Lee Shin-Woo had obviously noticed the Beast General's skill activation before Retadane. Being a Breathing Bone Joker with Rule of Bone, he was more sensitive to anything regarding bones and could react more quickly than anyone else.

But this is...

Moreover, Lee Shin-Woo had sensed a new possibility when the Beast General created the Garden of Thorns. The giant bone thorns had certainly originated from the Beast General, yet he felt like he could control them himself.

Rule of Bone was originally a skill that allowed him to control and reinforce his own bones. It made him even stronger than before and allowed him to freely use the equipment summoned through Bone Armory.

There are exactly 17 thorns coming for me. Their sizes vary, but they're all at least 5 meters long. They're connected to the Beast General through darkness mana, and they bind their target and inflict persistent damage at the same time. It's a malicious but effective attack. I can see it all. It’s as if I’m meant to see the way it all works...

His skill had clearly evolved. Instinctively, he knew how the bones created by the Beast General looked, their structure, and even how they would move. Now Lee Shin-Woo understood how he was able to avoid the Beast General’s attacks so easily earlier. It was obvious, wasn't it? He knew and sensed the Beast General's bones as well as his own!

In that case, it should be possible for him to steal the control over the bones from the general as well. A hunch and a delusion were two different things, but he was certain of this hypothesis.

[Rule of Bone is now Lv11. All stats have increased by 15. You are now able to interfere with another's control over their bones. The effectiveness of all bone related abilities has increased.]

It was only natural that his skill would level up then and there. As a result, Lee Shin-Woo gained a deeper understanding of bones as a material and the ability to dominate someone else’s bones, allowing him to use them as his own.

For now, he needed to sever and limit the connections between the Beast General and the bones outside his body, namely the Garden of Thorns. Then Lee Shin-Woo would use his darkness mana as the foundation to control all of them. The ordeal would require a much more complicated magical technique. However, if he practiced and further refined it, he was sure he would reach an even higher level. At the end of the day, most living organisms had bones.

It sounds almighty...

'If your skill didn't level up, wouldn't we have died without being able to do anything?'

'You might've died.'

'Yeah, yeah.'

Lee Shin-Woo had used Rule of Bone to get out of the Garden of Thorns and decided to temporarily lay low underground with Jin. He wouldn’t have been able to do that if Garden of Thorns hadn’t significantly softened the ground.

‘Damn. It would've been nice if the Beast General were level 8.’

‘Look at you, getting conceited as soon as you know things are going your way.’

‘He's not going to become level 8 any time soon... Tch, I guess we should end it here.’

Although Lee Shin-Woo had stolen control over the Beast General's bones, it wasn't like he could take the general down easily. It was only possible because Retadane was unleashing her light magic to its fullest and blocking the Beast General head on!

"You look tired, Jilun Pelta."

[You do too... Don’t you know? You were only able to hit me with that crude iron mace because of that man. What do you plan on doing now that the man is gone?]

"Hoo… I'll show you."

‘Yeah, that's the way, old lady!’

‘I’m gonna hit you if you keep going like that.’

‘Now!’

Retadane had done her job well. Once the Beast General focused all of his attention on Retadane, Lee Shin-Woo stole control over all his thorns and used them against him, detonating them immediately afterwards! He had even detonated the Beast General's mana within the thorns, so the damage inflicted was unimaginable.

[You have defeated a member of the twelve generals, the Lv7 Beast General, Jilun Pelta! All contributing heroes have acquired 30,000,000 Perium, and all stats have increased by 100. You have acquired 10 permits to Goddess’s Secret Shop. Proficiency in all combat related skills has increased dramatically!]

[Lucky Strike has activated! Lucky Strike is now Lv2.]

[Mana Acceleration is now Lv3. Magic has increased by 10.]

[You have received the goddess’s grace. Invisible Heart's max level has increased by 10.]

