"Lady Malsa, my soldiers opened the door, but the inside had already been set ablaze. My skeletons are hesitating in front of those filthy flames. I need a little time to let them adapt."
The Lich hunched over and lowered its head deeply. The green flames in its eye sockets flickered with a sly light, but it placed its withered arms over its chest to express absolute obedience--
Madara had a strict hierarchy that made anyone attempting to overstep their bounds feel fear from the depths of their soul. In particular, the pain of the necromancers behind the Black Codex was something they were naturally skilled at manipulating and playing with souls.
The necromancer apprentice lightly tapped his deep-black silk robe with pale, slender fingers. He stood atop the hill, looking down over the village below--in the darkness, Buchi's bells rang out without pause, and human society had fallen into deep terror.
But this nightmare had only just begun. Not far away, the army of skeletons was disappearing into the darkness row by row. A reserve unit was hidden in the forest on one side as well. He had ordered them to fire their arrows, and another volley would soon be launched.
The next volley would use flaming arrows.
Blue flames, cold Soul Fire.
The blazing fire in the darkness would throw every living creature into panic. He wanted to create some fear so that the Skeleton Soldiers could launch their attack.
"How much time?"
The future necromancer's voice was somewhat cold and sharp.
"This..." The Lich lowered its head and estimated. "Eight minutes. No, five minutes at most."
"I don't have that much time, but I can leave one squad behind for you. Eleven Skeleton Soldiers. Will that be enough, Kabuka?"
"More than enough, my master."
The future necromancer gave a cold smile. "Be careful not to let the rats escape through the back door."
"Rest assured, my master. I already made arrangements at the back door according to your orders."
"Then I hope to receive good news when I return victorious, Kabuka." The necromancer apprentice pointed forward and gave his subordinate a meaningful glance. "Now I am going to accept this village's submission and savor humanity's eternal death amid fear. But Martha above, I hope my decision to attack ahead of schedule will not cause Sir Instaron any trouble--"
"As you wish, my master." The Lich lowered its head deeply.
The room had filled with thick smoke. Flames licked out from beneath the smoke from time to time. The rising inferno not only blocked the undead's invasion but also obstructed the humans' vision.
The steadily climbing temperature had roasted the backs of the two people until they burned. The scorching smoke and dust made it impossible for them to open their eyes, while waves of stinging pain spread through their throats and noses. Yet Su Fei's heart remained ice-cold.
What should he do?
"What is it?"
"Give me the hammer." The young man finally reached a hand behind him. He turned his ear toward the sound. Besides the crackling flames, he faintly heard a unique noise echoing among the mountains--bells.
Buchi's warning bells.
Martha above, he hoped the people from the Guard Detachment in the village were smart enough. Su Fei prayed silently. As for the Militia, he did not count on them. They were merely hot-blooded young men. He only hoped they could survive the night.
These people were the future seeds of Eluin.
He immediately felt that perhaps he was overthinking things. Maybe he would not even make it past the next hurdle, right?
"Are there enemies outside?" Merchant's Daughter blinked and handed over the hammer.
"Hard to say, but it is better to be prepared." Su Fei tried to think on the bright side, but the better he imagined things, the worse the situation became. He had no choice but to make more preparations. He was a veteran warrior. Veteran warriors did not rely on luck; they relied on caution.
"Brando."
"Hmm?" He stopped opening the door.
"You seem a little different today."
Was he exposed?
Su Fei's heart tightened. But that was strange. Logically speaking, his personality was quite similar to Brando's, and he had inherited Brando's memories. How could she have seen through him so quickly?
"How...?" he asked nervously despite himself.
"Hmm, I can't really say. It's only a feeling." The future Merchant's Daughter thought for a moment before answering seriously, "You will protect me, right, Brando?"
"What is the problem with that?"
"No problem. Thank you."
"You can spare me the good-person card, Miss Romane--"
"Huh?"
Su Fei smiled faintly and did not answer. The tension in his heart dissipated considerably without him realizing it. He took a deep breath, tensed his body, gently pulled open the latch, and then placed his hand on the cold doorknob.
