Chapter 12: Skeleton Warriors

Lu Xi and I lit our torches and ventured into the cave. It was far more spacious, towering, and deep than we had imagined. Upon entering, we were met with a vast open space, empty except for scattered white bones.

We pressed forward, navigating through several turns. Soon, all traces of sunlight vanished, leaving us dependent on the flickering glow of our torches for illumination.

The cave passage alternated between wide and narrow sections—some parts seemed naturally formed, while others bore signs of artificial excavation. It was hard to imagine how the orc ancestors had once dug out this cave and for what purpose.

"By the way, how's your Mental Focus Sword Technique training coming along?" I asked, recalling how Lu Xi had been diligently studying and practicing that book every morning and evening during our travels.

"It's hard to describe," Lu Xi replied, scratching his head in his usual manner when struggling to explain something.

"What do you mean?"

"This so-called sword technique doesn't really feel like a swordplay style. Instead, it seems more like a combat method." Lu Xi frowned, saying something that I couldn't quite grasp.

"I don't get it," I admitted, shaking my head.

"The book teaches how to maintain mental focus during battle. Only by concentrating can you strike your target more accurately and with greater force. That's the general idea," Lu Xi explained while marking the wall at a corner.

By now, we had been inside the cave for quite some time, navigating numerous twists and turns. To avoid getting lost, we left marks at every turn.

Mental focus? The phrase stirred something faint in my mind, but I couldn't quite pin it down.

Just as I was pondering, a sudden rustling noise startled me—Whoosh!

A flock of bats, likely frightened by our movements, swooped overhead, making both of us jump.

"If there are bats, there must be bat droppings ahead. Let's check it out!" I said. Lu Xi and I quickly moved in the direction the bats had come from.

Sure enough, we soon found a patch of bat droppings. The stench was overwhelming.

Lu Xi pulled out a piece of cloth, preparing to wrap up some dried droppings. Suddenly, a sharp screech rang out from above.

We immediately raised our torches.

There, hanging upside down from the cave ceiling, was a massive bat. Its blood-red eyes gleamed ominously in the flickering firelight, sending a chill down my spine.

"What the—? Do bats even have eyes?" I asked in shock.

"This one does," Lu Xi whispered, drawing his bronze sword and keeping a sharp eye on the red-eyed bat.

Screech!

In the blink of an eye, the bat dived toward us. I instinctively swung my short sword wildly, but just as I thought I had it, the creature veered away, soaring back into the darkness above.

I could hear the soft fluttering of its wings in the silence. It was unnerving.

I edged closer to Lu Xi, keeping my torch moving left and right, up and down. The dim glow was barely enough—I couldn't afford to let my guard down.

"Hey," I called out, realizing that Lu Xi hadn't moved for a while. He stood beside me, gripping his bronze sword, staring blankly ahead.

He ignored me.

The red-eyed bat dived at us again. This time, I focused and struck, but all I managed was shaving off a couple of its hairs.

Forget Triple Slash or Fivefold Strike from the basic sword techniques—I couldn't even land a single solid hit. The bat's movements were too unpredictable.

After several failed attempts, I realized I was practically useless—completely on the defensive and unable to do any real damage. I was even considering grabbing the bat droppings and making a run for it.

What confused me more was that Lu Xi, who was the better swordsman, had yet to make a move. He wasn't even speaking.

Just as I turned to question him, the bat made another silent dive.

At that instant, a flash of cold light streaked through the air—Lu Xi's bronze sword pierced through the bat's neck in a single stroke, killing it instantly.

"Wait… what?" I could hardly believe my eyes. How did he do that?

I suddenly recalled what he had said earlier. Was this the Mental Focus Sword Technique?

"I think… I'm starting to understand it," Lu Xi nodded. "The move I used was actually just the opening of the Fivefold Strike from the basic techniques. But before striking, I gathered my mental focus, allowing me to sense its flight path and land a precise hit."

"But… you took way too long to prepare that one strike." As impressive as it sounded, wouldn't he be dead in a real fight before he had time to build up focus?

As I responded, I examined the bat's corpse.

"Not necessarily. I'm just not skilled enough yet. If I keep training, the buildup time will get shorter, eventually allowing me to apply it to every single strike," Lu Xi explained.

Every single strike affected by mental focus?

As I contemplated his words, I noticed something odd about the wound on the bat's neck. The cut wasn't smooth like a normal sword wound—it had tiny, subtle cracks around it.

Was this the effect of mental focus?

I called Lu Xi over to check, but he wasn't sure either.

"We should ask Grandpa Pan when we get back. He might know," I said. I wrapped some dried bat droppings in cloth and stored them in my Qiankun Pouch.

