Chapter 697: War Against Fate (VI)

Vidal stared at the crystal ball sullenly. Even though he wasn't speaking a word, it could be seen from his expression that he was on the verge of exploding with wrath. In fact, if what Saiborn said were true... he couldn't find any areas of rebuttal to prove that this Death Knight was merely using a clumsy lie to hide his failures. Perhaps he would feel better if it was a lie. But it was a pity that he was still clear-headed.

Vidal almost agreed with everything that Saiborn had reported to him and that was referring to the Munn Kingdom being ready for their raids. The reason was simple. The Country of Darkness had investigated the situation of Paphield-Grenbell, which included the sudden emergence of a young Human overlord and the massive Fortress being built within one day. No matter if the rumors were genuine, there weren't any signs of human habitations or buildings in the past. On the other hand, it was only half a year ago when that young overlord went to Land of Atonement to build the Fortress. Vidal felt that this young overlord was well prepared. Even though it was only right for them to stay vigilant for lurking Undead Creatures by the border, this young overlord's cautiousness had surpassed all limits. It felt as though he was aware of the Country of Darkness' planned raids.

"You said... They have Mages who suppressed the Necromancers?"

"Yes, Sir Vidal. At least that's what that damn Vampire said."

"... Is it Amund?"

"I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't see him around."

"..."

Vidal puckered his brows and held his forehead. Things shouldn't have been this way. If they had investigated a little more before the raids, perhaps they could locate the source of the problems. One of the reasons that they didn't do so was because the intelligence network set up in the Munn Kingdom by the Country of Darkness had been instantly destroyed after the Battle Angel Army received the Bone List. Another reason was that it would attract the attention of the Munn Kingdom if they were to send spies to retrieve information. This was why they would rather renounce the preceding period of investigations to prevent startling the enemies.

But now, Vidal felt that they were more like an impetuous hog dashing into the hunter's trap.

The plan didn't turn out as successful as he had thought. The four battle lines ended up in stalemates while Saiborn's case was even worse. He was driven off by the enemies?!

Vidal pondered in silence. This was extremely critical on the battlefield. Every second of hesitation would bring about an entirely different ending. But he didn't care. He was considering a serious question, which might directly affect the future war situation. In the end, Vidal lifted his head and gazed at Saiborn coldly. At this moment, an ear-piercing voice sounded.

"Please pardon me for turning up despite being uninvited. I heard that you've gotten into some trouble?"

Vidal turned toward the voice. A Necromancer clad in a pitch-black robe slowly approaching him. Vidal narrowed his eyes.

"Master Simon."

Simon let out a laughter so disturbingly sharp that even Vidal couldn't help but knit his brows. Vidal held down the fury inside him as he gazed at the aged face.

"Is anything the matter?"

"Just as I've said, Sir Vidal."

Simon extended his shriveled finger and caressed his white bone staff gently. This movement looked as though a few wiggling caterpillars with self consciousness.

"I heard that you've faced some troubles? Perhaps you might need some assistance from us Necromancers? If you have the need..."

"Hey, you..."

Saiborn bared his teeth uncontrollably. Vidal stopped him from speaking and fixed his eyes on the Necromancer. After a few moments, he nodded and turned to Saiborn.

"Saiborn. I order you to retreat immediately and hand over the war zone to Master Simon."

"... Understood, Sir."

Saiborn revealed a look of disdain and rage. But shortly after, he lowered his head helplessly and accepted his fate. On the other hand, the Necromancer let out a satisfied laughter, nodded to Saiborn with a cunning smile, and placed his left hand on his chest before drifting silently out of the tent.

"Don't worry, Sir Vidal. I will guarantee your satisfaction."

Then, he vanished out of sight.

***

"Rhode, when do you think they'll attack again?"

Marlene stood on the city wall and gazed worriedly into the sky. She realized that the night sky was totally unlike what she had seen. Not only that, but the dense, pitch-black darkness had also enveloped everything before her like a thick, black curtain. Marlene knew that it wasn't only the dark color of the sky nor the dense clouds or any other ridiculous thing, but was the protection of the Dark Dragon Soul and the sky belonging to the country of death.

"I don't know. Frankly speaking, I hope they come sooner."

Rhode shook his head. In fact, these were his sincere words. If the Undead Army once again launched their attack, it proved that they were only temporarily moving back to regroup. But there would be huge trouble if they didn't respond for a long time. Rhode was only able to observe the situation in his territory, but was completed blinded by darkness in terms of the situation in other territories. Even though he knew that his Fortress was in the road that the Undead Army would take, he couldn't help but feel some nervousness as though the calm before the tsunami: unsettling and frightening.

He didn't know how the Undead Army would retaliate. It was without doubt that they would increase the number of troops, but what about their types? Skeleton Soldiers and Bone Griffins were the lowest of grades and there wasn't much pressure dealing with them. But the outcome would be uncertain if there were other types of enemies. Canary was around to suppress the Necromancers, so Rhode wasn't worried about them at all. With Canary's strength, there were almost no Necromancers who could avoid her spell suppression.

"————!"

Rhode twitched his brows. He stood up and his expression instantly turned ice-cold.

"They're here."

"Huh?"

Marlenne gazed blankly and before she could react, Rhode gave his command.

