Necromancer and His Skeletons

A black cat, severely wounding the strongest Roman Knight in the team.

A black light, knocking everyone down.

Gret's heart sank uncontrollably. The newcomer's combat power was extremely formidable; it could be said that it would be effortless for them to kill everyone present. What was even more terrifying were the black light, the black cat, the skeleton soldiers, the zombies, the gargoyles...

It sounded like a consistent style. What if the owner of this place had actually returned and saw them smashing up the house, killing the skeleton soldiers, and dismantling the guardian gargoyles...

The consequences couldn't be more dire.

Gret wriggled as lightly as possible, trying to shrink into a corner, putting on an act of "It wasn't me, these things have nothing to do with me." He hadn't moved twice before a chill ran down his spine, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. Gret looked up and around. The Warriors lying on the ground all had looks of terror on their faces--

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Someone was approaching from behind. The footsteps sounded strange, as if they were hard and clacking against the ground, or perhaps like small claws scratching and scraping on the ground. Gret stiffened his back, lowered his head, and slowly turned his face to look with his peripheral vision--

What came into view was a long, black robe that almost dragged on the ground. The black robe was made of some unknown fabric, heavy and draped, reflecting no light at all. All light seemed to be absorbed into the robe; if a fashion designer from his past life saw such a material, they would undoubtedly spare no effort to obtain it.

Gret shivered and looked up further. The black robe fluttered and swayed, showing no human silhouette at all, as if only a skeleton was wearing the clothes--and it was holding a bone staff. Before he could even see the face, the Roman Knight rolling on the ground let out a scream:

"Necromancer!--You're a Necromancer!"

The figure in the black robe paused. The long black robe fluttered and fell silently. The Roman Knight screamed a few more times, raised an arm, and pointed at the black-robed mage, his arm trembling uncontrollably.

In Gret's eyes, the Knight's wrist was unnaturally twisted, and the shape of his fingers was also strange--the thumb couldn't straighten, perhaps the extensor tendon was injured. Gret silently speculated, watching the Roman Knight tremble as he extended his index finger, pointing directly at the Necromancer's face:

"You, an outsider Necromancer, dare to harm a Priest of the Spring Goddess! Aren't you afraid of the Temple's retribution!"

"I'm truly sorry, I just entered the city this afternoon and reported to the Mage Tower in the city."

The Necromancer replied with confidence. As he spoke, he took a step forward, and the long black robe billowed violently, like angry, roaring waves during a storm:

"As for you lot. You entered my Mage Tower, smashed my gargoyles, and if I hadn't returned early, you would have even dismantled my laboratory--The Temple? If the Temple dares not apologize and compensate, I'll join the Magic Council tomorrow and dismantle the Temple myself!"

"You wish--"

The Roman Knight roared. He pushed himself up from the ground, then pushed again, but couldn't manage to get up no matter how he struggled. With a surge of determination, he arched his back on the ground and charged forward like a shrimp:

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh--"

"CRASH!"

A golden light flashed. The Roman Knight was sent flying on the spot, smashing into the wall. The wall rumbled, and the Knight slid down softly, rolled a couple of times, and became still.

Tap, tap, tap. The footsteps continued forward, and the Necromancer pointed his bone staff at the Priest, sneering:

"What do you say?"

"I..."

Oh boy, he's going for the Priest. The blame lies with the perpetrator, and the debt is owed to the creditor. To the left is... is the Spring Goddess's Temple. I'm just a nobody, and I was forcibly conscripted at that. I haven't touched any of these skeletons or zombies. This Necromancer seems reasonable; he probably won't hold me accountable, right?

Gret breathed a sigh of relief. As his sense of security returned, he poked his head out and started pondering the Roman Knight again.

Fracture.

Probably unconscious, considering that collision, likely a concussion.

Wonder if there's any internal bleeding.

Can't get up by pushing off the ground; judging by where the cat scratched, the wrist and ankle tendons might be ruptured.

The big cat scratched so many times; external wound infection is certain, possibly tetanus. Since it's a pet, let's rule out rabies for now...

Gret observed intently, recording the symptoms in his mind one by one. After finishing his notes, he shifted his gaze and looked in the direction of the Necromancer again. Good heavens!

Walking step-by-step beside the Necromancer was a dazzling, golden skeleton, radiating auspicious energy!

And it was alive. There were no cartilage or ligaments connecting the joints. Yet, it could move and walk!

It had just sent the Knight Lehman flying!

Gret's eyes lit up, and his attention was immediately captivated. A skeleton! A moving skeleton! The skeleton in their Life Science Academy couldn't move; it was kept in a glass case, with a velvet rope and railing around it, and the teachers treasured it like anything!

--There were also ones that could be touched, in the Mentor Building (Dissection Building), but they were all in pieces, not whole... The only full-body skeletons that could be touched were plastic ones.

But this one was real! Real!

Compared to the skeleton soldiers that were smashed to pieces before he could even get a good look, this Golden Skeleton was much more exquisite and agile. Gret looked closely; the bones were not cast from metal. The fracture marks on the left tibia and the grooves on the pelvis were clearly visible. It looked like normal human bones, with a brilliant golden light emanating from within.

He wanted to look closely.

He wanted to touch it.

He wanted to get his hands on it.

Gret watched intently, forgetting even the Necromancer's threat. Unknowingly, he had sat up from the ground, leaning forward, wishing he could merge into the skeleton to observe it.

How could this skeleton move!

No joints, no ligaments, loose pieces, and it could move!

The Necromancer had sent the Knight Lehman flying and, half by extortion and half by threat, reached a compensation agreement with Priest Donald. Turning around, he saw a young man sitting up among the scattered warriors, staring up at his protective Golden Skeleton, looking as if he wanted to crawl into the skeleton.

Necromancer: "...What are you looking at?"

"There's something wrong with this skeleton!"

Gret replied casually without turning his head. After answering, he jumped in surprise, turned his head, and looked in the direction of the voice: Who was talking to him just now?

He saw nothing.

No, it wasn't that he saw nothing, it was that he saw a patch of black... black cloth... black robe... a thin face.

The Necromancer was quite tall, especially from Gret's perspective sitting on the ground looking up, he seemed like a pillar with a head on top. Not only tall, but also thin, swaying within the black robe, looking like a beanpole.

With a body so thin, the face naturally wasn't much better. The cheeks were tightly pressed against the cheekbones, and the hollows of his cheeks were sunken. He looked like he had only a layer of skin more than the Golden Skeleton beside him.

Gret was startled, but not particularly scared. Necromancers were usually a bit thin, even if a skeleton's eyes burned with two wisps of phosphorescence, it fit the Lich image he remembered. However, the Necromancer was impatient, stepped forward, and urged repeatedly:

"Where is this skeleton not right?"

"The head and the body aren't from the same person!"

"Not from the same person? How can you tell!"

Sigh... You ask me this and I won't feel sleepy anymore. Gret pushed himself up from the ground, struggling to stand. He swayed a bit as he got up, and the Golden Skeleton, understanding his difficulty, reached out and pulled him up:

"The skull is a man's, and the pelvis is a woman's. It's clearly from two different people!"

Thanks to @Yin Hua Xi for the 300 Qidian coins reward.

Today we are stably ranked 82nd on the new book list, and 12th on the light novel sub-list... Although we've fallen off the light novel homepage, the collection numbers are still increasing nicely. Happy!

Continuing to ask for collections, recommendations, and investments... There's still a long way to go to 100 investments, I'm a bit nervous, rubbing my hands.