Chapter 59 - 23: [The King of Magical Beasts, the Undead Archlord, and the Twin Moons]

Chapter 59: Chapter 23: [The King of Magical Beasts, the Undead Archlord, and the Twin Moons]

"Marla, Rosa, Kevin, and I will quickly dispose of these Undead!" Ralph shouted. "Before they form their array again! Move fast! The rest of you stay put, guard the wagons, and watch out for other ambushes!"

The three immediately broke ranks. Wielding a Longsword, a Two-Handed Scimitar, and a heavy flail, they charged into the scattered Undead formation, ready to begin the harvest.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

An eerie metallic clanging echoed once more from somewhere in the distance.

Accompanied by the piercing, death-knell strikes, the routed Skeleton Shield Soldiers and Gunmen suddenly fell back. Dozens of Skeleton Swordsmen, who had been hiding behind the shields, stepped forward. Moving in perfect unison, they raised the broken standard-issue military swords in their right hands. Extending their right arms, they executed crisp, sharp sword flourishes. The rusty blades were held at a protective slant as they trapped the four mercenaries in the center of their Sword Array, holding their stances without advancing.

"Wh—[Riposte Stance]! Don’t move!" Ralph shouted, warning his teammates. But the teammate wielding the Two-Handed Scimitar was too quick and had already thrust his blade forward!

CLINK! With a deft parry that redirected the force, the skeleton’s arm lashed out in a backhanded slash!

"Ah!" The teammate wielding the Two-Handed Scimitar stumbled back two steps, clutching the fresh cut on his arm as a short blade slipped from his right hand and clattered to the ground.

"This is an advanced, complex Swordsmanship combat skill! Why would these dime-a-dozen, low-level Skeleton Warriors know how to use something like this?!" the Flail Warrior exclaimed in shock.

"Marla, Kevin, don’t move! Rosa, get ready to charge up an impact-type combat skill with me! We’ll use brute force to break the Undead’s Riposte Stance!" Commander Ralph bellowed.

CLANG! CLANG! The metallic crashes lingered over the battlefield once more, like the life-claiming call of a Death God.

Ralph’s heart skipped a beat. Taking advantage of the mercenaries being surrounded by the Swordsmen, the Skeleton Shield Soldiers and Gunmen had formed up their encircling array once again, closing in on the covered wagons and the escort team!

"You don’t have impact-type combat skills to break the array! Form a defensive perimeter and guard the wagons!" he yelled. "We’ll break out right away!"

The mercenaries raised their light bucklers and hand crossbows. Two Swordsmen lifted their Longswords and activated the low-level combat skill, [Enhanced Blade]. Consuming their Spiritual Power to reinforce their edges, they unleashed a flurry of slashes, quickly severing the rusty spearheads of the Undead.

HOO-CAW-CAW! HOO-HOO-CAW-CAW-CAW! Piercing screeches echoed through the dark night. The bizarre, breathy sounds resembled a bird, a wild wolf, or some sort of grating, ear-piercing cackle.

Low growls emanated from the shadows of the night. Dozens of slender, diminutive figures darted forward as fast as shuttles. They slipped past the legs of the Skeleton Warriors surrounding the wagons and rapidly breached the encirclement.

Instead of turning to attack these figures, the Undead Warriors deliberately raised their shields higher, making it easier for the Magical Beasts to enter the ring from below!

The Undead Iron Shields’ encirclement instantly transformed into a hunting ground for the Magical Beasts!

"Beaked Dogs!" a mercenary inside the perimeter cried out in alarm. "A massive pack of Beaked Dogs... No, what is that—"

"OOH-OOH-YAH!" The things riding on the Beaked Dogs’ backs let out comical, high-pitched shrieks. "OOH-YAH! OOH-OOH-OOH-OOH-OOH-YAH-YAH-YAH!"

Crude leaf saddles were strapped to the backs of several Beaked Dogs. A few potato-like Rot Root Balls had tied themselves to the beasts using their root tendrils. Clutching bundles of broken Bloodthorn branches, they shrieked bizarrely as they hurled short spears crafted from the Bloodthorns!

"Ahhh! Ah!" Caught off guard, several mercenaries were struck by the Bloodthorns. The agonizing pain caused by the toxins instantly spread through their bodies. Though not fatal, it forced them to writhe on the ground, temporarily losing their mobility!

"CAW-CAW-CAW-CAW!" The Beaked Dogs leaped into the air. Their bizarre heads—a hybrid between a crow and a wolf—featured razor-sharp beaks. They lunged at the mercenaries, frantically tearing into them with claws and beaks. Tangled in the vicious assault, the mercenaries were unknowingly forced away from the front of the wagons.

A few Beaked Dogs circled the draft horses, snapping and biting. They tore into the animals, leaving streaks of bloody scratch marks in an attempt to drive the horses outside the mercenaries’ protective formation.

The horses neighed, terrified and desperate to flee, but Old Jock, with all his experience, pulled back on the reins with a death grip!

"Don’t run, girls! Our only chance of survival is inside the guards’ perimeter!" Old Jock gripped the reins tightly with one hand while cracking his riding crop with the other, struggling to fend off the surrounding Beaked Dogs. "Get! Get out of here!"

Ignoring the blistering heat, he plunged his bare hand into the brazier atop the wagon, which was burning Beast-Repelling Smoke Medicine. He scooped out a handful of smoldering Magic Charcoal and hurled it viciously into the pack of Beaked Dogs!

The scalding charcoal and the pungent stench of the Beast-Repelling Potion struck dead center within the pack. Some of the Beaked Dogs had their snouts burned by the coals and retreated with whimpers. Yet, in no time at all, as if whipped by a Monarch, they roared and charged forward once again!

"Get! Shoo!" Old Jock shook his blistered hand and grabbed another handful of Magic Charcoal laced with Beast-Repelling Potion. Gripping the reins for dear life, he barely managed to hold his ground.

BOOM! Accompanied by a massive blast, Commander Ralph panted heavily. He had used a fully charged combat skill to shatter the Swordsmen’s Riposte Stance array, leading his three subordinates out of the Skeleton Swordsmen’s encirclement.

However, the Skeleton Swordsmen matched his breakout with perfectly synchronized steps. Gripping their sword hilts at a slant, they maintained their Riposte Stance, blocking the path between Ralph’s group and the ambushed covered wagons.

"Rosa, [Holy Light]! Hurry up!" Ralph roared.

"I can only use it at most once a day! Once I use it, I’ll completely lose my combat ability!" the Flail Warrior hesitated.

"Hurry! We need to deal with the Undead blocking our way first!" Ralph bellowed furiously.

"Everyone, close your eyes!" The Flail Warrior dropped her weapon, clasped her hands together, and raised them high toward the sky!

[Holy Light - Banish].

The next second, an intense white radiance erupted from between her hands, instantly illuminating the dark battlefield as bright as day!