Chapter 1, Cannon Fodder Bones

Look at your pained, broken faces; can you not endure this kind of suffering? When those meat cleavers slice open your ribs, will you not scream and weep?

Lü Yan could not recall anything from the past, nor did he have the time to think about it. He cautiously avoided the irritable new skeletons and climbed up a small hill a few meters away.

"Charge!" Lü Yan shouted in his heart, turning to rush in the direction where his captain, Hong Gu, had disappeared.

Feeling a piercing pain, Lü Yan awakened to find an endless expanse of white bones before him. The bones formed shapes of humans and animals, jostling and colliding with each other in stiff movements, creating a cacophony of crackling sounds, occasionally accompanied by the sharp sound of bones cracking.

I do not know how long I have been running, but finally, some sounds different from the cracking of bones appeared ahead, terrifying sounds

A strange cracking sound and a bone-chilling cold came from behind. Lu Yan turned around in surprise and saw that the captain of the Red Bone team had been struck in the forehead by an ice arrow. A mass of ice crystals was rapidly expanding from the arrow, and in the blink of an eye, it had pushed out several dozen meters in the direction the arrow was traveling, freezing the Red Bone and the more than a hundred Gray Bone skeletons behind it into blocks of ice

The word "person" suddenly sprang to mind, and Lü Yan felt that it was something very familiar, yet he could not quite grasp what it truly was

As far as the eye can see, the endless army of skeletons stretches beyond sight; in every direction, there lies a vast ocean of white bones. In the distance, a continuous silhouette of mountains can be seen. This is a vast valley, filled to the brim with the boiling sea of skeletons.

Upon thinking of the character "death," Lü Yan seemed to be suddenly invigorated, as if receiving a strong dose of adrenaline. He struggled desperately, and although he could not fully comprehend the terrifying implications contained within the character "death," Lü Yan vaguely sensed that he absolutely could not wait for the dark red skeleton to take action; he must independently crawl out of the soil.

I want to shout, even if I am just a pile of bones and * pictures * books

Beneath his feet lay what seemed to be an endless expanse of decayed earth. Lü Yan had been jogging for nearly half an hour under the guidance of Hong Gu, his bones were grinding against each other, and his body was filled with excruciating pain and the sound of cracking fractures, as if he were on the verge of falling apart.

He once again erupted with an astonishing will to survive, struggling with all his might to break free. Remarkably, even from the vocal cord-less cervical vertebrae, a low growl emerged. In that instant, Lü Yan had completely forgotten the existence of the red skeleton

Lü Yanzhen was taken aback

Blocking the teams in front will lead to being crushed, one must evade! A thought flashed through Lyu Yan's mind, but the teams on both sides were also advancing relentlessly. The patch of open ground he occupied felt like an oasis in a vast ocean, about to be submerged by a sea of bones

The only way out is ahead

"Damn it, what a waste. I seriously doubt what use you worthless skeletons can be." As the dark red skeleton drew closer, Lu Yan began to realize something. The torn-apart skeletons lay scattered on the ground, having lost their ability to move except for the occasional twitch.

"Cannot stop! Cannot die!" Lü Yan clenched his jaw tightly, enduring the excruciating pain as he moved his feet forward again and again, firmly staying in line with the group

The process of emerging from the soil was exceedingly arduous; the pain in his fingers, palms, and arms was almost unbearable. It felt as though the vertebrae in his lower back and his lower limbs, buried in the earth, were about to break. Moreover, Lü Yan could indeed hear the cracking sound of bones, but he could not discern whether the sound of the fractures came from his own body or from his companions nearby.

The dark red skeleton finished speaking and began to walk towards the distant mountains. Lu Yan cautiously moved forward among nearly one hundred gray bones, while repeatedly pondering the unfamiliar word uttered by the dark red skeleton: fireball

Although he exerted all his strength, Lu Yan still did not manage to climb out in time. Before his two shins could pull out of the ground, a dark red skeleton had already stood before him.

