Chapter 14: 11. Skeleton Pursuers
Noland Lee took the engineering hammer from Mars' hand and glanced at the ground.
The private second class who had died from the "Death Pulse" left behind a set of individual combat weapons, including a short-barreled rifle, a bag of bullets, and a gun.
It was understandable that Corporal Mars did not give the firearms to the Sin Soldier for use.
But why had no soldier collected the firearms from the ground to take them back since the beginning?
Weren't they afraid that undead creatures would grab the firearms and start shooting?
Uh...
Could undead creatures use guns?
Noland Lee was slightly stunned.
It seemed that only in a few video games were there undead creatures capable of using firearms.
In the vast majority of works, undead beings were not interested in firearms, which could easily cause damage.
This may have been deliberately set by the author of the work.
However, Noland Lee was now in a real world, and he needed to quickly make up for the common sense about undead creatures to avoid accidents due to negligence.
Noland Lee, holding the engineering hammer, followed Corporal Mars up the stairs and asked at the same time:
"Chief Officer, is it dangerous to leave the guns here? Will the undead use guns against us?"
Before hearing Noland Lee's question, Corporal Mars had been vigilant against the skeleton warriors, looking back at the direction of the metal gate from time to time.
As soon as he heard Noland Lee's question, an odd look appeared on the serious expression on his face.
"Undead creatures using firearms?"
Corporal Mars glanced at Noland Lee, and there was a hint of confusion in his eyes, as if he hadn't expected the other person to focus on whether undead creatures would use guns when facing the pursuit of skeleton warriors...
Corporal Mars kept walking, pondering while walking, then shook his head slightly and said:
"No, undead creatures won't use firearms, at least not the low-level ones.
"Low-level undead troops have very low IQ, and they don't understand aiming and shooting. And the higher-level undead creatures are more terrifying than firearms, and they don't need the help of firearms.
"Leaving the guns here temporarily will make it easier for us to retreat quickly. When we counterattack later, we will come back to collect this soldier's remains and belongings."
Now Noland Lee's doubt was resolved.
Apparently, firearms were a kind of existence that couldn't win in either the high or low level in the ranks of the undead.
It makes sense that skeleton warriors who have no mind would not be able to use firearms, and it's already not bad that they can pull bows and swing hammers.
Just at this moment, a bony leg stretched into the staircase from the gap of the metal gate.
A normal-size skeleton warrior squeezed into the staircase from the other side of the door.
Corporal Mars gripped the short-barreled rifle in his hand, but didn't launch an attack. Instead, he held Noland Lee's shoulder and pulled him backward to continue the retreat.
The two of them pressed on at the back of the team, defending the rear for the soldiers.
"Don't bother with these slow skeleton warriors. Their walking speed is slow and they can't keep up with us."
Corporal Mars spoke in a low voice:
"The big skeleton won't catch up either. Its size is too large, and the staircase is too narrow for it. Our real enemy is a type of canine-liked undead construct called skeleton hounds."
In Noland Lee's mind, the image of the skeleton hounds from games quickly appeared.
This kind of undead creature was as agile as a normal dog, moving at a very fast speed and purely made up of bones.
If they got caught by this kind of undead troop, they would surely not have a good outcome.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two loud noises came from the metal gate.
The gap that had only allowed one skeleton warrior to pass through was forcefully widened even more by strong force."Bang bang!"
Another two loud noises.
The heavy metal gate was blasted open by a fist the size of a washbasin, a masterpiece by the Big Skeleton.
The skeleton warriors on the other side of the door swarmed into the staircase, slowly and fearlessly approaching the sergeant and sin soldier at the rear.
"Continue falling back, don't engage."
Corporal Mars calmly ordered, letting the soldiers continue their march while addressing Noland Lee:
"When you swing the engineering hammer, it's best to aim for the skulls of the skeletons. Knock their heads off their necks. It won't kill a skeleton, but it will make them spend some time picking their heads back up and slow down their attack rhythm."
"Yes, sir." Noland nodded.
Corporal Mars looked him up and down, noting his condition:
"You were a bit flustered when you first encountered the first Cavern Stalker. But in the actions that followed, you were still relatively calm. You're more reliable than I imagined. Keep it up. As long as you follow my orders, even if you're surrounded by skeletons, you can survive."
"Yes, sir."
Noland transformed into a parrot, putting the "obeying orders" military guideline into practice. No matter what the sergeant said, he would only have this one sentence...
Corporal Mars nodded slightly in satisfaction.
The next second, running footsteps echoed through the tomb passage on the first level. The sound was dense and hurried, coming from a group of creatures running on all fours.
