Since entering the battlefield, Bone Two, Bone Three, and the other Skeleton Soldiers had spent most of their time dragging away corpses and cleaning up traces.
But, to be fair, these dull and clumsy Skeleton Soldiers had actually learned to clean up traces?
Mu Yuan felt this was a huge improvement.
Troops were troops, but what did that mean? Only those capable of fighting could be called troops, yet troops could only fight.
If a player ordered troops to do something unrelated to combat, it was like asking an AI a question completely absent from its database. The troops would freeze up and start doing random nonsense.
But now Bone Two, Bone Three, and the other skeletons could do it. Bone Six and Bone Seven were still clumsy, but they seemed to be imitating and learning as well?
It was true that having Deathbone, also a skeleton, give them pointers made things easier, but it also showed that...
"Bone Two and Bone Three are Opening Wisdom? They're gradually gaining a little intelligence."
Of course, they had only gained a tiny bit of intelligence. Deathbone was still hammering away at their lessons.
Goblins were lazy by nature. Being able to send out patrols was already their limit, and their defensive layout was actually far from thorough.
The goblins' execution was also less than satisfactory.
At that moment, Deathbone and the other skeletons had already gone on a killing spree, slaying more than twenty goblins, several of whom were two-star spearmen.
However, with large numbers of goblins gathered farther ahead, it was difficult to use steady tactics like sneak attacks and assassinations. They would have to attack head-on and take some risks.
Mu Yuan gazed into the distance.
Great Goblin (Common ★★★): Tier Zero, Level 6 Goblin Spearman (Common ★★): Tier Zero, Level 4; Tier Zero, Level 5 ×3 Goblin (Common ★): Tier Zero, Level 4 ×8
More than a dozen goblins sat around a bonfire in front of the camp. Their levels were generally high, marked in red.
Even the weakest goblin was comparable in level to the Wolf King on the first day.
They held clubs in their hands. Their faces were fiercer than those of ordinary goblins, and they were also taller and more muscular.
They were elites!
Deathbone's expression was grim. After all, it was only level 4, merely on par with the most ordinary goblins.
These enemies had to be treated with the utmost caution.
Whoosh—
A wooden spear tore through the air.
Deathbone struck first, aiming at the Goblin Spearmen capable of ranged attacks.
This time, it did not need to stay hidden or stop the goblins from making a sound, so it aimed at their larger torsos.
It threw three wooden spears within two and a half seconds.
Like bullets fired from a gun, the first and second spearmen fell in succession. But the final Goblin Spearman dodged the fatal spear at the last possible moment, suffering only minor injuries.
No wonder it was a level-five expert. It was truly formidable.
Deathbone murmured to itself, treating the enemy with utmost seriousness.
Then it threw another spear, killing the elite spearman.
After unleashing that continuous burst, Deathbone also needed a moment to recover. In the distance, the Great Goblin let out a beast-like roar and charged over.
At the same time, the entire camp erupted. One green-skinned creature after another ran out from the corners, shouting "Waa! Waa!"
More than thirty goblins.
The number did not look large, but only Mu Yuan understood how overwhelming the sight was when all those monsters charged together.
Deathbone and several other skeletons faced the green-skinned monsters like reefs standing against a huge wave.
The waves were fierce, but the reefs could still hold firm against the impact.
"The decisive battle has finally arrived."
Mu Yuan thought to himself.
The next moment, Deathbone and the other skeletons, whose backs radiated fearlessness, heroism, and tragic resolve...
Turned around and ran.
The goblins were stunned. After a moment, they roared and gave chase, but the Skeleton Soldiers were not slow. Even the high-level Great Goblin could not catch up to them immediately.
Deathbone's guerrilla warfare had begun.
Mu Yuan was stunned as well, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Although this is indeed a tactic."
"Although one side has a Rare Troop and five Three-Star Troops, while the other has only three Three-Star Troops, tactics still need to be used appropriately."
"But we could have just charged straight in and finished them off!"
Mu Yuan could only continue cracking sunflower seeds, watching intently.
The two sides clashed several times around the Mountain Hollow. Deathbone always struck once and withdrew, never entangling itself with the Great Goblins.
Even though, with its skills, it might be able to kill a high-level Great Goblin in one or two strikes, it still refused to do so.
That would be too dangerous.
So what if it instantly killed Great Goblin A? There were still Great Goblin B and Great Goblin C nearby. The risk was too great. Its armor might be dented, and when all was said and done, it and its companions might lose their lives.
Bearing the great lord's important trust, Deathbone would never choose to take such a risk.