Young man, you are quite fortunate. I was just listening to the commands of the adults and did not have time to 'help' you. The dark red skeleton seemed to understand Lü Yan's thoughts; its upper and lower jaws split open, forming a smile-like expression: "However, a bone that fears death is a good bone. This old saying holds true. Strive to live on, Gray Bone!"

Lü Yan vaguely realized that it should not be this way, but he could not remember what he originally looked like. The bones below his waist were still buried in the decaying soil, and the pain came from the hip bone trapped by the earth. Lü Yan wanted to push aside the rotten soil that covered him, but he found that his slender finger bones were completely powerless.

Death

The Red Bone is capable of leading approximately one hundred Gray Bones

Lü Yan noticed that the selection of team members by the red bones was not arbitrary. The canine-shaped gray bones were gathered together and led by the canine-shaped red bones, while the tiger-shaped red bones predominantly collected similarly strong tiger-shaped gray bones. Surrounding Lü Yan were mostly bipedal humanoid gray bones, with a minotaur red bone as the team leader

Am I a skeleton

Is it dead

The peak of fear receded, and Lu Yan suddenly awakened, realizing that he was not dead yet and still had a chance

In the moment when Lü Yan was lost in thought, his companions had already disappeared, leaving him standing alone in a small clearing.

With a soft sound, Lü Yan's last foot bone was finally pulled out from the mud. He endured the fresh, excruciating pain and stood up unsteadily, looking up in confusion at the dark red skeleton before him, unable to understand why it had spared him.

You are all the lowest tier of "Gray Bones". Of course, if you manage to survive by a stroke of luck and then evolve to develop bone techniques, you might have the chance to become "Red Bones" like me. As for aspiring to advance to become a "War Bone" like Lord Kairenwal, you can ponder that with your tailbone that no longer has an anus, but I can responsibly tell you that it is absolutely impossible...

Lü Yan hurriedly moved his still clumsy legs and book bag, tumbling and crawling down the dirt slope to join the formation that his companions were striving to arrange.

The dark red skeleton stood before Lü Yan, remaining motionless, its two hollow eye sockets silently observing Lü Yan's movements

"Frozen Arrow! It is a wizard! Charge!" The shouts of the red bones rose and fell, but without exception, they all quickened their pace in the charge

A fireball the size of a human head flew in from a distance, landing not far in front of Lu Yan. A violent explosion erupted, and Lu Yan even felt the ground tremble slightly. Large chunks of gray bones were blasted into the sky, accompanied by the metallic scent of the soil and the acrid smell of burning bones.

With a whoosh! — crack! — Just as Lü Yan turned around, he felt a flash of blue light in front of him. A small ice arrow whizzed past, almost grazing his cheekbone. The sharp and cold wind from the arrow scraped a wound the width of a pinky finger on his cheekbone, and the intense pain nearly caused Lü Yan to faint on the ground

Gray Bone, Red Bone, Battle Bone, Lü Yan remembered the order of these three levels

An increasing number of such complete formations began to emerge. Lu Yan observed more dark red skeletons, each wielding different bone weapons, advancing with approximately one hundred gray skeletons. The two formations, well-structured, did not intentionally collide with each other. The leading red skeleton even nodded slightly, restraining its gray skeletons from engaging in conflict with the opposing group.

Rise, rise, you foolish and lazy gray bones, you are here to be cannon fodder, not to be masters! Suddenly, a coarse roar came from not far away. Lu Yan raised his head and saw a tall, dark red skeleton violently pulling at those skeletons that had not yet emerged from the ground. His actions were brutal and ferocious, and most of the skeletons that were pulled out were torn apart and then thrown onto the ground

"Alright, lazy young men, stand straight!" The tall, dark red skeleton shouted desperately, while brandishing a bone hammer that had mysteriously appeared, smashing every new skeleton that failed to notice him speaking.

