Four ghouls in total emerged from the other side of the forest, summoned by the scream of their ‘leader’. The ghoul with the title ‘Pack Caller’ was slightly smaller and his smart eyes constantly scanned across the area. It was intelligent, maybe not as much as a human or any sapient being, but it clearly had the instinct of an animal… but the same thing couldn’t be said about his bigger companions. They were letting out angry growls, constantly drooling and gazing straight at us with hunger and madness in their eyes.
Maybe… maybe if we formed a line, raised our weapons, and took a few steps back we could show them that we have no intentions of fighting, yet are ready to do so if necessary?
* “Commander, what do you think, how about we leave them alone, retreating slowly. Will they let us go? They appear to be mainly concerned about the pile of corpses…” I said quietly, hoping that the ghouls didn’t hear me from this distance.
No, I wasn’t afraid that they would understand me, but that they would consider any loud noises as a form of provocation.
* “Did you already forget? Our job is to eradicate the undead from the area, all of them!” Natasha answered, raising her voice slightly while still whispering, slowly moving towards me so she could get into formation. Even while scolding me she tried to remain as quiet as possible.
* “We can’t eradicate them if we die here, I hoped that after retreating we might call for reinforcements…”
* “...So undead can be cowards too?” She said that with a tone that despite being tense, betrayed a tone of amusement, it was clear that Natasha didn’t mean to question my motives nor offend me.
* “I am scared, yes, but not about myself. I will not suffer critical wounds. As long as they wouldn’t shred me I should be fine, on the other hand, what are the chances of the other girls leaving unscathed?”
Natasha made an ugly face cursing under her breath. With a knight of her rank, our victory was assured, the problem was the casualties that the team would suffer. Leaving now and returning with backup was the best possible option… but then again, seeing how fast they are, it is possible that after eating they would relocate, possibly leaving the special area. We were patrolling the western border of the zone, behind us lies cities, villages, and traveling roads.
* “If we were only deeper in the zone…” the commander cursed one more time.
Apparently she made up her mind. She was a noble, a knight, and a member of a respected House. Because of this, she couldn’t agree with my plan. Correcting the grip over my sword, I awaited her further commands.
* “Agnes! Back into formation! Reinforce the flank!...” yes, the job of a skirmisher was to bully the enemy, not letting them create a formation or constantly bothering their flanks so they couldn’t attack with all their soldiers at once…
But ghouls didn’t care about suffering losses, and Agnes would be under a great risk attacking them because of their agility.
* “Warriors - circle formation, mages - inside, prepare the spell, spare no mana, use it all! We will let them take over the initiative! Lucy, Stephanie! Wait for the ghouls to engage with us! Their leader will most likely stay away! Once you have a clear sight, take him down! Ghouls are annoying, but without a leader, they are no better than animals!”
Henrietta, Suzy and Natasha quickly relocated, moving to the sides and back creating a make-shift formation around the magic users, who now kneeled inside the formation grabbing each other’s shoulders as they started to sing in unison.
* “To three we pray, calling thy name,
Bestow your love on children of thy,
Let thy angels come dressed in your grace,
With wings and flames, answering our cries…”
Seeing our sudden action, the pale beast shrieked again. Four monsters jumped off the pile running toward us at a speed similar to that of a horse at a full gallop. Bracing for the impact I dug one of my feet in the dirt and raised my shield, yet nothing happened. Less than two meters away, the beasts slowed down for a split second and changed their trajectory. Instead of crashing right into our formation, they started circling around us, like a pack of wolves surrounding a group of mountain goats. I knew why they did that - they were trying to figure out which point of our formation was the weakest.
If they had similar instincts as other animals, they would start getting closer, delivering quick, light attacks to test the waters. If any part of our formation would lapse, the rest of the beasts would quickly pounce on it.
Much to my dismay, they were moving counter-clockwise, which meant that the attack would come from my right - skillfully using my shield just became far more difficult. I completely didn’t expect the first attack. I thought that in order to perform a strong enough blow they would need to prepare - slow down, get closer or do anything else which would betray that some attack was on the way! No such thing happened. Instead, one of the ghouls pounced at me from an awkward angle. This shouldn’t be possible - because of its speed and mass at the moment of jump the sheer momentum should have sent it in a straight line at the nearest tree, where its sheer momentum would break its bones and twist its spine upon impact.
… That would happen if they were mortals, but I forgot about the most fearsome combination of undead traits. The ability to abuse one’s muscles to their full potential and being deprived of the concept of physical pain. A second before the attack, its leg muscles flexed in a horrible, inhuman way letting it abuse the laws of physic, keeping the momentum yet changing vector, sending its colossal body flying right towards my head.
* “... We offer our lives,
So may your angels and you,
Aid righteous and just,
With powers of yours,
So even in the middle of night,
Your light will shine bright!
Hymn of Power!”
