Chapter 87

Swoosh!

There are arrows flying around him and hitting tree trunks.

He would have a lot of trouble if one of those old arrows hit him; the arrows are worn and dirty, but they can still pierce the trunks.

Dio changed direction suddenly in midair as he crouched and jumped toward a trunk, kicking it and giving him a slight advantage over the army pursuing him.

Fortunately, the dense forest and lack of pattern created the largest wooden labyrinth, which helped him.

Swoosh!

They have lived here for thousands of years, so they know how to navigate this maze.

Therefore, Dio can't get rid of them even though he's running at his fastest speed.

'Do I need to get rid of the leader?'

Dio thought as he quickly glanced behind him.

He looked like a real zombie, with thin, gray skin and little flesh.

He wasn't wearing any armor—just a piece of animal leather around his waist—and he held an old, rusty iron sword.

He is definitely very different from the skeletons because of his far greater physical prowess and because of his intelligence.

It's clear that this zombie has at least a little bit of intelligence because he's pursuing him, even though skeletons have none.

Dio could turn around and use a spell to finish him off; without a leader, the skeletons would become chaotic and give him a chance to escape.

Unfortunately, Dio would have to stay away from the wave that is coming up behind him, which will surround him, to get away.

The chances are not good since he has been running for hours and his wound is still bleeding.

Swoosh!

This time, one of the arrows grazed the skull on the shoulder of his armor.

"Damn, archers!"

Dio shouted in frustration.

The archers are relatively useful compared to the other skeletons because they can aim very accurately.

They are shooting at him from the trees, which makes things even worse.

Tree climbing was another idea that didn't work.

That was one of the first things he did. He thought that being up there would make it easy to get away.

However, the skeletons can also climb.

There's also no hiding from the place.

Dio's wound was dripping blood, and he couldn't cover it or heal it without pausing for a short while—a period of time he didn't have.

In addition, Dio was saving as much energy as possible, and the day had been long, and he was really reaching his limit.

The endless chase through the forest went on for hours.

It was only then that Dio realized there was no escaping this, and even though he was injured, it was better to try to go all out.

He made some space between them with a burst of speed.

A bit farther away from them and with no archers shooting at him yet, he leaned against a trunk while holding his wound.

Dio looked at the approaching skeletons.

There was a lot of roughness in the area, which didn't help him. The wave moves forward without formation.

It will be a mess when Dio attacks from the front. He looked at the area and devised a plan to help him escape.

Dio straightened up again and drew his sword. The shield was not very useful in this forest; it would only delay his vision and movement.

Dio leaned his body forward and made a sprint with all the speed his tired body could summon.

The world slows down around him, but his attack isn't as surprising as it usually is because he has to avoid many things along the way.

But Dio reached his target; the zombie was in front of him.

The smell of his rotten flesh almost made me lose his attack, but he endured and aimed his sword in a thrust right in the center of his forehead.

It was quick, precise, and without hesitation.

But the zombie managed to deflect his attack while hitting his blade with his sword and then counterattacking to aim for his shoulder.

Dio stopped his strike and attacked again, trying to hit his neck, but he defended again.

They stand with their swords crossed while looking at each other. Dio clearly underestimated this zombie.

It was about to get a bit more serious when he saw a spear appear at his side. Dio jumped back to dodge, and the spear's blade grazed his armor.

The one holding the spear is one of the skeletons currently surrounding him.

"Hahaahahah!"

The zombie shouted while running towards him, holding his sword with both hands and raising it.

With Dio's sword to the side, he defended against his high attack by tilting his sword slightly while letting his blade slide down until it stopped at the pommel.

Dio punches him in the face with his free hand.

"BAAMM!"

He may be a good fighter, but Dio is much stronger than him.

Dio knocked him out with one punch and sent him flying backwards into a tree trunk, where he fell on his back.

Before he could get up, Dio moved to the spear-wielding skeleton, attacking him with a simple thrust.

Dio moved to the left and grabbed the spear's handle.

He then used his sword to cut the spear in half and hit the skeleton in the chest to break it into pieces.

Dio lifted the remaining part of the spear to shoulder height and threw it forward.

Dio missed his target, but at least the purpose of the attack was fulfilled.

The spear was supposed to hit the zombie's head, but it hit his shoulder and got stuck in the tree behind him, which stuck him.

Dio walked toward him to finish the fight, but his soldiers, sensing the danger to their leader, moved faster and formed a wall in front of him.

Dio teleported into them and spun his body three hundred and sixty degrees with his sword extended, cutting them all in half and making them fall to the ground.

Dio stood up and quickly moved to stand in front of the zombie, who raised his arm, trying to cut him.

Dio cut off his arm, and his weapon fell to the ground. Then he plunged his entire sword to its pommel into his skull.

Dio thought the zombie had a brain, which was his weakness—unlike the skeletons. He was correct—almost instantly after his strike, the blue light in his eyes disappeared.

"HAA!"

Dio screamed in pain and surprise while feeling something cut his leg.

Dio looked behind him, and a skeleton was raising its old sword again to attack him again.

Since Dio's sword was still stuck in the zombie's body, he attacked with his bare hands and fingers extended out.

He hit the skeleton in the neck, which sent its skull flying, and then kicked it in the ribs while also sending it flying away.

Then Dio looked around. A lot of skeletons carrying old swords and spears were coming toward me and surrounding him.

Look on the bright side of the situation; there are no archers in this part of the forest.

The underworld didn't disappoint him.

The archers also caught up and shot from above at him.

Dio moved his body left and right while easily dodging the arrows.

Finally, Dio took his shield off his back and slammed it into the ground with all his strength.

"DUMMMMMM!"

A wave of divine energy explodes from his shield and spreads around, hitting all of them.

It wasn't strong enough to destroy them, but it was enough to slow them down for a few seconds.

Then Dio did something stupid, turned his back to them, and went to his sword.

Dio put his shield back on his back and held its hilt sideways. Dio pulled it a bit from the zombie's body and the tree, but not entirely.

A Xiphos sword is only meant to be used with one hand because the hilt isn't big enough to hold both.

Dio didn't care about the pain; he just drew the sword across the tree and cut it.

"HAAAAAAAAA!"

Dio screamed in pain again; two arrows hit his shoulder and pierced his armor.

Dio doesn't care about my injuries because he knows the skeletons are coming to him in seconds.

He had to make another cut to get the tree to fall because his sword wasn't as long as the tree.

Dio stood behind the tree and gave it another horizontal cut with all his strength, and his sword easily cut through the wood.

However, the tree only falls a short distance before being grabbed by those in the area, and the skeletons are close by and have already stood up.

"Plan C!"

Dio shouted while trying to think of what Plan C would be.

He ran towards the group of skeletons and jumped over them while somersaulting.

"Επικαλούμαι το κρύο της θλίψης του ποταμού koʊˈkaɪtəs!"

(I Invoke the Cold of the River Cocytus's Wailing!)

Dio said as he fell to the ground and started running again.

Dio plunged his sword into the center of one of the trees, holding the one he had cut earlier.

A black mist surrounded the blade as it became fully buried in the tree. The ice started to spread from the blade, freezing a small part of the trunk.

Dio moved to the next tree and did the same thing all over again while dodging arrows.

This went on until more than ten trees around him were all in the same state.

...

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