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Chapter 8: Bloodstained Forest
"Jason!"
"How could you—"
The young militia members glared at their former comrade, who was now controlled by a skeletal wizard. The young man, pale-faced and trembling, was overwhelmed with shame and fear, his head hanging low.
But he didn't want to die.
Freya felt her heart nearly stop, instinctively drawing her sword. However, the skeletal wizard immediately dispelled her intention, its eye sockets flaring with green light. In an instant, the young man's arm burst open like a balloon, blood splattering everywhere as he screamed and collapsed to the ground.
"AH! Big Sis, please save me!" Jason writhed on the ground like a bloodied puppet, wailing in agony.
The horrifying scene caused several people to immediately turn away, retching. Even Freya's face turned pale, swaying as she nearly collapsed.
"Human girl, you better not act rashly," the skeletal wizard warned sharply, its menacing gaze sweeping over everyone present.
But it quickly realized they were just militia members, insignificant insects.
The green light in the skeletal wizard’s eye sockets dimmed slightly, a hint of disappointment evident. It had been tasked with hunting down the whereabouts of the human scout who had escaped earlier, not dealing with these insignificant pests.
Freya's mind went blank, but she struggled to suppress waves of dizziness, trying to figure out how to escape this situation. After all, she still remembered that she was the leader of this group and shouldn’t show any weakness.
As for the girl next to Roma, she had already fainted at the first opportunity, luckily caught by the merchant girl.
Su Fei felt Roma's hand tightly gripping his sleeve, a sign of reliance and trust. Earlier, he had also supported the ponytailed female militia chief commander from behind, fearing she might collapse, but her resilience surprised him.
But regardless, he knew they needed some comfort at this moment, or they might collapse psychologically first.
It was hard for a girl who grew up in times of peace to accept such a cold scene, but fortunately, Eruin was a land seasoned by war, where most young people had such awareness.
"Freya," Su Fei said weakly.
The girl was taken aback for a moment before snapping back to attention. She took a deep breath and, with Su Fei's help, managed to calm down little by little. Su Fei noticed her fingers on the hilt of her sword softened considerably, nodding approvingly.
Such composure was commendable; few people could remain calm on the brink of life and death. Although he didn't understand why he seemed so calm himself—almost as if, after experiencing the ordeal of transmigration and facing life and death, his mindset had become as calm as water.
But regardless, at least it was a good thing.
He continued in a barely audible voice, "Remember what I said before? Are you prepared for the worst?"
Freya paused, nodding slightly.
"Do you still have the strength to fight?"
"Uh-huh." A barely noticeable response.
Su Fei breathed a sigh of relief, using his thumb to rub the icy Ring of the Wind Sovereign—he could sense that only half of the charging was complete.
Three hours, compared to the ten-minute charging in the game, was incredibly slow. But fortunately, half the energy was enough, although it couldn't create a complete Wind Blast, it was enough to create a strong gust.
He had prepared for the worst, there was no possibility worse than that.
Meanwhile, the skeletal wizard finally confirmed that there were no other ambushes here. It didn't even glance at the miserable creature writhing at its feet, raising its skeletal arm:
"Soldiers, kill them all—"
As soon as its sharp, hoarse voice sounded, four skeletal soldiers wielding swords and clad in dark chainmail appeared in the forest. They emerged from the thin fog, their bodies making a clattering sound, advancing towards Freya's group.
Perhaps some time ago, Freya's team members still had thoughts of fighting back against these cold-hearted monsters, but not now. The confidence they had before was now replaced by fear, making their bodies go cold, and their remaining courage was gradually overwhelmed by the approaching deathly aura, leaving them unable to resist.
They could only step back pale-faced, step by step until they reached a dead end. Perhaps out of instinct for self-preservation, they clumsily drew their swords from their waists—but judging by their hesitant gestures, no one could guarantee how much fighting strength they had left.
The forest was filled with the sound of their gasps.
Watching these pale-faced young people, the skeletal wizard couldn't help but let out a sneer from its gaping jaw.
The green light flickered in its eye sockets, seeming to relish the pleasure brought by this fear.
Indeed, human fear was their greatest enemy—weak, fleeting, easily manipulated by useless emotions. Compared to undead beings who naturally overcame all these flaws, each one of them could be the finest soldier, especially the lower undead— they didn't even need to think, just obey blindly.
Compared to the weak creatures in the human world who, even after extensive training, behaved like helpless children on the battlefield, such as now, they shouldn't exist in this world.
It couldn't help but feel a sense of disgust deep in its heart: Yes, Madara would prevail—
But it was at this moment that the skeletal wizard heard an unexpected voice: "—I’m counting on you now." It was a calm, confident voice of a young man.
The skeletal wizard felt its soul fire tremble slightly, a portentous sign. It immediately turned its head vigilantly.
What met its hollow gaze was a shiny ring.
The ring was worn on the index finger of the severely injured militia member, whom it had never paid serious attention to before—a half-dead human, what was there to notice?
Feigning a serious injury could deceive others, but it couldn't deceive undead beings. These cold-blooded creatures, crawling out of graves, could directly see the Flame of Life in a living being, and Su Fei's faint and dim Flame of Life couldn't possibly be a disguise.
That was a severely injured patient.
And it indeed seemed so.
But the real threat came from the ring on the man's hand, a magic ring. The green light in the skeletal wizard's eye sockets dimmed slightly; it could almost smell a deadly aura gathering in the air.
It recognized this smell; its master had exposed it to some counterfeit items while teaching it black magic, and from the emanation of the air, it could tell that it was at least a 20-unit magic ring.
It was clearly a formal wizard's item. Why would it appear in the hands of an ordinary person?
The skeletal wizard couldn't help but reveal a look of both terror and greed.
