Necrotic Cataclysm

Having arranged the family documents, Count Landon entered a secret room alone. As an old noble family, how could they not have some secretive methods?

Unable to stop the Beastfolk army's advance doesn't mean they can't cause trouble for the Beastfolk. If they can't survive themselves, they'll naturally try to drag the enemy down with them.

"Hehehe..."

"After all these years, someone has finally come. Young man from the Laibolong Family, could it be that your family's ancestor died young and forgot to tell you about the feud between my family and yours?"

The eerie and terrifying sound sent chills down one's spine. The countless swirling phantoms and the swirling, sinister wind extinguished the oil lamp in Count Landon's hand.

"You needn't worry about how my ancestors are doing. I've come here to see if you, the lich who once roamed the continent, have perished."

Since you're doing well, I'm relieved. Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after, you'll be able to leave soon.

The Laibolong Family is about to disappear, so the grudges left by their ancestors are naturally no longer important.

As a junior, I cannot be impolite. I've heard that you liches love killing and feed on blood, so I'll offer you a blood feast.

I hope you are satisfied.

I've prepared all the materials you need to unleash the Necrotic Cataclysm. There are corresponding arrays at multiple points throughout the city.

When I break the seal, you can unleash your full power!

Ideally, you should encompass the entire Bertley City to demonstrate your status as Great Sorcerer. Once you've killed everyone who enters the city, you should be able to regain your body.

Of course, I won't live to see that day. The key to unlocking the seal has become one with me; the moment I die will be the day you see the light of day again.

"That's what Count Landon said casually."

He seemed to have truly disregarded life and death, but the slight hesitation in his palm betrayed his inner resentment.

If he had a choice, he would never have released that old monster. But there was nothing he could do; the Beastfolk army had already besieged Bertley City, and there were no reinforcements available.

Although the secret passage leads outside the city, whether it can escape the sight of the Beastfolk remains to be seen.

The best way is to make a big commotion to attract the attention of the Beastfolk army and make them forget about the small fry outside.

The lich before us is undoubtedly a valuable pawn. With the Necrotic Cataclysm unleashed, the Beastfolk army entering the city will surely suffer heavy losses.

Many Beastfolk troops have already entered the outer city, and according to his estimate, this wave will kill at least several thousand elite Beastfolk.

The rest is a matter between the Beastfolk and the lich. Who wins or loses is none of his business, being a dead man.

"Boy from the Laibolong Family, although I know you just want to use my power to avenge yourself, I like this gift."

If your ancestors had been this open-minded, why did things have to come to this?

"Fine, as long as I regain my freedom, our grudges will be wiped clean. From now on, unless we meet again, I won't kill your descendants."

The old lich made what he considered a magnanimous promise.

"I won't kill you unless I encounter you"—if that counts as a promise, then I reckon everyone on the mainland could make that promise to their enemies.

"Then on behalf of the younger generation, I thank you for your kindness! I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

Count Landon responded irritably.

Dealing with these twisted, dark creatures is exhausting. Our beliefs are completely different, making normal communication difficult.

"Young man from the Laibolong Family, don't be in such a hurry to leave! I see you have amazing talent and extraordinary physique, making you the perfect candidate to become a lich."

How about this old man be your guide and help you complete your lich transformation, so you can live a life of..."

Before the old lich could finish speaking, Count Landon turned and left the secret chamber. Ordinary people might not know what a lich was, but surely a nobleman like him was aware of it?

They seem to have a long lifespan; as long as their life box isn't found, they could easily live for a thousand years, or even longer.

But there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. If one could gain a thousand years of lifespan for no reason, the continent would probably be overrun with liches and demons.

In the face of life, morality is never worth mentioning. Elderly nobles will do anything to prolong their lives.

The crux of the problem is that in the process of a living being transforming into a lich, not only does its life essence change, but its soul is also distorted.

No one who transforms into a lich has ever retained everything from their previous life. Even if they could retain some memories, it wouldn't serve any real purpose.

If one is no longer oneself, then such immortality is meaningless.

Back in the camp, Count Landon coldly ordered, "Pass down the order to distribute the Holy Water to every soldier."

Tell the soldiers that the Lord of Dawn is with us. Even if they die in battle, their souls will enter the divine realm after death.

If the Beastfolk continue their attack tomorrow, then we'll fight them to the death!

Releasing an old lich without making any preparations beforehand is unacceptable. They're all his followers; it's bad enough that they're going to die with him, but to make sure their souls can't find peace even after death is just too much.

