them."

"Cut off his goatee! You mean you drove away a fourth-ring spellcaster just by swearing at him!?"

The pebble stared wide-eyed, unable to contain its astonishment.

"How did you curse?"

"Use a more 'sophisticated' way of cursing."

Tang Qi glanced at the rubble.
You probably can't do it.

The gravel clearly saw where his gaze had landed:
"Yeah, my insults are always 'low' level—"

He couldn't help but retort.
"He keeps staring at my legs."

Are you fucking crazy?

　To maintain emotional flow, I'll finish this chapter in one go. Today, I'll release an even larger chapter all at once, which should be more enjoyable to read all at once.

　　We must press our advantage and continue our momentum.

　　To clarify, generally speaking, some spells in D&D require a hit, while others require a saving throw. However, since it's impossible to directly write the numerical values, the spelling is designed to ensure that each has both success and failure.

　　One round, which is the time to cast a spell, takes about six seconds. So although they seemed to have done a lot, only about a minute had actually passed...

　　Finally, thank you all for reading!
　　I'll be relying on everyone these next few days!!!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)