Global Survival: I Have Endless Skeletons

The deeper Thoren went, the closer he drew to the core of the underground facility, the more frantic the members of the Slave Trade Guild became.

They came from the darkness one after another, some rushing from hidden rooms, others emerging from side corridors, a few abandoning their posts entirely to charge straight at him with weapons drawn.

Their attacks grew increasingly desperate, no longer holding anything back, no longer worried about injury.

They fought with frantic rage, because to them death had never been something to fear.

They believed themselves immortal, and that belief ran deep.

Even if their bodies were destroyed, they would return.

Even if their heads were severed, they would regenerate. Even if their organs were crushed, they would eventually recover.

That certainty was why they kept throwing themselves at Thoren one after another, convinced that no matter how strong he was, he could never truly kill them.

That belief shattered with terrifying speed.

One after another, they fell.

A warrior charged at him with a sword raised overhead. And the undead Garron met him with a single swing.

Slash!

The man’s body was torn apart, and before his flesh could even begin knitting back together, the flame from the Vorlath Blood Compass descended.

Whoosh!

The fire swallowed him whole, his screams echoing through the corridor before slowly fading into nothing.

Another rushed forward right after and the undead Storm Tyrant swung his hammer.

Boom!

The impact crushed the man into the ground. He tried to regenerate, but the flame came again.

Whoosh!

His body vanished into the fire.

A third attacked from the shadows and the undead Kaien appeared behind him.

Slash.

His head separated from his body.

Before it could crawl its way back to the corpse, the crimson flame consumed it too.

Again, and again, and again, every member who charged at Thoren met the same end. They came believing themselves immortal and died believing themselves invincible,

Unfortunately, their immortality meant nothing against the Vorlath Blood Compass. Not one of them lasted a minute before being killed and burned to nothing.

The deeper Thoren went, the fewer voices he heard and the frantic shouting eventually died away.

The clash of weapons grew less frequent, and then even the screams vanished, leaving behind only an oppressive silence.

As for Thoren, he kept walking with his undead moving around him without hesitation. The undead Storm Tyrant carrying his hammer and the undeadGarron dragging his butcher knife lightly against the stone floor with a faint scraping sound.

The four shield soldiers holding formation and the undead Kaien was still somewhere within the shadows.

While the Blood Compass kept glowing.

After another long descent, the corridor narrowed and the walls changed, the old metal panels giving way to thick black stone unlike anything else in the facility.

There were no more doors, no more laboratories, no windows, nothing but a long passage leading to a massive entrance.

Seeing this, Thoren’s heart beat with anticipation as he continued forward. His footsteps echoing through the passage, and then he stopped.

He stood only a few meters from the last zone, the core of the entire facility.

He raised his head and let his Perception spread outward but he found nothing. However, his instinct sensed danger and from his experience, he knew his instinct could never be wrong.

And just then...

Click.

A faint mechanical sound came from above.

Immediately, his gaze snapped to the ceiling as several hidden compartments opened at once, releasing nine advanced thermal weapons.

They descended and rotated their barrels toward him as they were already whirring to life.

These were nothing like ordinary military rifles, far larger and more powerful, clearly installed for the sole purpose of defending this final passage.

As for Thoren’s reaction, it was swift.

He didn’t retreat.

He didn’t hesitate.

His undead space opened and two more undead shield soldiers appeared beside him, and alongside them a new figure emerged, a Level 35 undead Fire Mage.

Through his mental command, the four shield soldiers moved as one.

Boom!

They planted their massive shields into the ground, positions overlapping perfectly to form a solid defensive wall around him, with Storm Tyrant, Garron, and the Fire Mage standing behind them.

While Thoren stood calmly at the center.

Then the nine weapons opened fire all at once..

Ratatatatata!

A barrage of thermal fire lit the passage in violent flashes of red and orange.

Dozens of scorching projectiles tearing through the air every second, more than enough to shred an ordinary person in seconds.

The stone walls shook, dust rained from the ceiling, and the air turned unbearably hot as the barrage slammed into the undead shields.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The four undead didn’t move an inch, feet planted firmly, shields absorbing everything the weapons threw at them.

The thermal fire struck the metal and scattered harmlessly in every direction, leaving nothing behind but a few sparks.

Not a scratch.

Not even a dent.

Thoren stood safely behind them, his black robes fluttering slightly from the pressure of the barrage and his expression remained entirely unbothered.

The weapons kept firing.

Ratatatatata!

Yet, the effect was nothing.

The shields held without a mark and a faint smirk crossed Thoren’s lips. He’d expected exactly this and the result did not disappoint him.

With a confident expression, his gaze shifted to the Fire Mage.

"Do your thing."

The mage raised both hands, the flames around it flaring violently.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dozens of enormous fireballs formed above its palms, condensing rapidly until the surrounding air warped from the heat.

It thrust both hands forward, and the fireballs roared down the passage like miniature suns, trailing fire behind them as they slammed into the hidden weapons.

One detonated against a ceiling-mounted unit and swallowed it whole; another struck three weapons at once, melting their barrels and gutting their mechanisms. A second wave followed immediately, tearing through every weapon still standing.

Boom!

The last one exploded.

Dust and smoke filled the passage for a moment. And Thoren stood behind the shields without moving as the smell of scorched metal thickened in the air .

Slowly, the smoke cleared, revealing nine ruined thermal weapons hanging uselessly from the ceiling.

Their barrels melted and mechanisms blackened beyond repair, several sections of the ceiling cracked from the blasts.

Thoren looked over the wreckage and nodded, satisfied.

"Let’s go."

The shield soldiers lowered their shields, the Fire Mage falling back behind him, the rest of the undead following as he continued forward.

Still, the Vorlath Blood Compass burned intensely in his hand now, its crimson eye fixed directly on the massive entrance waiting at the end of the passage.

Something lay beyond it, something powerful enough to provoke a violent reaction from the Blood Compass.

Finally, he reached the end of the passage and he paused.

Whoosh!

Instantly, a wave of heat rolled across his hand and he looked at the compass. The blood-red eye stared straight ahead.

And without hesitation, Thoren stepped forward. The moment he crossed the threshold, his eyes widened slightly.

The scene before him shocked him to his core.