Chapter 267 - 151: Elites Arrive
The Nightmare Skeleton Ox Demon oversaw the battle from the rear. Seeing the enemy's ranged units brazenly attacking the Ox Demons and Hill Giant Demons, it raised a finger and issued a command to the Skeleton Beasts through the Soul Network.
With the Nightmare Skeleton Ox Demon commanding from the rear, the Skeleton Beasts had a clear objective. 'If we're told to take care of the ones in the back, then so be it. It's all the same to us who we fight.'
The Skeleton Desert Wolves abandoned the enemies in front and rushed toward the rear, while the Skeleton Giant Tusked Boars accelerated their Charge.
The Archers, Mages, Shamans, and other roles among the Demonized Creatures panicked when they saw the Skeleton Beasts bypass their frontline comrades. They had no desire for a direct confrontation and forgot all about firing arrows or casting Magic. They turned tail and fled, hoping to create some distance and deal with the Skeleton Beasts before anything else.
With the ranged units fleeing, pressure on the front lines surged. Some Demonized Creatures who had yet to clash with the Alien Undead quickly reconsidered and retreated; they were not so far gone as to have lost all reason.
Under the Alien Undead's onslaught, the position was reclaimed. The Demonized Creatures abandoned numerous comrades and corpses, hastily retreating from the passage and back onto the plaza.
The situation was much the same in the other two passages. Before the Elite Heavy Hammer Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Short Bowmen joined the fray, the Demonized Creatures had been on an absolute rampage. But as soon as those two unit types entered the battle, the tables instantly turned.
The Skeleton Short Bowmen were similar in build to the average Skeleton Undead. Hiding amongst the Undead masses, the Demonized Creatures found them difficult to spot. In the eyes of the Demonized Creatures, they were all just Skeletons, more or less identical. Their weaponry was also a hodgepodge. Most carried Bone Sabers and Bone Shields, while the remaining Undead wielded a motley collection of Weapons.
So, a few more Undead showing up with a Bow and Arrow would seem perfectly normal, right?
And that was precisely the problem.
But the Skeleton Short Bowmen were no ordinary Skeleton Undead. They were a bona fide part of the Undead Combat Sequence. While they couldn't compete with Skeleton Longbowmen in range or accuracy, they left them in the dust when it came to rate of fire.
It was like the difference between two types of snipers: one was long-ranged and precise, while the other was blindingly fast in a charge, with an incredibly high projectile speed.
Since their summoning, the Skeleton Short Bowmen had rarely seen battle. They were thrilled to be deployed this time. At first, they shot one arrow at a time, sometimes missing their mark, clearly a bit rusty.
Fortunately, with the Skeleton Undead providing cover up front, they could hide within the undead ranks where the Demonized Creatures couldn't reach them. As they loosed more and more arrows, the Skeleton Short Bowmen grew increasingly proficient. Their rate of fire quickened, and their shots came from increasingly tricky angles.
Each Skeleton Short Bowman held three Rapid-Fire Arrows between their fingers, ready to be loosed in quick succession. Being without flesh and blood, they never had to worry about the strain on muscle or sinew. They fired like Crossbows, relentlessly, sometimes even loosing three arrows in a single, rapid volley.
Their range was shorter, but they were far more mobile. Arrows accurately zipped out from every conceivable opening—the gaps between individual Undead, even the spaces between the bones of a single Undead, became firing ports for their shots. It was impossible to defend against.
Often, the moment a Demonized Creature started a Charge, a dozen or twenty arrows would fly in from all sides, turning it into a pincushion. They died bewildered, collapsing with eyes wide in utter disbelief.
The Skeleton Short Bowmen were mobile skirmishers, firing on the move. While prioritizing their own safety, they inflicted immense damage on the enemy. The only thing limiting them was their arrow supply.
After nearly a hundred of their comrades had been turned into pincushions, the Demonized Creatures finally caught on. 'Those damn Skeleton Archers are fucking vicious! They're a huge threat! We can't let them keep firing, or our losses will be too great. We have to take out those Skeleton Archers first!'