The Psionic Energy permeated the space, like ripples created when a pebble is thrown into a clear pool.
A message was mixed in and transmitted to the mind of each skeleton rider:
"There appears to be an enemy to the right front."
The lead skeleton cavalryman yanked on his reins and looked in the direction his companion had indicated.
Sure enough, a black figure flashed by, standing out even in the darkness of the night.
"Chase!"
The cavalry squad leader gave the order, and the five skeleton cavalrymen quickly spread out and began to increase their speed.
As the skeletal horse galloped, a large hand reached out towards the suspicious target ahead.
Hearing the sound of hooves pounding on the sand, the shadowy figure in the night seemed to realize something, glanced back once, and then began to run for its life.
However, how could human feet outrun the four hooves of a skeletal horse?
Within minutes, the man was surrounded by the skeleton cavalry.
The skeleton soldiers drew their long swords from their waists, ready for a classic horseback slashing battle, but unexpectedly a thick rope suddenly rose from the fine sand beneath their feet!
The rope was about the thickness of a thumb and was being held by two people, one on each side.
As the rope rose from the sand, the two enemies quickly emerged and assumed a tug-of-war stance.
"Tripping rope!"
The lead skeleton soldier immediately realized they had fallen into the enemy's trap and hurriedly tried to warn them, but it was too late.
With a crisp sound of breaking leg bones, the two skeleton soldiers at the forefront were thrown from their horses.
One of them scrambled to his feet, and just as he was about to draw his knife, the bait who had been running all the way pounced on him and slammed him to the ground.
The other skeleton soldier scrambled away to create some distance, then wrestled with the enemy who had released the tripwire.
Realizing the situation was dire, the commander of the skeleton cavalry squad immediately spurred his horse to retreat, only to find that the sand in several surrounding areas had also begun to tremble.
Five more men emerged from the sand, forming a three-in-front, two-out formation to surround the three cavalrymen.
After the sudden incident involving the tripwire, their horses' speed had now been reduced to a minimum.
Without sufficient acceleration distance, cavalry fighting infantry is not as easy as one might imagine.
Arrows flew and vines danced. After several minutes of fighting and pursuit, the most experienced cavalry squad leader barely escaped with his life.
He had lost half an arm and was now frantically spurring his skeletal horse toward the sandcastle.
Just when he thought he had successfully escaped, two dark figures suddenly appeared in his field of vision after he had climbed over a sand dune.
Arrows rained down, and at the same time, a figure approached him with an incredible speed that would never be seen at Low Tier.
"Whoosh!"
[ Howling Pothos ] felt that the skeleton must have said something before it died, but he really didn't understand it. However, judging from the tone, it was probably an insult, so he stopped pursuing it.
Behind him, [ Easily Soluble in Water ] helped the skeleton horse up from the sand.
He wanted to stroke its mane like he did in period dramas, but suddenly realized it was a skeleton horse, so he could only helplessly pat its somewhat uncomfortable neck.
The group regrouped with the corpses of the skeletal horse and skeleton soldiers, and then began assigning tasks.
There are only five robes for the skeleton soldiers and only five skeleton horses, which is clearly not enough to distribute them all, provided that their companions are not treated like animals.
However, this did not stump [ Howling Pothos ]. He gathered everyone together and quickly explained his plan.
An hour later, accompanied by a deafening roar, several skeleton soldiers who were dozing on the outer wall of the sandcastle were awakened from their sleep.
They instantly drew their weapons from their waists and all looked in the direction from which the roar came.
The five skeleton soldiers that had been sent out earlier were now galloping wildly toward the sandcastle.
Behind them, a half-tree monster, as tall as three people and resembling the Hulk, was frantically chasing the cavalry squad.
Upon seeing this, the skeletons on the outer wall of the sandcastle were immediately shocked, their jaws agape wide open, now free of any flesh or skin.
The distance between the cavalry squad and the half-tree monsters fluctuated, and whenever they were about to collide, the skeleton cavalry would turn around and counterattack to create distance.
Unfortunately, the distance between the two sides was never safe, which made it difficult for the skeleton soldiers on the outer wall to make the decision to open the sandcastle gate.
Just then, a skeleton cavalryman suddenly seemed to be possessed by a god, nimbly turning his body, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, and pointing it at the half-tree monster behind him.
With two sharp "whoosh" sounds, one of the half-tree man's eyes was instantly blinded.
The monster was stunned by the attack, standing still and howling at the sky in pain.
Upon seeing this, the skeleton soldiers on the outer wall frantically shook the mechanism, opening the sandcastle gate and lowering the drawbridge.
As the half-tree monster gradually recovered from its pain, the five cavalrymen accelerated again, narrowly escaping the monster's clutches right under its nose.
The half-tree monster was also driven back by a volley of arrows, retreating to a safe area covered in wounds, and then began to smash the ground in a fit of impotent rage.
Having vented his anger, the half-tree monster looked around, wanting to grab a rock and throw it, but all he could see was sand.
It tried a few times, refusing to believe it, and found that throwing sand, no matter how hard it was thrown, was like a child's whining, causing no harm to the skeleton.
However, the half-tree monster did not give up. After a stalemate, it began to circle in a safe location outside the sandcastle, as if carefully searching for a weakness in this frontline fortress.
Don't be afraid.
The skeleton knight who rushed to the scene from the city wall said:
"Our fortress is incredibly strong; it is absolutely impossible for it to be breached from the outside!"
His tone softened slightly as he spoke to the skeleton soldiers beside him:
"Keep a close eye on that monster, and don't let it get too close."
"I'll go ask those cavalrymen how they managed to provoke this monster."
As he spoke, the skeleton knight walked along the outer wall of the fortress into the city, while the five people who had just entered the inner city were already nearing their limit.
"Team leader..."
[ Easily Soluble in Water ] emitted a somewhat painful sound:
"Don't you feel the discomfort? This horse has no meat on it at all; it's been jostling all the way here. I feel like Tom chopping down a tree."
"Fine."
[ Howling Pothos ] said calmly:
"You can press down hard on the stirrups to slightly support your body."
"Let's forget it, I'm afraid I'll give myself away."
[ Easily Soluble in Water ] Just as they were about to say something more, a skeleton whose body was already partially crystallized appeared in front of them.
At the same time, a surge of Psionic Energy entered everyone's minds:
"What exactly did you do? Where was that monster found?"