Chapter 81: Chapter 79: Adding Another Soul Fire Favorite
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"ROAR—GIE-GOO!!"
The Tier Two goblin javelin thrower, completely unaware that a name had already been chosen for it, roared in agony from the two stacked Curses. It viciously swept its bone spear, which glowed with a faint red aura, at its surroundings.
"BANG! KRA-KRAK-CRACK!"
Another three cannon-fodder Skeletons that had swarmed it were shattered at the waist, sending splinters of bone flying.
However, more cannon-fodder Skeletons surged forward in waves. They used their fragile bones, shoddy weapons, and even their own bodies to ram and grapple with the goblin, desperately bogging it down.
"Gie-gie goo-goo! Retreat! Retreat!" the elite javelin thrower shrieked in anger.
However, it was already too late to retreat.
In the instant it turned slightly to swing its spear, a light and agile shadow appeared silently behind it, like a drop of water coalescing from the reef’s shadow.
It was Bone Shadow.
After making a high-profile kill on a Tidal Fishman Priest, she had vanished from the battlefield. No one would have guessed she had already crept silently to a nearby reef, waiting for the fish to take the bait.
"PSHHHT!"
Bone Shadow viciously plunged the sharp edge of her bone dagger into the goblin’s back, right where its kidney was.
"ROAR—!!!"
The elite javelin thrower let out a bloodcurdling scream.
The excruciating pain of a pierced kidney, magnified more than tenfold by the Pain Curse, instantly flooded the elite javelin thrower’s eyes with blood. It forced its body around and violently thrust its bone spear, trailing a bloody aura, behind it.
However, the moment her strike landed, Bone Shadow had already floated backward like a ghost. With an agile roll, she vanished into the shadow of another reef, disappearing completely without a trace.
The spear’s furious strike only whistled through empty air.
"Urgh...ah..."
The elite javelin thrower staggered, blood gushing from the wound in its side.
Weakened by the constant pain and the Curse, its movements became noticeably sluggish and stiff, its breathing growing heavier and more erratic.
If their leader was in such a state, its ordinary goblin javelin throwers were in an even worse predicament.
Harried by the cannon-fodder Skeletons, they were already struggling to use their ranged javelin advantage. To make matters worse, more and more Skeletons were swarming in, like a vast ocean.
One goblin javelin thrower had just pierced a Skeleton’s neck vertebrae with its short spear when another Skeleton pounced from the side, grabbing its arm. Meanwhile, a third Skeleton’s rusty cleaver was already hacking at its knee.
"GIEEEE!!"
Amidst its screams, the javelin thrower stumbled and fell, instantly submerged by the horde of Skeletons.
Similar scenes played out in every corner of the battlefield.
Under the relentless Sea of Skulls tactic, one well-trained goblin javelin thrower after another fell with bitter resentment onto the sand.
They might have been able to easily kill one or two, or even five or six Skeletons. But against an enemy that outnumbered them ten, even dozens of times over, individual bravery seemed so pale and insignificant.
Soon, all ten ordinary javelin throwers were wiped out, leaving behind nothing but mangled corpses and broken short spears.
In the center of the field, only the Tier Two elite javelin thrower was left, fighting like a cornered beast.
With its back to a jagged reef, it was drenched in blood. Fluid constantly seeped from the wound on its side as it swung its bone spear in an impenetrable defense, shattering and swatting away any Skeletons that got close.
A circle of shattered bones had already piled up around it.
But the tide of Skeletons seemed endless.
What was worse, in just that short time, two ferocious behemoths had arrived on the scene.
To the left, the iron-tower-like figure of the Black Corpse strode forward, parting the other Skeletons. Its bluish-black skin was stained with blood, making it look even more savage and terrifying.
To the right, Bone Jade, holding its Bone Knife, charged in, leading a troop of elite soldiers.
One on the left, one on the right, they formed a pincer attack.
The elite javelin thrower’s pupils contracted violently as a chill ran down its spine.
It was now afflicted by a double Curse and had been sneak-attacked; its strength was greatly diminished. Even if it faced either the Black Corpse or Bone Jade alone, it would likely only be able to barely hold on while seeking a slim chance of escape.
