Shock! The Skeleton Rescue Incident!

Leaving the trading hall.

Lin Mu didn't waste a single moment.

Clutching the freshly acquired one hundred and twenty thousand fortune, he headed straight out of the city.

Relying on the original owner's memories.

He navigated with practiced ease to a monster gathering area around level fifteen outside the city.

The vegetation here was noticeably denser than in the lower-level zones.

And the air carried a stronger, wilder, bloody scent.

[Vicious Savage Wolf], [Giant Ant], [Shadow Spirit]—these monsters were no small challenge for an ordinary level fifteen team.

Lin Mu glanced around, confirming no one was watching.

He raised a hand and waved.

The ground trembled slightly, soil churning.

Ninety Steel Skeletons, gleaming with metallic cold light, burst forth from all directions, rising with a thunderous rumble!

That sight alone would be enough to terrify any professional who stumbled upon it.

Lin Mu skillfully followed the same pattern.

He kept ten skeletons nearby for guard duty.

The remaining eighty, he split into eight groups.

"Go, free roam. Clear this area."

He issued the simple command.

The eight Skeleton Squad detachments immediately marched off in unison.

Advancing in eight different directions, they vanished into the dense forest.

After doing all this.

Lin Mu simply pulled a camping blanket from his storage space and spread it on the ground.

He sat down cross-legged without a care.

He even took out a drink and leisurely sipped it.

While his skeleton army fought bloodily on the front lines, he, the master, reaped the rewards from the rear.

If anyone else saw this scene, their eyes would pop out.

In an instant, the entire monster zone became lively.

The Skeleton Squad split into eight paths, each fighting independently, with terrifying efficiency.

At the same time.

At the other end of this area.

Three young professionals stood back-to-back, surrounded by over a dozen [Shadow Spirits].

Their situation was precarious.

The leader was a level sixteen [Berserk Archer] named Li Fan.

The other two had just reached level ten—one was a Shield Warrior, the other a Swordsman.

Originally.

This was Li Fan taking two younger brothers out to help them complete their first job advancement quest.

The Swordsman's quest, in particular, required "Giant Ant Antennae" as a material.

At first, things went smoothly.

Relying on Li Fan's ranged advantage.

They carefully lured isolated Giant Ants and killed them together.

But when the kills came easily, people got carried away.

Without realizing it, they had wandered into [Shadow Spirit] territory.

As a result, a patrol of Shadow Spirits surrounded them completely.

Right now.

The three of them had their equipment battered and torn.

Several wounds were still oozing blood.

The healing potions and mana potions in their storage were nearly empty.

"Brother Fan! We can't hold out! Are we... really going to die here today?"

The level ten Shield Warrior gasped for breath, his voice laced with despair.

The shield in his hand was already covered in cracks.

Li Fan forced back a lunging Shadow Spirit with an arrow, his face pale as he gave a bitter laugh.

"Damn it, I got careless."

He glanced at his dwindling arrows.

Then looked at his two brothers, nearly spent.

Only endless regret remained in his heart.

"Brothers, looks like there's no hope."

Li Fan took a deep breath, as if making a decision.

"Write your last words. Put down everything you want to say. If a passing professional finds our bodies, they can take them back to our families."

Hearing this, the last light in the other two men's eyes died out.

The three stopped struggling.

They quickly pulled paper and pen from their packs, planning to take turns recording their final words.

"What the hell?!"

Just then, the swordsman let out a strange shout.

His trembling finger pointed in one direction.

"Brother Fan, look! What the hell is that?!"

Li Fan and the shield warrior followed his gaze.

There, in the woods not far away, were about a dozen "Metal Skeletons."

Marching in perfect unison, steel blades in hand, they walked straight toward them.

Strangely enough.

Two of the skeletons were carrying several pieces of professional equipment in their hands.

Li Fan instinctively used his scan panel.

The result made his heart sink.

"Why don't these Iron Skeletons have a level or any info?!"

"Heaven wants us dead, all three of us!"

The shield warrior let out a wail.

"We couldn't even handle these Shadow Spirits alone."

"And now this bunch of even creepier metal freaks shows up?"

"Brother Fan, stop gawking and write your last words! If you don't hurry, you won't even get the chance!"

Hearing this, the three sped up their writing, as if trying to cram a lifetime of words onto the page.

"It's over, it's over, they're coming, they're coming!"

The swordsman's voice was already choked with tears.

"Ah!"

They screamed, closing their eyes in despair, waiting for death to descend.

After a clatter of weapons clashing and shrill screams.

Suddenly, everything went quiet.

The pain they expected never came.

The three cautiously cracked open an eye.

The sight before them left them utterly stunned.

The dozen or so Shadow Spirits that had been surrounding them were now nothing but scattered pieces on the ground.

And those ten Metal Skeletons stood silently before them.

Neither attacking nor leaving.

Green spirit blood still dripped from their icy steel blades.

"Bro... Brother Fan, wha... what's going on?"

The swordsman stammered.

"How the hell should I know?!"

Li Fan was dumbfounded too, his mind a blank.

The three were too terrified to move.

They could only communicate silently with their eyes.

And at that moment, Lin Mu...

He was lying leisurely on a camping blanket.

He had no idea.

The Skeleton Squad he had sent out had unknowingly saved three dying unlucky souls.

[Necromancer Lin Mu's level has increased to LV.10!]

The familiar notification sound rang in his mind.

"Finally!"

Lin Mu's spirits lifted, and he immediately leaped to his feet.

Through his mental connection, he issued a recall command to all Skeleton Squads outside, instructing them to bring back any equipment they had picked up along the way.

As for Li Fan and his two companions, they were staring wide-eyed at the ten skeletons.

Suddenly, the ten skeletons seemed to receive some kind of order.

They turned in perfect unison, and with heavy footsteps, marched back the way they had come.

"Brother Fan! They're leaving! We... we're saved!"

The shield warrior collapsed to the ground, sobbing loudly.

"We were saved by a bunch of skeletons!"

The swordsman also wept with joy.

"This... this is just too damn incredible!"

Li Fan watched the skeletons' retreating figures, his eyes filled with shock and curiosity.

He suddenly spoke up:

"Brothers, where did these strange Iron Skeletons come from? How about... we follow them and take a look?"