Global Lords: The Undead's Mobile Fortress

Chapter 172: Chapter 120: Scout Captain

The excruciating pain from his pierced shoulder blade made the Jackal Wolfman Scout Captain let out a bloodcurdling scream. He wanted to straighten up and pull out the White Bone Long Arrow, but the slightest movement only intensified the agony. His fur, soaked with sweat, clung to his body, making him look like a drowned rat.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, he reached back and grabbed the end of the arrow. After taking two deep breaths, he tried to snap it with all his might. "AWOOOO—"

A product of the System, quality guaranteed. The White Bone Arrow didn’t snap. Instead, the Scout Captain nearly passed out from the pain. Blood trickled down the shaft onto the ground, staining the earth red around the arrowhead.

The Scout Captain turned his head and saw the Skeleton Undead shambling toward him. He bared his fangs and let out a low growl, like a cornered Fierce Beast trying to scare them away.

Unfortunately for him, these were Undead. They wouldn’t have cared if he were an actual Fierce Beast, let alone an injured Jackal Wolfman. They shambled over, raised their claws, and aimed for the Scout Captain, ready to rip his heart out and run him through, sending him to join his comrades.

Just then, however, the two Wandering Souls floating in the sky flew down and blocked the Undead.

The Skeleton Undead were surprisingly friendly toward the Wandering Souls. In their minds, Wandering Souls were similar beings—both were products of death and part of the Undead Race, just from a different branch. The Skeleton Undead halted their advance, tilting their heads as they gazed at the two Wandering Souls.

Skeleton Undead relied on their Soul Fire, and a Soul Fire was essentially a manifestation of a Spirit Body. The bodies of Wandering Souls were Soul Bodies, so there was no barrier to communication.

"You can’t kill him," one of the Wandering Souls projected.

The Skeleton Undead tilted its head to the other side, its projected reply seeming almost endearingly simple. "Why?"

The Wandering Soul glanced at the nearly unconscious Jackal Wolfman and projected, "A live one is more useful than a dead one. The Master of the Undead will be more pleased."

The Soul Fire in the Skeleton Undead’s eye sockets pulsed, as if it were pondering the soul’s words. After a long moment, it slowly nodded, moved past the Wandering Soul, grabbed the White Bone Arrow, and planted a foot on the Scout Captain’s back.

"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?" the Wandering Soul projected in a panic, seeing the Skeleton Undead’s actions. "Don’t do anything reckless!"

The Skeleton Undead’s head swiveled to face the Wandering Soul. "The arrow. Pulling it out."

The Wandering Soul frantically gestured for it to stop. ’If you pull that out, how could the Scout Captain possibly survive? He’ll die from the pain alone!’

Pain?

The Skeleton Undead had no concept of pain. They lacked a sense of it and had no idea it could be fatal. This one simply thought that leaving the arrow in would make the captive awkward to carry.

It glanced behind it, and the Wandering Souls followed its gaze. The other Undead had caught up and were beginning to methodically clean up the battlefield.

They would walk up to a body, grab the arrow with both hands, plant a foot on the corpse, and PULL. If they found one that wasn’t quite dead, they would pull out the arrow and then casually stab the body again to finish the job before dragging it away by the legs.

The Skeleton Undead looked back at the Wandering Souls. It said nothing, but its meaning was clear. ’This is how we do it.’

"No, no, no, not like that!" the Wandering Soul projected frantically. "Those are already dead, or too wounded to be saved. We need to keep this one alive!" It was afraid that if it delayed even a moment, the Skeleton would yank the arrow out.

Though the Skeleton Undead didn’t understand why, it loosened its grip. Following the Wandering Soul’s directions, it beckoned to its companions, and together they lifted the Scout Captain.

Their movements were anything but gentle. Being rough and clumsy, they managed to lift the Jackal Wolfman, but the searing pain from being jostled around was enough to make him pass out. That actually saved them some trouble.

With the battlefield cleared, the Undead shambled back toward the fortress.

...

At night, the Wraith Mountain Range echoed with the clang of mining and the thud of logging, punctuated by the roars and wails of Wild Beasts. Ever since the Undead had arrived, the Wraith Mountain Range had lost its former tranquility.

Gazing out from the Wraith Mountain Range by the light of the moon, one could see a flat expanse in the distance. Sparse buildings of various sizes dotted the landscape, with a towering fortress rising from the center, glittering with pinpricks of light.

Undead Fortress, Great Hall.

The bodies of the Jackal Wolfman scouts were arranged in a neat row before Li Ziyu. Oh, except for one, who wasn’t dead yet—though his shallow breathing suggested he wasn’t far from it.

The Jackal Wolfmen were not a clean Race by any means. On the contrary, they were filthy. They loved meat but paid no mind to hygiene, and their bodies gave off a foul, putrid stench. Li Ziyu pinched his nose and circled the corpses twice, studying them closely. Fighting back his nausea, he even pried open their mouths to inspect their curved, hook-like fangs.

’Creatures like this actually know how to use firearms?’

If he hadn’t seen the Treasure-Hunting Catman Fortress, which had been shot to pieces, Li Ziyu would never have believed it. He would have much sooner believed these creatures were a Race on the same Level as goblins.

That said, their other Weapons were surprisingly well-made. They were equipped with metal Wolf Fang Clubs and Nail Head Hammers that were sturdy and durable. The dark red stains on them proved these Weapons saw frequent use.

A few of the Jackal Wolfmen also carried a Bow and Arrow. Li Ziyu tried to draw one and found it required immense strength. He didn’t see any of the Firearms that Liu Xingxing had mentioned, likely because they were too inconvenient to carry.

According to the intelligence brought back by Liu Xingxing and the Undead, the Firearms required two Jackal Wolfmen to operate, and their reload Speed was slow. Unless used en masse, their effectiveness was greatly reduced, making them less practical than a Bow and Arrow.