Who left their last words here?

Chapter 108 Picking Up Bargains; The Chosen Skeleton King (Part 2)

"Behave yourself for now."

Suppressing the restless Dead Sea Scrolls, Bai Zhou dared not let this rat, now that it had entered the rice jar, cause any more trouble.

Otherwise, if the "owner" finds out, it will be turned into roasted dried rat!

There were more than one or two skeleton overseers in the distance, and Bai Zhou, being cautious, naturally did not intend to make any rash moves before ascertaining their strength.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Inside the mine, as always, special picks, heavy and powerful, pierced through the poisonous fog and struck the surface of the ore.

Each time it was struck, those mysterious, eerie green minerals would spew out a poisonous, eerie green mist.

The green toxic fog that permeates the area near the mine exit is what these ores "spit out".

Fortunately, the miners are skeletons.

Unaffected by poison, immortal, tireless...

It's incredibly easy to use.

but……

"A mineral that can spray poisonous mist?"

Bai Zhou blinked.

I've never seen or heard of it!
This was clearly a special and extraordinary material, perhaps even a very important strategic material in the heyday of Roman civilization, which is why it was still remembered after death.

Although he didn't know their specific uses, Bai Zhou just happened to think of the simplest way to use them...

If this eerie green ore were embedded in a weapon, each time the weapon clashed, it would spew a cloud of poisonous mist towards the enemy's face—

Bai Zhou was deeply moved by this.

In the tranquil environment, the sounds coming from the mine seemed to consist only of the numb knocking of the dead, the cracking of the overseer's whip, and annoying slogans.

This sound continued for who knows how many years:
"Work hard! To make Rome great again!"

"Snapped!"

"The sun in Rome never sets, and your work never ceases..."

"—You damn mule-horse bastard, you're spewing out a string of farts!"

Suddenly, a loud roar erupted, like a thunderclap in mid-air.

The numerous overseers and countless skeletons all stopped what they were doing.

Thousands upon thousands of eerie green flames turned their gaze toward the source of the sound.

An exceptionally tall skeleton, nearly three meters in height, descended from the sky.

Unlike other gray and white skeletons, its bones were a vibrant red, as if covered by a thin film of flesh and blood.

Although it looks ferocious and terrifying, two golden, shining flames, like small suns, burn in the eye sockets of its skull.

It opened its arms wide and roared angrily:

"Children, your leader has returned!"

"As expected, I successfully communicated with the relics left by the late king and finally gained the favor of the ancient gods!"

As he spoke, the crimson skeleton, having returned after completing some kind of mission, clenched his fist tightly and raised his arm, shouting:

"Resist Roman tyranny!"

"The world belongs to the gods!"

The sound reverberated for miles around, rustling the branches of the Skeleton Forest, and the skeletons deep in the mine stirred with agitation.

"This skeleton..."

Standing behind a tree in the distance, Bai Zhou cautiously observed the situation.

The moment the blood-red skull appeared, the Chosen Mark on his left wrist emitted an unusually hot sensation, as if it had sensed something.

This made Bai Zhou fix his gaze on the area between the eyebrows on the skull.

In that conspicuous place, there was an extremely tiny rune imprinted on it.

Upon closer inspection, one can discover that these tiny rune patterns resemble a broken spear piercing through a skull.

—It is exactly the same as the Chosen Mark on Bai Zhou's hand!
The only difference might be that, compared to the white boat's... blood-red skull mark, it's probably shrunk by more than ten times!
"This is……"

"Have you run into your organization?"

How could I possibly run into someone from my own kind in such a godforsaken place?

Bai Zhou was taken aback, but also felt a sense of warmth at seeing an acquaintance in an unfamiliar environment.

Now he knew what the skull meant by "the gaze of the ancient gods."

But that's true.

Gazing from afar at this imposing and dignified "messenger of the gods" and "skull leader" making his grand entrance—

Bai Zhou's first reaction was to instinctively hunch his shoulders and pull his hands back, using the wide sleeves of his trench coat to hide the mark on his wrist.

—Strong! Very strong! So strong that even Bai Zhou can't see the slightest bit of its power!
It can easily levitate in mid-air. Even though it was so far away when it was spying, the sense of oppression it brought to Bai Zhou was no less than that of the Law Enforcement Hall Inspector who looked like Bai Wuchang back then!
Bai Zhou didn't even dare to look at it for more than a couple of seconds before quickly looking away, afraid that the other party would sense his presence.

Fortunately, the other party's attention was elsewhere.

"Be bold!"

The overseer monk roared and lashed out with a bone whip—

"Snapped!"

"I remember you were stripped of your spirituality and were barely clinging to life?"

"The Bone Clan leader, wanted by the Empire, thinks he's gained some influence and dares to make a comeback. He's incredibly arrogant!"

The bone whip came with overwhelming force, like a giant python pouncing forward, unstoppable. This single blow sent a chill down Bai Zhou's spine from afar.

