“I think we should take action.”
Accepting the proposition from the chief of Small Fang, Shasuryu nodded in agreement.
“The problem is who we should send… Let’s show the enemy our strength.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Skeleton riders.
Skeletons with lances riding on skeletal horses. Nothing special to note except their strong mobility, which was exceptional in the wetlands. With their body made from bones, their feet sink shallowly into the mud, allowing them to traverse the terrain with the speed of horses.
The one hundred skeleton riders took the roundabout way to the back of the lizardmen army for a pincer attack.
They could see three lizardmen running at them to the left of their advancing route — which was the direction of the village — but the skeleton riders ignored them. Without any orders, they would ignore anything if they were not attacked. That was the kind of monster the unintelligent undead was.
They almost reached the rear of the lizardmen army when the skeleton rider leading the charge suddenly tumbled. The skeleton rider was flung high into the air before it fell heavily into the wetlands.
A human would be confused and wouldn’t be able to act immediately. But the unintelligent undead skeleton rider moved instantly in order to carry out its instructions.
It stood up immediately, but was limping slightly due to the damage.
That skeleton was hit by another skeleton rider, and their bones were scattered all over the wetlands.
Such a scene happened consecutively in several places.
The reason this was happening in the wetlands? The answer was simple— traps.
Open boxes were buried in the ground and the horses would tumble if they were to spring the traps.
The skeleton riders fell one after another. If they were humans, they would slow their advance. But the skeleton riders didn’t do that. They had enough wits to avoid a hole that was already there, but still fell for hidden traps. They didn’t receive any orders to do so and didn’t had the intelligence to make such a judgement call.
The scene of them going full speed into traps was like mass suicide.
The traps might be very effective, but they could only stall for time. Some damage was dealt to the skeleton riders, but it was not enough to destroy them. The skeleton riders that had fallen all over the place got up with their bodies covered in mud.
At this moment, a whistling sound was heard and the head of a skeleton rider flew off just like that.
The skeleton riders saw this as an act of hostility and looked around the vicinity.
Another skeleton’s head was knocked off like shattered glass.
The skeleton riders discovered three lizardmen about 80 meters away from them. They could also see them using slingshots, shooting rocks to snipe the head of the skeleton riders——
The skeleton riders started moving.
At the same time, the fight with the skeletons was changing.
With the sound of bow strings releasing, arrows rained down on the battlefield.
The 150 skeleton archers fired arrows at the skeletons and the lizardmen simultaneously. It wasn’t just one shot, but two, three...
This was an unexpected assault for the lizardmen.
Several lizardmen were hit and fell. They couldn’t defend against the arrows while they fought against the skeletons.
The skeletons were hit too, but took no damage.
Placing the skeletons that were resistant to piercing attacks in the front and the skeleton archers firing from the back was a great combination. With the time needed to defeat 2,200 skeletons, this tactic would be enough to wipe out the lizardmen.
But the problem was that this tactic was implemented too late. If it was used at the very beginning, the lizardmen would definitely be in a dire state. The skeletons would then overwhelm them with numbers and earn a decisive victory. But it was too late.
Ignoring the dwindling skeletons, the lizardmen charged at the skeleton archers.
The arrows from the 150 skeleton archers fell like rain, downing several lizardmen onto the mud, but it was just a small number.
With the thick skin and hard scales of the lizardmen, their defence was on par with humans wearing leather armor. Even if arrows pierced their skin, their tough muscles might be able to stave off fatal injury.
Another reason for the minimal casualties were the weak arrow shots. They didn’t have enough power to kill the lizardmen.
The lizardmen roared fearlessly as they charged. In the face of the rain of arrows, the lizardmen crossed their arms to protect their head, braving ahead even if their body was pierced.
On the third wave of arrow attack—
This was the limit of how fast the skeleton archers could shoot. If they had intelligence, they would probably retreat. If they moved back and regrouped with the surviving undead army, they could be utilized in a better way.
But the skeletons did not have the mental capacity to store such complicated instructions. They didn’t receive any other orders, so they simply executed their original mission— Even with the lizardmen closing in, they could only fire arrows at them.
With a roar, the skeleton archers were swarmed by the lizardmen, just like they did to the skeletons. At this distance, archers lost their advantage and could only be attacked one-sidedly. As they fell one after another, almost all the skeletons had fallen into the wetlands, and just the army of zombies was left.
Finally, a new enemy was unleashed.
Undead beasts.
Undead created from wolves, snakes, cobras and all sorts of animals. A monster that combined the tenacity of zombies with the agility of animals.
The undead beasts rushed at the lizardmen. The fast moved fast, the slow travelled slowly, an assault with no formation to speak of.
The attack coming from down low was unexpectedly hard to evade. The undead beasts will gnaw onto the feet of the enemy. After immobilizing them, it will deal the killing blow, a style similar to wild beasts.
For the lizardmen who were getting more and more tired, this attack was difficult to fend off. Several lizardmen whose movements had dulled got their necks torn apart by the undead beasts. Even those who believed the spirits of their ancestors was with them couldn’t help but panic when they saw their comrades fall.
The Head Warriors fought at the front, but were pushed back slowly. As they were thinking that it was just a matter of time before their battle lines will be broken, the wetlands suddenly swelled up.