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Gu Su's attack came completely out of the blue. The Orcs charging at the front were caught off guard in an instant. Their faces were still alight with fervor when the sudden assault sent them stumbling into confusion.

But the Orcs had spent years fighting and killing, so their battle instincts were razor-sharp.

After a brief moment of shock, they immediately came to their senses. With a roar, they raised their scrap-iron weapons and fixed their bloodshot eyes on the skeletons ahead, charging at them without hesitation, determined to tear apart these skeletons who dared to challenge them.

What they could never have imagined was that Gu Su had already accounted for everything.

The ground where the skeletons stood was riddled with traps that had been set in advance. Beneath its seemingly smooth surface lurked deadly danger.

The Orcs charged straight ahead, giving no thought to caution. Suddenly, the ground vanished beneath their feet. They stumbled, and several fell headfirst into the open traps, landing with dull thuds and cries of pain.

The sharp wooden stakes at the bottom pierced their bodies at once, and blood quickly stained the spikes and the inner walls of the traps.

Gu Su's ordinary skeletons seized this perfect opportunity. Gripping their three-meter-long wooden spears, they braced themselves at the edges of the traps and pressed down hard, pinning the fallen Orcs to the bottoms so they had no chance to struggle or climb out.

After all, these traps had been dug in a hurry and were only about 1.6 meters deep—not especially deep.

If the Orcs hadn't been pierced by the spikes and weakened, their thick arms alone would have been enough to pull them out with ease. If that happened, Gu Su's side would be the ones at a disadvantage.

While the ordinary skeletons focused on pinning down the Orcs in the traps, several elite skeletons immediately leaped forward. They gripped their sharpened weapons and hacked furiously at the Orcs below. Cold light flashed, wounds appeared across the Orcs' bodies, and screams rose one after another.

Gu Su no longer stood by. He joined the battle at once.

He knew that, for now, the ordinary skeletons could only suppress the enemy, keeping them trapped and preventing them from running amok. But if they wanted to kill the powerful Orcs for good, they would have to rely on the elite skeletons.

He had also realized that the Orcs were far tougher than he had imagined.

Their defense might not have been all that high, but they definitely had more than 20 health points.

Even his two spellcasting skeletons could only kill an Orc in one blow if it had already been beaten down to half health and badly wounded. Against an Orc at full health, they could do nothing.

So Gu Su had to fight personally. He couldn't keep watching from the sidelines. Every extra bit of strength gave them a better chance of winning—and reduced the losses among his skeletons.

With Gu Su lending his support and the two spellcasting skeletons providing ranged backup, they gradually wore down the Orcs with spells and aided the skeletons caught in close combat.

The battle, which had been locked in a stalemate, slowly turned in their favor. Before long, all the dozen or so Orcs who had charged in lay in pools of blood. At last, the fighting came to an end.

[Skeleton (Summon) killed Fang Orc (Level 1). You gained 3 experience points; your summons split 7 experience points.]

[You killed Fang Orc (Level 1). You gained 11 experience points.]

[...]

System notifications rang out one after another in Gu Su's mind, but he had no interest in paying attention to the experience points.

The moment the last Fang Orc fell to the ground and stopped breathing, Gu Su immediately ordered, "Restore the traps, now! Move fast!

Don't leave a trace!"

He knew the Orcs lived together in a settlement. The piercing screams those Orcs had let out before dying were bound to attract the attention of the others in the ruins.

If the traps weren't restored quickly, the Orcs still alive would come charging over. Without the traps, Gu Su's skeletons alone would have a very hard time holding off the next attack.

But it was already too late.

The dying Orcs' screams carried a long way, shattering the forest's silence and reaching the ruins where the other Orcs lived.

Though the remaining Orcs were usually arrogant and never believed there could be any enemy in the area capable of standing against them, their companions' screams still put them on alert. They gripped their weapons and charged toward the forest, full of fury and moving at great speed.

Gu Su had only just ordered the skeletons to restore the traps, and they hadn't even had time to move when several towering figures burst through the undergrowth at the forest's edge and charged in. They were the first Fang Orcs to arrive.

Gu Su's gaze darkened. With no time to think, he immediately barked an order to his skeleton squad. "Stop them!"

At his command, several elite skeletons immediately rushed forward. In a flash, they blocked the Fang Orcs' path and stopped their attack head-on.

Metal clanged as the elite skeletons' weapons crashed against the Orcs' scrap iron. Sparks flew.

At the same time, several skeletons who had been sent to hide in the trees seized the opportunity and released the last few ropes in their hands.

The sharpened logs they had prepared came crashing down from the trees with a whoosh, aimed straight at the Orcs charging in behind the first wave.

The undead had no emotions and felt neither nerves nor fear. Even as more and more Orcs rushed in, they didn't panic in the slightest. Every move was precise and crisp, and they seized each opening to strike back.

Several thick logs slammed into the Orcs, sending several of those charging in behind the first wave flying backward. They crashed heavily to the ground, spitting blood and unable to get up for the moment.

Gu Su seized the brief opening and immediately pushed the Plague Cutter in his hand to full power. It let out a piercing whine, its sharp blade gleaming with a cold light.

He darted forward and rushed up to an Orc. As the log left it off balance, he gripped the Plague Cutter, pressed it against the Orc's neck, and slashed hard.

"Shhk—"

The sharp blade easily cut through the Orc's neck. A gush of hot blood sprayed straight across Gu Su's face, carrying a strong stench of blood. He paid it no mind. His gaze remained cold and sharp as he pulled out the cutter and rushed toward the next Orc.

The other skeletons also stuck to the positions assigned to them in the battle plan. They formed small units of three, gripping their wooden spears and repeatedly thrusting them at the charging Orcs before pulling them back. Their movements were perfectly coordinated, giving the Orcs no chance to catch their breath.

Even when an Orc struck a skeleton with a heavy blow, shattering its bones and knocking it to the ground, the skeleton didn't retreat.

As long as it could still move, it would struggle back to its feet and attack again, using its own bones to hold the Orcs back and create opportunities for Gu Su and the other skeletons to counterattack.