Chapter 118: The Skeleton Immune to Dark Magic

Seeing the little skeleton emerge from the palanquin, the old shaman heaved a sigh of relief and shouted excitedly, "Dadala! Dadala!"

Amidst the old shaman’s joyful cries, the forest trolls, who had previously been timid, saw their fighting spirit rekindled. They followed behind the little skeleton, charging once more toward the dark-element female magus.

The little skeleton, brandishing a bone blade and sporting an eyepatch over its polished skull, sprinted agilely toward the seductive female magus.

"Oh, ho ho! So it’s just a ridiculous skeleton warrior!" Seeing the forest trolls’ morale surge, the female magus had initially thought they had received powerful reinforcements. Upon realizing that the creature charging at her was merely a low-level dark entity—a skeleton warrior—she burst into shrill, mocking laughter.

When the little skeleton reached her, she said to an intermediate swordsman at her side, "Finish off that laughable little skeleton!"

"As you command, Lady Emily!" The swordsman replied in a low, respectful voice. He stepped toward the little skeleton with a cold, sinister sneer, his sword drawn.

Unfortunately, before the intermediate swordsman could get close, the little skeleton—whose speed had been normal just a moment ago—suddenly flexed its leg bones. It darted across the ground with supernatural speed, moving ten times faster than before. Simultaneously, the little bone blade in its hand shot out, aimed directly at the swordsman attempting to block its path.

The bone blade flew in an arc, and to the swordsman’s astonishment, it circled around to strike at his neck. Terrified out of his wits, the swordsman froze in his tracks, desperately swinging his sword to deflect the blade.

With a sharp *clang*, the bone blade struck the swordsman’s longsword, forcing him to stumble back a step. Seeing he had blocked the attack, the swordsman felt a flicker of relief, believing he had momentarily escaped danger.

However, a bizarre turn of events, which he could not comprehend even as he died, occurred. As the bone blade fell toward the ground, just as the swordsman surged forward again, the blade suddenly lunged upward to pierce his chest. It shattered his understanding of reality, tearing a blood-filled hole through his chest and ending his life instantly.

The rapidly approaching little skeleton did not pause for a moment. Its withered left hand reached out, and the bone blade that had just slain the swordsman landed back in its grasp with marvelous precision. The little skeleton’s only remaining empty eye socket then locked onto the terrified female magus, Emily.

"Oh, heavens! That skeleton warrior actually killed an intermediate swordsman!" In the distance, Trunks, despite being constantly occupied with enemies, had noticed the little skeleton’s movements. Upon seeing it slay the swordsman, he couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

"Stop him! Stop him!" Emily had also witnessed the little skeleton’s incredible display. The mockery that had graced her lips vanished, replaced by panic as she shrieked for assistance.

She quickly chanted several mid-to-high-level dark magic spells, which landed directly upon the little skeleton. However, the little skeleton, its body composed entirely of bone and refined repeatedly by Han Shuo’s dark arts, showed no reaction at all. It simply stood there, looking at Emily with confusion, as if puzzled by the weakness of her attacks.

"The great Dadala has unleashed his power. What are you waiting for?" Han Shuo, hidden in the distance, suddenly shouted coldly, once again ordering the little skeleton to attack the female magus, Emily.

A chorus of guttural shouts erupted from the old shaman and the troll chieftain. The troll warriors following the little skeleton, seeing that the terrifying Emily was powerless against it, excitedly chanted the name "Dadala" and charged toward their enemies once more, utterly fearless of death.

From afar, the troll hunters unleashed a dense barrage of javelins and spears, raining them down upon the Medivh Trading Company’s guards. Several archers and priests were caught in the volley, their bodies riddled with holes as they collapsed, spitting blood.

"Block that damned skeleton warrior for me!" Seeing the little skeleton relentlessly pursuing her, Emily grew flustered. After her dark magic proved ineffective, she finally realized that this peculiar skeleton possessed an extraordinary resistance to dark spells.

As she shouted, Emily clutched her robes and fled in a panic, her shapely hips swaying as she ran. She no longer had the time to weave her powerful dark magic.

Because of Emily’s retreat, the pressure on the troll warriors eased significantly. Driven by the high morale inspired by the little skeleton, these loyal religious followers charged toward the Medivh Trading Company’s guards like a tidal wave, heedless of the casualties around them.

Only then, after suffering the loss of several dozen of their own, did the troll warriors finally swarm the Medivh trading group, engaging the various types of guards in melee combat.

The low growls of earth dragons, the rhythmic stamping of lizard-beasts, the panicked cries of merchants, and the clash of trolls against guards filled the field in an instant. Their numerical advantage quickly became apparent. While the forest trolls lacked the individual prowess of the guards, they possessed a discipline the ragtag group of guards lacked. They charged in without panic, utterly fearless of death.

In mere moments, the forest trolls—who now outnumbered the opposition five-fold and consisted entirely of young warriors—had gained the upper hand. Han Shuo remained in the back, using the little skeleton to pursue the female magus Emily while directing the troll hunters to keep firing.