You are under the effect of [Hymn of Power] spell [STR], [VIT], [END] + 10 [Warning!] [User]'s race ([Undead]) is imcompatible with spell's domain ([Holy]) [Penalty] will be inflicted Spell's effect reduced:
[STR], [VIT], [END] + 10 → [STR], [VIT], [END] + 3 Divine nature of the spell hurts you:
You suffered [7] damage
In the very last moment, I managed to cover my head with the shield, then, I tried to redirect this force and push the ghoul onto the ground where I could stab it, impaling and pinning it to the ground. But, before such an idea even appeared in my head, the beast jumped off my shield and returned to its brothers still circling around us.
By the vibration that resonated through my shield, armor, and later even bones, I was able to say that they were not only ridiculously fast, but incredibly strong as well. If it had managed to grab a human's arm, it would have torn it off like a rag doll.
I could hear the girls occasionally groaning, yelling, or letting out war-shouts, which let me know that similar quick clashes kept on happening behind my back. The feeling of panic surged within my bones. I desperately fought with my desire to turn around and check on their conditions, not so long ago Henrietta was nearly killed by a mob of lowest rank undead! How was she doing with an enemy so much stronger?!
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No. I had my orders. I needed to trust them. Another attack - this time, a different ghoul came running extremely low, close to the ground aiming for my legs. I dropped onto one knee trying to slash horizontally from the side hoping to cut it into two, yet once again its reaction proved to be too fast. It jumped up, twisting its body so it flew over my blade and landed behind me before, once again, joining his group. But while in midair, he still managed to scratch my armor leaving long marks with its talon-like claws.
Armor [Durability] reduced:
Durability remaining: [98%] You suffered [0] damage.
All this time the pack caller kept on releasing sharp, ear-piercing cries. Its eyes were fully focused on us… and it didn’t notice two arrows which flew in from the side and pierced its side and leg. The creature looked at pieces of wood in confusion, its degenerated sense of feeling informed it, with delay, that it had been attacked. And that delay allowed another two arrows to reach it, another one getting stuck in its belly, while the last one missed, digging into the ground only half of a meter away from the creature.
The pack caller looked toward the hill, trying to localize the new source of danger. Fortunately for us, its eyesight, which was perfect for living in dark tombs, was more than just flawed under the plain sun. His life-sensing was also clouded because of the pile of the corpses still emitting clouds of fleeing essence. Led by instinct, it tried to hide behind an obstacle that could shield it from incoming projectiles. For a few short moments, it stopped commanding the group.
Chaos appeared in the actions of the pact, their moves became far less coordinated. Two of them jumped at the same time toward me and, as a result, they got in each other’s way. I delivered a quick blow using the opportunity handed to me as if on a silver platter, my blade pierced the head of one of the ghouls who tried getting up after clashing with its kinman. I hoped to deliver a similar blow to the second creature, yet it proved to be too fast. Seeing me occupied with its comrade, it pounced on my shoulders scratching and biting around my neck, once again leaving long marks alongside the surface of my armor. One of its fingers managed to slip into the crack in armor trying to slash my neck, yet it found nothing. The creature was heavy and constantly wriggling, trying to wrestle me to the ground. If he managed to do that, I would be as good as dead (...well, again). I tried my hardest to get it off of myself, but because of how close it was, I failed to properly reach it with my blade. Knowing that my current actions were futile, I dropped the sword and tried grabbing a dagger tied to my leg. I reached for it and lost my balance letting the beast pin me to the ground.
Armor [Durability] reduced:
Durability remaining: [78%] You suffered [0] damage. [Warning!]
[Helmet]'s [Durability] close to [Critical] level
The beast kept on attacking the cracks in my armor. Seeing how easily it left marks on steel I knew that any other member of my team in a similar situation would have already had their throat sliced open.
Finally gripping the short handle of the dagger, I started blindly stabbing my opponent, yet still missing its only vital point. It's green, cold, sticky blood from its shoulder and neck tainted my armor. I needed to damage its neural system to kill it, or at least paralyze, yet because of the shortness of my newly picked weapon I barely managed to scratch its body.
A few magical arrows flew over me, targeting the pack caller who had just gotten some peace from the archers.
The ghoul let out an angry roar followed by another command-shriek before it dove into the pile of corpses.
Whatever it had commanded, the ghoul, which previously had been trying to separate my head from the rest of my body, let me go. I tried to get up as soon as possible to stop it, yet my armor significantly slowed me down, before I rose from the ground, the ghoul was half way between me and the mages.
Both Henrietta and Natasha were fighting with their own ghouls, which in a frenzy gave up on their defense and tried to run past them. The meaning of shriek thus became clear - “kill the mages at all cost”.
Seeing the situation Suzy bolted toward the mages and jumped over their heads with her blade raised up trying to bring it down before the ghoul could land between the kneeling girls.
