Killing Spree (1), Killing Spree (2), Killing Spree (3)

Killing Spree (1)

Les and Old Bill still had no idea what was happening. They saw Green as prey whose capture would earn them credit. They glanced at each other, each trying to outdo the other—especially Old Bill. Once an honest, long-suffering laborer, he had become even more vicious and ruthless after gaining transcendent powers.

The fat man and the thin man were senior members of the Tower of Yin Spirits. They had known all along that Les and Old Bill were cannon fodder, so they couldn't be bothered to intervene. They simply watched the spectacle. Neither was weak. The tall, thin one was Jike, an Intermediate Apprentice Swordsman. The other, a fat old man named Jones, was an Advanced Blood Mage Apprentice and a Fanatic Believer determined to become a Vampire.

Jike was, in fact, the so-called high priest who had given Les the diagram for the Summoning Circle.

Before joining the Tower of Yin Spirits, Jones had been a notorious serial killer. Ten years earlier, he had committed more than a dozen murders in the Royal Capital, targeting prostitutes and skinning them. He had even drawn the attention of the Anomalies Bureau. But he was cunning enough to flee the Royal Capital ahead of time and escape capture. For the past decade, he had lived under an assumed name within the Tower of Yin Spirits.

Green looked at the two men closing in, then at Jike and Jones watching from the other side. He did not move. His face betrayed nothing.

Cornered, Penny was both furious and frantic. She shouted, "Green, run! Forget about me!" As she saw it, Green had been a Necromancer Apprentice for only a few days. He couldn't possibly defeat anyone here. Even if he somehow beat Les and Old Bill, the other two would kill him. His only chance was to flee.

But just then, a tall Skeleton Soldier clad in full Battle Armor came up the stairs. It held a rust-spotted Enchanted Rifle and raised it to fire.

Bang! Fire burst from the muzzle. Dense Runes lit up across the Enchanted Rifle, while white light spiraled around its barrel, driving a powerful surge of Psychic Energy into the brass bullet.

The shot struck Les. Bang! It blew the top of his skull clean off. Red and white matter sprayed everywhere, splattering Old Bill from head to toe.

Old Bill stood stunned. What was going on? What happened to the Yin Spirit's protection? What happened to the transcendent power that was supposed to make them immune to gunfire?

Les himself could scarcely believe it. Even as he died, his eyes still held the confidence with which he had looked down on Green like an ant. How bitterly ironic.

Clack, click...

As everyone stood in shock, the sound of a bolt being pulled and a round chambered rang out.

This Enchanted Rifle could not fire continuously. Somewhat like a Type 38 rifle, it had a five-round magazine, but after each shot, its bolt had to be worked by hand before it could fire again.

To Old Bill, that crisp click sounded like a death sentence. Les's death had already jolted him out of the frenzy brought on by his newfound powers. With blood and brain matter all over his face, he stared at the dark muzzle a few yards away. The once-honest middle-aged man's courage deserted him completely. His legs buckled, and he dropped to his knees.

Green's face remained blank. He did not spare the pleading Old Bill another glance; his gaze stayed fixed on Jike and Jones, the tall man and the fat one across the room.

Before Old Bill's knees even touched the floor, a second shot rang out.

A moment later, his heavy corpse hit the floor with a thud.

The bullet had struck between his brows too, scattering blood and brain matter across the floor. The Gun Skeleton Soldier recognized by the Graveyard was an excellent shot, as skilled as a Sharpshooter trained on thousands of rounds. At this range, it would have been harder to miss.

Only then did Jike and Jones react, shock and wariness showing on their faces. Penny's expression was something else. She had never imagined the Skeleton Soldier Green brought would be so effective, much less that it would carry an Enchanted Rifle. It was almost beyond belief.

Green himself was a little surprised. This was his first taste of what a Gun Skeleton Soldier could do.

It wasn't that Les and Old Bill were too weak. The transcendent powers granted by the Yin Spirit were unfamiliar to them, but they were still stronger than a Junior Apprentice. Any ordinary Novice Necromancer Apprentice would have been in serious trouble against them. Unfortunately for them, they had met a freak like Green, who had somehow equipped a Skeleton Soldier with an Enchanted Rifle. Two shots—bang, bang—and it was over.

