Chapter 53: Attacked in the Rear

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Attacked in the Rear

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With each of his orders relayed, the only thing left for Gu Su to do was wait.

He stood motionless, his gaze occasionally sweeping toward the large building as he waited in silence.

Waiting for the White Crow to finish investigating the eerie windows and return with a report. Waiting for the Corroding Mycelium to slowly seep in and take effect. Waiting for the Ordinary Skeleton Warriors to chop down more of the Fluorescent Vines coiled around the building.

He knew full well that these matters couldn’t be rushed. Every step required time to lay the groundwork.

The most important thing for him to do now was to fall back to a completely safe area. That way, he wouldn’t be a liability to his Skeleton Warriors, and he could avoid a situation where his own safety compromised the entire operation.

His mind made up, Gu Su retreated a good distance further, positioning himself behind a large tree in a spot with a wide, clear line of sight and no apparent threats. He kept only three Magic Skeletons with him as personal guards.

As Gu Su waited, deep in thought and mulling over his next steps, the silence was suddenly broken by the sound of frantic wingbeats from behind. FLAP, FLAP, FLAP.

Gu Su spun around to see a panicked White Crow approaching. Its wings beat erratically, a clear sign it had flown there in a great hurry. It couldn’t even manage a steady landing, dropping heavily onto his shoulder the moment it drew near. Its head bobbed incessantly as it conveyed an urgent message.

A moment later, Gu Su finished processing the White Crow’s message, and his expression darkened instantly.

The Ash Squad had been ambushed and suffered devastating losses. They had already evacuated the mall and retreated back into the Graveyard Demon to recuperate, lacking even the strength to mount a counterattack.

Hearing this news, Gu Su’s eyes hardened, and a surge of regret and alarm washed over him.

’I have to admit,’ he thought, ’I got overconfident today.’ He had been leading his forces all over, scouting and clearing out enemies at will, so focused on seizing Resources and uncovering the building’s secrets that he had forgotten his own Graveyard Demon was a massive, coveted target in these apocalyptic ruins.

’I was so focused on pushing outward and plundering Resources that I neglected my rear defenses. I overlooked the dangers my scattered forces might face.’

’While I was leading the charge, my forces at the rear naturally became a weak point for the enemy. An attack was to be expected.’

Without a moment’s hesitation, Gu Su gave a decisive order to the White Crow on his shoulder. "Go at once and relay my command. All Skeleton Warriors currently on missions are to withdraw immediately. Abort the building reconnaissance and the vine-cutting. We’ll find another opportunity to come back."

Gu Su had always been good at prioritizing. With his forces ambushed and suffering heavy losses, this was clearly not the time to continue investigating the building.

The Graveyard Demon was his foundation, and his troops were his fighting strength. Having that foundation shaken and his forces damaged was far more serious than missing out on any amount of Resources.

Now that his men had been targeted and hit hard, he couldn’t afford to waste any more time here. ’I have to get back at once and prepare for war. I’ll find out who dared to target my faction, and then I’ll personally annihilate them. I’ll make an example out of them, so no one dares to provoke me so easily again.’

As for the abandoned building, Gu Su wasn’t worried.

It had stood here for many years, surviving the apocalyptic changes largely unaltered. It wasn’t about to vanish into thin air anytime soon. Once he dealt with the trouble at his base and reorganized his troops, he would have plenty of time to return, continue his investigation, and reap the Resources inside.

Upon receiving the command, the White Crow took flight without a moment’s delay, speeding toward the building to relay Gu Su’s order of retreat.

Thanks to the inherent obedience of the Undead, Gu Su’s Skeleton Warriors were incredibly efficient. Upon receiving the retreat command, they immediately ceased their tasks and began to fall back in an orderly fashion.

The Ordinary Skeleton Warriors lowered their Bone Swords, vigilantly scanning their surroundings for any surprise attacks as they dragged the empty shopping carts back.

In addition, they also hauled back large quantities of the severed Fluorescent Vines.

These were all spoils from their earlier work, and even if he didn’t know their use for the time being, Gu Su would never let them go to waste.

Surprisingly, once the vines were severed from the building’s walls, they completely lost their original eerie properties.

Their once-flickering fluorescent leaves quickly dimmed and withered. Even the sap dripping from the cuts lost all its glow, turning murky and dark, no different from ordinary dead branches and leaves.

Gu Su glanced down at the hauled-back vines and gave a decisive order to the Skeleton Warriors beside him.

"Gather all these vines and store them properly. They might be useful later on."

Even though the vines had lost their eerie power, he was unwilling to discard them. Gu Su was short on everything right now; any seemingly useless item could prove vital at a critical moment.

As the Ordinary Skeleton Warriors gathered the vines and rejoined the formation, the Elite Skeleton Warriors who had been left to scout inside the building also hurried back.

They still maintained a strict tactical formation, their steps synchronized and their expressions vigilant. Clearly, they hadn’t relaxed their guard during the retreat. They only came to a halt once they were standing before Gu Su.

One of the Elite Skeleton Warriors stepped forward, raised its hands, and gently placed an object on the ground in front of Gu Su.

It was a pillow that ought to have been white, but from years of neglect, dust, and grime, it had turned a dingy grayish-black. Its surface was covered in wrinkles, and it gave off a strange, metallic odor mixed with a faint, eerie aura that was deeply unsettling.

Gu Su leaned down, his fingertips lightly brushing the pillow’s surface. His brow furrowed in confusion. "What is this?"

The Elite Skeleton Warrior bowed slightly and replied in a dry, rasping voice, "Master, we found this item in one of the rooms behind the eerie windows you specified.

Had you not issued the order to retreat, we would now be on our way to investigate the next eerie room and could have found more items."

Gu Su nodded at its words and bent down to pick up the grayish-black pillow.

The moment his fingertips touched the pillow, a familiar system prompt sounded in his mind:

[You have obtained the item, Nightmare Pillow (White): Place on a bed to activate. Once active, it emits mental and spiritual waves, causing nearby people to fall into a deep sleep from which they cannot awaken on their own.]

’Alright, so it has some kind of hypnotic effect,’ Gu Su thought. ’It seems this building is full of things like this.’

After a moment’s thought, Gu Su handed the Nightmare Pillow to a Skeleton Warrior.

"Get everything packed. We need to move out."

At his command, the Skeleton Warriors slung their weapons over their backs. Some hoisted metal cabinets or boxes, others lifted the bundled vines, and all of them quickly fell in line behind Gu Su, heading toward the Graveyard Demon.