Chapter 278 - 155: Like Children 2
Li Ziyu nodded. 'As expected of a completely loyal Skeleton Undead.' Even if he ordered it to self-destruct, it would carry out the command without hesitation. He turned to the Dark Skeleton and grinned. "And what about you?"
The Dark Skeleton: 彡(-_-;)彡
"I will take my leave, and this time, it is forever!"
Li Ziyu's eyes widened in surprise. He had actually received a soul message brimming with emotion, and it came from the Dark Skeleton right in front of him.
'Damn, it's actually serious about this!'
"Stop, stop, stop!" Li Ziyu hurriedly shouted.
The Soul Fire within the Dark Skeleton's skull had already begun to flicker, showing faint signs of exploding. Upon hearing Li Ziyu's urgent voice, the Soul Fire wavered precariously, but in the end, it didn't burst. It was forcibly stabilized. Even so, the Dark Skeleton had become much weaker. Its body was trembling, its bones rattling with a CREAK CREAK sound, as if it could fall apart at any moment.
Li Ziyu took a breath. 'It seems the Dark Skeleton is still under my control and absolutely loyal.'
To be honest, he never intended to make the Dark Skeleton self-destruct. It was, after all, an Undead summoned early on and had always stayed by his side, never sent out to fight like the other Undead. They say you can grow attached to a string of prayer beads you've handled for a long time, let alone the Dark Skeleton that had struggled alongside him in the Otherworld.
'He'd grown fond of it.'
Had it been any other Dark Skeleton, Li Ziyu might have been ruthless enough to eliminate such a potential threat. But this one... he just couldn't do it.
The incident with the Sharp Clawed Burst Bear had truly gotten to Li Ziyu. He was terrified of it happening again, and even more scared of developing a distrust for his Undead. Although the Dark Skeleton and the Frenzied Skeleton had saved him from the Sharp Clawed Burst Bear, he still felt a seed of distrust.
But thankfully, the Dark Skeleton had proven with its actions that its loyalty could still be trusted.
Li Ziyu sighed. After the incident with the Sharp Clawed Burst Bear, he had become paranoid. This wasn't a good thing. The Undead were the foundation of his power in the Otherworld. If something was wrong with them, who else could he trust?
In truth, even if the Dark Skeleton hadn't chosen to self-destruct, Li Ziyu would still have been hesitant. After all, ploys involving self-injury to gain trust existed. But then again, if the Dark Skeleton was willing to risk its Soul Fire to play such a trick on him, then he'd have to accept it.
"Tsk. Alright, I believe you. Now, tell me, how can I get you to recover?" Li Ziyu asked, looking at the Dark Skeleton that was on the verge of collapsing.
"Soul Energy," the Dark Skeleton transmitted.
Without hesitation, Li Ziyu immediately withdrew 200 units of Soul Energy from the system and infused it into the Dark Skeleton's Soul Fire.
As soon as the pure Soul Energy entered its body, the Dark Skeleton reacted as if it had taken a powerful tonic. Its Soul Fire flared up instantly, and the entire Skeleton perked up. It stopped trembling and shaking, looking ridiculously healthy.
It moved its arms, moved its legs, and even did a little jump on the spot before turning to Li Ziyu.
"Master, you can rest assured. We will forever be loyal to you and will never betray you," the Dark Skeleton sent in a message.
"That's what I always thought, too. But you were there for what happened today. I need an explanation. Why did that Sharp Clawed Burst Bear attack me?" Now that Li Ziyu knew the Dark Skeleton possessed an intelligence no less than that of a Human, he began to communicate with it properly.
"The tattoo. It was because of the Frenzy Rune. It caused it to lose its mind. The probability of this is low, but it happens from time to time, especially with Wild Beasts," the Dark Skeleton explained seriously.
'So that's how it is.'
Li Ziyu mulled it over. He could accept this explanation; it made sense.
He had just checked the system, and the Sharp Clawed Burst Bear's loyalty was still at ∞. A direct betrayal was out of the question, so the explanation that it was triggered by the tattoo was much more acceptable.
'So this attack was just a random event? I was just unlucky?'
He had created so many Skeleton Giant Tusked Boars before using the Frenzy Rune, and there had never been a problem. It seemed "bad luck" was the only explanation.
"So, you were able to control the Sharp Clawed Burst Bear, and your intelligence is also very high, right?" Li Ziyu asked, turning to the Frenzied Skeleton.
The Frenzied Skeleton: ゛('◇')?
'It understood the first part of the sentence, but what did the second part mean?'
"No, he's just a big dope..." the Dark Skeleton messaged Li Ziyu, sneaking a glance at the Frenzied Skeleton.
For some reason, perhaps because they were on the same Soul Network, the Frenzied Skeleton actually received the message. It instantly flew into a rage. Its frenzied aura flared up, and it let out a Soul Roar before charging at the Dark Skeleton.
You kick my head, I'll rip out your ribs. The two members of the Alien Undead Royal Family started brawling right in front of the three City Lords—Li Ziyu, Zhang Peng, and Liu Xingxing.
"Alright, that's enough! Stop it!" Li Ziyu yelled, clutching his forehead.
The two members of the Alien Undead Royal Family stopped at once. The Frenzied Skeleton was holding several ribs, while the Dark Skeleton was holding the Frenzied Skeleton's skull.
"Act normal! Stop messing around!" Li Ziyu roared furiously.
Even though its head was in the other skeleton's hand, the Frenzied Skeleton didn't care at all. Hearing Li Ziyu's words, it threw the ribs on the ground. There was no way it was giving the bones back to the guy who had insulted it.
The Dark Skeleton looked down at the ribs scattered on the ground, then lifted the Frenzied Skeleton's head for a look. It tossed the head to the ground and, just before the Frenzied Skeleton could pick it up, kicked it away like a soccer ball.
The Frenzied Skeleton, which had been about to pick up its skull and put it back on, hadn't expected the Dark Skeleton to pull such a dirty trick. Its Soul Fire wobbled dizzily. The headless body spun around three times in place like a drunkard, then staggered off to retrieve its own head.