"Big brother, we..."

Before the boy could finish speaking, the older young man interrupted him softly, "From now on, no one should speak. If you have any questions, we can discuss them when we get to a safe place."

My younger siblings are too young to understand. Grand Uncle, please use magic to put them into a deep sleep, so as not to disturb the powerful Beastfolk above.

This is a classic case of being overly tense; the probability of a powerful Beastfolk being right above you in a narrow, enclosed room is already quite low.

Even if they happened to be there, the chances of them noticing the commotion in the military camp were extremely slim.

However, these are extraordinary times, and the hopes of the Laibolong Family rest entirely on this secret passage. It's always better to be cautious.

The old man nodded slightly, and then cast Sleep Spell.

Few children caused trouble; the rest were adults, and they all behaved exceptionally quietly.

Everyone was armed and wearing armor; if it weren't for the sorrow on their faces, no one would know that this was a group of refugees.

They quietly advanced along the secret passage, and half an hour later, the sound of rushing water reached their ears.

Looking around, one could see an Underground River. Clearly, the ancestors of the Laibolong Family had put a lot of effort into choosing the site when building Bertley Fortress.

The existence of the Underground River not only solved the city's water problem, but also served as a vital escape route.

Without this thing, if we relied on manually digging tunnels, it would probably take dozens of miles to escape the Beastfolk army outside the city.

This kind of project, requiring purely manual excavation, would likely take decades to complete.

"Let's rest for a bit. The exit of this underground river isn't far. It's probably only about ten miles from the Beastfolk camp."

If we go out now, it will be difficult to avoid being discovered by enemy scouts.

There are at least three eagle-man squads of a thousand men each in the Beastfolk camp. Once their tracks are exposed, even the Griffon Cavalry will have a hard time escaping their pursuit.

"Wait for your father's signal. Once he manages to hold off the Beastfolk army, we'll take a boat from here and break out."

Following the old man's pointing finger, there were rows of specially made dugout canoes. However, the gunwales of these boats were very close to the water's surface, only a few centimeters above the water.

Once someone sits on it, the distance between the water and the surface becomes even narrower. If a large person were to get on, they might sink immediately.

The interior of the boat is not for sitting, but for lying down.

No matter how you look at it, it just doesn't feel right. It gives the impression that it's not made for the living, but rather for the dead.

There is only one explanation for this unusual design: the space between the surface of the underground river and the above is very limited, so the height of the ship's gunwale must be lowered.

In the event of a collision, these escape canoes could instantly become their coffins.

Suddenly, a water monster appeared on the river. It glanced at the group, as if confirming something, and after a long while, it slowly spoke:

"There is no problem with your bloodline. How Laibolong Family has declined so quickly? In just a hundred years, you have reached the point where you have to flee for your lives in panic."

Judging from your strength, you younger generation are not weak. Preserving the family's foundation shouldn't be difficult for you. Has the outside world changed so quickly?

They are not only strong, but this team of over a hundred people would be a force to be reckoned with anywhere.

Aside from the children, the weakest of the remaining guards were Intermediate Mage, most of whom possessed the strength of Advanced Knight, and there were even more than a dozen Silver Knight and Golden Knight.

The three elderly men at the head of the group were either Magister or Earth Knight. They would be powerful figures anywhere.

"Senior Kelondo, Bertley City has been invaded by Beastfolk. The Laibolong Family has been defeated and now can only cut off their tail to survive."

"Anthony, the next head of the Laibolong Family, please, for the sake of our ancestors, see us off!"

As they spoke, the young man stepped forward and knelt down in a deep bow before the monster.

"Alright, Anthony, stop with the nonsense. I made an agreement with your ancestors, and that agreement stands."

But let me make this clear from the start: I'm only responsible for getting you out of here. What happens after that is up to you.

The feud between humans and Beastfolk is yours to resolve; don't even think about dragging me into it.

"Whenever you decide to leave, simply lie down on the boat, and I will personally escort you away."

After saying that, without waiting for everyone's agreement, the glittering monster dived into the water, demonstrating its stance through its actions.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

As shouts of battle rang out, the Bethel defenders, fighting valiantly, were finally on the verge of collapse. Watching his soldiers fall one by one around him, Count Landon slowly drew his longsword.

However, instead of rushing to attack, they led their soldiers to retreat slowly, deliberately luring the Beastfolk army into the inner city.

