Chapter 5: Necromancer

Don’t be fooled by the necromancer’s unassuming appearance; Ang could feel the soul fluctuations from the bone horse’s skull sweeping over him occasionally. Of course, even without the bone horse’s vigilance, Ang had no desire to provoke this necromancer—he was just a humble skeleton tending vegetables, nothing like the trouble-seeking zombie.

Blocking the passage between the two pits was also to prevent this—he feared the zombie might hear some commotion and crawl over.

The night passed without incident. The next morning, as soon as the wind died down, the necromancer woke up, rubbing his face vigorously as if washing it.

Fully alert, he glanced at Ang in surprise and chuckled: “What a quiet skeleton. Rare to see one so still. I hope you’re still alive next time I come.”

It was a practical blessing—skeletons in this region changed over rapidly. If there were more lively types like the zombie, the turnover would be even faster.

Ang was already one of the quietest skeletons, yet he’d still been found by this necromancer. Luckily, the necromancer meant no harm; if it had been another predator, his troubles would’ve been severe. So “still alive next time” wasn’t an easy goal—it required good fortune.

The necromancer climbed out of the pit, attaching the bone horse’s skull to its body. With a hiss, blue flame erupted from the horse’s nostrils, and it leapt up in one smooth motion.

The necromancer took two steps forward, then suddenly remembered something and turned back: “Oh oh oh, so rude—I forgot to introduce myself. I am Eske, a merchant traveling the Golden Road, and also a necromancer.”

Eske bowed with a hand over his chest, nodded to Ang, then walked toward the plain below the slope.

Watching Eske’s back, then the direction he headed, Ang’s soul flame flickered several times—he didn’t know what he was thinking, but he climbed out of the pit and trailed far behind Eske.

Eske soon noticed Ang. He stopped; Ang stopped. He walked forward; Ang followed, always keeping a distance of dozens of meters. That stubborn persistence was just like the zombie’s—unconsciously, Ang had been influenced by the zombie.

This made Eske chuckle and shake his head, ignoring Ang entirely.

Down the slope, skeletons became more numerous. Low-level skeletons fled at the sight of the bone horse, leaving a clear path. They reached the pit Ang had originally dug—out crawled a gray-boned skeleton.

It was the very skeleton that had chased Ang and the zombie. Clearly, it had recognized the pit’s advantages and claimed it for itself.

While other skeletons fled from the bone horse, this gray-boned skeleton wasn’t frightened. It climbed onto the ground, arched its back, opened its jaw, and let out a soul-shriek.

As if startled, a dozen or more low-level skeletons crawled out one after another from around the pit.

Unlike last time when he was chased, the gray-boned skeleton’s followers had dwindled to just a dozen or so, several with dents on their skulls.

Ang strongly suspected the zombie’s handiwork. Ever since being slashed across the face during that chase, the zombie had developed a fondness for smashing others’ faces—several skeletons he dragged back bore similar dents on their cheeks.

Lately, the zombie had been going out early and returning late—could it be causing trouble for the gray-boned skeleton’s followers?

Intruders in his territory enraged the gray-boned skeleton. He drew his bone blade and drove his followers forward in a rush.

The bone horse was only White-Bone rank, one level below the gray-boned skeleton, but its body was several times larger. Theoretically, its strength shouldn’t be weaker than the gray-boned skeleton’s.

Yet the bone horse didn’t engage the gray-boned skeleton—it simply ducked behind Eske without hesitation.

Eske stepped forward empty-handed, formed a claw with his fingers, and made a feinting motion toward the two frontmost skeletons. An invisible force instantly acted between the skeletons and Eske—their soul flames were pulled out strand by strand, drawn into his palm.

Ang’s soul tightened—what kind of magic was this?

The soul flames, gathered in Eske’s palm, coalesced into two glowing orbs. He quickly chanted: “Jili gulu…”—the words were too soft for Ang to catch.

Eske flung the two soul orbs to the ground. With a burst, two wailing wraiths erupted from the exploding soul flames, lunging at the gray-boned skeleton.

The gray-boned skeleton swung his bone blade, cleaving straight through the center of a wraith—but the wraith split cleanly and remained unharmed, rejoining instantly after passing the blade, then wrapping around the skeleton.

The gray-boned skeleton reached out and grabbed the wraith. Though incorporeal, the wraith was held fast, then yanked outward.

With a piercing shriek, the wraith extended its claws, frantically scratching at the gray-boned skeleton’s eye sockets.

Inside the sockets lay the soul flame. The gray-boned skeleton seemed wary—he twisted his head to dodge the scratches while swinging his other arm into a fist, hammering the wraith’s form again and again.

The incorporeal wraith screamed in agony as it was pounded, until finally it exploded under the blows. Having destroyed one wraith, the gray-boned skeleton turned to fight the other.

This gave Eske enough time. He reached out with his left hand, repeating the same motion—soul flames were ripped from two more skeletons, coalescing into a single orb.

He chanted quickly, then flung it to the ground.

The rising soul flame spread like ripples—upon touching anything, it formed two grasping claws that clamped down, pinning the target in place.

These claws were thin—Ang felt he could break free—but the low-level skeletons couldn’t. They were locked in place, becoming perfect targets.

Eske fired one shadow arrow after another, each piercing the eye sockets of the skeletons and shattering their soul flames. By the time the gray-boned skeleton had slain both wraiths, he found all his dozen or so followers reduced to scattered bones on the ground.

Alone, the gray-boned skeleton stood no chance against Eske. He hurled a ball of black flame onto the skeleton’s head—the entire skull ignited. When the flames faded, the skull remained intact, but the soul within had vanished completely.

Thus, the gray-boned skeleton’s entire faction was effortlessly wiped out—and clearly, Eske hadn’t even tried his full strength. Not even the bone horse, capable of challenging the gray-boned skeleton, had moved.

Eske showed no sign of triumph, as if completing a trivial task. He glanced back at Ang, then led the bone horse toward the stone pillars. Reaching the pit Ang had dug meant they were close to the two stone pillars marking the spatial portal.

Arriving before the pillars, Eske began arranging things himself. He pulled several blue crystals from his waist pouch and embedded them into specific positions on the pillars. Then he stepped forward, knelt solemnly—and as he bowed, the two stone pillars slowly glowed to life.