Chapter 12: 10. Skull Heavy Hammer_2
He used his own body to block the soldiers' sight, to avoid having his left-hand movement noticed by the soldiers.
His fingertips slid back and forth in the cold air, drawing out the Undead Runes recorded on the translated script one by one.
He was unsure if it was an illusion... but after signaling several Undead Runes, Noland Lee felt the Big Skeleton's gaze seemed to be less sharp.
Upon closer inspection, Noland Lee found that the Big Skeleton's neck was subtly turning, its skull going from staring straight at himself to facing the metal gate.
Clearly, signaling Undead Runes had an effect, and the Big Skeleton no longer considered the Sin Soldiers in front of it as its primary targets.
Noland Lee let out a slight sigh of relief, feeling many beads of sweat emerging from his back.
However, before he could congratulate himself on escaping danger, his tense mood rose again to his throat.
He saw the Big Skeleton retrieve its gaze from the metal gate and look at the Sin Soldiers in front of it.
Noland Lee once again felt that chilly gaze from the undead, as if his signaling of Undead Runes had lost its effect.
What was going on?
Why did the Big Skeleton take me as an attack target again?
What accelerated Noland Lee's heartbeat even more was that the Big Skeleton slowly raised the bone hammer in its hand, the movement and posture just like a pre-attack aiming for a ground rodent...
Noland Lee swallowed hard with difficulty, signaling the Undead Runes more devoutly with his left hand.
He slowed down the signaling speed, trying to describe every detail of the Undead Runes so as to portray himself as a sincere believer.
In the surrounding dark environment, the sound of bone friction echoed intensely as Skeleton Warriors completed their transition from slumber to awakening, treading chaotic footsteps and slowly approaching Noland Lee.
Without the need for the Coal Lamp's light, Noland Lee clearly saw the surroundings:
It was a dense Skeleton Ocean.
Countless purple light balls floated just over a meter above ground level.
Each purple light ball corresponded to a Skeleton Warrior of normal human size.
With just a simple glance, Noland Lee realized that the number of Skeleton Warriors surrounding him might have reached hundreds.
The connected purple light balls were enough to induce an episode in anyone with claustrophobia.
The bone hammer in the Big Skeleton's hand was raised higher and higher, the Skeleton Warriors slowly walked into the Coal Lamp's light, the ghostly purple glow as numerous as star points...
On the verge of being surrounded by the Skeleton Ocean, Noland Lee felt intense pressure.
If there was anyone to blame, it was the Biochemical Bait on his arm, which was simply too attractive to Undead Creatures.
Even signaling the Undead Runes couldn't eliminate his mockery value, nor dispel the Undead Creatures' desire to attack him.
Noland Lee anxiously looked back at the metal gate and couldn't help but curse inwardly:
"Damn, won't Mars let me retreat? A Sin Soldier's life is still a life! Calling the Sin Soldier Life Protection Association for support..."
The bone hammer of the Big Skeleton was about to fall...
"Sin Soldier No. 888, retreat to the staircase! Hurry!"
Corporal Mars finally issued the evacuation order.
Noland Lee immediately turned around and ran without looking back, bursting out with the fastest sprint speed in his life.
As he took three steps forward, there was a sudden muffled impact sound coming from behind. The floor beneath his feet vibrated very obviously, and a piercing gust of wind grazed past his ears.
Noland Lee looked back.
The bone hammer in the Big Skeleton's hand fell right down next to his back, slamming onto the floor, raising a large cloud of dust.
If he were half a second late, that heavy hammer would have landed on his head, blowing it open with a loud bang...
Noland Lee had no time to rejoice over his close escape.
He continued to run with his head down, taking three steps as two, dashing desperately.
The noise of the Big Skeleton striking the floor seemed to signal the Skeleton Ocean's attack. A dense surge of footsteps echoed behind Noland Lee.
Noland Lee stepped into the metal door and looked back.
The horde of Skeleton Warriors stumbled along the tomb passage like a wave swallowing fishermen, swarming towards the metal gate.
Fortunately, Skeleton Warriors are always slow-moving; otherwise, Noland Lee would have had no chance to escape the tomb passage alive.
"Close the door quickly! Sin Soldier 888, don't just stand there! Come help close the door!"
Noland Lee hurriedly propped the door with his shoulder and, along with the soldiers, pushed the heavy metal gate.
The metal gate slowly closed, while ordinary Skeleton Warriors couldn't catch up to the speed of the door closing.
However, the Big Skeleton could.
That enormous Skeleton Soldier, which nearly took Noland Lee's life, lifted the bone hammer with both hands and threw it with force after a short buildup.
"Hu~"
The heavy hammer tore through the air, raising a whirlwind and covering a distance of over ten meters in half a second, heavily hitting the metal gate.
With a crashing sound, soldiers and Noland Lee, who were holding the door, were shaken by the fierce impact force, letting out low groans of pain.
