บท 55: Trial of the Undead
Now that my skeleton is a little bit better than before, even when he falls, he doesn't get killed. He just gets up and follows me. Of course, I try to not make his path difficult, like jumping across the river of garbage. I am sure that if I do that, he will just walk right in and get killed. I can't risk that. So I wait for twenty minutes to get enough mana to curse a group of soldiers. Their deaths need to be done by the hand of my loyal undead. After I manage to create a real group of skeletons, I am sure they will be capable of hunting those soldiers. But I need time for that, like for everything. Oslo, where is the nearest group of humans?
(No, not the nearest. I have a group a little bit farther but you will like it more. Because the closest is accompanied by a priest. You probably don't want that. Instead, I get ten guards alone. It's better, right?)
You are right. I choose the ten-man group. I have not a single intention to defy the priests, especially since I need my skeleton to survive. So I quickly reach those slow humans, while making sure that my undead is not dying on the way. I hope, I really hope, that at the level three their intelligence will grow. Like the elites in the lich temple. They were organized, they had a plan, a good way to fight the enemy. I only have a mindless servant. And he just falls again. But at least, I know he is resistant. In half an hour, he has touched the ground four times. Well, I have to say, the ground is really uneven, it's full of garbage.
"Can we just stay here, under this grid, and say that we participated?"
"Roger is right, I mean it is not our job to hunt monsters like ratmen. And apparently, they are at least two, a plague master and an assassin. I don't want to meet them."
"Yeah, my poor mom was his victim, she died horribly. She had turned black, and every time I touched her, a part of her body was destroyed. I don't want to end like this."
"Shouldn't you be angry about this?"
"No, I value my life more, I have still 3 kids and my wife to feed. And the bounty they offered is a death trap, of course for those adventurers, it is possible that they really capture one of the two ratmen. But for us, the guard? We will just be slaughtered."
"Agree, let's just stay under this grid and wait for the night. It should come soon. That way, we have the additional pay for getting in the sewers and we survive."
"Yeah, the sewers are so big, what are the odds to really meet one of the monsters."
"Why did you say that; you know very well that it's stupid. You jinxed us. Shut up Roger, next time don't even talk."
I agree with the last guard. What was in the head of that stupid Roger. Every single time someone says those kinds of sentences, the apocalypse arrives just to prove them wrong. And in this case, I am the apocalypse. I activate my cursed winds and see them slow down all their movements. Their faces are hilarious. Most are just shocked, but three of them are angrily staring at the poor Roger. Who in return is looking at the ground, trying to make them forget his existence? But the ostrich strategy won't work.
When I finally get inside their visions, they are really shaking. I guess the blessing they all got, in the beginning, is fading. I mean, the first group I met never reacted to my [Cause Fear]. But now they are. That's the best thing possible. I approach them and quickly cut their hands and legs. Not enough to kill them, but they won't move. After that, I ask my skeleton to grab a sword and pierce the neck of every single one of them. He executes his task, silently and without error. But as Roger, the last survivor dies, I notice that I don't get anything. So ten humans are not enough. But at least, now my skeleton is armed and ready. He is wearing the armor of the former guards. With a little bit f chance, in the darkness and seeing only his back, someone can mistake him. The problem is the helmet; he doesn't block the sight of the face. So anyone can see a skull.
But like I said, from his back, it is really hard to notice the difference. That gives me an idea. I want to see what he will do in a real fight. I need to try that. At least to understand his limits, for example, will he try to block, parry or just permanently try to attack? How will he use the sword, slash or stab? Of course, I will use the cursed winds to slow the guards, but not my fear effect that will paralyze them. Oslo, need a target.
(Well, currently, I think that if you just take the corridor to your left, a patrol will arrive in 2 minutes.)
That's perfect. I get rid of the bodies by throwing them in the river. I don't want to waste either my mana or my crystals. And the flow can carry the dead bodies across the entire sewer. That way, they will see that other humans have died, but won't be able to find the location. Since they have already launched most of their forces against me, everything that instills fear and anger in their heart is a good thing. Now I need to prepare my trap. I keep only one corpse with me, it will be useful. I then plant my skeleton at his place, and from where he is standing he can see just a bloody leg in the corner of a passage.
My plan is to make him seems like a soldier that has noticed the leg. So he stops and carefully look around, expecting the ratmen. Fortunately for him, right at this moment, another group of guards I coming. They join him and he shows them the leg. That way, the guards will let down their guard in front of my skeleton and furiously check anywhere except the strange and lone soldier that showed them the corpse. Is it good enough?
(Honestly, I don't know how it could be better. The group coming is only seven guards, so if he can assassinate two or three before they react, with the help of the cursed winds and the confusion, he can maybe even kill the remaining survivors. Now everything is on his shoulders. If he failed, that's because he is still too weak.)
So now, I am positioned near the corpse that I set up. Close enough to the group for my curse to take effect, but far enough and out of vision so my fear is not activated. And I wait. I think I begin to hear them.
"Do you think they are far? Or close? I mean, someone had probably already met them. Poor fellows."
"And even if I heard they are two, we know that the ratmen are expert in lies and manipulations." Maybe they are more, maybe he was just alone. We have no way to check that, besides finding them.
"Well, the others can find them, I don't really want. Even if they have done a lot of damages, I just want to resign. But they say that everyone that flee will be executed as traitor and deserter. I should have resigned back when the daughter of the adventurer Guild Master died."
"It's too late for regret just… LOOK!"
"What? A lone guard, what is he doing alone? Where is his unit?"
"Hey, what's up, man?"
"Look, he is closing his fist. What does this mean?"
"That probably means shut up. But why does he do that?"
"Now he is pointing something, I can't see… A LEG!"
"WHERE? THERE IS BLOOD ON IT!!!"
"That's why he wanted us to shut up. Someone died nearby. Get in formation. Fellow guard, join us. The more we are, the safer we are. What's your name by the way?"
"He is probably terrified, all alone in those dark corridors and seeing his first death, look at him shaking."
"Pal, you okay? Do you nee…"
He never finished his sentence. It was the closest guard and the moment he lightly touched the shoulder of the skeleton, his life ended. My servant did a great job. He singles slash, cutting his head. Right after, he pierces the neck of the soldier behind his first victim. They are not reacting at all. Some are still watching behind them, looking for the ratmen. Only after hearing fighting noises do they turn. But it's too late, the third and fourth guard are lying on the ground. Their slow reactions barely manage to save two guards, the fifth getting kicked in the chest by the skeleton and then executed. He is even improving. I did order him to kill them efficiently. I need to remember to say that in the future fights.
The last two guards are defending and counter-attacking, but they are far too slow. They are even shaking in fear. My skeleton quickly bashes one with his shield, and then let go of his sword to grab the head of the other. He inserts his fingers into the eyes of the guard, who begins to scream. After that, he retrieves his sword and achieves him. The only survivor just has the time to get back on his feet before seeing a body fall on him. Stuck under it, the last thing he probably sees is a sword falling on him. He doesn't gain a level, but I am certain that his intelligence is progressing.
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