Chapter 38: Ghoul
“Not necessarily a bad thing.” Black Robe chuckled lightly.
“Hm?”
“Baldur’s Gate has collapsed, Underground Creatures have invaded, and now there’s flooding too. Do you know how many dead people are in the city now? How many die every day? Too many to count. Our opportunity has come, haha…” He grew more excited as he spoke.
Just now, he had used Speak with Dead on the deceased Amn people and knew everything that had happened in Baldur’s Gate like the back of his hand.
His companion’s mouth fell slightly open, eyes widening, with the expression of a bear spotting honey: “Really?!”
“Heh, ask it yourself in a bit.”
His companion’s mouth curved up, eyes narrowing into slits: “Why not gather the followers and hold a grand ceremony? Maybe we can get a response from our lord…”
——
Ten-odd minutes passed.
Anse followed the team in withdrawing to a high slope, where Brat and Finn were waiting for him.
“Why aren’t you running?” he asked in doubt.
“The undead didn’t chase out, the Amn people broke through…” Finn gave a brief summary, quickly telling him what Greyhawk had scouted.
Apart from a few zombies still relentlessly pursuing the scent of humans, the undead main force had been focused on dealing with those Amn people.
Those Amn people were not stupid. Breaking through toward the camp was not only to create chaos but also because there was a lake here.
They mustered their remaining strength for one final breakout. In the end, two broke through the encirclement and jumped into the lake.
The undead did not let them go and continued to pursue, but they could not swim. Skeletons sank to the bottom, zombies had poor coordination—unable to drown or catch up.
In the end, the undead left an Undead Knight to hunt them, while the main force dragged a pile of corpses and, led by two Black Robes, shifted en masse to the east.
Judging by the direction, they were heading for Baldur’s Gate.
“What kind of Undead Knight? Fast or not?” Anse pressed.
“Didn’t dare get close. Probably not as fast as Nolnos.” Finn shook his head.
Greyhawk was a diurnal creature after all; it couldn’t see clearly at night, and the enemy had bow and arrow, so it didn’t dare approach.
Anse rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
The undead leaving was within his expectations. This place was exposed, and he was wearing a holy symbol; no matter how stubborn they were, they wouldn’t wait here to die.
Undead disrupted ecology and commerce, hated wherever they went. The Lord’s Alliance, major churches, and guilds just needed to offer a bit of bounty, and people would take the job.
The origins and intentions of those Amn people were unclear, but no good people came from evil alignment.
Since the greatest threat had left, he decided to go to the lakeside to check. Maybe there would be unexpected gains.
“Have Greyhawk lead me there.”
“Okay.”
Anse mounted up and galloped southeast on horseback.
Soon, Greyhawk flew over, circled above his head, then slightly changed direction, leading the way in the air.
Nolnos instantly understood, synchronously changing direction and closely following it on the ground.
Ten-odd minutes passed, and a shimmering lake surface came into view.
Under the moonlight, two figures lingered in the center of the lake, each clinging to a piece of dead wood, churning the water like a shattered silver mirror.
On the shore, a gray-white knight paced restlessly, bow and arrow in hand, eager to strike.
‘Pretty clever.’ Anse chuckled inwardly.
The Amn people had clearly noticed that the undead had all withdrawn, but there was still a cavalryman on the shore, so they simply stayed in the lake center and didn’t come out.
As long as they waited until dawn, the undead would naturally leave.
But they weren’t having an easy time; that gray-white knight occasionally loosed a few arrows. Though distant, the aim was good, keeping them on edge.
Anse slowed his horse and approached from the other side. The slightly muffled hoofbeats immediately drew the attention of the Amn people and the Undead Knight.
The Amn people, seeing the newcomer clearly in the moonlight, showed joy on their faces.
“Sir, do you remember me? We met during the day. The one by the lake is undead—help take it out, and I’m willing to pay a thousand gold coins as thanks…”
Anse sneered. At a time like this, they were still playing mind games, trying to trick him into fighting an Undead Knight of unknown strength.
He stopped by the lakeside and focused on observing the two parties.
【Amn elite, Dragonborn, Level 3 Barbarian（Berserker）】
【Amn captain, Human, Level 5 Warrior（Combat Master）】
【Skeleton Warhorse, Undead, Challenge Rating 1/2】
【Ghoul, Undead, Challenge Rating 3】
‘Good grief, even a Ghoul showed up.’
The Skeleton Warhorse was no threat; the real trouble was the Ghoul.
Ghouls were transformed from corpses of some cold-blooded soldiers, retaining memories from life. They were intelligent Undead Creatures. Humanoids killed by a Ghoul’s poison would revive as zombies after a day, becoming its minions.
Whether necromancer wizards or Milkor priests, the quantity of undead they could control was limited. They particularly liked transforming and controlling Ghouls to build undead legions on that foundation.
At this moment, seeing he hadn’t responded, the two Amn people swam toward him hugging their wood, somewhat forcing his hand.
The Ghoul immediately charged over aggressively.
Anse lightly patted the horse’s back, and Nolnos wheeled around and ran, circling the lakeside.
You chase, I run; you stop, I stop. Nolnos ran faster, and the Ghoul couldn’t catch up at all.
The two Amn people slunk back to the lake center. They’d just entered the Ghoul’s arrow range and taken two shots; if not for blocking with the wood, they’d be corpses by now.
Anse was very patient, continuously baiting the Ghoul. After several volleys, it had wasted quite a few arrows.
He quietly communicated with Nolnos: ‘Can you block its arrows?’
‘Of course!’ Nolnos was confident.
Anse took a deep breath, mana surging as orange-red energy gathered in his chest and throat, giving him an urge to unleash it.
‘It’s on you—go!’ He patted the horse’s back and leaned forward.
Nolnos suddenly wheeled, charging the Skeleton Warhorse. The hoofbeats were like dense drumbeats, full of rhythm.
The Ghoul, seeing this, spurred its horse into a counter-charge, drawing its longbow full. As distance closed, twang—the arrow whistled through the air.
Nolnos’s sword-like neck armor unfolded layer by layer like petals or a folding fan, forming a hemispherical shield that firmly protected Anse and its body without a gap.
The next moment, the arrow struck the armored surface at an extreme angle, ricocheting off with a screech, leaving a deep gouge.
The Ghoul paused, then shot again. Crack—the arrow shattered several scales, flying off who-knows-where.
It tried to shoot again, but grasped at empty air—no arrows left.
Nolnos was already upon it. It decisively drew its Necrotic Sword—that was its real specialty.
It had just assumed a stance when Nolnos suddenly veered, dodging the blade.
As the two were about to pass a few meters apart, the warhorse’s neck armor snapped shut, revealing Anse with mouth agape, spewing fury.
“Hah—”
Blazing Dragon Breath erupted, instantly engulfing the Ghoul and Skeleton Warhorse squarely.
The Ghoul was blasted away outright. The Skeleton Warhorse lost balance, tumbling from inertia after falling, bones scattering everywhere.
【…Skeleton Warhorse hit, takes 16 Fire Damage, 6 Bludgeoning Damage, critical hit, target death, gain 100 combat experience】
【…Ghoul hit, takes 10 Fire Damage, 4 Bludgeoning Damage, current Life 68/82…】
‘Huh, Bludgeoning Damage?’ Anse was surprised.
Standing breath and charging breath were apparently different, or maybe it just fell too hard.
This was his first attempt, with unexpectedly good results. Mounted Spellcasting was tough, but with Dragon Breath it became much simpler. The downside was needing close range.
Nolnos slowed, wheeled, and charged again.
This time, the Ghoul had no horse!
Thanks to all reader lords for your support and suggestions!
