Chapter 18: The battle begins
These undead creatures also possess souls. The sole vulnerability they had was the small green flame that burned inside their eye sockets. Only by extinguishing that soul flame could someone truly kill these undead. Otherwise, even if their bones were crushed or they were reduced to ashes, they would not perish; it would merely delay them for a while.
The souls of these skeletons are not their original souls, which they had when they were alive. That's because when life ends, their soul is either claimed by the gods or consumed by the will of heaven. Without external intervention, it's nearly impossible to remain in a physical body after death.
Therefore, the souls of these undead were essentially newly-formed entities under the erosion of death. And their soul's level was not much higher than a rat or rabbit, and because of this, most of the undead were not intelligent, they just wander around instinctively all day.
Furthermore, since a professional's strength mainly comes from their soul, these wandering undeads, even if they were powerful professionals in previous life, they don't keep their old strength and skills after becoming undead.
However, if they were the kind of professionals who trained their soul and body together, in that case, there might be some chance that, as undead beings, they could still possess a fraction of their former strength.
But if they were the type that specializes in soul tempering, like the mages, then their strength will drop drastically.
Among the undead currently wandering in the grove, approximately five of them were noticeably better dressed than the rest, even though their clothing was in tatters. The faint magic emanating from the inscriptions on their armor and weapons couldn't be concealed. Their soul flames burned with greater intensity and brightness compared to the other undead, and the surrounding undead instinctively give way when they were passing by.
Soon, the system's analysis results were revealed. These undead were actually warriors, with the lowest among them being at level two and the highest at level four! This indicated that they were at least apprentice-level fighters in their previous lives.
While in the midst of the woods, Punk even spotted an individual wearing a robe, indicating that this obscure branch of Camos' army had its own army mage.
Punk's expression became more thoughtful. An army unit with several apprentice-level experts is incredibly powerful and can make a significant difference in a regular battle. In a small kingdom like Camos, they are obiously considered as the elite of the elites. It's like something so precious you can't hold it in your hands for fear of dropping it, and you can't put it in your mouth for fear of it melting away.
However, now, , these elite and valuable soldiers had been strangely killed in this inconspicuous wasteland. No one will believe that it's not a significant event.
Punk, however, wasn't too bothered by these uncertain thoughts. he was more concerned about the wandering corpses themselves, or more importantly, the equipment on them, those amours and weapons that emitted a faint halo. Despite being corroded by the undead's aura, there were still faint magic traces on them. These magical signs categorized them as magic gear. Even in the worst scenario, if they were to be broken down into raw materials, they could fetch a price of around two or three hundred gold coins.
Punk looked at the two-skeleton wearing robe, wandering in the depths of the woods. Then he couldn't help but touch his smooth chin with his hands.
"It's quite interesting to ponder how much wealth those apprentice-level experts had when they were alive!"
Punk finally decided to explore the woods. No matter how strong these skeletons were in their previous life, now they were just a bunch of apprentice-level bones without wisdom. Punk was pretty sure to win with his two trainee-level equipment. Also, Punk's powerful perception capabilities and system's analysis have not discovered any hidden dangers nearby, so he no longer hesitated to act in front of the possibility of gaining such a large amount of wealth.
Although Punk does not like to take risks, it does not mean that he will let great opportunities slip away without feeling absolute danger to his life.
"And... I also have a trusty helper, don't I?" Punk glanced to his side, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.
Not far from the undead forest, the female priest had retrieved a circular emblem adorned with gems and was ready for combat.
"Miss Pastor, although we had some small misunderstandings on the road, we are now facing an evil enemy. I think we should join hand to purge this darkness." Punk said with a natural tone while performing a noble etiquette to the female priest.
This pastor was lower level than Punk, and she also doesn't have any good equipment. If she really wants to "purify the evil", she had to definitely consider his proposal.
The priest first seemed to be taken aback by Punk's word, then frowned and finally became a little embarrassed. Still, in the end, she chose the latter, between the options of "Fighting alone after rejecting the disgusting mage" or "Joining hands to purify the evil."
she publicly confessed to the "God of Light" for the sin of partnering with a mage, speaking at a volume just loud enough for Punk to hear. She made no effort to hide her disdain for the mage, all the while tearfully praying for forgiveness from the gods.
Hence, she posed aggrieved expression, she publicly confessed to the "God of Light" for the sin of partnering with a mage, speaking at a volume just loud enough for Punk to hear. She made no effort to hide her disdain for the mage, all the while tearfully praying for forgiveness from the gods.
Although Punk knew that this was the female priest's expression of her compromise, he still was very irritated after hearing her prayer.
He genuinely felt like sending her straight to the God of Light. But in the end, Punk decided to simply disregard the religious fanatic's nonsensical behavior. He began to prepare his spells.
First, he launched a secondary catapult, targeting the level 3 apprentice skeleton warrior nearest to him, wielding a longsword. Punk completed the spell incantation, much like in a fantasy drama.
Subsequently, the stone vanished magically. Then, a brilliant flash of light burst forth, and the stone was on the verge of striking the undead skeleton right in the head. If this spell land in the skull, then the kinetic energy of the secondary catapult will rush inside the undead's skull, affectively crushing the burning soul flame,
But at this critical moment, the sword-wielding skeleton swiftly changed his direction due to the muscle memory he had honed before his death, causing Punk's spell to miss.
Facing this sudden attack, the undead was frozen for a while, then turned his head and saw Punk. The soul flame in its eyes ignited more intensely, and it opened its mouth so wide that it appeared dislocated, emitting a silent, eerie roar.
It was provoked.
The priest girl, on the other side, did not fallback. She lowered her head, put the round badge close to her chest, and started her ethereal and firm prayer; it became louder and louder. Suddenly a golden ornate Warhammer phantom was forming on top of the other warrior, wearing a helmet.
The Warhammer became more and more solid, and in just two seconds, it became like a real hammer. The Warhammer started to fell with lightning speed while burning with a golden flame. The skeleton's extraordinary helmet was immediately covered with cracks, and the golden flame passed through the gaps in the armor and started to burn the bones inside.
However, the bones of this undead warrior had once belonged to an apprentice-level powerhouse. So, after the soul flame in the undead's eyes dimmed slightly, it managed to withstand the attack.
Following that, it charged furiously towards the female priest while wearing the cracked helmet. As it ran, it kicked up a cloud of dust in its path!
At the same time, the undead provoked by Punk also began to charge at him. The gray-black death aura enveloped the long, rusty sword and seeped through the gaps in the undead's armor. Now, several faint flashes of blue-green brilliance flowed on the initially pale bones.
Punk, who had activated the "secondary teleportation," was already prepared. With deep eyes glowing in a blue brilliance, he focused on the skeleton warrior with a long sword, who is now just three meters away after a single step from him.
Slightly parting his lips, he softly said, "The game has begun!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone