Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
On that day, the Saint Lothia Royal Capital’s shield shattered, and not a single soldier on the entire city wall survived. Among them were twelve Source Mages and five Champion Knights. They were mostly converted into members of the undead. It was only later that Legendary Mage Fario, who was lecturing on magic theory in other empires, returned urgently and used his self-created forbidden spell, Void Rend, to shatter the entire Great Mausoleum into the void, thus ending this terrifying Undead Calamity. Although the legendary Lich Burvik perished in his battle with Fario, the world remembered the Lich’s forbidden spell. It was named “Burvik’s Great Mausoleum” after him. Therefore, the key to breaking Burvik’s Great Mausoleum was to destroy the tombstones. The battlefield in front of Emerald Fortress would certainly not lack undead energy. If these tombstones were not dealt with, they would grow at an extremely fast pace. Although Emerald Fortress was the most formidable stronghold in the North Continent, Clemon would not arrogantly believe it could match the defensive strength of the Saint Lothia Empire Royal Capital, the strongest empire in the South Continent. Currently, the Ghost Dragon Angus hovered outside the influence of the Moonlight Sacred Well, refusing to advance. However, a large portion of Burvik’s Great Mausoleum was within the Moonlight Sacred Well’s range. This was the Ghost Dragon Angus’s way of forcing humanity to leave Emerald Fortress and abandon the advantageous terrain of the city walls to engage the undead in a desperate battle. Clemon had no good solution for this.
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“Nobody Does Human Things” received a command from Clemon. All the Foreigner Legion units were to descend from the city walls and proceed to Burvik’s Great Mausoleum to uproot all the tombstones emitting a ghastly green light. At this moment, the core undead troops, led by ghouls and zombies, had already crossed the passage between the flaming trenches and were charging towards the walls of Emerald Fortress. Even though the fortress garrison on the city walls unleashed fierce attacks, they were unable to stop the undead’s fearless charge. Even the players’ self-detonations had little effect. The number of undead awakened outside Emerald Fortress was too great, far exceeding the numbers encountered outside Karari Royal Capital! On the city walls, the garrison lit torches on the towers, illuminating the surroundings. Archers nocked arrows. They barely needed to aim; any arrow would hit its target. Their usual perfect accuracy from training was useless now. Only their will as soldiers, forbidden to flee, supported them, rooting their legs to the city wall as they bravely faced the snarling, roaring ghouls. Huge skeletal battering rams were pushed out by skeleton warriors, moving slowly through the darkness of the night towards the city wall. “Nobody Does Human Things” quickly issued a command. The players placed Temporary Resurrection Crystals on the city head and used grappling hooks to secure themselves to the wall. Team after team slid down the wall in an orderly fashion, quickly forming up in front of the undead tide. “Charge! Our target is those tombstones!” the knight player at the front of the group roared.
“Boom, boom, boom…” The charge began. Led by veteran players, the players from the third beta test pierced through the undead tide like a sharp sword, advancing towards Burvik’s Great Mausoleum. In the training grounds of Emerald Fortress, Clemon, clad in dark armor, rode a magnificent Dragon Blood warhorse, wielding a massive tower shield and a long sword on his back, his expression serene. Before him stood the silent battle formation of the Winter City army. The Winter City soldiers had already assembled. The sounds of battle from the city walls reached his ears, with some shouting, “Take down that damned skull!” and others crying “Help!” The atmosphere was as somber as a funeral. The Deathly Shadow Cloud hanging low in the sky had approached the city walls with the advance of the undead, reflecting a sickly red glow in the torchlight. Clemon and his army stopped near the city gate. Apart from the noise from the city walls, the surroundings were deathly still. They could even hear the sound of raindrops dripping sorrowfully from withered branches into murky puddles. “Open the city gate!” Clemon commanded. His roar was like thunder, startling the guards controlling the gate, who looked at the old knight with white hair and beard in astonishment. “Open the city gate!” Clemon roared again. “Creeeak —” The metal winch slowly turned. The heavy gate began to lift. The battle cries became clearer, almost in their ears! “Aid the Foreigner Legion’s assault, kill!”
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“No, there are too many undead around. Kill one, and another rises. The numbers must be over a hundred thousand; we can’t break through!” “Organize another charge. We must establish resurrection crystals over at the Great Mausoleum, or everything will be for naught…” “Leisurely Moment” was conversing in low tones with “Yu Ci.” “Nobody Does Human Things” had a grim expression. Since engaging the undead legion, their progress in advancing towards the undead rear had been almost nil. The undead offensive was exceptionally fierce and had not stopped. The horns of the undead blared incessantly. Every time the horns sounded, the undead seemed to gain immense energy, charging towards the players like madmen. Colossal skeleton mammoths also appeared in the battle formation. It was unclear when these giant mammoths had died in front of Emerald Fortress. Their house-sized bodies were covered in bone spears and spikes, and some even carried siege towers. They approached the walls of Emerald Fortress, destroying everything in their path. The drums beat like thunder, the fires ignited by fire arrows grew larger, and projectile launchers continuously hurled ghouls towards the city walls. The siege towers finally crashed against the walls with a roar, and the undead swarmed in, about to breach the walls, only to be smashed to pieces by meteors guided by a Star Mage. At this moment, a terrifyingly large battering ram appeared in the undead tide, about a hundred meters long. It swayed back and forth, suspended by thick chains. The tip of the battering ram was cast in the shape of a skull, with eerie undead ghost fire glowing in its eye sockets. This battering ram was pulled by four skeleton mammoths, surrounded by a group of skeleton trolls. The players had now somewhat understood. These skeleton mammoths were likely the remains left behind from ancient Orcish attacks on Emerald Fortress. They had died here once before. Now, they had crawled out and launched another attack on Emerald Fortress. This time, they were the dead. They also blocked the players’ path, like an impassable natural barrier. Until a giant hammer appeared with a “boom,” smashing the foremost skeleton mammoth to pieces. A flash of violent lightning disappeared in an instant. The battlefield lit up like day for a moment. Thunder roared! Even the nearby skeleton trolls did not escape, being shattered by the rolling shockwaves and thrown into scattered parts. It was the North Wind Duke. He had returned to battle. This time, however, he was alone, holding a warhammer, and walked step by step into the undead tide, deep behind enemy lines. The ferocious skeleton mammoths and skeleton trolls were no match for him. The lightning reflected palely on the players’ faces. With a few more roars of thunder and the ground shaking, these creatures that had just awakened from the earth fell into eternal slumber once again, reduced to bone ash. Just as the North Wind Duke grew stronger and stronger in battle, a skeletal giant palm, as large as a skeleton mammoth, broke through the earth. The undead war drums sounded wildly, as if celebrating its appearance. Finally, an ugly, colossal figure crawled out of the soil and stood on the battlefield, looking down upon everything around it. Gray, decayed long hairs were like the mist at the confluence of dawn and night. Withered and dry muscles hinted at past strength, and a broken, rotten body marked its identity as a lost soul. In its deep-set eye sockets, undead ghost fire flickered eerily. Its exposed gums revealed ghastly white bones, and its half-rotted lips hung loosely, swaying from side to side. It raised a pale, colossal skeletal sword, its blade seeming to pierce the Deathly Shadow Cloud hanging low in the sky. At this moment, the archers forgot to draw their bows, the knights’ hands trembled on their shields, and the city wall fell into deathly stillness. “This… this is a Skeleton Titan!” someone exclaimed.
