The earth was covered in ice and snow, and all life had withered away. The darkness was utterly silent, broken only by the occasional flash of lightning across the distant horizon. Purple light snaked through the thick clouds, bringing a sliver of brightness to this pitch-black world. In the instant the lightning illuminated the land, rows of skeletons could be seen plodding lifelessly across the gray, hazy snowfield, spreading from the distance until they covered the entire plain. The lightning soon faded, leaving only the scattered glow of Soul Fires in the darkness, like illusions lingering in their vision.
In the carriage, Yuta watched the scene in silence. This Undead Army was passing by them. It was the fifth group of undead she had seen in such a short time, but this group was far larger than any of the previous ones. Their numbers across the snowfield seemed endless, reaching into the tens of thousands. Strange sounds also came from the sky. The noise might have fooled others, but not her. It was the sound of Bone Eagles beating their wings. They were packed densely together; she could even imagine them blotting out the sky as they flew overhead.
The Undead Army that covered the mountains and plains was like a flood, powerful enough to swallow every living thing in its path. Yet their small Undead Army traveling against the current drew no attention whatsoever. Even the Liches scattered among the Undead Army barely spared them a glance.
In the instant when the lightning from earlier illuminated the earth, Yuta had seen a Lich. It looked no different from the mid- and low-level Liches they had encountered during the Black Rose War, except for the Bone Staff in its hand. Those staffs were extraordinarily unusual. They looked as if they