"Undead soldiers, fetch that thing for me—!" It raised its bone-made staff, screaming.
"Oss—"
But Su Fei had raised his right hand, exerting all his strength to utter this syllable—it was more like squeezing out the remaining air from his lungs. When he fell back again, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
Space expanded for a moment, then contracted sharply—
When the contraction burst back to its original state, a shrill whistle pierced the air as erratic air currents shot towards the skeletal wizard and its skeleton soldiers. Despite their attempts to protect themselves with their dry arms, the turbulent flow pierced through their empty rib cages, forming air vortexes that pushed them off balance step by step.
Though it caused no harm, the restraining effect was evident.
"Freya!" Su Fei shouted.
The girl drew her long sword in response, a crisp metallic resonance echoing as her long ponytail fluttered in the wind—
But to Su Fei's surprise, the inexperienced militia chief commander didn't act impulsively. Instead, she immediately turned back and admonished the others, "Markumi, Ethan! What are you waiting for, Buchi's militia! Third squad, follow me!"
Stirring up courage was sometimes like sending a signal, often at critical moments, a single word, or a hint could unleash endless power.
But there was a condition; that was to remain calm.
One person's calmness could influence many others, as it was now. Under Freya's reminder, the young militia members fell into a brief daze, but eventually realized—this was the best opportunity, the only chance to survive.
The sudden gust of wind pushed the skeleton soldiers and the skeletal wizard back, leaving them momentarily unable to attend to anything else.
This discovery rekindled the young men's courage, and amidst the clashing of drawn swords, the tactical skills they had trained in seemed to return to their bodies at this moment.
"Markumi, cover me."
"Damn monsters, die—"
"Take down that dark wizard first—!"
"That's a skeletal wizard."
"Little Phineas, stand behind me."
They began to attempt a counterattack.
But Su Fei watched the chaotic scene with some concern, fearing these guys might ruin the situation with a single impulse. So, he couldn't help but calmly remind them from behind, "Remember to stay calm, everyone! Only by calming down can you fight—!"
In "The Amber Sword," he had encountered many inexperienced greenhorns, much like these young people.
Passion was a good thing, but it must not cloud one's judgment.
He had to recite the militia's rules of engagement, which everyone present had memorized, but not many could recall these dull but precious experiences in the heat of battle.
Must say, Brandon was an anomaly.
Su Fei had all the memories of Brandon's last battle, and for a rookie, his performance couldn't have been better. Even as a seasoned warrior, Su Fei had to admit Brandon's exceptional talent in swordsmanship— the only regret was that he had encountered the wrong battle at the wrong time.
On the other hand, under Su Fei's guidance, the young men did calm down. But it wasn't enough; Su Fei knew they needed a little advantage to boost their confidence; otherwise, the morale they had just built up could easily collapse in a short time.
The wind weakened slightly.
The skeletal soldiers, with their clattering chainmail, prepared to counterattack, attempting to regain their balance. But Su Fei's voice on the other side had already instructed Buchi's militia to change tactics:
"Listen up, these low-level Madara soldiers lack intelligence and move slowly; turning around is their biggest weakness. Try to move to the left along the direction they hold their swords; there's a blind spot there, and you can attack safely—"
"Markumi, you and Ethan attack from both sides; do you know how to cover each other? Yes, attract the attention of that skeleton soldier. Excellent."
Su Fei half lay on a rock, staring intently at the battlefield, pointing out what the militia members should do next. His words seemed to possess a special power that made people involuntarily believe him—this was the power of confidence, calm and steady, making people subconsciously rely on it when they were at a loss.
Buchi's militia members quickly tasted success. First, Ekko, with Su Fei's guidance, cleaved through a skeletal soldier's shinbone with a sword slash, at the cost of a cut in his thigh. Then his partner, Little Phineas, caught up and pierced the skull of that skeleton soldier.
The moment the long sword pierced the skull, the cold monster fell apart with a clatter, its soul fire in its eye sockets flickering for a moment before dimming.
Then a glint of gold flew out of the scattered bones and into Su Fei's chest not far away.
Su Fei was taken aback. Unlike the last time, this time, he distinctly felt something unusual. Experience points! He suddenly realized what it was. But before he could confirm this, he heard the young militia members who had just defeated the enemy shouting excitedly.
"Oh my god, I did it!" Ekko couldn’t believe it, pressing down on his bleeding thigh wound and shouting, "Brandon, how did you know all this?"
Su Fei smiled faintly. These experiences were all summarized by him and his friends in the game; even the seemingly insignificant ones were full of profound knowledges because they were all valuable insights gained from countless battles and deaths.
It was reminiscent of the knowledge Brandon had gained during militia training. However, in Su Fei's perspective, Brandon's understanding seemed superficial. If the knowledge he acquired during militia training could enhance his combat prowess by 10% when confronting skeletal soldiers, then Su Fei's should increase by half or even more.
From the 375th year to the Second Era, the years of fighting against Madara had made Su Fei familiar with everything from the lowest-level skeletal soldiers to the highest-level liches, bone dragons, and even vampire lords.
In terms of understanding this dark kingdom, perhaps there were not many people in Eruin who could match him at the moment. After all, before the first Black Rose War, Madara's relationship with the world of light had not yet escalated to the point it did later.
Friction and conflict had also not been as frequent—
Of course, these experiences were also one of the things Su Fei was most proud of in this world. Relying on his familiarity with this world, he had the confidence to continue, step by step, back to the heights he had once reached.
But for now, he had to finish the job at hand. He didn't know if the previous gust of wind had attracted other attention. For safety's sake, a quick victory was necessary. With that in mind, he focused his gaze on the skeletal wizard.
This was a tricky opponent.
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