Chapter Forty-Six: The Little Skeleton Shows Its Ferocity

Along with two troll priests. As soon as they saw Han Shuo charging toward them, spears and javelins were hurled, whistling through the air toward him.

Even with a fat man strapped to his back, Han Shuo moved with ease along the rugged path, weaving and dodging. With agile shifts in direction, he effortlessly avoided several spears and javelins.

When Han Shuo reached the seven troll warriors, they were already poised for battle, swinging their axes as they rushed forward. Gripping a spear tightly, Han Shuo closed in swiftly, thrusting it sharply toward the chest of the foremost enemy.

A burst of blood blossomed from his chest; the troll warrior shuddered and toppled backward. At that moment, the troll priests behind began chanting spells of healing and soul fire. Streams of green light infused the troll warriors.

The fallen troll warrior staggered back to his feet, and the others, imbued with soul fire, saw their already tough green skin take on a metallic sheen, as if coated in iron. Their speed and strength surged, and with wild howls, they charged forward.

“Hurry up, get me out of here!” Fubin En cried in terror, frantically yelling from Han Shuo’s back.

Unmoved, Han Shuo ignored Fubin En’s shouts. He suddenly hurled his spear, pinning the unsteady troll warrior through the neck to the ground. He then snatched up spears and javelins embedded in the earth, one after another, and flung them at the priests lurking behind.

A troll priest, unable to dodge, was struck dead by a javelin, and two troll hunters were pierced through the chest and abdomen, killed instantly. At this point, Han Shuo grabbed another spear and began to face the troll warriors head-on.

Those troll warriors under soul fire had their physical abilities boosted, but Han Shuo, now proficient in his magical arts, still far surpassed them in resilience and agility. His spear whirled, parrying their axes one by one.

During this clash, the troll warriors, having lost their axes, would likewise grab spears and javelins from the ground, blocking Han Shuo’s path and tangling with him. Carrying a fat man on his back, Han Shuo fought against six foes. Though he dodged swiftly, he could not completely avoid all harm.

Whenever danger threatened, Han Shuo would wickedly use Fubin En as a shield, letting the fat man's body absorb some of the blows.

“Damn it, you can’t do this! Otherwise, you’ll never get your hundred gold coins afterward!” Fubin En shrieked, his rear stabbed by a spear and his back pierced by javelins, blood streaming as he wailed in panic on Han Shuo’s back.

But Han Shuo paid no heed to Fubin En’s complaints. He pulled a spear from a troll warrior’s chest, blood splattering across his body. Already fierce and grim, Han Shuo now looked like a god of slaughter reborn, terrifying Fubin En into stunned silence, reduced to sobbing on Han Shuo’s back.

“Kill him! All together now!” The troll chieftain, witnessing Han Shuo slaughtering several forest trolls in succession, roared in rage and himself hefted a battle axe, charging forward.

Now, Han Shuo faced five enemies. Though not particularly strained, breaking through their encirclement was nearly impossible. As the chieftain’s command rang out and more troll warriors rushed in, Han Shuo dodged an axe blow and retreated several steps.

“Fallen warrior of the dead, at the call of the messenger of darkness, reveal your presence!” Han Shuo spread his hands and suddenly recited a necromantic invocation.

“Oh heavens, you’re a mage as well!” Fubin En, still sobbing, was stunned at Han Shuo’s incantation. He stared in bewilderment, crying out in astonishment.

The distant troll chieftain was also startled, then charged faster, shouting, “Kill him, kill him now!”

A small skeleton, clutching a bone blade, appeared before Han Shuo. Its thin frame stood alone, hollow eyes scanning the surroundings in confusion.

“No way, it's just a tiny skeleton, so frail—what use is that?” Fubin En wailed in despair upon seeing Han Shuo summon only a skeleton.

“Haha! It’s just a skeleton—scared me for nothing. Take them down!” The troll chieftain, relieved, mocked loudly, directing his warriors to close in.

Han Shuo’s eyes were cold, his lips curled in a mocking smile. As soon as the chieftain’s words fell, he ordered the skeleton to attack.

The skeleton, receiving Han Shuo’s command, bent its leg bones and shot forward like a sword. Its bone blade swept a dark arc through the air, striking first. With a sickening sound, the foremost troll warrior was pierced through the forehead, falling stiffly backward as if made of paper.

The bone blade, after penetrating one troll’s skull, did not stop. Guided by the skeleton, it whistled through the air like a deathly specter, shrieking as it traced a mysterious curve, piercing two more troll warriors in succession. As the skeleton approached, the bone blade automatically returned to its grasp.

With a single throw, three troll warriors were slain in an instant. After this, both the previously despairing Fubin En and the chieftain who had mocked Han Shuo were stunned, staring in disbelief at the skeleton as it tore through the trolls, its bone blade reaping lives with agile precision.

“Oh heavens, am I seeing things? Is this really just a skeleton warrior?” Fubin En finally recovered, screaming in excitement. Were it not for the bandages binding him, he might have tumbled to the ground in his exhilaration.

“Don’t approach! Everyone stay away from that skeleton—use spears, javelins, axes, kill it!” The troll chieftain, now terrified, shouted orders, halting his warriors and making them retreat in fear.

All trolls near the skeleton withdrew. As they did, a barrage of spears, javelins, and axes flew at the skeleton.

Han Shuo was alarmed, thinking that even the formidable skeleton would surely be struck by such a violent assault. There was no time to recall it with a spell—he was genuinely worried for the skeleton.

Yet the skeleton’s extraordinary performance that followed completely overturned Han Shuo’s understanding of it.