All around, the skeletons—most of whom had regained consciousness—began to grow fearful. I’d observed them before: they feel pain, just like people, and so naturally, they experience terror.
Just now, I was lucky to dodge quickly—otherwise, I would’ve been burned by the falling lava. Yuna Ji’s army had already seized the advantageous positions. Apparently, her generals weren’t ordinary; they’d anticipated the rebels’ move and set up defenses above well in advance, just waiting for us to climb up so they could pour scalding lava down.
The plan to attack from the enemy’s left flank had failed, and General Pyre looked deeply troubled. Though he was just a skeleton, it was clear from his demeanor. The other adjutants clustered around him, discussing how they might retake the stronghold.
Yet General Pyre said nothing, staring silently at the map. One piece of grim news after another kept arriving—Yuna Ji’s army had already broken through the city’s midline defenses and was closing in.
I sighed. How could we possibly win this? The front lines were a disaster, but those giant skeletons marching ahead kept boasting about how we’d soon take Rose Fortress.
The sounds of battle and killing in the city were getting closer and closer.
“General, we can’t wait any longer. It took us more than ten years of hard fighting to seize Gatehold Fortress. If we don’t take it back, Yuna Ji’s forces will push straight into our heartlands.”
At last, General Pyre stood up. With a swish, he drew a flaming sword and pointed it toward the city.
“Heavy infantry, clear the way! Archers, move in and take up advantageous positions. Light infantry, be ready to charge at any time—we must retake Gatehold Fortress!”
Many of the newly risen skeletons were already growing afraid. Though they’d been soldiers in life, in a place like this, fear was inevitable. They were unfamiliar with the surroundings, untrained, and sent straight to the battlefield the moment they were reborn.
We had no choice but to follow some of the tall skeletons carrying large shields at the front as we entered the city. Once inside, I realized that all the buildings were essentially the same—two-story bone towers—though their shapes varied widely, made from all sorts of bones, both human and animal.
At that moment, I saw many skeletons who had abandoned their armor and helmets rushing toward us. It seemed they couldn’t hold out any longer. The sounds of battle cries and wailing formed a stark contrast.
"Crush them! Leave these rebels with nothing but shattered bones!"
On a bone tower taller than the rest, I saw a giant skeleton shouting, waving a massive pink flag. The flag read Ninefold Abyss and bore the image of a woman seated on a throne.
Yuna Ji’s army was full of momentum; I could already see the skeletons surging forward. Their equipment was much more orderly than ours. By comparison, we looked like a ragtag band, and our fighting strength was clearly inferior.
"Don’t be afraid! Don’t retreat! As long as we hold the stronghold, reinforcements will arrive soon!"
General Pyre roared, swinging his flaming sword and charging at the front. With a thunderous crash, flames burst out, and in an instant, he took down seven or eight skeletons.
That move seemed to boost morale completely. Immediately, the rest of the troops charged toward the city’s main street, and the fighting began.
Clutching my curved blade, I had no choice but to follow. It felt wrong not to do something. When a skeleton attacked, I raised my shield to block, then swung my blade at its neck.
With a loud crack, I chopped off the skeleton’s entire head. Then it dissolved into a faint green glow and disappeared.
General Pyre had already charged into the enemy ranks, unstoppable, skeletons falling one after another beneath his flaming sword. But now I saw how vast the difference in fighting strength was—the rebel forces were being utterly crushed by Yuna Ji’s troops.
Yuna Ji’s army wasn’t as numerous as ours, but for every seven or eight skeletons we lost, they lost only one.
“There’s no way we can win this.”
I muttered, cutting down another skeleton before slowly retreating. I didn’t want to fight—I just wanted to find Yuna Ji as quickly as possible.
Just then, the skeleton standing atop the tall bone tower blew a wailing horn. I saw Yuna Ji’s forces orderly spreading out to both sides.
Suddenly, a huge cloud of dust rose from the street directly ahead, followed by a roar—a massive Bone Tiger charged toward us, nearly two meters tall, its enormous fangs bared.
