C398
Raon twirled his sword, Heavenly Drive, and let out a low breath.
He could feel the movement of the undead outside his field of vision, who were chanting the hymn of death.
As the thousands of undead legions took a step at the same time, a huge tremor shook the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The footsteps and vibrations filled with killing intent cut through the fog.
The undead legions that had just melted away by the Flame Dragon Art were not even the vanguard, as an uncountable number of undead appeared.
Even though there were only zombies and skeletons, the number was so great that their mouths naturally opened in surprise.
'It's endless.'
The Light Wind squad, the Imperial Sword squad, and the Rangers squad had shaken off their tension and fear, but they looked like they were about to be scared again.
As Raon was wondering what to do next, he heard Burren's voice from behind.
"Hey, Vice-squad leader."
Burren lifted his trembling lips and made a faint smile.
"How many times do I have to tell you! It's not Mad Dog, it's Light Wind!"
He shook his head, saying to stop confusing them.
"That bastard is doing it on purpose."
Martha stepped forward with a frown.
"Because of that damn bastard, I'm also being called Mad Woman now!"
"That's not true! Martha is because of her personality!"
"Shut up!"
Martha waved her arm at Runaan, who was arguing with her. Her hands were no longer shaking.
"Raon."
Runaan turned to Raon after stepping away from Martha.
"After we're done, let's go to the pearl ice cream shop. There's a new flavor out."
She blinked her innocent eyes as if she had never been nervous at all.
'New flavor?'
"In the middle of this...?"
"Vice-squad leader and the captains don't seem to be nervous anyway."
"But Mad Dog is pretty cool too, right? I think it's cooler than Light Wind."
"A Mad Dog is cool? You'd say that a Mad Woman is cool too."
"That's scary."
The Light Wind members also smiled and chatted. They looked like they didn't feel the pressure even though they saw the enormous number of undead legions.
"There's no need to be afraid!"
Wendy Arian raised her fist at the Imperial Sword members and rangers.
"No one knows these guys better than us! Make it so they can't even touch this land!"
Her cry lit up the eyes of the Imperial Sword and rangers.
"That's right!"
"It's just zombies and skeletons, anyway!"
"We've been fighting these guys for our whole lives!"
"Let's do it!"
As everyone gathered their will, a strong military spirit arose that did not yield to the morale raised by the undead.
'No need to worry'
Wrath smiled, pinching his cheeks.
'That's right. I underestimated them too much.'
Raon smiled and put his voice into his aura.
"Everyone, prepare for battle!"
"Prepare for battle!"
The Light Wind members' eyes were filled with a bright yellow madness, and the Imperial Sword members' fingertips were filled with calm energy.
The eangers also raised their bows, their eyes flashing like hawks.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The zombies and skeletons approached without bringing any siege weapons to destroy the castle or ladders to climb the walls. They were determined to break through with sheer numbers.
'In a normal battlefield, they would be considered stupid. However...'
They have no idea.
Wrath spoke while poking his cheek.
'In the end, we have the advantage.'
Raon's voice echoed as he prepared to face the oncoming undead horde.
'It's a perfectly effective method for them.'
'The walls are weak, and there are plenty of corpses.'
With the death swamp gone, the walls of the Arian family's castle are higher than they were originally.
The one who summoned the undead is trying to make a staircase to climb this wall by piling up the corpses of zombies and skeletons.
Undead have strong morale, so even touching them can cause cracks in the old and weakened walls.
In order to win this war, the undead army must be defeated before they reach the walls.
Raon raised his hand as he watched the zombies and skeletons approaching in a limping manner.
Ssshhh!
The sound of rangers putting arrows on their bows and knights generating their aura could be heard.
The moment the zombies and skeletons entered the range of the arrows, she stretched her hand forward.
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
Wendy Arian repeated the words as she drew her sword.
Piyaaang!
In an instant, over a hundred bows were released, filling the sky with a silver rain.
Pababababak!
The iron arrows that fell in a parabola swept through the zombies and skeletons. Many undead were killed in one blow, but many were also left alive.
The rangers put arrows on their bows again and snapped their fingers. Another rain of arrows filled the air, piercing the malice of the zombies and skeletons.
Even though arrows with powerful power poured down like a shower, there were also many undead that approached by breaking through the arrow rain.
Raon raised the Heavenly Drive as he looked at the Light Wind members and the Imperial Sword members.
