Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
King of Winter led the charge, weaving through the gaps between the Great Mausoleum and the battlefield’s flames. A herd of Unicorns forged ahead in a conical formation. Their Holy Light caused the Undead to wail and scatter; their hooves, when stepping on an Undead’s head, would reduce it to a handful of bone ash that was blown away by the wind.
The air was filled with the smell of scorched protein and decay. Xi Wei’s face was grim. He saw many familiar faces on that flesh-and-blood defense line, but they had fallen forever.
Controlling his Unicorn to tread upon the ground, Xi Wei surveyed the entire chaotic battlefield, taking in the suffering of the Human army. Grief and bitterness weighed on his shoulders like heavy chains, and time seemed to stand still. If only they had arrived sooner. Even with the Unicorns galloping day and night, they were still a step too late.
“Hiss hiss haaa—”
The wail of an evil spirit echoed in his ears. Xi Wei turned his head and saw a colossal figure hidden beneath a cloak extend a pale, bony finger from its misty robes. A chilling aura emanated from the finger, making one feel as if they were falling into an ice cave before it even touched them.
Just as he was about to raise his sword to block, Miska, the leader of the Unicorns beneath him, let out an enraged roar. It would not allow the filthy Undead to touch its Master. The crystal horn on its head suddenly lifted and collided with the chilling, pale finger bone.
“Crack—” The pale finger bone instantly snapped. A white Holy Fire ignited from the broken finger bone, burning until it consumed the entire evil spirit.
“Damn it! Damn it!” The evil spirit roared and wailed, like a leaking balloon in mid-air, spewing forth murky, black, evil energy. It rolled its body until it was increasingly diminished by the white Holy Flame. “The power of Holy Fire! Arghhhhh—”
It was burned to ashes by the divine radiance. But in a moment, it rose again from a tombstone, its voice emitting a piercing cackle from beneath its black, mist-filled cloak. “We are the true Undead; even the divine beasts of light cannot annihilate us! Keke ke kkk…”
“Is that so?” Xi Wei sneered. He recognized the place. It was the Undead’s high-level forbidden spell—Burvik Great Mausoleum. The key to breaking the forbidden spell was to use brute force to clear all the tombstones within the Great Mausoleum. If, before heading to the Emerald Forest, these tombstones had been troublesome for him, he was no longer the same.
Right before the evil spirit’s eyes, Xi Wei directly drew out the Star Dew Sacrament Sword.
“It’s useless. Holy Light can only kill us temporarily. Magic is useless against us, and a mere broken sword can’t possibly cause us any damage~” The evil spirit looked at the unremarkable longsword in Xi Wei’s hand and did not hesitate to mock him. “Knight who tamed a Unicorn, if your only countermeasure is to wave your sword at us, then prepare to be buried here!”
“Oh? Remember what you just said!” Xi Wei’s hatred for the Undead was beyond words. Miska sensed the King of Winter’s enraged will and raised its front hooves, letting out a melodious neigh. Its crystal horn erupted with dazzling brilliance, brighter than the sun and more colorful than a rainbow, all condensing into the Star Dew Sacrament Sword.
The other Unicorns did the same. After all the Unicorns had infused the Star Dew Sacrament Sword with light energy, Xi Wei was bathed in Holy Fire, and the Star Dew Sacrament Sword was fully activated. Eighteen golden Spell Auras rotated around the Star Dew Sacrament Sword, and the phantoms of Elf Sword Dancer and Elf Mage swirled near the sword’s body, the entire blade turning into Holy Light.
Instantly, a blinding white light flashed, as if a bolt of lightning had struck the direction of the Great Mausoleum. In that instant, everything around the Great Mausoleum turned starkly black and white. The knight spears planted on the tower of Emerald Fortress seemed like shining silver needles. Then, darkness descended upon the land once more. A low rumbling sound arrived belatedly.
Xi Wei held the Star Dew Sacrament Sword high. The light energy on it gradually diminished, the eighteen golden rings extinguished one by one, and the sword’s body returned to its plain appearance. And around him, the boastful evil spirit had vanished. A huge hole was blasted through the Deathly Shadow Cloud in the sky, revealing the gray sky behind it. A ray of dawn light poured down through the hole, softly illuminating the battlefield. It gently caressed a soldier’s severed arm. The warm light particles revealed the lost colors of the hairpin in the arm’s hand, colors that had once been swallowed by darkness. The world shed its painful black and white.
Half of the Burvik Great Mausoleum disappeared, and the pitch-black wasteland turned into lush green grass. The Star Dew Sacrament Sword’s strike not only destroyed all the Burvik tombstones that the Players couldn’t deal with but also caused withered plants to sprout anew, completely purifying the aura of decay within a large area.
“As expected of a Sacred Artifact…” Xi Wei marveled at the destruction caused by the Star Dew Sacrament Sword. If the Unicorns hadn’t quickly conjured a shield for him, he would have been done for by that onslaught from the heavens.
Xi Wei’s arrival was like the beam of light from the Star Dew Sacrament Sword, an unexpected dawn fire in the dim hearts of the Winter City soldiers. They straightened their bodies, propping themselves up with their weapons, their previously sore arms seemingly refilled with strength. They would greet their returning king with their best selves. A pale green light shimmered within them, and their injuries rapidly recovered. They looked up and watched the Maid beside their King ride her beautiful Unicorn across the flower-filled grassland past them.
“Rise up! Warriors of Winter City!” Clemon let out a clear, angry roar. His mottled, broken armor revealed his bloodied chest. His longsword pointed diagonally at the sky, and the Dragon Blood warhorse beneath him neighed proudly! “Winter has arrived! Fight with blood!”
“Kill—Fight back to the city walls!” With that, he pulled a giant ivory horn from the waist of a Guard Knight and blew it with all his might. As his Qi surged, the horn was actually shattered into pieces by the immense power.
In the direction of Emerald Fortress, the city gate had been smashed open by a Skeleton Titan wielding a giant Battering Ram. The Maid Corps was desperately holding their position at the gate. Ongel was heavily wounded, and morale was low, but they suddenly heard a loud horn sound, like a circling eagle breaking through the clouds and soaring upwards. Ruo Yi felt a premonition, her bright golden eyes looking towards the sky where the light pillar had yet to dissipate. She knew her King had returned.
On the city walls of Emerald Fortress, soldiers blew responding horns, weaving into a magnificent symphony. The sound of the horns drowned out the Undead’s war drums, sweeping and echoing like rolling thunder across the entire battlefield.
“Charge! Break through the Undead’s obstruction!” The King of Winter roared, and the Unicorn beneath him galloped forward with all its might. Clemon followed closely behind the King. He held high the King of Winter’s black falcon flag. The royal banner fluttered in the wind, rustling loudly.