"Grandpa Pan… Hey, Zheng, have you ever thought that something seems off about him?" Lu Xi suddenly asked.

"Off?" That had never crossed my mind. "He gave you a weapon and wrote a recommendation letter for Zhang Yi. What could be off about him?"

"I think he's a good person, but something doesn't sit right with me," Lu Xi said thoughtfully. "For example, he said this cave had no dangers. But then… look at that red-eyed bat."

His words made me pause.

"Also, you said Xiao Han is his granddaughter, right? We've only known her for a day. Why didn't he come here to collect these materials himself? Why send us instead? Was he not worried we'd just take off?"

"Uh…" I was stumped. I hadn't even considered these things.

"Maybe I'm just overthinking it," Lu Xi muttered, letting the subject drop. "Either way, we should stay cautious."

His words unsettled me. If that old man really had ulterior motives, and we were completely oblivious, wouldn't that make us fools?

But with no concrete proof, there wasn't much we could do except take things one step at a time.

After the red-eyed bat, we proceeded with greater caution. Before long, we encountered a scorpion the size of a small dog.

I distracted it from the front while Lu Xi charged up his mental focus. With a Triple Slash, he severed its tail, cracked its shell, and finished it off in one swift motion. His buildup time was already much shorter than before.

"Your swordsmanship is insane—so fast and precise," I said enviously.

"Do you want to learn?" Lu Xi asked, reaching for the manual in his pocket.

"No, no," I waved him off. "I haven't even mastered Sword Arts of Kill yet. No point in being greedy."

"Is your sword technique that difficult?" he asked curiously.

"I've read the book, but I have no clue how to actually apply it. It describes something called 'sword aura,' but I can't grasp it at all," I admitted.

"Let's go," I said, storing the scorpion tail in my Qiankun Pouch. "All that's left now is the maggot eggs."

"Let's go." I collected the scorpion tail and placed it into my Qiankun Bag. "Now, all that's left are the maggot eggs."

With our previous experiences, we encountered a few more scorpions along the way, but we managed to eliminate them swiftly. At a turn in the cave, we came across a grayish-white cave maggot. I had anticipated it to be much larger than an ordinary maggot, but seeing it with my own eyes still startled me—it was nearly a meter long.

"Be careful. We don't know what this thing is capable of, and it's huge." As always, I took the front while Lu Xi circled around to its back.

After a few feints, just as I thrust my sword forward, the cave maggot suddenly released a white mist. I only inhaled a little, but immediately, an unbearable tightness filled my chest. My sword strike lost all its strength, and my movements became agonizingly slow.

A flash of cold light streaked through the air—Lu Xi executed a Three-Strike Combo, swiftly finishing off the cave maggot. Meanwhile, I found myself completely immobilized. The sensation was bizarre and unbearable—my mind was clear; I could see, hear, and think, yet my body refused to obey.

"Are you alright?" Lu Xi, noticing my condition, hurried over to support me.

"I don't know. I can't move," I said.

"What do we do?" Lu Xi asked anxiously.

"Don't panic. At least I don't feel any pain or other discomfort," I reassured him.

After inhaling a few breaths of fresh air, the tightness in my chest gradually faded, and the feeling returned to my limbs. "It must be the toxic mist that the cave maggot just released—it temporarily paralyzed me," I said, flexing my wrist. "If we encounter another one, we must avoid inhaling it."

I then used my shortsword to examine the maggot's corpse. Lu Xi's earlier strikes had completely disemboweled it, revealing several cocoon-like objects inside—likely the maggot eggs. I picked out a few and wrapped them carefully in cloth.

"This should be enough," I said to Lu Xi, noting that we had gathered everything we needed.

"Shh!" Lu Xi gestured for silence.

Thud. Thud.

Two rhythmic, heavy sounds echoed from the corner ahead. We exchanged glances and cautiously moved forward.

Rounding a narrow passage, we pressed against the cave wall and peered inside. What we saw made our blood run cold.

A spacious clearing, about five meters wide, lay ahead. In the middle of it, two white skeletons paced back and forth. They were taller than us—if they had flesh, they would likely be as big as an orc. One wielded an axe, while the other clutched a wooden club.

As we debated whether to retreat immediately, our torches suddenly extinguished.

In that brief moment before total darkness, I saw the axe-wielding skeleton turn its skull toward us. I wasn't sure if it could actually "see" us—it had no eyes—but it had clearly twisted its head in our direction and seemed to be turning its body as well.

Then, in the pitch-black silence, I heard the sound of approaching footsteps.