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Chapter 14: Jared's Tomb
As Freya's and Ethan’s figures completely disappeared, Brandon also settled down. Unlike sneaking into a pasture from another direction, where he could rely on the shadows of a grove for cover, to reach the low grove below, he would almost have to face the scrutiny of a whole squad of skeletal soldiers.
Taking risks was inevitable, but unnecessary risks were not worth taking. He decided to wait until it got darker before starting his action. Although undead could directly sense life energy, their search range at night was limited.
But Brandon wasn't idle either. He observed the patrol patterns of the skeleton soldiers below. Soon he found a gap in their patrols. Approximately between the two scattered squads intersecting, he could gain a ten-second interval.
Surveying the terrain, he noted the twenty-meter span between his position and the grove below. Despite possessing 2 units of agility, he couldn't fully utilize them in his weakened state. To complete a forty-meter round trip and dig out the buried key under the tree within ten seconds seemed like an impossible challenge.
So he decided to take a different approach.
The sky darkened quickly.
As he steeled himself for action, he silently admonished his nerves, seamlessly blending into the dim environment despite the relentless pounding of his heart.
What other game could offer a death penalty more thrilling than this daring gamble with his life?
He held his breath, staring down below. Counting silently to fourteen—exactly the time needed for two squads of skeleton soldiers to pass each other—he first threw his sword in that direction, taking the first step.
With a soft rustle, the sword landed amidst the carpet of fallen leaves, the distance spanning a mere twenty meters. Brandon's heart raced as he anxiously waited, each moment feeling like an eternity. Finally, he exhaled in relief as the patrol passed by for the second time, confirming that everything remained undisturbed and normal.
Next was the crucial part of the plan. Brandon counted silently for the second time, waiting for the third intersection of the two squads of skeleton soldiers. Taking a deep breath, he dashed out. In that moment, his mind emptied, unable to dwell on any worries or thoughts except for one singular goal: speed. All that mattered was increasing his pace.
Three seconds.
Brandon arrived, exhaling heavily. He crouched down, scraping away the fallen leaves, grabbing the sword, and starting to dig. However, his efficiency was much slower than expected. He counted silently in his mind as he dug—one, two, three.
Six seconds.
Granting himself an extra second, he dropped the sword and launched into a sprint back. The surroundings blurred past him in a rush as he darted into the bushes, and when he finally came to an abrupt halt to catch his breath, his heartbeat nearly ceased.
As the skeleton soldiers passed by for the fourth time, oblivious to his presence, Brandon drew a deep breath. Excitement surged through him, almost weakening his limbs, yet the rush of adrenaline exhilarated him nonetheless.
Stepping back, he resumed his wait for the second round. Despite Brandon's increased calmness the second time around, it still ended in failure.
With each attempt, his strength waned, and by the third dig, he could only manage two seconds. Then, on the fourth try, his hand finally made contact with the cold square object buried beneath the soil. Brandon had never encountered this thing before, but in that moment, his heartbeat quickened uncontrollably.
This must be it.
Brandon felt a surge of certainty within him. In a fleeting moment, he was overcome with the urge to unearth the object, but the ticking clock reminded him of the dwindling time. With a deep breath to steady himself, he lowered his sword and swiftly retreated.
On the fifth attempt, Brandon remained utterly composed. He dashed to the tree, retrieved the sword, and commenced prying open the square stone slab. It yielded effortlessly, but just then, Brandon's ears perked up.
Wait, something was amiss. The patrol route of the skeleton soldiers had shifted.
Impossible! A chill crept into Brandon's heart; was it a cruel prank from the goddess? Madara's skeleton soldiers were devoid of basic intelligence. They couldn't alter their patrol routes autonomously unless under the sway of a skeletal wizard. Yet, a skeletal wizard wouldn't deviate from their original intentions without cause.
Unless something had alerted them.
Brandon's experience in the game suddenly became clear to him. He couldn't help but glance in the direction of the pasture. Could it be that Freya and Ethan had been exposed? But looking down from the hill, the pasture seemed calm, prompting him to quickly dismiss the idea.
The clacking steps of the skeleton soldiers behind him grew closer, and those monsters should have spotted him by now. Brandon felt his blood freeze; what should he do? There were six skeleton soldiers below; any one of them could bring him to his death.
Use the Ring of the Wind Sovereign? No, aside from the fact that it would attract trouble due to its loud sound, the effect of Wind Blast could only hit three skeletons at most, what about the rest?
Brandon felt his scalp tingling more and more. He kept reminding himself to stay calm, thinking about what he usually did in such situations in the game.
Right, use advantages—every attribute point and skill at a player's disposal could be used to survive in desperate situations.
As long as he used his imagination.
He immediately thought of a possibility, but the crazy idea scared him.
This wasn't a game, Brandon, can you afford the price? He couldn't help but ask himself, but the skeleton soldiers were getting closer, and he had to make a choice.
He took a deep breath and immediately turned the sword around, stabbing himself in the abdomen.
Tearing pain shot from his stomach, a sensation stronger than anything he had experienced in the game. Brandon groaned, almost falling to his knees. He felt like he was going crazy, beads of sweat as big as beans forming on his forehead, but at the same time, the clacking footsteps of the skeleton soldiers stopped.
