Workhorse

One tense hour dragged on in silence as the skeleton, now properly dressed, stealthily moved among the dozens of tents, assaulting the soldiers who slumbered in induced deep sleep.

Alm and Bruno, after ensuring no one else was awake nearby, dedicated more time to examining the bloodline of these soldiers.

At first glance, the bodies of these soldiers seemed different from conventional humans. However, upon closer inspection, they revealed remarkable characteristics. The men displayed dense and robust muscles, while the women possessed fine features but with an exotic beauty that set them apart. It was a race that seemed to share similarities with humans but also exhibited vaguely reminiscent traits of elves, dwarves, and other humanoid races. This blend of features made them quite unique and, at the same time, strangely familiar. The complexity of this race only deepened the mystery.

In their meridians, there were bloodline runes, vibrant in color, seemingly slowly absorbing the natural Qi of the environment passively, as if they were breathing and absorbing this life energy. The soldiers' bodies filled with life through this constant absorption. Alm quickly concluded that even if they only ate and slept, these beings would naturally cultivate themselves. This race revealed impressive potential, where individuals with very high cultivations should easily emerge.

The soldiers they observed were only in the early stages of the Foundation Establishment Realm, ranging from stage 1 to 3, and were assigned as front-line scouts, tasked with monitoring enemy movements.

However, the characteristics of this race indicated the existence of even more formidable beings. Even the presence of cultivators superior to their clan's patriarch seemed very likely. The main attack battalion was a short distance away, making the situation much more complex than Bruno and Alm had anticipated. The unpredictability of this unknown world was beginning to unfold before them.

'According to the leather scrolls of the soldiers, there are two more battlefronts besides this one. This race has been waging a war for several years against users of dark techniques. Despite their power, this quickly turned into a war of attrition thanks to the infinite army of undead they generated,' Bruno calmly analyzed the situation.

'Really, everything here is so strange. The soldiers have only rudimentary weapons made of wood and mystical minerals. It seems like they haven't developed the knowledge of metal manipulation. Even their clothes are made from beast leather as if we're in a distant past,' Alm added.

'And the dense Qi around doesn't match the Ascendant world we were in. We're in a higher world. Such a powerful race couldn't live isolated from the Divine worlds. The system brought us to a distant planet from where we were,' Alm concluded.

Bruno pondered, 'I don't feel any connection to that fat body. Cutting the connection would mean the death of the body. Did the system kill us? It doesn't make sense...'

'We need to know where we are and what we've gotten ourselves into. Acting in the dark carries many fatal risks since we're just a fragile skeleton,' Alm continued, while an eerie glow emanated from the skeleton's two eye sockets, seeming to absorb all the light from the night moon.

At a considerable distance from where they were, the soldiers who were observing the movement within the black mist felt their meridians petrify, and cold sweat run down their bodies. It all lasted only two seconds, and the sensation disappeared as quickly as it appeared. They couldn't identify what it was or from which direction it had come, but a sinister premonition welled up within them. But when they looked in the direction of the enemy, everything seemed to be the same, with no apparent change.

Around Bruno and Alm, a dense black aura flickered like a candle flame in the wind. After a few seconds, the aura began to fade, and a slight tremor ran through those white bones.

Initially, they had only intended to examine their surroundings and lightly sense the laws around them, but they quickly noticed strange peculiarities and, without any hesitation, they used all available resources to investigate further. The laws of this new environment were an intriguing enigma that irresistibly drew them in.

'This... what the hell is this?' Alm thought.

'Yes, there's no doubt. This is a different universe! The laws of this entire universe are completely different from our universe and also from the queen's main universe,' Bruno said. 

'All the laws here are primitive and, at the same time, simple. This is probably a young universe with few races and developed elements. Not that I have seen one before, of course. Nonetheless, it's no wonder this race seems extremely strong; they might be the primitive version of all humanoid races.'

'As the eras passed, bloodline runes split, and other races were born, but their capabilities diminished. We've read some ancient and fantastical legends about this. It's amazing to know that there are still new universes out there,' Bruno commented, equally surprised.

'Even with our previous power, we couldn't leave our universe. Now, this stupid system has taken us to another universe as if it was nothing...' Alm replied.

'The queen is interfering even in young universes. Well... this primitive race is something that's really worth the effort,' Bruno said, taking a deep breath, or so he tried... 'Oh, right... no lungs...'

Alm ignored Bruno's useless remark as he spoke. 'Restore the natural balance between Life and Death, it's clearer now. The necromancer was clearly under the queen's control, and this race must represent that 'Life.' It seems we've become Heaven's Will's workhorse,' Alm said sharply.

'The Heaven's Will must only want things to follow their natural course, while the queen must want to control this race... no, if there are young universes, she must have already gained dominion over some primitive races,'

'The queen's army and power must exceed anything we can imagine. Without the help of Heaven's Will, it will be impossible to do anything against her...' Bruno pondered.

'All the Qi we had was used to understand the laws. If we want to resolve this issue quickly, maybe we'll have to use some more... questionable tactics,' Alm commented, emanating a sinister feeling.

'One of the rewards will be determined by our performance. Maybe just making one side win the war isn't the only solution,' Bruno thought.

Alm didn't seem to mind. 'Why bother with all this bullshit? There is a very simple solution to it all that should give us the best performance ever!'

Bruno obviously got curious. 'Really?! What is it?'

'Restore the balance between Life and Death, right?' Alm asked before continuing. 'The unbalance is happening because of this war between the two sides. In that case, let's just kill everyone! There! Problem solved! Hahahaha! I'm a genius!'