"Use wind blade as much as possible while conserving your energy for aura. With precise strikes, we can kill them even with a gust of wind."
He drew the blood-red Heavenly Drive as if he were drawing a brush. The petals that bloomed from the heated blade spread through the wind and poured down on the undead horde approaching the wall.
Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
The pieces of flame that flowed down like cherry blossoms became a wall of fire that wiped out the undead.
Gooooo!
The morale on top of the wall was once again charged by the swordsmanship that was like a miracle.
"Make it so they can't even approach!"
Burren swung down his sword, stomping his foot. Even though he minimized the aura, the wind that spread out had a terrifying sharpness.
Shwaaaak!
The undead that were approaching from the right side fell to the ground, their bodies cut in half.
"You bone-headed brats! I'll stew you all!"
Martha gritted her teeth and swung her sword. She suppressed her frustration and only performed the sword techniques that consumed the least aura, but because she was so strong, she crushed five undead in one blow.
"The enemy of ice cream."
Runaan swung her sword like she was slipping. The frost spread on the blade and froze the feet of the undead at the front.
Buddudduk!
The undead who stopped walking began to hinder their way, and the zombies started to jostle each other, baring their teeth.
"Let's go too!"
The Light Wind members also struck the wind blade while clinging to the wall.
Even though the battle has been going on for a long time, not a single drop of sweat has come out of their foreheads.
Raon nodded, feeling the reward of feeding them elixirs and giving them hell training.
"Anyone who has used up their aura, step back and recover."
Raon smiled faintly as he released the wind blade at the endless undead.
"This war will not end in a day."
* * *
Prika pulled the bowstring.
Peeeeew!
The arrows arched through the air, piercing the skulls of zombies and skeletons, causing them to collapse with their heads crushed.
"Huuk...."
Her breathing became ragged. She couldn't even remember how many arrows she had shot. She had simply emptied the quiver, filled it again when it was empty, and repeated the process.
"Kruuuh...."
She tried to nock another arrow, but her fingertips felt as if they were tearing.
She had practiced archery continuously, but shooting arrows continuously for such a long time was a first for her, and her fingers were naturally experiencing fatigue.
Prika bit her lip, adjusted her finger positions, and fired another arrow.
It was worth the effort of continually training to handle the bow when she saw the arrow accurately piercing the skull of the skeleton as intended.
With trembling knees from exhaustion, she looked to her side. Despite a day passing and the sun beginning to set, the horde of zombies and skeletons continued to approach endlessly.
The pace of everyone, leaders and members alike, in firing arrows had slowed due to exhaustion, and the swordsmen's strength had waned, causing their swords to wobble.
Despite that, not a single person among the swordsmen or rangers let go of their weapons. They persisted even though they were exhausted, drawing wind blades and shooting arrows without pause.
They all had one reason to endure.
'Raon Zieghart.'
Prika looked up to the back of the man standing at the very front of the wall.
'Because he's holding the line.'
Raon stood at the forefront and mowed down more undead than anyone else.
To be honest, it was highly likely that Raon had taken down more undead than the combined total of all the rangers, Light Wind members, and Imperial Sword swordsmen.
'Because he's doing that much for us, I can't give up. And…'
Prika looked at Wendy Arian wielding her sword beside Raon.
'Even she…'
To be honest, Prika didn't think too highly of Wendy's combat abilities, despite acknowledging her strong determination.
Even though Wendy was a Master level, she had limited practical experience, so Prika didn't have high expectations.
However, Wendy managed to cut down countless undead creatures alongside Raon and boosted the morale of the defenders on the wall.
She was the only one in Arian who truly upheld the family's will as a knight.
'For some reason, it feels like we can win this.'
Looking at Raon and Wendy's unwavering determination, it seemed like the Arian family would overcome the undead horde's onslaught, as if the family had undergone a transformation.
Prika fitted an arrow onto the bowstring and released it.
"Peeeeew!"
The arrow shot out coolly, piercing through the darkness and shattering the undead's heads.
* * *
[ Advance chapter: Tinyurl.com/Aldbnlf ]
[ For Indonesian: Tinyurl.com/Aldbnlff ]
Raon narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the setting sun.
'It truly feels endless.'
Even though there was a set time for the sun to rise, the undead's advance seemed never-ending.
