Looking at this System Panel, Su Mu silently calculated the math.

Inside the dungeon, EXP gained from killing monsters was shared.

As long as either Little Drill-Wind or White Bone Demon killed a monster, the other card would receive equal EXP.

The drawback, however, was that the card receiving the shared EXP would not gain combat experience, and its combat techniques would not improve with the kills.

To Su Mu, however, this was not an issue at all.

Among the Demon Kings of the Journey to the West World, which one hadn't fought their way out through mountains of corpses and seas of blood?

Little Drill-Wind was a Patrol Minor Demon of Lion Camel Ridge, while White Bone Demon was a Corpse Demon that had cultivated for a thousand years on White Tiger Ridge.

Their combat instincts were etched into their very concepts, requiring no grinding against mobs to hone.

After the eighth wave, the monsters began splitting their forces.

A portion of the Skeleton Soldiers bypassed the frontline and dashed toward Flower-Fruit Mountain. Just as Su Mu prepared to have Little Drill-Wind fall back to defend, White Bone Demon had already moved.

With a sway of her figure, she shifted from her human form back to her skeletal form.

Standing just over two meters tall, her grayish-white skeleton loomed within the dark-red mist, with two puffs of grayish-white Soul Flames burning quietly deep within her eye sockets.

She raised a hand, its phalanges slender and hooked, and pointed from afar toward the skeleton swarm charging Flower-Fruit Mountain.

A grayish-white Fire Curtain erupted from her palm, surging toward the horde of skeletons like a tidal wave.

The flames covered an immense area, blanketing almost the entire mountain path leading to Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Inside the Fire Curtain, the Skeleton Soldiers' bones shattered and their speed plummeted; more than half had crumbled before even reaching the foot of the mountain.

White Bone Demon's area-of-effect capability was far better suited for clearing the field than Little Drill-Wind's.

Little Drill-Wind was a single-target melee fighter—one slash per kill, immensely efficient yet limited in reach.

White Bone Demon's AOE Fire Curtain blanketed a huge swath at once; though its single-instance damage fell short of a slash from Little Drill-Wind, its broad coverage made clearing lesser mobs even faster.

One reaped in melee, the other cleared from range.

Su Mu breathed a sigh of relief.

For the subsequent battles, he barely needed to issue any commands.

Little Drill-Wind charged back and forth across the frontline, taking down an elite mob with each strike and only landing an extra couple of blows when encountering thick-blooded Centurions.

Perched at the high ground between Flower-Fruit Mountain and Lion Camel Ridge, White Bone Demon waved her hands continuously, unleashing grayish-white Fire Curtains to clear out the skeleton mobs attempting to flank and ambush the Core Card.

From wave one to wave nine, it was an absolute steamroll.

Wave ten.

The dark-red mist churned violently, forming a colossal vortex. From the center of the vortex, a massive figure strode out slowly.

Standing over seven meters tall, it was pieced together entirely from the remains of countless Nightmare Skeletons. Every bone was as thick as a pillar, and eerie green Soul Flames burned between the joints, twisted faces faintly visible within the flames.

Upon its skull sat a shattered dark-gold crown studded with seven dark-red soul gems, each exuding heart-palpitating fluctuations.

Behind its back spread a pair of massive bone wings made of ribs and bone membranes, spanning over fifteen meters; as they flapped, gusts of sinister wind whipped up, sending bone dust from the ground swirling through the air.

【Name: Bone-Burrying Corpse King (Nightmare · Lord)】

【Rank: S】

【Level: 22】

【HP: 580,000/580,000】

【ATK: 9,800】

【DEF: 5,600】

【Agility: 680】

【Combat Index: 286,000】

【Skills: Bone Claw Tear (Consecutive dual-claw attacks dealing 3.0x damage and inflicting Bleed, ineffective against undead), Domain of the Dead (All undead-type creatures within range gain +40% ATK, +25% Movement Speed), Skeleton Storm (Triggers when HP falls below 50%, summoning a storm of bone shards that deals continuous damage and slows targets), Corpse Kings Command (Triggers when HP falls below 30%, forcibly commanding all undead on the field to launch a suicidal charge at the Core Card), Soul Drain (Each undead-type unit slain restores 8% of max HP), Death Gaze (Inflicts Fear on a single target, incapacitating them for 3 seconds, 30-second cooldown)】

A Combat Index of 286,000.

Su Mu looked at the number, then glanced at Little Drill-Wind's System Panel... Level 13 SSS, base Combat Index of 237,000, and with the buffs from Glory of Lion Camel Ridge and Sea of Corpses and Blood, his actual Combat Index was close to 300,000.

He could fight this.

The Corpse King did not charge immediately.

Standing in the center of the graveyard, its bone wings flapped slowly as the two eerie green Soul Flames beneath its dark-gold crown scanned the entire field. Then, it raised a bone claw and pointed toward Flower-Fruit Mountain.

A low roar erupted.

From the mist behind it, more than three hundred Nightmare Skeletons surged forth.

Instead of pouncing on Little Drill-Wind, these skeletons split into two groups. One group of about two hundred formed a frontline formation to pin down Little Drill-Wind, while the other group of about one hundred—including thirty Skeleton Archers—bypassed the main battlefield and sprinted frantically toward Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Splitting forces.

And doing so even more decisively and orderly than in the hard-difficulty nest.

Su Mu's eyes darkened. "White Bone Demon, hold the flank. Little Drill-Wind, kill the Corpse King first."

White Bone Demon did not hesitate.

With a sway of her figure, she shifted from her human form back to her skeletal form, her grayish-white skeleton blending almost entirely into the dark-red mist.

Thrusting her hands forward, a grayish-white Fire Curtain erupted from her palms, surging toward the skeleton swarm on the flank like a tidal wave. The flames covered an immense area, blanketing almost the entire mountain path leading to Flower-Fruit Mountain. Inside the Fire Curtain, the Skeleton Soldiers' bones shattered and their speed plummeted.

A hundred flanking skeletons were held back by White Bone Demon alone.

Little Drill-Wind pounced straight at the Corpse King.

The Corpse King roared and flapped its bone wings, dual bone claws tearing forward wrapped in eerie green flames. Little Drill-Wind sidestepped by a hair's breadth; the bone claws struck the ground, gouging two meter-deep trenches.

With a backhand slash, Little Drill-Wind struck the Corpse King's ribs. The blade sank five inches in and caught. The bone was too thick, and the Soul Flames between the fissures continuously repaired it.

The Corpse King swept its other claw across. Little Drill-Wind wrenched his blade free and retreated, tapping a toe against the claw to vault onto its shoulder, raising his short blade high to strike straight down at its skull.

The Corpse King tilted its head. The blade struck the dark-gold crown, sending sparks flying in all directions. A crack split across the crown, but the Corpse King did not fall. It jerked its head violently, flinging Little Drill-Wind away.

Little Drill-Wind flipped midair and landed steadily on his feet.

The Corpse King bellowed in rage, flapping its bone wings as a storm of bone shards detonated outward. Countless bone fragments whirled like blades, engulfing tens of meters around it.

Little Drill-Wind darted through the storm; fine sparks grated against his scaled armor, yet it failed to breach his defense.

He no longer engaged head-on.

Circling around the Corpse King, he repeatedly thrust his short blade from tricky angles. The Corpse King had an Agility of 680, whereas Little Drill-Wind had over 30,000. Every time the Corpse King swung a claw, he was already long gone.

One slash, two slashes, three slashes...