Friends!?
"Sha-sha-sha!"
The Skeleton Cavalry charged forward with roars, crashing into the skeletons and zombies. The physically fragile undead could not withstand their assault in the slightest. After one sweep, a large number of skeletons and zombies were slain.
Seeing the sudden appearance and slaughter by the Skeleton Cavalry, the humans were dumbfounded.
"Th-that's undead!?"
"But why are the undead attacking their own kind?"
"As absurd as it sounds, don't you think those undead seem to be helping us?"
The archers on the war chariots murmured among themselves. They were utterly stunned by the Skeleton Cavalry's rampage.
Julian was even more astonished, because he could tell that the one who had just helped him was an extremely powerful being among the undead, and all those following up were clearly nether undead!
Heavens, he could hardly believe his eyes!
"You bunch of fools, what are you standing around for? Counterattack!"
Seeing the humans frozen in shock, Aruka shouted loudly. Upon hearing this, everyone snapped back to their senses and responded.
"Yes, boss!" xN
With the help of the Skeleton Cavalry, the pressure on the human side lessened immensely. The higher-ranked enemies were then 'called out' by Little White.
Boom!
A fireball struck down, and Little Red's fire spells finished off the injured skeletons who had fallen and were recovering. The magic attacks were especially effective—those struck down would never rise again.
On the other side, the Skeleton Warrior, after being knocked back by Little Black, seemed unwilling to accept this and roared as it tried to charge again. However, another Skeleton Heavy Warrior blocked its path.
"Leave this to me!"
It was Eighty!
There was no need for words when it came to a clash of absolute strength. Eighty swung his huge warhammer and charged forward. Although he was a few levels lower, eighty's potential far surpassed his opponent's, and with his fine equipment, he had all the makings of victory.
The warhammer swung!
Devastating Slam (Tier 2)!
The warhammer clashed against a giant axe. At the moment of impact, the battered giant axe in the Skeleton Warrior's hands shattered. With this slight advantage in weaponry, eighty pressed the offense and crushed the opponent's chest with a single hammer strike.
Crack!
Bones shattered, and the Skeleton Warrior was sent flying. Betting on the name "Eighty" bestowed by the Queen, eighty attained victory.
The Skeleton Warrior fell. Although it lost due to inferior equipment, a defeat was still a defeat. With its bones shattered, recovery would take some time—but Eighty wouldn't give it that opportunity.
Yet, just as Eighty was about to swing his warhammer down, Serea stopped him.
"Spare him. I need to find out their origins."
"Yes, queen."
Eighty halted, allowing the opponent to recover. But now, the weaponless Skeleton Heavy Warrior was no match for Eighty.
Meanwhile, the main battlefield was quickly wrapping up. With Little Red's fire spells sweeping over, the skeletons and zombies were cleared out in short order.
Thud!
Drawing her greatsword, auna slung it back over her shoulder, having dispatched the last zombie.
With the battle over, the Skeleton Cavalry and Little Black lined up behind Serea. Although Serea and her people had saved the humans, the latter remained wary of these 'undead'.
That changed only when they saw Aruka and Auna.
"Boss, miss! Why are you here?"
A guard from the merchant caravan asked, and Auna answered with a cheerful smile.
"Hehe, we're returning after migrating."
Her tone was very casual, as if Auna was quite familiar with these humans.
"That's wonderful. Madam Avril has been waiting and longing for you all to return for ages, finally..."
Before the man could finish, Aruka interrupted.
"Don't flatter yourselves. We migrated just to survive and simply happened to pass by."
"Uh... Boss..."
"I've told you all, my name is Aruka Bloodthirsty Fangs, not the 'Boss' you call me."
"But..."
"We saved you today only for my daughter's sake. If you're still able to walk, then hurry and leave. We'll be leaving soon too."
After speaking, Aruka, having calmed slightly, turned to Serea.
"My apologies, queen Serea, for troubling you. Let's set out again."
"Oh? I don't mind, but as for them..."
Serea glanced at the wounded Julian. No sooner had she looked over than he collapsed to his knees; clearly, his injuries were grave. The other members of the caravan's guard were also injured to varying degrees, and now, without horses, it was impossible for them to drive their wagons away.
"Leave them here. They won't die."
Aruka was merciless. Hearing this, auna couldn't help but protest.
"Dad, uncle Julian is injured!"
"So what do you intend? Should we delay our migration to treat them?"
"It won't take much time. With Lola and the others here, they'll be treated in no time!"
"Huff..."
Aruka let out a long sigh. Serea could see his deeply hidden anger as he looked at the humans, but in the end, he did not voice an objection.
"Do as you wish."
With that, Aruka mounted Hidden Fang and sped off in the direction of the group; his figure disappeared into the jungle in the blink of an eye.
"Dad!"
Auna called out, but Aruka did not respond. Seeing this, auna could only turn to Serea.
"Queen, these humans are my... friends. Besides, they're all good people—partners from our various tribes. Would you let Lola treat them? It won't take much time at all."
Auna understood clearly that only Serea could make this decision now.
Upon hearing Auna's request, Serea's eyes flickered, and then she showed a gentle smile.
"Your friends, hm... After traveling so far, it's about time for a rest."
With that, Serea looked to Little Black.
"Inform the group to rest here for an hour. Get the skeletons on guard, and have Lola bring a few doctors over."
"As you command, queen."
Little Black flickered out of sight. Seeing Little Black suddenly disappear, julian grew even more wary. Witnessing how such a powerful undead would obey this young girl, julian was sure the maiden before him was not a simple person.
After the Queen agreed to treat Julian and company, auna revealed a relieved smile.
"Thank you, queen Serea!"
"No need to thank me—after all, I expect payment."
"Payment?"
"Yes. Tell me about your relationship with those humans. If I'm not mistaken, your mother must be a human too?"
As Serea said this, auna first showed a surprised expression, then gave a self-mocking smile.
No wonder—this was Queen Serea, after all. Having mastered such formidable power, what secrets could one possibly keep from her eyes?
"Well... all right. Then while we rest, I'll tell Your Highness the story."
"Mhm."
As Serea spoke, several Elves emerged from the bushes, carrying cloth bags filled with medicine and medical tools.
"Queen, we're here—wait, those are humans!"
Lola arrived leading the Elves, but on seeing that the patients were human, they instinctively became wary.
"Don't worry. They're not enemies; they're Chief Aruka's friends. Just give them some basic treatment."
"Well... all right, everyone, help with the treatment."
With that, the Elven doctors began treating them. Seeing the incalculable mixture of undead, lycans, and Elves before them, julian could not guess their true origins.
The other humans were likewise astonished, but that did not stop the Elves from treating them.
(To be continued...)
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