Sharp Claw

"Ghost? Or a soul?" Li Shaolin knew skeletons seemed capable of harming such things, so he wasn't too worried.

"Honored mage, please allow me to express my gratitude." The soul bowed but did not come closer, speaking only from afar.

"Oh?" Though he had no idea how a soul could speak, he had his own way of identifying it. He cast Detection, and a line of green text appeared: Captain Greyson (Soul), Level 30!

The name was green, so naturally it bore no hostility. He finally put his worries aside and looked up to ask, "What exactly happened here?"

Captain Greyson's soul drifted gently. Without any visible movement, he arrived before Li Shaolin. "Perhaps you have noticed the countless wrecks along this coastline. They were all ships bound for Stormwind City or departing from it, forever stranded here because of storms or Murloc attacks. And I, Greyson, was once among them."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Seeing the soul's sorrow, as though he had recalled days long past, Li Shaolin sighed as well. He walked over and lit the oil lamps. He was not used to facing a soul in the pitch-black night, even if the other party meant no harm.

Greyson did not stop him. Only after Li Shaolin had lit several lamps and found a plank to close the door again did he continue. "At the time, my ship had already crossed the Endless Sea, and Stormwind City was right before us. Carried away by excitement, I ordered the crew to press forward at full speed. But unfortunately, the ship ran aground. That very night, Murlocs attacked us. In the chaos, I spotted this lighthouse at sea and escaped here in a small boat."

"Alas, though I survived at the time, I ended up bringing disaster upon the lighthouse keeper's family!" the soul said mournfully. "I could only watch helplessly as the Murloc leader, Old Blindeye, cruelly slaughtered them."

"Sorry to interrupt, but are you saying you didn't die back then? Then how did you become like this?" Li Shaolin found it strange. How had he escaped the Murlocs?

"I was only concerned with fleeing for my life. In my panic, I ran up to the attic at the top of the lighthouse, but the stairs had been damaged. As you can see, they had broken apart in the middle. Then the Murlocs arrived and began their slaughter." Greyson explained regretfully.

"What happened afterward?" The story clearly was not over, or how else could this captain have become like this?

Terror appeared on the soul's face, as if he harbored a deep fear. "I was trapped at the top of the lighthouse, without food or fresh water. I had also suffered some injuries while fighting the Murlocs, and over the next few days, I weakened rapidly. As the days passed, I felt increasingly powerless. Though I was filled with unwillingness, there was nothing I could do. Finally, on the sixth day, I vaguely saw the Holy Light."

At this point, Greyson's body began to tremble, unable to restrain his fear any longer. "Then the Witch appeared! A Witch whose purpose was to study plague and death. She took the last drop of blood from my body, dug out my heart, and imprisoned my soul in this lighthouse forever, making me herd Ghouls for her!"

"The Witch?" Li Shaolin recalled the woman from his dream and could not help shuddering.

"Yes. I don't know why, but ever since the keeper died, no one else ever came to clean up this lighthouse. Over time, it became like this." The soul seemed unaware that Westfall had been occupied by the Defias and spoke with confusion.

"Right, where is that Witch? And why are you thanking me?" He vaguely guessed something, but found it hard to believe. Could that woman really have simply vanished?

"For some reason, the Witch later separated her soul from her body. Her heart and soul were placed in this lighthouse, affected by the aura of the Undead, while her body was taken away by a middle-aged man. Just now, when she attacked you, her soul was destroyed." The soul's tone was full of fear as he recounted this.

A middle-aged mage? Could it have been Karnak? That Defias noble who kept Ghosts? For some reason, Li Shaolin suddenly recalled what had happened at Jason's Farm, as well as the woman in the Bronze Coffin and the Pentagram on the ground. Could the two be connected? He hurriedly asked, "What was that woman's name?"

"I do not know that. But a few days ago, her soul weakened considerably, as though it had suffered some kind of injury. By the way, honored mage, sorry for the trouble, but please help me return to freedom." The soul spoke devoutly.

Li Shaolin was quite surprised. "I'm not a Paladin or a priest. I'm afraid I can't help with that!" Though he did not know how to free him, it was probably some sort of purification. How could an evil Necromancer like him possibly do it?

"There is no need for Holy Light purification. At the top of this tower is an iron box containing my heart. As long as the curse on the outside is removed, I will be free. The heart of that evil Witch is also inside. Please destroy it for me," Greyson said.

To his shame, he had not helped at all in destroying the Witch's soul. It seemed the Book of the Dead deserved the credit. Since that was the case, whether he could destroy that heart was still a question.

Fine, he would take a look first. The problem was, how was he supposed to get up there? Looking at the broken stairs, Li Shaolin frowned.

