Once the two groups move out of my line of sight all I really need to do is sit back and wait. I am totally expecting the plan to go wrong at some point, nothing ever works out perfectly. That is why it is best to keep a plan simple, the more complex you make it the more that can go wrong.

With a simple plan and a simple set of goals even when something goes wrong it is easy to adapt or improvise and keep going in the same general direction. With these kids simple is best, they are so nervous that if the plan was complicated they would likely forget it in the heat of battle. I am probably not much better, I was never in the military or anything, in fact I never got into a real fight until I came to this world.

All my knowledge comes from books and movies, but I at least think things through and use common sense. That and fighting for survival from day one has changed my perspective, I have also learned from the mistakes I have made. Right as I think that I notice increased activity in the mining camp.

There are soldiers yelling and pointing at something, when I follow the direction I see a red pulse of light high in the sky. It looks like an emergency flare except it isn't falling, it must be the magical equivalent. It is off to the west so it must be Giles group, it has been long enough they should be on their second group.

Well, the soldiers being alerted isn't too big a deal, it just means they will move sooner than planned. Even now I can see them organizing and getting ready to send reinforcements. Since the others are busy it will be my job to intercept and kill the reinforcements.

"Brother raven, can you track down both groups and let them know I will be intercepting the reinforcements?"

Brother Raven says "Sure! Leave it to me."

"Thank you!"

As brother raven flies off I leave the ridge and mount Lizzy, we ride towards the road. I don't want to intercept them too close to the mine or they will just fall back, I will wait until they head towards the west and attack them from behind. Lizzy and I quickly take position on a hilltop where we can see the road to the mine.

About fifteen minutes later soldiers march up out of the mine and turn west, I count them as they pass. Five hundred, a bit more than I expected but manageable. Once they move a decent distance I ride Lizzy down and quickly catch up to them.

'Summon Bones!'

"Bones, those five hundred humans need to die."

Bones rushes in to start killing the soldiers, their screams quickly drown out his happy chattering. As the sounds of combat build Lizzy starts dancing beneath me, she is eager to join in. I draw Blitz then give Lizzy a single squeeze with my knees and she leaps towards the fight instantly.

Lizzy hits the soldiers like a hurricane, she tramples the first few and then bites the head off another. As she pushes through the soldiers I swing Blitz to either side cutting down any that she misses. Watching Lizzy I can't help but think she could probably handle all these soldiers on her own.

Bones has gained a level!

Bones has reached max level and is ready to evolve!

Do you wish to evolve Bones now? Y/N

'Yes!'

Please select the evolutionary path: Skeletal Knight or Skeletal Mage?

'Skeletal Knight!'

Skeletal Knight chosen, evolution beginning!

Looking back I see Bones has frozen in place and is glowing with a golden light. Luckily the armor is protecting him for the moment but I don't know how long the evolution might take. By squeezing with my left knee I let Lizzy know I want her to turn, we cut a circle through the soldiers and return to where Bones is.

While Lizzy and I slaughter the soldiers around Bones the rest pull away from us to regroup. Looking at them I would say only about half remain at this point, and they are looking terrified. I would guess the mine isn't a priority post so they are most likely green troops.

Not wanting to let them get organized I give Lizzy the signal and she happily charges back into them. As I am cutting down every soldier I can reach I see a bright red light suddenly appear above me. They must have set off another of those distress signals, I wonder if the commander of the mines will actually send more troops up to help.

Evolution is complete!

With a boom the golden light surrounding Bones shatters, when I see him he looks different. I can tell he has gotten taller but that is all I can put my finger on as he charges into the soldiers once again. From the way his first swing cuts two soldiers in half I can see he has gotten a lot stronger.

While Bones is cutting through the middle of them Lizzy and I tear through the edges over and over again. Lizzy moves through the soldiers like a scythe through wheat, none of them can stand before her for even a second. If she had room to move around I am not sure if I could even stand against her.

I have never seen any animal or creature who can move like she does, she has the explosive speed of a reptile but can keep it up for long periods. If her species is natural they would have to be a top predator, but since I haven't seen any others it makes me think they are created. If the ancient empire created them then Lizzy could very well be the last of her kind.

By the time I pull myself out of these thoughts there are no soldiers left standing, Lizzy has even chased down those that tried to run away. The heroes haven't shown up yet so not much time has passed while I was lost in thought. After looking around to make sure there are no soldiers left I dismount and stretch out all the kinks, staying on Lizzy at full speed is not an easy thing to do.

Bones says "Master!"

"What?! You can talk now?"

Bones says "Master!"

"Is that all you can say?"

Bones says "Master."

"Well, at least you can speak now, maybe as you grow you will gain more words."

Bones seems extremely pleased with himself, but I can't really blame him. Now that he has evolved his power has increased quite a bit, I have to wonder just how strong he can become. I am starting to wonder if between me, Bones, and Lizzy if I may not end up being the weakest one.

'Bones Status!'

Name: Bones

Class: Skeletal Knight

Level: 1

HP: 1070/1070

MP: 150/150

Strength: 52

Agility: 29

Endurance: 58

Intelligence: 12

Wisdom: 12

Charisma: 12

Toughness: 23

Skills: 8

Shield Basics Level: 4

Shield Bash Level: 3

Sword & Shield Level: 5

Sword Basics Level: 4

Axe Basics Level: 1

Blunt Basics Level: 1

Toughness Level: 1

Defense Level: 5