Chapter 524: Struggles in the Forest

The adjutant froze to the spot and an unparalleled fear rose to his head. Although the soldiers received stricter military training than the militias, any normal living humans would still fear Undead Creatures.

The horrifying skeletons marched toward them with a bone-piercing aura of death. Even though there were only a dozen Undead Creatures before the soldiers, chills ran down their spines when they scanned the depths of the creepy forest—who knew how many were hidden in the forest?

“Retreat and get ready to evacuate! First column, fire!”

The adjutant commanded and backed off with his weapon slowly. He didn’t know the exact number of enemies hidden in the dark forest and there was even a Necromancer among them! To make matters worse, there was also a Demon hovering behind him—the pitiful adjutant was no longer concerned if they could win the battle anymore. The only thought he had in mind was to leave this absurd place and report this matter to General Michael. Although he wasn’t aware of where the Necromancer came from, he knew that he definitely wasn’t from around here. If the Grosso region had Necromancers, they would have been destroyed by the Battle Angel Army a long time ago.

Battle Angel Army…

The corners of the Adjutant’s mouth twitched. In fact, his first reaction was to evacuate immediately and seek assistance from the Battle Angel Army. However, he realized that the Battle Angel Army had withdrawn from the South due to the opposition…

Where exactly did it come from?

There were limited regions in the Munn Kingdom for Undead Creatures to roam about freely as most of the regions were under the watchful eyes of the Angels. The Undead Creatures could emerge in secluded areas around the Country of Darkness border areas at most and now that this Necromancer had appeared, could it be… The Country of Darkness has intentions to attack us?

The pathetic adjutant was drenched in sweat and had to report this matter to General Michael no matter what. If the Country of Darkness truly had intentions to lay their hands on the South, how could they resist their attack without the Angels’ protection?!

Those damn nobles only know how to scramble for power and profits. Wait until these Undead Creatures arrive at your doorsteps!

The archers at the rear aimed their bows at the Necromancer and the hovering Demon and released their fully-drawn bowstrings.

“Hmph, little tricks.” Celestina snorted in disdain and put her hand forward. A massive, scarlet protection barrier flickered before them and all the arrows dropped to the ground as though their momentum was drained completely.

The pale-faced infantries at the front retreated nervously with the archers’ cover because years of formal training had taught them that it would turn into a massacre if they fell apart here.

The Undead Soldiers marched forward steadily and this was the most frightening aspect of them because nothing was more unbearable than fighting a pack of emotionless and fearless killer-machines.

At this moment, the situation took a strange turn.

The Adjutant stared at the Necromancer’s every movement because he knew that Mages were terrifying presences in the legends, not to mention an even more powerful Necromancer. The countryside legends said that Mages who received longevity by offering their lives to the darkness could turn any humans before them into bloody, minced meat with a swing of the hand…

As the saying goes, the more one fears, the more it would happen. He watched a strange radiance beam on the Necromancer’s lifted right palm and he heard a series of mournful screams.

“Oh God, what is this?!”

The Adjutant turned around and widened his eyes in disbelief—the empty field behind him was suddenly covered in hundreds of pitch-black tentacles that wrapped around the soldiers’ bodies. The ice-cold and stinging sensation on the tentacles scared the soldiers witless and they struggled to no avail. The other soldiers that dodged the tentacles brandished their swords to rescue their comrades. However, their razor-sharp blades were ineffective as though they had struck a thick layer of rubber!

What they had been afraid of was finally happening!

Swish!

Suddenly, a wave of arrows was shot from behind the Undead Fighters and a dozen soldiers shrieked miserably as they collapsed to the ground. Meanwhile, the soldiers struggling to break free of the tentacles stopped moving abruptly as though they were puppets with their strings cut.

The enemies attacked!

They were worried that more enemies were lurking in the deeper forest and the arrows had proven their fears to be true. Moreover, the emergence of the tentacles and the approaching Undead Fighters overwhelmed them completely and they couldn’t hang on any longer. A dozen soldiers abandoned their formation and bolted off like headless mosquitoes.

