The bones scattered across the ground, straw, and broken wood suddenly had a hand bone jump up with a "crack." Immediately, the hand bone quickly started searching for bones and assembling the body. The proficiency showed it wasn't the first time; it was very professional. In the blink of an eye, it was completed.
*This is probably a skill mastered only by a Lich who has been hunted for years.*
As he stood up, Gray casually picked up the barely breathing Black Cat.
"You... Can you not take me along next time you fly? You're dead, but I'm not..."
From the distance, the sound of hooves and clamorous voices could be heard. Gray hurriedly darted into a nearby window with the Black Cat.
"Where did he go?"
"Search! Quickly search! We must find him at all costs!"
Soon, a large group arrived, brandishing torches and starting to search everywhere.
"Run away... they'll soon search here," the Black Cat said intermittently.
"No worries, I'll fly again if they come. They can't catch me," Gray said while he reassembled a misplaced rib, twisting it twice to see if it was comfortable.
"Do you really want me dead?"
"Don't be afraid, death isn't as scary as you think. Plus, haven't you already died once?"
Seeing Gray's serious attitude, the Black Cat rolled its eyes, almost fainting.
*The brain circuits of a Lich are indeed different from those of normal people.*
To survive, the Black Cat had to say in a choked, intermittently voice to Gray, "Go north for two storefronts, there's a blacksmith shop... go steal a set of armor."
"Steal armor?"
"Don't you want to be a knight?"
"Oh right, I just decided to be a knight."
"Suddenly, I find a Lich being a knight quite entertaining..."
"Really?"
"Yes, really, I sincerely think you're suitable to be a knight. Trust me," the Black Cat stretched out its paw, weakly grasping Gray's gray robe.
Taking action immediately, Gray darted out when the searchers on the street weren't paying attention, quickly hiding in the shadows as he slipped into the alley. Then he climbed through the window into the blacksmith's shop mentioned by the Black Cat.
...
"Miss Yilin." The Bearded Knight brought a thin man dressed as an infantryman to Yilin, saluting, "His master hopes we can join the siege."
"Isn't he afraid we'll steal his glory?"
"That Lich used magic and doesn't seem weak. So, they think they need our help and promise to mention us when reporting to the church."
Yilin's gaze turned towards the thin soldier. The thin soldier quickly removed his helmet, saluted, and smiled awkwardly.
"But we don't need the church's commendation," Yilin replied straightforwardly.
This left the thin soldier dumbfounded, staring wide-eyed at Yilin.
*Not competing for the credit of capturing the Lich is one thing, but not needing the church's commendation? What kind of people are they?*
The Little Mustache middle-aged man standing beside them discreetly signaled Yilin.
After quietly studying the soldier for a moment, probably feeling that she was going too far in the church's largest land, Yilin changed her tone and said, "Huoersi, see who's willing, take a few people to help them. Abi Robbs, you're in charge of the forces while Huoersi is away."
"Yes!" Bearded Knight Huoersi heavily hammered his chest armor.
"Yes!" The tall, thin Abi Robbs also saluted respectfully.
...
Gray, wearing a suit of armor, climbed out of the blacksmith shop window with the barely breathing Black Cat still in hand.
"Are you trying to tell everyone you're a Lich? Don't you realize the armor doesn't fit?"
Gray glanced at the two soldiers searching in the alley across the street, then looked at himself, sneaking around to the back of the house and began to fiddle.
He stuffed straw into his armor, broke his leg bones and replaced the middle with wood, finally padding a few stones on his spine.
"Won't you fall apart easily like this?" the Black Cat lay weakly nearby and asked.
"Yes, but I can reinforce it with magic."
When all was done, Gray's height had increased from 1.4 meters to 1.8 meters. He moved slightly and found it fairly comfortable.
"What's next? Right, weapons!" Gray touched his waist for his sword, "They seem to have spears and bows."
"A knight doesn't necessarily need a bow, as for a spear... do you plan to run around carrying that huge thing?"
"What else? Right, "Knight Career Guide" and a horse!"
"There's a bookstore on the west side..."
"Okay, let's go now!" Removing his helmet along with his head bone, Gray shoved the Black Cat into his body.
