Chapter 5

Although the wizard appeared to be unguarded, Ang could feel the soul fluctuations from the bone horse's skull occasionally sweeping over him. Of course, even without the bone horse's vigilance, Ang did not want to provoke this wizard. He was just a small skeleton for growing vegetables, unlike the little zombie who loved to cause trouble.

Blocking the passage between the two pits was also out of concern. He was afraid the little zombie would hear some noise and crawl over.

The night passed without incident. The next day, as soon as the wind stopped, the wizard woke up. He rubbed his face vigorously, treating it as a wash.

After fully regaining his spirit, he glanced at Ang in surprise and smiled, saying, "You are truly a quiet skeleton. It's rare to see such a quiet skeleton. I hope you are still alive when I come next time."

This was a more practical blessing. In this area, the turnover of skeletons was very fast. If there were more active ones like the little zombie, the turnover would be even faster.

Ang was already a very quiet skeleton, but he still encountered the wizard. Fortunately, this wizard had no ill intentions. If it were another predator, he would have been in big trouble. So, "still being alive next time" was not an easy goal to achieve; it required good luck.

The wizard climbed out of the pit, attached the bone horse's skull to its body, and with a hiss, a blue flame shot out from the bone horse's nostrils, and it slid up.

The wizard led the bone horse a few steps, then suddenly remembered something and turned back, saying, "Oh, oh, oh, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Esk, a merchant wandering the Golden Road and also a necromancer."

Esk made a chest-touching gesture and nodded at Ang before heading down the slope toward the plain.

Watching Esk's back and the direction he was heading, Ang's soul fire flickered a few times, and he climbed out of the pit, following Esk from a distance.

Esk didn't walk far before he noticed Ang. He stopped, and Ang also stopped. When he moved forward, Ang followed, always maintaining a distance of several dozen meters. This persistent behavior was very much like the little zombie, and Ang had unknowingly been influenced by the little zombie.

Esk shook his head with a smile and ignored Ang.

As they descended the slope, more skeletons appeared on the road. The low-level skeletons were all scared away by the bone horse, so they proceeded without any obstacles. When they reached the pit Ang had originally dug, a gray bone skeleton climbed out.

It was the same skeleton that had led the pursuit of Ang and the little zombie. Clearly, it had discovered the advantages of the pit and claimed it for itself.

While other skeletons were scared away by the bone horse, this gray bone skeleton was not. It climbed to the surface, arched its body, and opened its jaw, emitting a soul scream.

Near the pit, several low-level skeletons climbed out one after another, as if they had been startled.

Unlike the last time when it was being pursued, the gray bone skeleton had fewer subordinates, only a dozen or so, and several of them had dents on their faces.

Ang strongly suspected this was the work of the little zombie. Since the last pursuit, where it had a cut on its face, the little zombie had developed a habit of smashing other skeletons' faces. Several times, the skeletons it dragged back had similar dents on their cheeks.

During this period, the little zombie had been leaving early and returning late. Could it have been causing trouble for the gray bone skeleton's subordinates?

Someone had invaded its territory, and the gray bone skeleton was very angry. It drew its bone knife and drove its subordinates forward.

The bone horse was actually only at the white bone level, one level below the gray bone skeleton, but its size was several times larger. In theory, the bone horse's strength should not be weaker than the gray bone skeleton.

However, the bone horse did not confront the gray bone skeleton but instead hid behind Esk.

Esk stood forward with his hands empty, forming a claw and reaching out to the two leading skeletons. An invisible force immediately acted between the skeletons and Esk, and the soul fires of the skeletons were forcibly pulled out of their skulls, converging in his palm.

Ang's soul tightened. What kind of magic was this?

The soul fires were pulled out and formed two soul flames in Esk's palm. He quickly recited a spell: gibberish... The voice was too low for Ang to hear clearly.

Esk threw the two soul flames to the ground, and with a whoosh, two shrieking wraiths burst out of the soul flames, charging at the gray bone skeleton.

The gray bone skeleton swung its bone knife at the wraiths. The bone knife split the wraiths in half, but the wraiths were unharmed, rejoining after passing the bone knife and entangling the gray bone skeleton.

The gray bone skeleton reached out and grabbed the wraith. The wraith, being incorporeal, was still grabbed and pulled outward.

Amidst the shrieks, the wraith extended its claws and frantically scratched at the gray bone skeleton's eye sockets.

The eye sockets contained the soul fire, and the gray bone skeleton seemed to be wary. It turned its head to avoid the wraith's claws while its other arm formed a fist and repeatedly struck the wraith's form.

The incorporeal wraith screamed in agony as it was pummeled and was eventually shattered. After killing one wraith, the gray bone skeleton continued to fight the other.

This gave Esk enough time. He reached out with his left hand, and just like before, the souls were forcibly extracted, forming a soul flame.

He quickly recited a spell and threw it to the ground.

The rising soul flames spread like ripples, touching anything and forming two claws that tightly held the targets in place.

These claws were very thin, and Ang felt he could break free, but the low-level skeletons could not. They were firmly held in place, becoming sitting ducks.

Esk shot shadow arrows one by one into the eye sockets of the skeletons, shattering the soul fires inside their skulls. By the time the gray bone skeleton had eliminated the two wraiths, it found that its dozen subordinates had all turned into scattered bones.

The gray bone skeleton, now alone, was no match for Esk. He threw a black flame at its head, and the entire skull burned. When the flames dissipated, the skull was intact, but the soul inside had completely vanished.

The gray bone skeleton's forces were thus easily wiped out by Esk, and it was clear he had not used his full strength, not even making the bone horse, which could single-handedly take on the gray bone skeleton, fight.

Esk showed no excitement, as if he had just completed a simple task. He glanced back at Ang and led the bone horse toward the stone pillars. Reaching the pit Ang had dug meant they were not far from the two stone pillars of the spatial passage.

Upon reaching the stone pillars, Esk began to fiddle with them. He took out several blue crystals from his waist pouch and embedded them in several positions on the stone pillars. Then he approached the stone pillars and solemnly knelt down. As he bowed, the two stone pillars slowly lit up.