"Hahaha! No wonder you dared follow us here. You're relying on some special Undead you made a Contract with because it can shoot?" Jones, the fat old man, gave a sudden sneer, convinced he had seen through Green. A vicious gleam flashed in his eyes. "But boy, you've made me angry. Those two fools belonged to the Tower of Yin Spirits. They're not yours to kill!"

The tall, thin Jike bared a mouthful of yellow teeth. "What a pity. You only just became an Undead Apprentice, and you already made a Contract with such a fine Skeleton. If you hadn't come here today, you might have grown into a Formal Mage. But you have no future now..."

Jike swept out a hand. White light burst in his grip, forming a strange weapon with a long haft and a broad, heavy head. Fighting Aura coursed across its surface, wreathing it in streams of white air.

At the same time, the Skeleton Soldier beside Green worked its bolt again, aimed at Jike, and fired its third round.

"Hah!" Jike shouted. His weapon flashed through the air with astonishing speed, raising a visible shield of air before him that stopped the Psychic Energy-infused bullet.

With a sharp ting, the flattened brass bullet fell to the floor. Jike burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Boy, your Skeleton Soldier can't hurt me. I'm not like those two fools. I've mastered the Divine Power within me—ugh..."

Before he could finish, his voice cut off as though someone had seized his throat.

Jike had blocked one bullet and advanced while boasting. He planned to destroy the Skeleton Soldier, capture Green alive, and offer him to the Yin Spirit. With the organization lying low and all its members in hiding, the Tower of Yin Spirits had gone a long time without presenting an offering to the being it worshipped. The Yin Spirit dwelling in the distant Void was far from pleased.

But just as he was congratulating himself on his plan, five or six more Skeleton Soldiers emerged one after another from the stairs behind Green. Each wore full Battle Armor and carried an Enchanted Rifle. More appeared at the windows on both sides and through the other two doorways, two or three at each entrance. One quick glance told him there were at least twenty!

Jike and Jones were dumbstruck. Even Penny, who had been worrying all this time, stared open-mouthed.

A Junior Necromancer Apprentice having made a Contract with one special Skeleton Soldier could be put down to luck. But nearly a full squad of well-equipped, agile, disciplined, battle-ready Skeleton Soldiers with special attributes? Luck could not explain that.

Killing Spree (2)

Finding themselves surrounded, the swaggering Jike and the composed Old Jones both lost their nerve. Their expressions were hard to describe. It was like going into a match of Honor of Kings expecting a bronze-rank opponent, only to discover a king-rank player the moment they made their move. That was downright terrifying.

Green gave them little time to think. Before coming upstairs, he had summoned all seventeen Gun Skeleton Soldiers and arranged a simple encirclement. Otherwise, why would he have walked in so openly?

A moment later, guns roared. Jike took the brunt of the volley and died on the spot. The defensive shield formed from his Fighting Aura stopped only three bullets before shattering. Under his disbelieving gaze, several more rounds struck his left eye, chest, left ribs, and groin. He died before he could even scream.

His body hit the floor with a thud.

Green swept a blank gaze over him. Killing several people in the space of a few breaths stirred a strange sense of command over life and death within him—neither quite excitement nor satisfaction. He had simply stood there at ease while his enemies were dealt with. It was nothing like charging in with a blade and fighting a bloody battle himself.

Meanwhile, the fat old Jones had gone ashen. The moment he sensed danger, he instantly cast the protective spell Blood Armor, blocking four Enchanted Bullets. Then, quick as ever, he summoned a Blood Slave to stand before him. Old Jones had not survived this long by chance. Call it cowardice or caution, but he followed the same routine against every strong opponent: cast Blood Armor, then release his Blood Slave.

That habit saved his life again. The Blood Armor shattered instantly, but the remaining bullets struck the Blood Slave instead. They landed with muffled thumps, like shots hitting leather, and failed to pierce it!

Green frowned slightly. The unremarkable blood-red humanoid floating in front of Old Jones had taken several Enchanted Bullets without apparent harm. It did not even look badly damaged. Was it some formidable creature?

