Chapter 2: Practice

After traveling for days trying to find a place out of the reach of those who wanted to hurt us, we currently find ourselves deep inside a forest.

This area around the forest is dense with trees, so at least we could get some peace of mind.

As we walked around, I tested some abilities of this body.

I restored my arm by using the skeleton of a corpse nearby. He must have been a hunter. You could find an awful lot of corpses in the forest, men and beasts alike.

There was a lot of abandoned equipment in the forest. Those who did not have weapons made sure to pick up useful things we came across.

I personally had a spear with me. I don’t know why, but it's the weapon I’m most comfortable with. Maybe because I was a skeleton spearman?

Anyway, the good news is that we don't need to worry about monsters because I'm sure humans and their allies have already hunted them down. I tried piercing a tree with my spear. It went through, so I have some strength, at least.

I also tried to use some basic spells. The only spell a Skeleton Soldier has is . A racial ability for detecting living things. It was useful back then, when we were the superior race. I tested it out, and I detected some birds and critters.

And somehow, when I think of it, I know what spells are and what they do. It's like they have always been in my mind, or at least for some of them. You know, spells like and are very clear to me.

As I was stabbing here and there, I heard some growls.

Oh my, it's wolves. They were awfully thin and seemed to be very, very desperate to eat. Some stragglers from Beastlord's army that went rabid?

Snarling and barking at us, the wolves position themselves to attack.

This is racist! Just because we're bones, you go after us!? We were allies once, you know!

My men were blocking the claws and bites of the wolves. I was dodging a lot of them and blocking the ones that couldn't be dodged.

This fight is getting useful for practice. Hehe, just my luck. Although we worked together with the Beastlord's minions before, I have no attachment to these beasts.

I can't drag this on, though. So, I counterattack after a dodge. Stab it in the neck. The others can't do this, though, so I ordered them to take the bite and counterattack in the process.

It was effective, and some got bitten in the leg while others used their arms to block the bites. Those with swords had an easier time.

Good thing skeletons are resistant to piercing damage.

Using spears in close-combat engagements is very hard for us skeletons that have weak physical resistance except for piercing and slashing attacks.

I got a sack from the corpse of the hunter nearby and took the bones of the wolves and put them inside. We might have some use for later.

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A few miles later, I decided that we should stay put. It was about to be morning again. I don't keep track of the days. We don't have anything to write about anyway.

I think we have a chance of escaping because they would not chase a group of skeleton soldiers. They are the weakest of the skeleton race. They don't even need to warn the ordinary villagers because even a small village has its militia.

I scouted the perimeter with Bon. He was the only one who was attentive and responsive in our group. Others did not improve so much. It must be hard to suddenly not have orders when all their time being undead was about taking orders from the Skeleton King.

We saw a Dread Knight-Captain! We might be able to enlist his help so that we could make our escape easier.

Dread Knight-Captain is one of the strongest guys we have for the Undead frontline. It was the leader of the ferocious Dread Knights. Being a Dread Knight with improved capabilities allowed them to charge straight into enemy ranks and obliterate them.

That was long ago, though. The only thing they will be charging into is their deaths, or should I say “lives” because they are already dead?

It looked like it just came from a fierce battle. Blood could be seen on its blade. I don't know why, but it just stands there, waiting for something, maybe? We remained still in the bush that we were hiding in because this did not look good.

It was all going to be well and good, but suddenly holy rays descended from the sky once again. I think this was the skill of the Paladins

Five paladins showed up wielding huge warhammers and wearing holy armor. They circled the Dread Knight Captain. It looked like these five Paladins were a group because their moves were coordinated.

The Dread Knight-Captain roared at their appearance. This monster would not go down without a fight.

In response, it took up its sword and shield. The purple flames in its eyes burned brighter.

It would be able to take them down one by one, but the Paladins won't let it.

They all attacked him at once. It tried to block the attacks, but simultaneous attacks from five enemies made it difficult.

Once he blocks a hit from above, two hits come from below. When he tries to fight back, numerous warhammers strike him, stopping his attack.

Strikes with holy explosions are slowly shaving away the armor of the Dread Knight Captain. Its armor was getting dented; it was now having problems moving.

It must have been the skill , but it was executed so fast that it looked like a normal attack.

These humans have discovered how to remove the chanting for all their spells except ancient spells. This discovery is one of the things that helped turn the tide of war. There were times that we were still chanting our defensive spells, but they would barrage us with magic non-stop.

They have also repeatedly increased their physical stats by making potions that increase their strength exponentially. If only we had some alchemists on the undead side. Could it work for us also? Instead of a healing potion, a negative energy potion would be great!

The battle was reaching its finale. The Dread Knight-Captain gets more desperate as its strength continuously plummets. Its dented armor made him more terrifying. If only he were the one winning this battle.

If I were the one facing the Dread Knight Captain, I would hesitate to fight it, but the humans looked like they were having fun.

It was now using various spells, such as and , in all directions. The Paladins made a formation that made their shields into one and empowered it with a holy spell shield. The area around was burning in flames and dark substances.

The trees were burning, and the grass on the ground had disappeared. While they were shielding, they had already cast some delayed spells. It was a combination of holy arrows and fire bolts.

The armor of the Dread Knight-Captain was already damaged, so the spells went through and damaged it severely.

It was kneeling. Dropping its weapon and shield made the Dread Knight-Captain vulnerable. The five Paladins smashed him until he was flattened on the ground.

It was a sad scene.

Paladins, with warhammers, beat a brother to death. It was a brutal sight, even for the undead.

I was frozen. I could not stop staring at the scene happening before my eyes. Bon needed to tap me to get me back to reality.

One of the Paladins looked in our direction, and I felt our world freeze.

Is this it? Is this where our unlife will end?

A few seconds passed, and it felt like forever.

Then the Paladin, who looked like their leader, called everyone, and they went away.

That was very bad. I felt like my soul was about to leave my skeletal body.

Bon and I went back, and it was getting dark again. We need to move.

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When we got back inside the forest, I suddenly fell on my knees.

What is this? A mighty being like that is being toyed with.

I know I should not feel anything, but it looked like I was shaking. It seemed like seeing all that was too much for me.

My men looked at me. I could not read their faces since we all looked the same.

What if that happened to us?

What if, once we got out of this forest, holy lights suddenly dropped on us? We were like deer running away from a group of hunters. There's no chance for us to run away. There's just no chance.

I clawed the ground with my bony hands in frustration.

Bon came to me and helped me get into a sitting position. Then the group suddenly went into a formation I hadn't seen before. It was like a line formation that you would see in an army. They stood there in front of me, holding their weapons.

Bon stood there beside me. Unmoving. It was like they were trying to tell me that they were willing to follow me with whatever orders I might have for them.

That's right. There was no need for us to worry about anything else. We just need to get out of here as fast as we can, and if we do get caught, we have to accept our fate.

Bon offered his hand to help me up.

I shook my head, and Bon withdrew his hand. I stood up on my own. I bowed to apologize to my men and signaled for them to move out.

Let's keep moving!