Failed Ambush

As the last remnants of daylight succumbed to the all-consuming darkness, the crescent moon and its stellar companions cast an ethereal glow upon the landscape.

Alder, his figure shrouded in the shadows, stood at the helm of his undead army, 200 skeletons marching in lockstep behind him.

His objective, at first, was to seal the two visible entrance points of the city, the northern and eastern gates.

However, he was fully aware that these might not be the only points of entry, and his prudent nature compelled him to consider the possibility of additional entrances from the other cardinal points of the city.

With this in mind, Alder made a calculated decision, expending 50 mana points to summon an additional 500 skeleton units.

These new recruits were a diverse bunch, comprising 147 spearmen, 128 archers, and 225 swordsmen.

This influx of new troops swelled Alder's forces to 335 swordsmen, 253 archers, and 212 spearmen. He strategically divided his army into four squads, each tasked with securing a different entrance.

As the squads dispersed, Alder accompanied the group assigned to the eastern entrance, the closest gate.

And while they approached the entrance, two iron-armored soldiers, their helmets absent, stood watch at the gate.

The guards were on the cusp of closing the gates for the night when they were startled by an unsettling clucking sound.

"What's that?" one of the guards asked, his voice trembling ever so slightly.

His companion noticed the faint quiver, but remained silent, his own blood running cold as the sound grew louder and closer.

The clucking noise was soon replaced by the unmistakable sound of bone hitting against bone, a morbid serenade that heralded the approach of something sinister.

A figure emerged from the darkness, its presence seeming to draw the very light out of the air.

The guards' eyes widened as they took in the sight of Alder, his horns gleaming in the faint moonlight.

"W-who are you?!" one of the guards stammered, his voice barely audible.

Alder's response was calm and collected, his voice dripping with an otherworldly menace. "Archers!" he called out, his words hanging in the air like a death sentence.

Before the guards could react, the sound of wind tearing through the air was followed by the sickening thud of arrows striking flesh.

The guards crumpled to their knees, their necks pierced by the deadly projectiles.

Alder stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of satisfaction and resignation...

"I should have figured an ambush with these skeletons was impossible," he sighed, his voice a low, melancholic rumble.

With a detached air, he walked past the lifeless bodies, his undead army shuffling forward in his wake.

As Alder stepped beyond the giant gate, he found himself enveloped by an eerie silence. The street, lined with stone houses featuring wooden windows, stretched out before him like a deserted canvas.

Some of the windows emitted a faint, warm glow, while others remained shrouded in darkness.

Alder's gaze lingered on the houses for a mere moment before shifting to a modest, wooden structure situated near the gate.

"Ah, the guards' barracks, I presume," he murmured, his eyes narrowing as he assessed the building's dimensions.

The structure, no more than five meters wide, seemed reassuringly compact. With a mere thought, two spearmen and two swordsmen detached from the main group and entered the barracks.

The brief, muffled sounds of struggle and surprise emanating from within were swiftly followed by an unsettling silence.

Alder's expression remained impassive as he issued his next command. "Close the gates."

The skeletons complied with swift efficiency, sealing the entrance and entrapping 200 of their undead brethren within the city.

A faint, enigmatic smile crept onto Alder's face as he became aware of the successful infiltration of the remaining 3 squads despite some losses on the northern and western fronts.

This knowledge was made possible by the undead summoning skill, which granted Alder a unique, symbiotic connection with his skeletal minions.

This bond allowed him to share certain senses and information with his designated skeletons, facilitating a seamless exchange of data.

While he was departing from the Hainzel Forest, Alder had instructed the majority of his army to run towards the gates they were assigned to, all the while he walked with his squad, tasked with the closest gate, ensuring their synchronized arrival.

But a point that made this so ever possible was the nature of the skeletons that did not have a need for rest and food.

He truly asked right of the Gods, and the fact they were able to provide was but a show of their power.

"Archers, take the walls," Alder commanded, his voice carrying through the nonexistent minds of his soldiers.

The soft, bony clatter of the skeletons' movements gave way to the archers as they ascended the walls.

The few patrolling soldiers, caught off guard, met a swift and silent end, their bodies pierced by arrows.

Soon, a formidable army of archers lined the walls, their bows at the ready, this was the situation on all fronts, albeit a few more losses this time too.

It seemed that unlike the the east and south, the northern and western walls were more heavily guarded.

"Ensure that none escape the city," Alder instructed, his eyes gleaming with an air of calculated intensity.

