Magic Array

After Hudson finished explaining the whole sequence of events, everyone's expressions turned grave. Being targeted by a count with real power was no good thing.

Especially since they had handed him an excuse and let him seize something to use against them. Fortunately, Hudson was loyal enough not to betray them. Otherwise, even if they did not die this time, they would have lost a layer of skin.

But anyone with eyes could see that since Count Pierce had made his move, this matter would not end so easily. Who knew how much trouble awaited them next?

After learning the full story, the way everyone looked at Hudson changed. Deep down, they all sighed, "This young man is dependable," though a trace of guilt also showed between their brows.

Of course, that shame did not last long before it was defeated by profit. No matter what, meat already in their mouths could not be spat back out.

After receiving his share of the spoils, Hudson was not surprised in the slightest. Nobles cared about face, but they were also greedy. If they had not needed to keep his mouth shut, he probably would not even have received the spoils they had promised him beforehand.

The purpose of putting on this act was essentially to defuse everyone's jealousy toward him and avoid unnecessary trouble.

Judging from the current situation, it had been extremely successful. Everyone's attention had been drawn to "Count Pierce causing trouble," and none of them had the leisure to envy Hudson for monopolizing the military merit.

It made sense when he thought about it. From the moment he refused Count Pierce's recruitment, Hudson had offended the leader of the allied forces. No matter how great his achievements were, they would inevitably be discounted.

He was destined to be given a hard time, so what was there to envy?

After exchanging pleasantries while each harbored their own thoughts, the Fifth Army set out once more. No one even had the mind—or rather, the time—to reclaim the conscripted serf soldiers.

Returning them to their units meant that the current grain transport duties would have to be rearranged and redistributed. No matter how efficient they were, it would still take half a day of fussing about.

The allied forces had only brought seven days' worth of provisions. It was already the sixth day, and they still had more than thirty li to travel. If they delayed any longer, disaster would surely strike.

As he continued leading the main force, Hudson felt both joy and worry. He was not blind; how could he fail to see that the Fifth Army had already fractured? Their alliance was maintained only because Count Pierce's pressure forced them to huddle together for warmth.

The combat strength of such a force was easy to imagine. As long as Count Pierce used even the slightest trick, the Fifth Army's fragile alliance would collapse completely.

The grim outlook forced Hudson to become even more cautious. Deep in his heart, a voice kept reminding him—Stay steady. Don't get reckless.

Dadir City. A bloody siege battle was about to begin. Within the allied camp, five protruding star shapes were linked together by intersecting lines.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, five mages in white robes, staffs in hand, stepped into the array. The apprentices following behind hurriedly set crystals one after another along the star-shaped lines.

"Aston Croatia, slumbering Tamret..."

As the chant continued, earthen-yellow pillars of light rose from the pentagram array, clearly visible for several miles around.

The allied forces' enormous commotion quickly alerted the garrison within the city.

"Magic," such an exalted thing, had always been synonymous with mystery and power. It was especially intimidating to ordinary people.

Upon receiving the news, the arrogant Skeleton Lord also appeared atop the city wall. After taking only one look, he furrowed his brow.

"High Priest, you are the most knowledgeable person in the society. Do you know what the enemy is doing?"

Hearing the question, the Grey-robed Elder's heart sank. He did not have the slightest favorable impression of this mysterious Skeleton Lord.

When he needed people, everything he said sounded pleasant. Once he was done using them, he turned on them. As an elder of the Skull Society, he had made countless contributions, yet because of several previous mistakes, he had been assigned the thankless task of presiding over the Centennial Grand Sacrifice.

But recalling the Skeleton Lord's methods extinguished the resentment in his heart. Obedience still offered a sliver of hope for survival; refusal meant being unable to live or die.

"Sacred Lord, the enemy appears to have deployed the Five-star Earth Splitting Array, a Magic Array designed specifically to attack city walls.

During the Fadan War thirty-five years ago, I was fortunate enough to witness it once. However, because both sides had mages participating, the grand array was unable to display its proper power.

But since the enemy has used it now, this Magic Array must be quite powerful. We do not have enough mages to stop them, so it would be best not to let them complete the spell."

Hearing this explanation, the Skeleton Lord secretly rolled his eyes. The more he looked at this old eyesore, the more he disliked him.

He was supposedly knowledgeable, yet apart from naming the Magic Array, everything else he said was useless nonsense.

Stopping the enemy's spellcasting sounded easy enough. As long as someone got close, those weakling mages could be taken down in the blink of an eye.

But the problem was that the enemy mages were protected by layer upon layer of troops. Taking them down was like taking the enemy commander's head amid ten thousand soldiers.

"Angela, immediately lead the Third Army and Fourth Army out. You must interrupt the enemy's spellcasting. If necessary, you may use the Blood Moon Horn."

The Skeleton Lord spoke coldly.

No matter what, the Skull Society's Centennial Grand Sacrifice could not be disrupted. All of his strength came from the Lord of Skeletons' gift, and he would never allow anyone to affect his acquisition of greater "divine favor."

The magical beasts serving as sacrifices were still on their way. Before then, he had to protect the offerings and leave the enemy no opening to exploit.

In the Lord of Skeletons' view, as long as the Centennial Grand Sacrifice proceeded smoothly, any price was worth paying.

If the city's troops had not mostly been a disorganized rabble, and if they had not been unable to defeat the enemy army outside even with the Blood Moon Horn, he would have long since ordered a decisive charge from the city.

Following the order, the tightly shut city gates slowly opened, and masses of the Rebel Army poured out.

Unfortunately, they were still a step too late. The towering pillars of light shot directly toward Dadir City, while cracks began appearing across the ground along their path and rapidly widened at a visible rate.

After struggling bitterly for a moment, the city wall struck by the pillar of light ultimately failed to escape its fate of splitting apart.

Cracks appeared one after another. The city wall, once solid as a rock, now began collapsing at a visible rate.

The crystals on the Magic Array were also rapidly depleted, quickly turning into powder. The five mages casting the spell were all pale-faced as well.

Clearly, the spellcasting just now had not been easy. Even with the aid of the Magic Array, it had still placed enormous pressure on them.

"Tell Angela to stop the attack. Order the First Army to send men to seal the breach. We absolutely cannot let the enemy seize this chance to rush into the city."

The Skeleton Lord hurriedly ordered.

Fortunately, the magic's area of effect was limited, and only a short section of the wall had cracked. Otherwise, he truly would not have known what to do.