But he soon saw the trick and sneered inwardly. No wonder the bullets can't get through. It's a Non-Newtonian Fluid.

The so-called Blood Slave was made of a viscous liquid with the properties of a Non-Newtonian Fluid: it hardened instantly under impact.

Materials with this property were not rare. Blood and lymph were typical examples. A Blood Mage had refined this Blood Slave using large quantities of blood as its principal ingredient, giving it that remarkable property. No wonder it could stop bullets.

With the bullets unable to penetrate, the Psychic Energy carried by them merely sent ripples across the Blood Slave's surface.

"Wh-who are you?" Old Jones had escaped unharmed by sheer luck, but fright had left him drenched in cold sweat. Without his ingrained caution, he would have ended up just like Jike. When he looked at Green again, he felt nothing but fear. He had no wish to keep fighting, yet every exit was blocked by Skeleton Soldiers. He was a turtle in a jar.

Jones's heart sank. He knew he had to fight for his life now. If he could not break through, he was as good as dead. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I suppose asking you to let me go would be pointless." Without waiting for Green to reply, his body jolted and swelled. Red threads poured from every pore. He had refined them with Blood Coagulation, killing so many people for their blood that he had lost count.

The air filled with the reek of blood. Pain contorted Old Jones's face; using this spell hurt him too, and he could not sustain it for long. Red light covered his body as he charged forward.

Green remained calm. He ordered four Skeleton Soldiers into close combat. Gun Skeleton Soldiers were no pushovers at close range with bayonets fixed to their Enchanted Rifles. The others kept firing. Green raised his Magic Staff, ready to unleash Bone Spikes at any moment.

Green did not rush to summon his Ghouls. More than a dozen Skeleton Soldiers should be enough, unless Old Jones broke through in the middle of battle and became a Formal-Rank Blood Mage. That was exceedingly unlikely. At his age, with his body failing and his mental strength declining, he was stuck as an Advanced Apprentice Mage. His hopes of advancing to Formal Rank were vanishingly small.

Four Skeleton Soldiers advanced with their rifles leveled, meeting Old Jones as he charged toward them, transformed into a huge red ball of blood six feet across.

Clang, clang, clang!

A rapid series of metallic clashes rang out as their bayonets struck the blood sphere. Drawing on flawless combat experience, the Skeleton Soldiers fought as a unit, pressing rifle-and-bayonet tactics nearly to their limit. They attacked in sequence from different angles. But the sphere around Old Jones stopped them. Their Psychic Energy-infused bayonets sank several inches into it and could go no farther.

"Hahaha! Boy, did you think those Skeletons you made Contracts with meant you'd beaten me?" Old Jones roared with laughter, venting the agony of his blood magic. "Years ago, I drained an Advanced Apprentice Mage who had made a Contract with an Undead Earth Dragon. What chance does a little brat like you have?"

The huge blood sphere shuddered, throwing all four Skeleton Soldiers back. Then it rolled forward at speed, ignoring the hail of bullets as it hurtled straight at Green.

Old Jones had used this move time and again against strong foes. Once the sphere picked up speed, his enemies always dodged. If he forced Green back, he could escape down the stairs. If Green refused to move, so much the better: Jones would crush him and drain every drop of his blood.

Green frowned but did not dodge. When the sphere was only a few yards away, he turned his Magic Staff and cast Bone Spikes. A cluster of stone spikes, each several feet long, shot up beneath it.

Bang, bang, bang!

The spikes failed to pierce the sphere, but they launched it into the air. It slammed hard into the ceiling, then fell back to the floor.

Old Jones had not expected that. The impact left him dazed inside the sphere. He was old, and the dizziness took a long while to pass.

A faint smile touched Green's face. He ordered a Skeleton Soldier forward to ease its bayonet slowly into the blood sphere.

Most natives of this world knew nothing of how a Non-Newtonian Fluid behaved. When they found they could not break through, they would strike harder and faster, making the sphere formed by blood magic even more difficult to penetrate. But a weapon pushed in slowly could pass through and wound Old Jones while he hid inside like a turtle in its shell.

By the time Old Jones recovered, a rusty but razor-sharp bayonet was inches from his heart.

