Chapter 24: Broodmother

The Elite Skeleton Knight stared at the arrow embedded deep within the Skull Vulture’s cranium.

​The massive bone bird twitched once before collapsing from the sky like a falling boulder, crashing heavily onto the barren earth.

​The Knight slowly turned its head. The Elite Skeleton Tank did the same, followed by the Assassin.

​Three pairs of glowing soul flames settled quietly upon the Archer.

​The Archer shifted awkwardly beneath their collective gaze.

​They had been battling the Skull Vulture for quite some time. Its ability to fly, combined with its frustrating habit of diving to strike before retreating beyond their reach, had made it an extraordinarily irritating opponent.

Worse still, its frame was covered in an almost impervious layer of natural bone armor.

​Yet the Archer had ended the struggle with a single shot. One arrow. One kill.

​The Knight stepped forward and clapped a heavy, armored hand onto the Archer’s shoulder. The Tank gave a solemn nod of approval, and the Assassin crossed its arms before offering a faint nod of its own.

​The Archer scratched the back of its skull, then nodded back.

​Mission accomplished.

​Without further delay, the four continued their campaign. Their Lord had issued a command, and they intended to complete it fully before returning.

​The Bonefang Wastes was not as inherently hostile as the Umbralwood, yet it remained filled with lethal mana beasts.

Fortunately, the vast majority of creatures inhabiting the area were merely Common Grade ★★★ like, Bone Hyenas, Grave Rats, and Carrion Hounds, none of which posed much of a threat individually.

​With the Archer’s newly acquired [Deathmark Sight], hunting them became vastly more efficient. Weak points were instantly exposed, vital joints were targeted, and skirmishes ended before they could truly begin.

​The four undead advanced relentlessly. Their tireless bodies required no rest, and their necrotic nature spared them from physical exhaustion. Their sole purpose remained unchanged: complete their Lord’s mandate.

​Suddenly, they arrived at a massive, desolate clearing.

​The landscape trembled violently before exploding outward.

​BOOM!

​Earth and jagged bone fragments erupted skyward as something massive burst from beneath the soil.

​The creature stretched over ten meters in length, its body resembling a colossal centipede assembled entirely from pale human and beast bones.

Hundreds of sharpened skeletal legs scraped against one another with a sickening screech, while its segmented torso was plated with overlapping bone armor.

​Jagged spikes protruded from its spine, and a pair of crimson soul fires burned deep within empty eye sockets. Massive bone mandibles snapped together, unleashing a shrill, piercing screech as the ground cracked beneath its weight.

​[Bonecrawler Centipede]

Grade: Advanced ★★★

​The four Elites immediately raised their weapons, preparing for combat.

​Yet something unexpected occurred.

​The creature’s body suddenly expanded, its segments swelling grotesquely larger, and larger, until it resembled a writhing hill of living bone.

​Then—

​BOOM!

​Its frame compressed violently, and hundreds of bone projectiles erupted outward in an indiscriminate storm.

​The Tank stepped forward instantly, slamming its Refined ★★★ Bone Shield into the ground with a heavy thud to establish a defensive wall.

​CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

​The heavy shield absorbed dozens of brutal impacts. Beside it, the Knight swung its Refined ★★★ Bone Blade, its aura-coated edge deflecting incoming shrapnel and exploding bone fragments with every strike.

​Behind the forward line, the Archer and Assassin remained completely protected.

​When the barrage finally subsided, the dust settled. The Knight lowered its blade, and the Tank lifted its shield.

​Then, all four froze in place as their soul flames flared intensely.

​The projectiles had never been simple attacks at all.

​They were the monster’s offspring.

​The countless bone shards littering the clearing suddenly began to move. Cracks spread across their surfaces as legs emerged and mandibles unfolded. One after another, the fragments transformed into miniature centipedes.

​Dozens. Then hundreds.

​They swarmed the clearing, surrounding the four Elites from every direction.

​[Bonecrawler Centipede Offspring]

Grade: Advanced ★★

​The open field became a churning sea of chittering skeletal monsters, with countless crimson eyes locked squarely onto the four summons.

​The Knight tightened its grip around its sword.

The Tank raised its massive shield.

The Assassin lowered its stance into the shadows.

The Archer slowly knocked another arrow.

​For the first time since entering the Bonefang Wastes... they had encountered an opponent worthy of being called a challenge.

....

The Knight cleaved a Bonecrawler Offspring in half.

​Aura-coated steel passed cleanly through the creature’s body before continuing into the one behind it, scattering bone fragments across the field.

​Beside it, the Tank planted its shield firmly into the earth as mana surged through its massive frame.

​Taunt.

​An invisible wave spread outward, instantly forcing dozens of offspring to pivot. Their crimson eyes locked onto the Tank as the undead defender became the focal point of the swarm.

​The moment they rushed forward, the Archer released a blinding volley. Thanks to [Deathmark Sight], every arrow found a fatal flaw, eye sockets, neck joints, and tiny cracks between armor plates.

​One arrow. One kill.

​Yet it wasn’t enough. No matter how many offspring they dispatched, the monstrous broodmother simply birthed more. The giant centipede continued swelling and contracting, each grotesque pulse discharging dozens of new beasts onto the battlefield.

​If they wanted any chance of winning, they had to eliminate the source.

​The Knight split another offspring in two before turning toward the Archer.

​The Archer immediately understood, giving a single nod.

​Drawing another arrow, it ignored the surrounding chaos and focused entirely on the gigantic broodmother. Its soul fire intensified as [Deathmark Sight] locked onto a structural flaw hidden beneath layers of thick bone plating. Now, all it needed was enough raw force to exploit it.

​The Archer drew its bowstring back, until the weapon creaked under the extreme strain. Mana gathered around the arrowhead, condensing rapidly.

​Lone Shot.

​The gathered energy compressed into a single point, making the projectile vibrate violently.

​THOOM!

​The arrow shot forward like a missile, tearing through the battlefield in a streak of pale light.

​The broodmother sensed the impending danger and twisted its massive body, but it was too late. The arrow struck precisely where [Deathmark Sight] had marked.

​BOOM!

​The impact blasted jagged bone fragments outward, creating a visible crack across the creature’s armored flank. Yet, the arrow failed to penetrate completely, and the broodmother screeched in agony, still very much alive.

​The Archer wasn’t surprised, and neither were the others. The shot had never been intended to deliver the killing blow; it had merely been executed to open a door.

​At that exact moment, a shadow detached itself from the battlefield.

​The Assassin emerged from stealth. Having remained hidden throughout the entire exchange, it had patiently waited for this exact opening. The fracture left behind by Lone Shot was all it required.

​Twin Refined ★★★ Bone Daggers flashed in the dim light. Mana surged from the Assassin’s core and flooded into both weapons as it activated its signature skill.

​Backstab.

​The Assassin accelerated until the world blurred around it. Before the broodmother could react, the undead killer arrived beside the crack, and the twin daggers struck simultaneously.

​CRACK!

The weakened armor shattered completely, as the daggers plunged deep into the soft, exposed flesh beneath, exploiting the very weakness the Archer’s Lone Shot had created.

​The brood mother’s massive body convulsed from the attack, as a horrifying screech escaped its mandibles.