He did it. With this, he had killed three of the twelve generals in total! Lee Shin-Woo had also succeeded in turning the situation on its head and made it progress in a direction that Ethan Cruz couldn't have anticipated. However, Lee Shin-Woo knew that Retadane would be suspicious of him if he showed up right now, so he and Jin hid amongst the group of undead for the time being. It was easy to hide with all the impact and smoke coming from the explosion.

"What about the bone? Are you giving it up?"

"Give up the bone of one of the twelve generals? Are you insane?"

Something flew towards him from the center of the explosion as Lee Shin-Woo said so. It was the bone Jilun Belta had left behind. He snatched it and grinned at Jin.

"This much is no problem for me with Rule of Bone."

"Shin-Woo. Looks like something else has come along with it."

[You have acquired the Bayran inner map.]

"This again? It does look a bit different from the last one."

According to the other twelve generals' memories, Bayran was a huge city directly connected to the capital. To go to the capital, they would have to move through Bayran first.

It made sense that he would acquire the city’s maps from defeating the twelve generals, but it was also suspicious. He couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was leading him there on purpose.

Moreover, the maps all differ slightly in crucial points like the locations of traps and monsters’ habitats. Even so, they don't seem to be fakes... I'll need more of them before I can make a decision.

Lee Shin-Woo was sure that he'd be able to create a proper map with two more pieces. The twelve generals were unlikely to expect someone to collect five pieces of the map. He needed to work hard, if for no other reason than to screw them over.

"Let's assume we'll go to Bayran later and put it aside for now... What are you going to do, Shin-Woo?"

"All heroes must know by now that one of the twelve generals has been killed. If Ethan Cruz has something up his sleeve, this will be the moment he uses it. Moreover, there's a chance that he would speed up his plan. Let’s keep up with him and make our preparations as well."

Fortunately, they ended up in the heart of enemy territory, and the huge beasts were enough to conceal them completely. It was all too easy for them to stay hidden… And no one would have any idea as to how it’d happened when the 13th general was to suddenly emerge from enemy ranks.

"But I think I should absorb this bone right away. Keep an eye out for me."

"You got it."

Lee Shin-Woo hadn’t expected much before he saw the Beast General, but now he was certain he would be highly compatible with the bone the general left, as Jilun Pelta had been able to freely control his bones also. Lee Shin-Woo had such a good feeling about it that he was willing to risk executing Bone Reinforcement in the middle of the battlefield!

Entrusting everything else to Jin, he grabbed the bone and absorbed it, casting aside any lingering doubts.

[Consuming the Lv7 Beast General, Jilun Pelta's tailbone to execute Bone Reinforcement. Strength has increased by 25, Agility by 30, and Endurance by 17.]

Although he'd acquired a ton of stats, this was only the beginning. He hadn't even absorbed half of the bone's power yet. Immediately after, a huge explosion erupted within his body as if to prove his estimation. It was an explosion of creation that broke the old and replaced it with the new.

[High Rank Combat Sense is now Lv4, and Agility has increased by 20. High Rank Regeneration is now Lv3, and Endurance and Magic have increased by 20. High Rank Lightning Sprint is now Lv4, and Agility and Magic have increased by 20.]

With the huge increase in skill proficiency, a few of his skills leveled up, and he gained the additional stats that came with them. Was it because the Beast General had more actual combat experience than the other twelve generals? The amount of skill proficiency he gained was no joke.

Even so, that still wasn't the end. Not yet. The most important thing remained. Lee Shin-Woo felt a torrent of mana surge within him, making it feel as though his bones would break and explode anytime. Lee Shin-Woo calmly regulated and circulated his mana, and waited for the moment to come.

All of his bones were shaking, and some were splitting and regenerating.

[Bone Armory is now Lv10. Endurance and Magic have increased by 20. You can now summon and control ten pieces of equipment at once. All the information of the equipment stored within Bone Armory is shared and reinforced.]

Finally, he’d gained the ability he'd been waiting for at the end of the intense evolution. Lee Shin-Woo wanted to laugh despite being on the battlefield, and there was a good reason for that.