It worked. The skill -Indomitable had taken effect, fooling those mindless skeleton soldiers.
Brandon couldn't afford to hesitate. He forced himself to pull out the sword, even though he had deliberately avoided vital points, blood still splattered everywhere. He dared not look, almost breathless as he used the sword to pry out the square stone slab, then turned and slid down the hill.
He had five minutes to save himself, his life hanging by a thread.
The soul fire ignited by Indomitable supported him as he stumbled and ran towards the village, but Brandon was startled as soon as he entered the village. Among the ruins of the buildings, there were white skeletons everywhere—those freshly made skeletons were the work of skeletal wizards, influenced by the summoning, crawling out of the graves or tearing out of their flesh and blood.
Under the gradually darkening sky, these white skeletons brought a tremendous sense of oppression, and it was fortunate that Brandon was experienced, otherwise, he would have been scared to collapse long ago.
He focused and counted, discovering more than fifty of them. This sizable number indicated that Madara's invading strength was growing with their advance. However, the only comforting thing was that Brandon knew these frail skeleton soldiers were not on the same level as their darkened counterparts in combat.
They were even slightly inferior to an ordinary adult male.
Brandon moved forward while observing, his target being the small shrine in the village, which should be to the north—if his memory wasn't mistaken. Among the many downsides of death, there was one benefit—wandering undead on the streets saw him as one of their own, even if Brandon bumped into these brainless creatures, they would probably just adjust their balance and continue forward.
This was a huge advantage.
With this advantage, he found Kalidas' shrine in just over three minutes—though it seemed Madara's undead didn't respect the god of pottery as much, as they had already collapsed one side of the shrine's wall.
This provided Brandon with a lot of convenience. He went straight in along that wall and, inside, it was pitch black, impossible to see anything. Brandon remembered that the shrine had been rebuilt later, but after groping around inside for a while, he found the interior environment was almost the same. Relying on memory, he quickly found the path leading to the meditation room.
To his surprise, there was a wandering skeleton in the meditation room. In the darkness, this startled Brandon, but fortunately, his nerves were tough enough. He quickly calmed down, taking a deep breath to reassure himself that it was just an intelligence-less puppet.
However, breathing had become increasingly difficult, and his vision began to blur. He had about a minute left.
Brandon recalled; the entrance to the secret passage should be behind that pulpit. He groped around the area and sure enough found the square depression. Trembling as he pushed the stone slab in, he feared that Lady Marsha would pull another malicious prank on him.
Luckily she didn't. In the pitch-black silence, there was a slight click first, then a second, followed by a rumbling sound from underground, and finally a rush of wind. Brandon felt a breeze on his back.
Turning around, he saw the downward passage—a faint light coming from inside. The walls of the corridor were embedded violet-hued microcrystals, not particularly valuable. However, due to their dim glow, they were not widely utilized.
He shook his head, feeling almost knocked over by dizziness, an experience not accounted for in the game. Within the five minutes of the Indomitable skill's effect in The Amber Sword, players wouldn't feel any discomfort. However, as soon as the time was up, they'd collapse instantly even if their nerves were as resilient as a bull's.
Brandon was almost solely relying on his willpower now, driven by the desire to survive. He pushed himself forward while recalling the origin of this tomb—the Knight Templar buried here was a famous NPC, named Jared or something. He was a local born here, participating in Eruin's War of Independence, living an upright life. After his death, people buried him according to his wishes to return to his hometown.
It was said that this place used to be a forest, but later, a shrine was built on top, and the Temple of Flame modified the Knight Templar's tomb passage, allowing him to rest in the peace of the divine realm forever.
And the sword Brandon was looking for, called the Lustrous Stinger, was also the weapon used by the knight during his lifetime. Brandon had no intention of disturbing the peace of the dead, but presumably, the other party wouldn't want those undead to rampage freely on his homeland.
Brandon began to pant heavily, leaning against the wall of the tomb passage, advancing thirty to forty meters. The end of his line of sight gradually brightened—this continuous soft white light must be the effect of some advanced micro-gem. Brandon's spirits lifted as he realized he was nearing his objective.
But before he could relax, a black shadow suddenly fell from the ceiling, two steel claws grabbing his shoulders and lifting him up forcefully.
A tremendous force invaded his limbs, as if two iron ropes were binding him, making him unable to move. He immediately realized the absolute gap in power; this force was at least four units above him. He was horrified, his gaming experience immediately making him aware of what this was—a Gargoyle. The guy who completed the mission before hadn't mentioned there was a gargoyle in the tomb passage.
Gargoyles were the masterpiece of the Craftsman Wizard from Buga, a level twenty-three monster, making the lower-level skeletal wizards seem like gentle babies in comparison.
Before Brandon could even finish his thought, he felt himself being lifted into the air, a sensation akin to being enveloped in clouds and mist. He sensed himself flying over a considerable distance before his back slammed heavily against the cold wall of a tomb. Every bone in his body groaned as if fracturing one by one.
However, Brandon had no time to think about that at the moment. He scrambled to his feet, shook his head, and saw the Gargoyle swiftly closing in on him like a specter.
Was there still a chance?
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