Chapter 15 - Chapter 15: 11. Skeleton Pursuers

Noland Lee took the engineering hammer from Mars’ hand and glanced at the ground.

The private second class who had died from the “Death Pulse” left behind a set of individual combat weapons, including a short-barreled rifle, a bag of bullets, and a gun.

It was understandable that Corporal Mars did not give the firearms to the Sin Soldier for use.

But why had no soldier collected the firearms from the ground to take them back since the beginning?

Weren’t they afraid that undead creatures would grab the firearms and start shooting?

Uh…

Could undead creatures use guns?

Noland Lee was slightly stunned.

It seemed that only in a few video games were there undead creatures capable of using firearms.

In the vast majority of works, undead beings were not interested in firearms, which could easily cause damage.

This may have been deliberately set by the author of the work.

However, Noland Lee was now in a real world, and he needed to quickly make up for the common sense about undead creatures to avoid accidents due to negligence.

Noland Lee, holding the engineering hammer, followed Corporal Mars up the stairs and asked at the same time:

“Chief Officer, is it dangerous to leave the guns here? Will the undead use guns against us?”

Before hearing Noland Lee’s question, Corporal Mars had been vigilant against the skeleton warriors, looking back at the direction of the metal gate from time to time.

As soon as he heard Noland Lee’s question, an odd look appeared on the serious expression on his face.

“Undead creatures using firearms?”

Corporal Mars glanced at Noland Lee, and there was a hint of confusion in his eyes, as if he hadn’t expected the other person to focus on whether undead creatures would use guns when facing the pursuit of skeleton warriors…

Corporal Mars kept walking, pondering while walking, then shook his head slightly and said:

“No, undead creatures won’t use firearms, at least not the low-level ones.

“Low-level undead troops have very low IQ, and they don’t understand aiming and shooting. And the higher-level undead creatures are more terrifying than firearms, and they don’t need the help of firearms.

“Leaving the guns here temporarily will make it easier for us to retreat quickly. When we counterattack later, we will come back to collect this soldier’s remains and belongings.”

Now Noland Lee’s doubt was resolved.

Apparently, firearms were a kind of existence that couldn’t win in either the high or low level in the ranks of the undead.

It makes sense that skeleton warriors who have no mind would not be able to use firearms, and it’s already not bad that they can pull bows and swing hammers.

Just at this moment, a bony leg stretched into the staircase from the gap of the metal gate.

A normal-size skeleton warrior squeezed into the staircase from the other side of the door.

Corporal Mars gripped the short-barreled rifle in his hand, but didn’t launch an attack. Instead, he held Noland Lee’s shoulder and pulled him backward to continue the retreat.

The two of them pressed on at the back of the team, defending the rear for the soldiers.

“Don’t bother with these slow skeleton warriors. Their walking speed is slow and they can’t keep up with us.”

Corporal Mars spoke in a low voice:

“The big skeleton won’t catch up either. Its size is too large, and the staircase is too narrow for it. Our real enemy is a type of canine-liked undead construct called skeleton hounds.”

In Noland Lee’s mind, the image of the skeleton hounds from games quickly appeared.

This kind of undead creature was as agile as a normal dog, moving at a very fast speed and purely made up of bones.

If they got caught by this kind of undead troop, they would surely not have a good outcome.

“Bang! Bang!”

Two loud noises came from the metal gate.

The gap that had only allowed one skeleton warrior to pass through was forcefully widened even more by strong force.”Bang bang!”

Another two loud noises.

The heavy metal gate was blasted open by a fist the size of a washbasin, a masterpiece by the Big Skeleton.

The skeleton warriors on the other side of the door swarmed into the staircase, slowly and fearlessly approaching the sergeant and sin soldier at the rear.

“Continue falling back, don’t engage.”

Corporal Mars calmly ordered, letting the soldiers continue their march while addressing Noland Lee:

“When you swing the engineering hammer, it’s best to aim for the skulls of the skeletons. Knock their heads off their necks. It won’t kill a skeleton, but it will make them spend some time picking their heads back up and slow down their attack rhythm.”

“Yes, sir.” Noland nodded.

Corporal Mars looked him up and down, noting his condition:

“You were a bit flustered when you first encountered the first Cavern Stalker. But in the actions that followed, you were still relatively calm. You’re more reliable than I imagined. Keep it up. As long as you follow my orders, even if you’re surrounded by skeletons, you can survive.”

“Yes, sir.”

Noland transformed into a parrot, putting the “obeying orders” military guideline into practice. No matter what the sergeant said, he would only have this one sentence…

Corporal Mars nodded slightly in satisfaction.

The next second, running footsteps echoed through the tomb passage on the first level. The sound was dense and hurried, coming from a group of creatures running on all fours.

“Watch out, the Skeleton Hounds are coming.”

Corporal Mars flipped the short-barreled rifle in his hand, holding it by the barrel, and pointed the rifle with added iron plates at the front.

At this moment, the rifle had become a hammer.

The other soldiers did the same, wielding their rifles like hammers.

Noland entered a state of preparedness.

He raised the engineering hammer in his hand, retreating steadily while staring at the metal gate.

Under his gaze, three teddy bear-sized Skeleton Hounds, crawled out from under the skeleton warriors’ legs, sprinting towards the soldiers on their short but agile little legs.

Noland squinted his eyes, carefully examining these small and deadly undead troops, dismissing the idea of using deconstruction.

The reason was, these little creatures were as he had anticipated, there was no need to waste energy deconstructing them.

As long as he wasn’t bitten by them, there shouldn’t be any danger.

As the Skeleton Hounds rapidly approached, Noland’s heartbeat gradually quickened.

He took aim at the Skeleton Hound on the left, watching its every move.

The hound came in front of Noland and leaped, opening its mouth full of sharp teeth, lunging for Noland’s neck.

Noland seized the opportunity, growled and swung his engineering hammer hard, giving the little head a heavy blow worth 80 New Solon Currency.

After a crisp bang, the oncoming Skeleton Hound’s head separated from its body.

Its head, like a baseball being hit, flew back into the tomb passage.

Without its head, the Skeleton Hound lost its ability to distinguish between friend and foe and bumped into the wall, swaying from side to side.

Noland took the opportunity to strike the hound’s hindquarters with his hammer, knocking the little creature away with another 80 currency hit…

Corporal Mars held his short-barreled rifle and with a series of small combos to the left and right, sent two Skeleton Hound’s heads flying.

He saw Noland’s performance and couldn’t help but praise:

“Well done.”

Noland smiled slightly and nodded toward him.

The Deconstruction Core System suddenly sent a message, making his smile at the corner of his mouth rise even more, but he quickly controlled it.

After reading the system message, Noland’s eyes burned with even more passion when he looked at the skeleton warriors and Skeleton Hounds again.