Chapter 33: Bound by Life and Death (Bonus chapter for Alliance Leader H-Aquarius)

"Feique."

Amidst a flurry of thoughts, Zhou Xu beckoned to Feique.

Feique, who was standing nearby wielding a bone spear and had just swept a skeleton to the ground, immediately understood the gesture. He took two quick steps forward and leaned in close to listen.

After a brief whisper, Zhou Xu quickly relayed his instructions, and the operation began.

Meanwhile, in the enemy ranks, the "Necromancer" who led them was disguised as a common spearman, wielding a bone spear and fighting alongside his men. Perhaps because he had carefully studied the psychology of his opponents, he had chosen not to hide behind the more conspicuous shield-bearers. Instead, he would coordinate with the shield-bearers only when he needed to use his abilities, casting his spells under their cover.

This time was no different. Out of the corner of his eye, the enemy leader had been keeping a close watch on the progress of the battle. Seeing his skeleton soldiers being knocked down and dismantled one by one in the distance, he quickly gave an order:

"Cover me!"

Without hesitation, the shield-bearer in front of him lunged forward, raised his heavy shield, and completely blocked him from view.

Just as he prepared to cast a spell to raise the fallen skeletons once more, Feique, who was watching from afar, took a sharp breath and shouted:

"Dashan! Hit the guy hiding behind that shield!"

The battlefield was chaotic, but Feique’s voice cut through the din with startling clarity.

In the heat of the fray, Dashan glanced in the direction Feique indicated and immediately noticed one of the enemy shield-bearers retreating slightly. It was a subtle movement that he would have missed before, but Feique’s warning made the enemy's position stand out like a sore thumb.

"Get out of my way!"

Without a second thought, Dashan roared. Having snapped his spear in half, he was now wielding two short spears, fighting with even greater ferocity. After pushing back the enemies swarming him, he coiled his legs and lunged forward like a beast descending from the mountains, charging straight toward his target!

The enemy leader, now the marked target, couldn't figure out how he had been exposed. Though he was startled, he managed to keep his composure at the critical moment, quickly chanting a spell to reanimate the fallen skeletons, effectively blocking Feique and the others who were trying to charge in to support Dashan.

He then hurriedly shouted:

"Stop him!"

Clearly, he had already witnessed Dashan’s prowess. With their superior numbers, the main reason they hadn't been able to crush the opposition yet was the presence of Dashan.

Now that Dashan was charging directly at him, it would be a lie to say he wasn't panicked. Even the shield-bearer standing in his path was terrified. But with the leader’s order given, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and hold his ground with his shield!

However, to Dashan, the shield-bearer’s movements looked clumsy and pathetic. With a slight shift of his body, Dashan bypassed him in his charge, dashed in front of the enemy leader, and thrust his short spear forward!

*I’ve got him!*

At this life-or-death moment, the enemy leader’s face was a mask of terror, but his hands moved with practiced speed. He ripped open the pack on his back, and a skeleton crawled out from behind him, raising its arms to intercept the blow, thus narrowly averting the fatal strike.

The enemy leader didn't thank the skeleton for saving his life; instead, he tossed it toward Dashan, stepped back a few paces, and raised his bone spear, preparing to strike back!

Unexpectedly, Dashan’s reaction was lightning-fast. While sweeping the skeleton aside with one short spear, he flipped the one in his other hand and hurled it like a projectile at the enemy leader, who was just about to attack.

There was no doubt about it—Dashan was faster.

The distance between them was so short that the enemy leader had no room to dodge. The flying short spear struck like an arrow, instantly piercing his shoulder.

Blood splattered!

The enemy leader’s eyes widened in shock. The searing pain caused him to drop his bone spear, and the uncontrollable fear of death surged within him, forcing him to scramble away on his hands and feet.

After that strike, Dashan, having cleared the skeleton, wanted to pursue, but the enemy forces had already rushed over to pin him down. As fierce as Dashan was, dealing with four or five enemies at once while trying to break away was no easy task.

On the other side, the frantic enemy leader, after scrambling to his feet and running for a distance, looked back to check behind him. Seeing that Dashan was pinned down, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

Just as he thought he had escaped the danger, a dull, whistling sound suddenly reached his ears. It wasn't the sound of a sharp weapon cutting through the air; it was something much sharper.

He had no time to think. At that moment, the enemy leader felt his feet catch on something, and he lost his balance entirely, crashing to the ground with a thud.

After giving his instructions to Feique, Zhou Xu had already anticipated the enemy's path, quietly circling around to the perimeter to wait.

As soon as the enemy started to flee, with Dashan drawing the attention of the enemy soldiers, Zhou Xu spotted his chance and threw a tripwire along the ground, bringing him down.

With the strike successful, Zhou Xu lunged forward and pressed his bone spear against the man’s throat.

"Are you a transmigrator?"

Hearing this, the enemy leader, who had been panicked a moment ago, looked blank for a second before his expression shifted. He began nodding his head frantically.

"Yes, yes! Buddy, I’m a transmigrator too! You as well? What a coincidence, right?"

As he spoke, the enemy leader subtly pushed the bone spear away from his neck. Suddenly, he rolled away in a desperate attempt to escape, pulling out a bone dagger hidden on his person, intending to catch Zhou Xu off guard.

"Go to hell, you id—!"

Before he could finish the word "idiot," the enemy leader’s voice was cut short.

Under the influence of the "Eye of Insight," Zhou Xu’s reaction speed was extraordinary. Almost as soon as the man moved, Zhou Xu lunged forward and thrust his spear!

Instantly, hot blood splashed onto his face. His hands, gripping the weapon, were white-knuckled from the sheer force of his grip.

He had intended to end it in one blow—a quick death for the enemy and a relief for himself. But the man had dodged at the last second, and while the spear pierced his neck, it didn't kill him instantly.

Blood poured out in torrents, yet the man continued to struggle. He clutched his bleeding neck with both hands, kicking the ground, his eyes filled with the agony of death and desperate pleading.

All of this shook Zhou Xu’s resolve, making his breathing ragged. In this primitive world, the last half-month of survival had turned him—a young man who had never even killed a chicken back home—into someone who could break the necks of small animals or slay giant spider monsters without hesitation. But this was a living human being, a fellow transmigrator, and the psychological pressure was immense.

However, Zhou Xu knew that the outcome of this battle rested entirely on his shoulders. The final result would determine the survival of his entire tribe! He had no room for mercy.

"DIE!!!"

Roaring to bolster his courage, Zhou Xu’s eyes went wide. He pressed his body down, stepped on the man’s chest, pulled his spear out with a spray of blood, and then drove it back into flesh with a dull thud! He had finally, completely, taken the man’s life.