Act Eight: The Bloodstained Forest

"Josen!"

"How could you--"

The young militiamen glared furiously at their companion. The young man held in the Lich's grasp had gone deathly pale, trembling all over. Shame and fear made him bow his head deeply.

But he didn't want to die either, did he?

Freya felt as if her heart were about to stop. She instinctively drew her sword, but the Lich immediately crushed that thought. The green light in its eye sockets suddenly flared, and one of the young man's arms instantly burst like a balloon. Blood sprayed everywhere. He screamed and collapsed onto the ground, curling into a ball.

"Ugh, Big Sis, please save me--!"

Josen rolled across the ground like a bloody man, howling incessantly.

The terrifying sight made several people turn around and vomit. The Ponytail Girl's face also went deathly pale. She swayed and nearly collapsed.

"Human girl, you'd better not act rashly," the Lich warned her shrilly. Its sinister gaze swept over everyone present.

But it quickly discovered that they were all merely militiamen—insignificant insects.

The green light in the Lich's eye sockets dimmed, and it looked somewhat disappointed. It had been ordered to find and kill the human scout who had escaped earlier, not get tangled up with these insects.

Freya's mind went blank, but she still endured wave after wave of dizziness and tried to think of a way out of this situation. At least she remembered that she was the leader of this group and couldn't casually show weakness.

As for the girl beside Roman, she had fainted at the very beginning. Fortunately, the Merchant's Daughter caught her.

Su Fei felt Roman's hand clutching his sleeve tightly. It was an act of dependence and trust. Earlier, he had also reached out to support the female militiaman captain with the long ponytail so she wouldn't collapse, but her resilience had exceeded his expectations.

Regardless, he knew she needed some comfort right now. Otherwise, she might mentally break down first.

A girl who had lived in peaceful times would find it difficult to accept such a cruel scene. Fortunately, Eluin was a land that had endured many wars, and most of the young people here possessed this awareness.

"Freya," Su Fei said weakly and softly.

The girl froze slightly, then immediately snapped back to her senses. She inhaled, and only with Su Fei's help did she gradually calm down. Su Fei saw that the fingers resting on her sword hilt had relaxed considerably and couldn't help nodding in praise.

Such a performance could already be considered outstanding. Ordinary people rarely managed to remain calm on the brink of life and death. Although he didn't know why he himself seemed not nervous at all—as if after transmigrating and later undergoing trials of life and death, his state of mind had become as calm as still water.

But no matter what, at least that was a good thing.

He continued asking in a barely audible voice, "Do you remember what I said before, about preparing for the worst?"

Freya paused, then nodded slightly.

"Do you still have the strength to fight?"

"Mm--"

The response was barely perceptible.

Only then did Su Fei relax. He rubbed his thumb over the cold Wind Queen Ring. From the response he felt, he knew it had only finished charging halfway.

Three hours was far too slow compared with the ten-minute recharge time in the game. Fortunately, half its energy was enough. Although he couldn't create a complete Wind Bullet, it was enough to create a powerful gust.

In any case, he had already prepared for the worst. There was no worse possibility than this.

At the same time, the Lich finally confirmed that there were no other ambushes nearby. Without even glancing at the poor wretch howling at its feet, it raised its arm, leaving only dry bones.

"Soldiers, kill them all--"

The moment its shrill, dry voice rang out, four Skeleton Soldiers appeared in the forest, each holding a sharp sword and clad in heavy black chainmail. They emerged from the thin mist, their bodies rattling as they advanced step by step toward Freya and the others.

Perhaps earlier, Freya's teammates had still considered fighting back against these icy monsters, but not now. The young people had been brimming with confidence before, yet at this moment, the enemy's ruthlessness had chilled them to the bone. Their remaining courage was crushed by the steadily approaching aura of death, leaving them powerless to resist.

They could only retreat step by step with pale faces until they reached a dead end. Perhaps driven by the instinct for self-preservation, they fumbled to draw the swords at their waists—but judging from their shrinking, awkward movements, no one could say how much fighting strength they truly had left.

Only the sound of uneven breathing remained in the forest.

Looking at the pale young people, the Lich couldn't help letting out a derisive laugh through its drafty jaw.

