Chapter 2, Who is the Prey

Howard, however, was indifferent to Aisi's disdainful glance. He nodded thoughtfully and said, "So this apprentice magician is tasked with some other top-secret mission, then"

The apprentices of magic exchanged glances, for they were still apprentices, and no one would chant in unison

August and Carol are both Strong Bones. A Strong Bone can generally command one hundred Battle Bones, while a Battle Bone can lead one hundred Red Bones, and a Red Bone can command one hundred Gray Bones. Therefore, if a Strong Bone has sufficient troops under their command, they can actually direct a million Gray Bones. However, the two Strong Bones have been engaged in continuous battles alongside the higher-ranking Cavalry Bones for several months, and their troop numbers have never been fully replenished. As a result, each of them only has around sixty Battle Bones under their command.

"Hmph, with intelligence, the battle bones and strong bones will naturally fear death." The killing intent in Aisi's eyes intensified: "But this is the first time I've seen a gray bone that fears death; it is an anomaly. If it weren't for dealing with the strong bones, I would definitely kill this little creature first"

"It is an unexpected coincidence." Aisi shook his head with a bitter smile, saying, "I never expected that the rumors we casually spread would actually come true. Although this apprentice magician has been very helpful in our hunt for the strong bones, we have indeed put him in danger. After we take down the two strong bones, we must leave as soon as possible; we must not let him know that it was us who attracted the skeletons."

The gray bones and red bones charged unhesitatingly towards the massive wall of flames, their bizarre skulls emitting a horrific howl. This howl was accompanied by anger, resentment, and wails, and these sounds converged into a strange music that echoed above the valley, while countless bones were reduced to a pile of powder under this music

The middle-aged man spread out the parchment and began to chant the most commonly used spell for magical infusion. As the magic was infused, three crimson ripples quickly illuminated the parchment. The incantation in the man's mouth shifted from magical infusion to spell positioning, and the three ripples shot out swiftly, landing in the valley to form three walls of fire, each five meters high and spanning over a hundred meters. Meanwhile, the original parchment transformed into a grayish-blue hue and vanished with the wind.

Lü Yan is caught between the more than 300,000 skeleton soldiers and the human stone wall, facing the trial of death

The humans on the stone wall also displayed expressions of terror, having always thought that the fragile gray bones were merely a joke. They gaped in shock, fixated on the approaching sea of white bones in the distance. They were merely ordinary militia members or even farmers, who had never truly witnessed the might of the bones. A pungent smell of urine spread across the stone wall, as many were so frightened that they wet their pants

"This apprentice magician doesn't really have a dark crystal on him, does he?" Howard widened his beautiful blue eyes, making an assumption.

"Hehe, Howard, have you heard this saying?" Aisi detected the disdain in Howard's tone, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He squinted and glanced again at the terrified Luyan, who was looking around: "A bone that fears death is a good bone"

The middle-aged man on the wall watched the skeletons rushing towards the fire wall one after another, murmuring to himself: "What is it that I am escorting, and why has it attracted the attention of the skeletons? Aren't these evil creatures only interested in items like dark crystals?" His left hand, hidden in his clothing, unconsciously pressed gently against a bulging dark pouch in his abdomen, from which a soft sensation emanated. He murmured again: "What is it that I am escorting, and why has it attracted the attention of the skeletons? Aren't these evil creatures only interested in items like dark crystals?" His left hand, hidden in his clothing, unconsciously pressed gently against a bulging dark pouch in his abdomen, from which a soft sensation emanated

"August, the resistance of this small village is quite strong; it seems your intelligence is very accurate," said the skeleton, who stood less than 1.5 meters tall, resembling a child's skeleton. However, his complete red cloak marked his identity as a 'Strong Bone,' a rank even higher than that of a battle skeleton. The countless skeletons surrounding him did not dare to show him the slightest disrespect.

On both sides and behind, there are endless waves of skeletal squads, surging forward like ocean waves, and turning back offers no chance of survival.

Approximately seven thousand meters behind Lyu Yan, two skeletons draped in red cloaks stood on a small raised hill, gazing with a hint of pride at the hundreds of thousands of skeletons in the valley.

"Being afraid of death can still be considered good, bah!" A third voice sounded from the side. Although it was clear that the speaker had tried to lower their voice, it was still quite loud: "These are just those skeletons making excuses for their cowardice!"

The skeletons that arrived earlier took advantage of this moment to climb up the stone wall. The red-boned skeleton swung its bony weapon at the militia, and several militia members, shocked, were brutally killed. More skeletons climbed up the stone wall, and it was evident that the wall was about to fall before the wave of bones arrived

Crazy!

Fortunately, the terrifying ice arrows did not cease. Lü Yan quickly discovered that not far ahead lay another large pile of shattered bones mixed with enormous ice blocks. He exerted himself to the utmost, almost rolling and crawling into the pile of bones. The lizard-like red bones that followed closely behind him changed direction in front of this new pile of shattered bones, as they did not wish to further reduce the speed of the charge.

