Free Web NovelChapter 10: Chapter 9: First, Catch a Few
A five-man squad of Lizardman Robbers moved silently through the Wasteland, their bodies low to the ground. Their forked tongues flicked in and out, sensing their surroundings. This was how they usually scouted, judging the environment by perceiving changes in humidity and temperature.
"Hiss... did you hear that?" one Lizardman Robber suddenly straightened up, looking around in confusion before asking his companion.
"What sound?" The other Lizardman Robber shrugged. He hadn’t heard a thing.
"Shut up!" snarled another Lizardman Robber. He pressed his hand to the ground, sensing for something, his tongue flicking even more rapidly. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
The other Lizardmen immediately fell silent. This companion’s scouting abilities were far superior to theirs; he could perceive many things they either couldn’t detect or would have overlooked.
"Something’s coming!" The Lizardman Robber lifted his palm from the ground and turned to gaze into the distance, his voice wary.
Just as he warned, a massive black shape came charging across the Wasteland.
"It’s huge! What is that? A beast?"
"It’s... it’s the Undead! Blow the whistle, quickly!"
The Lizardmen scrambled to pull out their whistles as the Mobile Fortress drew relentlessly closer. Specks of Soul Fire flared to life, revealing its hideous form.
After a quick calculation of their respective speeds, the Lizardman Robbers came to a grim realization: their enemy was slightly faster. Even so, they decided to run for it. What if they could rendezvous with Ah Mu and the others?
The five Lizardman Robbers broke into a sprint, dashing into the distance. The Mobile Fortress gave chase, closing in relentlessly.
’Still too slow. I’ll have to figure out how to increase its speed next time.’
Li Ziyu stood on high, watching the fleeing Lizardmen below. He slapped his forehead. At least the Mobile Fortress was slightly faster than the Lizardmen, so there was still a chance to catch them. freewebnøvel.com
The Mobile Fortress caught up and began to run parallel to the Lizardman Robbers. They turned their heads in terror, only to see the Undead on the bone-strewn structure spring to life, brandishing their claws at them. The sight was absolutely terrifying.
This time, the Skeleton Undead didn’t detach themselves directly from the fortress. Instead, they raised their Weapons and attacked the Lizardmen. Of course, both the Bone Sabers and Curved Sabers were too short to reach, but the Spears could just barely strike the fleeing Lizardmen below.
Harassed by the Spears, the Lizardmen’s stride was broken. One unlucky soul even tripped and tumbled into a ball.
Seeing that the harassment was effective, the Undead grew more enthusiastic, thrusting their Spears more frequently. At the same time, Skeleton Undead began detaching from the fortress, leaping from above onto the Lizardmen. Their goal wasn’t to inflict injury, but simply to grab hold of the Lizardmen and restrain them.
The Lizardmen hadn’t anticipated this. It was completely different from the battles they’d heard about. The Undead didn’t charge in for a normal fight; they just piled on top of them. Each Lizardman was soon weighed down by ten or twenty Skeleton Undead, crushing all the fight out of them.
Once restrained, the Undead clumsily worked together to haul the Lizardman Robbers up onto the fortress. No matter how much they struggled, it was useless; there were too many Undead clinging to them.
This was a new strategy Li Ziyu had devised. Direct combat was not only time-consuming and risked letting the enemy stall for reinforcements, but it could also lead to casualties. So, he changed his approach. ’First, I’ll incapacitate you and drag you into my fortress. Once you’re inside the Mobile Fortress, it’s my home turf. I can do whatever I want.’
Clearly, his strategy was very effective.
Although the Lizardmen had blown their Bone Whistles, they were captured and hauled onto the fortress all the same.
The battle was over almost as soon as it began. The Undead re-integrated into the structure, and the Mobile Fortress turned without hesitation, heading off in a different direction.
Ten minutes after the fortress departed, two squads of Lizardman reinforcements arrived. What they saw was a chaotic battlefield, yet there were no traces of blood or any remains. Their comrades had simply vanished.
’What just happened here?’
They had rushed over as soon as they heard the rescue Bone Whistle, but even so, they were too late.
’They couldn’t even hold out for ten minutes?’
’Weren’t the Undead supposed to be weak? Why did this happen?’
’Could it be we underestimated the Undead?’ The Lizardman Robbers looked at one another, a chill running down their spines.
A few minutes later, Ah Mu arrived with more Lizardmen. After scouting the area, he determined the direction the Mobile Fortress had taken and led the others in pursuit. He was determined to see just what these Undead were all about!
After the Undead dragged the Lizardmen onto the fortress, the captured Lizardman Robbers couldn’t help but tremble as they looked at the Skeletons embedded in the walls, Soul Fire dancing in their eye sockets and their jaws clacking open and shut. They could only guess at the fate that awaited them.
The Skeletons shoved the Lizardman Robbers into the Castle Main Tower, bringing them before Li Ziyu.
’A Human?!’
’Why is there a Human among the Undead?’
The moment they saw Li Ziyu, the Lizardman Robbers were stunned. Their brains simply shut down. It was so unexpected, so incomprehensible, they couldn’t process it.
Li Ziyu sat on his White Bone Throne, looking down on the disarmed Lizardman Robbers. These were live captives, and he hoped to get some information out of them.
"Human, I don’t know who you are, but you’d better let us go..."
"Tsk."
Seeing that he wasn’t one of the Undead, a Lizardman Robber immediately became defiant. He stood up and began to curse at Li Ziyu. They feared the Undead, but they had no fear of a fellow living creature, especially a Human who didn’t even have Scale Armor.
Li Ziyu clicked his tongue. Instantly, a Skeleton Undead stepped behind the Lizardman Robber and thrust a Spear straight through him. The spearhead emerged from the Lizardman’s chest, slick with blood, before being withdrawn.
"Urk..."
The Lizardman Robber reached out a hand, his body stiffening. He tried to say something, but no words came out. His vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground. His corpse was then swallowed by the floor, vanishing without a trace.
The other Lizardmen, who had also been thinking of acting tough, were instantly cowed by the sight. Their comrade had been killed after uttering a single sentence. They decided it was best to keep their mouths shut. This Human was clearly not to be trifled with, especially since he could apparently control the Undead.
"Let’s be clear about the situation here. Your lives are in my hands."
"I ask, you answer. If you lie, you can go keep the Undead company."
Li Ziyu leaned back, his gaze cold as he looked down at the remaining Lizardman captives. ’What a bunch of idiots. How dare they try to act tough and curse at me at a time like this? Do they really think I wouldn’t dare to kill them?’
The remaining Lizardmen lowered their heads, their eyes still filled with defiance and indignation, but they didn’t dare let the Human in front of them see it. Otherwise, they would share their former comrade’s fate.
"How many of you are there in total? Who is your leader? And who is the strongest?"
Hearing the questions, the Lizardmen looked at each other, held a silent conversation with their eyes, and then fell silent, refusing to answer.
When the Lizardman Robbers remained silent, Li Ziyu frowned. He gave a look to one of the Undead. An Undead carrying a Curved Saber stepped forward and, before the Lizardman could beg for mercy, swung its blade down. A head flew, and the body collapsed, only to be swallowed by the floor just like the last one.
Another one dead. The remaining three Lizardman Robbers shuddered in unison. They realized this Human was completely different from the Human Merchants they used to rob. This was someone who truly dared to kill. If they resisted any further, it was likely none of them would survive.
