hapter 8: Combat Squad

hapter 8: Combat Squad

When the skeleton leader killed the cultist, Gu Xi's hands were not idle. With a swift motion, he extracted the soul from the freshly slain cultist.

"Soul Summoning!"

[You have successfully used Soul Summoning and acquired a skeleton (Level 0). Soul Summoning experience +1.]

[A similar race leader detected. Do you wish to form a squad?]

"Form a squad."

As the cultist transformed into a new skeleton, another message popped up in front of Gu Xi.

As soon as Gu Xi spoke, the newly generated skeleton suddenly held an identical dagger to the skeleton leader's in its hand. Its movements also became noticeably more agile.

Clearly, this newly transformed skeleton was influenced by the skeleton leader.

[Combat Squad (Level 0, unnamed, Trait: +1 Life): Leader (1/1) Level 0 Skeleton Leader, Members (1/30) Level 0 Skeleton]

"What's the point of giving a skeleton extra life?"

Gu Xi muttered while quickly using his hands to perform Soul Summoning on the nearby slain black-robed cultists, transforming them into skeletons and adding them to the newly formed combat squad.

[You have successfully used Soul Summoning and acquired a skeleton (Level 0). Soul Summoning experience +1. Added to combat squad. Squad member +1.]

[You have successfully used Soul Summoning and acquired a skeleton (Level 0). Soul Summoning experience +1. Added to combat squad. Squad member +1.]

[You failed to use Soul Summoning. Soul Summoning experience +1.]

In the blink of an eye, the newly formed combat squad grew to nine skeletons.

Each skeleton wielded a club in the right hand and a dagger in the left, moving in groups of three or five. Their synchronized movements made it hard to distinguish the leader from the members.

Those who had just exited the secret passage were stunned to see Gu Xi suddenly command so many minions, slaughtering enemies with ease. They leaned against the walls, unsure of what to do.

Thankfully, Jack mustered the courage to approach Gu Xi cautiously.

Before he could get close, Luna floated in front of Jack, her hollow eyes staring at him.

"Master Mage, mas—"

"Wait, this will be over soon."

By this time, Gu Xi had already reached the spot where they had previously retreated.

With a combat squad at his side, Gu Xi was brimming with confidence. Even if faced with the same attacks as before, he was sure he could win.

After all, necromancers are the type that grow stronger the more they fight.

"That's not it, Master Mage, we..." Jack tried to say more, but Gu Xi, already leading the combat squad, charged back into the underground space.

As Gu Xi and his team rushed in, the black-robed cultists near the abandoned gate turned to face him.

Gu Xi understood that having suffered a loss once, these cultists would not let things go as they did before, waiting until they were hit to react.

Now, they were more alert, focusing on any sign of trouble.

Seeing a group of skeletons armed with clubs and daggers, several black-robed cultists drew their weapons and charged.

"Kill!"

Gu Xi shouted, deciding not to hold back any longer. He pointed at the enemy, and the skeleton leader led the combat squad forward.

Luna appeared at the front of the combat squad at that moment.

"Ah~"

The Banshee's Wail caused the charging black-robed cultists to falter.

Taking advantage of this, the agile skeletons swiftly moved forward, stabbing their daggers into the cultists.

[Skeleton Leader (Summon) kills cultist (Level 2), you gain 1 experience point, summon gains 10 experience points, and contract undead gains 10 experience points due to cooperation in the kill.]

[Skeleton (Summon) kills cultist (Level 2), you gain 1 experience point, summon gains 13 experience points, and contract undead gains 9 experience points due to cooperation in the kill.]

[...]

Following behind, Gu Xi continuously extracted souls and summoned more skeletons to replenish the combat squad.

Gu Xi found this type of combat more enjoyable than fighting personally.

Though he only gained 1 experience point for each enemy killed by his summons, the increasing number of skeletons made up for it.

Currently, with only a dozen skeletons, the experience gain was slow.

But when Gu Xi could control three, five, or even ten combat squads, with thousands of summonable undead, his experience would skyrocket.

Just thinking about it felt great.

With this thought, Gu Xi's actions sped up. Extracting and summoning souls became almost instinctive.

As the sound of notifications rang in Gu Xi's ears, he suddenly felt a tremendous force from behind, followed by a cracking sound.

In the next moment, Luna appeared behind Gu Xi, using Frost Touch to attack a spot in the air.

With one strike, an icy blue figure became visible.

Gu Xi quickly regained his composure, grabbed a dagger, and threw it backward.

The dagger hit the enemy's chest.

This enemy wore no armor, only simple cloth to keep his body light, not even bothering with leather armor.

When Gu Xi's dagger struck his chest, he tried to dodge, but having been hit by Frost Touch, his movements were slower. Even with the intention to dodge, he couldn't avoid the strike.

Gu Xi did not relax after hitting the enemy. He stepped forward quickly and slashed the enemy's neck with his curved blade.

[Killed Royal Spy (Level 2), gained 18 experience points, contract undead gained 11 experience points due to cooperation in the kill.]

Hearing the kill notification, Gu Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But in the next moment, Gu Xi's tension returned.

A spy? A royal one?

What was going on?

Before Gu Xi could figure out what was happening, the combat squad fighting in the front noticed the anomaly and quickly retreated to his side, forming a protective circle around him.

Even Jack and the others were shielded by the combat squad's defensive line.

The black-robed cultists, seeing the skeletons retreat, didn't care why. They saw their enemies in front of them and, like a horde of zombies attacking a city, surged towards Gu Xi.