Act Three: The Undead

"Brando, Brando?"

Roman poked his arm from the side, while Su Fei was immersed in checking his Attributes. With only 1 Energy Level of Strength, he couldn't help cursing the NPCs for having no human rights. A Skeleton had 1.5 Strength, after all.

All numerical values in the Attributes were measured in Oz, an abbreviation of the Ancient Language Oauth, and were called Energy Levels. One Energy Level of Strength meant being able to lift roughly fifty kilograms, with a punching force of no more than one hundred and fifty kilograms—about the strength of an adult man.

Back in the game, a player's Basic Knowledge started at 2 Energy Levels of Strength, 2 Energy Levels of Agility, 2 Energy Levels of Constitution, and 1.5 Energy Levels each of Intelligence, Willpower, and Perception. In other words, they were roughly twice as strong as an ordinary person. Absolute Strength—in other words, combat power—was about 5, meaning they could handle five ordinary people at once without a problem.

Brando was also a militiaman who had undergone several months of intensive training, yet the gap in Attributes was still just as enormous. Though players started with heroic Attributes, it shouldn't have been this ridiculous, should it?

He had always wanted to complain that players supposedly started as heroes, yet their combat power was only about equal to that of two Skeletons. Now that he had changed to Brando's perspective, he suddenly realized that the former players really had been heroic templates blessed by the protagonist's halo.

The thought that he might not even be able to beat a single Skeleton made sorrow well up inside him.

Su Fei rubbed his arm. That pale-green number remained playfully displayed across his retina. He discovered that this world still differed somewhat from the world he knew. In the game, a Bandage should restore 1 point of health per minute. In theory, a commoner's 6 points of health should recover completely in six minutes, but here it took several days.

That was not a good sign.

Fortunately, the skills worked basically the same way. As long as he recalled the "Basic Knowledge" gained from his identity as a commoner, he could remember some common knowledge about this world. Recalling the "military organization" knowledge gained from his identity as a militiaman allowed him to remember the basics of Eluin's military structure.

There were some differences, but the knowledge seemed to exist directly within his real memories. Take swordsmanship, for instance. He could clearly feel that it was a skill accumulated bit by bit through several months of training, embedded in the instincts behind his every movement. His posture when attacking, where his center of gravity should be, what to watch for beneath his feet, where his sword was—and where the enemy's was—feints, and the intent behind an attack.

In the game, however, the system only provided several rough sword trajectories before an attack, then assisted in correcting his movements during the attack. Here, he didn't need to understand why—knowing how was enough.

Although some veteran players had insights of their own, they still needed the system's assistance. That was why one would never see game addicts becoming swordsmanship or martial arts masters in real life.

Some things simply had no shortcuts.

Su Fei couldn't help clenching his hand. The feeling of being in control of himself was wonderful. Compared with the stiffness of the game, the memories he controlled here felt more like a part of himself, something he could use as he pleased.

Of course, while he was thinking about all this, he immediately became alert when Roman poked his arm. His ears twitched slightly, and he had already heard the faint sounds coming from outside the house.

"Brando, did you hear that?" the Merchant's Daughter asked softly as she moved around behind him.

Su Fei nodded. A line of clicking footsteps came from outside, and there were quite a lot of them. His heart jolted, and he immediately guessed that Madara's vanguard had arrived. He gestured for silence and quickly pulled Roman backward with him.

Madara's vanguard had arrived even faster than expected. At that moment, the countryside of Elsen-Golan still lay deep in sleep. No one could have anticipated the calamity about to descend.

Except him.

The urgency made Su Fei frown deeply. He led the Merchant's Daughter into the room at the southern end, then gently closed the door behind them. Dust filled the room, making them cough quietly. It was a guest room that had not been used for a long time, but he knew that from its window, they could safely watch everything happening inside the estate.

Su Fei walked to the window, brushed away the dust, and lifted the curtain—

"These things came from there, didn't they, Brando?" The girl discreetly pulled her hand back and asked curiously.

"They're Madara's army. The war has begun." As he answered, he cautiously glanced outside. Sure enough, it was Madara's vanguard. Su Fei couldn't help inhaling softly. A dense mass of Skeleton Soldiers stood in the center of the estate. He counted three squads, forty-five in total, their dark-red points of light flickering in the darkness. Three Liches stood nearby, controlling the low-level undead. Their classic appearance was that of a Skeleton in robes, holding a Bone Staff, its eyes glowing with green phosphorescent fire as it surveyed these lowly Madara soldiers.