However, facing this bone whip, the red skull neither dodged nor flinched, but merely chuckled, tilting its head slightly upwards, precisely at a 45-degree angle:

"Even if I retain less than one-tenth of my spiritual essence, and stand with my hands behind my back, I will not be able to touch even a single finger bone of a mere mortal like you, and I will still be invincible in this world."

"Because you know nothing about the power of the gods..."

As he spoke, he placed his hand on his forehead, his jaw opening and closing rapidly, as if chanting some ancient, mysterious incantation.

With a devout expression, he looked up to the sky and shouted:

"God help me!"

Strange phenomena suddenly occurred, and flowers rained down from the sky!
Golden petals fell one after another, and a mournful cry echoed through the space, as if something terrible had passed through the cracks of the world.

Then, a shower of blood rained down.

The scorching blood rain, carrying the scent of sulfur and steel, fell upon the overseer mage, causing his bony body to hiss and corrode.

Screams and cries of pain filled the air, and in the blink of an eye, the overseer skeleton vanished from its spot, turning into a pile of broken bones.

At this moment, other overseers also rushed from deep within the mine and witnessed their companion's tragic state.

"We were once of the same race."

As the necromancers' skulls trembled with green flames, the blood-red skeleton's voice was exceptionally cold:

"But you have become accomplices to the wicked, betraying your own people! You have oppressed your fellow people more cruelly and ruthlessly than those Romans!"

"His sins are so numerous and indelible, they cannot be washed away even by the deepest seas! His crimes are too many to recount!"

"—He deserves to die the most!"

The crimson skull repeated the same action, crying out "God help me!" once more.

Under divine punishment, the overseers turned into piles of bones, just like the skeletons scattered all over the forest floor.

And so, the skeleton miners were "free".

Thousands of skeletons, wearing miners' yellow hats and carrying pickaxes, came out.

They gathered together in a dense mass, all looking up at the blood-red skull floating in mid-air.

Their former leader, who had returned like lightning, was addressing them:

"I have a dream!"

"I dream that one day, on this land where we mine tirelessly, the dead can also stand freely!"

"I dream that one day, our children and grandchildren will no longer have to hide and can bask in the sunlight with dignity!"

"Rome, which disrespects even the gods, has incurred their wrath. The embers of many civilizations have united to exact a fatal revenge on this damned Rome!"

“This is an opportunity, my brothers.”

"I hereby swear that I will take back everything that belongs to my people!"

A blood-red skull, jaws clenching and unclenching, a hoarse voice with a powerful, resonant tone.

As it spoke, it would occasionally gesticulate wildly, its exaggerated movements carrying a powerful infectious force, repeatedly bewitching the demon and making the skeletons below even more fanatical.

Perhaps the miner skeletons had been suppressing their emotions for too long, and with the return of their leader and the initial success of their rebellion, they were all extremely excited.

So much so that later on, almost every time the blood-red skull gave a speech, there was a burst of cheers and jubilation from the audience:
"For the Bone Clan!"

"Oh—" the skeletons cheered.

"For the gods!"

"Oh--"

"For freedom and glory!"

"Oh--"

"Clatter..." Bone fragments fell to the ground, and the skeletons wearing miners' hats raised their hands, waved their wrists, and cheered and jumped around on the spot.

If they still had flesh and blood on their faces, they might already be in tears right now.

At the end of the speech, an old skeleton, hunched over, stepped forward and slowly asked the blood-red skeleton if he needed a pre-battle divination.

Immediately, other skeletons retorted without hesitation:
"What's the point of divination? With divine revelation above us, our leader will naturally be invincible!"

"it's not true……"

The steady old skeleton said:
"The ancient gods will stand at the end of destiny to guide us in the right direction, but to dispel the fog in between, we still need to rely on divination to illuminate the way."

"For example, doing the same thing today is auspicious, but doing it tomorrow is inauspicious; doing it in the morning is auspicious, but doing it in the afternoon is inauspicious—"

"This is a tradition that the tribe has had since ancient times."

Upon hearing this, the crimson skeleton slowly nodded, agreeing with the old skeleton's words.

But it immediately replied, "No need!"

“If Rome learns of the rebellion, it will absolutely not stand idly by.”

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war; delay can lead to unforeseen consequences."

The voice paused briefly here, then solemnly continued:
"Only those who do things regardless of good or bad fortune are qualified to inquire about the will of Heaven."

“I am with you, I am...the divine revelation!”

The words fell.

The skeletons fell silent, yet their silence was all the more powerful.

Their fighting spirit is already high.

His body descended, slowly landing in the pile of skeletons, where a blood-red skeleton offered its dry, withered hand:

Give me a weapon.

it says:

"This will allow us to better unleash the divine power of 'war'!"

"..."

The skeletons wearing miner's hats looked at each other in bewilderment.

Then, the old skeleton, trembling, offered the king... a rusty pickaxe.