Although the legendary Lich King was powerful, he had been sealed away for countless years, and some of his power was still intact. Count Landon was uncertain about the outcome.

The power of the Necrotic Cataclysm depends primarily on the skill of the caster.

Even if many auxiliary formations were set up in advance, no one could say for sure how many would still be effective due to the war.

To make his death more meaningful, Count Landon decisively chose to resist step by step, luring the Beastfolk army into pursuit.

As expected, Count Landon's dazzling armor quickly attracted the attention of a Beastfolk officer, who personally led his troops in pursuit.

"Humans, surrender now! I can guarantee you won't become food after you surrender!"

Faced with the Beastfolk officer's offer of surrender, Count Landon laughed heartily. If Beastfolk promises were reliable, pigs would fly.

Even if the Beastfolk did accept him as a prisoner, he wouldn't surrender now. If he truly wanted to survive, he would have already escaped through the secret passage; why would he stay until now?

"Kill!"

As he spoke, Count Landon had already drawn his sword and charged out, demonstrating his stance through his actions.

After killing more than a dozen Bearmen soldiers, he finally enraged the Bearmen experts hidden in the ranks, who launched a fierce attack directly at Count Landon.

He could have dodged it, but Count Landon, who had long been prepared to die, was waiting for this moment. Instead of avoiding it, he took the initiative to meet it.

In the blink of an eye, his body was severed from his head. At the very moment of his death, a chilling wind suddenly swept across the already blood-soaked battlefield.

The temperature in the city began to drop sharply, and the hot sweat on people's foreheads suddenly turned into cold sweat. This strange change left countless people bewildered.

Before anyone could react, the once bright sky suddenly darkened. Countless corpses that had been lying on the ground slowly began to move.

Gazing at the rising black mist in the sky, the Beastfolk Ritual watching from outside the city suddenly exclaimed, "The Undead Sky!"

Without any hesitation, they hurriedly headed straight for the Bear Emperor's camp.

"Your Majesty, immediately order the troops in the city to withdraw. Someone is unleashing the Necrotic Cataclysm. Judging from the range of the Undead Sky, the caster must be at least Great Sorcerer."

With the addition of multiple amplification formations set up by the enemy in the city, this Necrotic Cataclysm may be able to awaken all the soldiers who died in battle within the city.

It's too late to stop it now. The only option is...

Before he could finish speaking, the rising black mist suddenly solidified, and the Necrotic Cataclysm had been successfully unleashed.

Just as the Beastfolk Ritual had predicted, all the corpses in the city, except for the soldiers carrying the Holy Water, stood up. They picked up their weapons from the ground and pointed their blades at their former comrades.

A new round of chaotic fighting has begun. The Beastfolk soldiers, who had just achieved a great victory, were completely stunned by what they saw before them.

Hudson, leading his army toward Flying Bear Fortress, was enjoying the scenery along the way.

There was no other way; with the Newly Formed 23rd Legion dragging them down, their marching speed couldn't be increased, so they could naturally be distracted by other matters.

This was one of the reasons he had previously demanded Magic Crystal Cannon from the bureaucrats in the Logistics Department. After all, their marching speed had already been slowed down by their teammates, and there wasn't much room to reduce it further.

"Report!"

"Commander, a dark cloud has appeared in the northeast direction, suggesting someone is unleashing Necrotic Cataclysm!"

The messenger's voice pulled Hudson back from his reverie.

The "Necrotic Cataclysm" is no small matter. Although it doesn't possess the earth-shattering power of legends, its destructive force is still astonishing.

It doesn't happen often, mainly because the conditions for casting the spell are very demanding. Not only does it require a large amount of precious materials, but it also requires choosing a suitable location for casting the spell.

The most suitable places to unleash the Necrotic Cataclysm are usually areas that have just experienced a major battle or are currently engaged in one.

After opening the map and checking the location, Hudson quickly determined that the battlefield was near Bertley Fortress.

Calculating the distance, the two sides are at least fifty or sixty miles apart. Even if they wanted to go and help, there wouldn't be enough time.

"Understood! Send men to continue monitoring closely, and scouts should not get too close for the time being."

Hudson said with a solemn expression.

Bertley Fortress isn't far from Flying Bear Fortress, only forty miles away. If something happens to Bertley City, Flying Bear Fortress will be under great pressure.

If the Beastfolk lose their minds and decide to sweep through everything in their path, Flying Bear Fortress will immediately become the next target.

Regret is useless. On the battlefield, orders are absolute; once a mission is accepted, it must be carried out.