Chapter 734: Episode 734

A barrage of pitch-black meteors rained down from the sky. Lethe yanked the reins.

"Hold on tight!"

The carriage swerved. A fireball slammed into the ground right beside them with a deafening ’boom’, sending the chassis tilting sharply.

"Ugh!"

With the carriage threatening to flip at any moment, Simon swiftly pulled skeletons from his subspace. He converted them into Bone Armor and attached them to the rear of the collapsing vehicle.

[Push!]

The magnetic pull of the Bone Armors activated in unison. With a heavy ’clatter’, the carriage barely managed to right itself.

"Excellent work!" Lethe shouted, fighting with the reins.

Simon sat up straight and scanned the sky. The pitch-black meteors continued their relentless descent.

"Looks like we’ve been spotted."

"What is our next move?" Lethe asked.

Her only option was to keep her eyes locked forward and weave through the trees. Fireballs crashed down all around them. They narrowly avoided direct hits, but the rear of the carriage had already caught fire.

Right above them, another meteor plummeted toward the roof.

"Jump, Lethe!"

At Simon’s shout, Lethe abandoned the reins and threw herself from the driver’s seat without a moment’s hesitation.

Simon followed suit, leaping into the air just as a pitch-black fireball struck the carriage dead-on.

’FWOOSH!’

Flames instantly engulfed the wood, and the panicked horses snapped their tethers, fleeing into the woods.

Tumbling down a steep, grassy slope, the two barely managed to stop themselves once they hit flat ground.

Struggling to lift their heads, they watched the burning carriage carry on its momentum before being obliterated by six consecutive fireballs, vanishing without a trace.

The ground rumbled beneath them. Lethe wiped her mouth, panting heavily.

"We almost died, damn it!"

Simon’s gaze, however, had already moved past the wreckage. He raised a hand and pointed forward.

"Lethe, look."

She followed his finger, her face turning pale. A pitch-black tide was rolling across the wide-open plains.

"What a nightmare. Are those all undead?"

A chaotic chorus of shrieks and howls echoed through the air as a massive horde of undead charged forward. Beyond them, figures in black robes, Necromancers, followed close behind.

"A war is breaking out," Simon muttered, getting to his feet. "If I head toward those Necromancers, I might be able to find out where my father is."

"Good idea. Then I will..."

’VWOOOOM!’

’VWOOM!’

White magic circles unfurled in the sky one after another, and pure white crosses began to crash down onto the plains. The undead were either crushed beneath the massive holy symbols or purified into dust by the radiant light they emitted.

"It appears there are Priests on the opposite side," Lethe observed. "I will head over there."

"Alright." Simon unfolded a map. "Let’s split up to investigate, then set a rendezvous point. Here."

He pointed to a village in the neutral zone, located a reasonable distance from their current position.

"We’ll meet at midnight in two days at Pasonira Village. We’ll exchange the information we’ve gathered and decide our next steps from there."

"Understood. No matter what happens, we rendezvous there." Lethe’s eyes grew serious. "If one of us fails to appear, we will assume the worst, and the other will initiate a search."

"Yeah. We don’t know who the member of the Secret Society from the present is, or which faction they’ve joined, so be careful."

"I will be fine, so please watch your own back."

The two met each other’s gaze, nodded, and simultaneously turned and ran in opposite directions.

On the plains, Black Magic and White Magic clashed relentlessly.

---

Hiding behind the thick trunks of the jungle, Simon moved along the Necromancer faction’s battle lines.

The Priests’ White Magic failed to halt the undead’s advance, and eventually, the horde reached the gates of the fortress guarded by the holy forces.

A magnificent white fortress wall loomed in the distance.

The undead shrieked as they tried to smash or scale the pristine stone, but they were helplessly crushed by the barrage of holy firepower pouring down from the Priests above.

Priests were far more adept at defending than attacking.

Defense, healing, blessings, and buffs.

In truth, a fortress that Priests were determined to hold was incredibly difficult for Necromancers to breach. The reason for that was clearly on display right now.

’But they must have something up their sleeve, right?’

Rather than focusing on the undead swarming the wall, Simon watched the group of Necromancers waiting in the rear.

Among them, one Necromancer stepped forward.

While the surrounding Necromancers gave off the heavy, imposing aura of veterans, the man strolling down the center looked notably younger. He sauntered forward with a delinquent-like gait, both hands shoved into his pockets.

He had rather long blue hair, dark stubble, and a stylish black uniform adorned with countless medals draped carelessly over his shoulders.

Simon’s eyes went wide.

’Father!’

It was Richard during his time as the 7th Legion Commander.

To think he would find him this quickly.

"Commander." A Necromancer bowed his head. "The enemy’s resistance is fierce."

"I’m sure it is." Richard formed a lazy smile, the corners of his mouth curving up. "If this place is breached, they’ll be backed into a corner. Today, while that woman is absent, is our golden opportunity to capture the fortress."

Richard took his hands out of his pockets and slowly raised them toward the sky.

"Strike."

Simon looked up.

Grotesquely writhing biological sacs began to plummet from the clouds like comets. The sky was covered in countless dark specks.

[Deploy the barrier!]

Simultaneously with the Priests’ shouts, a ceiling made of divine power unfurled over the fortress. As the biological sacs slammed into the barrier, they triggered massive explosions with deafening roars.

The shockwaves shook the earth. The sheer force was intense enough to rattle the trees even from a distance. The biological sacs relentlessly pounded the ceiling, forcing the Priests to pour all their divine power into maintaining it.

"Do you really have time to look up there?" Richard muttered, clenching his fist.

This time, the attack came at the fortress wall. The undead at the base suddenly erupted like a fountain as horrifying earth-dragon undead burst out from beneath them.

