adbindia Chapter 255: An Undead Calamity?
Chapter 255: An Undead Calamity?
Just as the Arcane Legion on the battlements was struggling to weather the
torrential magic bombardment from the Necrotic Realm, a single voice resonated
through the Soul Link of every defender.
"Stand down. The Aegis Legion is assuming control of the sector."
The command was absolute. The Centurions of the Arcane and Silent Extinction
Legions didn't hesitate for a micro-second, issuing new directives to their
units.
"All units, tactical repositioning! Objective: Hostile vanguard. Engage at
will!"
The order surged through the collective consciousness of the Imperial forces. In
perfect unison, thousands of Arcane Legion mages ceased their defensive
channeling. They turned and leaped from the fifty-meter high walls of Gale City.
Their robes billowed like dark wings as they traced long, glowing arcs through
the sky. They landed, rolled to dissipate the kinetic energy, sprang up, and
broke into full sprints. In mid-motion, they were already weaving new offensive
formulas, providing mobile artillery support for the front lines.
Simultaneously, the Bone Withers of the Silent Extinction Legion vaulted from
the ramparts. Moving with predatory speed, they raised their arms, condensing
dark Od into obsidian arrows that they rained down upon the endless bone-sea.
They didn't aim for individuals; they provided saturation fire, turning the
prairie into a kill-zone of black shrapnel.
The battlements, once crowded to the point of structural strain, were suddenly
vacant.
In their place, thousands of Aegis Giants—colossal skeleton behemoths—marched
through the city gates. The tower-shields they gripped were taller than a
standard human dwelling. The commanding Aegis Centurion strode to the vanguard,
seized his shield with both gauntlets, hoisted it above his skull, and slammed
it into the earth.
BOOM!
The earth let out a dull, pained groan. A visible shockwave of force erupted
from the point of impact. Sapphire-blue Mana bled from the base of the shield,
spreading across the dirt like a rising tide. Behind him, the thousands of
Giants mimicked the movement in a single, crushing beat.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The staccato of impacts fused into a rolling thunder that rattled the very
marrow of the living and dead alike.
"FORM THE LINE! THE IMMOVABLE FORTRESS!"
At the Centurion's roar, the Od within every Aegis Giant detonated into a
brilliant flare. Blue radiance erupted from every shield, intertwining and
fusing in the air. The light coalesced into a gargantuan energy ring beneath the
city's foundations before expanding upward, forming a translucent, hemispherical
dome that enveloped Gale City and its immediate defenses.
The moment the barrier set, the second wave of Necrotic Realm magic arrived—a
screaming rain of fireballs, ice lances, acid bolts, and curse-rays.
RUMBLE!
The deafening explosions merged into a continuous roar above the prairie. The
surface of the barrier rippled with thousands of concentric rings of light. Each
impact caused a momentary indentation in the dome, but it snapped back to its
original state instantly. Not a single thread of hostile magic pierced the
aegis.
Inside the city, within the deep subterranean shelters, the civilians heard the
relentless thrum of the bombardment above. Fear began to claw at the edges of
the crowd. Children wailed, and the air was thick with the scent of unwashed,
terrified bodies.
In the center of the largest bunker, a Sister of the Evernight Cathedral stood.
She closed her eyes, folded her hands over her chest, and began a low, rhythmic
chant.
"Under the grey of the old world, we were lambs lost to the wind."
The chaotic murmurs of the crowd began to taper off as her voice anchored them.
"The Sovereign descended, bearing the brilliance of Order."
Other Sisters and Priests joined the chorus, their voices fusing into a
haunting, melodic resonance that filled the bunker.
"We hear his command, and our hearts are stilled." "We share his Evernight, and
our grief is ended."
An elderly woman, a regular at the Cathedral, began to hum along, followed by a
father holding his son, and then another, and another. The song of the Evernight
rose, eventually drowning out the muffled thunder of the war outside.
Above them, on the blood-soaked plains, the tactical reality was shifting
violently.
The Evernight vanguard had made contact with the Necrotic Realm's front line.
The Punishment Legion Centurion led the charge, his Bone-Cleaving Greatsword
carving arcs of pure force through the air. Every swing sent a spray of bone
fragments skyward as he cleaved through ranks of enemy thralls.
But the sheer mass of the enemy was daunting. For every rank he shattered, ten
more surged forward, mindless and unafraid.
The Fearless Vanguard followed in a razor-sharp wedge. Their skeletal steeds
spat hellfire, turning the vicinity into a mobile inferno. The Death Knights'
lances were surgical, punching through multiple skulls in a single thrust to
snuff out the enemy soulfire.
Yet, the numbers of the Necrotic Realm defied logic. This was a true Undead
Calamity—an army that used the corpses of an entire Plane as its recruitment
pool.
The Vampires of the State Army avoided the heavy attrition of the center. They
moved as blurring crimson ghosts on the flanks. The administrative burnout and
daily stress of managing an Empire were being purged in a frenzy of raw
violence. They abandoned the tactical discipline of their Ghoul infantry,
relying on instinct. Claws tore through reinforced bone; fangs crushed skulls to
drink the lingering dregs of spirit energy.
Hidden within the shadows of the charging Death Knights were the Shadow Guards.
As a Fearless Knight unhorsed an enemy officer, a silhouette would flicker from
the ground, driving a dagger into the target's soulfire before vanishing back
into the shade. They were the cleaners, neutralizing high-value threats before
they could disrupt the momentum of the charge.
This temporary alliance of the four Legions displayed a level of synergy that
should have been impossible.
However, the Necrotic Realm's numerical superiority was absolute. A Fearless
Vanguard knight, after impaling a dozen foes, found himself swarmed by three
hostile Skeleton Berserkers. A colossal bone-blade descended, unhorsing him and
shattering his frame into a pile of splinters. His soulfire winked out.
Two seconds passed.
The scattered bones began to vibrate. They surged together, reassembling in a
blur of motion. A fresh, blue soulfire ignited in the skull, burning brighter
than before. The Knight stood, summoned a new steed from the void, and lowered
his lance for a new charge without sparing a glance at his own damage.
[Authority: Ruler Immortal, Subjects Undying]
On the other flank, a State Army Vampire was caught in a crossfire of curse-rays
from a dozen enemy Liches. His body liquefied instantly into a pool of black
ichor.
The blood didn't soak into the earth. It writhed and coagulated, snapping back
into the shape of the Vampire. He licked a smear of gore from his lip, let out a
raspy, clicking laugh, and lunged back into the fray.
This impossible scene repeated across the entire battlefield. The Evernight
soldiers were like unkillable ghosts, returning from the Void again and again.
Confusion began to infect the Necrotic Realm's ranks.
An enemy Skeleton King watched in horror as one of his elite Berserkers was
impaled by an Evernight lance. The Berserker's soulfire was extinguished—a
permanent death for any resident of the Necrotic Realm.
But a second later, the Berserker's frame rattled and stood. A new,
sapphire-blue flame ignited in its eye sockets. The Berserker looked at its
hands, looked at its former King, and without a second of hesitation, raised its
sword to slaughter its own former comrades.
"TREASON!" the Skeleton King roared, swinging his blade to shatter the turncoat.
But he quickly realized it wasn't an isolated case. In every sector, every unit
of the Necrotic Realm that fell to an Evernight blade was rising as an enemy.
They retained their skills. They retained their strength. But their soulfire had
turned blue, and their loyalty had been rewritten to the Sovereign of Evernight.
The numerical advantage that Thanatos prized was being transformed into a
nightmare. With every enemy that fell, a new Imperial soldier rose.
[Skill: Undead Resurrection] was turning the tide.
☆☆☆
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