Chapter 15
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Chapter 15: Skeletons and Ghosts
"Is this the thing?" the deputy whispered.
They surrounded the oak tree, shield-bearers in front, crossbows aimed through gaps at the trunk. Torches were thrown under the tree, not close enough to ignite the branches, but enough to illuminate the face of the tall tree – darn, this tree had a face.
The sergeant showed a disgusted expression.
It was an old man’s face, dried up and melded with the tree trunk. Not a single leaf remained on the oak tree, all of them had fallen in the recent attack, the bare branches mirroring the features of the old man’s face. The face on the tree had its eyes tightly shut, branches slowly rising and falling, the sergeant noticed the rhythm resembling breathing. Clearly a tree, this thing seemed like a trapped animal, truly a Hybrid from the abyss.
The tree opened its eyes tiredly and looked at them.
The officer was almost immediately angered. The tree surprisingly had a face very similar to an old human, with a mixture of fatigue and wisdom in its eyes. This poor imitation of humans made him furious. Was it trying to gain their sympathy? Or had it consumed enough people to create such a human-like face? Even if it was a coincidence, its imitation of the lord of Aryan was a disgusting offense. It should be cut down and burnt to ashes.
"You cursed monster!" the officer yelled, "Prepare the rockets, burn it, avenge our warriors!"
"Avenge…" the monster actually spoke, "Children, how much of your comrades’ blood is on your hands again?"
Its voice sounded like an old man, but the content was absurd to the point that the officer didn’t even care about the insult of being called "children." A monster was a monster, how could it understand human unity, bravery, and nobility? It smirked contemptuously and said, "Unlike beasts like you, humans do not harm their comrades."
The tree smiled, its ancient voice echoing through the entire forest like a gust of wind.
The officer didn’t want to listen to the monster’s nonsense anymore, nor did he want to see how much strength the other side still had. How many excellent soldiers had this monster destroyed? Just the thought of it made the officers sad and indignant. This was definitely the biggest blood sacrifice in the ten-year struggle between humans and Hybrids. The lit arrow was on the bowstring, the officer’s hand raised high. With just a wave of his hand, the tree monster would turn into a burning hedgehog. The fleeing dwarves would not escape either, they…
He couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Nearly half of the soldiers, including the officer, fell to the ground, stumbling in amazement at the earth’s tremors. Was it the trick of that monster again? The officer struggled to get up, grabbed a torch, and dashed over to throw it at the tree with all his might. The dry weather caused the treetop to turn into a torch in a matter of seconds, and the tree monster let out crackling screams, and the tremors in the earth ceased.
However, before the sergeant could celebrate the victory, some soldiers started screaming.
They screamed as if they had seen a ghost. When the sergeant looked to where they were pointing, the words of reprimand got stuck in his throat. It was true, these soldiers had really seen a ghost – standing just a few meters away were living skeletons.
The skeletons had no skin or flesh covering their bones. Their bones were a fresh white color, visible in the dark night. What stood out even more were the blue flames flickering in their eye sockets, like lanterns lit inside pumpkins. These flames had no warmth. Describing a group of agile, bone-wielding skeleton soldiers seemed impossible without using the word "living," but how else could one describe them?
Someone trembling began to count, one, two, three… They stopped at ten – there was a big hole on the ground, and new skeletons were constantly crawling out of it. The soldier screamed and turned to run, but before he could take two steps, the lieutenant chopped off his head with a sword. The option of "fight or flee" was the only one left. Without any command from their officers, the soldiers sprang into action.
Twang! The bowstrings released, and a wave of crossbow arrows shot out, raining down on the area where the ghosts stood. Only a few were hit – it wasn’t their fear causing them to miss, but the majority of the arrows passed through the stark white skeletons, landing behind and beneath them. Some arrows grazed the smooth bones, leaving no marks; a few lucky shots hit the bones directly, but even the unluckiest skeleton only lost a few ribs.
Skeletons didn’t bleed or cry out in pain, they remained eerily silent. Their joints made faint creaking sounds, like a group of mice scurrying across an old wooden floor.
The soldiers roared, trying to break the chilling silence. They raised their swords and swung their weapons, attempting to strike the seemingly fragile bones. Perhaps they should have seen how deep the crossbow arrows penetrated – those bones were not as fragile as they appeared.
The sword sliced into the skeleton’s spine, halfway through it got stuck, leaving the soldier’s body exposed under the bone blade. The first soldier’s body fell to the ground, followed by the second, then the third. The skeletons matched the strength of regular soldiers, and the noticeably smaller ones chopped off the soldiers’ legs. They moved slower, their actions slightly clumsy, but they felt no pain, didn’t bleed, and could wield their swords and arrows with ease.
"Shield bearers, charge!" the officer commanded.
He was a good commander, giving orders when most of the brave warriors had fallen. At that time, the shield bearers were tired, but at least there were still brave fighters charging ahead quickly.