"Watch out, the Skeleton Hounds are coming."
Corporal Mars flipped the short-barreled rifle in his hand, holding it by the barrel, and pointed the rifle with added iron plates at the front.
At this moment, the rifle had become a hammer.
The other soldiers did the same, wielding their rifles like hammers.
Noland entered a state of preparedness.
He raised the engineering hammer in his hand, retreating steadily while staring at the metal gate.
Under his gaze, three teddy bear-sized Skeleton Hounds, crawled out from under the skeleton warriors' legs, sprinting towards the soldiers on their short but agile little legs.
Noland squinted his eyes, carefully examining these small and deadly undead troops, dismissing the idea of using deconstruction.
The reason was, these little creatures were as he had anticipated, there was no need to waste energy deconstructing them.
As long as he wasn't bitten by them, there shouldn't be any danger.
As the Skeleton Hounds rapidly approached, Noland's heartbeat gradually quickened.
He took aim at the Skeleton Hound on the left, watching its every move.
The hound came in front of Noland and leaped, opening its mouth full of sharp teeth, lunging for Noland's neck.
Noland seized the opportunity, growled and swung his engineering hammer hard, giving the little head a heavy blow worth 80 New Solon Currency.
After a crisp bang, the oncoming Skeleton Hound's head separated from its body.
Its head, like a baseball being hit, flew back into the tomb passage.
Without its head, the Skeleton Hound lost its ability to distinguish between friend and foe and bumped into the wall, swaying from side to side.
Noland took the opportunity to strike the hound's hindquarters with his hammer, knocking the little creature away with another 80 currency hit...
Corporal Mars held his short-barreled rifle and with a series of small combos to the left and right, sent two Skeleton Hound's heads flying.
He saw Noland's performance and couldn't help but praise:
"Well done."
Noland smiled slightly and nodded toward him.
The Deconstruction Core System suddenly sent a message, making his smile at the corner of his mouth rise even more, but he quickly controlled it.
After reading the system message, Noland's eyes burned with even more passion when he looked at the skeleton warriors and Skeleton Hounds again.
Chapter 15: 12. The road is under your feet.
[System Message:]
[You have completed your first battle, successfully unlocking the passive effect of Deconstruction Technique.]
[When you take damage from a target or deal damage to a target, you will passively deconstruct them.]
[The more damage you take or deal, the better the passive deconstruction effect on the target.]
[You dealt 12 Construct Value damage to the Skeleton Hound.]
[Skeleton Hound's deconstruction completion degree increased by 12%.]
[You have obtained the following deconstruction result:]
[The Skeleton Hound has the "Bone Supply" feature. Its bones can be repurposed by Skeleton Warriors, Big Skeletons, and other Undead Constructs to replenish their own Construct Value.]
...
Putting the Skeleton Hound's feature aside for now, the passive deconstruction skill effect definitely made Noland Lee's eyes light up.
He had always been worried about not having enough energy to deconstruct everything he wanted.
Now!
He had found a new way to deconstruct.
That was through battle.
Deconstructing opponents in battle, mining all their intelligence, to offset the energy consumption and save a lot of energy.
At this thought, Noland Lee's heart grew hot.
Looking at the Skeleton Warrior and Skeleton Hound again, he had the illusion of facing a "money tree"...
As long as he struck hard at these "money trees", they would continually drop "money" in the form of deconstruction results...
This "money" falling from the trees included the weaknesses of the Undead Constructs...
And, their summoning methods!
Noland Lee's pupils dilated slightly, and his heart twitched.
A very fanciful and bold idea quickly took shape in his mind.
Could he, Noland Lee, become a Necromancer?
By deconstructing Undead Creatures and obtaining their summoning requirements.
By deconstructing the Spell Books of the Undead Cult to understand the mysteries of death-related spells and the knowledge of summoning Undead Creatures.
As long as he deconstructed thoroughly enough, invested enough energy, and tried enough times, he could potentially rely on the Deconstruction Technique to embark on the extraordinary path of necromancy.
Given time, he could completely stage a fake death performance through the Undead Creatures he controlled, use an incredibly realistic fake death event to break free from personal debt and the shackles of the Imperial Army, and become a free Traveler.
Or, with the help of the Undead Creatures he controlled, speedrun military merit and rise through the ranks within the Korabo Legion...
To stay or to leave, it all depended on his own will.
And all of this had to start with deconstructing the Undead Runes and Undead Creatures.
At this moment, Noland Lee suddenly realized where the solution to his predicament lay.
It turned out to be right under his feet, right in the midst of this dangerous, cold, and dark Grave Vault.