Riding atop the Bone Tiger was a female skeleton. Her crimson hair reached her waist, and she wore a red-patterned leather jacket. In her hands were two pink long blades—one held normally, the other reversed. The blades were slender and sharp.
The female skeleton wore a pink helmet seemingly fused into her skull, with a trident-shaped crest embedded deep in the bone and a glowing green gem at its center.
“That’s General Crimson Plume! What’s she doing here?”
After dispatching several skeletons trying to retreat, General Pyre raised his flaming sword and advanced.
On General Crimson Plume’s back was a command banner glowing with crimson light, fluttering in the air. She had already reached General Pyre, who raised his sword and struck fiercely.
With a thunderous crash, flames erupted. General Crimson Plume leapt nimbly from the tiger, dodging the attack. I stared in shock—her left hand held a sword across her chest, her right hand gripped a blade behind her. The Bone Tiger immediately sprang to the side, pouncing into our ranks, its sharp fangs unleashing a wave of eerie green light.
A large number of skeletons died under the tiger’s assault.
“So fast.”
I cried out in surprise. Two intersecting red sword beams flashed by—clang! General Pyre’s sword snapped in half, and his ribs and armor shattered. He roared, reaching out, turning to grab at General Crimson Plume.
By then, General Crimson Plume had crouched low, her whole body radiating a crimson mist like smoke and dust. I sensed something strange—what kind of power was this?
“Crimson... Storm...”
Suddenly, I was stunned. In an instant, countless crimson sword beams surged toward General Pyre, truly like a storm.
Thunderous crashes erupted all around, buildings were instantly demolished. General Crimson Plume struck so many times I couldn’t even keep count.
With a loud snap, General Pyre’s body was shredded to pieces. His skull flew high into the air, and then General Crimson Plume, with two sharp clangs, stabbed her meter-long swords into the ground, raising her left hand to grab two flaming skulls by the eye sockets.
“Your... atrocities... one day... will be...”
With a sharp crack, I watched in shock as General Pyre’s skull was crushed to dust. Instantly, the surrounding skeletons collapsed in defeat. General Crimson Plume’s hollow eye sockets blazed with crimson light, pulsing wildly. She gripped her twin swords and charged toward us.
Given the situation, surrender was our only option. I was about to give up when I saw a group of skeletons kneeling, hands raised high. But General Crimson Plume swung her sword, turning them into green particles of light.
General Crimson Plume turned sideways, standing still with both swords raised high.
“Kill them all.”
As General Pink Feather’s chilling, sharp voice rang out—
Her troops rushed forward. Skeleton pressed against skeleton, and soon the slaughter began in earnest. I found no chance to escape. At last, everything went quiet. We were driven outside the city, hands on our heads, kneeling. All around us were Yuna Ji’s soldiers.
Looking at the captured skeletons, there were at least ten thousand. Then I saw General Pink Feather riding a leopard, bowcase on her back, a bow slung at the leopard’s side.
“Is it over? You’re the strongest—thanks.”
General Pink Feather spoke, but General Crimson Plume only looked on with disdain.
“Don’t disgrace our Ninefold Abyss. By order of Her Majesty the Empress, we must wipe out the rebels completely and fill in the rivers they carved out—cut off their source of new recruits.”
I saw General Pink Feather standing before General Crimson Plume, head bowed, arms folded.
“Her Majesty’s orders have been out for three months, haven’t they? Why did you let Gatehold Fortress fall and allow the rebels to threaten the security of our Western Bastion? That’s dereliction of duty. Now, Her Majesty has given me full command of the annihilation campaign. You have no objections, do you?”
“Understood.”
General Crimson Plume then dismounted from the tiger and stepped before the captured skeleton rebels.
“Spar—...”
Before the skeleton could finish, General Crimson Plume smashed its skull with her sword hilt. It dissolved into green light and vanished.
I stared in disbelief. They’d already surrendered—why this brutality?
“If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for being born into the rebel ranks. Kill every last one of them—leave no survivors.”
Suddenly, a chorus of killing shouts erupted. All around, Yuna Ji’s troops began the slaughter. General Crimson Plume laughed with excitement, raising her crimson swords and joining the massacre.