The Silman River Valley had already been reduced to a land of ashes. The night was still dark. Under the moonlight, the undead army had split into several groups as they marched along the rolling hills. Looking down along the riverbank, Owl Town was only left with scattered ruins and remains. Countless skeletons circled around the town, and monotonous cracking sounds echoed in the wilderness. Between the long lines, corpses were piled high. The liches were picking out the intact corpses and reviving them into warriors. The cold night wind blew from the direction of the mountain pass. It seemed to carry the eerie incantations that they chanted, making the atmosphere of the valley even more creepy.
The Blood Staff stood alone in the night wind, still letting the cold wind tug at the corner of its ghoul robe. It glanced at a mutilated corpse not far away. It should be a human militia. Judging from the wound, he should have died at the hands of the Dreadwraiths. Only half of his body was left. His hand was still holding a sharp rock on the ground. The Blood Staff could imagine that he must have struggled to break free before he died, but the Dreadwraiths tore his body apart with their sharp claws and fangs. It raised its head again and looked at the valley. The battle in the valley had already ended. There was not a single living creature in sight. There was only dead silence.
It was a perfect victory.
It was as if it had witnessed the prophecy of the Dark Prophecy, that the kingdom of darkness in the east would rise.
"Those pathetic Erouine bastards. They must not understand why they lost so badly." Behind the Blood Staff, a young man with a face as pale as a corpse smiled, showing his white teeth. He did not have fangs, nor did he have the ghastly fire in his eyes like the Black Knight. There were no psychic runes on his body, and he was not a necromancer. He was wearing a neat black suit, as if he had just returned from a funeral. He took a deep breath. "The taste of magic in the land is so fragrant. If it was in the Sea of the Dying Moon, only a real lord would have the right to own such a territory."
He looked at the Blood Staff again and shook his head regretfully. "I really don't understand why you can't defeat such weak opponents. I don't understand. But such lowly fellows do not have the right to own such good land. This kingdom will only be left with tombstones and graveyards."
The Blood Staff snorted coldly. These Dark Lords came from the Dead Moon Sea. It was said that in the East, where magic was barren, the strife between Necromancers was even more ruthless. That was the land of four wars. However, these unruly fellows were indeed very powerful. The necromancers there invented a spell to extract half-corporeal and half-spiritual Dreadwraiths from the Pterosaur corpses, and a way to let necromancers command skeleton Knights..................... their addition................................... of...............
"I heard that there is a White Lion Legion in the North of the human kingdom. I wonder how strong they are?" The young man turned around and asked.
"There used to be, but they were defeated by the Southern Legion. I heard that the little princess dismembered her brother's army. Today, the legion is only in name to this kingdom." Erouine's civil war between the North and the South had ended less than four months ago. The Blood Staff was not very clear about the details of the war. Even so, there were still many rumors and rumors about the losers who experienced the war that flowed into the Dark Kingdom. He chose to believe the story that most of the dark lords agreed with.
"Then it's not worth mentioning."
The young man's scornful tone was carried far away by the night wind. Overhead, under the starry night, a Dreadwraith was whistling through the night sky. Behind it, there were dozens of monsters spreading their wings. Each of them was like a floating shadow, sweeping across the entire valley. Looking down from the sky, there were specks of phosphorescence on the ground, forming three neat long dragons. The heads of the dragons were passing through the Grinoires tunnel and entering the Slovenian region. In front of them, there was already an endless stretch of lowlands.
That was the direction of the capital of the province, Fort Kurkel.
However, further away in the hilly region of the east, there was a small group of people standing at the edge of the forest. "One, two, three, four …" A group of fourteen people was standing beside the horses. A thin young man with a sallow complexion was quietly counting the flames in the valley below. The nearest flame was only the size of a fingernail from this distance. Meanwhile, the ones further away were like the embers and sparks of a bonfire. These flames were scattered across the entire Silverman Valley, like a string of beads in the dark night. The young man's face turned a little gloomy. After he finished counting, he turned around and answered the others, "The White-Winged Cavalry is probably done for. Owl Town, Roden, Mill Town, it's all done for. I don't know how many of them survived. I don't think there are many. Thumb and the others just returned from Roden a few days ago. They said that not many escaped. These people are probably all done for."
"Can you stop talking about it? It's so irritating." The young man who was still sitting on the horse was not in a good mood. If he had heard that the White Winged Cavalry had been completely annihilated, he would have clapped his hands in celebration. But when he saw this scene with his own eyes, he could not bring himself to laugh. Every ball of fire in the darkness was countless lives, and this made him think of his hometown. If it was really like what the lord said, then perhaps one day the whole of Aouine would become like this. He could not help but shudder.
