Ryan stared at Zama, and Zama stared back—like long-lost old friends reuniting across a battlefield.
Except Ryan's bone needle had already pierced Zama's trachea and carotid artery.
"Poi...son..." A hoarse, gurgling word escaped Zama's throat. Ryan understood—Zama was accusing him of poisoning the pool.
Ryan felt wronged. He hadn't poisoned anything. He'd just been bathing with his three subordinates.
"HEE-HAW! HEE-HAW!" Two shrill neighs tore through the air. The horses collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
The boy jolted awake, dropped his waterskin, and ran. Zama had told him the red-hued skeleton was weak—but seeing Uncle Zama, the tribe's greatest warrior, taken down in one strike, all courage evaporated. He didn't care if he'd survive the grasslands without horse or supplies. He just clutched his head and sprinted north.
'I can't let him escape. Humans are pack animals—he'll bring back warriors.'
Ryan yanked the bone needle from Zama's throat, ready to chase—but Zama's arms locked around his legs.
"DIE!" Madness blazed in Zama's eyes. His arms tensed, and Ryan heard a sickening CRACK. His leg bones snapped. A Red Bone's strength was nothing before Zama's might.
Agony nearly plunged Ryan into darkness—but it also ignited the ruthless fire in his bones. He slammed his right hand into Zama's face, driving the bone needle through his left eye socket. Black fluid mixed with blood gushed out, seeping through Ryan's finger bones—carrying that intoxicating power that made skeletons thrash with excitement.
Zama's body convulsed. Even he couldn't ignore such pain. But the Tribal First Warrior title wasn't for show. His hands snaked toward Ryan's lumbar spine and locked him in a crushing bear hug. Ryan's spine and several ribs shattered simultaneously.
"Nnngh—" A faint grunt escaped Ryan's jaw before he went limp against Zama, like a pile of loose bones. The broken spine drained every last ounce of strength.
'I thought I was dead, then scored a lucky strike. I thought I'd won—now my body's shattered. This human's vitality is terrifying. He's still alive with a pierced skull.'
Ryan could barely lift a finger. Consciousness faded.
'This is the end.'
"I'm sorry, Lord Karenval. I won't make it back." He didn't know why he thought of his Battle Bone superior. Maybe because, besides Karenval, he knew no other name in this world.
Zama was far from done. His carotid artery sprayed blood a meter high. The strength he prided himself on seeped away with his lifeblood. Only a warrior's honor and loyalty kept him going. His trembling hand closed around Ryan's cervical spine. One squeeze, and Ryan was dead.
The cold touch of death engulfed Ryan—
And he JOLTED awake.
A primal roar echoed in his mind: I CAN'T DIE! I HAVE TO SURVIVE!
The sheer will to live hauled his consciousness back from the abyss.
Almost instinctively, Ryan's right hand shot up and slammed into the center of Zama's forehead.
Crack.
The mysterious water droplet in Ryan's chest stirred—triggered by his will to live. A wisp of power, faint enough to be negligible, seeped out and into his bone needle.
The needle slid into Zama's forehead as easily as piercing mud. Worse—a scorching heat erupted from its tip. Zama's brain matter turned to steam in an instant. The immense pressure forced blood and flesh to burst from his eye sockets and ear canals. But even that wasn't enough to release the buildup.
THUD.
Zama's head exploded. Shards of skull flew everywhere, scattered like half-eaten watermelon rinds.
The hand on Ryan's cervical spine went limp and dropped. Ryan pulled his bone needle from the grass, stunned. The once red-black tip had turned an eerie pure white—and radiated intense heat.
The boy was long gone. Wounded as he was, Ryan and his three Gray Bones stood no chance of catching him. They sat beside Zama's corpse, absorbing his Life Essence as they waited for their broken bones to mend.
From Lord Karenval, Ryan knew what that power was—Life Essence. Invisible and intangible, it was the key to a skeleton's growth. It could repair cracks, stimulate bone skill evolution, and make a skeleton's body stronger.
The stronger the human warrior or mage, the more potent their Life Essence. Killing them personally granted a massive surge; even stumbling upon a fresh corpse let skeletons absorb a small amount. Legend said some young skeletons, caught in human wars, had evolved into powerful General Bones overnight on battlefields covered with corpses.
Ryan thought of the nameless white-bearded elder in River Valley Village. He'd never felt Life Essence as powerful as that elder's. Zama's was formidable—yet it paled in comparison. Not even a ten-thousandth. Ryan dared not imagine his fate if that elder hadn't died that day.
---
By the time red streaks painted the horizon, Ryan led his three Gray Bones back to camp. They'd turned back immediately after killing Zama, not even completing the ten-kilometer scouting route. He reported everything to Lord Karenval—including the escaped boy.
The Battle Bones gathered at once, their discussions tense. Leaving a witness behind made continuing along the original route too risky.
