Chapter 19: The Captive
Several days later, on the dirt road at the edge of the Bone Forest.
The five members of the Silver Moon Squad ran head-on into a squad of guards just coming out of the woods.
Guard Captain Davos glanced at the adventurer badges on their chests and nodded.
"Here for a guild mission? We only encountered some Novice Skeletons. Be careful."
"Thanks."
Squad Captain Kayden understood the implication and replied.
The two groups passed each other without much conversation.
"Hear that, Boss? I told you this mission was easy."
The shield warrior Boll carried his giant shield, his voice booming.
"Even a bunch of guards can handle it; for our Silver Moon Squad, it'll be a piece of cake."
"Shut up, Boll. Stay alert."
Kayden's hand never left his sword hilt.
They stepped into the forest.
For the first few hours, everything was exactly as the Guard Captain had said.
Wandering the woods were only yellow-boned Novice Skeletons, slow-moving and harmless.
Boll didn't even need to swing his giant shield; just a forward shove was enough to smash one apart.
"This is it? Just this trash?"
Boll crushed a skeleton's skull with one foot, sending bone shards flying.
Kayden didn't stop him. He was thinking about how overly quiet this forest was, yet the undead they encountered were indeed pitifully weak.
"Finn, found anything?"
Kayden asked.
The ever-silent scout Finn shook his head and pointed at the ground.
"No tracks of wild beasts. Only skeletons. They are... wandering aimlessly. No pattern."
Another two hours passed.
They had gradually ventured deeper into the forest, clearing out no fewer than eighty to a hundred skeletons.
Just as Boll complained again about the mission being boring, Finn at the front suddenly stopped and made a "silence" gesture.
Everyone instantly quieted down, gripping their weapons tightly.
Finn parted the bushes in front of him, revealing the scene ahead through a gap.
It was a forest clearing. Fifty skeletons were surrounding and annihilating a few scattered wild skeletons in an unnerving formation.
Their bones were pure white, and they held standardized bone longswords.
Their movements were uniform. Every slash, every block was filled with efficiency.
The wild skeletons before them were harvested like wheat.
After the battle, these fifty Skeleton Swordsmen didn't disperse.
Several of them stepped forward, skillfully collecting the broken bones on the ground and carrying them deeper into the forest.
The rest maintained their formation, standing guard on the spot.
"What are those?"
The mage Ayla asked in confusion.
"Tier 2 Skeleton Swordsmen."
Kayden's voice was suppressed very low.
"The Guild archives mentioned them. Stronger than ordinary Tier 2 Skeleton Soldiers, possessing basic combat techniques."
For the first time, the relaxed expression vanished from Boll's face.
"Fifty... Tier 2s? Are you kidding me? That's enough to form a small-scale army."
"The most critical point."
Finn added.
"They are collecting bones. They have a purpose. They are not wandering."
Kayden looked at the disciplined skeleton unit, then at the direction they were carrying the bones. A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind.
These fifty Tier 2 skeletons might just be... a work detail operating outside.
"Retreat."
Kayden ordered decisively.
This wasn't a situation they could handle.
The intelligence was secured, and it far exceeded expectations.
They had to return to Iron Fortress immediately and report this news to the Guild and the Lord's Mansion.
The five carefully backed away.
But the moment they turned around, every single head in that Skeleton Swordsman unit—fifty skulls—turned in unison toward their hiding spot.
In their empty eye sockets, Soul Fire flickered.
"We've been spotted! Run!"
Kayden roared, the first to dash out.
Boll held up his shield to cover the rear, Ayla began chanting a haste spell, and Ariel turned pale with fright, running desperately with the team.
Fifty Skeleton Swordsmen strode forward, chasing after them. The sound of bones hitting the ground merged into a wave, exceptionally clear in the silent forest.
The five members of the Silver Moon Squad were experienced adventurers and moved extremely fast.
But the Skeleton Swordsmen behind them were no slower, sticking doggedly to their tails.
After running for about ten minutes, Kayden noticed something even weirder.
"They stopped!"
Ayla shouted.
Kayden looked back. Sure enough, the vast majority of the Skeleton Swordsmen stopped chasing after they reached the outer perimeter.
Only one was still following them unhurriedly.
It didn't speed up to catch them, nor did it attack. It just maintained a fixed distance.
