Skeleton Soldier (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

As the first Skeleton Soldier successfully advanced, more and more skeletons, having accumulated enough experience and absorbed sufficient eerie power, succeeded in advancing into Skeleton Soldiers.

Regarding the choice of advancement direction for the Skeleton Soldiers, Gu Xi, guided by the principle of enhancing strengths over balanced development, oriented all their advancement paths toward highlighting their individual characteristics.

Thus, each of the four battle squads now had Skeleton Soldiers uniquely their own.

The Skeleton Soldiers of Battle Squad 1 still wielded a battle axe in one hand and a recurve blade in the other, but now wore a leather armor and had three throwing daggers strapped to their waists.

These Skeleton Soldiers had learned the means of ranged attack. Though the range was less than ten meters, ranged was still ranged.

Skeleton Soldier (Level 3, Summoned Creature): Experience (13/500) Attack 3+1 (Melee Weapon), Defense 1+1 (Armor), Ammo 3 (Dagger), Life 19, Skills: Undead Creature, Backstab, Throwing.

The skeletons of Battle Squad 3 were completely different. Their enhancements were all focused on the spear.

Last time, their Skeleton Head had obtained a spear. Now, having absorbed enough eerie aura, their spears had grown even more powerful.

Skeleton Soldier (Level 3, Summoned Creature): Experience (19/500) Attack 3+2 (Bone Arm Spear), Defense 1, Life 19, Skills: Undead Creature, Disarm, Thrust.

As for the Skeleton Soldiers of Battle Squad 4, they were the complete opposite of Battle Squad 3. Their enhancements were concentrated on the defensive effect of their shields, and they had also added an extra layer of thick armor to their bodies.

If not for the longswords still in their hands, one might have mistaken them for Heavy Defensive Type Muscle Skeleton Soldiers.

Skeleton Soldier (Level 3, Summoned Creature): Experience (6/500) Attack 3, Defense 1+3 (Shield + Armor), Life 24, Skills: Undead Creature, Shield Wall, Temporary Life.

After the various types of Skeleton Soldiers had advanced, Gu Xi checked the status of the four battle squads.

Battle Squads 1 and 2 had suffered heavy losses, while Battle Squads 3 and 4 were in better shape, having taken almost no casualties in this battle. Instead, with the Skeleton Heads leveling up, they had gained several empty slots.

Battle Squad 1 (Level 1, Unnamed, Traits: Life +3, Attack +1, Experience 18/200): Captain (1/1) Level 1 Skeleton Head, Members (22/33) Level 3 Skeleton Soldier (3), Level 2 Skeleton (13), Level 1 Skeleton (6)

Battle Squad 2 (Level 1, Unnamed, Traits: Attack +5, Defense +1, Experience 26/200): Captain (1/1) Level 1 Skeleton Head, Members (21/39) Level 3 Skeleton Warrior (1), Level 3 Skeleton Soldier (9), Level 2 Skeleton (6), Level 1 Skeleton (5)

Battle Squad 3 (Level 1, Unnamed, Traits: Attack +3, Life +4, Experience 198/200): Captain (1/1) Level 1 Skeleton Head, Members (28/33) Level 3 Skeleton Soldier (8), Level 2 Skeleton (14), Level 1 Skeleton (6)

Battle Squad 4 (Level 1, Unnamed, Traits: Defense +6, Experience 74/200): Captain (1/1) Level 1 Skeleton Head, Members (40/45) Level 3 Skeleton Warrior (6), Level 3 Skeleton Soldier (9), Level 2 Skeleton (21), Level 1 Skeleton (4)

The ranks were not full.

Looking at the information on the battle squads before him, Gu Xi couldn't help but sigh.

He had no idea what the enemies in the third wave would be like.

Then, Gu Xi directed his hands, having them set up again. The corpses of the skeletons that had died in the previous battle were once again arranged on the street, and tables and chairs from nearby rooms were brought out to serve as barricades.

Battle Squad 3 stood behind Battle Squad 4, while Battle Squads 1 and 2 lay in ambush inside the rooms.

As soon as the enemies appeared, Gu Xi could once again stall them like before, prioritizing the elimination of the enemy heads, then grinding down these Black Ghoul Shadows with his skeletons.

But Gu Xi never expected that when the fifteen minutes were up, the ghoul shadow that appeared before him would be like this.

This time, it was no longer a large group of three to four hundred Black Ghoul Shadows, but a single massive Ghoul Shadow Amalgam.

This ghoul shadow was the same pure black as the previous ones, but its size was enormous. Its body did not stand upright; instead, it was inverted, crawling on the ground with its joints reversed.

Beneath it were eight massive arms, moving like a spider.

On its body, three pairs of arms held three human heads.

Though these three heads were also pure black, their size and appearance made it clear they belonged to a man, a woman, and a child.

It was about the size of a large dump truck, and its body was covered in writhing arms—clearly not something to be trifled with.

As it entered the street, this massive ghoul shadow charged forward like a train.

The barricade line set up by the battle squads couldn't hold for even a moment; it was smashed through instantly.

Gu Xi reacted the fastest. Seeing this, he pointed at the skeleton corpses in front of the ghoul shadow and began chanting a spell.

"Lesser Corpse Explosion!"

But the ghoul shadow's movement speed was too fast. Even though Gu Xi had placed the spell right in front of it, by the time the corpses exploded, the ghoul shadow had already rushed past the blast radius.

"Battle Squad 4, hold the line!"

Gu Xi shouted as he cast a Bone Shield on himself and grabbed a wooden stick, charging forward.

The wooden stick in Gu Xi's hand was the weapon of the superior Ghoul Shadow Head. When he held it, it rapidly shrank to a size suitable for him.

Bone Shatter (Green, Wooden Stick)

Attack: 2-3

Equipment Requirement: Strength 2

Special: Crush—when attacking an enemy, has a 50% chance to shatter the enemy's bones, armor, or other defensive structures.

Note: Do not underestimate the power of this wooden stick. Many have already died beneath it.

With the wooden stick in hand, Gu Xi had the courage to join the fight.

Though this ghoul shadow had yet to attack, from its movement speed alone, Gu Xi could tell it was a high-agility ghoul shadow.

High-agility enemies often had weak life force and attack power.

They typically relied on dodging enemy attacks, while their own attacks would land multiple hits in a short time.

So, as long as he could trap it, there was still a chance to fight.

For this reason, Gu Xi immediately ordered Battle Squad 4 forward. Their Shield Wall could withstand the ghoul shadow's charge.

Once its movement speed slowed down, Gu Xi could step in and use the Bone Shatter wooden stick to break one of its legs.

After that, it would be the standard boss-killing routine. Though he had already lost quite a few, Gu Xi still had 111 skeletons under his command. United against a single ghoul shadow, there was no reason they couldn't win.