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Chapter 49
Just as the skeleton bent its knees to pull its feet out, Glenn swung his sword again.
Clatter!
The skeleton, struck on its bones and joints, collapsed with a loud crash.
’It’s useless. Skeletons can’t die.’
Technically, they’re already dead, so they can’t die again.
Sure enough, the shattered skeleton began moving and reassembled itself. Its skull flew back onto its spine, perfectly fitting onto its neck.
Glenn’s face showed a flash of frustration.
“Even when we break them, they just come back?”
“The skeletons don’t have a mind or will of their own, Lord Soga. They only follow the orders of their master. We have to find the real master,” explained his companion.
The one controlling the skeletons must be somewhere else. As long as the master is alive, these bones will keep reassembling.
While Glenn fought a single skeleton, the sticky puddles around the wagon spread. From these puddles, dozens of skeletons rose, pushing against the ground.
Clatter, clatter!
“Be careful! You’ve eaten the antidote, so you won’t get poisoned, but it’s better not to touch the corrupted magic!”
“What happens if we touch it?”
“It rots you!”
These immortal skeletons spread deadly magic—that was their real power.
Hand bones clung to the wagon wheels. The corrupted magic thickened, forming a swirling pool that spun clockwise.
The skeletons grabbed the wheels and walls, trying to pull the wagon down.
Bang! One of the wheels broke and flew off. The wagon tilted dangerously, sinking toward the magical pool.
“It’s getting pulled in…!”
The wagon was the target from the start. That alone confirmed the enemy’s plan.
’Of course he’d target materials with cold properties!’
Of course, the wagon was empty. They wouldn’t hand over valuable items for free.
“Needle!”
Arilletti jumped from the driver’s seat. The needle floating above her declared the area of her time magic.
The magic only affected the wagon. The swirling magic stopped, and the wagon froze in place, helplessly suspended.
Glenn shouted angrily:
“Aril! I told you not to use it!”
It was just a temporary protection—freezing the wagon for a moment was fine.
Arilletti ignored his complaints and got ready, holding the needle.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ll handle the skeletons here with Lord Soga,” she said.
“What? Hey!”
“The antidote from the Tani’tula herb should last us two or three hours. We need to stop the skeletons from spreading into the city before it wears off.”
Glenn would fight the main enemy.
Clenching her fists, Arilletti jumped under the wagon. She plunged into the swirling magic, like diving into a stormy sea.
Suddenly—grab!
“Ah?”
Her arms and legs flailed. Glenn had caught her small neck and handed her to Rasian.
A terrifying threat rang out.
“If you go back, I’ll slice Mandrake alive, Arilletti Hegate!”
“I’m not scared!”
“Hold her tight, Rasian.”
No matter how much you cut them, it won’t work! It only makes the master stronger!
“Stay still.”
Rasian held Arilletti tightly and climbed onto the wagon’s tilted roof.
The number of skeletons rising from the puddle doubled in an instant.
Arilletti panicked.
’Even Glenn might struggle against numbers like this…!’
Clatter, clatter! The skeletons closed in, their bones rattling.
Glenn placed his sword horizontally. A bright blue aura spread like wildfire along the blade.
The sword struck the ground with a blow so powerful it shook the earth like an earthquake.
Cracks formed in the ground.
Crack!
Skeletons standing on the cracks fell down. Some got stuck in narrow gaps, rattling their bones loudly.
Glenn’s second strike split into thousands of beams, restraining the skeletons.
The third strike crushed their joints, breaking more bones.
Puff…
Ivory-colored dust filled the air. Arilletti realized a moment later that it was finely ground bone.
“We can’t kill them, but we can destroy them,” Glenn said coldly.
“If we turn them to dust, they can’t easily rebuild.”
The wind from his aura blew the dust everywhere. The skeletons theoretically could revive, but if it takes too long, it’s basically permanent destruction.
Indeed, the skeletons did not immediately reassemble. The nearby skeletons flinched. They couldn’t feel fear, so this reaction meant the master watching them was surprised.
’He probably didn’t expect such a strong protector.’
Arilletti gaped in astonishment.
“I know Glenn Hegate better than you do,” Rasian muttered calmly, watching the sword’s precise strikes.
“He’s not someone who’d lose to a pile of skeletons.”
“…How strong is he?”
“When he swore loyalty to me, he had already surpassed Sword Master level. He just didn’t show it.”
That meant three years later, he became a Grand Sword Master—a rank almost unheard of.
Sword Masters appear once every ten years in the entire continent. Grand Sword Masters are even rarer, counted on one hand in history.
Rasian bit his lip and muttered sadly:
“Even if someone like me weren’t his lord, no one could kill him.”
It seemed true. His power in the Colden Mountains was only half of what he could really do.
Even now, Glenn leapt, raising his sword vertically and striking. A flash of light erupted, and ten skeletons turned to dust at once.
The sword beams wrapped around the surviving skeletons, smashing them like chains.
Precise, bold sword strikes, perfect control of power—pure cold logic without hesitation.
’With this, he could even face the master… and have a chance.’
The enemy hesitated. The magical puddle lifted, pulling the skeletons downward to their master.
Arilletti shouted urgently:
“We have to follow him, Lord Soga!”
“Alright. I’ll go. Duncan, watch the others.”
“No!”
I have to! I’m the only one who knows his weakness!
Without thinking, Arilletti grabbed Rasian’s neck and jumped, following Glenn, who had already disappeared into the puddle below.
