Free Web NovelChapter 12: Chapter 11: Pressing the Advantage
The scene unfolding before his eyes filled Ah Mu with profound doubt.
Ah Ta was their Tribe’s number one Warrior, the mightiest of all Lizardmen. He was the pillar Ah Mu relied on to dominate the Wasteland. It was precisely because of Ah Ta that Ah Mu had been able to lead his Tribe of Lizardman Robbers to carve out a name for themselves.
’Now my number one Warrior has been inexplicably swallowed by the fortress. If Ah Ta was no match for it, what good would anyone else be?’
The other Lizardman Robbers had no time for such thoughts. Having already closed in on the fortress, they swung their Curved Sabers and hacked away. The Undead atop the fortress, armed with Spears, showed no signs of weakness and promptly returned fire.
Ah Ta was dragged into the Castle Main Tower and thrown to the floor. He scrambled up, rolling alertly a few times, but before he could regain his footing, Undead burst from the walls, swinging Curved Sabers in a sneak attack from behind.
He was a Warrior, after all. Even without a Weapon, Ah Ta’s combat prowess was not to be underestimated. He threw his fists, keeping the Undead at bay. And yet, it wasn’t as if these were the only Undead in the fortress.
More and more Undead appeared, wielding Bone Sabers and Curved Sabers. They completely surrounded Ah Ta and launched a frenzied assault.
As the saying goes, even the greatest hero is no match for a crowd. No matter how strong Ah Ta was, he couldn’t withstand the assault of dozens of Undead. He was quickly cut down, his death utterly baffling. To his last breath, his mind was a complete blank; he couldn’t fathom what had just happened, how he had been surrounded and hacked to death by the Undead.
Once their enemy was dead, the Undead retreated back into the walls, leaving the floor to swallow Ah Ta’s corpse.
The battle outside was just as intense. It was basically the Lizardman Robbers CLANK, CLANK, CLANKING away at the Undeads’ bones, while the Undead went THUNK, THUNK, THUNKING holes in their bodies. Yep, super intense.
Fighting from the high ground, the Undead could easily protect their skulls. As for the rest of their bones? Hack away. They could just replace them later.
While fighting back, the Undead were also stealthily dragging people into the main tower. They wanted the corpses, but they wanted the living Lizardman Robbers, too. The barbs on their Spears were perfect for the job. Once a Lizardman was stabbed, they’d hook him and drag him into the Castle Main Tower.
The Undead returning fire outside used Spears, while those inside the Castle Main Tower used Bone Sabers and Curved Sabers. Every time a Lizardman was dragged inside, the Undead within would instantly appear to finish the job.
Living or dead, it didn’t matter—the first order of business was to land the finishing blows. If the victim was already dead, they would ensure it was thoroughly so. If it was alive, they would hack it to death.
After a while, the Lizardmen finally caught on. ’Something’s not right,’ they thought. ’We’ve been fighting for ages, but the Undead are still going strong, thrusting those Spears with practiced ease. And us? How are our numbers getting smaller and smaller, without even a single body to show for it?’
Lizardmen are cold-blooded creatures, their limbs usually cool to the touch, but at this moment, Ah Mu, watching the battle from afar, felt his very heart turn to ice. ’The Undead are truly the stuff of nightmares. The legends are real. My Ancestors never lied... This is terrifying!’
In just a short period, dozens of Lizardmen had simply vanished. Their forces had been cut by nearly half!
And the horde of Undead? Not a single loss. Not even one appeared to be damaged. They were exactly as they were before. They only attacked, never bothering to defend, simply letting the Lizardmen hack away at them, completely unconcerned.
’I was wrong. I shouldn’t have let renown blind me. I shouldn’t have led my people to seek out these Undead. This can’t go on, or every last one of us will die here. These are the young and the strong! If they all perish, the Tribe is finished.’
With a trembling hand, Ah Mu took out his Bone Whistle and blew it with all his might.
It was the signal to retreat.
