Goblin Dependency
Chapter 99 - 74 Palm Bone

Chapter 99: Chapter 74 Palm Bone

"Bang."

The thick leather boots, stained with mud, landed heavily.

The fragile skull burst instantly, like a ball of yarn soaked in dust, splattering countless tiny gray specks into the surrounding air.

Xia Nan casually flicked his wooden sword, which was no longer hot, and returned it to the sword sheath.

Compared to their eerie appearance, the combat strength of these dozens of skeletons was rather mediocre.

Some didn’t even require action; as they crawled out of the earth, they were missing half an arm or an entire leg.

They stumbled a few steps and never got up again after falling.

Xia Nan even felt he didn’t need his teammates.

With the wooden sword in hand and the endurance from a formidable Constitution, he could easily handle them alone.

The only regret was that the Tomb Guardian, whom he had cut the arm off, ran away after blowing the bone whistle.

He intended to chase after it, but Ingram stopped him, brimming with confidence as if he had planned it all along.

So, he stayed put, waiting.

The Half orc had already slung his lute over his back again and was now making strange gestures, tiptoeing toward a sparse shrub by the wooden house.

Probably praying and giving thanks to some deity of their Divine system.

Shifting his gaze back.

Xia Nan looked at the bone fragments scattered in front of him, feeling a headache coming on.

The potential danger level of the enemies somewhat dictated the potential rewards.

More so than those goblins wearing nothing but rags.

Or even worse.

Nearly thirty skeletons, and the only item worthy of the name "loot"

was a few pieces of equipment on a skeleton that seemed to be an "elite" adventurer.

The condition of the items was extremely poor.

Who knows how many years it had been buried in the ground; the leather armor on it was almost entirely rotten, even the lining inside.

The small round shield had holes like windows, letting you see the scenery on the other side; the rusty sword had more cracks than the wrinkles on the village elder’s face.

Probably not even the most generous general store mentioned by the adventurers would take them.

Suddenly, as if recalling something.

Xia Nan crouched down, prying open the tightly clenched left fingers of the elite skeleton with a dagger.

Frowning slightly.

The bone whistle thrown to the ground by the Tomb Guardian had completely fused into the skeleton’s palm.

It looked like a single piece of outwardly protruding, deformed, twisted bone.

Not a appealing sight.

Mulling over how to handle it.

A light, brisk footstep suddenly came to his ear.

Having just ended a battle, the Half orc seemed in a good mood.

Humming a tune as he approached.

He glanced at the bones beneath Xia Nan and said:

"You might as well keep it; this thing is quite rare."

"Just save that palm bone; you might be able to make a small fortune."

Xia Nan’s eyes lit up.

"How so?"

"I don’t really know how to explain it specifically." Alton straightened his somewhat messy hair under his soft hat, "It’s probably some kind of... uh, crystal? Lump? Tumor? of Negative Energy within undead creatures."

"Something like that. When you return to River Valley Town, both the Herbal Medicine Shop and the general store will buy it."

The Half orc took the lute from his back, pulling out a clean cloth from his pocket to carefully wipe the stains off the lute’s body.

"Given the size of this bone, the market price should be quite good. If you meet a buyer who desperately needs it, it’s normal for the price to multiply a few times."

"But..."

Mid-sentence, Alton suddenly raised his head, looking seriously at Xia Nan.

"I wouldn’t recommend holding onto it for too long, waiting to sell."

"Why?"

"Think about it, who would be in desperate need for something like this?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Nan glanced over at the glaring white skeletons in front of him, feeling a chill in his heart.

"I suggest you sell it sooner rather than later."

"Those people who deal with the Power of the Undead for long periods are often off in character, best to avoid them."

Xia Nan nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, the sheriff also walked over.

His eyes swept over the wooden sword on Xia Nan’s back, his handsome face breaking into a smile.

"Impressive skills, my friend."

"Not far from achieving Professional Level, right?"

Xia Nan raised an eyebrow, not directly responding.

Just glanced at the single-handed Edged Hammer swaying at the other’s waist with each movement, feigning curiosity.

"Aren’t you a professional? I thought you could only use Holy Light after taking a profession."

"Hahaha," Ingram laughed heartily, his demeanor relaxed, "Just a little short."

At that moment, the Half orc, busy wiping his lute nearby, suddenly chimed in out of nowhere.

"You’re not a Paladin, are you?"

Ingram’s face froze momentarily, then quickly recovered.

He waved it off with a smile and replied:

"Can’t tell you that, it’s related to the Church."

It seemed Alton only asked casually; seeing Ingram’s response, he lowered his head again to tune his lute strings.

"Ah! No! I’ll tell you everything!"

The atmosphere had seemed to freeze from the Half orc’s comment, yet a pitiful cry sounded faintly in the air.

Catching the sound, Xia Nan looked over.

Two guards, holding the previously escaped Tomb Guardian by his arms, were approaching.

He looked at the sheriff by his side.

"The graveyard has only two exits; you can only come through there." Ingram, noticing Xia Nan’s gaze, smiled as he spoke, "I had arranged for the guards to watch beforehand; he couldn’t escape."

The Tomb Guardian, looking drastically different from his previously dark and gloomy demeanor, now seemed like a different person.

His right arm, severed by Xia Nan, was roughly bandaged, with fresh blood occasionally seeping through onto the ground.

His dry, white hair, matted with sweat, stuck pathetically and disarrayed to his cheeks.

Almost as soon as the guards released their grip, he knelt onto the ground.

Wailing and pleading:

"My Lord, Ingram, please... spare me!"

"I’ve truly harmed no one. That book, that book, I only used corpses from the graveyard."

The frantic emotions caused the Tomb Guardian’s voice to tremble and his words to be disordered, making it difficult to understand what he was saying clearly.

Only picking up a few broken phrases, the sheriff frowned and asked:

"Book? What book?"

"Yes, yes! Not a book, but a gift from the merciful Lord to His most devout servant!"

The Tomb Guardian raised his head, his murky eyes staring directly at Ingram before him, a strange flush on his pale face.

Then, as if it were the most precious treasure in the world, he carefully drew a thin leather book of peculiar material from his chest.

Holding it with his only remaining hand, he offered it to the group.

Xia Nan stood at the side, catching only a glimpse of something in the corner of the book’s cover—

The symbol of a white human skull.