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nUnaware of the folly that transpired inside the town, his eyes remained steadfastly focused on the impending battlefield. He searched for the ominous presence of Emperor Lich, for it was his primary objective. To slay Zelfim Borzol was feasible, but to vanquish the Emperor Lich seemed impossible, even with their combined might. Thus, the conflict would remain inconclusive unless the Lich was brought to heel.

n‘Where are you?’ he muttered while looking at the battlefield through the monocular.

nHe noticed that the Barbarians were already cornered, and the undead were overwhelming them with sheer numbers. After all, the undead had no sense of fear or pain and hence didn’t care to be hit. Meanwhile, the barbarians were humans with flesh who felt fear and pain both.

nAs the Barbarians tried to be careful, they slowly got engulfed in the crowds of the undead. The whole time, Zelfim tried to use many of his large-scale, city-destroying moves, but they were all quashed by black rune shields that would appear out of nowhere.

nFrustrated, the Platinum Knight was forced to use his physical sword and arms to fight instead of using ranged Knightley magic. Still, his strikes were strong enough to leave a trail of destruction, likes of which never been seen before. Each time he swung his arm, a long arch of pure destruction would expand for miles. But, the undead seemed infinite, and no matter how many Zelfim killed, more took their place.

n“The lich under the command of the Emperor Lich will be a problem.” Bishop Lazark warned him.

nSylvester saw it too. “We will have to plan our attack better. We can’t go in mindlessly like the barbarians. The ranged attacks are the best against the undead. Use as many light and explosion crystals as I ordered. Let the archers use the explosives and keep the wizards at a good distance. We will let the knights and Wizards compliment each other.”

n“We can just trap them.” Said Gracia’s Grand Wizard, Gideon Gracia. “I am an expert in Earth magic, and I can see that the only thing that can stop the undead is either complete annihilation through the fire or we do something that stops them from moving.”

nSylvester hummed in agreement. “We can turn the whole area into a swamp with boiling water. But we can’t, as we still have to fight the Barbarians and Emperor Lich. Perhaps we can create lines of quicksand that can slow the undead down.”

n“What about your light magic?” Felix inquired.

nFor this, Sylvester had no answer. “I don’t know. I have never fought an undead. Furthermore, the light magic is effective against the creatures of the night, but these undead are more like the summons of an undead wizard. So, do all these classify as creatures of the night? Furthermore, it’s daylight, and they haven’t stopped.”

nThis was undoubtedly a matter of worry. Usually, the dark creatures don’t come out or fight in daylight. But the undead here were only getting stronger and winning.

n“Let’s just wait for the Emperor Lich to show itself.”

nSylvester kept watching the battlefield through a secret little hole in the boundary wall of the castle. The footsteps of the undead and barbarians had created a dust storm on the battlefield.

n‘The Emperor Lich is clearly using magic from somewhere as he’s defending his undead from Zelfim.’ Sylvester muttered and tried to find it.

nAs he focused, he noticed that the undead were coming from the west, from a path that seemed to be adjacent to the base of the mountains.

n‘Did they find out some sort of a shortcut?’ He wondered.

nHe tried to gauge the strength of the undead. There were normal undead, undead that looked to be made of ice, zombies, normal Lich and even some undead animals. The enemy had as much diversity as the Winter Army itself.

n‘I can’t allow too many from my side to die, or this campaign will be a failure.’

n“Prepare!” Sylvester roared. It didn’t make any difference how loud he was since the battle was too noisy outside.

n‘Is that you? Sitting in the palanquin like some king?’ Sylvester wondered as he noticed a shadow of a big box far back behind the army of the undead and the clouds of dust. He decided to take the risk and move on, or he feared that the Storst faction would suffer too much otherwise.

n“General! Look! The Borzol brothers are cornered!” Theodore Sandwall, Felix’s uncle, exclaimed.

nSylvester took a long deep breath and closed his eyes for a second. Was he nervous? Absolutely! He was not originally a military commander but a spy. Still, slowly, he had learnt how to command an army over the years. But, this time, the army’s size was too big, and with that, the pressure intensified to ensure his strategy was perfect.

n‘Alright, this will define my future. If I fail today, my plans to become the Pope will be pushed back by at least a decade. If I succeed… I shouldn’t jinx myself with my rotten tongue.’

n“I will create a strong beam of light from my right hand! When you see it, rush out in the formation as per the command. Archers and Wizards at the back, Knights at the front! Do not fight the undead. Just keep them at bay. Kill the barbarians without a red armband!”

nEveryone, in their finely donned armours, watched Sylvester intently. Many mouths went dry, and hearts beat like drums. War was a bloody business, and all of them knew that they most likely wouldn’t live to see another day. It was an honour for the church’s men to die for their faith. For the rest, they simply had no option since failure would mean the destruction of their peaceful lives.

nNot even a slight cough echoed now, and as if the world had frozen, everyone stayed put.

