Chapter 297: Life

After thinking for a moment, Richard entered the Dragon Hall.

All of his treasures were stored here. He could also release certain powers to determine exactly what this skeleton was after.

Shua!

The skeleton suddenly released him.

Richard watched as it grabbed something—a golden rose adorned with silver veins.

Naturally, it wasn’t a real flower.

It was a material.

Rose of Eternia.

A treasure even Richard himself had yet to understand.

He had received it from a Skylight Clan Ancestor, who was said to be the son of the Skylight Grand Sovereign.

That ancestor had instructed him to sell it for one billion Nature Spirits.

However, for some reason, Richard had kept it until now.

Naturally, he was reluctant to lose it to the skeleton.

But knowing he was powerless to stop it, he chose to remain silent and watch.

After grabbing the rose, the skeleton opened its mouth.

Its jaw stretched surprisingly wide before swallowing the rose whole.

Yet instead of falling downward, the rose floated upward inside the skull, toward where its brain should have been.

Richard took a deep breath as he witnessed blood vessels emerging from the rose.

They connected themselves to the bones of the skull.

Then flesh began appearing on its forehead.

Only there at first, but it gradually formed the upper portion of a head.

Black hair subsequently grew from it.

The skeleton’s eyes blinked.

Eyelids had already formed, though its eyes themselves remained nothing more than glowing lights.

Afterward, the skeleton’s gaze toward Richard seemed different.

"Boyo, help me find the rest of my body."

Richard: "..."

"Who exactly are you?"

The moment he asked, the skeleton grabbed his throat and squeezed hard.

"Boyo, keep quiet and obey my orders. The rest of my body parts were taken from this world and forged into various artifacts. I will remain here forever, and you must gather them all. Once I recover, I will naturally repay your kindness."

Richard didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

In the end, he had somehow become a hostage of a terrifying creature and had been assigned the task of collecting its missing body parts.

Where was he even supposed to find them?

"Do you know where they are?" he asked as the skeleton’s grip loosened slightly.

Unfortunately, the grip tightened again immediately afterward.

"Yes, I’ll look for them," Richard quickly replied.

"Remember to take me out of here."

The instant those words were spoken, Richard was suddenly expelled from the Dragon Hall.

He couldn’t have been more confused because he hadn’t even intended to leave.

This meant the skeleton could influence the Dragon Hall despite the artifact being bound exclusively to him.

Richard could only hope that the creature needed to remain inside the Dragon Hall to survive outside.

Wasn’t that usually how things worked?

Creatures originating from hidden worlds such as the World of Death couldn’t normally enter the real world.

Even if they could, they usually required a special artifact as a vessel.

A moment later, Richard realized something even more troubling.

Although he still controlled the Dragon Hall, he couldn’t force the skeleton out.

He scratched his head.

His mood instantly worsened.

How could he possibly feel at ease with such a terrifying existence living inside his artifact?

He couldn’t help wondering whether someone like White Ancestor could defeat that skeleton.

With his appearance concealed once more, he flew back toward the training area of the Order of the Crimson Veil members.

Their battle sessions had been much shorter than his own.

Richard found them resting atop a black stone mountain.

His sudden arrival startled them.

Carla immediately became excited and nearly called out his name before remembering that he was hiding his identity.

Ignoring the gazes of the others, Richard walked straight toward her.

Charles stared at him most intensely.

Although he clearly couldn’t identify Richard, perhaps because of their hostility toward one another, his instincts seemed to tell him to dislike the mysterious figure regardless of who he was.

"Where are we heading next?" Richard asked Carla.

"Our training is basically finished. Looking for another location would be too dangerous. But there’s still plenty of time left. I heard something interesting is happening elsewhere—a battle between the Ancient Barbarian Tribe and Grace of the Moonshadow Clan."

"Why are they fighting?" Richard immediately asked, his curiosity piqued because Grace was involved.

He was even more surprised by the girl’s strength.

Fighting the entire Ancient Barbarian Tribe?

It should be remembered that the Barbarian King was genuinely powerful—a Peak Ruler feared for his combat strength.

Yet Grace wasn’t merely opposing him.

She was opposing the entire tribe.

"That woman took the ancestral skeleton of the Ancient Barbarian Tribe, which had been lost for ages. It wasn’t merely the skeleton of a Barbarian Ancestor. After enduring within the World of Death for so long, it had evolved to another level. They say it’s comparable to a Titan Skeleton. Grace has already fused with it, giving her an even more terrifying physique. The Barbarian King and his tribesmen want to kill her and reclaim the skeleton."

Hearing about another skeleton, Richard didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He had also encountered a powerful skeleton.

Unfortunately, his was still alive.

He couldn’t help wondering how powerful Grace’s body had become after obtaining a skeleton comparable to a Titan Skeleton.

The last time they fought, their physical strength had been nearly equal.

Back then, Richard had already possessed a Titan Skeleton.

"Do you want to watch?" Carla asked.

"Maybe both sides will end up severely injured, and we can seize the skeleton."

"Miss, it might be too late for that. They’ve already stopped fighting. Grace managed to escape from the Ancient Barbarian Tribe’s Prison Domain. She’s gone, and they can no longer track her. Right now, they’re rampaging in anger and attacking anyone they encounter," one of the members suddenly reported.

"Really? She escaped their Prison Domain?" Carla and the others were shocked.

"She’s already as strong as an Ancient Sovereign," another member replied.

"That’s incredible. She’s growing stronger as quickly as Queen Lilith did."

The moment Queen Lilith was mentioned, everyone’s eyes drifted toward Charles.

His expression immediately darkened.