Amidst the night, Raul trudged along the desolate road, carrying the grotesque skeletal figure.
Amberxiu's ancient castle stood far from the town, and tonight, not a single star graced the sky. Raul had to rely entirely on the eerie, ghostly flames in the alien skull's eyes to guide his way.
He walked at a slow pace, not only because the path was unclear but also due to the turmoil within his heart.
He did not want to help the Lich capture living humans for experimentation, especially not those townsfolk who were fleeing from their ruined lives. The Lord's sudden tax increase had already shattered their lives, and Raul, too, was one of the refugees, naturally sympathizing with their plight. How could he bring himself to harm them?
But what about his sister, Isabel? What would become of her?
As he hesitated, the sound of galloping hooves echoed ahead, accompanied by the flickering light of torches.
Raul quickly hid by the roadside. He didn't need to move closer to be certain; these were the Lord's men sent to capture people.
As expected, a knight clad in soft leather armor approached, leading a group of armed escorts, their figures clear under the torchlight. There were ten of them, accompanied by hunting dogs.
Raul crouched in the thick grass by the road, holding his breath. There were ten of them, including a knight on horseback. Though not in full plate armor, a knight, even unarmored, was not someone a commoner like Raul could face. He could only pray that the dogs had not caught his scent.
The wilderness was full of scents, and perhaps they wouldn't detect him.
But luck was not on his side. The hunting dogs, seemingly fixated on Raul's position, veered off the road and headed in his direction, their low growls growing louder.
Raul was familiar with the Lord's dogs. He knew they had sensed his presence and would soon charge with their masters. A defenseless Raul would certainly be caught and, worse yet, killed on the spot.
Wait, maybe he wasn't entirely defenseless.
Raul gripped the jeweled bone in his hand, and with the dogs only ten meters away, he activated the attack gem.
In the darkness, two green lights flickered to life. The once low, growling dogs seemed to encounter something terrifying, halting in their tracks. Before their handlers could react, the glowing entity leapt onto one of the dogs with astonishing speed.
In the dim, wavering torchlight, a monstrous shape, like a demonic creature, crouched on the dog, its sickle-like arms slashing violently, opening the dog's belly in an instant.
The handler, about to cry out in alarm, saw the creature rush toward him, moving with a speed almost on par with the dogs. He quickly dodged, but the creature was more cunning. After missing, it darted toward the others.
In the insufficient light, illuminated only by a few torches, the creature's movements were hard to discern. Soon, a misfortunate soul was overtaken by it. The sickle sliced from leg to chest, easily penetrating the thin cloth, the creature's small but powerful strength making quick work of the man.
The creature's intelligence was evident; it never lingered in combat. After a few quick stabs, it swiftly moved on. If it caught someone, it would climb up their body, using its sharp sickle like an ice pick in a frozen lake, its blades embedding into the flesh to assist its ascent.
These simple, repetitive actions caused immense harm. Once a person fell in panic, death came swiftly as the creature found the throat and sealed it with a single cut.
The knight on horseback tried to chase, but found his sword insufficient to reach the creature, which was smaller than the hunting dogs. Before he could dismount, three of his men had already fallen. The torches dropped to the ground, quickly extinguishing, plunging the area into deeper darkness.
In the gloom, the two green lights seemed to stare down like the eyes of death, robbing the knight of the courage to fight. He spurred his horse and fled.
But the slaughter continued. The knight could escape, but the two-legged men could not outrun the speed of the grotesque skeleton, whose agility surpassed that of the hounds. While humans panicked in the darkness, the skeleton was unfazed. The fire of the soul could sense its prey, unaffected by the lack of light.
After a series of shrill cries, what appeared to be a powerful force was utterly defeated.
Raul stood up from the bushes, trembling as he looked at the corpses scattered on the ground.
The alien skeleton, having lost its target, returned to its following state, slowly walking toward Raul. The sight of the blood-soaked figure made him stagger back in fear, almost falling to the ground.
Shivering, Raul stared at the skeletal monster.
The undead were truly formidable. What kind of terrifying existence could create such creatures? What had he gotten himself into?
Raul regretted deeply, wishing he had never touched that cursed railing. Isabel had warned him at the time, but he hadn't listened.
Now, it was too late for regrets. To save his sister, he had to obey the Lich's commands. But as he gazed at the bodies around him, a new idea began to form. These weren't just any bodies; the Lord's lackeys could serve as experiment material. There was no need to bother other refugees.
But only six had died so far—he still needed a few more to fulfill the Lich's request.
Raul looked down at the dark crimson skeletal figure and gritted his teeth. "Isabel, wait for me. I will return to save you."
Inside the castle, a young woman named Isabel was focused on preparing alchemical potions. Amberxiu observed her for a while, realizing she was a genuine alchemy apprentice, handling his materials with care. He relaxed and turned his attention to the images he had just received.
Raul's controller not only gave orders to the alien skeleton but also functioned as a memory crystal, transmitting images to Amberxiu.
This was a real combat test, demonstrating that the alien skeleton was far more powerful than a normal one. Though luck played a part—nighttime visibility was low, and without dark vision, humans were at a disadvantage. Moreover, if the knight hadn't hesitated, his horse could have easily trampled the skeleton. But, win is a win.
"The test results prove that reducing unnecessary bone structures can significantly lower the consumption of soul energy, allowing for better performance with fewer joints. Although this alien skeleton lacks the evolutionary potential of regular skeletons, such as evolving into a skeleton knight, undead evolution is an extremely rare miracle. My creation's key advantage is its cost-effectiveness."
"Everyone has seen the entire experiment process. Using the same strength of a lower-level soul, I've saved much of the bone material, resulting in a far more powerful individual. In the current market, where magical materials are overpriced, this alien skeleton should have great market potential…"
Amberxiu recorded his presentation again and opened the Codex of the Undead, transmitting the footage to the chat group behind the Codex.
End of Chapter