"What is it doing?"
The priest Ariel was about to cry.
"It's marking us. Or guiding us somewhere."
Finn's voice was terrifyingly calm.
"We can't let it keep following."
"Kill it?"
Boll asked.
"No."
Kayden shook his head, an idea forming in his mind.
"Capture it alive."
"Are you crazy?"
Ayla said.
"This is evidence! The most powerful evidence!"
Kayden's breathing was ragged.
"A living Tier 2 Skeleton Swordsman is more useful than ten thousand of our words! Bringing it back is enough to shake the entire Iron Fortress Territory!"
Finn glanced at the captain, understanding Kayden's intent.
He didn't speak, just suddenly changed direction, slipping into the shadow of a large tree and disappearing completely.
The other four continued running forward, deliberately slowing down.
The Skeleton Swordsman seemed unaware that the group was missing a person. It maintained its original rhythm and followed.
Just as it passed the large tree where Finn was hiding...
A shadow dropped from the canopy, silent as a ghost.
Finn landed behind the Skeleton Swordsman like a civet cat. The heavy hammer in his hand didn't smash into the bones, but struck viciously at its cervical joint!
However, the Skeleton Swordsman's reaction exceeded everyone's expectations!
It didn't even turn its head. Its body dipped abruptly, and the bone sword in its hand slashed backward at an impossible angle!
Finn's pupils constricted. He hastily retracted his hammer and retreated, barely dodging the fatal strike by a hair's breadth.
It was this moment of stagnation that allowed Kayden and Boll to double back, charging from left and right.
BANG!
Boll's giant shield slammed viciously into the Skeleton Swordsman's side. The massive impact made it stagger.
Kayden's longsword struck like a viper, precisely jamming the wrist joint of its sword hand and twisting hard.
CRACK!
The bone sword dropped.
"Beautifully done!"
Boll roared excitedly.
But the Skeleton Swordsman abandoned its weapon. Five bony fingers spread wide, clawing straight for Kayden's face!
"Watch out!"
Ariel finally reacted. She splashed a bottle of Holy Water she had prepared.
The Holy Water traced an arc in the air, drenching the Skeleton Swordsman accurately.
A piercing sizzling sound erupted, white smoke rising. The Skeleton Swordsman's movements became noticeably sluggish.
Ayla seized the opportunity, closing in and binding its torso and limbs tightly with a specially made rope soaked in Holy Water.
Combat over.
"Cut the chatter, move quickly."
Kayden hoisted the trussed-up Skeleton Swordsman onto his shoulder, fear lingering in his heart.
"We can't stay here."
They dared not delay any longer, fleeing the Bone Forest at top speed and sprinting toward Iron Fortress.
Meanwhile.
Evernight Territory, Valley Base.
Kaito was lying in his coffin-shaped wooden bed, reviewing the work reports submitted by his subordinates.
These reports were presented directly into his consciousness as images via the soul link.
Greed's State Affairs Legion had completed the construction of the 300th wooden cabin.
Envy's Extinction Legion had set up over 300 fixed sentry posts around the base.
Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.
Just then, a soul link belonging to Pride, carrying an imperceptible ripple, connected to Kaito's consciousness.
"Lord Ruler. Punishment Legion 3rd Patrol Squad encountered five human life forms at the eastern edge of the forest."
"Opponent strength assessed as: four Tier 1s, one Tier 2."
"My troops followed your instructions, merely monitoring and driving them away before they refused to leave."
"However, the opponent used despicable tactics to ambush and capture one of my soldiers. ID: Punishment Legion 3rd Battalion, No. 108."
Kaito's Soul Fire jumped.
He immediately switched perspectives, accessing the vision of the captured soldier via the soul link.
A shaky view.
He could feel himself being carried on someone's shoulder. Trees were retreating rapidly in the periphery, accompanied by the rapid breathing of several living humans.
And Skeleton Soldier No. 108's Soul Fire was calm, without a single ripple.
It didn't struggle, nor did it fear. It simply faithfully executed the last command received after being captured—[Standby].
Since Kaito turned into a skeleton, this was the first time he felt anger.
"You broke the rules first."
And the Silver Moon Squad, running for their lives, had no idea that what they were carrying wasn't a monumental achievement...
But a cold gaze from the Kingdom of the Dead.