Going Out

Gu Su whipped around and looked toward the sound.

Only to see the three skeletons he had sent out emerge from the fog in unison, each dragging a heavy "trophy" in its bony claws.

Two of the skeletons were in good condition, each dragging two Goblin corpses. Dark brown bloodstains clung to their bare bones.

Only the first skeleton he had sent out was missing its left arm from the shoulder down. Its empty rib cage glimmered coldly in the mist, and it dragged only one corpse in its bony claws. It moved half a beat slower than its companions, clearly having taken a bad hit.

"You're hurt?" Gu Su's brow instantly furrowed, and his heart gave a jolt.

It seemed the Goblins in the depths of the mist were far more than he had imagined.

Their nest likely concealed something even more powerful.

Without another word, he vaulted over the rotting fence and hurried to meet them.

The three skeletons stopped together and released their bony grips. Five Goblin corpses hit the ground with a thud, filling the air with a heavy stench of blood.

As he helped the skeletons drag the corpses into the graveyard, Gu Su asked the injured skeleton what had happened.

The skeleton's throat rattled with the clacking of bones, but Gu Su could understand it. His basic language skill was level 2, which allowed him to converse with the dead.

In just a moment, Gu Su had pieced together what had happened, and his expression grew increasingly grave.

"You found the Goblins' lair, but there was someone inside who could revive its kind? You couldn't beat it, so you grabbed a few corpses and retreated?"

All three skeletons tilted their heads at once and thumped their chests with their bony hands, confirming with a nod.

"What exactly was that thing? It can revive the dead?"

As he pressed for details, Gu Su tossed the last Goblin corpse into the graveyard, then vaulted back over the fence.

The skeleton clattered again, explaining what it had seen.

It was larger than an ordinary Goblin, wrapped in tattered animal hides, and clutching a red banner in its hand. It had roared, "Bibo! Bibo!"

Whenever it struck the ground once, any dead Goblins would get back up.

"Revive them?" Gu Su's pupils shrank, and his mood soured.

These Goblins were the weakest enemies he could currently find, and his only source of fresh corpses to grow his undead squad. They were practically his lifeline.

Now someone who could revive Goblins had appeared. Wouldn't that cut off his only way forward?

Absolutely not!

This Goblin nest had to be wiped out, roots and all!

A ruthless glint flashed in Gu Su's eyes, and his hands began to move faster.

He dragged all five Goblin corpses to the area of level 1 Empty Graves and casually tossed them into one of them.

[The Empty Grave automatically uses your Raise Skeleton (Level 1), obtaining Skeleton (Level 0) *5. Raise Skeleton proficiency +5.]

With a ding, the five Goblin corpses he had thrown onto the grave mound weren't even dragged down. Instead, they withered right there atop the mound at a visible speed, their flesh dissolving as their bones separated.

In the blink of an eye, five brand-new, yellowed skeletons climbed out of the Grave Mound. Ghostly blue flames danced in their hollow eye sockets as they stood obediently before Gu Su.

On the stone stele in front of the grave mound, Skeleton Squad (2/10) quickly changed to Skeleton Squad (7/10).

Gu Su nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the skeleton missing its left arm. Pointing at an unfilled Empty Grave nearby, he said gravely, "You. Get in there and recover."

The injured skeleton didn't hesitate. It walked into the Empty Grave with stiff steps.

The next moment, the soil around the grave pit churned on its own, burying it completely.

A new grave mound slowly rose. A stone stele stood before it, bearing a line of crooked lettering: Skeleton Squad (1/10), Recovering.

After finishing all this, Gu Su paid no further attention to the recovering skeleton. He looked over the skeletons before him, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

He bent down and picked through the Goblin weapons scattered on the ground, handing the newly born skeletons the thickest beast-bone clubs and sharpened stones. He made sure each skeleton had a suitable weapon.

"Is everyone ready?" Gu Su barked, raising his hand toward the fence beyond which the mist churned. "Come on. We're going to wipe out the Goblins' lair!"

Then he turned toward the Weird Tree in the center of the graveyard, his voice rising sharply.

"Weird Tree! I'm leaving this place to you! Once that skeleton has recovered, have it patrol the graveyard. Remember, kill anything alive that comes near, except me!"

At his words, the silent Weird Tree gave a slight shake of its bare branches. A few remaining dead leaves fluttered down, as if answering Gu Su's command.

Gu Su said no more and leaped over the fence, leading the way.

The seven skeletons followed close behind, gripping their weapons in their bony claws. Their bones clacking, they trailed after him into the expanse of white mist.

As Gu Su stepped inside, the fog billowing before him seemed to be pushed aside by an invisible force, parting on its own to reveal a clear path.

The world beyond the mist suddenly appeared before Gu Su.

It was an utterly bizarre place.

It was clearly the ruins of a modern metropolis, yet time and nature had completely swallowed it up.

The towering skyscrapers had long since lost their former splendor. Thick vines and moss covered their outer walls, while emerald leaves poked through broken windows. Massive trees had grown so wildly that they cracked the buildings open, blocking out the sky and keeping even a single ray of sunlight from getting through.

Abandoned cars lay buried beneath weeds along the streets. Their exposed metal bodies were rusted and mottled, their original colors long lost.

The roads were completely blocked by collapsed buildings and rampant vegetation. Only one narrow path, trodden again and again by someone, wound its way into the depths of the mist, as if leading straight toward danger with no way back.

Gu Su narrowed his eyes and immediately understood the situation in this world.

This was a world where humanity had completely vanished.

The whole world had been overtaken by time and nature.

The buildings left behind by humanity still bore witness to the splendor of human society, but none of it had anything to do with humans anymore.

The strange and eerie creatures were now the masters of this world.

Those Goblins were merely its lowest-level inhabitants.

"Four in front, three in back. Move in staggered formation."

Gu Su gave his order decisively.

At his command, the seven skeletons quickly split up. Four carrying bone or wooden clubs moved ahead, while three carrying stones followed behind, keeping Gu Su in the middle.

Gu Su's gaze swept ceaselessly through the weeds.

In the eyes of the skeletons and Goblins, the cars along the road were nothing but useless junk.

But to Gu Su, they might be an enormous treasure trove that no one had touched.