Free Web NovelChapter 11: Chapter 10: The Battle Begins
Having lost two of their companions in quick succession, the Lizardmen couldn’t hold out any longer. Faced with the choice between loyalty to Ah Mu and their own lives, being robbers, they decisively chose the latter. The three Lizardmen hastily told Li Ziyu everything they knew.
Nearly a hundred Lizardman Robbers had come in total. Their leader was named Ah Mu, and their most powerful warrior was Ah Ta. They came from a relatively small Lizardman Tribe, and these hundred or so Lizardmen comprised nearly all of the tribe’s able-bodied youth.
Once the Lizardman Robbers finished speaking, Li Ziyu tapped his fingers a couple of times. He sat on the White Bone Throne, stroking his chin in contemplation.
They had thought they could save their own skins by telling him what they knew, but Li Ziyu had no intention of letting them go. Three Undead stepped forward and dispatched the Lizardman Robbers, each with a single slash of their swords. The ground devoured the corpses, and the system initiated decomposition mode.
[Decomposed Lizardman +1. Obtained: Skeleton x1 unit, Damaged Lizard Hide x1, Soul Energy x50 units]
...
The five Lizardman Robbers provided Li Ziyu with more resources, and he distributed their weapons among his Skeleton Undead. He was quite satisfied with the recent battle. ’This is the proper way for the Mobile Fortress to fight.’
’It can move and attack simultaneously, leveraging its height for a high-ground advantage. But without long-range weapons before, I had to send the Skeleton Undead down to fight, which lowered their combat effectiveness.’
’Now that I have spears, they don’t all have to go down. Just stabbing with the spears can inflict decent damage. Weapons have revolutionized my combat tactics.’
’There are quite a few Lizardman Robbers. Taking them all on with only two hundred Undead under my command will be tough. An individual Skeleton Undead’s combat power is far inferior to a Lizardman’s. However, with my new combat methods, it’s not impossible. I just need to think it through carefully.’
As he replayed the previous battle with the Lizardman Robbers in his mind, a strategy slowly began to form.
Ah Mu led the Lizardman Robbers in a relentless pursuit, following the tracks left by the Mobile Fortress. To Li Ziyu, they were merely materials—resources to make his fortress even stronger. To the Lizardmen, however, the Undead meant immense fame!
Just imagine, if they could annihilate the legendary Undead Race, not only would they be eliminating a potential future disaster, but his name, Ah Mu, and his Lizardman Tribe would echo across the Wasteland. Anyone who spoke their name would have to do so with respect.
Ever since becoming leader and guiding his Lizardmen into a life of banditry, Ah Mu had realized the power of renown. Often, when they encountered merchant caravans, they only needed to state their name, and the merchants would willingly hand over their money to avoid trouble. They could accumulate wealth without lifting a finger—that was the benefit of a fearsome reputation.
Annihilating the Undead would elevate their fearsome reputation to a whole new level, making survival in the Wasteland that much easier.
Touching the tracks pressed into the ground, a vicious look flashed across Ah Mu’s face. ’We have to catch them. We must catch the Undead and make sure they never leave the Wasteland. We can’t give them a single chance.’
He rose and shouted an order, and the Lizardmen began to run forward once more. They hadn’t gone far when Ah Mu suddenly halted, crouching down to press his hand against the ground, feeling for vibrations.
As the Tribe leader, Ah Mu was not only clever but also an expert scout and fighter. After pressing a long-nailed hand to the ground to sense the tremors, he raised his head and gazed into the distance. ’Something’s coming.’
Soon, a dark silhouette appeared in the distance, heading straight for them.
"Undead! Prepare for battle!"
Ah Mu identified it with a single glance, leaping to his feet and shouting to the surrounding Lizardman Robbers.
Upon receiving the command, the Lizardman Robbers immediately fanned out, forming a semicircular pincer. Ah Ta snatched up his great hammer, confirmed the enemy’s direction, and with a roar, charged forward with great strides.
"HSSS—KILL—"
With the Tribe’s foremost Warrior leading the Charge, the other Lizardman Robbers followed close behind, surging toward the Mobile Fortress.
The Lizardman Robbers armed with spears attacked even before Ah Ta, hurling their weapons at the tall, dark silhouette from a distance.
Spears, glinting coldly, flew straight toward the Mobile Fortress and plunged into the mass of bones.
"Well, well. What a pleasant surprise."
Standing atop the fortress, Li Ziyu witnessed the volley of spears flying toward him and couldn’t help but break into a wide grin. ’I was just wondering how to bait these Lizardmen into throwing their spears. I can’t believe they just went and did it on their own.’
To the Undead, the damage from the spears was minimal. Unless they struck a skull, they were virtually harmless. The spears simply lodged in the bones without causing any real damage, and were instead grabbed by the Undead and pulled into the Castle Main Tower.
’Holy cow. The fight’s barely started and I’ve already collected dozens of spears. What a generous gift, I’m truly grateful. I was just stressing about my lack of long weapons, but not anymore. This is just perfect.’
Li Ziyu didn’t hesitate for a moment. The enemy had delivered weapons right into his hands; it would be a disservice not to use them. He immediately ordered the Undead to arm themselves with the spears and prepare to engage the Lizardman Robbers.
After hurling their spears, the Lizardman Robbers all drew the Curved Sabers from their waists and, with howls of fury, accelerated their charge toward the Mobile Fortress.
This was a standard tactic: open with a long-range volley, then rapidly close the distance for melee combat. freewёbnoνel.com
Unfortunately for them, they weren’t facing a conventional Race, but the Undead—a race that defied all normal logic.
Since Ah Ta was charging at the front, Ah Mu was a step behind. This allowed him to witness the thrown spears being pulled into the fortress by the Undead. Immediately after, he saw those same Undead on the fortress inexplicably armed with a host of new spears.
’Did we... just hand our weapons over to the enemy?’
Ah Mu was so frustrated he could have spat blood. Had he known the Undead could pull a stunt like that, he never would have ordered his tribesmen to throw their Javelins.
It was too late for regrets now; they had no choice but to see it through.
The Tribe’s foremost Warrior, Ah Ta, had reached the front of the Mobile Fortress. Utterly fearless in the face of the towering structure, he kicked off the ground with his powerful thighs, leaping high into the air. With a roar, he brought his great hammer crashing down. And then... that was it. Several Undead worked together to block the hammer, grabbing hold of it and refusing to let go, pulling with all their might to drag it inside.
Ah Ta was stunned by the pulling force. He had imagined they might block his hammer, or even parry it away. He had never imagined they would simply grab it and use it to pull him in.
On the ground, Ah Ta might have been able to resist, to match the Undeads’ strength. But he had jumped to attack; his body was in mid-air with nothing to brace against. He was dragged right in by the Undead, hammer and all.
The Undead on the fortress’s surface writhed. Dozens of ghastly white, skeletal arms shot out and dragged Ah Ta inside. He vanished in an instant, without even a chance to cry for help.
Gone? fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
He’s gone?!
Ah Mu, still charging toward the fortress, skidded to a halt. He stared in horror at the fortress composed of Undead.
Ah Ta had only just launched his attack, and he was devoured. In the pale Moonlight, Ah Mu saw it all with perfect clarity. He even saw Ah Ta’s legs kicking wildly as he was pulled in, and his flailing arms.
’Are the Undead really this terrifying?’
’Can we really win this fight?’