Brando's grandfather's old residence sat on a hillside not far from Buchi, overlooking the village below. It was more like a small estate on the outskirts of a village. There had originally been five or six households here, but they had all moved away, leaving only Roman and her aunt.

The girl drew a soft breath in the darkness.

"What about Aunt Jenny?"

"She went to the nearby town. She won't be back for a week."

Su Fei couldn't help turning to look at her. In the darkness, he saw only a pair of bright eyes, flickering with an inexplicable excitement.

"Aren't you afraid?" he asked despite himself.

"I don't know," the Merchant's Daughter replied softly, lifting her head. "But my heart is pounding. It feels so exciting."

Su Fei was speechless. This young lady's way of thinking really was different from ordinary people's. Still, some people were born for adventure. Perhaps Roman was one of them.

He pretended not to hear and pressed his gaze back against the windowpane. The Liches' gazes had not yet swept this way, so Su Fei could continue observing without worry. In the distant woods, shadows shifted. There must have been many more enemies in that direction.

A rough estimate put Madara's advance force at more than a hundred. That was no small number. An army of this size definitely had a Wizard Apprentice of necromancy manipulating it from behind. In his eyes, this was terrible news.

In the game, a Madaran Necromancer Wizard Apprentice was roughly equivalent to a level-ten player. Even fighting alone, the other party could easily defeat seven or eight trained adult men—soldiers or militiamen. Not to mention that he and Roman were only two people, while their opponent had an entire army at his command.

Su Fei couldn't help tapping his fingers against the windowsill.

The Guard Detachment from Buchi would take at least five minutes to arrive. That meant that if they encountered the enemy, they would have to hold out and defend themselves for at least five minutes before reinforcements arrived.

And that was only if Buchi discovered that they were under attack.

But how could he warn them?

He was troubled for a moment. The best method was to start a fire. Bright flames and smoke could travel a long way in the night, and firelight was an obvious warning to both people and animals. But whether to start a fire, and how to start one, remained a problem.

"Brando? Are we going to die?"

"Hard to say."

The pitch-black room fell silent.

The darkness was deep and still. Only the cool moonlight spilling through a corner of the window remained, casting a small silver path across the gloomy room.

Su Fei thought for a moment. He was just about to lower the curtain and calm himself as he considered a way to escape when a conversation came from outside:

"Where is that poor wretch's corpse? Bring him out so I can take a look. Didn't the intelligence say that only two women lived in this estate?"

The first voice belonged to a young man. It was somewhat cold and sharp.

The next voice was dry and old, rasping like cracking deadwood. "He was merely an unlucky poor wretch, Master."

The conversation made Su Fei's heart tighten. He looked outside again and quickly found the source of the two voices beneath the shadow of a large tree. A man in a loose black robe was questioning a Lich under his command.

Su Fei's gaze quickly fell on the man's sleeve. He could vaguely make out a ring of gray-white bone patterns. That proved the other party was indeed a Necromancer Wizard Apprentice.

He had been right.

"...Remember, I don't need your opinions. You only need to obey orders." The wizard, shrouded entirely in black robes, suddenly paused and raised his head toward Su Fei's direction.

Su Fei's heart leaped. He immediately dropped the curtain. Damn it. For a moment, he had thought he was still that level-130-plus veteran warrior and completely forgotten that the other party's Perception and ability to conceal his aura were far higher than his own.

He would not be discovered immediately, but he had certainly aroused the other party's suspicions.

Sure enough, he immediately heard the man say outside, "All right, go and do it. I sensed that there might be living people inside that house. Search carefully. I've suspected for days that the other party may already have discovered our plans—"

It's over. The moment they realize Brando's 'corpse' is missing, they'll act immediately. Su Fei's thoughts raced. He immediately thought of the door behind the kitchen, but Elsen-Golan was all open pasture. There was nowhere nearby to hide.

There was a small patch of woods below the hill, but between them lay more than a hundred meters of completely exposed slope. What could he do?

"Brando?" The Merchant's Daughter looked at him questioningly.

"Follow me." Su Fei gritted his teeth. He would have to take things one step at a time.

He opened the door. At the perfect moment, he saw a Lich and two Skeleton Soldiers entering the hall below from outside. The Lich in the woven robe spotted him and Roman immediately. The undead creature raised its Bone Staff, but Su Fei reacted faster. The young man raised his right hand without hesitation and aimed the ring on his index finger at the other party.

"Oss!"

(Note: Wind in Vonder's Ancient Language.)