[You are now able to bestow the equipment stored within Bone Armory with Lv6 Fire, Ice, Acid, or Lightning. However, equipment with an innate element is excluded.]

[You are now able to summon the Lv6 Drake Bone Full Armor.]

[You are now able to summon the Lv7 Titan's Fortress.]

[You are now able to summon the Lv7 Lightning God's Fury.]

[You are now able to summon the Lv7 Fire Dragon's Scale Greatsword.]

[You are now able to summon the Lv7 Giant Drake Horn Lance.]

[You have managed to fuse and evolve several pieces of the equipment stored. Bone Reinforcement is now Lv12. You can extract a large amount of information and abilities from a bone lacking in information.]

Finally... I finally got it!

Bone Armory’s level-up opened up new possibilities for him. And he could now bring about miracles by fusing bone equipment to create something one of a kind, something he alone could make.

Lee Shin-Woo looked up and switched out the level 5 bone armor he was wearing with another. His new armor was pitch black like an all-consuming black hole. With the Drake Horn as its base, this armor was created by combining all the advantageous aspects of the equipment he'd absorbed thus far.

[Drake Bone Full Armor]

[Lv6]

[Durability - 3,700/3,700]

[Defense - 1,500 - 1,650]

It lacked additional buff or abilities, but that would change once Lee Shin-Woo added an element to it.

Before going into the elemental aspect, the armor itself had a much greater defense stat than the one he wore before, so Lee Shin-Woo was incredibly satisfied. What was even more amazing was...

The innate elements of the Lightning God's Fury and the Fire Dragon's Scale Greatsword are too strong, so I can't add any other element yet, but the Giant Drake Horn Lance is different. A level 7 artifact with a level 6 element...

When Lee Shin-Woo was about to summon the new Giant Drake Horn Lance as an experiment, Rem made a brief but important report. Lee Shin-Woo stopped what he was doing and looked up. He could see something faint in the sky.

"Jin."

"Yeah, I feel it too."

Ethan Cruz had wanted to buy more time, but Lee Shin-Woo and Retadane defeated the Beast General too quickly, completely derailing his plan. Not properly assessing Lee Shin-Woo's abilities was the cause of his defeat.

"The sky...!?"

[It is the Vulture General's airborne undead troops!]

"What? Another one of the twelve generals...!?"

Ethan Cruz must've ordered the Vulture General to enter the fray, forgetting all about the two mages who had run far away without being blessed by him, as well as where they were and what they were preparing...

"Let’s give them a big one!"

Lee Shin-Woo heard a cute voice ringing from the faraway mountainside. It was Kratia's, a voice he was more familiar with than anyone else's.

Of course, it was unlikely that anyone would forget that she existed, but right now, her magic was crucial. Kratia had said something about giving the undead a 'big one', but the giant ice spear that manifested in the air was still far larger than anyone expected, enough to topple an entire mountain.

[What...?]

An airborne undead took notice...probably the Vulture General, but it was already too late. Once the battle began... No, Kratia had prepared a spell just for him long before the battle had even started.

[Kuhahk!?]

"Don’t forget about me… Here I come!"

Prince followed suit, casting the spell she had prepared. She summoned half of the Fire Demon's body into the air. It was a wild spell that would strike at any airborne undead that entered its area of effect!

The gigantic ice and fire spread through the sky and forced these invaders, who had trespassed onto a sacred battlefield, to land on the ground. One of them was definitely the Vulture General.

"Nice. Very nice."

Lee Shin-Woo confirmed the situation and grinned inwardly. It wouldn't be a bad idea to go kill the Vulture General right away, but...it was about time for the traitors to make their moves. His goal had always been to protect the heroes.

"Shall we get started, Jin?"

"Got it."

Jin smiled as well. Although it shouldn't be noticeable on a skeleton, one could easily tell how the two skeletons were feeling.

A trap had been triggered, but the question was by whom it was set up. A grand festival thus commenced, one that would determine the predator and the prey.