They had no further desires other than getting away from this terrifying place!

However, the dangers didn’t let them off.

The black tentacles struck out and wrapped the defenseless, escaping humans entirely. Their preparations against these devil-claw-like tentacles were completely useless as their swords had flung off and their bodies were bound firmly. Shortly after, another wave of arrows fired and the soldiers were snatched of their lives.

What are these damn things?!

The unfortunate adjutant hid amongst the group and yelled futilely to calm his troops. The soldiers were scared stiff by the series of attacks that arose abruptly. Even though some of them were still willing to listen to the adjutant’s command, others were at their breaking point as they peered at the Demon with scarlet radiance on her palms.

“No escaping. Push on, push on!” The adjutant was aware that the situation was absolutely critical at this point. He berated the soldiers to stay away from the black tentacles while commanding them to push towards the enemies because the Undead Fighters strode out of the bushes and arrived before them.

“Attack!” Perhaps the soldiers realized that escaping was meaningless. They held in their fears and charged towards the enemies with their swords!

“Maintain the formation. Don’t panic! Watch out for arrows!” the adjutant ordered as the soldiers raised their shields while stepping away from the black tentacles. No one had noticed that the adjutant secretly moved to a relatively safe corner by the rear. He had decided to abandon the soldiers and leave this ridiculous place. If the enemies were truly sent by the Country of Darkness, he had to report this matter to General Michael even if it meant sacrificing these soldiers.

How interesting.

The corners of Rhode’s mouth turned up. The soldiers were in a tangle with the Undead Fighters that he had summoned, but they hadn’t realized that the Undead Fighters were actually rather weak. After all, these Undead Fighters were nothing more than a ‘Sub Card’ that Rhode created with 3 offense and defense points each. It wouldn’t be difficult for the soldiers to defeat his Undead troops once they overcame their fears.

But… Rhode paid more attention to the fellow yelling commands at the back. “You saw that, Celestina?”

“Yes, Master. Can I begin now?”

“Give it a while more… It’s not enough yet. We need another opportunity…” Rhode shook his head.

The battle turned into a stalemate as the soldiers looking death in the eyes unveiled their powerful strength. They crushed the fragile white skeletons with their shields and brandished their swords violently. Even though the Undead Creatures wouldn’t die again after their chests were pierced or heads were cut off, they couldn’t move after their skeletal bodies were smashed to bits and the spiritual flames in their eye sockets vanished. Although the soldiers were severely injured, their aggression continued as they saw glimmers of hope with each falling skeleton. It seemed like Rhode’s Undead Fighters couldn’t hang on much longer!

They might win?

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The adjutant stopped sneaking away for now. The infantries and archers that he had brought added made almost 200 men while there were about 400 Undead Creatures. He lost over 60 men in the previous ambush and if they weren’t too nervous after seeing the Necromancer, perhaps they wouldn’t be annihilated so easily.

There are only about 30 Undead Creatures left and I still have over 100 well-trained soldiers. How is it possible that we’ll lose to them?

But…

The Adjutant laid eyes on the Necromancer and he couldn’t read his expression behind the white bone mask. The Necromancer and the Demon above him didn’t seem to be making any moves and they were as though watching the fall of the Undead Creatures…

Why don’t they seize this chance to attack? Could it be that this Necromancer has other schemes? Or that Demon… Even if we defeat these Undead Creatures, we should we do next? Should we continue to attack the Necromancer and the Demon?

As the Adjutant was hesitant in making a decision, the situation took a turn!

“Heya!” A soldier slashed an Undead Fighter fiercely and it shattered into bits. The soldier looked up and realized that the evil Necromancer was standing within the bushes near him.

Get rid of him and everything will end!

“Attack, my brothers!” the soldier snarled. He and his comrades trampled over the corpses and darted towards the Necromancer. Nothing was more thrilling than this battle because they thought that they were dead meat for sure. But now, they managed to take down the Undead Creatures and were even about to exterminate a Necromancer!

