Chapter 60 - 23: [King of Magical Beasts, Undead Lord, and Twin Moons]

Chapter 60: Chapter 23: [King of Magical Beasts, Undead Lord, and Twin Moons]

Amidst the brilliant radiance, the Undead Warriors’ formation crumbled instantly. They reverted to mindless puppets, swinging their swords wildly. Over a dozen Undead Swordsmen closest to the Holy Light fell straight backward, shattering into pieces with a loud CRASH!

The Beaked Dogs and Rot Root Balls were blinded and intimidated by the intense glow, howling as they were forced to retreat for a brief moment. The Monarch’s will seemed to have been dispelled, causing them to temporarily lose their fighting spirit.

"Quick! Counterattack! Crush them!" Ralph shouted, supporting the paralyzed Flail Warrior.

Amidst the mercenaries’ unified battle cries, the leaderless Undead Warriors and the beast pack were swiftly beaten back.

"Ah... the connection isn’t very good."

Atop a distant hill, two figures stood side by side beneath the moonlight. The copper-armored figure muttered quietly, looking at the UI pop-ups on his helmet that read [Spiritual Energy Insulation Detected] and [Nether Copper Signal Blocked].

"Damned Holy Light..." the figure in the Black Armor grumbled, clutching his head. "We have to whittle down their guard numbers and force the carriage out of their protection! Otherwise, the Demon Crow responsible for planting the mold will be killed the moment it gets close!"

"It’s fine. It looks like they can only cast it once. Plus, the Spiritual Implants are still functioning normally. Let’s hurry up and wrest back control." The copper-armored figure shook his head. Sheathing his sword, he raised his shield, formed a fist with his right hand, and slammed it fiercely against the shield’s surface!

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

The muffled yet piercing chime of the Nether Bronze Funeral Bell rang out once more. Stronger and louder than before, it echoed through the copper-hued moonlight!

CLACK CLACK! The scattered Undead snapped to attention. The recently dispersed Skeleton Shield Guards quickly reformed their shield wall! The Skeleton Swordsmen gripped their weapons single-handedly, raising their rusted, broken blades before their helmets. With the flawless execution of Grandmaster Swordsmen, they assumed their blade-countering stance once again!

The Beaked Dogs rallied! Meanwhile, without anyone noticing when it had happened, the battlefield had been completely surrounded by tumbleweeds! The Rot Root Balls tossed the tumbleweeds aside, letting out comical shrieks.

"Oooooyah!" A Rot Root Ball wearing a Nether Copper Bell-shaped Helmet popped out from a tumbleweed. It raised a tiny short spear in its claws and hollered, "Oyah!"

"Oyah!" the other Rot Root Balls chorused in unison, hurling their Bloodthorn Short Spears into the encirclement!

In an instant, agonizing screams filled the air.

"Why is this happening again?" Ralph thought, panting heavily. He shoved the paralyzed Flail Warrior into the arms of two mercenaries behind him. Activating his combat art, [Focus Steps], he dodged past the Skeleton Swordsmen and bolted toward the convoy!

CLANG! A rusted longsword suddenly swung out to block his path.

Ralph didn’t stop. Relying on [Focus Steps] to quickly evade, he intended to bypass the interception. However, moving with astonishing speed, the Rusted Iron Sword blocked him once more.

He looked up, locking eyes with the Rusted Copper Bell-shaped Helmet of the Skeleton Swordsman standing before him.

"This Undead also knows [Focus Steps]," Ralph thought with growing frustration. He swung his heavy sword fiercely, only for his opponent to effortlessly dodge the blow.

A cold glint flashed off the rusted iron!

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG! A flurry of metallic clashes rang out as rapidly as popping beans! Ralph struggled to turn his heavy sword horizontally, using its thick flat side to parry a frenzied barrage of armor-piercing thrusts! The hilt vibrated so violently it nearly flew from his grasp!

"[Precision Combo]!" Ralph thought in shock. "This Undead knows the combat art of an Advanced Swordsman!"

"My stamina is already bottoming out..." Ralph thought. He tried to maneuver around his opponent, but the silent Rusted Copper Bell-shaped Helmet consistently intercepted him with perfect accuracy. Yet, the creature no longer used offensive combat arts. It simply maintained that damned blade-countering stance while keeping [Focus Steps] active, swaying left and right to firmly block his path.

Not far away, the terrified neighs of horses rang out! Under Old Jock’s forceful control, the Beaked Dogs’ bites hadn’t been enough to spook the beasts. But at some point, a Rot Root Ball wearing a Rusted Copper Helmet had stealthily shimmied under the carriage seat on its stubby little legs. With a vicious jab, it poked the draft horses’ rears twice with its Bloodthorn Short Spear!

Agonized by the searing pain of the Bloodthorn Poison, the draft horses shrieked and completely lost control! Old Jock was grabbed by the shoulder by a Skeleton Gunman and yanked right off the front of the carriage.

THUMP! THUMP! The sound of a metal fist hammering against a shield echoed across the battlefield.

The Skeleton Gunman didn’t harm Old Jock. It merely gripped its weapon shaft tightly, locking him firmly in its freezing embrace. Harassed by the Beaked Dogs, the two horses dragged the covered wagon—which was fully loaded with grain sacks—and charged out of the encirclement!

Shockingly, the Undead moved in perfect sync to briefly open a path for the spooked horses and the wagon! Then, they immediately closed the gap in their encirclement, trapping the mercenaries and convoy escorts who tried to rush to the rescue.

WHOOSH! In the powerful gale whipped up by flapping wings, the moonlight was briefly blotted out! A Dragon-vulture swooped down from the high heavens. Spreading its massive wings, it shrieked and intercepted the horses. Its giant talons ripped apart the wagon’s canvas cover and snatched at the grain sacks. However, as if the sacks were too heavy to lift, it merely slashed seven or eight tears across their surface.

"Shoot your Crossbow Arrows! Drive back that Dragon-vulture!" Ralph roared, giving orders while desperately trying to shake off the copper-helmeted Skeleton Swordsman in front of him.

Seven or eight arrows were fired sporadically, only to be swatted away by a single flap of the Dragon-vulture’s wing!

"We’re completely out of Crossbow Arrows!" the mercenary crossbowmen shouted back, barely fending off the harassing Beaked Dogs and Rot Root Balls with their small bucklers.

From within the fluffy feathers on the Dragon-vulture’s chest, a tiny Demon Crow poked its head out. Using the shadow of the beast’s wings for cover, it fluttered down onto the torn grain sacks. It pecked the fungus chunks in its claws into even smaller fragments, meticulously tucking a little bit into every single sack of grain. Tilting its head to admire its work for a moment, it fluttered back up onto the Dragon-vulture, burrowing deep into the pile of feathers on its chest.