Seeing their dwindling numbers, the Lizardman Robbers were already thinking of retreat. They were robbers, not soldiers; preying on the weak and fearing the strong was in their nature. Hearing the whistle, they didn’t hesitate for a second and immediately began to fall back.
"Hey! Why are they running? Don’t run! After them!"
Li Ziyu, who had been enjoying the show from the top floor, panicked when he saw the Lizardmen begin to retreat. ’Are you kidding me? I finally found a group of robbers I can actually bully, a great source of resources and even Weapons. There’s no way I’m letting you just run away!’
The Mobile Fortress gave chase, sticking close to the retreating Lizardmen while the Undead continued their relentless attacks. Ah Mu led the remaining Lizardmen in a desperate flight.
Under the pressure of imminent death, the Lizardmen unleashed an astonishing burst of speed.
Across the Wasteland, a battered pack of Lizardman Robbers were hounded by the Mobile Fortress like stray dogs, right until the first rays of dawn broke over the horizon.
Li Ziyu glanced at the horizon, then back at the remaining Lizardman Robbers, and couldn’t help but sigh. ’It wouldn’t be wise to keep chasing.’ He ordered the Mobile Fortress to turn and abandon the pursuit. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Only after running a great deal farther did Ah Mu, gasping for breath, turn to look back. When he saw that the terrifying Undead Fortress was heading in the opposite direction, he finally stopped, bracing his hands on his knees.
’I... I survived.’
Ah Mu stuck the Bone Whistle back in his mouth. His breathing was still ragged, making the whistle’s sound intermittent, but it was enough. Hearing the signal, the other Lizardmen slowly halted, looking back with lingering terror. Seeing no sign of the Undead, they heaved a collective sigh of relief, feeling as if they had run half their lives away. They had never been hounded like that before.
Once he caught his breath, Ah Mu took a headcount of the survivors. The number almost made him break down in tears.
They had set out with nearly a hundred Lizardmen, all in high spirits. Now, only a dozen or so remained. The rest had been devoured by the Undead, leaving not a single bone behind. Among the lost was the Tribe’s greatest Warrior, Ah Ta.
’What are we going to do now?’
’Raiding?’
’Raid my ass! With just a dozen of us, we’d have a hard time robbing nomads, let alone thinking about a merchant caravan.’
’Sigh... the days ahead will be tough. We’ll have to hole up in the Tribe and lay low for a while. Our losses were just too great this time.’
Ah Mu’s heart ached with grief. He didn’t even know how he would face the others back at the Tribe.
The Lizardmen didn’t know that shortly after leaving, the Mobile Fortress had already found a suitable spot, entered Hibernation Mode, and submerged itself underground.
In stark contrast to the grief of Ah Mu and his Lizardmen, Li Ziyu was beaming, unable to conceal the joyful smile on his face.
’A massive haul! Tonight was an honest-to-goodness massive haul! This is exhilarating! Of all my time in this Otherworld, this has been my biggest score by far.’
’It hasn’t been easy. Now *this* is what being a Transmigrator is all about! To think I’ve had to live so cautiously up until now. I can finally hold my head high.’
The battle against the Lizardman Robbers had netted him dozens of Skeletons and hundreds of units of Soul Energy. But most importantly, he had gained Weapons. A single Lizardman’s Weapon could arm two Skeleton Undead. Including what he had before, almost all his Undead were now armed. Their combat power had shot up in a straight line!
Last night’s battle proved that even if individual Undead weren’t strong, they could still display immense combat power when backed by the Mobile Fortress. It was all about deployment and choosing the right Combat Technique.
Although some of the Lizardmen got away, which lowered his overall yield, he was still quite satisfied with the outcome.
...
Several Gophers, each less than 50 centimeters tall, peered toward the direction where the Undead Fortress had entered hibernation. They then dove back into their tunnels, scurrying quickly back to their own Mobile Fortress.
"Is it over outside?"
"Reporting to the City Lord, yes, it is over."
"And the Undead?"
"They’ve hidden themselves underground."
"Mm, I see. Maintain your watch."
"Yes!"
After making their report, the Gophers scurried away again.