"For Aryan!" shouted two shield bearers, one in front and one behind, aiming at the same target. Crash! The big shield slammed into the slim skeleton, hitting it from the left and right, the two shield bearers working together perfectly to crash the skull in the middle. The tall and thin figure made a cracking sound, the bones caving in under the force of the collision, the mysterious power holding it together finally reached its limit. With a snap, the ghostly fire in the skull scattered like fireflies, and the skeleton killer with a bone knife turned into a pile of dry bones.
The two shield bearers were surprised, not expecting to kill enemies who were already dead. These monsters could be killed! The soldiers cheered, boosting their morale and starting to attack the Skeleton Soldiers with blunt weapons. The two shield bearers who accomplished this feat exited the range of the Skeleton Soldiers’ attacks, cheering in unison for their victory, although their cheers turned into muffled murmurs before they finished shouting.
Those whose throats were slit could not scream.
Two identical daggers simultaneously wiped across their necks, a creature emerging from behind the skeletons, clearly not belonging to these slow white bone warriors. She had skin and flesh on her skeleton, darting onto the battlefield as fast as lightning, with green eyes in her eye sockets as cold and ruthless as the ghostly fire of the skeletons. The girl with inhuman ears turned her head when she saw the fire on the oak tree, letting out a roar that echoed across the battlefield.
The Worgen girl lunged towards the burning oak tree, moving in a straight line like an arrow shot into the enemy’s ranks. What a reckless move! But her momentum made all the soldiers facing her shudder, even forgetting to raise their crossbows. The chaos brought by the strange tree, the skeletons, and the girl herself continued to escalate, when the soldiers’ confidence couldn’t suppress their fear any longer, the roles of hunter and hunted would eventually switch.
"Crossbows ready!" the sergeant shouted hoarsely, "Look! She’s bleeding! The skeletons are not increasing anymore!"
Yes, yes, the soldiers rallied themselves from the brink of fleeing. The skeletons were not increasing anymore, just about forty left if counted, fewer than the army that came to hunt. As long as they put away their fear and cooperated courageously and calmly, these mindless soldiers were not unbeatable. Relatively speaking, the agile Orc girl was more dangerous.
"What are you afraid of? Warriors, look at her ears! She’s just a cowardly tramp!" the sergeant said loudly, his voice dripping with scorn, "When we return today, I will rent a ‘bitch’ in the city to show you how easy these mongrels are to handle!"
Hybrids have always been considered as the most lowly and harmful pests that need to be eliminated. But before getting rid of them, why not make use of them as resources? So, some beautiful looking mixed-blood hybrids are secretly being traded as goods. This is a very normal thing, with the soldiers in the Hybrid-infested areas indulging in permitted entertainment. Nearby Angaso has places involved in such transactions, attracting many soldiers to visit.
The Worgen girl has a lovely face, a good body, and the distinguishing beast ears that mark her as a Hybrid — almost like a suggestive sign of seduction. This suddenly reduces the fear in the young passionate soldiers, making them feel they can easily defeat and harm her. They remember themselves as masters, rulers, and great human warriors, which boosts their morale. Laughter breaks out around, and courage begins to return to the hearts of the soldiers. Ironically, most of the time on the battlefield, it’s not heroism that prevails, but rather beastly instincts.
The sergeant quietly breathed out, suddenly feeling cold.
He thought he was just relaxing after being overly nervous, but who relaxes and suddenly gains the ability to fly? The officer’s eyes widened in horror as he watched the ground getting farther and farther away, seeing his body remaining in place. He opened his mouth but nothing came out.
"Watch your language." A voice devoid of warmth sounded behind him, "Your mouth is too dirty."
The surrounding soldiers looked up dazedly as they saw the commander’s head soaring high in the air, followed by a faceless ghost with bloodstained claws. The sergeant’s tongue flew out of his mouth, followed by other parts on the ground shattering. It happened so quickly, with the sergeant’s body rupturing like an exploded water bag, scattering body parts and blood everywhere, engulfing half of the battlefield.
The archer raised his crossbow in terror, but the arrow passed through the ghost’s body, leaving no trace.
"How do you kill a ghost?" the ghost asked.
"I am coming down," the ghost added.
Then, the ghost disappeared into the air.
Without the commander, the army could no longer gather, no soldier could remain brave or calm. Everyone looked around in panic, protecting their necks, fearing the ubiquitous undead ghosts. They fell into disarray, screams of despair echoing, as the scales of victory tipped completely towards the inhuman side from that moment on.
Full Moon: You can briefly have wolf-like sharp teeth and claws, like a Worgen transformation, but it only lasts for three seconds and will overload and break down your body. What else do you want? Your covenanter is just a mixed-blood with diluted lineage.
Tasha’s consciousness returned to the dungeon, she looked at the skills brought by the contract with Marion, nodding in satisfaction.
The loss of a ghost is quite worthwhile.