But now, it had to face both of them at once.
And surrounding it were countless Skeletons, watching like tigers eyeing their prey, fearless of death.
Despair completely overwhelmed it. And what also overwhelmed it was the Sea of Skulls.
Meanwhile, on the black reef in the center of the battlefield.
Naga Captain Serena’s azure, vertical pupils constricted as she took in the brutal siege happening in the distance.
Her face was so pale it was drained of all color, and the hands gripping her twin blades trembled uncontrollably.
As a fellow Tier Two Warrior, she naturally had a discerning eye.
She could sense the power of that elite goblin javelin thrower—its swift javelins, its sharp close-combat skills, and its tenacious life force. Every aspect of it struck her as troublesome. If they were to face each other, it would be an extremely difficult opponent.
And yet, such a powerful elite javelin thrower, under the strategic siege orchestrated by that Necromancer, had gone from launching its furious assault to being grievously wounded and on the verge of collapse in less than two minutes.
Serena couldn’t help but put herself in the goblin’s position.
The conclusion she reached made her shudder.
A valiant death in battle was likely the only outcome.
What made Serena truly despair was that she had originally planned to lead her squad and break out with Her Highness Sea Song while the Undead Army’s attention was focused on the javelin throwers.
But at some unknown point, hundreds of Skeletons had gathered around them.
Among them were Tidal Fishman Skeletons holding harpoons and Bone Shields, goblin Skeletons carrying crude weapons, and Humanoid Skeletons wielding swords and spears.
In addition, there were special units such as Fishman Shaman Skeletons, Fishman Warrior Skeletons, and even Fish Giant Skeletons.
Without them noticing, the Skeletons had subtly formed a circle around the black reef.
The only saving grace was that this Undead Corps had not yet attacked. It just stood there silently, its empty, vacant eye sockets staring fixedly at the Naga and the mermaid on the reef.
The meaning behind such a formation was self-evident.
The Necromancer, still hidden somewhere on the battlefield, was conveying his will to them through this display.
’You’re welcome to try and break out. I wouldn’t mind adding a squad of Naga Skeleton Servants to my ranks.’
It was obvious that while encircling and annihilating the goblin javelin throwers, the Necromancer hadn’t forgotten about them.
The thick aura of death emanating from the Sea of Skulls below the reef shrouded the heart of every Naga.
Their last shred of hope was utterly shattered.
The Necromancer’s attitude could not be clearer.
He...
...wanted them all!
***
「Meanwhile.」
The Tier Two elite goblin javelin thrower was finally dead.
As the Black Corpse’s iron-cast palm slammed onto its shattered sternum with peerless force, it clearly heard the muffled sound of its own organs rupturing.
A cold sensation followed at its neck, as if its head had been severed by that white, jade-like Skeleton. Its vision immediately began to spin.
Its consciousness rapidly sank into endless darkness.
In the last moment before its death, countless images flashed through its fading consciousness.
It remembered the ecstasy of its youth, the first time it tremblingly speared a fat Forest Rat with a crude wooden spear.
It remembered its adolescence, the countless days and nights spent in a clearing at the edge of the tribe, mechanically throwing its spear at a tree trunk over and over. It wouldn’t stop even when its palms were raw, all just to make that simple javelin fly faster and truer.
It recalled the tribal tournament that year, when it had defeated all competitors with its exquisite javelin skills. The old Shaman had personally bestowed upon it the Beast Bone Crown and the bone spear that symbolized its status as an elite Warrior.
The looks of awe and envy from its tribe members were still fresh in its memory.
Back then, it had secretly sworn to itself that it would grow stronger, that it would lead its tribe out of this forest.
It would ensure the tribe was no longer driven out by Fishmen, no longer slaughtered by human adventurers...
It would lead the tribe to strength, to civilization.
’My name is... wait, what was my name again?’
Its thoughts gradually sank into chaos.
Just then, a gentle, kind, yet majestic voice suddenly echoed in its mind: "From this day forward, you shall be known as Bone Spear Haymen."
...