"Hurry up, close the door! ...Damn, the power of this Big Skeleton is too astonishing! Sin Soldier 888, keep pushing the door!"
Orders were continuously given to push Noland Lee into action faster.
The soldiers on the scene were divided into two groups.
One group was pushing the gate with Noland Lee, trying to close the door as quickly as possible.
The other group provided cover fire with short-barreled rifles, slowing the action of the Big Skeleton.
However, no matter how they shot, the large Skeleton Soldier still loomed like a silent Titan.
Its heavy footsteps were like hammer blows, pounding the soldiers' hearts one after another with great pressure.
Chapter 13: 10. Skeleton Heavy Hammer_3
The most critical part was that the heavy hammer thrown by the Big Skeleton hit the metal gate with a critical strike, causing severe deformation of the door hinges.
The distorted door hinges got stuck with the door in bad luck.
Despite Noland Lee and the soldiers' best efforts, they could not push the metal gate any further...
"I'll break the door hinges, you guys keep pushing the door!"
Corporal Mars pulled an engineering hammer from his backpack and began hammering away at the misshapen door hinges.
Noland shook his head, flicking away the beads of sweat dripping from his eyebrows, then glanced at the scene behind the door, and immediately felt a chill down his spine.
In front of the Big Skeleton's skull, a bizarre purple-black light sphere was rapidly condensing.
At this moment, the soldier responsible for shooting was reloading ammunition and didn't notice the Big Skeleton's abnormality.
Corporal Mars was also hammering the door hinges from behind the door and couldn't see the enemy's movements.
Only Noland detected this anomaly.
Thinking of the death-related spells mastered by the Big Skeleton, he immediately realized what was about to happen.
Noland decisively let go of the door handle and pulled the nearest soldier back:
"Everyone, be careful! Something's wrong with that Big Skeleton!"
His words reminded the other soldiers, but it was still a little late.
A black lightning bolt instantly passed through the door gap, bringing with it a wave of death and filth.
The black lightning pierced a soldier's chest, and before it could stab into the heart of a second soldier, it dissipated due to its exhaustion of energy.
The soldier pierced by the black lightning looked down in disbelief at the black-glowing hole in his chest.
He wavered for a few moments before collapsing to the ground as weakly as a falling autumn leaf.
He wailed, convulsed, and struggled, but it was all too late.
In just five seconds, his body had completed the process from decay to rot, turning into a foul-smelling "mud" mixed with gray-white bone fragments.
Was this the power of death-related spells?
Just a Level 1 "Death Pulse" alone could kill a soldier instantly?
Noland let go of the soldier's right hand and nodded in response to his grateful gaze.
The clattering sound of teeth chattering rang out as a Private Second Class turned pale, his teeth violently quivering.
He looked at his comrade turned to dust in horror and stammered:
"It-it's a Big Skeleton with casting abilities...the Spirit Pivot on Tomb Level Three is at least Level 5...it's highly likely that a Death Priest guarding it...do we really have to face such an enemy?!"
The commotion on the other side of the metal gate grew louder.
The Big Skeleton and a dozen fast-moving Skeleton Warriors were about to reach the door.
Now was not the time for panic; the soldiers needed to act quickly.
"Calm down." The only sergeant on the scene pressed his palms.
Mars issued a command in a somber tone:
"Listen up, everyone, immediately retreat and cover each other back to the surface area. One person should quickly return to the surface to report the situation to Sergeant Major Alvin Stafford. I'll cover the rear for you."
According to the Imperial Army's combat guidelines, the higher one's military rank, the greater their responsibility.
Although the sergeant was the highest-ranking officer on the scene, he did not enjoy any special privileges.
On the contrary, he had to stay at the back of the team, covering corporals and Private Second Class soldiers - this was the sacred mission entrusted to him by the Imperial Army.
Just like him, the Sin Soldier had to stay at the end as well.
Corporal Mars glanced at Noland, his eyes full of appreciation.
Noland's reactions were quick, and he was quite reliable.
If he hadn't pulled another soldier back while retreating just now, that unexpected black lightning might have claimed two soldiers' lives at once.
Corporal Mars was grateful that the other person saved his teammate.
Seeing Noland unarmed, he handed over his engineering hammer:
"Here, take this hammer. Since you can save your teammates in times of crisis, I think I can trust someone like you to have my back."
After finishing his words, Mars gave Noland a wink.
Obviously, his rhetoric was deliberately said for the team to hear, intending to help Noland integrate into the squad more quickly.
...
PS: Panel information obtained from deconstruction does not count as part of the main text. I will ensure that each chapter still contains two thousand words of content after deducting panel information.
Also, after going on the shelves, panel information will not be placed in the main text; I will move it to the related works section. VIP chapters will only feature key content from panel information.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
70 Power
stone 
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