Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
It was just as Rhode had predicted.
Michael jumped out of his seat after the terror-stricken adjutant explained the truth about the invaders. Even though the senior had made certain guesses about the invaders’ identity, he found the answer hard to accept.
Demon. Necromancer.
Either one of them could cause a huge headache. What were they trying to do now that both of them had joined hands and appeared by the Grosso’s borders? This question wasn’t that important anymore because they only had one objective against them.
And that was to destroy and exterminate.
This was an insanely difficult problem for Michael.
If the invaders were ordinary military troops, he could defend this important Stronghold and call for reinforcements to strengthen the defenses and protect the granaries. However, he couldn’t do it in this situation because the Necromancer would most likely murder everyone around the border area to replenish his powers. This was the most frightening part of the Necromancer. Death wasn’t the end for them—it was just the start instead. If Michael allowed the Necromancer to wreak havoc, perhaps he might need to face an Undead Army with up to a thousand creatures.
There was no value in defending this Stronghold anymore. Moreover, Michael was a General who cared for the civilians with his heart and he wouldn’t tolerate leaving them to suffer on their own. But… the biggest problem now wasn’t the lack of manpower.
Unlike the bunch of useless, pampered humans of the Country of Light, the people of the Munn Kingdom more or less came into contact with the Undead Creatures before. It wasn’t only the Battle Angel Army that tried to stop the invasion of the Undead Creatures. As one of the Generals of the Southern Legion, Michael knew certain ways to deal with Undead Creatures too. One of the most straightforward methods was the human wave attack. The number of corpses that a Necromancer could manipulate on the battlefield was limited. If a Necromancer led 2000 Undead Soldiers, 20000 humans would be required to swarm the Undead Soldiers entirely. Even though the Necromancer could keep awakening Undead Creatures, he would still lose after he exceeded his limits. This was the simplest and most direct method and right now, Michael didn’t have enough soldiers on hand to execute this mission. According to his adjutant, the Necromancer devoured seven patrol teams and he had lost nearly 200 soldiers who turned into Undead Creatures. He had about 700 soldiers left and it was looking bleak
Moreover, there was still a Demon around…
Michael bit his lips and leaned back on his chair, pale-faced. He grabbed the feather pen and wrote on a plain sheet of paper hurriedly. After a short while, he sealed the paper in a letter with a wax seal before letting out a long sigh. His ring clinked against the small clock and a soldier scampered into the room. “Sir.”
“Deliver this letter to the Southern Port immediately and convey my orders to get into a state of emergency. Cancel all the leaves and everyone will rotate in patrol. Warn the civilians to not leave the village and get them to report anything strange that they discover. Understand?”
“Yes!” The soldier picked up the letter, saluted solemnly, and left quickly. Michael leaned back with closed eyes. A hint of helplessness and exhaustion emerged on his aged face.
“I hope… my decision is right,” the senior mumbled under his breath.
“It seems that your plan hasn’t achieved the intended purpose, Master.” Celestina scanned the village in a distance with knitted brows. She had waited half a day but she hadn’t heard of the rumored troops. Even though she was dissatisfied, she was still in a great mood and she didn’t seize this chance to mock Rhode.
“This is normal. That old man has always been soft-hearted and it is to be expected that he will put defending the nation before the civilians as a soldier.”
“Defend the nation?” Celestina snorted disdainfully. “I do want to know which country is he exactly defending… But, forget it. Double-crossing is the nature of humans and I’m not surprised at all that such a timid and despicable race would do something so shameless for the sake of living… So then, Master, what are your next plans? It seems that they won’t be sending any more patrol teams over.”
“This is very normal, Celestina.” Rhode sat on a boulder while gazing at the scenery before him. Countless cards were revolving repeatedly above his palm — Rhode had extracted and awakened another 90 Undead Fighters from the latest battle. There were about 150 cards in the ‘Sub Card’ in his hand and it was a few times more than he had possessed.
It went to show how terrifying the [Hell Lord] talent tree could be in terms of the human wave attack.
However, the total attack of these ‘Sub Cards’ wouldn’t even match Celia…
This also went to show how useless the [Hell Lord] talent tree was in a specific aspect.
“Just as you’ve said. Humans are creatures who lack foresight and most of them see what’s just in front of them and never the future. Yes, this is very normal. We don’t have the longevity of Elves and Angels and a hundred years of life is more than enough for us. It isn’t strange that we can’t project our wisdom to a hundred years later like all the astronomers in the world making solemn vows that there will be a meteorite that will destroy Earth 150 years later… I believe that even if humans hear such a news, they will not panic or fluster. After all, they will be dead by then.” Rhode spread his arms apart. “It’s the same for these people. I think that they haven’t experienced the pain of losing someone important to them and this is why I don’t mind teaching them a lesson. One will only learn to treasure after losing one’s precious. It seems that the civilians living under Royal Highness Lydia’s protection don’t seem to think that they’re receiving any benefits from her. So then… I don’t mind letting them taste pain and disparity after losing everything they have.”
Rhode flipped his wrist around like a pair of magician’s hand and the summoning cards vanished abruptly. “Since they’re not coming, then we shall go over… Celestina, are you ready?”
“I’m always ready, Master.”
Nightfall.
Some villagers returned home with satisfied smiles and sweat trickling down their cheeks while others spent the rest of the night in bars to let out all their fatigue and exhaustion. This should have been the daily life of a small town but the atmosphere was heavy and tense today. The villagers returned home with frightful expressions and locked their doors immediately and even the guests in the bars peered around in fear.
As the saying goes, good things don’t leave the house while bad things pass thousands of miles.