"No, is it just beginning?"
"That's right. We're still far from the end."
Stronger morale was approaching from behind the zombies and skeletons, beyond the wall.
"Probably ghouls and higher-ranking skeletons."
These creatures chewed through zombies and skeletons, approaching even faster.
Raon looked down at the base of the castle wall.
'A hill of corpses…'
Skeletons and zombies hadn't been able to reach the castle walls and had fallen, forming a hill of corpses in front of the castle.
However, from now on, they wouldn't be able to block them as easily. They had to be prepared for casualties from now on.
“Dorian.”
“Yesss….”
At Raon’s gesture, Dorian approached. He was also tired, and his round face was half-collapsed.
“Did you send it?”
“Yes, but as I said before, there is no guarantee that it will arrive. There is a possibility that there will be problems in the middle.”
Dorian shook his head, not knowing what would happen.
“It’s okay. Some of them will get through.”
Raon nodded and rubbed the ring on his finger.
‘If it doesn’t work out, I’ll have to use this.’
He received the ring from Chamber, but he learned how to use it from Rimmer. This was the last resort for the Light Wind squad.
He sighed lightly and approached Wendy Arian.
“Head of the Arian family.”
“Yes!”
Wendy was smiling, even though she was tired. Her expression was much more lively than when she was doing paperwork.
“Bring anyone from the prison who can participate in the battle.”
“Yes? What about those guys….”
“This is necessary. Even dirty things can be helpful sometimes.”
Including Bainder, some of the executives would be helpful in battle, so it was better to use them than to let them rot like livestock.
Raon turned around and looked at the Light Wind members, the rangers, and the Imperial Sword members.
“Everyone rest for two hours and come back. This will probably be our last break.”
“Raon?”
Runaan raised her head immediately.
“I can recover while fighting. I’m fine.”
Only Raon could recover a little while fighting in this place.
“But how can we leave the vice-squad leader alone!”
“Yeah! You're pushing yourself right now!”
“It would be better to rest and…”
Raon didn’t answer and swung down the Heavenly Drive, which was filled with Glacier coldness.
Hwaaaaaaaah!
The ground turned silver and the zombies and skeletons that were trying to sneak in were frozen solid.
Ttak!
As soon as he snapped his fingers, the frozen undead shattered, and the ice shards that were emitted turned the other undead into hedgehogs.
“Who’s worrying about who?”
Raon gestured as if to shoo away flies.
“This is an order. We don’t have time, so hurry up and go rest.”
* * *
When the sun had completely set and night had fallen, the rangers and the swordsmen returned. A few executives, including Bainder, were also with them, as they had accepted the offer.
However, even though they had recovered their strength and aura, their expressions were not good. In fact, they had even paler faces than when they had gone down from the wall.
Raon nodded as he saw their reaction.
‘It couldn’t be helped.’
They must have known that this was the real deal.
The number of zombies and skeletons had decreased, but the higher-level species of ghouls and skeleton warriors were approaching with terrifying morale.
Kiaaaaah!
Ghoulish entities with eerie forms flew through the darkened sky, while sinister figures wearing heave armor, riding dark horses, led by the terrifying Dullahan, darted from both sides. The Spatoy, known as the Dragon Plague, also rose from the darkness.
In the end, even the chimera undead, created by the gathering of corpses, revealed their presence.
Raon tightly bit his lips as he looked at the real undead army brimming with the aura of death. It wasn't guaranteed that the wall wouldn't be breached, despite the knights and rangers fighting on the walls and the townspeople doing their best to assist from below.
"Nevertheless, we have to do it."
Slowly, he raised his hand.
"Everyone, prepare for battle!"
"Prepare for battle!"
The rangers, Light Wind members, and Imperial Sword members stood at the edge of the wall once again. Despite trembling hands and the overwhelming aura of death emanating from the undead, they raised their bows and swords.
The undead didn't recklessly charge forward like zombies and skeletons. They formed proper formations and advanced slowly.
Thump! Thump! Kuwung!
Even the sound of footsteps felt much heavier than before. The heartbeat of the tense people around seemed to echo loudly.
Then, the advance of the undead army suddenly came to a halt. At the center of the horde of undead, resembling a swarm of ants, a Death Knight with glowing green eyes emerged from the gap in their ranks.
"Humans of Zieghart and Arian."