The green flames in its eye sockets flickered, as if it were enjoying the pleasure brought by their fear.

Indeed, human fear was their greatest enemy: weak, fleeting, and easily exploited through useless emotions. The undead, by comparison, were born without all these flaws. Every one of them could be an excellent soldier, especially the lower undead—they didn't even need to think, only obey.

Compared with those humans who, even after extensive training as militiamen, still performed on the battlefield like helpless children, such weak creatures shouldn't exist in this world at all.

A feeling of disgust rose from the depths of its soul. Yes, Madara would surely triumph--

But at that moment, the Lich heard an unnecessary voice. "--I'll leave it to you." It was a young man's voice, calm, steady, and full of confidence.

The Lich felt its Soul Fire twitch slightly. It was an ominous sign, and it immediately turned around warily.

A gleaming ring entered its empty field of vision.

The ring was worn on the index finger of the wounded militiaman. It had never paid serious attention to that fellow before—what was there to notice about a half-dead human?

Pretending to be seriously wounded could fool other people, but it certainly couldn't fool the undead. When these cold-blooded monsters looked at a living creature, they could see its Life Fire directly, and the faint, dim Life Fire on Su Fei absolutely couldn't have been faked.

He really was a severely wounded patient.

That certainly seemed to be the case.

But the real threat came from the ring on his hand. It was a magic ring. The green flames in the Lich's eyes gradually dimmed, and it could almost smell a deadly aura gathering in the air.

It recognized that scent. One of its masters had exposed it to several forgeries while teaching it Black Magic. Judging from the aura emanating from this ring, it had to be a magic ring with an Energy Level of at least twenty.

How had an item belonging to a formal wizard ended up in the hands of an ordinary person?

The Lich couldn't help revealing an expression of both fear and greed.

"Dead Soldiers, go and bring me that thing!" it shrieked, raising its bone staff.

"Oss--"

But Su Fei raised his right hand and forced himself to spit out the syllable with all his strength—or rather, it was more like squeezing out the air remaining in his lungs. When the young man slumped back down, sweat poured from his head.

Space expanded slightly, then suddenly contracted--

When the contraction erupted back into its original state, the violent air currents shooting in every direction released a shriek sharp enough to pierce the eardrums.

The wind stabbed toward the Lich and its Skeleton Soldiers like countless straight arrows. Even though they raised their withered arms in an attempt to shield themselves, the turbulence passed through their hollow ribs and formed whirlwinds that dragged them crookedly to one side.

It caused no damage, but its restraining effect was already obvious enough.

"Freya!" Su Fei shouted.

The girl drew her longsword in response. With a crisp metallic ring, her long ponytail flew in the wind--

To Su Fei's delight, this inexperienced militiaman captain did not act rashly. Instead, she immediately turned and shouted at the others, "Macmi, Essen! What are you waiting for, militiamen of Buchi? Third Squad, follow me!"

A burst of courage was sometimes like a signal. At the brink of life and death, a single sentence or hint could often unleash boundless strength.

But there was one condition: calmness.

One person's composure could influence many others, just as it did now. At Freya's reminder, the young militiamen froze slightly, but eventually came to their senses. This was their best chance—and their only chance to survive.

The sudden gale forced the Skeleton Soldiers and the Lich back again and again, leaving them no time to worry about anything else.

This discovery restored the young men's courage. Amid the ringing sounds of longswords leaving their scabbards, the tactical discipline they had practiced daily seemed to return to their bodies.

"Macmi, cover me."

"Damn monsters, now it's your turn..."

"Take down that Black Mage first--!"

"That's a Lich."

"Little Finis, get behind me."

They began attempting a counterattack.

But Su Fei watched the chaotic scene with some worry. He feared these fellows might act impulsively and ruin everything, so he couldn't help reminding them steadily from behind, "Remember to stay composed, everyone! Only by calming down can you fight--!"

In The Amber Sword, he had seen many reckless beginners just like these young men.

Passion was a good thing, but it couldn't be allowed to cloud one's judgment.

He had no choice but to recite the militiamen's combat regulations in a deep voice. Everyone present had memorized them, but few could recall these dull yet precious lessons in the middle of battle.

It had to be said that Brando was an anomaly.