nSylvester kept looking at the battlefield and waited for the perfect moment. He watched the Borzol brothers and Chief Koruk slowly being pushed towards the White River. The undead surrounded them from all sides, launching a barrage of physical and magical attacks on them.

nHe could see that if Zelfim wanted, he could easily jump away with ease and be in safety. But that would beat the whole purpose of the fight.

n‘I hope Aurora and Gideon can strike a killing blow.’

nSlowly, he raised his right hand in the air but waited to lighten it up. One minute passed, then two minutes. Soldiers felt their breath stuck in their throats and their guts contracting.

nWoosh!

n“Attack!”

nFelix roared the instant Sylvester’s hand lit up.

n“Wraaa!”

n“Kill the filth!”

n“Glory to Solis!”

n“Long Live The Bard!”

nDifferent war cries exploded, along with shouts of valour. The men blasted through the castle’s door while others jumped over the boundary wall. Their footsteps were enough to shake the very ground and their wrath enough to scare any man.

nThey were noticed by all, the Barbarians and the undead, who seemed to stand still for a few minutes, just digesting the fact that such a colossal army appeared out of nowhere.

nClank!

nBoom!

nWoosh!

nAs planned before, Grand Wizard Gideon Gracia first moved into the enemy undead and created a long line of quicksand to ensure the undead could not move very fast. After that, he changed his direction and went to ‘help’ the Borzol brothers and Chief Koruk.

nSylvester didn’t personally take charge of the war this time and let the individual commanders do as per his commands. His focus was on Emperor Lich instead.

n“Felix, Gab, don’t die.” Sylvester patted their shoulders and let them move away with Elyon and Bishop Lazark.

nThey had learned how to fight as a team over the previous months. Elyon was a great hunter, and his senses ensured nobody came too close to their group. Bishop Lazark, as a necromancer, was great at making sacrificial undead to keep the team safe. Gabriel was a light wizard, so he was great at making enemies blind. Meanwhile, Felix was a great knight, and his sword never missed a throat.

nIt took little time for the effects of the Winter army to become apparent. The undead started to get pushed back and eventually could not inch closer. At the same time, the Borzol brothers were saved by Lady Aurora and Gideon Gracia.

n“Thank you.” Chief Koruk spoke. His words instantly dispelled the hostility from the Borzol brothers, making them think that the Holy Land sent the Winter Army. 𝓫𝒹ℴ𝓿𝓵.𝓬ℴ𝓶

nSo, Zelfim offered them. “For this battle, let’s fight together. I’m sure you understand that they are the bigger enemies.”

nLady Aurora agreed. “You are right, King Zelfim. The Holy Land wishes to deal with the Emperor Lich first.”

nWoosh!

nThey stopped speaking when a new wave of undead attacked, but this time led by a dozen liches. Hence the attack seemed much more organised and deadly.

n“Let’s talk later and make our way to the Emperor Lich.” Gideon Gracia suggested and shared a silent glance with Aurora. Their plan was simple: find a chance and stab Zelfim through his heart.

nBoom!

nMagic blasts, explosive arrows and much more kept flying throughout the battlefield. The undead skeletons were weak against the overwhelming force as they were not physically strong. As for the zombies, they were easy to deal with fire, and the giant skeleton undead were the only challenge.

nSylvester kept an eye on the whole battlefield to ensure everything went smoothly. He saw Lady Aurora and Gideon going with the plan, so he focused on the palanquin far behind the enemy lines.

n“This won’t be easy, Lord Winter Ghost. We have to cross this sea of undead to reach it.” Sylvester was running with the Sixth Guardian of Light, Winter Ghost.

nThe man spoke rarely, but his ability was undefeated. His ice magic was too strong in the cold weather as he froze any undead that came in the way. Heck, every time he stepped on the ground, it turned into hard ice, so no undead could come too close to them.

n“To reach the Emperor Lich, easy it isss~” Winter Ghost hissed and started to whistle.

nGrrr…!

nSuddenly, the ground began to vibrate, and a loud noise came. But, it wasn’t coming from outside but from the earth itself.

n“Jump!” Winter Ghost whispered.

nSylvester quickly understood what was happening, so he did as asked and kicked his feet firmly to jump fifty feet in the air.

nBoom!

nPiercing through the ground, throwing the snow all around, Ashra, the giant two-hundred-metre-long white snake, appeared slithering.

nThud!

nSylvester and Winter Ghost landed on Ashra’s head, and with that, they made their way towards the palanquin behind the shadows.

n“Sssss…”

nThe snake was overwhelming for the undead. She slithered gracefully and smoothly, trampling over skeletons, zombies and lich alike. Her skin was so strong that nothing harmed her, and she moved like an empress in her court.

n“How is she so strong?” He asked in awe of her strength.

nProudly, Winter Ghost patted the head of the snake. “Ashra isss a Mythril Snake~”

n“…”

n“Myth what?”

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