So this is what humans are like; they seem quite formidable, at least much more so than the red bones. As Lü Yan watched the battle on the stone wall with a heart full of fear, he was being pushed toward the wall by other skeletons. His despair deepened with each step, knowing that none of the skeletons beneath the stone wall would survive.

Lü Yan lay amidst the pile of shattered bones, his mouth wide open, his chest heaving violently, resembling a human desperately gasping for air. However, the unfortunate reality was that he had no chest cavity, and the rising and falling of his chest could not even produce the slightest sound of wind.

Behind Lyu Yan lies a scorched earth, and before him, there are no skeletons left on the stone wall; only he, a tiny gray bone, trembles in front of the human stone wall

Understood, we must return to the camp before dawn. I will also deploy forty battle skeletons!" Carol immediately responded, a faint red glow flickering in the hollow skull.

The faces of the magic apprentices were all adorned with joyful smiles

Aisy, who was later referred to by future generations as the Poison Eye Hunter, was unaware that his judgment was not only incorrect but also exceedingly absurd

"It is a scroll. Only those who are not qualified as wizards need to rely on expensive scrolls. The person using the scroll must be merely an apprentice wizard!" exclaimed Strongbone Carol.

In the village behind the wall, the anxious villagers could not sleep, huddled together in fear, speculating about the outcome of this unexpected battle. An old man with a face full of white whiskers sat alone in the darkness, savoring his wine, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth: "The little fellow is really too nervous. Such a level of Graybone Wave should be dealt with using a scroll; isn't it clearly telling those two fools of Strongbone that the village lacks strength?"

In the dense forest of the mountains far away from the valley, Howard wondered, "How can there be an apprentice wizard in this nameless little valley?"

"Launch a fierce attack; I will send forth forty skeletal warriors to charge." August stared expressionlessly at the stone wall thousands of meters away, with a faint red glow flickering within the skeleton hidden beneath the red cloak

Lu Yan ran desperately towards the stone wall, fireballs and ice arrows continuously flying past him. However, he only felt the waves of bones behind him drawing closer, showing no signs of stopping.

The gray bones are utterly vulnerable before the seemingly unprofessional guards, the unarmed skeletons are actually as fragile as puffed snacks, shattering into pieces with a light tap. Their only function is to make the guards swing their weapons a few more times and waste a bit more energy, nothing more than that

Aisi shot him a glance: "The Dark Crystal is something that only qualified wizards are capable of guarding, alright? Moreover, if the usually prudent Wizarding Association were to transport the Dark Crystal, they would definitely send out a Grand Wizard"

Qiang Gu Augus nodded, and his mood became fervent. Was the legendary dark crystal that could instantly elevate bones about to be within reach?

A sharp pain radiated from his right arm. Lv Yan looked down and saw that the bone in his right forearm was broken, having struck a shard of ice when he fell into the pile of shattered bones.

"Aisi, what are you looking at?" Howard, with his head full of blue hair, turned his gaze away from the valley filled with white skeletons and noticed that his archer partner had been staring at a certain spot within the skeleton army for quite some time. He couldn't help but ask nervously.

The firewall fell just behind Lü Yan, not far away. He turned his head in the suffocating heatwave and, in terror, saw the white bones crashing in a sea of crimson, charging again, collapsing again

The diminutive Strongbone Carol chuckled mischievously: "August, even if you don't say anything, I will be cautious. Now that we have both advanced to Strongbone, we have naturally become prey in the eyes of the Bone Hunters. I will not act recklessly."

"What is strong bone?" Rick murmured softly

Another skeleton draped in a red cloak stood over two meters tall, with two complete, pristine white horns atop its head. In a somewhat simple-minded voice, it said: "Carol, do not be careless; it seems that there are only a few magic apprentices in the village, and such strength is insufficient to protect the Dark Crystal"

"Eagle Eye Technique!" Howard quietly cast a spell on himself, intricate purple patterns creeping up the corners of his eyes. He spent half a day following the direction in which Aisi was facing, and finally spotted Lu Yan amidst the vast expanse of bones. After observing for a moment, he pouted and said, "Aisi, he is just a foolish gray bone; why are you interested in him?"

The middle-aged man smiled and took out an exquisite scroll from his bosom, pulling out a piece of parchment: "When there is no way to perform a joint chant, one must resort to using a spell scroll. For instance, this 'Triple Fire Wall' is the best spell scroll to deal with the Graybone Wave."

