Shadows began to move through the fog ahead, their outlines blurred and their pace slow, as if they were walking through water.
Carl raised his sword and reported, "Six skeleton soldiers approaching."
The group was no stranger to the undead. The Source Realm had undead as well; destroy their soul fire, and they could be destroyed.
Copperbeard spotted the shadows too and adjusted his stance, shield in his left hand.
Mia had the sharpest eyesight. She first observed the skeleton soldiers' direction and found that they had not spread out, but were advancing toward them in a straight line.
Was it a coincidence?
The skeleton soldiers slowly approached with bone swords and clubs in hand. Carl waited until they entered melee range before making his move.
He sidestepped the first skeleton soldier's bony claw, then slashed upward from below, severing its spine.
The skeleton soldier's upper body tilted to one side while its lower half remained standing. It swayed before collapsing. Its skull rolled half a turn across the ground before stopping at Copperbeard's feet, where Copperbeard smashed it apart with his hammer.
Copperbeard used his shield to knock aside the second skeleton soldier's frontal attack, then shattered its skull with the butt of his hammer. Its soul fire slowly dispersed.
Its whole body fell backward, struggled twice on the ground, and then stopped moving.
Mia's arrow had flown at the same time. It pierced through the third skeleton soldier's collarbone, but did not strike its core. It staggered, yet continued forward.
She followed with a second arrow aimed at its eye socket.
This time, once the arrow pierced through, the skeleton soldier froze. Its limbs drooped one after another, and finally its entire frame fell apart, scattering across the ground with a string of faint clattering sounds.
Carl and