"If I didn't know better - I would say that the battle between the silver rankers is just a diversion so you could scout out and find a way around the camp and attack the main army from behind. But what do I know…" Times sure have changed. Bones finished and smirked, watching a surprised look on the scouts face.

"Yo- "

*splurt*

The scout's expression when Skully pierced his chest was a range full of emotions. The last sliver of hope gushed out and the last thing he saw was Bones' wicked grin as he stepped closer.

ding

Level up!

Congratulations! Your class Bonemancer Adept had leveled up!

Golem Mastery had leveled up!

"It's been a while. And it was about time I leveled up! Hm…"

Skully could use a gear upgrade.

As ordered, Skully took the scout's gear off and lifted the man, placing him over his shoulder. Bones summoned a shovel, handed it to Skully, and sent him in a direction around fifty meters away. The golem obliged and when he was far enough, he dropped the scout on the ground and dug up a shallow grave, then tossed the body inside and covered the hole back with dirt and leaves.

When he returned, Bones had him change equipment and follow him into the forest. Scouts equipment wasn't a good fit but it was still of better quality than what Skully wore and would provide better defense while still providing enough mobility.

The forest had a thick growth of trees but a flat forest floor full of leaves, branches, bark and stems, Bones didn't particularly like. There was nothing to hide in if the situation called for it. Nevertheless, Bones headed in an estimated direction he heard the scout previously engaged in battle, wanting to see who the other party was and see if there was anything useful to take. He didn't search long until he found two bodies laying on the ground. One was pierced through the throat from behind and the other had a nasty gash across his stomach and insides showing.

Bones presumed them to be rogues by equipment they wore and daggers dropped next to their bodies. It seemed the scout I killed didn't bother hiding the bodies. Understandable considering he was in an enemy territory and was quick to leave.

Bones picked up and stored two pairs of daggers and took the hooded scarf of two bodies. A new head piece would provide more cover than his current one and leave only eyes visible, or empty sockets where his eyes would've been. Bones observed the area but didn't see anything "out-of-place". He didn't know what he expected to find. Just thought there would be a reason the scout engaged in a fight instead of doing his job, scouting.

"Common Skully, there's nothing else to see here." Bones addressed the golem that stood idly by and turned to leave. Before climbing up his hiding place, he unsummoned his golem, leaving the core to recharge in his inventory while taking out a set of small bones he planned to continue practicing his shaping skill on.

Not much happened during the day with most fighting done at the fortress. That changed in the evening as the night began to fall. Bones sensed movements in the forest and in his surroundings. There were dozens of figures moving through the wetlands. Night raid?

The figures stopped just meters away from him. Bones remained motionless and watched as the leading figure surveyed the area.

"Vogel, what is it?" One of the men asked. The leading figure Vogel looked around, uncertain until he replied he thought he sensed someone in proximity.

"Perhaps the nerves are getting the better of me…"

"We're all a little on edge. Come, we can't be late." The other figure said and a whole group moved on.

Second tier silver rankers? They're heading in the direction of the camp…

Bones faced a dilemma on what to do. He could stay and wait, see what happens or follow the group from behind. He could try and alert the camp but dismissed the idea immediately. He didn't feel attached to the Wezar Kingdom nor felt the duty to defend it. For all he cared, they were all just a number. An experience he needed to level up. So he took on a stay-and-wait approach until something happened.

The group of assailants circled the camp and swiftly dealt with patrols while a heavy armored unit slowly approached from the direction of the forest. When they reached the camp and everyone was in position, the night raid began.

Around midnight, Bones noticed the night lit up above the tree line and smoke coming from the direction of the camp. It seems they really raided the whole camp. This could be an opportunity to both observe the battle up close and test my prowess after the racial transformation!

Bones made a decision and climbed down the tree. He wasn't very far from the camp. An hour of running at leisure pace. As he was nearing the camp, he saw flickering lights in the distance obstructed by numerous trunks of the trees. When he got closer, the brightness grew in intensity and once he was out of the forest, he saw camp set ablaze and fighting ongoing in full swing.

Bones kept low and slowly approached. He sneaked along the fence of the camp, trying to get a sense of the battle. The Aphitonians were greatly outnumbered but had higher levels on their side. Bones sensed a great amount of power concentrated around the main tent. Gold rankers were involved in a night raid. Bones wondered why such a brazen attack all of a sudden. What the commanding officer Stelan said, there hasn't been an attack of this magnitude in months.

What changed? Wait…I see. An attack on the capital must've reached the ears on the other side by now. The soldiers in the camp were already on edge and distressed when we, the prisoners, came. The camp is as good as gone unless those gold rankers at the fortress don't come to aid.

The fortress was also under attack and gold rankers from the north camp had their hands full. The timing of the night attack was well planned. Some of the gold rankers have quietly returned to the capital day earlier upon hearing news of the attack and have yet to return to the frontlines. With Aphitonians pushing and the other side losing ground, third tier gold rankers got involved.

The ferocity in a clash between the two great powers could be felt all the way to the south camp and made everyone turn their attention in the direction of the fortress. Bones used that brief moment of distraction to slip in-between the loose wooden fence and run a lance through the nearest distracted soldier.

He looked satisfied at the sheer power behind an imbued Bone Lance. It took no effort to summon one and he never felt so in tune with it before. A lance felt like an extension of his hand, effortless to use to its full potential. He didn't summon Skully this time as his targets were above level forty.