Rhode went easy on the soldiers purposely and some of the soldiers that escaped had spread the truth around the borders… Oh my goodness. There was a Necromancer!?
Everyone was horror-struck as soon as they heard this statement. Although they were wary of the dangers lurking around them when the militia patrol teams disappeared, the terrifying truth was much more than they could handle!
Necromancer! Demon!
“Damn it…” A soldier gripped his pike and trembled with pale complexion by the crude, large door. Although it was late in the night and the cooling breeze had dispersed the roasting heat of autumn days, he couldn’t stop shaking as though he were in his own winter season. “Why must I be on night watch? It’s not fair!”
“Alright, chill, kid.” Another soldier leaning on the door grumbled as he poured shoddy liquor into his mouth directly. “You’re a grown up. What’s there to fear? Relax, it’s just night duty. Haven’t you done this before?”
“B-But this isn’t the same!” The young militia retorted subconsciously, but he quickly lowered his voice and scanned the surrounding nervously as though he was afraid that he had woken up some evil beasts in the dark.
“Haven’t you heard of it? The militias and soldiers from before were killed by a Necromancer! Aren’t you worried at all? Those Necromancers are creatures that devour humans entirely. W-What if the Necromancer finds trouble with us? I heard that no reinforcements are coming to assist us. Damn it, what are the military soldiers doing? Shouldn’t they be the ones protecting us at this point in time? Are they waiting for us to be killed by those terrifying monsters before they’re willing to come?”
“Alright, cut it out, you nagger.” The senior soldier glared at the concerned newbie. “Isn’t it just a Necromancer? What’s there to be afraid of? I’ve seen real Undead Creatures when I was young and what about it? That worthless crap seemed scary but they didn’t dare move an inch before an Angel. Heh, if the Necromancer were here, he would escape like a naughty boy after seeing our Angel.”
“But… We don’t have the Angels’ help anymore…”
“…” The senior militia poured the last few drops of liquor into his mouth and stood straight up abruptly before tossing the steel liquor pot on the ground. “Tch. Those damn nobles should’ve burned in hell for betraying Royal Highness… This is their retribution! Damn it! I curse their entire family and ancestors that they won’t die in peace!” He gasped for a mouthful of air before looking at the newbie with exhausted eyes. “Alright kid, cut the crap. Stop thinking about useless stuff and do your job properly. It’ll be fine once morning arrives… That’s right, it’ll be fine once morning…” The young man gazed at the older man’s eyes.
I see. He is equally afraid…
“What are you looking at?!” Perhaps sensing that the newbie had seen through his true feelings, he frowned and waved his arm. “Turn around and look there. Stay focused… If we’re lucky… Hmm? What’s that sound?”
He turned around curiously like a hunting dog peeking at the dense, dark forest. The bright, beaming moon had been covered by thick clouds entirely and even the fascinating radiance in the horizon that represented the Light Dragon Soul had dimmed massively.
“Sound?” The newbie turned around hurriedly but no matter how he scanned, he couldn’t see anything clearly. The place was in utter silence and suddenly, both of them heard a faint voice. As though the sound of waves slamming into a shore. But… there wasn’t an ocean nearby.
Swish… Swish… Swish…
The sound was getting clearer and louder by the seconds. The two men felt shivers down their spines and their jaws couldn’t stop biting. The sixth sense in humans that had deteriorated became so sensitive in the face of danger. Although they couldn’t see through the dense, gathering darkness, they seemed to sense that something was approaching them.
Swish… Swish… Swish…
Dark figures finally emerged.
“Oh… My… God…”
A sea of Undead Army presented before them and they were stricken into silence. They clasped their weapons but they didn’t know what else they could do.
Y-Yes, w-we should alert the villagers that the terrifying Undead Creatures are here!
Although this thought lingered in their heads non-stop, their bodies had as though lost their strength to move. No matter how hard they tried, their bodies felt like a puddle of mud.
Move! Move!
They bellowed at their incapable bodies, but their legs wouldn’t budge at all! The horrifying Undead Army had arrived before their faces before they even realized. They witnessed the faint spiritual flames burning in the Skeletal Warrior’s eye sockets and the shabby weapons in their bony hands.
“Ahhhh!”
Perhaps because the newbie’s fears were at its peak, he screamed at the top of his lungs, threw his pike, and darted away. Meanwhile, the older soldier bolted for the sentry post and struck the alarm bell with all his might.
Clang… Clang…
The loud clinking of the bell resounded in the entire town and broke the dead silence. At this moment, two thorny whips launched from within the Undead Army and wrapped the two and dragged them back in the blink of an eye! And the bell ringing came to a sudden end!
“Help, help me. I don’t wanna die…”
The young man rolled about on the ground while wailing pitifully with mucus and tears flowing down his face. He clawed his hands into the ground helplessly and the thorny whip slithered around his neck like a viper and suspended him in midair. The sharp thorns pierced into his neck and he struggled frantically. However, he was powerless. His eyes relaxed and his mouth widened like a fish that swam to shore, sticking out its tongue to feel the presence of air. But…
Bam! The thorny whip slammed the young man into the ground. He gazed, half-conscious, at the older soldier whose body had been twisted and severed before him. “Waaaaa!”
Celestina trembled in excitement and her flawless white cheeks were smeared with a faint flush as though she had drunk an intoxicating fine liquor. “Ah… What a splendid lament. The purpose of your life is to provide me this unprecedented happiness. Nothing makes me happier than this…” Celestina opened her eyes and chuckled cutely before lashing her whip once more. “Servants, attack! Death, blood, and laments shall be the star of this beautiful night!”