The soldiers were boors to begin with,and weren’t concerned about any traps or schemes. As long as the enemy was within reach and they would defeat it to gain victory!

They’re finally here.

No matter how Rhode disguised himself, he was still an imposter Necromancer. Apart from summoning Undead Creatures to put up a facade, he almost couldn’t cast any spells that Necromancers possessed. This was why he stood at the back and observed the fight quietly. If he were an authentic Necromancer, he would have cast a ‘Swamp Quagmire’ before casting a ‘Poison Cloud’ and ‘Weakening’ and his Undead Fighters would slice the soldiers like cutting cucumbers.

After all, Rhode was a Swordsman, and a Spirit Swordsman at that. Even though Rhode could come up with some magical moves, those weren’t authentic magic at all. But… this didn’t mean that Rhode was unable to come up with a solution.

As mentioned earlier, Rhode ‘almost’ couldn’t cast any spells that Necromancers could—almost. But not entirely.

And he was about to rely on that.

“Came at the right time,” Rhode smirked and extended his left hand. A card emerged above his palm in the blink of an eye.

[Sacrificial Shift (Spell Card): Turn all corpses within spell range into Undead Creatures. Amount of transformation depends on the holder’s level. No one can stay indifferent in the face of fearful death. One will not hesitate even if one receives a false life.]

Activate, Spell Card.

Rhode turned his wrist around and crushed the card into bits.

A strange halo burst out of his clenched fist and spread apart glaringly.

That terrifying Necromancer is just ahead. Just a few more steps and I can annihilate this sinister presence.

The soldier raised his sword above his head and suddenly, his huge, sturdy body stopped moving abruptly.

He lowered his head in disbelief.

A shimmering blade punctured from his back and through his chest.

Who?

He tried to turn around but collapsed before finding out who his murderer was.

But shortly after, he sprung open his eyes and the hopeful paradise that he had envisioned was reconstructed into unmatchable darkness. He rocked to his feet slowly while fresh blood flowed from his wound. He had become an Undead Creature who turned towards his former comrades with his sword.

Oh my goodness!

The adjutant sucked in a deep, cold breath of air. He finally understood why the Necromancer stood idly before. He didn’t need to worry about his Undead Creatures at all because the corpses would become his troops!

As though confirming the adjutant’s guesses, the soldier corpses were bestowed new lives. They rocked to their feet and lifted their swords against their former comrades that had fought alongside them.

This time, the soldiers couldn’t hold on anymore.

They discovered that everything they did was pointless against the Necromancer and they were bound to fail. Disparity and fear once again clouded their minds. Some escaped into the forest while others fought hopelessly against their former comrades to live seconds longer.

Rhode grinned. “Celestina, you can have some fun now.”

“Huhuhu, leave it to me, Master.” Celestina’s eyes glistened. She flew skyward and raised her hands to summon a massive, scarlet ritual circle in the night sky. The air around the forest reeked of blood and was filled with the aura of death. The soldiers that couldn’t escape in time felt their body shutting down and their legs immovable. All they could do was to gaze at the night sky in despair.

“Foolish, worthless humans. Cherish this gift of mine!” Celestina laughed evilly. She swung her arms downward and the enormous scarlet ritual circle descended from above!

“Ahh!”

The soldiers trapped in the ritual circle wailed painfully as their skin and flesh melted in the sinister, cruel Dark Demonic powers that permeated into their bodies. The other soldiers tossed their weapons like madmen and bolted away from this appalling, vicious place without even looking back.

“Huhuhu, that’s fun. I’ll never get sick of hearing the laments of humans…”

Celestina descended to Rhode’s side while giggling behind her hand-cupped lips like a perfectly fine, elegant lady—apart from her exciting and joyful expression when she looked at the soldiers struggling with pain and stepping into death. “Master, is this really fine? I can play hide and seek with them if there’s a need to.”

“That’s fine, Celestina,” Rhode shook his head and gazed forward—the man that was over there had gone missing. “This is just an appetizer, so don’t fill your stomach yet. The feast is coming right up.”