All he could do now was pray that the ring still worked—

Fortunately, Su Fei immediately felt the ring grow slightly warm. The air ahead seemed to expand violently, followed by a tremendous crash.

As if a hurricane had swept through, the Lich, the two Skeleton Soldiers beside it, and the doorway of the residence shattered with a thunderous boom. Countless splinters of wood, Stone Fragments, and bone fragments exploded outward in an instant, then drifted down in a flurry, like countless butterflies fluttering and falling through the sky.

At the instant of the explosion, five golden points of light flew from the shattered bodies of the Lich and Skeleton Soldiers, then swiftly merged into Su Fei's chest. It all happened in the blink of an eye. Even the young man himself failed to notice.

After the blast wind passed, all that remained on the ground was a huge radial pattern spreading outward.

Everything fell silent. Su Fei was so astonished that he didn't know what to make of it. In the game, Wind Bullet dealt 30 points of wind damage, more than enough to instantly kill a low-level Lich and Skeleton Soldiers. But its effects had never been this exaggerated, had they?

A huge hole had appeared in the entrance of the old residence. This was his grandfather's property, but Su Fei had no time to worry about ruining it. He immediately remembered that he still had to escape.

"Brando, you're a wizard!" Roman cried out in surprise behind him.

"No. I'll explain later." He inhaled, grabbed her, and rushed downward. The kitchen was on the first floor. He had to reach it before the enemy recovered.

"Wait, Brando, I can't keep up with you...!"

"Careful, we're going downstairs!"

"Ah!"

The sudden explosion made all the Skeletons outside turn around, but they lacked intelligence and merely reacted instinctively to the sound. Thus, they remained standing where they were, passively waiting for the Lich's orders.

The green phosphorescent fire in the Lich's eye sockets suddenly leaped. It immediately raised its Bone Staff, and a flicker of flame appeared at its tip.

"Don't use fire, you idiot!" the suddenly appearing black-robed wizard snarled, forcing the Bone Staff down. The sound of the explosion had probably already attracted the attention of the Buchi people. If fire appeared now, it would only warn the humans in the village.

He immediately turned and pointed into the house. "Soldiers, seize those two!"

With a clatter, the Skeleton Soldiers drew their longswords in unison and surged into the house.

By then, Su Fei had already rushed down the stairs. He saw wave after wave of Skeleton Frames pouring in from outside, countless red points of light in the darkness, and felt his scalp go numb. But he was no longer a level-100-plus veteran warrior, and the ring in his hand was still recharging. He could only steel himself and charge forward.

If those Skeletons surrounded him, he would probably be hacked into mincemeat by their swords...

"Misfortune never comes alone." Su Fei felt a surge of helplessness.

His chest hurt terribly, but he still reached the kitchen a step ahead of the Skeleton Soldiers. The young man immediately slammed the door shut behind him. Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, several sharp swords pierced through from above with a series of stabs.

Fortunately, he had withdrawn his hand quickly. Otherwise, he would probably have been nailed to the door.

"That was close!" Su Fei's heart pounded. He looked around. The exit was on the other side of the kitchen, but he knew he couldn't simply leave. He had to find a way to warn Buchi. Only then could he save his own life.

Besides, flames could hold back low-level undead.

"Brando?" The Merchant's Daughter bent over, panting. She couldn't help looking up at him. She had never seen Brando display such decisiveness and courage, and was deeply astonished.

"Miss Romane, guard the door for a moment." Su Fei had no time to explain. He had to seize every second.

Clack, clack, clack—

The Skeleton Soldiers began attacking the wooden kitchen door. It had never been built for defense, and several cracks soon appeared across it.

"Me?" Roman blinked.

"Yes. Give me a little time."

"What are you going to do?" the Merchant's Daughter asked curiously.

"I'm going to find a way to warn the people in the village. This is Madara's Undead Army. We have to warn everyone else." Su Fei forced himself to calm down as he searched everywhere for flint.

Where had he put it again?

"Okay, I'll do it." Roman immediately moved between Su Fei and the door.

"Can you handle it?"

"Of course." The Merchant's Daughter raised the Mason's Hammer in her hand with complete confidence. "I'll do my best. I'm going to become a great merchant in the future!"

Su Fei stopped and looked at her. He couldn't help nodding.

"You will, Miss Romane."

"Mm, Brando."

(PS: Two updates a day—that's pretty hardworking, right? I hope there will be fewer irresponsible comments in the review section. Thank you, everyone, for your help. I hope there will be more substantial reviews in the review section.

Could everyone support the book a little more? It's only ranked forty-second among new books right now. So pitiful~~~)