Chapter 151: Morale Like a Rainbow

「Three days later.」

An endless expanse of Purifying Cloths covered the sky above Hoshan Canyon. Li Ye stood upon them, and behind him were several thousand handsome and beautiful Holy Guard Cultists.

That’s right.

Li Ye had traveled from the rear to the front lines in the most ostentatious way possible.

Every citizen along the way who saw the Purifying Cloths blotting out the sun, and the Holy Guard Corps standing upon them, would cheer for him, increasing the Demon Qi of the toilet paper.

Although the Child of Destiny had not yet been chosen, Aragon was humanity’s hope. The people believed that as long as he took to the battlefield, he could surely defeat the Undead Army.

…

When Li Ye arrived at Hoshan Canyon, the prestige of both him and the Purifying Cloth had reached a new peak, and he had awakened a new Derived Skill:

Morale Like a Rainbow: You are the standard and the confidence of all. As long as you are present, the team you lead will forever have high morale, and their combat effectiveness will increase by twenty percent.

A group buff!

Amidst the long-unfamiliar stench of corpses, Li Ye looked at his newly awakened skill and sighed silently. ‘Another support skill. Why can’t I ever awaken a Combat Skill?’

…

Compared to Longgu Fortress, Hoshan Canyon lacked sufficient strategic depth.

The Undead Mist was a mere twenty li from the canyon.

Fragments of white bone littered the ground outside the canyon. Occasionally, a wisp of blue phosphorescent fire would rise, drifting back and forth in the wind.

The trees and weeds were almost completely burned away, leaving a scene of desolate decay.

Soldiers patrolled back and forth on the canyon’s ramparts, ever vigilant.

At least tens of thousands of wounded soldiers were recuperating inside the canyon. Most of them had missing limbs, while others were corroded beyond recognition by zombie venom, a truly gruesome sight…

Water Mages and Light Mages moved among them, using Magic to treat their injuries.

However, the number of Mages was far too small. Furthermore, they had to conserve their Magic Power for unexpected situations on the battlefield. Most of the wounded were tended to by Alchemists, but herbal remedies worked too slowly and did little to alleviate the patients’ pain. The canyon was filled with agonized groans.

Directly behind the canyon was an area filled with the corpses of the war dead, each wrapped in an imitation Purifying Cloth.

Expressionless soldiers carried these bodies and tossed them into incinerators for mass cremation. This was to prevent the spread of plagues and to stop the Undead Army from reanimating them should Hoshan Fortress be breached.

That was where the stench of corpses came from…

The soldiers on the front lines had long grown accustomed to these nauseating smells. They ate when they had to and drank when they had to. Not even Aragon’s arrival could stir any emotion on their numb faces.

The endless casualties and defeats had already numbed them.

Unlike the naive commonfolk in the rear, they didn’t believe one man, Aragon, could change anything!

The Holy Guard Cultists were a group of young kids recruited from the rear. For most, it was their first time on a battlefield. Upon seeing such a brutal scene, many of them turned pale and ran to the side to vomit.

Fiona’s face turned pale as well, but not because of the dead.

After all, when the Demon Qi erupted on Earth, far too many people had died. Every living person from Earth had seen more than their share of corpses and had long since stopped caring about them.

What terrified her was the power of the Undead Calamity. As far as the eye could see, the undead canopy almost blotted out the entire sky. She couldn’t dare to imagine how many Undead were hiding in the mist.

‘Damn it!’

‘Why did we have to come to the front lines?’

‘I only have to survive another ten months, and then I can go back!’

‘Young people are so impulsive and concerned with saving face. With his power, even if he didn’t want to go to war, who could possibly force him?’

Fiona stared at Li Ye’s back, complaining incessantly in her heart.

…

“Your Eminence, you’ve finally arrived.”

The newly appointed Elf Marshal, Geser, led the high-ranking officers of the Alliance Army in bowing to Li Ye.

Behind him were many faces familiar to Li Ye: the Fire Element Sword Saint Quade, the Wind Element Sword Saint Marshall, the Water Forbidden Mage Reinhart, and others.

Days of continuous battle had left them all looking exhausted. The Fire Element Sword Saint Quade had lost an arm, and the Elf Divine Archer Arena had lost an eye…

Each of them was adorned with Purifying Cloths. A large batch of the cloths from the rear had been sent to the front lines to aid them in battle.

Evidently, the number of Purifying Cloths was too small to have much of an effect.

Li Ye’s gaze swept over them one by one, and he said guiltily, “Marshal Geser, I’m sorry. I was unable to find the Child of Destiny. The time I was given was too short.”

“It’s not your fault. It is we who were incompetent,” Geser said. “We were the ones who failed to buy Your Eminence more time.”

“Although I couldn’t find the Child of Destiny, I swear I will do everything in my power to stop the Undead.” Li Ye looked toward the Undead Mist, a flash of deep pain in his eyes. “Marshal, first, brief me on the war situation…”

…

「In the war room.」

Geser pointed at a sand table, explaining the situation to Li Ye. “…Your Eminence, something seems to have provoked the Undead these past few days. They launch a Charge every single night.

Over the past few days, we’ve eliminated thirteen Skeleton Generals and more than three thousand Undead Knights. At least several hundred thousand Undead have fallen at Hoshan Canyon.

But there are still too many of them. They’re endless, they feel no fatigue or pain… You can’t kill them all, you just can’t…”

Geser looked at Li Ye with bloodshot eyes and said bitterly, “With these constant battles, our casualties have been severe. We only have three hundred fifty thousand soldiers left who can still fight.

As for high-end combat power, we are down to just five Forbidden Mages, three Sword Saints, two Elf Race Divine Archers, one High Priest, and three Beastman Mad War Saints…

The Undead are tireless, but our Mages and Warriors can’t get any effective recovery amidst the ceaseless fighting.