"Ah! What's happening? The defense of my Blood Coagulation is invincible! It can't be breached!" Shock and terror filled Old Jones's face. He screamed and tried to roll the sphere away before the bayonet pierced his chest. But more than a dozen Skeleton Soldiers had surrounded it, holding it firmly in place. Still reeling from the fall and gripped by fear, he could not focus enough to control his magic. The sphere rocked twice but would not roll. He could only watch as the bayonet slowly pierced his clothes, skin, muscle, and bone... then sliced open a major blood vessel beside his heart.

"No!"

Old Jones let out a shrill scream. The light faded from his eyes, and the blood around him broke apart, exposing his body. His Magic Power was spent, and he had only one breath left.

"H-how could you break through my Blood Coagulation? That's... impossible!" Old Jones demanded with his last strength. Even now, he could not believe that a young man had so easily undone the spell he prided himself on.

Killing Spree (3)

Green sneered inwardly. He had no intention of explaining. He was about to order a Skeleton Soldier to shoot Jones when a furious shout came from outside: "Stop!"

With the shout came a boom. A streak of black light blasted a hole straight through a cement-and-brick wall, and a giant of a man charged in from outside.

He stood over six feet tall, wore thick, heavy armor, and carried a massive axe. Black mist formed from Yin Spirit Divine Power coiled around him. The moment he burst in, he swung his axe toward Green without a word. A keen flash followed the blade, becoming a black Wind Blade that came slicing through the air.

"Your Holiness..." The dying Old Jones saw the giant of a man and moved his lips to call out. Then the last of his blood drained away, and the light left his eyes.

"You dare kill an officer of the Tower of Yin Spirits? Boy, you must have a death wish." The giant Jones had called "Your Holiness" glanced at his corpse. Contempt flickered in his eyes; he had little affection for the old man. But when he looked at Green, his gaze burned with hatred and malice. Plainly, he cared little for Jones himself. To him, an outsider killing a member of the Tower of Yin Spirits was an unforgivable crime.

Green swept his Magic Staff toward the oncoming Wind Blade, conjuring a spike in front of himself. This time it did not rise from below. It thrust forward to meet the attack.

They collided with a crack. The stone spike shattered instantly, but it weakened the Wind Blade wreathed in black mist. A second spike shot out. Crack!

Five spikes fired in succession within half a second, finally canceling the Wind Blade unleashed by the Tower of Yin Spirits' holy son.

Green had only recently mastered using Bone Spikes this way. With Bone Spikes at LV5 and constant practice, he could now wield the spell at will. As a Necromancer Apprentice, it would remain his only offensive magic apart from his summons for some time to come.

At the same moment, the Gun Skeleton Soldiers received the order to counterattack. They leveled their rifles at the enemy and fired.

Under the volley, the holy son—who stood over six feet tall—howled in pain.

That was right. The Enchanted Bullets hit him, but they only made him cry out. Most bounced off his skin. Three pierced it, only to be caught fast in muscles strengthened by the power of the Yin Spirit. They drew no more than a few threads of blood.

Green frowned. Is this guy a monster? How can his defenses be so strong?

If the giant before him had possessed the Psychic Gem formed by a Formal-Rank Transcendent, Green would have suspected he was a Formal-Rank evil-god priest.

For this giant, built sturdier than a bull, was neither a warrior nor a Knight. He was an evil-god priest through and through, favored by a Void Yin Spirit.

For the first time, Green's expression turned grave. This evil-god priest was the strongest enemy he had faced since arriving in this world. That eerie Yin Spirit power was especially dangerous; one careless move could spell disaster. He no longer dared hold back. He immediately cast Soul Summoning to call out his Ghouls, then shot Penny a look in her corner, signaling her to find a chance to escape.

Penny was quick enough to understand. She did not launch into some melodramatic "If you won't leave, neither will I" speech. When she saw that the giant was not watching her, she endured the pain and ran to the window, then swung herself out.

Thud! Penny landed after jumping from the second floor. Her injury threw off her balance; her feet stumbled, and she landed hard on her backside. She grimaced as sharp pain shot through her left ankle.

As a capable Apprentice Knight, Penny knew her body well. The pain was enough to bring out a cold sweat, but she knew nothing was broken. It was probably a sprain. Gritting her teeth, she hurried outside to seek help.

