To deal with the enraged red skeleton lord, Ander had to put a lot of thought into it. He commanded his three bone dogs to bite at the red skeleton lord, and after much struggle, they managed to gnaw off one of its arms.
Ander also wanted to show off his strength, so he eagerly released several bone spears. Unfortunately, his aim didn't match the surge of magic energy he now had, and out of more than a dozen bone spears, only one hit.
While the bone dogs were busy breaking off the skeleton lord's arm bones, the furious red skeleton lord didn't just lie down. However, after Ander leveled up, his magic power surged, and the skeleton lord's injuries were being healed more slowly than Ander could repair them with his "Decay Rebirth" spell.
Seeing that only one leg was left on the ground, Ander felt a bit relieved but also a little sorry for the skeleton lord. He instructed the bone dogs to pin the skeleton lord down and ordered another dog to bite its neck. He wasn't ready to kill it just yet.
When Ander turned around, he noticed the skeleton minions, who had scattered earlier, had gathered back together. Da Gama and Magellan, the two whose intelligence had recently been improving, were standing at the back, looking like children trying to avoid punishment.
Not wanting to waste any time, Ander took out his skeletal staff, held it like a hammer, and started to beat the minions. Since they were all skeletons, any broken bones would be fixed later. When he got to Magellan, he even had to tell him to eat first before he could continue with the punishment.
In fact, dealing with the minions was easy. If Ander simply used the soul fragments they had given him, they would be reduced to nothing. But Ander didn't want to do that, because once the minions' soul flames were damaged, their intelligence and abilities would drop drastically.
Ander was still frustrated by his lack of someone to talk to, but seeing Da Gama and Magellan's intelligence improving, he was eager to train them.
Once the minions were thoroughly scolded, Ander warned them not to spread the word about what had happened. Then, he gave each one a "Decay Rebirth" spell and wandered over to the red skeleton lord, who was still thrashing around.
Without wasting words, Ander swung the skeletal staff at the red skeleton lord's skull.
"You thought you could chase me, knock me away, and throw your flying bone clubs at me?" Ander muttered angrily while pounding the red skeleton lord's massive, red skull.
But something strange happened. As Ander continued his strikes, the soul fire inside the red skeleton's skull began to calm down.
"What's going on?" Ander stopped, confused.
He had already realized that the skeleton lord wasn't exactly brilliant. Its intelligence was about that of a child. But just moments before, the first impression Ander had gotten was that this red skeleton was insane!
So, without thinking, he had run away. Anyone would avoid a crazy opponent like that. When Ander struck the skull earlier, he only meant to retaliate a little. With the skeleton lord in this state, Ander had planned to let the dogs finish it off and then absorb its soul fire.
But suddenly, a clear voice echoed in his mind.
"Let go of me!"
"Are you talking to me?" Ander was stunned. He looked down in surprise—how was the big skeleton lord suddenly conscious?
"Let me go! I am the higher-level skeleton lord, Reid! You, the weak and cowardly skeleton mage, let me go for a fair duel! I'll kill you and devour your soul fire!"
The red skeleton lord, Reid, now seemed to have regained a lot of intelligence. At least, the thoughts it sent were much more coherent.
"You want me to let you go? Should I heal you first with 'Decay Rebirth'?" Ander chuckled. It seemed like Reid was still a fool. After all, after Ander had used his bone dogs to chew the skeleton lord down to a "bone stick," Reid now wanted a fair duel?
Reid, however, insisted, "Yes! Heal me right now with 'Decay Rebirth'!"
Ander smiled, amused. He raised the skeletal staff and struck Reid's skull hard. With a muffled thud, Reid's skull cracked slightly, but the staff was still intact.
"You coward! How dare you strike me?" Reid's soul fire flared up again. The humiliation of being struck by a low-level skeleton was unbearable for Reid, who considered himself a high-ranking lord.
"I'm going to hit you, what are you going to do about it?" Ander sneered and raised the staff again. But then he paused. He didn't want to break the staff, so he casually tucked it back behind his neck.
"And what if I told you I've already killed dozens of high-level undead kings? How would you feel?" Ander mocked. "You're just a small-time lord compared to them."
"Really?" Reid was shocked. He couldn't believe it. This cowardly skeleton mage had killed kings?
"You think I'm lying?" Ander gave a sly grin. "Those undead kings in the Withered Forest? I destroyed them. And I didn't even blink."
Reid's disbelief continued, but as he thought about it, he realized there was no reason for Ander to lie. After all, low-level undead didn't usually boast about such things.
Then Ander, seeing the skeleton lord still confused, decided to try a bit of coercion.
"You've got two options. First, surrender. Give me your soul fragments and serve as my minion. I'll make sure you live well. Or, second, you refuse, and my dog here will chew through your skull. Choose wisely."
Ander made sure to emphasize this last part by nudging his bone dog, which obediently started chewing through the neck vertebrae of the skeleton lord.
Though Ander didn't expect much, he played his part. As expected, Reid was terrified.
"I'll be your servant!" The poor lord's soul cried out in fear. He didn't want to die, and after all, a low-level undead lord had no reason to refuse serving a stronger one, especially after hearing Ander's tale of killing undead kings.
Reid's intelligence had spiked, and now he was desperately finding reasons to surrender.