Chapter 50. Leader

[That was easy enough...](Burt)

"Don't play around and keep up your guard. The first two were pushed... fuck! I'll have to leave one of them through, or my Skeletons will be pushed back. Intercept it."

Not giving them time to complain, a breach appeared between the wall of Skeletons, catching the charging goatmen with a cleaver by surprise.

[ Ice Clan Maraurder (Minion) - Level 10 ]

Luckily, the duo had already reacted. Aybdah threw a dagger that hit the thigh of the goatmen, further destroying its balance. As it was falling, so did Burt's greatsword on its head.

Just before the monster could counter-attack, Aybdah sunk his twin daggers into the monster's back, effectively killing it.

"Good job! I'll let some javelin throwers in next, so stay on your toes. Christine, start sniping them!"

Just as his words echoed through the cave, the twang of a bow was heard, and an arrow found its way into the head of a javelin thrower.

Shocked at the insta-kill for a moment, Michael gave her a thumbs up and threw another Blight at the incoming goatmen.

Not only that, but he also spammed Bone Splinters on the javelin throwers himself, keeping the cleaver-wielding ones as a shield.

When the minions' health fell, Michael used his Raise Skeletons on one of the many Corpses around, healing and buffing them.

Unfortunately, not everything went as planned. The frenzied minions made quick work of the remaining two goatmen with melee weapons, giving the next javelin throwers enough space to launch an attack.

"Fuck! Be careful!"

[I got this one! Totem of Protection!](Burt)

With a yell from Burt, a small wooden sculpture appeared in between them and the incoming projectiles. As soon as the javelins closed in on the party, a wall of brown air deflected them.

Just as they were celebrating, three goatmen jumped over the Skeletons blocking the way and charged at them.

Surprised, Michael ordered the minions to close the gap between themselves and the other goatmen at the entrance while moving forward to block the incoming attacks.

"We'll each take one. Aybdah and I will only keep one each busy, while Burt will kill his. Christine, help him."

With no time to enact any complicated plans, the three men engaged the goatmen.

As these guys had javelins in their hands, they used them as spears. Michael and Abydah used their higher agility to evade the attacks, while Burt took the chance to swing his greatsword at the remaining one.

When the goatmen facing Burt blocked with his own weapon, a blue arrow hit the monster in the chest.

Ice creeped out from the wound, temporarily sealing its movement.

[He's frozen. Kill it!](Christine)

[On it!](Burt)

With a crazed roar and an equally crazed overhead swing, Burt's greatsword almost split the frozen goatmen in two.

Michael wasn't very pressured by the goatman he was facing, as even the puppets he faced when training with Martel were more agile than this.

"Help Aybdah first!"

After giving the instructions, he evaded an attack from his enemy and used a Raise Skeleton and a Blight in quick succession. The Raise Skeleton on the goatman Burt killed healed his minions and renewed the buff.

As for the Blight, it hit his opponent straight in the face, flustering it for a moment.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Michael's scythe swept the legs of the monster, creating a deep wound and dropping it to the ground.

After spamming five consecutive Bone Splinters, the monster died at his feet.

Looking at the trio dealing with the remaining intruder, Michael curiously glanced at it.

[ Ice Clan Impaler (Minion) - Level 10 ]

'So, the ones with melee weapons are called Marauders, and these are Impalers. Good to know... With the minions using their bodies to block the ranged attacks of the Impalers, we should be able to clean up the rest easily. Fuck! One died!'

Quickly casting Raise Skeleton twice, Michael raised another minion to replace the dead one and another use to heal the remaining three.

By then, Christine was already shooting at the Impalers pushing against Michael's Skeletons.

"The damage they deal is too high; I need to let some of them through to relieve the pressure. I think we can deal with another two by ourselves while Christine keeps attacking the ones at the back."

