A large part of the battlefield was covered in flames and Mikel watched as his destroyed bones came together to reform his body.
This same thing was happening all around him to the other skeletons that were caught up in the attack.
The ground rumbled and Mikel looked to see the large Beltimian army rushing towards them with a resounding war cry.
~OOOOM
Another eerie sound was heard from the grim reaper and this time Mikel felt something he had never felt so strongly before— Bloodlust.
He struggled as he tried to control himself, but every fiber of his being wanted nothing more than to slaughter the people coming his way.
But despite all his struggles, he was already running to meet the opposition two seconds later to bring nothing but carnage.
'So this is how it is. I can't fight it.'
Mikel accepted defeat as he saw no other way out except from doing as he was commanded. He still had some control over his actions, but when given an order, he had to obey.
The horde of skeletons clashed with the army and the clanging sounds of swords could be heard as well as the sounds of bones being broken.
Skeletons weren't exactly powerful beings. The average human could hold their own against a grunt skeleton, but where the problem arose was their numbers and the fact that they had infinite stamina, and the higher leveled ones were not only powerful but also had to be killed more times than the lower ranking ones.
In a prolonged battle, the skeletons were sure to win.
"AHHH!"
Mikel saw a sword swinging down at him and was about to parry it when he realized he didn't have his sword anymore. The lack of skin made him lose the sense of feeling so he couldn't tell that it was no longer in his hand.
It must've dropped when he died.
Without a second thought, He immediately dodged and the sword missed him. The Soldier then swung out wide and Mikel quickly jumped back away from its reach.
The Soldier stood with a perplexed expression on his face as he watched Mikel. He was very sure Mikel wasn't one of those speed types and grunt skeletons weren't known for being so flexible and having enough battle sense to dodge attacks.
Seeing no reason to ponder too much on this while he was on a battlefield, the soldier prepared to attack again but was stabbed multiple times by other skeletons from behind and met a swift end.
Mikel watched the soldier fall to the ground and couldn't care less. The only reason he hadn't fought back when he had a chance was because he was still trying to see if he could fight against the urge to kill.
His efforts were fruitless and he was about to fight back had the soldier not been killed by others.
[You only have one life left. I suggest you concentrate on surviving rather than fighting the urge to fight.]
'I know.'
Suddenly, Mikel took on a fighting stance and his fists began to glow a dull blue. He had activated his only available skill— [Bone breaker]!
****
[Name: Bone breaker
Skill level: 1/3
Skill rank: A
Active: Deals 300% bone density as damage. Has a chance to cause a stun effect on opponents.
Description: Its versatility and efficiency make this an incredible skill for close combat. Become unstoppable!
Special effect: 50% increase in joint flexibility.
Skill duration: 5 minutes
Cooldown: 20 minutes]
Mikel quickly spotted a soldier a few meters away and the soldier's information display popped up above his head.
[Name: third class Beltimian soldier
Lvl: 12
HP: 200/250]
The Soldier was significantly skilled and made quick work of the skeletons surrounding him and his other companions, but he was taking damage frequently as well.
Despite seeing this, Mikel wasn't sure if attacking him now was a good idea.
Beltimian soldiers were known to be incredibly powerful. Even ordinary third-class soldiers were between the level range of ten to twenty!
However, unfortunately, Beltimus could not afford to send their higher-ranking soldiers into every battle to avoid unnecessary losses and to conserve their attack power until when it was necessary to release it to its fullest.
Because of this, the war against the skeletons has been in a deadlock with both sides rarely getting an edge over the other.
The skeletons weren't weak either but Beltimus always did their best to match their level of attack.
Mikel had to be careful in picking out an opponent to fight against so he didn't meet a swift end without even getting the chance to fight.
His skull moved left and right in search of a proper opponent while his mind silently went over his current fighting ability.
[Name: Mikel Raven
Class: Grunt skeleton
Level: 1
Energy: 50/50
MP: -
Live(s): 1/2
Bone vitality: 100/100
Exp: 0/50
Summoner: The Undead monarch
Link: 74%
Bone density: 10
Joint flexibility: 20
Impact resistance: 10
Skills: {Bone breaker- A rank 1/3}]
'My skill turns 300% of bone density into damage and from the looks of it... I can only dish out 30 damage points per punch.'
'But still, if I take in the damage reduction caused by their armors, it might even be more than 50% less!'
Mikel wanted to click his tongue in frustration but when he realized he didn't have one anymore, his annoyance grew.
The most important thing now was to find someone he was confident he could beat before he would lose control and attacked anyone in sight. That action would inevitably end with him dying and going back to that dark abyss for heaven knows how long.
Thinking about it now, Mikel realized that the urge to kill everyone had receded a bit. It wasn't enough to let him ignore it, but it was enough for him to hold out a bit more and think his actions through.
It was then that he spotted the [link] stat that was now below its initial 100%.
'What's going on? Why is it lesser than it was before?'
BOOM!!!
Mikel suddenly heard an explosion louder than the ones that had been happening all over the battlefield.
The ground shook and split apart from the tremors.
Mikel and many others found themselves high up in the air due to the sudden gust of wind that came from the large hole in the ground.
While struggling to find balance as he free-fell, Mikel managed to get a glimpse of a giant bony hand coming out from the hole.
~OOOM
That sound.
Mikel recognized that it came from the grim reaper and quickly realized what was going on—some of the death energy that was supposed to be used to keep the skeletons in check had been used to power whatever it was that was coming out of the ground.
The grim reaper had realized it was in danger and had summoned it to dominate the playing field and to accomplish the orders it was given.
It had just given an order for them to keep attacking.
******
Helen quickly jumped back out of the dark mist that had suddenly appeared around the grim reaper. Pitch-black blood could be seen flowing from her left hand that hung limply by her side.
The mist had contaminated the injury. If she didn't get the mages to attend to her now, it was only a matter of time before she died.
'Why the hell is this thing so powerful?' that was the thought that went through her head as her feet touched the ground.
Grim reapers were powerful, yes. But not this powerful.
Something was wrong.
It was obvious that it was the conduit and killing it would make this battle easier, so she and two of her five captains went to accomplish that mission.
Five minutes later, she was the only one alive.
She couldn't even see her comrades' bodies as the dark mist had devoured them completely. As if that was not enough, a new threat had appeared on the battlefield and was climbing out of that huge hole that had just appeared.
Helen looked at the Beltimian airships floating above the battlefield and gritted her teeth. The airship was only here to aid in their withdrawal from the battlefield if it ever came to that as was procedure since conserving their forces was as important as winning the battle.
She could easily order an aerial bombardment, but that could take up a lot of resources which could almost deplete the airship's energy reserves and render it useless.
Not to mention the casualties they would get on their sides too.
'Shit! I need to—'
Before Helen could complete her line of thought, the grim reaper appeared right in front of her with its scythe just a few inches away from splitting her apart!
Helen gritted her teeth and her hand gained a golden glow as she balled it into a fist and threw a punch to meet the scythe blade!
BOOM!!!!