Su Fei possessed all of his memories from the young man's final battle. For a new recruit, his performance had already been impossibly good. Even from the perspective of a veteran warrior, Su Fei had to admit that Brando was a young man with extraordinary talent in swordsmanship. The only pity was that he had encountered the wrong battle at the wrong time.

Meanwhile, following Su Fei's reminders, the young men indeed calmed down. But that still wasn't enough. Su Fei knew they needed to gain some advantage to solidify their confidence. Otherwise, morale raised in such a short time could easily collapse.

The wind weakened somewhat.

The Skeleton Soldiers shook their clattering chainmail and prepared to counterattack. They tried to regain their balance, but Su Fei's voice had already instructed Buchi's militiamen to change their tactics:

"Listen carefully. These low-level soldiers of Madara lack intelligence and move slowly. Turning around is their greatest weakness. Move left as much as possible, along the direction of their sword arms. There's a blind spot there, and you can attack safely..."

"Macmi, you and Essen attack from the left and right. You know how to cover each other, right? Yes, draw that Bone Frame's attention. That's it."

Su Fei half reclined against a boulder, watching the situation on the battlefield closely while pointing out what the enemy would do next. There seemed to be a special magic in his words that made people instinctively trust him. This was what people called the power of confidence: steady and calm, making others instinctively rely on it when they were at a loss.

Buchi's militiamen soon tasted the fruits of it. First, following his instructions, Aike paid the price of taking a sword to the thigh to cleave through a Skeleton Soldier's shin. Then his partner, Little Finis, rushed over and pierced the Bone Frame's skull with a single thrust.

The moment the longsword pierced its skull, the icy monster collapsed with a clatter. The Soul Fire in its eye sockets flickered once, then quickly faded.

A speck of golden light flew out from the scattered bones and sank into Su Fei's chest.

Su Fei froze. Unlike last time, he clearly felt something unusual this time—Experience Points. He suddenly realized what it was. But before he could verify it, he heard the young militiamen who had defeated their enemy shouting excitedly.

"Oh my god, I did it!" Aike could hardly believe it. Clutching his steadily bleeding wound, he shouted, "Brando, how did you know that?"

Su Fei smiled faintly. These experiences were things he had once summarized with his companions in the game. Even the most insignificant-looking rule was filled with profound lessons, because every one of them had been tempered through countless battles and deaths into precious knowledge.

Brando had also learned some similar things during militiaman training, but in Su Fei's eyes, they were too superficial—far too superficial. If that knowledge could raise his combat strength by ten percent when facing Skeleton Soldiers, then his own should raise it by half, or even more.

From the year 375 through the Second Era, his years of fighting Madara had given Su Fei a thorough understanding of everything from the lowest Skeleton Soldiers to the highest-level Liches, Bone Dragons, and even Vampire Lords.

When it came to understanding this dark kingdom alone, there were probably few people in Eluin who could surpass him. After all, before the First Black Rose War, Madara's relationship with the world of light had not yet become as tense as it would later.

Friction and conflict had not been so frequent either--

Of course, these experiences were also among the things Su Fei was most proud of in this world. Relying on his familiarity with it, he had the confidence to keep moving forward, step by step returning to the height he had once reached.

But for now, he had to finish the task at hand. He didn't know whether the gale he had created earlier had attracted anyone else's attention. For safety's sake, they had to end the battle quickly.

At that thought, his gaze fell on the Lich.

This was a troublesome enemy.

(PS: Some readers don't quite understand which ranking this book is trying to reach or what the requirements are for making the list.

I'll explain it to everyone here. The ranking this book is aiming for is the New Book Potential Weekly Ranking. The requirements for entering the New Book Ranking are: the second or later published work after becoming a Qidian author, a total word count under 200,000 characters, having joined the Qidian Library within thirty days, and having updated once within every three-day period.

For newcomers, the New Book Ranking's potential value is calculated as: weekly clicks × 5 + weekly recommendations × 10 + total bookmarks ÷ 2.

Also, only member clicks are counted. The member must be logged in for the click to count, and only one click is counted every six hours.

Today, this book's ranking struggled upward by two places to twenty-second. I hope it can advance a little farther tomorrow. Finally, I'll keep making wishes: if it reaches the top twelve, I'll release three chapters at once.)