"Get everyone ready for battle immediately!"

Warning bells rang instantly. The soldiers rushed up the city walls and got ready in the quickest time possible. After driving off the first wave of Undead Army, the soldiers were beaming with more confidence and lesser fears. They readied their bows and arrows forward while the silver-whitish light column blasted into the sky and illuminated every inch of surface clearly.

But this time, the situation appeared to be different as they heard deep noises from afar.

Boom... Boom... Boom...

It sounded as though a gigantic monster was slowly stomping through the surface. Everyone felt the solid city walls trembling. In an instant, the soldiers looked at one another worriedly. Unlike the group of newbies, Rhode lifted his head and gazed straight into the distance. His familiarity with the Undead Army had reached a high enough level where he could distinguish their forces through the sounds they made.

At this moment, the truth unveiled itself before them.

"Oh my goodness..."

Many of them sucked in deep breaths and muttered under their breaths.

They were pale-green, obese, and sturdy creatures with the height of three Humans and thick like enormous boulders. However, this wasn't the worst. Their sturdy bodies were full of sewed up scars like patched up puppets. They had four muscular arms clutching enormous blades and their facial features were mashed up, where bloody flesh and eyeballs were dangling out of place. Lize turned around immediately and covered her mouth to hold herself back from throwing up.

More importantly, there wasn't only one of it.

Thousands of the same creatures emerged from the pitch-black shadow in slow, steady steps, but their massive bodies and disturbing appearances left the soldiers shivering. Rhode's pupils shrank into single lines. As expected, the Undead Army had quickly come up with counter solutions after suffering the previous setback.

Abomination.

As one of the top five species with the highest defenses in the Undead Army, Abominations didn't have any weaknesses apart from their slow-moving speed. Rhode didn't spot them previously because they weren't suitable for raids. But their formidable powers would be displayed when it came to besieging a city.

Abominations were covered in rotten flesh, where the explosions from magic arrows wouldn't deal lethal damage. Not only that, but when they died, they would also explode and shroud the place in a putrid and poisonous stench. Rhode was clear that the corpses of these bastards would burst out into innumerable blood maggots: they could be considered the most disgusting of all disgusting existence.

The Skeleton Guards following closely behind the Abominations weren't easy to deal with either. They were the upgraded version of the Skeletal Warriors and their attacks and defenses were stronger by a hundred times. Rhode immediately understood their intentions as soon as he spotted the Abominations. It was apparent that the Undead Army would get into a besieging formation. Behind the Skeleton Guards were the Necromancers, Archers, and followed by the Gargoyles...

"Grrr...!"

As though proving Rhode's guesses, the furious growls from wild animals sounded from afar. Shortly after, countless pitch-black figures as though thick, heavy dark clouds flew forward. That was the Gargoyle Legion that Rhode had been waiting for. Unlike the weak Bone Griffins, the iron-solid Gargoyles could be considered the hegemons of the sky. Even though their levels weren't high, their solid body could withstand damage from most spells. Besides, they could also use their razor-sharp teeth, claws, and tails to rip everything apart. At this moment, the Gargoyles were soaring in the night sky and heading toward the Fortress.

"Hmm?"

Rhode was taken aback after spotting their flag. It didn't belong to Saiborn, the Death Knight. Instead, it was an entirely different white skeleton flag without the symbol of 'The Spirit Chaser'. But Rhode knew who it belonged to—'Sinister Death'. An intermediate Necromancer symbol.

What's going on?

Rhode was sure that it was Balende's Death Knight army previously and even though they had revised their formation, this war zone should still belong to Balende's subordinate. Why did they...

Suddenly, Rhode's eyes glinted!

Why am I so foolish? Didn't the Country of Darkness attack the Light Mainland for this purpose?!

"Bubble!"

Rhode turned around and yelled without any hesitations. Mini Bubble Gum ran out of the crowd and scuttled toward him.

"Yes, Leader?"

The corner of Rhode's lips perked up into a smile. He extended his hand and beckoned to her.

"Wanna go and have some fun with me?"

"Sure!"

Bubble exclaimed in excitement. She clenched her fist and nodded. On the other hand, Marlene turned to Rhode in astonishment.

"R-Rhode? What are you two gonna do? The enemies are..."

"Balende's troops have retreated. This is the best time to eliminate all the threats before us!"

Rhode didn't explain too much as it would be too time consuming to explain the internal relations of the Country of Darkness and the conflicts. All in all, even if the enemies were Humans, Rhode could finally lay down the burden in his heart. Oh my goodness. All of them are walking EXP. If I'm lucky, I may even break through level 60 and enter the Legendary Stage! How can I let this chance go?

"From now onward, I will leave Orchid Heart with full responsibility here. All you guys have to do is to act in accordance to her commands. The enemies are the subordinates of the Necromancer. Canary, prepare for full spell suppression. Lize, the Abominations have long attacking range. You and your squad must put up defenses in the quickest time possible!"

Rhode extended his right arm and a dazzling card spun above his palm. He threw it upward and in a sparkling eruption, the Spirit Bird soared into the sky. On the other hand, Mini Bubble Gum also emanated a pure, white radiance. Then, the light rays coalesced on her back and formed a pair of tiny wings.

"Let's go! Bubble!"