No information was to pass these walls, that was his goal.

With his archers in place, he took a step forward, and almost instantly he felt a change in his body.

There was an unaccountable lightness in his body, one he had never felt in his last life.

His curiosity piqued, "Status." he called out, his mind telling him that this was the only thing that could be the cause.

§°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°§

{~STATS~}

Level: 02

Health: 130/130

Mana: 290/290

Strength: 41

Defense: 32

Agility: 23

Endurance: 20

§°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°§

Alder's eyes scanned the updated statistics, a hint of fascination dancing across his face.

"So, this is how leveling works," he mused, attributing his increased level to the skeletons' successful elimination of the city guards.

However, the unexpected recovery of his mana reserves caught him off guard, eliciting a wry, intrigued smile.

"Undead Summoning," he called out, not a second watsed to explore the extent of his power.

As he spoke, a dark, swirling portal materialized behind him, its presence heralded by an unearthly, pungent scent.

The air seemed to thicken, heavy with anticipation, as Alder prepared to unleash a new wave of undead minions upon the city.

With the darkness deepening, the streets behind Alder swelled with an unholy legion of skeletons, their numbers burgeoning to the thousands.

The air was heavy with the stench of death and decay, as Alder's mana reserves dwindled by 90 points, summoning an additional 900 skeletal units to bolster the initial 160.

Clattering sounds of bones and scraping metal filled the air, a cacophonous symphony that heralded the arrival of the undead horde.

Meanwhile, like a response to some unseen cue, the city's bells began to toll, their mournful peals echoing through the streets.

A distant voice, hoarse from shouting, warned of the impending attack: "Enemy attack!! Enemy Attack!"

Alder's gaze shifted toward the source of the warning, his eyes glinting with an otherworldly intensity. Without hesitation, he issued a single, chilling command: "Charge."

In response, 500 skeletons surged forward, their bony feet pounding the cobblestone streets like a macabre drumbeat.

The sound of their approach was a harbinger of doom, shaking the very foundations of the city.

While the skeletons advanced, their goal was dilivered to their minds: the castle at the city's center.

It's walls towering high, with lights flickering like fireflies in the darkness.

This order from Alder caused all the skeletons from all fronts to charge, their goal after all couldn't be any clearer.

The five hundred in front of Alder made it no more that a few meters forward when they were met with city guards who wear on night patrol.

"The enemy is here.. The undead have infiltrated the city!!" roared one of the guards.

Like a beckon, more soldiers joined the Frey, appearing from the corners of the streets before them.

Skeletons met men as a chaotic clash between invaders and city defender sprawled on.

In its initial phases, any of soldiers that stumbled into the fray were cut down by the relentless tide of undead.

The skeletons, though weak individually, seemed almost unstoppable in their sheer numbers.

For every one or two skeletons that fell, a soldier soon followed, their bodies crumpling to the ground like autumn leaves.

Alder's eyes narrowed as he observed the battle unfolding before him.

His mind racing with strategic calculations, he realized that the skeletons' lack of coordination was a critical weakness.

The uncoordinated charge, though initially overwhelming, was beginning to falter.

The spearmen were unable to launch their attacks, the archers had no time to draw their bows, and the swordsmen, though capable in close combat, were being slowly whittled down.

Alder's frustration was palpable, his sigh a mixture of disappointment and resignation. "I really don't know what I was expecting," he muttered, shaking his head.

Yet, he refused to yield. With a deep breath, he steadied his nerves and issued a new set of commands, his voice flowing to the minds of his skeletons once more....

The order was carried out to all his skeletons in order to make sure that this situation did not occur on other sides of the city.

"Swordsmen to the front, archers at the back, and spearmen take the middle. Attack any who pass through the front lines. Archers, provide supporting fire for the swordsmen."

The skeletons, responding to Alder's orders, began to reorganize themselves, though it was not a smooth transition.

A shift in formation mid battle was dangerous, some of the skeletons tumbled, giving the enemy a chance to attack.

But soon as time passed, the reorganize was a success, their movements becoming more deliberate, more calculated.

As the night wore on, the clash of steel on bone, the screams of the dying, and the unearthly clattering of skeletons created a symphony of chaos.

Alder's smile, a cold, calculating thing, spread across his face as he beheld the reorganized skeletal legion.

The results were to his liking, and with a sense of anticipation, he whispered...

"Now this is an army."