Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Arrow Barrage
"I...I..."
Jonah tried to form comprehensible words but what came out were only gibberish. His teeth began to drop off one by one and new sharp teeth emerged from under the gums.
Jonah’s skin lost its color. Dark pulsating veins popped up all over his flesh. His eyes were fogged like the window of a misty day.
Siderius strode forward and kicked at Jonah’s stomach.
"What’re you doing?" Quinlan screamed.
"Let him die as a human."
Siderius stepped to the side and with one full swing of his half-sword, Jonah’s head was severed from his neck. The head rolled on the ground before being swarmed by the other ghouls.
They snatched the head like it was some sort of divine fruit from the tree of Eden.
The diet of ghoul were mainly corpses. They could eat live humans but corpse for them was a delicacy.
Siderius grabbed the long wooden stick of Jonah and threw it over to Quinlan.
"That short sword of yours won’t keep you alive. Use this. Try to survive. Don’t be a hero, understand?"
Quinlan nodded.
The short sword was a superior weapon compared to the wooden stick. But its range was limited. There was no way that Quinlan was going to be able to use the short sword in an effective manner and he would in no way be able to kill a ghoul.
The best course of action for Quinlan was to use the longer and more durable wooden stick to keep the ghouls at bay while Siderius took care of them.
"Come, you little monsters!"
Siderius slotted a Phosphorus Projectile into the sling and began to spin it.
As if the ghouls understood him, one separated from the pact and bolted at him. It ran over the floor that was covered in slagpaste.
Whoosh!
The projectile shrieked through the air and landed on the ghoul perfectly. A blinding light filled the corridor and with it, a blue flame engulfed the ghoul.
Ghoul’s weaknesses were two. Fire and decapitation.
The ghoul roared in pain. Its hands were flailing around in panic, trying to extinguish the flame.
But that was no ordinary flame. That was Phosphorus flame. The ghoul darted away in blindness, setting up the slagpaste around Siderius and Jonah.
This caused the other ghouls to back off immediately, creating a temporary safe space for the pair.
"What is that flame? How can you do that?" Quinlan’s eyes lit up. He was a man of knowledge and couldn’t hold himself in front of an unexplainable phenomenon.
"Not really the time for explanation right now."
Siderius equipped his bow again. With the space the slagpaste had created, he could safely snipe the ghoul one by one.
Siderius grabbed a handful of arrows and poured slagpaste on it. This was the last amount of slagpaste he had on him.
Without wasting any time, Siderius used the index draw to rapidly fire the arrows.
All of the arrows were held inside his draw hand so he could continuously fire the bow with one arrow after another.
Arrows flew through the air like shooting stars, brightened up the entire area wherever they went.
The first arrow hit the farthest ghoul in the abdomen causing it to fall into a panic state. Fire burned inside its body was the most excruciating pain an undead could experience.
The second and third arrow successfully landed on the head of the same ghoul. It fell to the ground motionless, seeming to have died off. The fire had probably fried most of its neurons, killing it without the need of decapitation.
The fourth arrow grazed the closest ghoul. One that tried to flank Siderius from the side, the area that was not covered by the flame.
Unfortunately, its intention was exposed and it was pushed back. But that was not the end of its nightmare. After barely avoiding the flaming arrow, the fifth arrow came right at its ribcage.
The arrow pierced through its entire body, the obsidian tip emerged on the other side, still burning the yellow fire with intensity. The fire burned off the skin of the back of the ghoul, causing it to roll around on the ground aimlessly. It was trying to get the arrow off or extinguish the flame.
The sixth arrow landed right at the groin of another ghoul. This did not kill it but caused it to curl into a ball holding its sensitive part on the ground. Even after turning into an undead, the ghoul still had its original weakness.
Quinlan shivered all over when he saw what happened to that poor ghoul.
The seventh and eight arrow broke the knees of the next ghoul. It fell flat on the ground and continued to use its hand to claw its way to the pair. It lost most of its mobility and was barely a threat any more.
The last two ghouls stormed at Siderius and Quinlan. They were able to get over the wall of fire.
"Brace yourself!"
Siderius threw the bow down to the ground and drew his half-sword. The sword only had half of its original length but was still longer than his other knives. Therefore, Siderius still used it as his main weapon.
His left hand flexed and summoned the silver bracer.
The two ghouls split in two directions, one attacking Siderius and one attacking Quinlan.
Siderius had no time to watch out for Quinlan. He could only protect himself.
The enemy this time was no mere ordinary human anymore. It was the ghoul, an undead under the kingdom of Monster.
Its thick skin provided a natural protective layer against sword and other sharp weapons. The best weapons to use against it would be the bludgeoning variation. Mace, hammer, flail, etc.
Its glowing yellow eyes were a natural mutation that granted the monster a type of dark vision.
Its sharp teeth held a tiny amount of necrosis poison that could be dangerous to ordinary people.
All of this made sure Siderius stayed extra focused in this fight. It would be a shame if he was killed by a low threat such as the ghoul.