Chapter 32 – Better to Deny the Kill

In the vast mountain forest, several players riding dire wolves began a tactical retreat, only letting out long sighs of relief after galloping a great distance away.

That was terrifying.

However, having taken such great risks only to turn back halfway left them somewhat unwilling to accept it.

“Boss, are we just leaving like this? Didn’t you say we common players have to fight hard?”

“Right, we do have to fight hard, but only when there’s a chance to fight.”

In the real world, the team leader playing in a row lit a cigarette. Amid the swirling smoke, he blew a smoke ring and shook his head, “But in that situation just now, how could we possibly fight? We’d be throwing our lives away.”

“We definitely have to fight when it’s time to fight, and we have to back down when it’s time to back down. Players who only know how to fight won’t last long.”

He paused, then continued, “Besides, you all recognize gargoyles. They’re powerful Rare One-Star units, yet that one was decisively cut down with a single sword stroke.”

“This only suggests two possibilities. First, there’s a powerful monster roaming ahead. If we go any further, we’ll end up like that gargoyle—chopped down like vegetables.”

“Second, the one who killed the gargoyle is a unit belonging to some big shot. That Mage Tower must already be in their possession. We can’t and don’t dare to lay a finger on it. Moreover, if I’m not mistaken, that big shot already noticed us and gave us a little warning with that explosion… That’s why I told everyone to leave quickly. I was afraid of being misunderstood by that big shot. If we had taken even a few more steps forward, our lives might not have been ours anymore.”

“Don’t forget, the Eternal World isn’t Blue Star. There are no laws in the wilderness.”

So that’s how it is!

The other players in the team suddenly understood, cold sweat beading on their foreheads. They felt both terrified and relieved.

They hadn’t realized they had just brushed shoulders with death.

Fortunately, fortunately the boss was decisive enough.

Truly worthy of being our boss.

…

“Players? Veteran players?”

In the sky, the eyes of an inconspicuous War Falcon focused, capturing the somewhat noticeable team in the distance.

There were two War Falcons: one observing the battlefield, constantly live-streaming the battle situation.

The other patrolled the outer mountains, vigilant in all directions… Mu Yuan was worried that during the battle, powerful monsters might try to deceive or ambush them.

Unexpectedly, instead of powerful monsters, they encountered the more troublesome veteran players.

After all, even the weakest veteran players have been playing for half a year. With that much time accumulated, no matter how slow their progress, their main units’ Rank couldn’t be too low.

At the very least, they’d be at the ‘High Zero-Rank’ level.

If they had already reached Professional Tier, even Deadbone might not be a match for them.

Furthermore, other players might not share his lofty morals and noble character. In the lawless wilderness, conflicts between players, stealing monsters, or even covert killings were all possible.

This was a big problem, quite tricky!

Mu Yuan observed through Vision Sharing, his thoughts racing as he pondered how to proceed.

Before he could even finish a single train of thought, these veteran players had already left, moving even faster than when they arrived.

Mu Yuan: “???”

It didn’t immediately occur to him that this was the ‘gargoyle’s intimidation.’ From such a great distance, the veteran players had completely failed to realize the gargoyle was a paper tiger, just like how he and Deadbone had been initially intimidated by it.

Mu Yuan simply had the War Falcon keep an eye on these veteran players, just in case.

…

Before the Ruined Tower, the battlefield.At the start of the battle, the Undead General instantly obliterated three gargoyles with his invincible might, causing the gargoyle horde to begin awakening. Bone Two also charged forward like a wild boar, hurling its Bone Spear with a powerful Charge at one of the gargoyles.

It hit!

However, Bone Two’s throw was somewhat rushed, and its skill application crude. Even with the advantage of a surprise attack, it was far from enough to instantly kill a gargoyle.

It merely embedded the Bone Spear deeply into the gargoyle’s body.

The remaining five gargoyles fully awakened, spreading their wings and taking flight, stirring up howling gusts of wind as gray shadows flickered and darted through the dense forest.

Two subsequent Bone Spears thrown by Bone Two missed entirely.

Bad news: It missed yet again.

Good news: It successfully drew the gargoyles’ attention.

A full three gargoyles swooped down toward it from different directions. Bone Two naturally couldn’t handle such a complex threat, but it had never known the meaning of fear—it recklessly charged forward.

With a swing of its Greatsword, sparks flew as it struck the gargoyle, leaving only shallow marks.

Bone Two then pressed down with both hands, dark energy shimmering along the blade as it violently carved a gruesome gash into the gargoyle, sending stone fragments flying.

