However, the Skeletons were not shaken by this. Under Fang Zhou's silent command, they used the complex terrain of the hills to skillfully evade the Wolf Cavalry's charge.

Whenever a Warg approached, the Skeletons would seize the Jackal Wolfmen's legs with astonishing speed and strength, pulling them from their mounts. The Jackal Wolfman Cavalry, now unhorsed, fell into chaos. Faced with the cold and efficient attacks of the Skeletons, their weapons struck as futilely as if they were hitting solid rock.

Seeing their side at a disadvantage, the Jackal Wolfman Warlock in the rear raised his Magic Staff, muttering an obscure spell. A scorching Fireball gathered at the tip of the staff, instantly transforming into a fiery meteor that shot directly toward the Skeleton Array.

However, Fang Zhou had long foreseen this. He calmly raised his Magic Staff, and a Skeleton Shield rose to perfectly block the Fireball.

HISS!

By a stroke of luck, the Skeleton Shield's ability to reflect magic damage triggered. The Fireball Skill shot back along its original path, redirecting toward the Jackal Wolfman Warlock. Caught off guard, the Warlock could only leap from his mount to escape. The Warg beneath him was engulfed in the flames, instantly burning into charcoal. The Warlock himself was severely injured and left in a sorry state.

Seizing the moment while the Warlock was dazed, Fang Zhou unleashed Skeleton Double Strike once more.

Skeleton Shackles!

Skeleton Flying Spear!

The severely injured Warlock, howling on the ground, had no time to react before being slain on the spot by the incredibly sharp Skeleton Flying Spear.

Subsequently, to achieve a swift victory, Fang Zhou cast the Group Brutality Skill. Streaks of black-green light surged from the tip of his Magic Staff, entwining around the Skeletons like the tentacles of death, making their bones harder and their attacks more powerful.

The Skeletons seized the opportunity to launch a full-scale assault. They moved like an unfeeling band of Death Gods, accurately striking the vitals of every Jackal Wolfman. Wargs wailed as Jackal Wolfmen fell one after another, creating a truly gruesome scene.

The battle lasted only a few moments. The once-aggressive Wolf Cavalry was now a scene of carnage. The corpses of Wargs and fallen Jackal Wolfmen lay intertwined, their blood staining the gravel. The two once-arrogant Jackal Wolfman Warriors also followed in the footsteps of the Jackal Wolfman Warlock, falling under the combined assault of the Skeletons and Fang Zhou.

Yet, all forty Skeletons still stood on the battlefield, without a single casualty.

"Hunting Points +40."

"Soul Power +1."

Leaving ten Skeletons to clean up the battlefield, Fang Zhou moved to the hollow in the hills where the faint glow of a Shield shimmered.

By this point, the student who had requested rescue was on the verge of unconsciousness. Fang Zhou looked at her injuries, his expression growing heavy. The other wounds were manageable, but the most serious issue was her left arm, which had been severed at the shoulder and was now missing. She had likely remained in a semi-conscious state within the Shield after firing the distress signal, a result of excessive blood loss.

Fang Zhou couldn't open the Shield. While the student still had a trace of consciousness, he placed the emergency capsule and hemostatic medicine he had prepared just outside the barrier. After a moment's thought, he also took the Regeneration Phylactery he had looted from the Ice Troll and placed it beside the medicine.

The female student gave Fang Zhou a look of deep gratitude, shifted her body, and with great difficulty, pulled the items inside the Shield. She barely managed to swallow the medicine and take hold of the Regeneration Phylactery before she could hold on no longer and passed out.

Fang Zhou could only stand guard, hoping the rescue instructor would arrive quickly. Although he had slaughtered many Skeletons and Demons, this was the first time Fang Zhou had witnessed a severely injured, dying human. Moreover, this person was his classmate. He felt a knot of discomfort in his stomach.

She had taken the emergency capsule and applied the hemostatic medicine. Since she was a Combat Professional with high physical attributes, she should also be able to benefit from the Regeneration Phylactery's effects. Her injuries probably wouldn't worsen.

However, her missing arm was a major problem. If the severed limb could be found nearby, a Priest Professional could easily reattach it. But if it couldn't be found, not even a Priest could regenerate a new limb for her. She would likely have to get a mechanical prosthetic, just like many instructors at the military academy. For an outstanding Combat Professional with the potential to be a top student at the military academy, this was an immensely heavy blow.

As he stood guard, Fang Zhou commanded the Skeletons to search every inch of the surrounding area for any trace of the severed arm. Unfortunately, aside from a backpack, they found nothing. He casually flipped through the bag, finding some demon materials and marching supplies. The student had probably abandoned it to reduce her load when the Jackal Wolfmen surrounded her.

As the thunder receded and the rain abated, the Hunting Recorder finally regained its signal. Fang Zhou immediately pressed the emergency rescue button. His location was instantly transmitted to the command room of the Cave Fortress.

...

「Inside the Cave Fortress.」

An instructor monitoring the feeds excitedly reported, "Found him! Student No. 1, Fang Zhou, just sent a rescue request. He's with the critically injured Student No. 100, Shen Ziwei, at coordinates (16, 25, 37) in the Frozen Tundra."

Lu Hu stood up and looked at the map, his expression serious. "Immediately notify Instructor Wang Tao, who is nearby. Tell him to get to those coordinates at top speed."

A female instructor said with a worried look, "This thunderstorm caused too much of a delay. I hope we're not too late."

The monitoring instructor replied, "It should be fine. Fang Zhou reported that he already gave Shen Ziwei an emergency capsule and hemostatic medicine. Her injuries are temporarily stabilized."

The female instructor let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank goodness Fang Zhou was nearby and arrived in time. If anything had happened to Ziwei, I don't know what Instructor Hongyu would do."

Lu Hu paused, then asked, "What is this Shen Ziwei's relationship to Instructor Shen Hongyu?"

The female instructor answered, "Ziwei is a war orphan adopted by Instructor Hongyu. Though not her biological child, Instructor Hongyu has always treated her as her own, especially after she was severely injured and had to retire. Her whole life has revolved around Shen Ziwei."

Just then, the monitoring instructor spoke again, his tone heavy. "Fang Zhou just sent a message. Shen Ziwei's left arm was torn off by a Demon and is missing."

"What?"

The faces of all the instructors turned grim at the news. The atmosphere in the command room, which had just begun to relax, plunged back to a freezing point.

During the Era of Myth, humanity discovered that the cultivation speed and combat power of an Awakened Professional were determined by two essential factors.

The first factor is the soul. It determines a Professional's upper limit. The stronger the soul, the greater the potential, the faster the cultivation, and consequently, the higher the combat power.

The second factor is the physical body. It determines a Professional's lower limit. Only those with a complete and flawless physical body could fully realize their potential and strength.

And the most crucial part of the physical body is the bones.

If other parts like flesh or internal organs were damaged, many potions or skills could repair them. However, if the bones were damaged, even Priest Professionals could only patch up the original. They could not create an identical replacement from thin air.

If a Professional is likened to a ship, then the physical body is its hull, the bones are its Dragon Bone, and the soul is its oars.

If a Professional lost a part of their own bones, it would be equivalent to a section of a ship's Dragon Bone breaking. Their cultivation speed and combat power would naturally be greatly affected, possibly even stagnating completely or declining significantly.

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