"Ow! Are you trying to suffocate me...?"
The Black Cat nearly cried. This journey has been full of constant trouble. It wasn't sure if it could survive the night.
With no choice, Gray exposed the cat's head, put his head bone back on, and donned the helmet again. Thus, the head bone and cat head squeezed inside the helmet, a bit crowded...
...
The red moon, shadow-covered cobblestone streets, soldiers and residents passing by carrying torches. Many residents leaned out from second-floor balconies and windows to watch.
Gray stiffly walked down the street, feeling as though everyone around was staring at him, causing a tingling sensation on his scalp. If he had a scalp.
"Your movements are too unnatural, can't you walk properly?" squeezed inside Gray's helmet, the Black Cat's eyelids started drooping. If not for the constant commotion, it might have fainted.
Meanwhile, Gray remained constantly worried, looking around as he walked.
"I-I don't want this either. Suddenly growing forty centimeters taller and wearing such heavy armor -! Not very used to it..."
Before he finished speaking, Gray fell with a "thud."
Now, everyone around truly looked at him.
Gray gloomily climbed up and continued forward.
"What's wrong with this knight?"
"Did you notice he walks with the same hand and foot?"
"How can such a clumsy person be a knight?"
People around whispered.
Gray's psychological pressure grew heavier.
"What if they find out?"
"They might..."
"Then what should I do?"
"Move quickly, leave here. What else can you do?"
Unable to endure it, Gray decided to run. He sprinted until he reached the bookstore, kicking the door open and rushing inside without a second thought.
The discussion behind intensified.
"Where's the book!"
"How would I know? Find it yourself..."
After glancing around, Gray quickly found the "Knight Career Guide" he needed and stuffed it into his armor.
"What next!"
"The horse... Can you ride a horse?"
"Ride a horse? No!"
"Then you better not, you tripped just walking, riding will surely make you fall apart."
"Does a knight have to have a horse?"
"Must have."
"What should I do?"
"How would I know? I'm just a ghost..."
Gray suddenly remembered something, quickly rushing out of the store.
...
Throughout the town, torch-bearing searchers were everywhere. Not just the knights chasing Gray, but even local residents had been mobilized.
"You! Who allowed you to rest! Get up and search!" The Silver-armored Knight stood on the cobblestone street, cursing, "You useless lot! You can't even follow him! Why do we even need you idiots?"
"Sir... Those few aren't our people. They're town guards..."
"Not our people?" The Silver-armored Knight sweated profusely, stunned momentarily, looking back at the distance, murmuring, "Gotta find him quickly. Otherwise, when other knight squads arrive, the cooked duck will fly away. Did that... woman arrive?"
"She sent some people to help."
"Not many came, that's good. At least she won't steal. Help search, that's all."
...
Bearded Huoersi led his few subordinates, strolling leisurely on the main street.
...
Sneaking along the town's edge, Gray passed by many knights chasing him, then hurriedly returned to his "castle" whose foundation hadn't even been laid.
On the conspicuous clearing atop the hill beside the town, recently burned to the ground by the knights, leaving nothing but charred remains.
Thankfully, with nothing left, the knights had all left. No one wanted to stay in a place where the Lich wouldn't return. After all, glory awaited them, didn't it?
At the center, Gray began chanting, a strange blue flame appeared in his hand. As he moved, it gently rippled through the air.
Suddenly, the objects around began to tremble slightly.
Moments later, a Bone Horse clad in shabby full armor emerged from the ground, leaping up with a "neigh—!"
...
Moments later, a Bone Horse clad in shabby full armor emerged from the ground, leaping up with a "neigh—!"
"Who? Who awoke the great Tenidas (Tomato)!"
The majestic voice rang in the ears, the blue flame leaking from the broken armor, its aura stunned the Black Cat.
"Shh! Do you want to attract the pursuers?" Gray, frightened, forcibly pulled the Bone Horse down, the human skeleton and horse skeleton stared at each other.
"Pursuers?" the Bone Horse whispered.
"Yes, pursuers. You're now undead," the Lich answered softly.
The Bone Horse looked down at the exposed rib from its open chest armor. With a "clatter," its jaw fell off.