Chapter 19: Chapter 18: Hunting Bison
In the dead of night, beneath the Moonlight, white figures swayed unsteadily, appearing around the herd of bulls and gradually closing in.
The adult Big-Horned Bulls mooed, trying to scare away the approaching invaders while warning their kin of the enemy’s arrival. As the Skeleton Undead drew near, the bulls’ eyes widened in growing alarm. In the inner circle, the old Big-Horned Bulls and the calves rose to their feet, pacing uneasily.
The Undead paid no mind to the Big-Horned Bulls’ warnings. They were Hunters; they wouldn’t abandon their prey over a few grunts. The mooing of the bulls meant nothing to them—even a wolf’s howl would not have made them waver in the slightest.
The relentless advance of the Undead put immense pressure on the Big-Horned Bulls. They sensed something unnatural about the figures before them—it was the intuition of a Wild Beast, a sense of dread, the oppressive weight of death. Given the choice, the Big-Horned Bulls wanted nothing to do with these invaders.
Under the pressure, the dark eyes of the Big-Horned Bulls on the perimeter gradually turned bloodshot. They lowered their heads, aiming their sharp, curved, spiraling horns at the enemy. Their hooves stomped the ground, THUMP THUMP THUMP, kicking up clouds of dust—the signal to charge.
AWOOO—
An Undead carrying a Bone Saber halted. The Soul Fire in its skull flared violently, like gasoline thrown on a bonfire. The sudden blaze of Soul Fire nearly consumed its entire skull. It opened its jaw and unleashed a Soul Roar at the herd of bulls. The roar was soundless, yet it carried a terrifying vibration.
At the first Undead’s roar, the others also halted, their Soul Fires flaring as they joined in the silent cry.
The Soul Roar was not a true sound and was normally inaudible. But when a horde of Undead roared in unison, they created a unique sonic wave that struck the soul directly, causing it to tremble and filling living creatures with terror—the feeling that death was imminent. This was a technique unique to the Undead.
The Soul Shock was far more effective against creatures of low intelligence, like Wild Beasts, than it was against highly intelligent beings. Wild Beasts fought on instinct, and under the oppressive fear and aura of death brought on by the Soul Shock, their instincts screamed at them: ’Don’t move. Don’t you dare move.’ In response, their bodies would go rigid.
Sure enough, after the Undead unleashed their roars, the adult Big-Horned Bulls on the perimeter shuddered. Their bodies went stiff, and their restlessly pawing hooves fell still. The bloodshot rage in their eyes faded, replaced by stark fear. If the adults were in this state, one could only imagine the condition of the old bulls and calves in the inner circle—their eyes had gone vacant.
Seizing the moment while the Big-Horned Bulls were reeling from the shock, the Undead launched their attack. Armed with Bone Sabers, Spears, and Curved Sabers, they swarmed forward.
There were no war cries, no shouts, only the CLACK-CLACK-CLACK of scraping bone, which sounded all the more terrifying in the darkness.
As the most basic Low Tier Undead, their movements were not fast. They were stiff; even an ordinary person could outrun them, let alone a Big-Horned Bull. However, the bulls had just been stunned by the Soul Roar and were still in a state of utter panic, completely disoriented.
Seeing the charging Undead, the adult Big-Horned Bulls’ first instinct was not to fight, but to run!
’Run! As fast as you can!’
’We’ll die!’
’Staying here means death!’
’We can’t fight them!’
The lingering terror from the Soul Roar took its toll. The feeling of dread made the normally powerful adult Big-Horned Bulls cower. They didn’t dare attack the Undead. Instead, they turned and fled, abandoning the old bulls and the calves without a second thought.
They didn’t dare risk a single glance back, as if to look was to die. It was as if their most feared natural predator was on their heels, forcing them into a blind, desperate flight.
The old Big-Horned Bulls recovered a moment sooner. Though old and frail, their longer lives had given them more resilience than the younger generation. But the Undead were already upon them, leaving them no choice but to make a stand.
The calves mooed in terror, looking for the adult Big-Horned Bulls that should have been protecting them, only to see them disappearing into the distance, kicking up a trail of dust, completely ignoring their pleas.
The Undead didn’t bother chasing the fleeing adults. After a token effort to block their path, they turned their attention to the old bulls and calves left behind. These were their true targets.
The old Big-Horned Bulls used their sharp horns to fight back. Whenever an Undead got close to a calf, they would charge, sending the Skeleton flying or knocking it into a pile of bones. But the Undead would quickly rise again, their bodies reassembling, and charge once more, completely unscathed.
Bone Sabers and Spears plunged into the Big-Horned Bulls’ flesh. Blood flowed freely, staining the ground red. The old, frail bulls wanted to protect the calves, but their stamina was gone. Their Power drained away, and one by one, they collapsed, letting out mournful moos as they died.
The old Big-Horned Bulls were the last Guardians. When they fell, the young calves became easy pickings for the Undead. They were swiftly slaughtered, their carcasses carried back to the Mobile Fortress.
No pity, no mercy, only ruthless slaughter. To Li Ziyu and the Undead, these Big-Horned Bulls were resources, essential for their advancement.
All mercy is a charity bestowed by the strong upon the weak. Between his own prosperity and sparing the life of the weak, Li Ziyu would choose the former without hesitation.
Inside the Mobile Fortress, the Big-Horned Bull carcasses were brought in one after another, but Li Ziyu had no time to inspect them. He pointed forward and ordered, "Full speed ahead! Continue the pursuit!"
He had no intention of letting the adult Big-Horned Bulls escape. ’Who knows if we’ll find any other prey tonight?’ he thought. ’Better to pursue this herd than search the Wasteland aimlessly.’
The Undead carried the corpses back to the fortress and re-merged with its structure. The Mobile Fortress began to pick up speed. The Skeleton Engine activated, Soul Energy pouring into it. The grotesque, alien skull on its prow opened its mouth as if spewing blue flames. With its power maxed out, it propelled the Mobile Fortress forward at full speed.
A Big-Horned Bull could run at about 40 to 50 kilometers per hour, which was roughly the same as the Mobile Fortress’s current speed. But the bulls were living animals; they couldn’t run endlessly. The Mobile Fortress, on the other hand, could maintain its pace indefinitely as long as it had enough Soul Energy.
The Skeleton Engine consumed one point of Soul Energy per minute for every 10 km/h increase in speed. The current 20 km/h boost was costing him two points of Soul Energy per minute. Li Ziyu was anxious to catch up to the Big-Horned Bulls quickly and conserve as much Soul Energy as possible.
The panicked Big-Horned Bulls made no attempt to conceal their flight, kicking up a long plume of dust across the Wasteland. The Mobile Fortress followed this trail, sticking close behind them in relentless pursuit.
Plunging into the dust cloud, the Undead no longer bothered with stealth. Pinpoints of blue fire, like the eyes of countless Monsters, bobbed in the gloom. From time to time, they would let out excited Soul Roars.
Standing at the window, Li Ziyu strained to see ahead. Although the dust cloud obscured his vision completely, he had complete faith in the Undead’s perception.