In an instant, they coated the white wall in a thick mucous membrane, and the undead began to swarm up the slick surface.

"The front! Block the front first!"

The Priests began to panic. Eventually, one side of the ceiling they were maintaining collapsed under the bombardment of biological sacs.

"Without that woman, they’re nothing but a disorganized mob," Richard chuckled.

He had employed a deceptive tactic, leaving a ’dummy’ behind on another battlefield.

While the ’dummy’, clad in Pier’s Bone Armor, dazzled the Priests’ eyes by using the Legion Commander’s skills, the real Richard was right here.

Since he hadn’t even used a teleportation magic circle, it was impossible for the holy forces to detect and counter him.

"Prepare to deploy everyone," Richard ordered, spreading his arms.

With heavy, metallic ’clanks’, the massive exoskeleton of a beetle-like undead seamlessly encased Richard’s body. It quickly adjusted to fit his physique, taking the form of a large, wearable suit of armor. Six white greatswords jutted out from its chest plate.

The other Necromancers also prepared for battle, simultaneously donning Bone Armors and similar constructs. Some covered themselves in blood, while others stepped inside massive bodies made of deadly poison.

In an instant, twenty elite Necromancers finished their battle preparations.

"Spatial leap magic circle is ready!"

Other Necromancers deployed the leap magic circle in front of the strike team. Richard and his men walked toward it.

"Chain Barrier curse is ready."

"Divine Resistance formula complete."

Various magical lines intricately connected across their bodies. From inside the monstrous armor, Richard’s voice echoed.

[You all see the broken gap above, right? We launch in ten seconds and enter through that gap. Once we successfully breach it...]

9.

Counting down, Richard continued.

[Wipe out every Priest inside on sight.]

The countdown ticked away rapidly.

[6.]

[5.]

[4.]

Simon swallowed hard as he watched. All the Necromancers lowered their stances, preparing to breach using the magic circle.

[2.]

[1.]

’FWOOOOOSH!’

Just as Richard was about to give the order to charge, a blindingly radiant cross rose into the sky above the fortress.

[Halt!] Richard shouted urgently.

It was an indescribably massive cross, larger than the entire fortress itself.

The descending biological sacs were purified, vanishing before they even touched the holy symbol. Even the undead clinging to the walls were swept up in the blinding light, turning into handfuls of ash or collapsing entirely.

It was an overwhelming display of power.

’VWOOM—’

The helmet of the Bone Armor flipped back, revealing Richard’s frustrated face as he stared at the sky.

"Damn it, she was already here?"

"Waaaaah!"

A triumphant roar erupted from the fortress. The morale of the Priests, who had been on the brink of defeat, skyrocketed.

The undead attacking the wall rapidly evaporated, and the barrage of biological sacs had run its course.

A Necromancer beside Richard spoke up through his armor.

[Please give the order, Commander! There will never be another opportunity like this! If we just wrap ourselves in undead and break through somehow...!]

However, Richard completely opened his undead suit and stepped down to the ground. Scratching his messy hair, he smacked his lips and turned his back.

[We’re retreating.]

"Excuse me?"

[We can’t break through that.]

Rolling his neck, Richard walked away. His legion-type undead followed behind him, and the messengers quickly issued the retreat order to the soldiers.

The horde of undead that had survived the holy light turned around and retreated.

"The wicked Necromancers are falling back!"

The Priests cheered passionately, declaring their victory.

Simon watched the scene unfold before moving again. He had to catch up to Richard quickly.

It seemed Richard was the commander of this front. Seeing that his Ancient Undead were scattered, he was likely commanding the entire war effort. There was no telling when or where he might leave, so Simon needed to make contact with him here and now.

However.

’What do I say when I meet him?’

Pondering this, Simon kept walking forward. Since they would likely be suspicious if he didn’t look like a Necromancer, he immediately pulled out and equipped his ’Dragonian’ armor.

Since he hadn’t activated the summoning magic circle with chaos, it wouldn’t function properly, but it would be enough to prove he was a Necromancer.

"Hm?"

The retreating Necromancers spotted Simon in his ’Dragonian’ armor.

Fortunately, they didn’t block his path or draw their weapons.

"Never seen you before."

"State your affiliation!"

With his face still hidden behind the drake helmet, Simon spoke.

"I was sent by Kizen. I have something to report to Commander Yona."

"What are you talking about, coming out of nowhere? To meet the Commander, you have to follow protocol..."

"Oho."

Chills ran down Simon’s spine. Before he knew it, a rough hand with sparse hair was resting on his shoulder.

"Nice suit."

’He got behind me?’

Simon stiffly turned his head. A picturesque, handsome young man was smiling while stroking his short beard.

"You have something to say to me? Who sent you?"

The famous Yona at his absolute peak, during his days as a Legion Commander, stood right before his eyes. Simon swallowed hard.

’To hell with it.’

’Come what may.’

"Lady Nephthys sent me!"

It was the truth, after all.

The expressions of the surrounding Necromancers stiffened, and Richard’s face hardened like a son who hated being nagged.

"How are we supposed to believe that?"

"Here."

Simon revealed the hourglass-shaped artifact hanging around his neck.

"Lady Nephthys gave me this."

Richard leaned forward, grabbed the artifact, and inspected it from every angle. The tension made Simon feel like his mind was burning to white ash.

"Commander, this is suspicious."

"No." Richard closed his eyes and stepped back. "I can feel the power of time. It really is that old hag’s item."

Simon breathed a sigh of relief internally.

"Alright, the old hag’s errand boy. What brings you here?"

Simon took a deep breath and answered boldly.