The Death Knight's jaw creaked open, and a sinister voice, as if it had risen from the depths, flowed out.
"I propose a one-on-one duel."
With those words, the undead army's formation split apart, and from the midst of the cleared path, four more Death Knights emerged, each accompanied by a colossal Spatoy and Dullahan, clad in ominous armor. Two Death Knights in total.
"What?"
Raon widened his eyes.
"Are the undead suggesting a one-on-one duel?"
"Undead?"
"This is insane..."
Even the Light Wind squad, aside from the undead talking, was now shaken, their hands trembling.
"Wait, I heard about something like this before..."
"Really? Undead proposing one-on-one duels?"
"Insane..."
The Light Wind squad was not only startled by the fact that the undead were talking but also by their suggestion of one-on-one duels.
"Yes, I heard that such things happened in the past."
Wendy Arian approached them.
"I heard there were records of the undead requesting one-on-one duels during the war where Zieghart's first head and Arian's first head fought together."
She swallowed hard, saying that the approaching undead looked like those monsters from back then.
"I see."
Raon let out a faint smile. Apparently, the undead they had summoned were the Arch Liches with whom Zieghart's and Arian's ancestor had dealt before.
"They want to rewrite history."
It seemed like these creatures sought revenge against the descendants of those who had wronged them.
"In the records, how did those one-on-one duels turn out?"
"I heard that house Zieghart and Arian family sent out five warriors and won five battles."
"Of course."
He smiled lightly. If the man who established house Zieghart had fought, there was no other option but to win.
"Who's going out?"
"Of course it's Raon."
"He's the last one, so no need to say anything."
"Then Mark and the Arian's head also have to go out, so there are only two spots left?"
"Then it's me!"
"No, it's me."
The members on the stage started arguing about who would go out. Of course, Runaan, Marta, and Burren were also fighting to go out.
Raon jumped off the wall before their words were finished.
"Raon?"
"It's not decided yet!"
"You crazy bastard! Are you going alone?"
Runaan, Burren, and Martha called out, but Raon didn't look back and walked towards the undead army.
"Are you the vanguard?"
The death knight with green eyes who had challenged the duel twisted his jaw.
"No."
Raon smiled coldly and shook his head. He raised his hand to the sword hilt, drawing on the power of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.
"I am the vanguard and the leader."
He drew Heavenly Drive sword as he took a step forward. A wave of flames erupted from his foot, rising along the horizon.
Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation: Hundred Flames.
Crimson Slash.
Not only the high-level undead who had come for the duel but also the undead behind them guarding the frontlines were divided by a fierce line drawn across their necks.
"Don't even mention a duel, you stinking undead."
Raon lowered his sword, which was filled with flames, and let out a cold smile.
"Grrr...
"Kieee..."
Even the undead, who were so evil, didn't know he would ruin the duel, so the rear line began to crumble.
Wow.
Wrath came out with a gasp.
What kind of personality is this...
He opened his mouth wide, wondering if this was really him.
'They started it first, you know.'
He didn't like the way they tried to push them all away with a wave of swamp, and now they were acting like they were in the right.
"Oh, oh...
"Can you do that?"
"Even monsters are scared of this kind of personality...
"That's why he's the vice-squad leader of the Light Wind squad. No, the Mad Dog Squad."
"Raon is so cool!"
Even the Light Wind members shook their jaws more than they cheered.
Even though he used a cowardly move, the morale on the wall rose to its highest level ever.
Just when Raon was about to turn back, a huge force came from the end of the land of death.
"Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
A roar filled with evil. A cry filled with dark energy, like the roar of a dragon from the Beast Alliance, flew towards the Arian family. It was the Lion's Cry, which the highest undead could perform.
Raon drew the Blade of Requiem, circulating glacier.
"Kkkkkkkk!"
The sword blade that erupted from the sheath, filled with the ghastly energy, let out a scream of resentment.
"Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
He stretched out his blood vein and grabbed the evil of the Lion's Cry and pulled it down.
"Kuwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Raon immediately struck down the hand he raised as if to pierce the sky.
"Piiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Along with a strong sound of breaking through the air, silver arrows and wind blades poured down onto the battlefield. The undead army, whose command structure had collapsed, fell without being able to prepare their defenses.
Raon watched the undead army being swept away by the rain of arrows, and his sharp eyes shone.
"I'm sorry, but history repeats itself."
