Chapter 230 (1/2)

Chapter 230: Pinched to Death

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

There were two types of white color in the area between the northern polar fields of the Black Forest, each distinct from the other. One was the bright and clear white, a color of purity. This was found in the snow of the North. The other was the dull white color that came with a touch of blood, like that found in bones. And the Skeletal Fort was fortress made up purely of piles of bones.

Whose bones?

Well, the great leader would tell you that as a tribute to the Lady of Darkness, the Skeletal Fort contained the bones of at least 20,000 souls. These souls were all burned to release an infinite amount of power. Their bones and skeletons were then preserved and used to build a white fortress with the length and width of 160 feet and the height of 160 feet as well.

And at the top of the fort was a bony, white hall.

At the head of the hall was the Skeletal Throne made of ivory, mammoth’s tusks. Whenever there had been any major events, there a shadowy figure would appear on the throne enshrouded in a black flame.

And right now, it was one of those times where an important event had occurred.

On the Skeletal Throne sat a graceful shadowy figure, and at the same time, a sweet and pleasant voice floated in the hall.

“There’s a big mouse in the forest,” said the voice, “and I don’t like it at all. Right now, the mouse has brought its friends too close to the fortress, yet none of my cats could catch them yet. Bruttan, Maule, will both of you be willing to catch these mice for me?”

Bruttan, a Level-7 demon was more than 13 feet tall, and his skin was black and thorny with a dagger-shaped horn on his head. He wielded a pair of giant swords each about ten feet long. He used to be a Warrior guarding the Magician Aymon’s fortress. After the god-level device, Dark Serpent came to this world, he became the Warrior guarding the Skeletal Fort by Aymon’s command.

Maule, a Black Dragon Warrior with Level-7 strength, possessed amazing stature and was no less powerful than a demon. His swordsmanship was almost perfect, and he was the Skeletal Fort’s main Swordsman.

Upon hearing the order, both of them bowed respectfully at the throne and said, “As you wish, Messenger of Darkness!”

Just as they spoke, there came a sudden loud scream from outside the hall.

“Ah! Aaaah! Kill me! Just kill me!!!!”

The voice carried a great amount of strength behind it, enough to shake the entire Skeletal Fort. Even Bruttan and Maule’s faces showed a trace of uneasiness.

The source of the scream that rattled the fortress was the top human Warrior, the Dawn Swordsman Karnose who had just been captured and brought into the Skeletal Fort.

Only the dark shadowy figure on the Skeletal Throne remained unaffected.

“Oh, it seems that dear Karnose is not happy,” said the figure. “I must go down there and comfort him. Both of you may leave now.”

Then, the shadowy figure stood up, and her slender waist twisted like a snake as the figure walked slowly and casually down to the dungeons under the Skeletal Fort.

Bruttan and Maule looked at each other for a moment then turned around and left the hall. When both of them reached outside the Skeletal Fortress, there were 40 ghouls behind them, along with more than 200 scouts from Death’s Hand and close to 3000 soldiers.

“Maule, we’ll get half of the soldiers each,” said Bruttan. “Let’s see who catches those mice first.”

“Hahaha, alright,” replied Maule, “but what would the winner get?” in his eyes, Bruttan was nothing but a brute. Without his strength, he was basically useless. It’d be fun to see such an idiot lose to him.

“Well, let’s see…” answered Bruttan, squinting at the Dragon Warrior as he considered the matter. To be honest, he’d never liked the bastard. “If you win, then I’ll always obey you from then on. But if I win, you don’t have to obey me; I just want to give you a big old slap in the face.”

“Good! It’s a deal!”

The two then divided the soldiers among themselves equally and parted ways.

…

Just a mile outside the Skeletal Fort, there was a slightly elevated mound in the forest where its peak was covered completely with snow. Link, the Red Dragon Warrior Felina, Annie, and the rest of the scouts all huddled together inside a makeshift igloo made of snow. They poked a hole through the snow and observed the movements in the Skeletal Fortress from there.

“So many bones! And so many guards!” exclaimed Annie, hardly able to contain her shock. The actual sight and scale of the Skeletal Fort had totally exceeded her imagination.

The surrounding area around Skeletal Fort was very flat, and there, one could clearly see more than 10,000 soldiers spread across the plains. Although each soldier was only comparable to a Level-1 Warrior, once their number reached 10,000, they were nevertheless a fearsome force.

“These soldiers won’t leave,” whispered a scout. “We can’t possibly sneak into the fort.”

There were just too many of them. And the closer they got to the Skeletal Fort the more heavily guarded the area was. Even if they used an invisibility spell to sneak into the place, they might still bump into a soldier who would then expose their presence.

At the moment, Bruttan and Maule stepped out of the fort in front of everyone.

“Link,” Felina whispered. “They must’ve sensed that we’re here and sent a team out for us. We could soon be discovered here.”

There were just too many people on their side. There was no need for any fancy searching techniques al all with that many people. All they needed to do was search every inch of the land, and there would be no way for Link and the rest to stay hidden.

They’d been staying in the same place for more than half an hour now. Link had mostly been silent all this while. Then, suddenly, he spoke up.

“Karnose still maintains his conscience,” he whispered. “He hasn’t been completely transformed by the occult yet. He can still be saved, but we must rescue him soon.”

“But how?” asked Annie.

Felina only shook her head.

“Things have gotten to a more frightening point than I’d expected, Link,” she said. “I don’t think we can save him.”

Link pretended he didn’t hear it. He knew that it wasn’t that the Red Dragon Warrior was unwilling to rescue Karnose, she merely didn’t believe that they would succeed. If he could show her a plan that might work, he was sure that she would join in.

“We’ll use the old plan,” said Link. “I’ll attract the Skeletal Fort’s attention, and you’ll sneak into the Skeletal Fortress and rescue the man. Felina, you must go too, but you’re too strong so they might slow you down. You should act alone.”

Felina bit her lips and furrowed her brows in doubt.