Chapter 430
by post_apiChapter 430: The “Undying” Army
The magical shield at the royal capital’s gate rumbled under the allied army’s assault, its radiance gradually dimming…
Just then, from among the black-armored imperial troops emerged a mage robed in black, his hooded face veiled in mist. He produced a green crystal pulsating with potent magical energy from his sleeve.
Crushing the crystal as he withdrew it, tremendous magical energy surged from his palm into the magic wand he gripped.
The black-robed mage thrust his wand forward, and instantly a thick lightning beam coalesced before it… before erupting violently!
BOOM!!!
The lightning struck the magical shield in an instant.
CRACK—
Amidst a crystalline shatter, the shield held briefly before fracturing into a spiderweb of fissures.
“All together! Shatter that cursed shield!”
When the lightning failed to break the shield outright, the remaining soldiers renewed their assault at a commander’s roar.
Innumerable arrows and spells flew forth, while siege engines—catapults and ballistae—roared back to action…
Under the allied onslaught, the shield’s cracks multiplied and spread until… it ruptured completely, dissipating into glimmering motes of light!
“Kill!! Breach the gate!!”
“Kill! Kill! Kill!!”
With their greatest obstacle gone, the besieging soldiers rallied with renewed vigor, pressing to demolish the gate and storm the capital.
“Hold this line! Any who approach the gate die without mercy!”
Upon the ramparts, the Kingdom’s general glared wide-eyed, bellowing his command.
Soldiers lining the battlements unleashed their attacks upon the alliance forces below…
Yet their strikes met a transparent Magic Shield, harmlessly dissipating before reaching the assaulting troops.
“That’s the Empire’s mage corps… Damn them!”
The Kingdom’s general scowled, observing the distant cluster of black-robed mages.
From his vantage on the wall, he had observed the alliance forces long enough to recognize their overall strength surpassed the Kingdom’s own.
Both the duchies’ legions and the Deta Empire’s troops were formidable elites.
This battle, he knew, might well be his last.
“Prepare to descend and engage!”
The heavily armored man drew his longsword, shouting to the soldiers on the walls.
“Yes, General!”
They responded, understanding close combat loomed.
…
With a thunderous crash, the city gate yielded to the alliance’s assault. Alliance soldiers poured into the royal capital.
The defenders stood ready, meeting their charge head-on.
All the soldiers clashed in a chaotic melee.
“Die, you imperial bastards!”
A Kingdom soldier, eyes blazing with killing intent, plunged his long sword into an imperial soldier’s chest and abdomen, drawing a spray of crimson…
Yet, contrary to his expectation, the imperial soldier didn’t fall dead. Instead, baring his teeth in a fierce grin, he swung backhanded and lopped off the soldier’s head, then yanked the long sword from his own torso.
As the blade was withdrawn, a faint, flickering glow emanated from the punctured wound in the imperial soldier’s chest and abdomen. In the next instant, the injury healed completely.
“Hahaha! I have an Immortal Body!! You Kingdom Army trash, come one by one! Come ten at once, and I’ll still kill you all!”
The imperial soldier brandished the bloodied long sword, laughing arrogantly.
The same phenomenon unfolded elsewhere across the battlefield. Whenever a Kingdom soldier struck an imperial soldier with a seemingly fatal blow, the opponent, mirroring the first soldier, not only failed to die on the spot but instead killed their attacker while their own wounds completely healed.
Whether pierced through the heart, slashed across the throat, or even decapitated… they recovered fully.
Moreover, the imperial soldiers’ strength seemed enhanced after healing their injuries.
Witnessing this, the Kingdom Army’s morale plummeted. Suffering heavy casualties under the assault of the imperial forces possessing “Immortal Bodies”…
Soldiers from the other two grand duchies within the allied forces stared in disbelief. Were nearly ten thousand imperial soldiers all Immortal Bodies? That meant an undying legion incapable of defeat! They had never encountered such a thing…
「Why can they be immortal? They clearly don’t possess an immortality skill.」
At that moment, within the Principality of Reba’s forces, Weak Sound, sharing a horse with Darkling Stalker, voiced her confusion after appraising the numerous imperial soldiers.
After three years, Darkling Stalker had become one of the most capable commanders in the Principality of Reba. This time, she was leading a contingent of Reba’s elite forces, alongside the Duchy of Donelas and the Empire’s Military One, in the assault on the Kingdom.
「It should be due to the status effect called ‘Mark’. And they are not truly immortal. Look over there.」
Expressionless, Darkling Stalker pointed in a direction.
“What are you panicking for! They are not truly immortal; they merely possess a second life!”
In that direction, the Kingdom Army’s Grand General shouted at his soldiers, whose faces were etched with fear and panic.
As he shouted, he held aloft the severed head of an imperial soldier.
“Follow me to slay the enemy!!”
Once the soldiers’ attention focused on him, the Grand General hurled the head into the distance and charged back into the enemy ranks.
However…
Though the Grand General’s actions temporarily steadied his troops’ resolve, they could not reverse the tide of defeat…
A wind-element magic arrow pierced his sword arm. Crying out in pain, the Grand General dropped his weapon. Seizing the moment, his opponent—a young imperial commander wielding a long spear—drove his iron spear through the Grand General’s throat. With immense force, he lifted the body aloft upon the spear.
“Hahaha, the Kingdom’s Grand General is nothing special!”
The young commander roared with laughter. He gave another powerful thrust with the iron spear, flinging the Grand General’s corpse away. It crashed into over a dozen Kingdom soldiers before finally coming to rest.
Seeing their Grand General slain, the Kingdom Army’s spirit shattered. They could no longer withstand the allied forces’ onslaught.
“Kill them all! Leave none alive!!”
“Yes!!”
Soldiers within the Kingdom Army began to break, fleeing in all directions… while imperial soldiers gave chase.
But not long after, the fleeing Kingdom soldiers suddenly turned back, faces contorted with terror, rushing towards the pursuing imperial forces, who momentarily froze in confusion.
“What’s happening? Why are they returning?”
“Could reinforcements have arrived to aid them?”
“Impossible! No, wait… what is that?!”
The imperial soldiers stared ahead, expressions turning ashen as if they’d seen ghosts.
Under the overcast sky and drizzling rain, the capital’s once-empty streets were now inexplicably filled with dense, countless ranks of monster armies!
The monsters were varied, but predominantly consisted of goblins, wolf-like monsters, and ant monsters.