Night Threefold gently touched the two lifeless bodies on the ground and sighed.
He shouldn't have expected to find anything valuable on these two individuals.
By consuming 1 point of soul energy, he quietly revived the nearest skeleton, picked up the discarded hoe left by the bold goblin, and dispatched the boastful goblin with a casual swing. As for the other one...
It scared itself to death.
Seeing the daily consumption of his undead mark increased by 1 point, Night Threefold felt relieved. This indicated that the undead creatures he summoned would also be protected by the disguise, preventing them from attracting the attention of the Silver Holy Church.
[Undead Resurrection] allows reviving corpses as undead by consuming soul energy, with the consumption depending on the corpse's strength.
[Elder Skeleton] is a frail undead revived with 1 point of soul energy. (Glory Kill: 2, upgradable.)
Glory Kill, quite literal, included scaring one to death, making this elder skeleton an unexpected pleasure.
Unfortunately, upgrading required 1 point of soul energy, and Night Threefold didn't plan to waste it here.
At dawn, he would lose 11 points of soul energy. If he couldn't accumulate enough by then, he might be discovered soon.
Luckily, the blue lights emitted from the corpses of the two goblins were absorbed by the undead mark, converting into two points of soul energy, bringing his total to 4.
Soul, the most direct source of soul energy.
To obtain more, he needed to devour.
Night Threefold glanced at the two dark and putrid bodies on the ground, sneering.
"At least it's not the last moment..."
Letting the elder skeleton carry the shovel and hoe, Night Threefold picked up the short sword – or more appropriately, a dagger.
"Better than nothing."
He temporarily ignored the goblin corpses. There were more important matters at hand.
According to the information he just overheard, there should be a goblin camp nearby. To gather enough soul energy before dawn, he had to set his sights on this camp.
As an undead, Night Threefold's night vision was excellent. The traces left by the two goblins were easily discernible.
After approximately an hour of following the tracks into the woods, several points of firelight finally appeared before him.
A hidden sentry?
He didn't believe any hidden sentry could discover a skeleton without screaming.
Near a few tattered animal skin tents, a bonfire burned brightly. Eight ugly goblins gathered around, twisting their buttocks in a frenzy.
They held cups made of wood, laughing manically. One noticeably larger goblin even held a skull!
Night Threefold furrowed his brow. These creatures were clearly reveling, and the reason...
He saw it near the largest tent – a woman in a green skirt, tied to a tree stump.
Oh,
They had caught prey.
So, those two goblins who died were likely individuals expelled to serve as sentries. For some unknown reason, they harbored sinister intentions, wanting to poison their companions?
Night Threefold nodded. Immediately, he retraced his steps to the graveyard. This time, without the need to discern tracks or be cautious, it took only half an hour to return.
"Go."
Night Threefold waved his hand, and a small figure stiffly pushed through the bushes and walked out.
"Heh! What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to keep watch outside? Grass, what's that smell on you?!"
The heavily-muscled goblin scolded loudly upon seeing the small goblin.
"Ugh... Ugh..."
"What are you pointing at? Feeling frozen and wanting hot soup?"
The larger goblin was about to scold, then suddenly his eyes rolled.
"Fine, go ahead and drink."
The small goblin nodded, approached the iron pot hanging by the fire, where boiling water simmered with something inside.
"Drink my foot!"
The large goblin suddenly pulled out a large club and struck the small goblin's head directly. With a snap, the tomato went into the blender.
"Just because you want some hot soup. Come on, chop it up. Let's add some meat!"
"And you two, go catch that audacious guy who tried to steal and eat behind my back. Hmph!"
The large goblin glanced at the woman tied to the post, wiping his mouth.
"Wait until I get the reward, and then I'll deal with you. Hehe."
The small goblin was quickly skinned, chopped up, and thrown into the soup pot. A sour and pungent meat soup aroma filled the air.
In fact, when goblins lacked food, they would usually eat the old and weak in the tribe. This was one of the reasons people despised them.
Gulping down chunks of meat that had once been their companions, the goblins showed satisfied expressions, even those two who were urged to go hunt, reluctantly ate a couple of morsels before setting off.
They were goblins and hunters; chasing a solitary comrade was only a matter of time.
However, as soon as they stood up, all goblins displayed bewildered expressions, then clutched their stomachs and frantically rolled around.
"Ah! It hurts! My stomach! It hurts!"
The large goblin struggled the most, even knocking over the bonfire and the boiling pot. However, flames and hot soup couldn't alleviate the severe pain in its abdomen.
Its eyes widened as it watched the flesh on its stomach decay one piece at a time, slowly spreading,
Lower abdomen, lower regions, thighs, chest, neck, face...
It desperately scratched at its face, but it could only grab the gelatinous rotting flesh. Until it fell down in despair, eyes staring at the head of the small goblin lying next to the overturned pot.
"Could it be that, kin really can't be eaten..."
Only then did Night Threefold cautiously step out, wielding the dagger to make a swift cut on the necks of those gruesome bodies on the ground. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Eight entire goblins, considering their equipment – javelins, clubs, knives, and even five sets of crude bows and more than fifty twisted beast tooth arrows – he wouldn't stand a chance alone.
But fortunately, he was an undead.
An undead who knew a bit of magic.
Spending 2 points of soul energy, he turned the small goblin into a zombie, then let it chew on half a sprig of silverleaf grass. Silverleaf grass had no effect on undead creatures. As for the remaining half, he carried it, waiting for the right moment to poison.
Fortunately, his knowledge about goblins from his memory proved useful. The leader chose to eat the disobedient subordinate, turning into rotten meat with regret and confusion.
As for him, it was time to take stock of his gains.
A total of 8 soul energy points, replenishing his total to 10. With just two more, he could safely pass through the first dawn.
Thinking about this, he looked towards his second reward,
The green-skirted girl captured by the goblins...