The skull beneath Morvain's foot was nothing special. The cracked skull cap even had a deep gash in it, as if someone had chopped into it before.
If there was anything unusual about it, it was that a faint flicker of soul flame still burned inside the skull.
Clearly, it wasn't dead yet.
An opportunity. The opportunity he had dreamed of.
Even though he no longer possessed any internal organs, Morvain felt as if his heart were pounding wildly.
He had imagined countless possible openings, and had planned all kinds of ways to recruit subordinates.
But because the Skeleton Mage constantly kept his guard up, most of those ideas had never been possible to carry out.
Among the plans that could actually be executed, there was only one truly reliable method.
He lifted his head—confirming that the Skeleton Mage was busy absorbing the soul flame and wasn't paying attention to him.
He turned his gaze—looking at the foolish skeleton soldier collecting bones nearby, who also wasn't facing in his direction.
Of the three who were supposed to be watching him, only the bone frame behind him remained!
This was practically a gift from the heavens!
Without the slightest hesitation, Morvain twisted his foot slightly, flicking a thigh bone onto a pile of other bones—then stomped down hard.
With a bang, the far end of the thigh bone snapped upward like a seesaw and struck the unlucky skeleton behind him squarely in the crotch.
Under normal circumstances, the ones assigned to monitor Morvain would usually be Skeleton Guardians. Cheap tricks like this would never work.
But today, because the Guardians had been injured, a normal skeleton soldier had been temporarily assigned instead.
That gave Morvain his chance.
The rebounding thigh bone slammed into the skeleton soldier's lower body. Before he could even regain his footing, Morvain kicked another bone sideways with force.
Crack!
Driven by the shifting bones, the skeleton soldier was forced into a painful full split, losing balance and collapsing onto his back.
However, his reaction was quick. The moment he fell, he pushed himself up with both hands.
Clearly, he had not forgotten the task assigned by the Skeleton Mage. His gaze never strayed far from his target.
He looked around briefly. Seeing nothing unusual, the skeleton soldier finally staggered back to his feet.
Standing once more behind Morvain, the skeleton soldier lowered his head to inspect his body, checking whether he had been injured.
At that moment, the skull atop Morvain's neck suddenly made a sharp crack as it spun a full one hundred and eighty degrees.
The skeleton soldier stared blankly at the wobbling skull, its jaw hanging loosely, the faint soul flame flickering inside.
The two skeletons stared at each other in silence.
Noticing this, Morvain hurriedly raised both hands and grabbed his head, twisting it violently.
Creak!
The head that had turned backward was forcibly twisted back into place.
Watching Morvain clutch his skull and wobble forward, the skeleton soldier behind him seemed confused.
Something about the skeleton in front felt a little strange… yet not strange at all.
One head. Two arms.
Seemed perfectly normal…
Walking ahead, Morvain held his head tightly with both hands to keep it from spinning around again.
After confirming that the skeleton soldier behind him had no intention of forcibly pulling the head off, Morvain finally let out a quiet breath of relief. The tension in his mind eased slightly.
Great! He had finally obtained his first pot of gold from that damned Skeleton Mage!
His future was within reach!
Holding his head with one hand, Morvain began his routine healing work. As he cast Bone Regeneration, the wounded bodies of the Skeleton Guardians rapidly recovered.
The treatment did not last long. After all, bones were different from flesh; they didn't require complicated medical procedures.
Just connect the bones and cast the spell, and the two broken pieces would naturally fuse together.
Once everything was settled, the Skeleton Guardians began cleaning the battlefield, while Morvain was mercilessly pushed aside and no longer allowed to approach any of the spoils.
On any other day, Morvain would already be cursing loudly, perhaps even playing small tricks—like using Bone Regeneration to "rearrange" the faces of these bastards, just to vent his frustration.
But today, he made no complaints.
Instead, he supported his head with both hands, found a remote corner, and sat down. After confirming that no one was nearby, he suddenly pulled his skull off.
Looking at the skull in his hands—its jaws snapping repeatedly as if trying to bite him—Morvain suddenly felt that this head looked incredibly pleasing to the eye.
"My little brother, look at you! You're already in such terrible shape—nothing left but a head! And me? I'm also trash among skeleton soldiers! Let's not laugh at each other anymore! How about we just team up? I'm a bit smarter than you, so I'll reluctantly take the role of big brother. From now on, you can just call me boss!"
Gently stroking the battered skull, Morvain began his recruitment speech with an unusually tender tone.
However, the other party showed no appreciation. Instead of responding kindly, the skull simply opened its mouth and tried to bite him.
Seeing this, Morvain's eye socket twitched as he cursed inwardly.
These brainless idiots! Why do none of them have any sense at all?! He's nothing but a head now! And me—sure, I'm broken, yellowed, and a bit useless—but at least I'm still a complete body!
I can't beat other skeletons, sure—but you think I can't beat you in this state?!
"Fine! If you don't want to be my subordinate, that's fine! We've both fallen into the same miserable situation! Our circumstances are similar! I'm willing to become sworn bone brothers with you! What do you think?"
"Clack clack clack!"
"How about this—we may not be born on the same day, month, and year, but we can die on the same day, month, and year! Deal?"
"Clack clack clack!"
"Boss! What exactly do you want?! If nothing else works, I'll let you be the big brother! Please, I'm begging you!"
"Clack clack clack!"
"Fuck! I'm warning you—don't push me today! I'll show you what I'm capable of!"
His patience finally exhausted, Morvain roared in frustration.
He suddenly dug a hole in the ground and shoved the skull inside it.
Then he snapped off one of his own ribs and began hammering down on the skull again and again, chanting as he did so.
"Today I shall grant you rebirth! I will make your head understand what meaning is, what purpose is! Today I will give you a beautiful hairstyle! May you soon understand what is right and what is wrong! Understand the benefits of becoming my subordinate! This is your chance…"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The pounding continued as Morvain began his rather unconventional persuasion.
Some skeleton soldiers and Skeleton Guardians had come to check on the noise.
But by that time, the skull had already been buried in the soil, with only the top exposed.
On a ground covered entirely in bones, who would pay attention to just one extra skull?
Not understanding what Morvain was doing, they quickly left.
Only Morvain remained, stubbornly continuing his efforts, trying to persuade his would-be subordinate to turn over a new leaf in this peculiar way.