"Let's capture it first!"
Zhao Lun ordered his skeleton minions to slowly approach the Greatsword Skeleton. He had made up his mind to take it alive—this would eliminate a potential threat, give him an ally once he reached level 3, and, most importantly, allow him to determine if this skeleton truly had intelligence.
As Zhao Lun and his minions got closer, he could clearly see the Greatsword Skeleton's eyes grow more alert and defensive. Its bone frame shifted uneasily, and the sword in its hand began to twitch, but it didn't leave its territory to attack.
"Since you're not attacking, I'll take the first move!"
Zhao Lun calmly advanced into attack range, noticing that the Greatsword Skeleton still didn't show any signs of aggression. He immediately commanded his five skeletal archers to attack.
Draw and shoot.
For the skeletal archers, this was a routine action—fast and fluid, not taking more than a second. As for accuracy, it was second nature for them, especially when their target was a stationary Greatsword Skeleton.
In less than a second, five bone arrows flew almost in sync toward the Greatsword Skeleton.
"Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!"
The arrows were fast, but for the Greatsword Skeleton, their power was still lacking. Even though five arrows hit it directly on the skull, all they managed to do was push the skeleton back a step. They caused no harm whatsoever.
However, this was enough to anger the Greatsword Skeleton.
"Die..."
Zhao Lun could vaguely hear a low growl as the Greatsword Skeleton's soul fire flared with murderous intent. It raised its large bone sword high and charged toward Zhao Lun.
"Shoot its left leg!" Zhao Lun ordered with calm determination, not at all worried for his safety.
"Whoosh..."
Five bone arrows shot out almost instantly, aimed at the Greatsword Skeleton's left leg.
The archers were always accurate, but this time, due to the Greatsword Skeleton's high speed, not all the arrows hit. Out of the five, only two struck the left leg. Unfortunately, the skeleton's defense was stronger than Zhao Lun anticipated. The arrows, despite hitting, were deflected with a ringing sound and flew off.
Zhao Lun wasn't discouraged, though, because his real goal had been achieved. The Greatsword Skeleton, disrupted by the sudden impact on its left leg, lost its balance and fell to the ground.
"Shoot its right arm!" Zhao Lun commanded again.
Once more, five arrows flew, hitting the right arm of the Greatsword Skeleton. This time, Zhao Lun had better luck. One arrow found its way into the joint of the skeleton's wrist, effectively disarming it and preventing it from wielding its sword.
"Shoot its left arm!" Zhao Lun immediately commanded, clearly aiming to incapacitate all of the skeleton's limbs.
"Whoosh!" Another five arrows flew, this time targeting the left arm.
But then, Zhao Lun suddenly heard a sharp, distinct roar. His heart skipped a beat, and his senses went on high alert.
"Charge!"
To Zhao Lun's shock, the Greatsword Skeleton, which had been lying on the ground moments ago, leapt into the air. A faint white glow radiated from its skeletal frame, and it shot forward like a bolt of lightning, covering several meters in the blink of an eye. With its speed reduced by only a third, it charged straight at Zhao Lun's skeletal archers.
"This is bad. We need to stop it..."
Zhao Lun realized the situation had gotten serious, but it was already too late. By the time he could organize any defense, the Greatsword Skeleton had already plunged into the group of skeletal archers. It leapt high into the air and delivered a heavy blow to the skull of Archer One. With a snap, Archer One, who had been with Zhao Lun for days, was immediately destroyed.
The killing didn't stop there. Fueled by rage, the Greatsword Skeleton continued its rampage, obliterating two more skeletal archers in the process.
"Stop it already!" Zhao Lun's heart ached as he watched his minions being slaughtered.
"Shield Bash!" He ordered, calling upon his bone shield skeleton.
The bone shield skeleton charged forward, using its only 0-level combat skill to strike.
"Crash!"
The Greatsword Skeleton, caught off guard by the bone shield skeleton's attack, was knocked back a few steps. Its soul fire flickered weakly, and its skull seemed dazed for a moment.
"Blind!" Zhao Lun saw his chance and quickly cast the "Blindness" spell, stealing the Greatsword Skeleton's vision.
"Cross Slash!"
Greatsword One, who had been waiting for the right moment, slashed out with its most powerful move. A diagonal cross cut through the air, landing directly on the Greatsword Skeleton's neck. At the same time, a black energy ball shot out from Zhao Lun's staff and slammed into the skeleton's skull, cracking it open. The Greatsword Skeleton's body froze, and it collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
"Capturing it alive is definitely much more troublesome than just killing it," Zhao Lun sighed in relief, surveying the battlefield. His skeletal archers had been reduced to just two, but he was grateful that he had managed to subdue the Greatsword Skeleton.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Just as Zhao Lun finished his reflection, he felt something explode within his soul fire. His eyes dimmed, and a sharp pain surged through his head.
"Damn it! This is the soulfire essence of Archer One and the others!" Zhao Lun immediately understood. This was the downside of the "Servant" ability—when a skeleton servant was killed, the master would suffer as well since they carried the soul essence.
The pain that ripped through his soul fire made Zhao Lun shudder in fear. He was lucky that he acted fast—if all five of his skeletal archers had been killed, he wasn't sure he could have handled the backlash.
"We need to head back... must get back..."
The pain from his soul fire was unbearable, and Zhao Lun was about to retreat to recover with his remaining minions when something strange happened.
A faint call echoed from deep within his soul.
It wasn't clear, yet it instilled a strange sense of safety and reliance in Zhao Lun. Even the excruciating pain in his soul fire began to ease. Zhao Lun could clearly feel the call—it was coming from the location where the Greatsword Skeleton had just been.
"What is that?" Zhao Lun felt an uncontrollable urge to investigate.
Without thinking, he led his remaining skeleton minions to the spot where the Greatsword Skeleton had fallen. Standing still, he could feel the call emanating from underground, not too far beneath the surface.
"Dig!" Zhao Lun ordered without hesitation. A strange feeling gnawed at him, and he knew that whatever was down there, he could not afford to miss it. If he did, he would surely regret it.