The arrival of reinforcents gave the Tabu Tribe Minotaurs hope—hope for victory. Power surged through their bodies once more. Though all were injured, they still tightened their grips on their Totem Poles and charged toward the Demonized Minotaurs with battle cries. However, they soon discovered that they weren’t needed for the fight at all.
The number of Undead was far greater than last ti, vastly outnumbering the enemy. From the mont they appeared, they had the Demonized Minotaurs completely overwheld. The Minotaurs’ help was rely the icing on the cake, only serving to speed up the enemy’s annihilation.
Facing several tis their number in Undead, the Demonized Minotaurs couldn’t hold on. Under the influence of the Undead, fear grew in their hearts, their courage gradually faded, and they began to think of retreat. They wanted to fall back, but the Undead had no intention of letting them go, pouncing on them with no fear of death.
"This is the Undead Race! This is how the Undead are supposed to fight!"
Li Ziyu looked down upon the battlefield from his high vantage point, a Bone Saber in his hand. An inexplicable, hot-blooded urge washed over him. He subconsciously took a step forward, feinted with the Bone Saber, and, fixing his eyes on a Demonized Minotaur, prepared to leap down and pounce on it.
Liu Xingxing, beside him, noticed sothing was wrong. He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Li Ziyu’s waist, his face filled with panic. "Boss, what are you doing? Don’t be rash!"
"Let go! I want to fight alongside them!"
"Calm down! Boss, you’re a Human, not an Undead! We’re going to win for sure, there’s no need for this!"
’Liu Xingxing didn’t know what had co over Li Ziyu. In his current state, he was like a drunk man insisting on going to Jingyang Ridge to fight a tiger. But you’re just a rookie, not Wu Song—what tiger are you going to fight?’
The impassioned Li Ziyu dragged him forward two steps before Liu Xingxing dug his heels into the ground, lowered his center of gravity, and practically sat on the floor to stop him from jumping off the main keep.
After nearly a minute of this, Liu Xingxing felt the force of Li Ziyu’s struggling weaken.
"Let go."
"No way, Boss! You have to calm down! Even if you want to go down, you can’t just jump! It’s too high, you’ll be done for if you jump!"
"Alright, I know. Let go. I won’t jump."
’Huh, his speech has cleared up.’
Looking up, Liu Xingxing’s gaze t Li Ziyu’s. He saw that his eyes were clear again, devoid of the earlier excited, hot-blooded fervor. Only then did he doubtfully loosen his grip, but he kept his arms hovering around Li Ziyu’s waist, ready to grab him again instantly if he noticed anything amiss.
Once the arms around his waist relaxed, Li Ziyu took two deep breaths and cald down completely, his brow slightly furrowed.
’Why was I so impulsive just now?’
’It was a question that not only Liu Xingxing couldn’t answer, but even I couldn’t figure out. I had been happily watching the battle when a sudden hot-blooded surge rushed to my head, making want to charge into the fray and fight... or rather... to seek death?’
’At that mont, my mind was filled with the beauty of death, the peace of death, the tranquility of death, the pursuit of its traces.’
He looked down at his own hands, slowly clenching them into fists. Feeling the sense of Power, Li Ziyu’s frown deepened.
’Death worship?’
’, the Undead City Lord, worshipping death... that seems to make sense, I guess.’
’But I’m still a Human, in the end. I haven’t turned into an Undead. So why did I suddenly have a thought like that?’
Wiping his face, Li Ziyu ford a hypothesis. ’It must be a racial thing. The Undead... they’re influencing .’
’Humans are social creatures, herd animals. One’s environnt affects the mind and worldview. Living among a group of Undead who worship death, I’ll gradually be swayed by them, developing a reliance on and reverence for death. This influence is subconscious.’
’It’s a good thing Liu Xingxing was here this ti. Otherwise, I might have actually jumped. That was close.’
’No, I have to banish these thoughts. I can’t die before my mission is even accomplished—that would be a joke. Fair skin, beautiful face, long legs... Fox Girls, Snake Won, Rabbit Girls...’
’At least I’m not thinking about feeding the enemy anymore.’
"Food and sex are human nature." The ancestors truly didn’t lie. The hot-blooded urge that accompanied the death wish, that death drive, was temporarily forced into retreat by these carnal thoughts.
As the battle progressed, the Undead Corps gradually ford an encirclent, trapping the Demonized Minotaurs within and slowly tightening the circle. Although the Demonized Minotaurs still fought desperately, searching for a chance to escape, everyone could see that breaking free from the Undead siege was nearly impossible.
After a final, suicidal struggle, the last Demonized Minotaur collapsed with a look of unwillingness in its eyes and lost all signs of life. The battle ended with the complete annihilation of the Demonized Minotaurs.
Li Ziyu didn’t erge from the fortress imdiately. Instead, he turned to look into the distance. An Undead had just reported a living presence over there, one that hadn’t approached.
The Undead "see" the world with their Soul Fire. They can sense the presence of life, but they can’t tell exactly what that life is doing.
Based on the Undead’s report, Li Ziyu felt there was a spy over there. Their identity was unknown, and he wondered if this was the person behind the Demonized Minotaurs.
After waiting a mont, another Undead ran over to report that the presence had moved far away. Only then did Li Ziyu walk out of the fortress to et the Minotaurs of the Tabu Tribe.
The Minotaur Tribe, which was not large to begin with, was now even smaller. Only about half remained—around fifty individuals, mostly won and children. Even the Minotaurs who had survived were all injured, covered in blood.
Mumu stood at the very front, leaning on his Totem Pole and panting heavily. The recent battle had exhausted his stamina. The only reason he was still standing was because of the Totem Pole; otherwise, he would have already collapsed.
Li Ziyu erged from the fortress, flanked by two rows of Skeleton Warriors radiating a murderous aura, each holding a Bone Saber in one hand and a Shield in the other. He walked straight up to Mumu.
"Hey, Mumu, we et again. You don’t look so good. Want to rest for a bit?" Li Ziyu said, sizing up Mumu with a raised hand in greeting.
"My friend, Master of the Undead, thank you for your aid." Blood flowed from several grueso wounds, the pain causing his muscles to spasm, but Mumu still struggled to stand up straight and tapped his hand over his heart.
"Let’s go to your Tribe. You’re all wounded like this; you need to rest right away," Li Ziyu suggested with a sigh, looking at the Minotaurs behind Mumu.
Mumu didn’t object. He knew his people were in bad shape; their wounds needed tending, and they were exhausted and in desperate need of rest. He turned and led Li Ziyu and his retinue back to the Tribe.
The Tabu Minotaurs had put up a fierce resistance, but so Demonized Minotaurs had still managed to break into the Tribe’s camp. Many of the thatched huts were destroyed, and few were still usable. Mumu led Li Ziyu to his own hut, while the other tribe mbers rested on the spot around it, not straying far.
The recent threat of annihilation had left them shaken. Only by gathering together could they feel at ease.
The children of the Tribe, sucking their fingers, stared with wide, innocent eyes as their Clan Leader led the leader of the Undead into the hut.
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