Charge! The emotions of the leading red-boned skeleton suddenly surged with the arrival of the fireball. He let out a furious roar and, wielding his bone hammer, sprinted towards the direction from which the fireball had come. What unsettled Lü Yan was that, in an instant, the entire team charged forward, as if these skeletons were not afraid of death at all

The dark red skeleton finished speaking, turned around, and strode away, once again cursing as he engaged in the work of promoting growth by pulling seedlings. Lu Yan noticed that this unique skeleton brother did not tear apart every new skeleton... He would consciously spare some, indicating that he was destroying those defective ones, leaving behind those that could be useful... Good bones. He would consciously spare some, indicating that he was destroying those defective ones, leaving behind those that could be useful... Good bones

***

The already loud footsteps around suddenly intensified, and it was as if a series of rolling thunder erupted beside Lv Yan's ears. The entire ground trembled, massive ice blocks shattered, and the skeletons within scattered along with the broken ice, including Captain Hong Gu.

The words "war" suddenly emerged, and Lu Yan realized that he was caught in a grand conflict, one side consisting of countless skeletons, but what was the other side?

Charge! A roar echoed from behind, and Lu Yan turned his head to see a robust, tiger-shaped figure with red bones leading his team, advancing like a bulldozer.

In the distance, at the foot of a mountain, flames and thick smoke were rising, and a large number of skeletons were surging toward that location

Alright, no matter how much I explain, you fools won't remember. Pay attention and charge with me later. Hehe, although the outcome of the charge is basically certain death..." The dark red skeleton suddenly opened its mouth wide: "But if you stray from the group, you will quickly be trampled into bone dust by other teams. Would you prefer to be trampled to death or crushed by fireballs? You can choose for yourselves!"

Lü Yan heard loud scolding voices coming from nearby, indicating that there were others organizing the skeletons in line besides the dark red skeleton before him

And the one referred to as Lord Val by the Red Bone is a battle bone of a higher level, equivalent to the * map * book grade.

Lü Yan felt the icy grip of death threatening to engulf him, his frail skeletal frame trembling desperately, the ribcage without lungs rising and falling violently, akin to a drowning person gasping for one last breath of air

"Was the red bone also shot dead by an arrow?" Lü Yan stood in place, looking at the wet fragments of bones scattered on the ground, feeling somewhat bewildered. His solitary figure seemed out of place amidst the surrounding army of running skeletons

Very well, it seems you are not as foolish as I thought. It would indeed be a bit of a grievance for you to serve as cannon fodder. That's right, you heard correctly, cannon fodder. You are the cannon fodder under Lord Kaerunvar, so do not consider yourselves as significant figures. When the charge begins, all you need to remember is not to obstruct the path of your fellow companions, and nothing more.

The roar of the dark red skull grew closer, and the fear in Lü Yan's heart intensified. This feeling compelled him to struggle incessantly, to exert himself continuously, to the point that he did not even notice when a bone in his little finger was broken.

As Lü Yan, focused on walking, finally raised his head, he discovered that he was surrounded by thick smoke and flames; he had unknowingly arrived at the front lines of the battlefield.

Lü Yan lowered his head and what he saw was not a solid chest and defined abs, but rather the stark, empty ribs, along with several maggots covered in black mud and slime wriggling on them. A wave of extreme itchiness washed over him, causing Lü Yan to shiver involuntarily. He instinctively reached out to pat, but what came into view was a trembling, bony claw.

The newborn is a gray bone

As they navigated through the numerous disorganized gray skeletons, many newly emerged skeletons were crushed under the feet of the team led by Lü Yan. The large red skeleton at the front wielded a bone hammer, smashing every obstacle that dared to stand in its path. Lü Yan couldn't help but feel grateful that when he crawled out, he was not trampled by another team.

At that moment, a pair of eyes hidden thousands of meters away curiously fell upon Lu Yan.

If he couldn't think clearly, he wouldn't think at all. Lü Yan could only concentrate and match his speed with Captain Hong Gu.