Even after seeing Green's strength, she did not believe he could beat that giant of a man, who was like a Devil Beast. The force with which he had smashed through the wall was terrifying. She had to find help. If Green died saving her, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

The battle lasted five or six minutes. By then, the second floor of the unfinished Villa was a wreck. One Ghoul had been cut in half at the waist; another had been pounded into pulp by a tremendous blow. Eerie black mist clung to half of a third Ghoul's body, rapidly eating away its flesh until only stark white bone remained.

Green had lost three of his five ordinary Ghouls in the fight. Fortunately, they had held the front line, and not a single Gun Skeleton Soldier had died. But the battle had exposed the Gun Skeleton Soldiers' weakness against heavily defended enemies. They had failed to break the sphere Old Jones formed with Blood Coagulation, and they had done pitifully little damage to the evil-god priest.

I need to find a way to increase the Gun Skeleton Soldiers' firepower, or the troop type I worked so hard to design will become nearly useless, Green thought. He remembered the Enchanted Cannon he had bought from Old One-Eye. If I can develop Cannon Skeleton Soldiers, they'll be cumbersome, but their firepower should be enough. One Skeleton Soldier can't operate a cannon, though. It would take three or four working together. I wonder if they can develop successfully and gain the Graveyard's recognition like the Gun Skeleton Soldiers.

Planning for the future, Green walked to the center of the battlefield.

The evil-god priest's headless body lay there. The giant had stood over six feet tall and been as powerful as a Devil Beast. Beside him, the Hard-Skin Ghoul's left arm was bent at a grotesque angle below the shoulder. Corrosive black mist clung to it, hissing as its tough flesh dissolved into thick liquid before Green's eyes. But in its right hand, the Ghoul held a massive head. The jagged wound at the neck still dripped blood, and half a torn spine dangled beneath it. The Ghoul had ripped the head from the body like a radish pulled from the ground.

Green was immensely glad he had obtained this Hard-Skin Ghoul. He had concealed his strongest fighter from the start. At the crucial moment, when the enemy held every advantage and believed victory was certain, the Ghoul caught the evil-god priest off guard. It struck from behind as fast as lightning, grabbed the back of his neck, and drove its empowered Sharp Claws through his skin and flesh. It severed the muscles and tore his head free.

Even so, the evil-god priest's final death throes had nearly destroyed the Hard-Skin Ghoul.

The wounded Ghoul had half its life left. If Green ignored it and let the black mist continue eating into it, it would die within minutes.

Green could not let that happen. He hurriedly returned it to the Graveyard and fed it Psychic Energy to mend its wounds. The black mist clinging to those wounds—the power of the Void Yin Spirit—entered the Graveyard too, where it turned directly into Psychic Energy and was absorbed.

Green breathed a little easier. He had worried that drawing the Void Yin Spirit's power into the Graveyard might be risky. Now it seemed that, to this mysterious Graveyard, the Void Yin Spirit amounted to nothing.

When the Hard-Skin Ghoul vanished, the evil-god priest's head fell to the floor and rolled to Green's feet with a thump.

Green bent to pick it up, a faint smile touching his lips. The Graveyard's prompt had already sounded in his mind: Transcendent creature's remains detected. Absorb Psychic Energy?

Naturally, Green chose "yes." As when he had absorbed magical items before, a glow seeped from the bloodied head into his hand. The head crumbled into powder and scattered across the floor.

Green checked the Graveyard at once, and his eyes lit up. Killing two Demonic Insect Parasites had earned him only six points of Psychic Energy. This time, a single head had brought him 128 points.

Delighted, Green hurried to clear the battlefield. Most important was the evil-god priest's headless corpse, followed by the bodies of Jike and Jones. He did not overlook Les and Old Bill either. Even a mosquito's leg was still meat. He converted them all into Psychic Energy for the Graveyard. The priest's body yielded the most: 472 points without the head. Jike and Jones yielded 114 and 156 respectively, while Les and Old Bill provided 46 and 37. Altogether, the Graveyard's Psychic Energy reached 998 points, nearing a thousand once more after the crypt's construction.