Chapter 16: Got You

“Found you.”

Sven extinguished the flames, revealing all hiding creatures under the firelight. 

He spotted the figure hiding on the rooftop and was about to strike with lightning speed when suddenly another crossbow bolt shot from behind. 

His combat instincts kicked in, making him swing his sword to deflect the incoming arrow. 

It came from the corpse – its upper body hadn’t completely burned yet. Burning a body completely takes time, but strangely, only the left hand remained unburned. 

The clever bastard had stuffed snow into the left sleeve. The melting snow soaked through the woolen sweater, turning the entire left sleeve dark brown. 

Sven noticed the thick glove covering the crucial spot, hiding whatever trick was being played. 

Now he saw it clearly – another crossbow hidden beneath the sleeve. 

He stood still for a moment, realizing this was some kind of mechanism or trick. 

Professional warriors could perform all sorts of bizarre feats. Beyond common professions, some rare and unknown ones possessed unpredictable abilities. 

It wasn’t surprising someone could design such a trap. 

A double-layered trap – the first attack was a feint, the second the real killer move. 

Just when Sven thought he’d found his enemy, came this sneaky ambush from the shadows. 

The crossbow tip was probably coated with deadly poison too. 

What a cunning bastard. 

But this proved one thing conclusively: 

The coward didn’t dare face anyone head-on. 

Even against Sven’s underlings, he only attacked from shadows with arrows and backstabs. No courage, unworthy of being called a warrior. 

Look – he’s already fleeing. 

Failed his attack and now scurries away like a rat escaping a cat. 

Cowardly, timid, lacking both courage and strength, relying only on petty tricks. 

And this was the one who took out his chief oarsman? 

Sven’s rage burned hotter. 

He considered the pirate crew his property – every oarsman and crewmember belonged to him. 

Anyone damaging his property must pay the price! 

Sword raised, Sven charged forward violently. 

The fugitive’s path was illuminated by lingering flames – perfectly visible. 

If not for that second crossbow disrupting him, that weakling would already be dead by his blade. 

Like a wolf hunting prey, he unleashed his killing intent. 

Wade, mid-sprint, sensed it – the pirate leader was moving. 

So fast. 

Wade pushed himself to the limit, having gotten a head start too, yet the distance between them kept shrinking rapidly. 

He didn’t consider himself slow – running harder than ever since becoming a skeleton, not caring if his bones scattered from the effort. 

Lacking dozens of pounds that living humans carried, his lightweight frame combined with repaired cracks meant his strength matched any adult’s. 

Despite these advantages and his ten-second head start, controlling the pace remained impossible. 

Truly a professional warrior. The man could break world sprinting records. 

But regardless, Wade had to reach his destination – his entire plan depended on it. 

Darting between houses, he headed for the thatched shed. 

Mia’s glow became visible – a beacon guiding him. He leaped recklessly, tumbling into the shed just as Sven arrived. 

“Got you.” 

Sven raised his flaming sword, the fire extending into a blazing blade swinging downward. 

Flames licked Wade’s clothing harmlessly – he’d stuffed every crevice of his helmet and hoodie with compacted snow, even tying the garment tightly to prevent snow loss during running. 

The melting snow soaked his covering hoodie. 

Until complete evaporation, he wouldn’t burn. He knew this well. 

Just like waterproof paper won’t ignite while boiling water atop it, since water’s boiling point is lower than paper’s ignition point. 

The fire-melted snow saturated Wade’s covering hoodie. 

Though heating up, it couldn’t harm him. 

Living skin would scald, but Wade was a skeleton – making bone broth requires all-night boiling. This mild simmering did nothing. 

Seeing Wade roll unharmed through flames enraged Sven further. 

If fire failed, steel and brute force would talk. 

“Die!” 

His grip tightened, chopping down like splitting wood, veins bulging on corded muscles. 

This strike could cleave a man in half – even shatter boulders. He’d once crushed a fully armored knight, leaving both man and metal dented. 

Wade rolled like a rolling pin beneath the shed. 

He didn’t fully dodge – the blade smashed his ribs, feeling his right chest ribs crack apart. 

But it didn’t matter. His objective was achieved. 

The ground beneath both combatants suddenly collapsed. 

The strike’s overwhelming force shattered the clay-and-wood sealed layer unable to withstand it. Even the snow-blocking thatch roof crumbled. 

Both fell with a splash, dropping into water with wooden debris. 

The flaming sword naturally met cold water and was submerged. 

Hissing steam erupted as the five-meter-wide public reservoir became a steamer. Worse, the sword’s fire extinguished. 

Darkness reclaimed the world as light vanished. 

Wade shed his hoodie, swimming underwater. 

He’d had Mia locate this village reservoir earlier. Seeing no frozen streams nearby, he guessed a riverless village would have reservoirs or wells. 

This seemingly ordinary shed actually covered hollow ground – like a stone house’s roof over an underground reservoir below the permafrost. 

The shed originally housed sheep too – livestock body heat helped prevent water freezing. Villagers drew domestic water here in winter to save charcoal, storing rainwater in other seasons. 

Wade deliberately lured the pirate leader here, having learned the pool’s depth from Mia beforehand. 

Now the professional’s fire was out, trapped in a five-meter-deep pool, surrounded by darkness, unable to see Wade’s movements. 

In water, he couldn’t balance properly or find leverage for powerful strikes. 

Even a lion in water – how could it fight circling sharks? 

Though Wade’s right ribs were shattered and left arm missing, for a skeleton, only skull damage is truly fatal. 

He discerned the pirate’s flailing movements, circling him like a fish. 

He couldn’t move like a shark, but his swimming skills sufficed. 

Darkness was his domain. 

Needing neither light nor air, the pirate’s movements seemed full of openings. 

If only Wade could speak, he’d whisper eerily in the pirate’s ear: 

“Got you.”