Your Eminence, my estimations were wrong. Based on my Inference, at this rate, Hoshan Canyon will fall in three days at most.

We can’t afford to lose all of our high-end combat power here. Otherwise, with no one to hold the line at Jiading Highland, it will be impossible to stop the Undead Army…”

“Have you fought the Skeleton Monarch head-on?” Li Ye looked up and asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

Sword Saint Quade said sorrowfully, “Your Eminence, no one has seen the real Skeleton Monarch. My arm was cut off by Bertrand. Bertrand was once a good friend of mine. After he died in battle, the Skeleton Monarch turned him into an Undead. His power is now even greater than when he was alive.”

“My eye was shot out by Shabei,” Arena said emotionlessly. “The Skeleton Monarch only needs to turn corpses into Undead and send them onto the battlefield. It doesn’t care about casualties at all and doesn’t need to take the field itself.”

“Right now, the mission of our Fire Mages on the battlefield isn’t to kill the enemy, but to burn the bodies of our own fallen,” Marshal Geser said with a sigh. “It’s the only way to weaken the enemy’s potential forces.

Your Eminence, there have been Undead Calamities on the continent of Ounide before.

But never has there been an Undead Monarch like this one. In the past, their conversion rate was only one-third, and the Undead they resurrected had at most half of their strength in life.

This current Undead Monarch, however, can turn one hundred percent of the dead into its soldiers, and it even enhances their strength. It’s simply terrifying.”

“Geser, give me the position of Marshal,” Li Ye said, looking at Geser.

Geser was stunned. “Your Eminence, you have no experience commanding large-scale wars.”

“You will still command the battlefield, but the position of Grand Marshal must be mine,” Li Ye said. “On my way to the front, I discovered a secret of the Purifying Cloth. As long as I hold the Holy Artifact, the combat effectiveness of everyone under my command will increase by twenty percent.”

“Twenty percent?” Quade exclaimed. “After Bertrand was turned into an Undead, his power also increased by about twenty percent.”

“Is that true?” Geser asked.

“Of course,” Li Ye said. “Marshal, I have no reason to lie to you about this. Perhaps this is why Gandalf sent me here.

He probably foresaw the Undead’s abilities long ago and hid the method to counter them within the Purifying Cloth. I may have to gradually uncover the secrets of the Purifying Cloth on the battlefield…”

“Very well. I will inform the entire army shortly. From this moment on, you are the Grand Marshal of the Alliance Army,” Geser said with a solemn expression, handing the Marshal’s seal to Li Ye.

With humanity on the brink of annihilation, he wouldn’t let go of any lifeline.

Besides, the fact that Aragon had absorbed the Angel’s Heart was no secret among the high command of the Alliance Army.

The moment Li Ye accepted the Marshal’s seal.

The Morale Like a Rainbow skill quietly activated, and everyone present felt a jolt to their spirits.

Quade said in shock, “It’s real! My Fighting Qi has become more active.”

Reinhart said, “My Magic Power has also increased by twenty percent.”

Kenneth said in a booming voice, “My strength has increased as well. I feel like charging out right now and smashing all those Undead into bone fragments.”

Geser let out a long sigh of relief and looked at Li Ye gratefully. “Your Eminence, you truly are humanity’s savior. I wasn’t wrong about you…”

Before Aragon’s appearance, he, like his soldiers, had believed that he wouldn’t be able to decisively change the course of the war.

But once the Morale Like a Rainbow skill was activated, he truly saw hope. Even his own spirits were greatly lifted, though he was completely unaware that he himself was under its influence.

At that moment, a wave of astonished cries rose from outside.

Apparently, everyone had discovered the increase in their strength.

When the news spread that Aragon had discovered the secret of the Purifying Cloth—that it could increase everyone’s power—the low morale instantly rebounded.

“Geser, remember to pass on the secret of the Purifying Cloth to the rear. They need encouragement as well.” Li Ye never missed an opportunity to promote the toilet paper. “The Purifying Cloth has more than one secret. I need more people to get involved in researching it.

Also, during the battle tonight, all the powerful experts in the fortress and the Holy Guard Army will follow me. They will Charge with me…”

Sacrificing teammates would consume his accumulated power, including his Demon Qi.

But ‘Beat Up My Teammate’ wouldn’t. It was time to use ‘Beat Up My Teammate’ to help those around him grow stronger.

Previously, Li Ye’s Body Attributes had been capped by the peak of the Harmonization Realm. No matter how much he beat up his teammates, his strength wouldn’t increase.

And he hadn’t planned on helping a group of strangers increase their power for no reason.

But now, Li Ye had Michael’s Divine Power within his body.

The Divine Power had broken through the limits the Harmonization Realm placed on his body, allowing his strength to grow once again. In that case, he might as well use ‘Beat Up My Teammate’.

The skill Li Ye was most grateful for was ‘Beat Up My Teammate’.

Only this skill could allow him to rapidly strengthen himself in a short amount of time and approach the level of those Great Powers from ancient times.

Otherwise, if he relied on his own cultivation, it would take forever to escape the control of the Demon Suppression Tower.

As for why he still had Elsa and the others searching for the fragments of the Angel’s Heart, first, it was to prevent others from obtaining the Divine Fragments and causing trouble for him.

Second, Li Ye’s own Divine Format was, after all, formed from a single fragment.

‘What if it’s incomplete?’

But after absorbing the second Divine Fragment, aside from granting him some extra Divine Power, it didn’t add any new functions. So, he wasn’t as concerned about the other Divine Fragments anymore.

He could increase his Divine Power through skills; there was no need to go through all the trouble of searching for the Angel’s Heart…