Everyone present had the same thought at this moment. They turned to look at the young man in a vest standing at the back. Carglise put down the brass binoculars in his hand and handed it to a young officer from the White Lion Guards. After the battle in Ampere Seale, he and the young men around him were no longer as naive as they were when they were in Tónigel. Their every move had become more mature, or rather, more like a real soldier. He looked at the youths who were dressed like mountain people. Some of them should be the ones who were rescued by Brendel from the Schafflund Mines. Brendel had told him that these people were destined to become great figures in the future, but he did not believe it at first. But now it seemed that Brendel's ability to foresee the future was truly extraordinary.
After leaving Schafflund, the young man named Cohen led a group of people directly over the Grahar Mountains. When the Southern Legion left, they attacked the mining area south of the Tosancade Forest and dragged out a large number of convicts. Then, they headed east into the hills of the Silman region. Although they still could not get rid of the bandits' aura, they had already become the king of the area. The crux of the matter was that the group of convicts selected by the young man were almost all exiles who had offended the nobles, while the truly valiant and unruly ones were not taken in. On the surface, it seemed a little unwise, but if one thought about it carefully, there was another meaning behind it. That young man is not simple at all, Carglise thought to himself. "Mr. Carglise, what do we do now? Should we go back first?" The young man on the horse asked.
"Shhh —" Carglise put up a finger and gestured for the others to be silent.
"Is there a situation?"
Carglise nodded.
"Quickly hide!"
The group quickly retreated from the open area at the top of the hill into the forest behind them. About a minute later, a gust of wind blew over their heads. The young men hiding in the bushes stared at the shadows flying over their heads with pale faces. There were seven of them in total. Carglise was the first to pull his horse up from the ground. The White Lion Sergeant beside him shook his head and said, "It's not a Skeletal Vulture. I've never seen it before."
"Is it a Skeletal Dragon?" The young men chattered among themselves.
Carglise pursed his lips and shook his head. It was not a Skeletal Dragon. Skeletal Dragons had the natural aura of fear of high undead creatures. Carglise had seen Aloz in Valhalla and had some influence on the aura of dragons. When those things flew over their heads, he did not feel the slightest bit of fear. Moreover, as Bone Dragons, those things were a little too small.
"Mr. Carglise?"
"They seem to be looking for something." Carglise replied, "Let's wait and see. They won't find us so easily in the hills. When the day comes, the undead will withdraw their defenses. It won't be too late to return then."
…
Dozens of Skeletal Knights were galloping along the mountain path. The metal mail on their warhorses clanged against each other in the night. When the horses' hooves hit the ground heavily, the sound was not as thick and heavy as that of ordinary warhorses. Instead, it sounded hollow, as if it came from the depths of hell. As they looked down at the valley below, their soulfire eyes quickly reflected two human cavalrymen who were running for their lives. They had been running for half an hour in this direction, and their warhorses were about to give out.
The leader of the Skeletal Knight pointed his Stygian Steel Scimitar downwards. The Skeletal Knights immediately turned around and rushed into the forest. In this area, the trees and shrubs on the hillside were sparse, but there were still Skeletal Knights who crashed into trees and were smashed into pieces. However, the remaining undead did not even look at their defeated comrades. After passing through the forest that was nearly a hundred meters long, they suddenly emerged from the meadow. When Evan turned around, he happened to see this scene. Under the bright moonlight, eleven skeletal knights charged out of the dark and dense forest with green phosphorescence flickering in their eyes. Their bare arms held up their spears and scimitars, reflecting the cold light of the moonlight. He couldn't help but be scared out of his wits.
"Chanali, we're dead!"
"Shut up!" Chanali replied in annoyance. However, he knew in his heart that they were going to lose their lives this time. These damned skeletons did not know what endurance was. They would probably continue chasing until dawn. However, there was still a long time before dawn. After such a long time of galloping in the mountains, their warhorses could not last for that long.
"Hey, kid." He suddenly shouted.
"What's wrong?" Ivan replied breathlessly. His face was pale, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. It was as if he was suffering from a serious illness. His horsemanship was only average, and was limited to the level of being able to ride a horse. However, under the pressure of survival, he was able to gallop in the mountains. This could not be said to be a miracle. However, the things that happened along the way were enough to scare him out of his wits. If not for his good luck, he would have fallen down the mountain stream or hit a tree and died.
"I'll lure them away. You run east. Once you enter the dense forest, abandon your horse and run for your life. Once you're there, you'll be safe." Chanali panted and replied.
Ivan's heart thumped. He looked at the back of the old horseman and almost cried. He quickly shook his head and said, "No, we'll go together. I was saved by you. How can I abandon you and run for my life? I can't do it!"
"If you can't do it, then we'll die together, idiot." Chanali scolded.
