Skeleton Warrior Two

Rhode bypassed the Skeleton Warrior, aiming to kill the two Skeleton Soldiers directly.

Suppressing the pain from his back, Rhode charged to the side of the Skeleton Soldier behind him and delivered a Heavy Slash, directly decapitating it.

As another Skeleton Soldier nearby attempted to attack, Rhode blocked its weapon with his sword. He then followed up with another Heavy Slash, beheading it.

At this point, Rhode was nearly exhausted. He had shown no mercy against these four Skeleton Soldiers. To ensure a one-hit kill for each Skeleton Soldier, he had used the skill [Heavy Slash] for every strike. Fortunately, the skill's effect did not disappoint him; hitting the weak point at the cervical spine was enough to instantly kill a Skeleton Soldier.

Even though the Skeleton Warrior behind him was quickly catching up, Rhode felt like letting out a long roar. He knew that in this battle against the Skeleton Warrior, he had seized the opportunity for victory, because...

"Consumed 40 Experience Points, remaining Experience Points: 0. Class Level increased to Tier 1 Militiaman Level 5..."

"Gained 1 Free Attribute Point, gained 1 Skill Point..."

Rhode quickly allocated the Free Attribute Point to Constitution, to recover from the injury on his back and restore stamina. He then used the Skill Point to learn Novice Eagle Eye.

(Novice Eagle Eye: Through extensive training, your dynamic vision has been enhanced. You can easily see every attacking move your opponent makes, the trajectory of arrows in flight, the falling of snowflakes, and even the movements and gestures of your opponent while they are casting spells, seeing how their lips move. There is a chance to learn the spells cast by your opponent. There is a small chance to learn skills.)

Since upgrading a skill from intermediate to advanced required two Skill Points, Rhode could not directly learn Advanced Swordsmanship. He had to settle for the next best thing and learn Novice Eagle Eye.

Eagle Eye could greatly improve dynamic vision. Due to the significant gap in attributes with the Skeleton Warrior, Rhode could only rely on swordsmanship techniques to compensate. The dynamic vision provided by Eagle Eye was extremely important, which was why Rhode chose to learn Eagle Eye instead of Offense Technique.

Rhode turned, raised his weapon, and faced the Skeleton Warrior charging towards him. The Skeleton Warrior's movements now seemed a beat slower in Rhode's eyes. Even though its overall speed hadn't decreased, Rhode was confident he could dodge its attacks.

Looking at the opponent before him, feeling the tingling sensation of his back wound healing rapidly, Rhode felt a fullness of strength for the first time since waking up in the crypt.

The Skeleton Warrior lunged beside Rhode, its sword slashing down with a heavy whistling sound. It protected its chest tightly with its left hand, holding a shield, leaving Rhode no opportunity to counterattack.

Seeing this, Rhode met the Skeleton Warrior's slash with his sword. As the swords clashed, two dull thuds echoed. Rhode and the Skeleton Warrior passed each other, moving to their previous positions.

In this exchange, Rhode had first observed the trajectory of the Skeleton Warrior's weapon movement and parried the slash at a clever angle. Although his arm went numb from the powerful force, Rhode counterattacked with a Heavy Slash towards the Skeleton Warrior after parrying.

Unfortunately, the Iron Shield held by the Skeleton Warrior easily blocked Rhode's counterattack. His counterattack did not achieve the intended effect; instead, his sword gained several cracks.

"Too passive..." Rhode thought.

Compared to the Skeleton Soldiers, the Skeleton Warrior not only had improved basic attributes but also wielded an Iron Shield and wore Iron Armor. Attacks that weren't aimed at vital points were difficult to inflict effective damage on.

The Skeleton Warrior turned and slashed at Rhode again. Rhode's eyes glinted coldly. Seizing the moment, he sidestepped, his body flashing towards the Skeleton Warrior's shield-wielding side...

The Skeleton Warrior's sword strike missed. While it was unable to attack again immediately after its full-force swing, Rhode slashed at its side, simultaneously using the skills [Burst] and [Heavy Slash].

The target of the slash was not the Skeleton Warrior's cervical spine, which was one of its few vital points and was always well-protected by the Iron Shield. The target was the arm holding the sword after its missed strike!

With a full-power burst, the strike severed the Skeleton Warrior's sword-wielding arm. The bones clattered to the ground with a crisp sound. The Soul Fire in the Skeleton Warrior's eye sockets flickered violently, indicating the damage Rhode had inflicted.

At the same time, the Skeleton Warrior's shield-wielding hand swung violently towards Rhode. Seeing the Iron Shield hurtling towards him, Rhode had no time to dodge. He could only retract his arm as much as possible to protect his vital organs, preventing internal injuries.

With a "bang," Rhode was sent flying backward. With the Skeleton Warrior's strength, nearly double his own, Rhode was completely unable to withstand the Shield Bash.

Lying on the ground, Rhode coughed up a mouthful of blood and quickly got up to prevent the Skeleton Warrior from pursuing. Rhode felt half his body go numb, and his internal organs churned violently. Although he hadn't checked his status panel, Rhode knew he had likely been severely injured by the Skeleton Warrior.

After knocking Rhode away, the Skeleton Warrior dropped the shield with its remaining hand and bent down to pick up its sword from its severed arm. This gave Rhode a chance to catch his breath and adjust his condition.

Fortunately, the Skeleton Warrior only fought based on its inherent nature as an Undead Creature, possessing high stats but lacking skill. If the Skeleton Warrior had immediately pursued with its shield and struck the downed Rhode a few more times, the battle would likely have been over.

After picking up its sword, the Skeleton Warrior continued its attack on Rhode. With its shield gone, the Skeleton Warrior's strength was greatly reduced. Although it wore Iron Armor, it could no longer defend against Rhode's decapitating strikes.

Rhode spotted a flaw in the Skeleton Warrior's attack. He sidestepped its powerful slash and simultaneously struck the Skeleton Warrior's cervical spine, successfully decapitating it!

After successfully killing the Skeleton Warrior, Rhode slumped to the ground. Such battles, where a single mistake could lead to instant death, were truly draining. Furthermore, he had been reduced to critical health by the Skeleton Warrior. Rhode finally understood the difference from playing games. In a game, he would have enjoyed these life-or-death battles. Now, there was no enjoyment to be had. If he had a choice, he would definitely prefer high stats to crush low-stat monsters.

While thinking, Rhode checked the system log, quickly skipping the combat calculation data and focusing on the rewards.

"You have learned Novice Eagle Eye."

"..."

"Glorious Victory! You have gained 30 Experience Points!"

"You have comprehended the combat skill [Charge] during an intense battle."

"[Charge Lv1]: Consumes 15 Stamina. Charge towards an enemy at full speed, gaining up to 20% damage increase based on speed at the end of the charge."

"Eagle Eye Feedback: Through observing the Skeleton Warrior's combat style and your own insights, you have comprehended the combat technique [Shield Bash]. You can learn it by spending 40 Experience Points."

"You have obtained the Speed Achievement [Warrior's Heart]."

"[Warrior's Heart]: Defeat 5 enemies with overall stats higher than yours in a single battle without using magic. Base reward: Strength +1. When equipped: Additional reward: Strength +1, Speed +1, Constitution +1."

Rhode wasn't particularly excited by the initial system logs, but he became thrilled when he discovered the achievement rewards at the end, finally feeling that risking instant death to kill the Skeleton Warrior was worthwhile.

When he noticed the word "Speed" before the achievement, a gleam flashed in Rhode's eyes, his joy becoming irrepressible.