It is about to open.
What sort of fate awaited him outside? A brand-new world? Or a sudden death? Heaven, you are not really going to toy with me like this, are you?
However, secretly speculating about Lady Martha's intentions was a serious taboo.
"Miss Romane, when I count to three, rush out with me."
"All right."
"Three..."
"Mm."
"Ouch."
"Sorry, I was too nervous. I should have counted upward..."
"It's all right, Brando..." Romane could not help covering her little face. She had just crashed into the young man's solid back, leaving her flushed and her heart pounding.
She had never been such a shy person before.
But Su Fei had no mind to appreciate the maiden's thoughts. The blunder had left him somewhat embarrassed. He remembered that he should have been very calm. They were only a few small skeletons, after all.
He gritted his teeth and opened the door. Before the smoke and dust had dispersed, a gleaming longsword stabbed inside.
There really is an ambush.
Su Fei's heart had never been so calm. It was as if thirty-one years of experience as a warrior in the game had merged with the life he had lived in this world. The Black Rose emblem blooming on the iron plate of Bromanto was exceptionally vivid in his eyes--Madara's sword drew a dazzling straight line.
Stiffness. Su Fei knew where the opponent's weakness lay--
He also understood that he could not clash with it head-on. He immediately pressed Romane back with one hand and dodged sideways--by the narrowest margin, the cold blade merely sliced open his collar.
Then Su Fei swung the hammer forward. When the smoke and dust parted, a skeleton's rib cage was revealed. With a crisp crack, three ribs broke backward at once.
The Bone Frame could not withstand the force and staggered backward, while the young man took the opportunity to rush out of the sea of flames first.
He immediately surveyed the battlefield. Four Skeleton Soldiers--he could not help sucking in a cold breath. If there had been only one or two Bone Frames, he might still have had the leisure to curse. But now, his heart was utterly cold.
It seemed Heaven understood his temperament quite well.
He had only one thought: They really think highly of me. They must be treating me as a scout.
That made sense, too. Su Fei believed his performance was no worse than that of an ordinary human scout. In a small place like this, scouts were merely ordinary people who had come from hunting families.
Still, it seemed that being too outstanding was not a good thing...
He felt Romane gripping his hand tightly from behind. The girl's unconscious action revealed the tension in her heart. He wanted to say something to comfort her, but for a moment he did not know how to begin.
He raised his head. The dark forest in the distance lay below the hillside, but how were they supposed to cross the stretch between them? He had not grown wings.
A mountain wind blew past, leaving his soaked forehead cold.
The four Skeleton Soldiers had already surrounded them.
What should he do? Close his eyes and await death? Su Fei could only instinctively protect Merchant's Daughter behind him. He could not help wishing he were still that warrior above Level 130. Dealing with these Bone Frames would have been a one-move matter...
But there were no ifs in this world.
Reality really was hateful--
Wait. Level? The young man suddenly realized he might have overlooked something. A shudder passed through his heart. Yes, the Wind Queen Ring! He had clearly used the Wind Queen Ring to kill one Lich and two skeletons before. Adding the Bone Frame Brando had killed before his death, that made six points of experience!
In the game, a swordsman only needed five experience points to rise from Level 1 to Level 2. What about a Militia?
His only hope was that this place would not differ too much from the game--six experience points. All-knowing Lady Martha--as long as he gained a new level, he would definitely have a chance to escape alive.
Su Fei knew he did not have much time. The four Bone Frames were already closing in, and he might have only one breath left--four seconds, life or death.
At the fastest speed he could imagine, he projected a sheet of dim green data onto his retina--
XP: 6 (Commoner Level 1: -, Militia Level 1, 0/3)
Thank goodness!
He understood what he needed. Although investing experience in a profession like Militia was obviously wasteful, he could not afford to worry about that now.
Even wasting it was better than becoming a cold corpse, right?
"Militia, six experience points. Hurry, let me level up!" he silently repeated with all his might. The four Bone Frames had already raised the swords in their hands, and he felt Merchant's Daughter tightly embrace him from behind.