The man he just pierced was level forty-three, incapacitated but still alive. Bones was astonished at the amount of vitality the man had. Without any more time to waste, he ran a lance through the man's head and moved on in search of another opportunity. Bones sneaked around, doing his best to go unseen. He spotted bodies of some of the prisoners.

Tough luck. They had no chance of surviving the raid.

Bones used burning tents and fire as a cover while he sneaked around, but it was impossible to go completely unnoticed. The enemy fought mostly in close combat and like a berserker on a killing spree, one of them noticed the shadow behind a burning tent and rushed his way. Bones sensed the man approaching and thought to get a jump on him but was caught off guard when the sudden attack came through the tent, ripping it in half.

He stepped back, narrowly avoiding a cross slash cutting him in half. The man jumped through the large gash made by the previous attack and landed in front of him, holding a one-handed axe in each hand. He turned to Bones. There was a wild look in his eyes and he was about to rush at Bones again but a hastily raised Bone Spikes pinned him in place.

Bones raised a hand in preparation to cast Bone Lance, wanting to finish off his target quickly and took cover as he was now in the open. Just when he was about to cast the spell, a powerful arrow deflected his hand, almost taking it off in the process and interrupting his spellcasting. Bones glanced in the direction the arrow came from but couldn't spot nor sense his attacker. There were many people engaged in combat. No one in close proximity and not a single archer among them from what Bones could tell.

Meaning the attacker was most likely outside a camp. The arrow was powerful. I didn't even sense it com-

Bones barely managed to react to an arrow entering the range of his senses and flying straight at his head. He ducked, then rolled away. Avoiding an arrow and then a horizontal slash of an axe right after. The dual wielder forcefully broke free of spikes impairing him and continued the assault. As much as Bones liked the idea of testing his limits against two opponents, common sense prevailed and he made a run for it. The dual wielding axe-man chasing right after him.

Bones maneuvered around the tents, playing hide and seek with his pursuer but knew he had to either escape, or end their little game as soon as possible. His attacker, while wounded, was faster and physically much stronger. Bones made use of every opportunity to cast Bone Lance but his opponent had experience fighting mages.

This can't go on for long. I can't escape! Bones took a risk and created an opportunity for himself.

With Quick Steps he managed to put enough distance between him and his pursuer to abruptly turn around and send a barrage of spells against his opponent, emptying his mana pool in one go. Finally, he succeeded in gaining the upper hand but it was too little too late.

Most of his spell attacks, although powerful and fast, were blocked and parried by his opponent's quick reflexes. The man expected for Bones to aim at his vitals and Bones didn't disappoint. The few that hit did bring his target close to the death but their game of chase garnered the attention of others and he found himself surrounded.

The enemy was closing in on him and without a second thought, Bones summoned a skull in his hand and smashed it to the ground. The skull exploded in a cloud of smoke, reducing the already low visibility and obscuring the sight of him.

The home-made bomb spread fast and in large radius, and affected Bones' attackers. Soon, they were struggling, coughing for air. The skeleton in question quietly slipped away and climbed over the fence, where he continued sneaking, circling the camp.

That was close! The camp is lost. I doubt a few gold rankers left fighting could overpower a dozen second tier silver rankers. It's strange though. The Aphitonians in the camp are all soldiers. At least they look like soldiers. Where are the adventurers?

Bones looked down at his tattered robe and exhaled. After a moment of consideration, he sneaked away from the camp and found a remote spot at the edge of the forest a hundred meters away, overlooking the camp.

He saw his bomb was effective against silver rankers. The men wobbled, coughed, convulsed and keeled over. A sudden influx of experience took him by surprise. Someone actually died? The one I made full of holes was just about to die. Was it him? It was probably him.

Bones was correct. The only soldier that died was precisely the one he engaged in combat. Already struggling to breath with one of Bones' lances penetrating his lungs, the man suffocated after inhaling a good dose of poisonous substance.

The bomb Bones made, while strong and effective, shouldn't have that great of an impact on someone close to second tier, let alone a second tier rankers. These men were in the midst of battle, pumped full of adrenaline while their bodies were taking a toll. The poisonous substance had a greater impact than what it should've had, resulting in one death and many soldiers debilitated.

Argh what an opportunity…such a shame. Bones thought with so many soldiers incapacitated, it wouldn't be hard for someone to take them out, but the Aphitonians already did everything but secured the victory over the south camp. Bones couldn't see everything clearly but he counted three gold rankers fighting. One on the Wezar's side. It was only a matter of time now.

The aid wouldn't come in time. The north camp was busy with the fortress under attack and very few soldiers managed to get out of enemy encirclement of the south camp and alert the main camp. By the time the main army mobilizes troops, the battle for the south camp would be over.

As if things couldn't get worse, Bones sensed a group of people coming out the direction of the forest, not far from his location. The newcomers had a dangerous feeling about them and while Bones was poking with his senses, one of the group members turned and looked directly in his direction.

He noticed? Bones wondered. The man seemed to be looking directly at Bones' hiding spot. After a few seconds, he ignored him and looked away, and focused on the gold ranker still putting up a fight. The newcomers were a group of adventurers of higher caliber than the ones Bones saw fighting earlier that day. After their involvement, the fighting stopped and Aphitonians celebrated their victory with a battle cheer.

Bones didn't stick around but turned and disappeared in the forest, heading toward the clearing and putting distance between him and the camp. The clearing was roughly six kilometers away from the camp. There was no one there around this time, just him and the silence of the night. He sat down in the grass up to his knees, looked in the direction of the camp and waited.

There's no way the night raid will end with just this…