"Mage, you can summon Undead creatures from hell to fight for you. Then... could you grant me a body? I have been a soul for twenty years. I truly long for that tangible feeling." Greyson's tone carried a trace of pleading.

"Let's destroy that evil Witch's heart first." Li Shaolin did not know anything about summoning Undead from hell. His Necromancer abilities were completely makeshift.

After thinking for a long time, he still could not find a way up. Then he caught sight of the Black Skeleton behind him and had an idea. With its agile movements, it should be able to retrieve the iron box, right?

At a thought from him, the Black Skeleton understood. It sprang up, leaping four or five meters into the air and landing right on the broken staircase. After several jumps, its shadow flickered upward amid falling dust, and it had already reached the top.

"Captain Greyson, take my servant up there to have a look," Li Shaolin said to the astonished soul.

Before long, movement came from above.

Amid a shower of dust, the Black Skeleton leaped down, carrying two iron boxes in its hands.

One iron box was covered in ornate yet sinister patterns, with dazzling gemstones embedded on all four sides. Under the dim yellow lamplight, it gleamed brilliantly. The other iron box was rusted and covered in dust. By the looks of it, the luxurious one belonged to the Witch.

There were hearts inside? Were they beating?

With such thoughts in mind, Li Shaolin felt no fear at all. Instead, he felt a trace of excitement and could hardly wait to open them.

Still, he rationally summoned three Bone Shields before carefully approaching.

"Don't!" The soul appeared before him at last and hurriedly stopped him. "The Witch's life force has not yet dissipated. There may be something strange inside."

Hearing that, Li Shaolin truly did not dare act rashly.

Just as he was about to ask Greyson something, a figure suddenly sprang up from the ground. With a shriek, a Ghoul that had long since fallen lunged straight at him!

It happened too suddenly for him to dodge. Sharp Claw reached before his eyes! Smack! Smack! Smack! The three Bone Shields shattered in an instant! This thing was fighting desperately. It was so strong!

The Bone Skeleton beside him immediately turned and hurriedly blocked Li Shaolin.

The sound of cracking bones followed. Under the Ghoul's savage assault, one claw pierced into the Bone Skeleton's chest, while the other drove down fiercely into its skull!

At once, the soul fire in its eye sockets flickered.

"Psh!" Behind it, the Bronze Skeleton's long blade stabbed fiercely into the Ghoul's chest, while the Black Skeleton threw down the two iron boxes and buried both blades in its head.

Even after suffering such violent attacks, the Ghoul still opened its mouth and bit down on the Bone Skeleton's neck. Crack! Its head separated from its body.

Li Shaolin felt his mind go dizzy. Could the Bone Skeleton have been destroyed?

Boom! The Fire Skeleton beside them cast Fireball, striking the Ghoul's head and instantly igniting its dripping saliva. Flames blazed up at once!

Li Shaolin hurriedly retreated, while the other skeletons surrounded the burning Ghoul, fearing another accident.

Within the roaring flames, that thing finally stopped struggling.

No! His connection to the Bone Skeleton was still there! Every summoned creature shared a mental connection with him. Even the uncontrollable Golden Golem in Fargodeep Mine had a faint connection to him. There was no mistake. That meant the skeleton was still alive? Looking carefully, he saw dark-red soul fire in the blaze. Though faint, it had not gone out!

Li Shaolin was overjoyed and hurriedly went over to inspect it, only to feel troubled. The Bone Skeleton's skull had been pierced by the Ghoul's Sharp Claw. It probably could not be restored. Forget it, he would try anyway.

He took out the Book of the Dead and tried to store it inside. After trying for a long while, there was still no response.

It seemed it was truly beyond repair.

Gritting his teeth, he chanted a Summon Skeleton spell toward the Ghoul's corpse. The sound of bones shifting rang out endlessly, and in the blink of an eye, a brand-new Skeleton Warrior rose to its feet.

It was completely different from the other skeletons.

It stood about one and a half meters tall, with a hunched body, sharp and slender claws, and yellowish-brown bones. If not for the absence of rotten flesh and fur, he would truly have thought he had summoned a Ghoul.

It seemed to be a mutation of the Bone Skeleton!

Li Shaolin discovered in amazement that his connection with the Bone Skeleton had never been severed from beginning to end.

He hurriedly cast Detection, revealing a blue name: Fourth Tier Claw Skeleton (Carrier of the Plague). What a surprise. After being reborn, it had actually risen from the Second Tier to the Fourth Tier.

Amid this flurry of activity, the black heart in one of the fallen iron boxes had already begun to move slowly, crawling strangely toward another dead Ghoul!