But simultaneously, the gargoyle’s sharp claws gleamed with an eerie cold light.

They swept past, tearing through Bone Two’s warrior armor as if it were cardboard.

Shards of metal scattered amidst broken ribs. Yet even with holes torn through its body and facing multiple enemies, Bone Two remained fearless in this world.

Hiyah!

At the same time, Deadbone was leading the other Skeleton Soldiers in executing a righteous gang-up tactic.

Under normal circumstances, Skeleton Soldiers would struggle to inflict significant damage on gargoyles with their exceptional defense, but Cleave compensated for this.

Normally, Skeleton Soldiers would find it difficult to time Cleave against swift-flying gargoyles, but Deadbone’s command made up for it.

In the blink of an eye, two gargoyles were shredded into stone debris by a flurry of blades during a dive.

Deadbone simultaneously drew a specially crafted Bone Spear, seizing the moment for a steady, well-timed sneak attack.

Charge burst!

A gargoyle that had just activated its tearing skill—before it could even strike—shattered into pieces right in front of Bone Two.

Bone Two: Am I this strong?

…

Soon, Deadbone seized another opportunity, slicing off a gargoyle’s wing with his Sword before stepping forward with a punch. Having adapted the Cleave skill into a fist technique, he shattered the gargoyle’s hardened skull with a single blow.

In just a few blinks, only one gargoyle remained out of the original eight.

It seemed terrified, circling high in the sky, unwilling to descend.

Deadbone stared intently at this figure.

This gargoyle was too powerful—it absolutely could not be allowed to escape. They couldn’t afford to delay!

Yet he couldn’t fly, and this was a weakness. Bone Spear throws had low accuracy against a fully alert gargoyle.

Indeed, he still wasn’t steady enough.

In that case…

Deadbone turned his gaze toward Large Slime No. 2. Having served as a Slime feeder for some time, he was fully aware of the Large Slime’s capabilities.Under Mu Yuan’s stunned and dumbfounded gaze, Deadbone stepped on the Large Slime, using its Leap Strike to propel himself twenty to thirty meters into the air. Seizing the moment before the gargoyle could fly far, he hurled two Bone Spears to block its escape, then swung a several-meter-long dark sword gleam, cleanly cleaving the gargoyle in two with a heavy blow.

BOOM—!!

Deadbone, clad in armor, plummeted from the sky, crashing down and cracking the earth with countless fissures.

Behind him, the gargoyle’s corpse, severed into two halves, thudded to the ground with a puff, kicking up dust and sand.

Deadbone pulled his combat boots out of the soil, looked at the cracks already forming on his armor, and sighed:

“As expected, I’m still far from being steady.”

…

The battle ended in just over ten seconds, leaving Mu Yuan’s heart racing with excitement. He yearned to step into that world himself and exchange a few moves with the gargoyle.

Oh, right—he only had the strength of one skeleton. Little Skeleton’s level of strength.

On second thought, better forget it.

…

Dust filled the air as trees toppled one after another, rubble and broken branches scattering everywhere. The area before the Ruined Tower had become a complete mess.

But Deadbone had deliberately controlled the combat zone, ensuring it didn’t affect the ancient Tower, which was likely already a hazardous structure.

The commotion from the battle was considerable. Perhaps the gargoyle’s territory carried its own deterrent, as no foolish monsters were drawn to the scene. By the time Mu Yuan approached, all he could see was the gargoyle’s corpse in two pieces and…

…and Bone Two, its body pierced with several holes, its heart cavity hollowed out and leaking air from head to toe.

Mu Yuan: “…”

The sight was undeniably pitiful, but watching Bone Two amusing itself by fiddling with its own gaps, his sorrow faded before it could even surface.

Fine, as long as you’re happy.

It’s just a skeleton, after all—no harm done.

If Bone Two had focused on evasion, it wouldn’t have sustained such severe injuries in such a short time. But this guy was single-minded, insisting on landing a few strikes on the gargoyle even at the cost of getting wounded.

Deadbone looked at Bone Two, its heart cavity emptied, and reasoned that such injuries would take a long time to heal. Naturally, he thought of the skill he possessed: Undead Resurrection.

By finishing off Bone Two and resurrecting it, all those injuries would simply vanish.

Deadbone was 99.99% confident in this maneuver, but after careful consideration, he shook his head. Bone Two was his comrade, his brother-in-arms. Better to wait until later, catch a few undead creatures from outside to test it on, and only perform the “surgery” on Bone Two after successful trials.

That would be the steady approach.

(End of Chapter)