"Watch out!"
Corporal Mars warned:
"Here comes another group of Skeleton Hounds! Knock their heads off and then we'll keep retreating!"
Noland Lee snapped out of his brief trance.
He waved his Engineering Hammer in anticipation, eager for more Skeleton Hounds to attack.
The oncoming Lost Souls enemies did not disappoint him, as this time 10 Skeleton Hounds surged out of the Tomb Passage.
As soon as five of the Skeleton Hounds saw Noland Lee, they immediately regarded him as their primary target and charged at him without any regard for the soldiers nearby.
Noland knew that the Biochemical Bait was taking effect.
He looked at the five ugly, baring-toothed Skeleton Hounds, took a deep breath to calm his nerves, and quietly retreated to Corporal Mars' side, allowing him to share some of the defensive pressure.
This move did not provoke any resentment from the soldiers.
In the combat guidelines of the Imperial Army, there was no place for individual heroism; teamwork and mutual trust were the focus.
If Corporal Mars handed a weapon to a Sin Soldier, then that soldier naturally became a temporary teammate, a trustworthy existence.
To the soldiers, Noland's retreat was not a betrayal of Corporal Mars but a rational strategic withdrawal to prevent the line from collapsing.
In fact, his retreat had an immediate effect - two Skeleton Hounds shifted their attention, and the pressure on him was significantly reduced.
As Noland, the retreating soldiers, Corporal Mars, and the Sin Soldier came together to form a defensive line, the burden on Noland's shoulders was further reduced, and only two Skeleton Hounds remained focused on him.
Noland watched the enemy's movements closely, waited for the right moment, and raised his Engineering Hammer, striking down with force.
With a clang, Noland swung the hammer down on the head of a Skeleton Hound.
The Skeleton Hound's head flew off in response, but Noland did not dare to let his guard down.
He forcibly twisted his waist to narrowly avoid the bite of another Skeleton Hound, and as it landed, he raised his wrist and swung the Engineering Hammer again.
A crisp impact sounded, and the second Skeleton Hound's head bounced off, falling to the top of the staircase and then rolling down with a puff of smoke.
Before the headless Skeleton Hound could retrieve its head, Noland struck it again with a righteous blow, sending its body flying down the steps, mixing it with the Skeleton Warriors that followed.
"Whew~" Noland gasped for breath.
Swinging the Engineering Hammer repeatedly made his heart pound violently, and his chest heaved like a bellows.
But he didn't want to stop.
He still needed to inflict more damage and gain a higher degree of deconstruction completion from the Skeleton Hounds.
Right then, another Skeleton Hound entered the staircase, chasing the soldiers along the stepstones.
A battle-hungry smile appeared on Noland's face as he tightened his grip on the Engineering Hammer and went forth with the soldiers to face the enemy once more.
The sound of clashing echoed in the staircase, mixed with the heavy panting of humans and angry shouts.
Noland and the soldiers repelled wave after wave of Skeleton Hounds, but it was not a cause for celebration.
Due to the Skeleton Hounds' containment and harassment, the squad's retreat speed dropped significantly.
The large group of slow-moving Skeleton Warriors caught up with them at a visible pace.
When Noland felt sore in his wrist and his palms became numb, a Skeleton Warrior swung its Bone Sword at him from close range.
It was a critical moment when Noland's old strength was exhausted, and the new hadn't yet arrived, making it difficult for him to avoid the attack.
The Skeleton Warrior's Bone Sword turned into a deadly weapon, aimed at Noland's heart.
"Watch out!"
At the crucial moment, Corporal Mars beside Noland shouted, swinging the short-barreled rifle in his hand back and sweeping away the Bone Sword that was only 0.1 seconds away from piercing Noland's heart.
Noland broke out in a cold sweat from the sudden turn of events.
It wasn't until the Skeleton Warrior in front of him had its head knocked off by Mars' rifle that Noland realized he had just had a close encounter with death...
"Thank you. Thank you..."
As Noland gasped for breath and expressed his gratitude, he immediately raised his arm and swung the Engineering Hammer, helping Mars knock away a sneak attack from a Skeleton Hound.
Corporal Mars nodded to Noland, offering a smile of gratitude, and his eyes filled with admiration. Noland's performance did not disappoint him.
Noland's heart also gained some tacit understanding of teamwork and a slight recognition of the Imperial Soldiers. However, when he thought about his debt and his experiences after crossing, the sense of recognition that had just been born faded a bit.
But the Skeleton Warriors didn't care about the emotional growth between the living; they emotionlessly continued to attack the Imperial Soldiers.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
70 Power
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