[Let's do it!](Aybdah)

[I'm ready.](Christine)

[No problem!](Burt)

Another two Impalers were allowed to pass through, only to be greeted by Michael's Bone Splinters aimed at their faces and, soon after, a greatsword and a pair of daggers.

In less than half an hour, all remaining goatmen were killed.

All four party members were breathing in a very rough manner. Michael willed the minions to scout the narrow road entrance and see if there were any other monsters nearby.

"We'll take a quick breather to make sure we're back at 100% before using the flare. Mister Bozan, are you holding on well?"

[Don't worry about me. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.](Bozan)

Seeing as the Monk still had enough energy to joke around, Michael nodded and turned to the other three.

The trio regulated their breathing and ensured their Resources were back up to max for the upcoming fight.

Michael nodded at them and went to check the drops. Unfortunately, only 420 gold coins dropped in total, which the four people divided equally.

[Pretty unlucky that no items dropped.](Burt)

[Well, it's not often that you can gain equipment in the wilderness. And even if we do, they might be common trash in the best-case scenario. Only Elites would drop better stuff.](Aybdah)

[Don't jinx it.](Christine)

"Hahaha! Well, it's good that we made it without any injuries. How long do you need until you're back to fighting strength?"

[I'm ready.](Christine)

[Same here.](Aybdah)

[Ready.](Burt)

Nodding, Michael went out and placed the flare on the ground. Willing some of his Essence in the object, it soon emitted a spark, forcing him to move away from it.

A second later, a firework appeared in the sky, brightly illuminating the narrow road between the two cliffs.

The remaining three party members were also curious as it was their first time seeing it used and watched in surprise as the firework remained burning in the air, about a hundred meters or so above their heads.

"I see. It's like a beacon."

[With this, we should get ready. It's not very high, but it's high and bright enough to draw every creature many kilometers away from us.](Aybdah)

[Let's get ready. They should get here pretty fast.](Burt)

"Mhm. I'll leave the minions at the beginning of this narrow road. That way, they can act as buffers and give us more time. Once they die, I'll revive them and send them over again."

[Two by two?](Christine)

"Mhm. That way, we should gain at least another 10-15 minutes until they make it to the cave."

With an agreement reached, the party returned to the cave and waited patiently as the minions stood guard.

Surprisingly, even after half an hour passed, there was no trace of the attackers.

[Strange.](Christine)

[Might be. But I don't mind if we can wait peacefully like this until the cavalry arrives.](Burt)

[Seconded.](Aybdah)

Michael listened to their banter and couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but they're here."

[How many and what sort?](Burt)

Checking the incoming swarm of creatures, Michael focused and observed them through the vision of the Skeletons. Unfortunately, the night vision blessing didn't seem to apply to them, and all he could see were shadows moving atop the snow.

"Can't tell. The blessing we got from the Sanctuary doesn't seem to apply to my minions. All I can tell is that they are in higher numbers than the goatmen."

[Shit!](Aybdah)

"Well, if it's of any help, they do seem to be smaller in size than the goatmen."

[Are they humanoids?](Bozan)

"Hmm... I think so. They do seem to run upright and on all fours. Do you know what they might be?"

[Most likely. Did they attack directly?](Bozan)

"No. They keep their distance from my minions. It's like they're measuring the opponent."

[Great! They should be Ghouls.](Bozan)

Seeing the exuberant manner of the Monk, the four were stumped. He seemed to be happy that the enemies encountered this time were Ghouls.

"Flesh eaters? Do you know more about them, sir?"

[Yes, flesh eaters. They are attracted to corpses. Since we still have more than ten corpses of the goatmen around us, the smell probably drew over them. As for the flare, they are almost blind, so it doesn't affect them at all. Their sense of smell and hearing are more sensitive, though.](Bozan)

[What about their strength?](Christine)

[Hmm... compared with the Ice Clan goatmen, I'd say that an Impaler can easily kill five Ghouls of the same level, while a Maraurder can take up to ten. They are weaklings that like to bully their prey with numbers.](Bozan)

Hearing the explanation baffled the party, as they were expecting stronger enemies.

