At this moment, the ogre also caught up, baring its fangs and claws, swinging its massive fists towards Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan dodged in a hurry, simultaneously brandishing his long saber to block. However, none of this hindered the ogre's assault. One punch directly pierced Zhou Yan's shoulder, blood splattering out. Yet, Zhou Yan felt no pain.
The ogre's attacks did not cease, but rather one punch followed another towards Zhou Yan. Zhou Yan fled, but the ogre's attacks were too fierce. Zhou Yan was forced to retreat to the wall.
Seeing that Zhou Yan could no longer dodge, the ogre raised the long club in its hand and smashed it down fiercely.
"Boom!"
A deafening sound rang out, and the entire ground began to shake. Zhou Yan was sent flying backward by the monster's blow, then fell to the ground. His chest churned, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Zhou Yan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up, looking at the monster before him.
This monster was vastly different from a human. Its hair was dishevelled, its skin dark, its face pockmarked, and its skin dry and cracked, as if it had only recently crawled out of the earth.
Although the ogre had lost its sanity, its combat instincts remained. Seeing Zhou Yan stand up, it charged towards him again, unleashing a whip kick.
"Hmph!"
Zhou Yan let out a cold snort. His figure flickered, and he instantly vanished from the ogre's sight.
"Bang!"
Zhou Yan's figure appeared out of thin air behind the ogre and struck its spine with a punch.
The ogre's spine was instantly broken, and its entire body slumped limply to the ground.
"This monster is weaker than the giant scorpion-tailed snake I encountered before!" Zhou Yan muttered to himself. Enemies of this level were not enough to pose a threat to him.
Zhou Yan walked to the ogre's side, dragged it aside, and discarded its corpse. He then prepared to leave, knowing that the dangers of this ruin were definitely not limited to this. If it were only these things, it would have likely been explored long ago.
Just then, a group of people suddenly emerged from the end of the passage.
It was a troop of soldiers, clad in heavy armor and carrying spears. They moved cautiously, their eyes scanning their surroundings, seemingly wary of the ruins. The passage was so narrow that a moment's inattention could lead to falling into a trap or sinking into a swamp, so they had to be absolutely sure before venturing further.
When the soldiers saw Zhou Yan and his companions, they were initially stunned, then immediately drew their bows and aimed at Zhou Yan. Their fingers were on the triggers, clearly ready to fire and shoot Zhou Yan down.
Without hesitation, the soldiers loosed a volley of crossbow bolts. The dense projectiles rained down on Zhou Yan and his companions. Zhou Yan quickly turned and threw himself forward.
"Humans?" The soldiers frowned, looking at Zhou Yan and his companions. "What are you doing here?"
It was then that Zhou Yan realized there was no flesh beneath the soldiers' armor. They were undead. They were skeletons!
Simultaneously, other teams of soldiers rushed forward and quickly surrounded Zhou Yan.
"Haha, so it's just a few skeleton ghosts. This world is truly mysterious. These undead also eat people. Could they be the legendary specters?" Zhou Yan exclaimed in surprise. He had heard of specters but had never seen one before, so he was startled to see that all these soldiers were skeletons.
"Human, what are you doing here?" the leading officer frowned, looking at Zhou Yan. He had a feeling that Zhou Yan and his companions were not simple. Although they looked young and seemingly lacked strength, he felt something was amiss.
"That's none of your business. We're here to find something. Since you've arrived, it's perfect. I'll kill you all," Zhou Yan said with a smile.
"Hmph, I'd like to see if you have the ability. Brothers, capture him!"
The leading officer let out a cold snort and charged towards Zhou Yan first.
Zhou Yan looked at the charging officer, took a deep breath, placed his weapon horizontally in front of him, and punched out. His punch contained the force of wind and thunder, as if it could shatter the void.
"Boom!"
A deafening sound erupted as Zhou Yan's fist collided fiercely with the officer's.
"Pfft!"
Zhou Yan immediately spewed a large mouthful of blood, his body sent flying backward by the immense force, eventually crashing to the ground. Countless bones in his body were broken.
"Cough, cough!"
Zhou Yan coughed violently. He managed to lift his head to look at the officer.
The officer stood in the distance, looking down at Zhou Yan with a mocking smile. Zhou Yan also faintly felt that the officer's aura was growing stronger.
"Th-this guy's aura has become even stronger. Could it be that his strength has increased again?" Zhou Yan thought to himself.
However, Zhou Yan was now powerless to resist, as the officer was looking at him with a playful gaze.
"What is your name?" the officer asked indifferently.
"Zhou Yan," Zhou Yan replied calmly.
"Oh, do you know what this place is?" the officer continued to ask.
"This is a ruin, and we came in to treasure hunt," Zhou Yan said calmly.
"Hahaha, what a foolish human. Do you think I will tell you the secrets of the ruins?" the officer scoffed.
"Even if you don't tell me, I know. This is the ruins of an ancient city. It is said that many civilizations once resided here, and there were even traces of gods. However, the gods have long since vanished into the dust of history, leaving only these ruins. And you, the survivors, are guarding this place, forbidding outsiders from entering. So I surmise that this ruin is a treasure. But because this ruin is a forbidden place, any human who dares to trespass will be slaughtered by you, right?" Zhou Yan said with a slight smile.
"Heh, it seems you are quite intelligent. That's right, this is our ancestors' sacred temple, but this temple belongs only to the great Hero King. Any human who dares to enter the sacred temple will only meet their death!" the officer said sternly.
"If that's the case, why are you wasting time talking nonsense?" Zhou Yan shouted angrily. "Since we dared to come, we were prepared to fight you, weren't we?"
"Kill!" Hearing Zhou Yan's words, the soldiers roared in unison and then charged madly towards Zhou Yan.
"Gao Shun! Engage!" Facing enemies several times their number, the five hundred elite soldiers showed no fear. They raised their shields and charged towards the enemy.