"Let's die together then!"
"Don't be stupid. We don't have to give them double the battle merits." Chanali scolded loudly. Then he muttered to himself, "Alright, although the battle merits might not mean anything to them."
"Then I'll go lure them away. You saved me once, and I saved you once. We're even now." Ivan replied. Chanali glanced at him and couldn't help but laugh. "Don't joke around. With your horsemanship, it's already Mother Marsha's blessing that you're not dead yet. If you try to lure them away, you'll still die together." Ivan's face turned red, but he knew that Chanali was telling the truth. He couldn't say anything.
"Alright, you still have your fiancée to see, but I have nothing to worry about. I'll drag a few of them down with me. You can live on with me." The old horseman shook his head. "Listen up, recruit. Don't be so shy like a girl. I'm telling you, the lives I owe on the battlefield are more than the meals you've eaten. Now it's my turn to repay my old comrades. Go, live on."
Ivan stared at him. He knew that the old horseman had made up his mind. He clenched his teeth and forced himself not to cry, but he couldn't make a sound. All he could do was nod. "That's right." Chanali seemed to be talking to himself. He suddenly drew his sword from his waist and shouted. He pulled on the reins and turned around to attack the skeleton Knight. The young man seemed to have heard what he shouted. It was for Erouine. But following the sound of the wind, it sounded like a beast's howl.
He turned around and urged his warhorse forward, but he saw Chanali's figure getting smaller and smaller. He rushed into the enemy's formation and cut down a skeleton knight with his sword. Then, he passed through them. Those simple-minded skeletons were obviously shocked. They quickly turned around and chased after Chanali. Soon, the two parties disappeared without a trace.
But a few seconds later, he heard a faint shout coming from the woodland on the other side.
"Damn skeletons, go to hell!"
"Rosa —!"
Ivan coughed loudly. He could feel a burning sensation in his lungs, but he knew that Chanali did not have much time left for him. The skeletons would soon catch up to him. He raised his head, trying to find the forest that Chanali had told him about. But all he could see was a wide meadow on the mountainside. It was flat. There were some sparse woods in the distance. But it was impossible to avoid the pursuit of Madara's undead.
His heart was burning with anxiety as he urged his mount to continue forward. After circling around a large forest, an even more open grassland appeared behind the shrubs. However, at the end of the grassland, at the furthest end of his field of vision, there was a layer of something like a black carpet.
It's a forest!
Ivan was overjoyed. But then he felt a bitter taste in his mouth. It was too far, at least a few miles away. He didn't know if his horse could last that long. Suddenly, the sound of galloping horses came from behind him. He sensed something and turned around. Indeed, he saw a few skeleton knights appear at the edge of the forest. There were seven of them in total, and Chanali alone had killed four of them. Unfortunately, the remaining ones were not something he could handle. "No, I have to survive!" Ivan gritted his teeth and said to himself. His life didn't belong to him anymore. He also had his fiancée and Chanali. No matter what, he had to give it his all.
He clamped the horse's abdomen and stabbed the spur below the horse's abdomen. He wanted to increase the distance between them. But the monsters behind him were also as fast as ghosts. The distance between them was maintained for a few minutes. The forest was just in front of him. But at that moment, Ivan felt his body become lighter. It was as if a huge force came from behind him. He was thrown into the air and fell heavily on the meadow. He was dizzy from the fall. His body and arms were full of burning abrasions, but his mind was very clear. He understood what had happened. He grabbed the soil and got up. He looked back and saw his warhorse lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth. It was dying. Ivan couldn't help but scream. The forest was less than a hundred meters away from him. He didn't expect to fail at the last moment. He tried to stand up and run forward, but he fell to the ground again as soon as he stood up.
He rolled on the ground in pain. Then he realized that his leg was broken.
It's over.
Ivan's heart sank. The horsemen and their skeletal horses were getting closer and closer. But he could only close his eyes and wait for death.
But at that moment, a silver light flashed in the forest in front of him. This silver light caused Ivan to be slightly startled. Before he could react, he saw the skeleton knight that was charging at the front suddenly flip over and fall off its horse. On its bald skull, there was a slightly swaying feather arrow stuck in it. The cold light in the forest was just the beginning. Suddenly, dozens of black shadows jumped out of the forest. They were cavalries, but they were definitely not from the White Wing Cavalry Regiment. Because Evan had already seen those cavalries coming closer and closer, their armor was faintly sparkling under the moonlight. The heads of the male lions on the armor were shining brightly.
The cavalrymen passed by him. Their hooves fell like rain. The youth was still in a dream. He vaguely remembered that he had heard of such an army before.
"Soldiers, follow me and destroy these bastards!"
Carglise's roar echoed throughout the valley.
… …
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