This is the wave of gray bones from the skeletons and the *illustrated* book, which is a relatively rudimentary siege tactic. The middle-aged man appeared indifferent as he pointed to the approaching wave of bones and said, "Generally, it requires the casting of a combined chanting spell to deal with it"

The sound of "Hoo—" seemed like a gust of wind. Lü Yan discovered that the skeletal army behind him had almost lost its formation; they had unknowingly huddled together, resembling a true sea of bones crashing forward. Lü Yan even saw a red skeleton accidentally trampled to the ground, instantly crushed into fragments.

Rick, keep your voice down. This time we are dealing with two formidable opponents!" Howard said anxiously and exasperatedly.

A massive lizard-like creature with red bones led the team onto the shattered ice, accompanied by a group of enormous gray-boned beings. Weighing several hundred pounds, they crushed both the broken bones and ice, deeply embedding themselves into the soil, and in an instant, Lü Yan's "umbrella of protection" was utterly destroyed

Teacher! Over twenty magic apprentices bowed to the middle-aged man, feeling a wave of shame as they had previously agreed that they would never require the teacher's intervention

In addition to the militia, there were also more than twenty magic apprentices at the stone wall, who had always been the mainstay of the defense. However, panic gradually appeared on their faces, as the incantations of magic continued to go awry, resulting in a decreasing number of fireballs and ice arrows being thrown.

Lü Yan awakened and turned to flee towards the front lines of the battlefield, but the rumbling footsteps behind him grew ever closer. The tremors from the ground nearly lifted him off his feet, and he could even hear the deep exhalation of the lizard-like red bone behind him

Red skeletons are much more useful than gray skeletons; they can block the weapons of the guards and can also cling to the walls to counterattack. Some of the enormous red skeletons can even pose a significant threat to the guards. However, whenever they are about to gain the upper hand, fireballs or ice arrows will fly in from somewhere, knocking them off the city walls. The mages hidden within the stone walls are far superior to the red skeletons.

The sound of clattering echoed as the surrounding skeletons collided with the edges of the pile of shattered bones. Lü Yan had no time to examine his injuries in detail; he gritted his teeth against the excruciating pain and stood up, stepping over the jagged fragments of bone as he moved forward. All around him were burning bones and hard ice blocks, while thick black smoke mingled with the stench of charred flesh permeated the air. Lü Yan had already entered the front lines of the battlefield

After the orders from August and Carol were conveyed, sixty battle skeletons, over four thousand red skeletons, and the more than three hundred thousand gray skeletons they led launched a swift charge towards the small village in the valley at m.hetushu.com

In the distance, approximately eight hundred meters ahead, there stands a low stone wall, atop which is filled with people brandishing shining torches and wielding menacing weapons. Beneath the stone wall, countless skeletons are piled high, with even more recently arrived gray bones climbing atop one another towards the top. When they finally manage to reach the summit of the stone wall, the guards, grinning maliciously under the torches, will smash the bodies of the gray bones with large hammers or iron bars. Even more recently arrived gray bones are climbing atop one another towards the top, and when they finally manage to reach the summit of the stone wall, the guards, grinning maliciously under the torches, will smash the bodies of the gray bones with large hammers or iron bars

The skeleton army instinctively diverted in front of the piles of ice and bones to accelerate their charge, which is why Lu Yan, who was standing still in a daze, was not immediately trampled into pieces. However, as the ice melted, more and more skeleton squads rolled in, and the boundaries of Lu Yan's makeshift shield gradually became blurred.

After destroying tens of thousands of skeletons, two of the three firewalls were forcefully extinguished. The middle-aged man on the stone wall then used another scroll to reconstruct three insurmountable walls of flame amidst the sea of bones. This process repeated, and a total of five scrolls were consumed before the fierce assault of the skeletons was completely suppressed

Two slender leg bones swung desperately, and the hope of life urged Lü Yan to accelerate once more; he was less than fifty meters away from the stone wall

At that moment, a middle-aged man dressed in a robe with golden silk trim stepped onto the stone wall. There were no steps leading up to his position, and no one noticed how he crossed several meters in height to ascend directly to the stone wall. Once he arrived, the middle-aged man did not chant; he simply flicked his wrist, and a series of fist-sized fireballs flew out from his sleeve, instantly shattering the red and gray skeletal remains that were climbing the stone wall.

Lü Yan turned and ran, desperately heading towards the stone wall. At this moment, he could no longer rely on a pile of shattered ice and bones to provide any protection. The bones, for reasons unknown, had gone mad; their force could even crash into the stone wall. Perhaps they intended to bring down the wall, even if it meant shattering themselves in the process.

What secret missions could an apprentice magician have? Aisi, familiar with the Magician's Association, judgmentally remarked, "Do you see that group of magic apprentices? He is merely taking the students out for field practice."

"Look, I am watching that little skeleton; he seems to be very scared." Aisi lay completely on the grass, leaving only a pair of bright, shining eyes peeking at Luyan through the gaps in the grass.

Lü Yan suddenly saw a glimmer of hope; if he could rush into the stone wall before being crushed by the bone wave behind him, could he escape death?