Chapter 58 - 23: [Magical Beast King, Undead Overlord, and Twin Moons]

Chapter 58: Chapter 23: [Magical Beast King, Undead Overlord, and Twin Moons]

Under the moonlight, the rolling hills were illuminated to a pale white, resembling dunes of piled silver sand. A faint, coppery-green hue tinted the landscape, adding a touch of chill to the air.

The desolate road twisted like a giant python slithering through the hills, meandering across the plains. This was a remnant of the ancient Empire’s border. Centuries ago, the soldiers of the ancient Empire had once guarded this frontier—or rather, pushed the Empire’s borders forward step by step.

That was until the Magic Power overflow gradually spread. The Barren Land, like a living behemoth, swallowed up this once-habitable zone. Corrosive dust storms destroyed the forests, and loose soil covered the fields, spreading the corruption all the way here.

CREAK. CREAK. The soft sound of carriage wheels echoed on the desolate road. Two wagons fully loaded with grain were pulled by fine horses, advancing under the protection of a Mercenary Corps escort.

Old Jock sat at the front of the lead wagon. As he drove, he cast a sideways glance at the silent escort flanking the convoy.

They were a squad of fierce and capable Light Armor Warriors. Their footsteps were steady, and their formation could barely be considered orderly. However, their weapons were not standard-issue military swords, spears, and shields. Instead, they carried a chaotic and disorganized assortment of arms; their Longswords varied in design, and the lengths and shapes of their spears were all different.

"Is there a problem, Captain Jock?" the young escort commander asked, raising his head.

"Oh, no, it’s nothing." Jock looked away. "I was just thinking that the Wolf Banner Legion truly lives up to its reputation as a famous Mercenary Corps on the border."

"You’ve always felt we weren’t up to the task of this transport detail, haven’t you?" The young Mercenary Corps commander didn’t beat around the bush with Old Jock; he simply pointed it out calmly.

"Sigh, I wouldn’t put it exactly like that. Commander Ralph, you’re quite blunt, leaving a man no room to save face," Old Jock sighed repeatedly. "I didn’t mean it that way. It’s not that you’re incompetent or anything. It’s just that this shipment is of great importance. Logically speaking, it should be escorted by someone more professional."

"We outnumber ordinary adventuring parties and have undergone years of drilling. We excel at formation defense and coordinated combat. Advanced Adventurers might be stronger than us in solo survival and combat, but when it comes to long-distance marches and escorting transports, I’m afraid we do it better," the young Mercenary Corps commander replied. "Where would you find anyone more professional than us?"

Old Jock hesitated for a moment.

"Imperial Professional Soldiers," he answered. "Logically, since this matter is so crucial, the Alliance could have easily borrowed a squad of Imperial Professional Soldiers from the border outpost to transport the grain."

"Professional Soldiers would indeed do a better job than us, but as you know, they refused," the Mercenary Corps commander said, shaking his head. "So, we took the job."

"It’s really strange..." Old Jock reached under his merchant’s hat and scratched his shiny bald head. "The Alliance is allied with all the major kingdoms, and its relationship with the Empire is especially close. A few years ago, borrowing a squad of Professional Imperial Soldiers to transport important goods for the Alliance was a common occurrence. To think the border outpost commander would actually refuse this time..."

He pondered for a moment before snapping back to reality.

"Of course, I don’t mean that you and your Mercenary Corps are incompetent. The Wolf Banner Legion is an outstanding Mercenary Corps known to everyone along the border," he added.

"Rest assured, you will soon see what we are capable of," Commander Ralph replied, neither haughty nor humble.

The next second, he suddenly raised the hand crossbow tightly gripped in his left hand, aimed it at a spot in the darkness ahead, and pulled the trigger!

The Crossbow Arrow pierced the air with a sharp SWISH, only to be blocked by a rusted Broken Iron Shield in the darkness. It fell to the ground with a CLANG.

The draft horses were spooked by something hidden in the dark and suddenly let out panicked neighs! Old Jock frantically hugged their necks, trying to soothe them.

"Protect the transport wagons!" Commander Ralph shouted. The mercenaries quickly shifted their formation, weapons facing outward. A small number of Crossbowmen raised their bucklers and hand crossbows, surrounding the two grain wagons in the center.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

A harsh, metallic banging echoed from the distance, like a war drum from long ago. After hundreds of years, a commander was once again beating the rhythm to drive ancient Warriors.

THUD-THUD. THUD-THUD. THUD-THUD. A series of uniform footsteps echoed through the dark night. Dozens of iron shields, interspersed with dozens of spears, formed a deadly iron shield wall that slowly advanced from the darkness.

The light from the torchstand at the front of the wagon, burning Beast-Repelling Smoke Medicine, illuminated the enemies ahead—rusted swords and shields, shattered armor and spears, and incomplete, crude skeletons. All of these were bound together by cold, cruel malice, forming a puppet legion that symbolized death and nothingness.

THUD-THUD. THUD-THUD. Combat boots stomped the ground in perfect unison. Like a marching nightmare, they formed a crescent shape and quickly closed in to surround the convoy.

"Undead?!" Ralph was taken aback. He wondered, "Why do the Undead have such an orderly formation? Aren’t they supposed to be hacking blindly like headless chickens?"

The mercenaries instinctively raised their hand crossbows and unleashed a volley, but it was completely ineffective against the shields guarding the front. This was very strange; the Undead were not supposed to have the tactical awareness to raise shields and protect one another.

With no time to overthink the current situation, Ralph drew the heavy greatsword from his back and activated a combat skill. His entire body transformed into a steel-colored shadow as he charged forward!

[Charged Impact]!

Accompanied by a loud crash like a massive bell, the greatsword slammed viciously into the shield wall, cleaving an iron shield and the Undead holding it in half! The immense impact forcibly shattered the Undead’s formation, breaking the wall of iron into scattered Skeleton Warrior units.