Arrows struck the formidable bats.

And in the blink of an eye, a multitude of them was pierced, falling like rain.

The first round of volleys concluded, and the necromancers at the rear completed their gathering of dark missiles.

With a flick of their wands, they directed a 100,000 magic missiles skyward, creating a dazzling curtain of light that erupted in the air.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The bats caught unawares were instantly obliterated by the blasts.

Chunks of flesh rained down amidst a deluge of blood.

In this initial clash, over half of the bats perished or lost their ability to fly.

The remaining bats pressed on and the archers shifted from coordinated volleys to free shooting.

The diving bats knocked down sways of warriors.

But when they bear their fangs to ren flesh, they discover that the bodies beneath the armor were mere hollow skeletons.

The skeletal soldiers seized this opportunity to dispatch the fallen bats.

The battle commenced and concluded swiftly.

Aside from the heavy expenditure of arrows, casualties among their ranks were negligible.

Domiga cast a final glance at the silent withered forest and commanded maintain formation.

Advance forward and collect arrows along the way.

Uncertainty looms over the path ahead.

Vigilance must remain steadfast.

The formation advances with archers in the rear gathering arrows scattered along the way.

As they step into the desolate woods, an unsettling occurrence unfolds.

Decaying corpses rise from the ground, clad in rotting armor, launching an assault on the group.

However, the undead before them are of low rank, and their numbers do not confer an advantage.

As the necroantic army marches onward, they effortlessly eradicate the emerging cadaavvers.

Before Lake Tanho, the surface remains undisturbed, resembling a vast mirror punctuated only by a few shattered arrow shafts.

Kong Yong is seized from the rear by a skeletal warrior.

Is there any lore about this lake in the village? Domiga inquires nonchalantly.

The tranquility of Lake Tanho is unsettling given the temperament of the Red Duke.

It serves as an ideal location for an ambush alongside the bats and corpses on the shore.

Should anyone endeavor to retrieve the body from the depths, it would present a prime opportunity to eliminate foes, Kong feels his legs weaken.

He has no desire to approach the cursed lake.

As he hears Domiga s question, memories flicker in his mind, pondering if he has ever heard tales of lake tanho.

After moment of reflection, he responds.

Some say there are treasures at the lakes's bottom.

And then that is all.

No one dares approach here.

The blood kin and the pale blooded alike avoided.

Kong replies.

Very well.

I understand.

Ditigus states.

Kong retreats to the back of the formation.

Domigus summons two graveyard sentinels to investigate below if they find any coffins there to bring them back.

The sentinels leap into the lake.

Shortly after, the center of the lake royals violently and white desiccated bones surface.

Witnessing this, the danger beneath the waters becomes evident as the recently submerged sentinels have met their demise.

You few descend Ditiga commands, gesturing to nearly a 100 graveyard sentinels.

He retrieves several luminous stones from his pack, fastening them around the Sentinel's necks.

With a resounding splash, the Sentinels plunge into the depths, followed by Domiga, maintaining a cautious distance while keenly observing potential threats.

The Lizardman's innate ability to breathe underwater grants them greater agility in the depths.

While the Graveyard Sentinels, though unencumbered by the need to breathe, struggle with their movements hampered and laborious.

They're likely unable to exert even half of their usual strength, all descend swiftly, illuminated by the luminous stones, which simultaneously attract the denisens of the lakes's depths.

At that moment, for enormous fish, each nearly 6 meters in length and sheathed in armor-like scales reminiscent of crocodiles, begin to approach.

They swiftly approached the sluggish guardians of the desolate tomb, their enormous mos brimming with sharp teeth, seizing one individual and thrashing about violently.

The guardians, wielding their massive white steel swords, struck down upon the thick scales under the influence of the lakes's waters, leaving only shallow gashes.

Perhaps they sensed the lack of flavor in the bones.

One of the creatures shifted its gaze to the lizard man, drifting behind.

It barreled through the skeletal remains lining the path, opening its massive jaws to bite at the lizard man.

Domiga calmly observed the colossal fish charging towards him.

With a graceful movement, he evaded the attack in an instant.

His long sword swung forth, executing a fiery slash.

A crimson arc of light cleaved through the giant fish's neck.

Despite the fish's head still lunging towards Domiga, its body had already separated, slowly sinking to the lake's bottom.

The demise of the giant fish sent a surge of blood that ignited the frenzy of the remaining three.

Their bites grew more frenzied as they became entangled with the guardians of the tomb.

Confident that no other creatures lurked nearby, Domiga swiftly propelled himself towards the remaining giant fish.

Swiftly dispatching it with a decisive stroke, he eliminated the threats lurking at the lake's bottom.

With the last of the tomb's guardians in tow, Ditiga continued his descent.

As he approached the lakes's floor, he finally beheld the target of his search.

At the center of the lake bed stood a 2- m tall humanoid iron coffin.

The coffin rose upright from the lake's depths.

Its front adorned with an intricately carved visage of a woman.

Chapter 299.

The task of the little spirit at the shadowy bottom of the lake.

The luminescence of a night stones grew increasingly dim.

The lielike figure of a young girl at top the iron coffin further intensified the eerie and terrifying atmosphere.

Dimitria approached with a graveyard guardians to inspect the site and no further danger materialized.

The iron coffin stood upright on the lake bed, tethered by four metallic chains that secured it to the surrounding massive rocks.

To extract the coffin, one would first need to sever the chains.

The Red Duke had indeed gone to great lengths to prevent this iron coffin from being taken away, setting aside the forces stationed outside.

The profound depths of the lake effectively deterred most beings from approaching the coffin.

The intelligent races inhabiting the Houea Highlands were predominantly human and orc.

Even heroes would find it challenging to rely solely on their physical prowess to dive so deep into the lake to retrieve the heavy iron coffin.

Alas, the Red Duke had overlooked one crucial aspect.

He had not accounted for the appearance of the Traveler and Fong How's necroantic faction, even without Dimmitria's involvement.

It would merely be a matter of time for Fong how to salvage the iron coffin from the lakes's depths.

Dimitria tugged at the heavy metal chains, drawing forth her long sword and striking at the chains.

Clang, clang, clang.

The four chains snapped in response, sending shock waves rippling across the lake surface.

Before long, Dimitria resurfaced.

How'd it go? Blood hunter inquired.

Prepare the ropes below.

Ropes were cast into the lake one after another.

Dimetitria grasped one end and plunged back in the depths, binding the iron coffin along with the corpses of four giant fish with the ropes.

On the lake shore, dozens of ropes pierced the surface while the skeletal warriors awaited the final signal.

When Blood Hunter observed the signal conveyed by the ropes, he commanded the pulling of the hemp ropes.

Thousands of skeletal warriors, akin to a tugofwar, exerted their strength on the ropes.

United in their efforts, the 2 meter high, heavy iron coffin was gradually pulled from the water's embrace, dragged to the lakeside, leaving a trail of muddy footprints behind.

Dimitria followed closely, emerging from the lake and surveying the scene.

Form up, return to camp, she instructed.

The skeletons hoisted the iron coffin and the four giant fish corpses and the army began its retracing of the route.

Along the way, the corpses of the deceased bats were gathered as were the valuables from the ancient castle they had raided.