Outside the Mountain Hollow,
gray-black skeletons and green-skinned goblins continued fighting. The battle lasted for more than ten minutes, grinding away the main road and making the heavens collapse. In the end...
Pfft—
Bone Three suddenly thrust forward, then flicked upward, stabbing directly into the strongest and most muscular Great Goblin from behind, at a point below its waist.
The Great Goblin let out a earth-shaking howl of agony.
Mu Yuan's backside clenched.
Deathbone gave Bone Three a thumbs-up. This one can still be taught. A steady skeleton like us has to do it this way.
Mortally struck in the rear, the Great Goblin soon breathed its last.
The other goblins, having lost their Great Goblin leader, immediately scattered and fled back into the camp.
The camp had fences and a Sentry Tower, making a direct assault difficult for Deathbone and the other skeletons. However, after the earlier battle that had nearly destroyed the road, more than half of the goblins inside the camp were already gone.
The three strongest Great Goblins had also already fallen to Deathbone, Bone Two, Bone Three, and the other Skeleton Soldiers.
Deathbone continued advancing steadily toward the camp, consolidating every step as it dismantled the traps one by one.
Not far away, the goblins and spearmen showed signs of fleeing. Yet in the next moment, their eyes gradually turned crimson, just like the Wolf King and the other monsters before them.
They had completely lost their reason and nature. In their place was ever-greater savagery. They were even more fearless of death than the Skeleton Soldiers, and their combat power rose sharply.
Of course, no matter how much they exploded with strength, goblins were still goblins. When they smashed their clubs against the Skeleton Soldiers' armor, all they could do was make a clanging sound.
They did deal damage, but it was barely more than a scratch.
"The outcome is decided. I didn't expect Deathbone to be even more reliable than anticipated. It already has the bearing of a great general."
Mu Yuan took two long gulps of his soda, swept the sunflower-seed shells aside, and prepared to control his own character to finish things off.
Suddenly, the Falcon flying overhead merely for show let out a sharp cry.
Mu Yuan frowned.
Deathbone paused.
Deep within the camp in the distance, three figures had somehow emerged.
Two of them were large and powerfully built Great Goblins. The other figure was extremely short, about the size of an ordinary goblin, yet it stood at the very center in the prime position.
Its back was hunched. It wore animal hides with patterns far more complex than those of the other goblins, and a necklace made of fierce-beast teeth hung around its neck. In its hand was a crooked wooden staff, inlaid with several skulls and resembling a magic staff.
This was...
A Rare Troop, the Goblin Shaman!
A shaman had actually appeared in such a small camp?
Hadn't the forum said that shamans could only appear in large camps?
This was rather troublesome!
A single skeleton like Deathbone could not possibly understand what a Goblin Shaman represented. Sure enough, it was time for the lord himself to turn the tide.
Mu Yuan began operating.
The Goblin Shaman had just entered his field of vision when it raised its staff high and began muttering, as if chanting some kind of spell.
The air gradually grew viscous, while an ominous aura that made people restless spread throughout the world.
But Deathbone had already attacked!
Its soul fire blazed fiercely. At some point, a brand-new gray-white bone spear, a full two meters long, had appeared in its hand.
Its body bent slightly, and it raised its right hand backward.
Skeleton Warrior Throwing Technique, full power!
It stared fixedly at the hunched figure.
Charge!
Energy surged through its limbs in an instant, then gathered before the palm of its clenched right hand, which gripped the bone spear.
Throw! Throw! Throw!!
Dust billowed from the ground, and the soles of its feet plowed clear marks into the earth.
A sharp whistle tore through the air.
Then came a tremendous roar from far away.
Boom—!
The bone spear, thrown after charging up, was like a shell tearing through the air. It violently ripped apart and pulverized the Goblin Shaman's body, then continued onward and blasted apart the camp gate behind it.
The billowing dust quickly dispersed. The Goblin Shaman had been obliterated, bones and all.
Nearby, the two bulky Great Goblins had just begun roaring in a show of intimidation when they froze on the spot.
A hundred meters away, Deathbone remained in its throwing stance, wiping away nonexistent sweat with lingering fear.
"Too dangerous. Too dangerous. Too dangerous."
"This battle was truly thrilling."
In front of the computer, Mu Yuan looked at the corpses strewn across the ground and the Soul Sand and Remnant Souls extracted from the monsters' bodies. As he cracked another sunflower seed, he sighed:
"Yeah, that really was thrilling... right?"
I'm releasing both chapters together today so they flow better. Please give me all kinds of data, QAQAQ~
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Thanks to "Chen Lingyi" for the 500-coin tip, and "Austin Om" for the 500-coin tip~
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