Michael was close to leveling up, and so were Burt and Christine. As for Aybdah, he had already caught up to Michael and reached Level 6.

"Well, I guess we'll take these free experience points then. I'll focus on supporting the Skeletons, so I'll go and stay behind my minions. If needed, I'll retreat, and we can fight the rest here."

[Can't you control and supervise their situation through the ones behind the ones fighting?](Burt)

"I can. However, I can also use my other skills to support them. For example, my Blight can slow the enemy down and allow my minions to attack them faster. Add to that spamming Bone Splinters from the backline, and I might be able to deal with them alone."

[Wow! We can sit back and enjoy the free leveling-up benefits. Sounds good to me.](Aybdah)

[I'll stay behind you to help out in case you need to retreat. My Totem of Protection is efficient against ranged attacks but can only hold on for ten seconds at best in front of melee ones.](Burt)

"That's plenty of time to retreat and resummon the Skeleton Warriors in case of a mishap. Let's do it like that then."

As he was focusing on the Ghouls, which were still prowling around without attacking, Aybdah walked forward and tapped him on the shoulder.

After doing that, a blue mark appeared there, and another four marks on the Skeletons in front. Directing a questioning gaze at the man, a grin appeared on the Assassin's face.

[It's a part of my Trap skill. Using this 'paint' can help me identify my allies so that whatever traps I set won't be triggered by them.](Aybdah)

"You didn't say anything about it before. New skill?"

[Yup, I just got it and wanted to test it out.](Aybdah)

[That sounds interesting. What effects does your trap have?](Burt)

[I picked Ice Trap since I only had a Skill Point to use. It covers a three-meter radius area in ice.](Aybdah)

As Burt complimented on the really good skill to have given their current situation, Michael grimaced in annoyance.

'To get a skill like this, doesn't that mean we'll need to use it soon? Also, based on its range, it could seal the pathway to the cave completely.'

Pondering for a moment, Michael stopped Aybdah from setting up the trap behind his minions and instead had him place it at the entrance to the cave.

The others were confused at the request, so he had to explain.

"Ghouls are weak creatures, yes. But what if they break through in huge numbers, or an Elite jumps over just like the goatmen Impalers did? If we have a trap at the entrance, we can seal it to deal with the dangerous factors first before moving back to deal with the rest."

[Makes sense.](Christine)

[But wait, would the trap be activated when literally ANY Ghoul manages to break through?](Burt)

[Not going to happen. I can set the trap as inactive and activate it remotely whenever I want.](Aybdah)

Hearing the very convenient setting, Michael's eyebrows scrounged up for a moment before relaxing again.

The situation was stressful enough; there was no need to burden the rest of the party with possibly unnecessary worries.

Turning his head abruptly toward the Skeletons, Michael continued.

"Let's do it like that. It seems that the Ghouls have exhausted their patience."

[They're coming?](Burt)

"Mhm."

[I'll set up the Ice Trap. I need five minutes.](Aybdah)

"No worries. Burt, you should head back as well. I thought things through, and using your Totem of Protection here is not a good idea. It eats up a lot of Resources, doesn't it?"

[About half of my Resource Pool. Are you sure, though?](Burt)

"Mhm. After all, they are weaklings; even if they break through and attack me, I can still fend them off easily until I'm back inside the cave."

[Your call.](Burt)

Michael smiled, watching the back of the Shaman Warrior. Because the situation was urgent, he directed the remaining three party members in the fight before by giving them concise orders.

Surprisingly, the trio didn't seem to be against it. At the same time, accepting the role of the leader also meant being responsible for the well-being of your subordinates.

'To wear the crown is to bear its weight, is it?'

Seeing the charging Ghouls, Michael waved his hand, and a blob of Blight hit accurately at the entrance of the narrow road.

The second fight started...