"?"

The crimson skull was silent for a moment: "Is that all?"

"And hoes."

The skeletons raised their "weapons" in unison, and many more bone fragments fell to the ground.

The mining tools were a motley collection, coming into view of the blood-red skull.

"...Let's use the pickaxe instead."

Something is better than nothing.

The crimson skull reluctantly took the pickaxe.

Then, it raised the pickaxe above its head, as if drawing a sword, the blade pointing towards the distant depths of the dense forest.

"The city of Rome lies beyond this dense forest."

"Come on, brothers."

"Under the watchful eyes of the gods, I will lead you to overthrow them and reclaim our homeland!"

"Yes, long live!!!"

Upon hearing the sound, a roar like mountains and seas surged into the sky, the sounds converging into a surging wave.

Thousands of eerie green flames flickered excitedly as hoes, hammers, shovels, and picks were raised one after another.

Special tools that could be used to cut through mysterious ores became their best weapon for rebellion.

Some skeletons even obtained animal hides from somewhere, sewed them together to make makeshift war drums, and used two of their own ribs as drumsticks to strike them hard and produce a sound.

that's it……

With the gods above, the rebellious army embarked on its journey of revenge with great confidence.

The ashen-white undead gathered into a terrifying torrent, led by the blood-red skeleton, heading straight into the depths of the dense forest.

"..."

A long time passed.

The place was in complete disarray, and the mine returned to silence.

A sneaky little black cat peeked out from the dense forest.

The tranquil mine was just a stone's throw away, and Bai Zhou could hear the rapid pounding of his heart.

An extraordinary, unclaimed mine?

"Get rich!"

Although he dared not touch those unknown poisonous mists, Bai Zhou did not need to deal with them.

Because near the mine entrance, there were two large baskets of eerie green ore that the miner skeletons had just collected...

Each basket contained two or three pieces of ore larger than Bai Zhou's head, along with some small, fragmented pieces of ore.

Carefully avoiding the swirling poisonous fog, Bai Zhou put the two baskets of mysterious, eerie green ore into the "Trojan Horse".

"Got it!"

The ore felt very heavy and had an extremely high density. Beneath its dark green, transparent outer shell, it seemed as if gas was flowing within it, like a cloud of green mist was sealed inside.

Material unknown! Principle unknown! Purpose unknown!
But the more unknown something is, the more likely it is to be associated with danger and rarity in the mysterious world.

Crisis and opportunity coexist.

Both the toxins from mining and the presence of guards in the mines indicate the ore's unique nature.

But it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early.

An unexpected guest, a black cat—

By taking advantage of the situation, they cleverly avoided the mine crisis they would have faced.

Feeling quite fortunate, Bai Zhou turned around and, through the thick, eerie green poisonous fog, took a deep look into the dark depths of the mine.

The winding passage led nowhere, and Bai Zhou had no way of knowing whether there were other special materials deep within the bottomless mine.

The poisonous fog permeated the entire passage, becoming increasingly dense the deeper one went.

"pity……"

Clearly, this is not a place that Bai Zhou can explore at this time.

If Bai Zhou were to leave immediately, he would try to transform into the Cursed Colossus to see if he could become immune to the toxins.

However, considering the cooldown time of the Cursed Colossus, Bai Zhou did not intend to give up his trump card for survival so easily.

After all, his [Life Steal] skill is still on cooldown.

Moreover, there are even more important things waiting for Bai Zhou to do next—

Thinking this, Bai Zhou raised his head and looked at the dust rising into the sky from the dense forest not far away.

The undead army hasn't gone far.

"rustle……"

The black cat's figure moved through the dense forest littered with bones, heading towards the army of the undead.

Although this army of skeletons, armed with hoes and picks and poorly equipped, looks somewhat comical and absurd...

But in fact, they are quite powerful.

Not to mention the Crimson Skull, even among its thousands of skeletons, there are many experts that Bai Zhou cannot fathom.

Calculation of intention and lack of intention.

Bai Zhou estimated that in this battle for the habitat of civilization, the undead stationed by Rome in the neighboring city might actually be unable to withstand this sudden rebellion.

—The bitter fruit sown by tyrannical Rome will ultimately have to be borne by themselves!

But for Bai Zhou...

"That's good."

The black cat stealthily followed, trailing far behind the undead army, and traveled with them to a nearby city where the Roman Empire was stationed.

"City……"

Her emerald-like eyes shimmered softly.

Roman mules and horses... have nothing to do with White Boat.

The more intense the fight, the better.

He wished he could knock their heads off.

—Because he needed the heads of Roman soldiers as sacrifices to pass the test!
If someone is willing to act as a pawn for the White Boat when they have no idea how deep Rome is, what more can be said?

That's too kind and righteous.

Thank God of War!
What does it mean to fish in troubled waters or snatch chestnuts from a fire?
Dead people fighting...

The cats will benefit!
(End of this chapter)