Ryan stood ten meters behind Lord Karenval, waiting silently. This meeting would decide his fate. As a scouting Red Bone, his most sacred duty was to never lead humans to the skeleton camp. Though he hadn't directly lured them here, he'd let a potential informant escape—and some Battle Bones were already calling for his execution.
"Enough bickering." A haughty voice cut through the noise. It belonged to an animal-shaped Battle Bone. "I warned you crossing the grassland was foolish. We return to our birth camp and wait for Lord Cavalry Bone's army to regroup!"
Ryan glanced at the speaker—Uhtred. Ryan had killed one of Uhtred's strong Red Bones during the Gray Bone selection. To most Battle Bones, Red Bones were worthless, but Ryan could feel Uhtred's lingering animosity ever since.
Uhtred's slender, streamlined frame and lightning speed marked him as a cheetah skeleton. Even at Battle Bone stage, he boasted a third of a Strong Bone's speed—making him the de facto leader of this wandering band. Only Lord Karenval could barely rein him in. And this time, Karenval seemed to be backing down.
"Karenval." Uhtred turned to face the other Battle Bone. "Do you agree we return to wait for Lord Cavalry Bone?"
Karenval shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. Anywhere is fine."
Ryan's unease spiked. This casualness boded ill for his trial—if Karenval wouldn't stand up to Uhtred now, he certainly wouldn't protect Ryan.
*Protect me?* Ryan laughed bitterly at the thought. There was no such thing as "protection" among skeletons. Least of all for a Red Bone—little more than disposable cannon fodder.
"No objections?" Uhtred declared triumphantly. "Then it's settled! We abandon this foolish grassland crossing and head back to our birth camp to await Lord Cavalry Bone's return!"
The other Battle Bones remained silent—conditioned to obey. With the two strongest—Uhtred and Karenval—in agreement, their only choice was to follow.
"Now, Karenval." Uhtred's sharp, narrow skull turned to him, his tone dripping with malice. "What of your Red Bone who let the human escape? How shall we dispose of him?"
"Kill him." Karenval's voice was bored. Dismissive.
Ryan's bones went rigid. His mind blanked.
'He really agreed to have me killed...'
Uhtred let out a shrill cackle. "Heh-heh, Karenval. Red Bones are scarce these days. If you're set on protecting your subordinate—"
Karenval waved a hand, cutting him off. "He's just cannon fodder. No need for theatrics. Do it."
Ryan's entire body trembled. He wanted to run—but Uhtred's Red Bones had formed a semicircle ten meters away, blocking all escape.
Uhtred took silent, quick steps toward him. His tattered red cloak fluttered from his tailbone like the cape of a demonic hound emerging from hell. Karenval followed casually at his side, as if he planned to watch the execution for entertainment.
"Kneel, lowly Red Bone!" Uhtred stopped in front of Ryan, commanding.
Truth be told, he'd taken a liking to this Red Bone who'd single-handedly killed a tribesman. With Red Bones so rare, he knew wanton killing was foolish. If Ryan knelt and begged, he'd intercede with the other Battle Bones—and seize Ryan from Karenval in the process.
Kneel?
Ryan didn't understand why Uhtred was going to such lengths. But his knees refused to bend. Not an inch.
"Kneel, or I'll tear you apart!" Uhtred raised a claw. Five sharp black talons extended from his fingers, glinting with metallic sheen—his bone skill. Ryan had no doubt those talons could rip him to shreds in an instant.
Ryan knew kneeling might save his life. But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to bow his head.
'I CAN'T DIE! I CAN'T DIE! I CAN'T DIE!' The voice in his mind screamed—but this time, it didn't work immediately. He trembled violently, as if on the verge of collapsing to his knees.
But he never did.
The other Red Bones and Battle Bones watched from afar, confused by his stubbornness. Uhtred's meaning couldn't be clearer: kneel, and live. Wasn't obedience to superior Battle Bones the very nature of a Red Bone?
Uhtred was on the verge of lashing out. But he was an ambitious skeleton—he knew how rare a good subordinate was. He decided to give Ryan one last chance.
Stepping closer, Uhtred pressed his sharp skull against Ryan's, his voice a low hiss: "Kneel and beg, and I'll spare—"
KILL HIM.
Another voice echoed in Ryan's mind. Cold. Decisive.
Lord Karenval's command.
Ryan's head shot up. Karenval stood less than two meters behind Uhtred. In an instant, everything clicked—Karenval had never abandoned him. This was a coordinated ambush. And Uhtred was the target.
'Kneel, and swear allegiance to the stronger Uhtred.'
'Attack, and risk death to kill a Battle Bone.'
Survive on his knees—
Or die on his feet?
Between begging for mercy and striking down a Battle Bone, Ryan chose.
Without hesitation. Without fear.
In full view of everyone, he lunged.
His right hand clamped down on Uhtred's cervical spine.