"Brando, they're coming!"
Yet the data quickly changed.
XP: 0 (Commoner Level 1: -, Militia Level 2, 6/10)
A warm current flowed through Su Fei's limbs. He understood that he could now obtain a 0.1 Energy Level strength modifier and a 0.1 Energy Level Constitution modifier from the Militia profession, but those were unimportant--
A swordsman gained a 0.2 Energy Level modifier to Strength and Constitution when advancing from Level 1 to Level 2, not to mention additional increases in Agility and Perception. By comparison, Militia was practically useless.
But none of that mattered.
What mattered was that Su Fei knew a character would receive one of the only three opportunities in their life to choose a talent skill upon advancing from Level 1 to Level 2.
Yes, this was the first time.
In other words, it was the fairest opportunity.
And here, it would also be the chance that brought him a new life.
He waited anxiously. One second felt like ten thousand years, but at last, the emblem symbolizing a personal talent lit up on his Attributes panel--
"Talent Skill: Unyielding." A blazing fire seemed to ignite in Su Fei's eyes. With four swords striking him, he merely raised the Mason's Hammer symbolically while shielding his head, heart, abdomen, and other vital areas.
Thud, thud, thud.
At least three swords pierced the young man's body at once. He had only one feeling--
It fucking hurt!
But Su Fei knew that, possessing Dead Hard Ability, he would not faint from blood loss for at least five minutes, and he absolutely would not die from any physical attack within half an hour.
Now he had only one chance: take Romane and escape, then find a Life Potion before the remaining time ran out.
He did not know whether such a thing existed in this world, but he could only believe that it did.
Because he had no choice.
"Brando!" Romane's voice had changed with fear.
"Hold on to me, Romane."
"I..."
"Hold on to me!" The young man had no time to explain, and anger surged out of him. Blood-covered Brando looked like a true hero at that moment, leaving the girl staring blankly.
"I understand. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Brando."
Su Fei took a deep breath. He did not know how many times he had done this already, but he truly needed to calm down first. Although inhaling brought a tearing pain from his wounds, he understood that, at this moment, pain was only an illusion...
The three skeletons pulled out their swords and froze for a moment. In their eyes, this human was gradually losing the warmth of life, while another force spread out from his body.
Soul power.
The Unyielding Talent drew out the Soul Fire within, producing an effect similar to enslaving the undead.
Thus, the undead believed that Su Fei was one of their kind at that moment. But there was a misunderstanding here. Su Fei did not think so. He gritted his teeth and swung the great hammer, sending all four Bone Frames flying.
This was not because the young man's strength had suddenly increased. It was purely because the attack had been completely beyond their expectations.
Su Fei grabbed Romane's hand and used the opportunity to rush away.
"Miss Romane," he said laboriously as he ran.
"I'm, I'm here."
"Listen carefully..." Su Fei panted. Dead Hard Ability could not prevent someone from exhausting their stamina, and he could already feel the surrounding scenery growing blurry.
Only the howling wind caused by their sprint remained, circling around his ears.
"Hmm?"
"If I pass out, take me to Buchi. Be careful to avoid Madara... Go to the temple in town and find... a Life Potion. Do you understand?"
"I, I understand, Brando... You won't die, right?"
"I don't know. Cough, cough... We will have to see what Lady Martha has arranged..."
Su Fei did not know whether Merchant's Daughter truly understood, but he only had enough strength to say that much. The rest would be as he had said--left to fate.
He could not help looking back. Through the blur, the hillside was blazing with fire. He sighed and closed his eyes wearily--was he really still that shut-in who had been addicted to games?
Perhaps his former life truly had left him at this moment.
It was unbelievable. He had actually been so brave and decisive. Perhaps even if he died just like this, he would feel at peace.
"Because I am no longer a useless man..."
(PS: Will today's results let me do three updates? Stay tuned.
I hope to see fewer hollow reviews in the book review section and more substantial ones like those from the Holy Dragon Marshal brothers.)
Before you continue