Qin Ming's team wasn't the only one that had made it inside the castle.
After all, even if a frontal assault didn't work, it didn't mean others couldn't find a way around. There were plenty of adventurers with special tricks up their sleeves!
Not to mention, while the Stone Golem of Darkness blocked the entrance below, the skies above were wide open.
Take the vampire hunter Smith, for instance—he had been carried in from above. Skipping past traps and ambushes altogether, he went straight to engage the Vampire Count in battle.
Although quite a few people had broken into the castle, the place was simply too vast.
This made it hard for Qin Ming and the others to run into fellow players; instead, they encountered monster after monster.
While sprinting through the middle levels of the castle, they reached a great hall—only to come face to face with a truly menacing presence.
Corpses were strewn across the floor. And in the center stood a knight clad in pitch-black armor, stabbing the corpses around him over and over with a massive greatsword.
Each time the blade pierced a body, waves of black energy surged out from the corpse and flowed into the sword.
The noise from Qin Ming's group caught the attention of the black knight, who abruptly turned his head in their direction—still in the midst of draining the last remnants of life from the dead.
The moment Qin Ming saw the knight's face, he frowned.
Because under that dark helmet… there was nothing.
He wasn't a person at all—this was an empty suit of armor!
With a harsh creak, the black knight stood upright and yanked the greatsword from the corpse, gripping it with both hands as he stared at them.
At the tip of that black blade... was a twisted, hideous face.
The armor wasn't the master. The one controlling everything... was the cursed sword itself!
Name: Cursed Sword Knight
Strength: 50
Constitution: 50
Agility: 50
Spirit: 50
Skills: Cursed Sword Puppet (S-rank), Western Swordsmanship (B-rank), Evil Blade Slash (B-rank)
Description: A death sword from another world that delights in slaughtering the living.
"Human! Kill!"
A shrill voice screeched from the sword. The very next second, the Cursed Sword Knight, having locked onto its new target, charged toward Qin Ming's group at breakneck speed.
Its velocity was terrifying, the bloodlust overwhelming—but instead of fear, Qin Ming actually felt relieved.
Compared to the monster at the gate, with its insane stats and endless resurrection, this Cursed Sword Knight, while well-rounded, didn't seem overpowered.
Most importantly, its skill levels weren't particularly high. All in all, it was just a standard boss—manageable.
Leaping off the dinosaur's back, Qin Ming raised a hand mid-air and whipped his battle cloak out in a wide arc.
In an instant, blood droplets sprayed outward like a torrential rain. Before they even hit the ground, they had solidified into needle-like projectiles.
Faced with the dense barrage, the Cursed Sword Knight abruptly stopped its charge. But instead of dodging, it launched a counterattack on the spot.
With a swing of its greatsword, it sent out a massive slash of black sword energy. With a sharp whine, the wave of energy tore through the air—and both attacks landed at the same time.
Qin Ming twisted his body mid-air to dodge the incoming slash, while the knight below took the full brunt of the needle storm.
A chorus of clangs rang out as the needles slammed into its armor, punching through the once-pristine plating like it was paper.
As the clash ended, Qin Ming landed smoothly on the ground, eyeing the knight now riddled with holes—yet the thing charged at him again, completely unfazed.
He flung his battle cloak out once more.
On one side, Qin Ming's battle cloak billowed; on the other, the greatsword howled through the air. The two clashed at point-blank range in a ferocious, relentless brawl.
After exchanging over a hundred blows, the outcome was finally decided.
Outclassed in attributes, skills, and combat technique, the Cursed Sword Knight was completely overwhelmed.
Unable to keep up with the rhythm, it was dismembered as Qin Ming flung his arm and manipulated blood to forcibly sever one of its legs.
Then, with a powerful palm strike to the chest, Qin Ming sent it hurtling backward.
By the time it hit the ground and rolled to a stop, the chest plate of its armor had been horribly warped, and pieces of its plating were scattered everywhere.
The knight struggled to rise, leaning on its sword with one hand. It looked down at its now ruined, battered body.
Then, rather than charge at Qin Ming again, it suddenly turned around and plunged its sword with full force into the chest of a nearby corpse.
Black patterns instantly spread across the body as the cursed energy seeped in.
With a loud clang, the knight's armored form collapsed to the ground, falling apart into a lifeless heap of ordinary armor.
A harsh creaking followed. The corpse now impaled by the sword began to move—twitching, writhing—and slowly climbed to its feet.
With a yank, it pulled the cursed sword from its chest and let out a wild, guttural roar. It had become the new Cursed Sword Knight!
And most importantly—its attributes and skills had undergone a drastic transformation!
The sword was the true master! The host was nothing but a puppet!
Possession transferred! The curse took hold again!
The real boss was never the black knight—it was the sword itself!
Killing the knight meant nothing. As long as there were corpses nearby, or even just suitable vessels to inhabit, the Cursed Sword Knight could revive endlessly in perfect form.
With a furious roar, the newly revived Cursed Sword Knight charged toward Qin Ming once more.
Now with altered skills and attributes, its fighting style was entirely different—its attacks far more vicious and precise.
Unfortunately for it, despite the power upgrade, its combat technique was still stuck at B-rank. And against the deciphering capability of Qin Ming's Sound Nest battle suit, that was nowhere near enough. Qin Ming quickly subdued it again.
With one slash, the knight's arm was severed. A second slash took off its head.
But even then, the Cursed Sword Knight didn't die. Instead, it turned and hurled its sword with all its strength.
Spinning at high speed, the blade embedded itself in the chest of yet another corpse—one that belonged to the most powerful adventurer in the pile, a leader who had mastered A-rank combat techniques.
Fusion! Resurrection! The Cursed Sword Knight returned once again—this time stronger than ever!
It let out an enraged howl, then raised its sword high and charged at Qin Ming in its new host body.
...Only to get smacked straight into the floor by a deadpan-faced Qin Ming.
With a thud, it crashed to the ground—utterly powerless, completely stunned.
Realizing something was wrong, it quickly checked the status of its new body… only to find that this vessel was ridiculously weak.
Because...
Name: Cursed Sword Knight
Strength: 15
Constitution: 20
Agility: 10
Spirit: 45
Skills: Cursed Sword Puppet (S-rank), Swordsmanship Mastery (A-rank), Triple Arc Slash (A-rank)
Description: A newly reborn Cursed Sword Knight—though something seems... off.
The new puppet wielding the cursed sword was powerful in technique, sure. But its base stats were pathetically low.
Because this new body... was already shriveled and dried up—like a withered mummy!
Not just him. Every corpse lying around the hall had become withered husks!
Eyes wide in shock, the Cursed Sword Knight snapped its head up—only to see Qin Ming standing there with a stone-cold face, raising one hand.
In his palm spun a high-speed vortex of blood.
Streams of blood were drifting out from every corpse in the hall… and flowing continuously into the swirling blood sphere in Qin Ming's hand.
Blood Essence Drain: Activated!
(End of Chapter)