Successive volleys of spears and javelins slammed into the earth dragons and lizard-beasts, causing the merchants atop them to fall one by one. Injured and maddened, the beasts ran wild, their massive hooves trampling many guards to death.

Finally, realizing they could not win, the merchants of the Medivh Trading Company were the first to lose their nerve, choosing to break out and flee. Guarded by their personal escorts, they shouted commands to abandon the cargo and split into several groups, attempting to escape in different directions.

With the situation under control, Han Shuo no longer bothered to hide his presence. He stepped out from behind the line of forest troll warriors, his eyes locked on Lian, the high-level earth mage who had attacked him earlier.

The dark-element female magus, Emily, was terrified as the little skeleton relentlessly pursued her. She had previously attempted to fly, but at a command from Han Shuo, she had become a target for all, immediately enduring a barrage of dozens of spears and javelins.

Even though she managed to conjure a dark barrier at the critical moment, the bombardment took a heavy toll on Emily. The strain on her mental energy was immense, even causing her to spit blood.

Having learned her lesson, Emily dared not fly again at such close range. She could only scramble to hide among the Medivh guards, crying out for help and begging someone to block the little skeleton. Unfortunately, the entire field was in chaos; with everyone struggling to save their own lives, no one cared for hers, forcing her to run for her life.

"Who are you?" The high-level earth mage, Lian, suddenly found his path blocked by a figure while attempting to escape. Han Shuo, cloaked in black robes that obscured even his head, looked mysterious and eerie.

After a low growl, Trunks, riding his manticore, arrived at Han Shuo’s side from the distance. Trunks stared at Han Shuo with a peculiar expression and said, "Han, why are you dressed like this?"

"Uh, how did you know it was me?" Upon uncovering his head, Han Shuo asked Trunks, looking surprised.

"I didn't recognize you entirely, but *he* could!" Trunks laughed and shrugged, pointing to the manticore beneath him.

Han Shuo nodded. "So that’s how it is."

"It’s actually you! What exactly do you want?" Seeing Han Shuo’s face, Lian immediately recognized the man he remembered all too well. His voice trembled with fear.

"Naturally, I want you dead! A blood debt must be paid in blood. The harm you caused me should be repaid now, shouldn't it?" Han Shuo looked at Lian coldly, speaking with chilling nonchalance before preparing to charge.

"Han, leave this one to me. Your injuries haven't fully healed; it’s best if you don't act rashly." Seeing Han Shuo ready to strike, Trunks intervened. Without waiting for a response, he urged his manticore to charge toward Lian.

The high-level earth mage, Lian, saw Trunks approaching and immediately chanted a spell. The ground before him churned violently, and a wall of earth rapidly formed, blocking Trunks’ path.

Lian, knowing that Trunks alone could claim his life—let alone with the mysterious Han Shuo nearby—didn't wait for a second. As soon as the earth wall was erected, he fled for his life.

"Don't worry, I will kill him!" Trunks said with a smile to Han Shuo, then charged his manticore into the earth wall. With the manticore’s force and the swing of his longsword, the newly formed wall collapsed instantly. Trunks vaulted over the debris, pursuing the fleeing Lian with ease.

Han Shuo’s "Meta-demons" were dispersed in three directions, allowing him to observe the entire situation. He saw that the forest trolls, having gained the numerical advantage, had fully seized control as the timid merchants led the retreat. The guards were pushed back step by step, no longer fighting to protect the cargo, but only trying to break out.

Following Han Shuo’s commands, the little skeleton relentlessly pursued the dark-element female magus. Several forest trolls followed their great "Dadala" to assist. With the little skeleton leading the charge, the female magus was unable to use her dark magic and was forced into a trap by the maneuvering trolls, eventually being ensnared in a large net woven from tree vines.

"I have something you need! You can't kill me! You can't!" As the javelins and spears were aimed at her, Emily suddenly shrieked.

Han Shuo’s heart stirred, and he immediately issued a command to the little skeleton. The little skeleton raised its empty left hand, signaling the forest trolls to pause. Then, under Emily’s horrified gaze, the little skeleton walked toward her, tore a strip of cloth from a nearby dead guard's clothing, stuffed it into Emily’s mouth, and bound her hands and feet with rope.

The dark-element female magus let out muffled wails through her gagged mouth, but no one paid her any heed. The little skeleton stood guard with its bone blade. Using his Meta-demons to survey the field, Han Shuo continued to issue orders to the forest trolls, pointing out the directions of the fleeing enemies to maximize their victory.

Half an hour later, the scattered fighting had ceased. As Trunks approached on his manticore, the forest trolls attempted to attack him, but were stopped by Han Shuo’s orders.

When Trunks arrived at his side, he saw the forest trolls looking at Han Shuo with humble, reverent expressions and suddenly understood something.

"I will explain everything to you in a moment, Trunks. You have to trust me." Seeing the strange look in Trunks’ eyes, Han Shuo spoke apologetically.

Trunks smiled and nodded. "I have time to wait for your explanation."

Han Shuo looked at Trunks with gratitude, then walked over to the dark-element female magus. He roughly tore the gag from her mouth, leaned down to look at Emily, and said coldly, "Give me a reason not to kill you!"