Hard-Skin Ghoul (1)

The carriage traveled along Landon City's smooth roads. Inside, Green had taken everything out of the thief's cloth bag and was examining it carefully with great interest.

The thief fidgeted uneasily, seemingly worried about the price Green might offer, yet he did not dare ask. He could only endure in silence, though his gaze kept drifting over Green's neck and chest. Beneath the surface lay a frenzy of greed and bloodlust.

More than ten minutes later, the carriage stopped.

Green stuffed the items back into the bag. They were all ordinary objects, containing no Psychic Energy.

However, along the way, Green had secretly absorbed all the Psychic Energy contained in the fragments of magical items he had bought from Old One-Eye into the Graveyard. Together with what he already had, he now had [64] Psychic Energy, which satisfied him greatly. With a thought, he recruited the three Skeleton Soldiers that had recently spawned in the cemetery, expanding his Skeleton Soldier squad to eight. The remaining [49] Psychic Energy had nowhere to be used, so he could only save it for now.

The moment he stepped out of the carriage, the thief became alert. He realized something was wrong with the surroundings. While inside the carriage, he had not noticed that they had unknowingly left the crowded streets and arrived in a deserted alley. Two-story buildings lined both sides, and the road was only wide enough for a single carriage to pass through.

The thief reacted quickly. Sensing danger, he immediately lunged at Green, his dagger already clenched in his hand.

Unfortunately, he was still one step too late. Green had already decided to ambush him. The instant he got out of the carriage, he swung his staff and cast Soul Summoning twice in succession, placing two Skeleton Soldiers before himself. Then, while continuing to cast Soul Summoning, he retreated to widen the distance as much as possible and ensure his own safety.

Green cast Soul Summoning extremely quickly. Chanting the spell and forming the magic circle took only one and a half seconds. In less than fifteen seconds, he had summoned all eight Skeleton Soldiers from the Graveyard and sent them to surround and attack the thief.

Yet when the thief saw the Skeleton Soldiers, not only was he unafraid, he gave a savage sneer and shouted, "Fool! You think Skeleton Soldiers can deal with me? Didn't your teacher tell you that higher undead possess a natural suppression over lower undead?" Instead of retreating, he advanced, charging into the encirclement and trying to fight many alone. At the same time, the human skin on his face split apart, and his body suddenly swelled, bursting through his leather armor. A monster appeared, its skin ash-gray and decayed, standing a full two meters tall with a mouthful of sharp fangs. Its ape-like arms, abnormally long, swung viciously to either side. Three Bone Spikes over a foot long pierced through the skin and shot from the back of each hand, forming two terrifying killing weapons.

"Hard-Skin Ghoul!"

Green immediately recognized the monster after it revealed its true form. The Mages Association had illustrated records of it. It was a level-two undead creature, far more powerful in battle than ordinary Skeleton Soldiers. In the Graveyard, Ghouls were classified as a type of Zombie, a Zombie variant. Those with hardened skin membranes that enhanced their defense were called Hard-Skin Ghouls, a level-two elite troop type.

Unfortunately, this Ghoul had misjudged the situation. The Skeleton Soldiers it faced were no ordinary Skeleton Soldiers. It had only managed to knock over two of them when a Skeleton Soldier close behind slammed it back with a shield bash. Immediately afterward, another Skeleton Soldier leaped in perfect coordination over the shield-bearing Skeleton Soldier's head, using the momentum to strike from above and driving its shortsword down viciously.

With a sharp crack, the Hard-Skin Ghoul barely blocked the shortsword with the bone claws on its hand, but the immense impact forcibly snapped one of its claws. Before it could catch its breath, the other Skeleton Soldiers swarmed forward. Amid hisses and roars, a chaotic melee erupted, and the Ghoul was forced to its knees, brutally pinned down and shoved before Green.

Green studied the miserable-looking Ghoul with interest. Half of one arm had been severed, and its body had been pierced by seven or eight holes from shortswords. Foul-smelling black pus and blood continually gushed out. Unlike ordinary undead creatures, whose thoughts were muddled and who feared no death, this Ghoul possessed high intelligence. After being captured, it clearly showed fear.

"Powerful Necromancer, I am Lord Cristiano's servant. Please spare me for my master's sake! I believe my master will pay a ransom for me." The Ghoul actually began begging Green for mercy.

"Cristiano?" Green had seen that name in the information provided by the Mages Association not long ago. He was an advanced Necromancer Apprentice living in Rhine City, adjacent to Landon City. He was quite powerful and strong-willed, well known in Rhine City. It was said that he even possessed a Lineage inheritance. Green had not expected this intelligent Ghoul to belong to him.

"Even Necromancers from the neighboring city have stretched their hands into Landon City. These days really are a season of storms."

Green felt somewhat emotional, but he did not hesitate in the slightest. The instant the battle had erupted, the Graveyard's prompt had automatically selected combat. Green was now very curious about what reward he would receive for killing this Ghoul.

This cunning Ghoul, however, had only been pretending. Even as it begged for mercy, it suddenly began trembling violently and let out an even more frenzied, hoarse growl.

Green immediately became vigilant. Staring at the Ghoul, he noticed a blinding red light at its brow. In the next moment, that red point erupted, forming a powerful shockwave that forced back the surrounding Skeleton Soldiers. The Ghoul broke free, then sprang violently into the air and pounced at Green again.

"Frenzied Bloodlust!"

A skill possessed by many elite undead creatures. It could instantly unleash intense bloodlust, causing strength and speed to soar, but it would also make the user lose all reason and become a madman unable to distinguish friend from foe.

The Ghoul was incredibly fast. The Skeleton Soldiers that had just been forced back had no time to intercept it. The Skeleton Soldier standing before Green had its breastbone instantly pierced by bone claws. With a bang, its skeleton flew backward. Though Skeleton Soldiers were tall, they had no flesh and blood, and were still too light. When the crazed Ghoul slammed into them, it was like being hit by a small truck—they simply could not keep their footing.

The Ghoul broke through the encirclement and charged straight at Green with a roar. After activating Frenzied Bloodlust, the last trace of reason in its mind drove it to vent all its rage upon Green.

The bone claws on both hands crossed as it swiped through the air. In just one more second, they would pierce Green's chest.

Though it had lost its reason, the Ghoul's battle instincts remained. It was certain that as long as it got close, it could kill this detestable Necromancer Apprentice before it.

Green stood still. He was slightly nervous, but his gaze was unwavering. Amid this life-and-death struggle, he was astonishingly calm. As the Ghoul's claws drew closer and closer, and he could even smell the stench pouring from its mouth, at this critical moment, he suddenly raised his staff. A blue-gray magic circle appeared above the gem set into its head.

The magic circle formed instantly. As Green pointed with his staff, a series of bang bang bang sounds followed. More than ten sharp spikes, each around two meters long, shot up from the ground beneath the Ghoul.

The spikes erupted with tremendous speed and covered an area of two by two meters. The Ghoul, leaping through the air, had no way to evade them.

In the next instant, a string of wet puffs sounded. The Ghoul's left shoulder, left ribs, right chest, and left leg were pierced through in succession.

The Ghoul howled in agony, its pupils shrinking to pinpoints. Even under Frenzied Bloodlust, it instinctively shuddered with terror. It had never imagined that Green's [Bone Spikes] would be so powerful. If the Bone Spikes of an ordinary Novice Necromancer Apprentice struck a Hard-Skin Ghoul's skin membrane, they would at most knock it back and could never pierce through it. Yet it did not know that Green's specially polished stone spikes were several times sharper than randomly summoned Bone Spikes.