Her blade managed to dig into the beast’s body, crippling it, yet not completely killing it. Knowing that reaching its target was impossible now, the ghoul started hissing, biting, and scratching randomly in all directions. Its claws cut Suzy’s armor open as easily as a sharp knife cuts through fresh bread. The noblewoman screamed in pain as her thigh shared the fate of her armor, long red drops painted the ground beneath her. The ghoul's teeth dug into her reinforced shoulder plate, crushing it. The sound of bones breaking resonated across the battlefield.
[Warning!]
Your team member codename [Suzy] suffered heavy damage.
Team member is unable to continue fighting.
Natasha and Henrietta managed to kill their targets and once they turned their heads toward the screams, terror filled their eyes.
I was already running toward them at full speed. My armored body crashed into ghoul forcing it off her, though its claws and teeth which were still locked in her body must have torn a huge chunk of flesh along with the impact.
Seeing all its soldiers dead, the pack leader jumped off the pile and started running toward the edge of the forest. Yet a quick volley of arrows fell upon him like a tempest, piercing him and pinning him to the ground. The scout girls must have changed the ammunition. The arrows were much longer and heavier, bah, one could nearly mistake them for short javelins.
In the meantime, I rolled for a good two or three meters tangled with the last ghoul. All this time I had my dagger which now I used to stab through the creature's collarbone and pin him to the ground. I had no weapon, but I had heavy gauntlets on my hands which I decided to put in good use. Mercilessly, I started pulverizing the creature's face. It didn’t have a nose like us, instead, nostrils were coming out of a smooth piece of skin above its lipless mouth. That’s the spot I started attacking.
You have inflicted [8] [Blunt] damage upon [Ghoul - The Corpse Eater] You have inflicted [6] [Blunt] damage upon [Ghoul - The Corpse Eater] You have inflicted [12] [Blunt] damage upon [Ghoul - The Corpse Eater] You have inflicted [18] [Blunt] damage upon [Ghoul - The Corpse Eater] You have inflicted ...
It was a good decision. It had no bones in that area. Blow after blow kept on turning its head into bloody mush till I eventually reached its spine and brain. I didn’t know how long I kept on pulverizing the creature, but when I was finished the creature's head was turned into an unrecognizable pulp of flesh with bones turned into dust.
I looked toward Suzy to check on her condition. Charlotte was already treating her wound using holy magic with other mages supplying her with mana. Henrietta started bandaging less dangerous wounds as Natasha was forcing some red liquid into her mouth. Seeing my concern, lieutenant-commander just points at the last immobilized beast.
* “We have the situation under control. Would you kindly consider FUCKING MURDERING that last abomination!?”
Pure wrath danced in her eyes. She was mad. Maybe at the beasts, that they hurt her soldier so badly, or maybe at me, that as shield-bearer, I didn’t manage to stop the beasts? Or maybe at herself? There was no way I could learn the source of her wrath as long as Suzy remained in such a condition. All I could do now was execute her orders.
I moved toward our camp, which now was an absolute mess. Chests, plates, and pieces of clothes were tossed all around. I approached one of the fallen weapon racks and picked up a huge, two-handed mace, before directing my steps toward the beast.
By the time I approached it, it managed to nearly free itself. It picked two longer arrows out of its torso and bit off one of its legs as it deemed it impossible to be freed. Once it noticed me, it let out one last threatening hiss and opened and shut its mouth as if saying “I can still bite”.
I circled it not letting it even reach me before stepping on its chest with my boot. Looking deep into cold, dead yet still intelligent eyes I hoped to see fear. Yet all I noticed was pure wrath and hunger.
* “We are not similar. You exist out of pure malice. Pure hunger. You have no purpose…” I said raising my hammer “...I am nothing like you.”
I brought my weapon down. One strike was enough to end its existence, yet I didn’t stop after that. I kept on pulverizing. Killing. Destroying.
It was pointless. A needless action. Yes somewhat, I couldn’t stop. I wasn't angry. I was fully aware of the stupidity of my action… Yet that didn’t stop me.
When I was finally done, I noticed a thick cloud of essence leaving its body. Part of it was corrupted, already ‘digested’ - useless to me. Still, there was plenty of ‘edible’ life force left. Without thinking twice I started inhaling it. It was awful. Suffocating, if I had a working stomach, I would have puked by now.
You have slain [Ghoul - The Corpse Eater; Pack Caller] Essence extraction in process [62] Experience prgression [54/500] → [116/500]
Still, for the past two days, I hungered, feasting on nothing but one or two field mice. If I wanted to keep my sanity, I needed to eat.
I needed to devour.
It is only natural, right? The strong devour the weak. That’s how this world works. What I was doing was only natural…
… Right?
Skill profiency increased Skills:
[Sword Usage - Apprentice level 4]
[Shield Usage - Apprentice level 2 → 3]
[Bow Usage - Apprentice level 1]
[Nature Magic - Novice level 1]
[Mana Sense - Low - Passive]
[Life Sense - Low - Passive]
[Combat Maneuver/Team tactic - Novice level 1 → 2]
[Heavy Armor Usage - Novice level 1 [New]]
[Hand-to-hand Combat - Novice level 1 [New]]