Crisis Reveals Cowardice; Desperate Straits Forge Courage

Chapter 688: Crisis Reveals Cowardice; Desperate Straits Forge Courage

The Blackflame Pass defenses were already beset by one crisis after another when, at dusk, the servants unleashed the Feast of a Thousand Souls.

It was hard to say exactly what the thing did, but if it could make Nefertari, all the way over in Westkeep, feel the Underworld's will roaring in fury, then it was clearly something extraordinary.

In fact, it was part of the plan.

Ever since the Blood Banner rotation began, the gnolls had been charging in recklessly, heedless of their casualties. That was their usual way of fighting, but it also made it easy for those lurking in the shadows to take full advantage.

Using the rage and despair that accompanied each death as a medium, they brought souls that had already crossed into another world back to the material plane.

As long as the spell's ritual remained in operation, the spirits would be driven to attack every living thing without pause. It was an absolute clash between the forms of the dead and the living, and the vengeful spirits roused by the ritual had no reason left at all.

They obeyed only their masters' commands.

Unless the ritual was destroyed or its master killed, it would continue to operate. Every living creature slain would likewise be turned into a vengeful spirit, until the last survivor within its range was tortured to death and all that remained was a deathly wasteland teeming with spirits.

The most wicked part of the ritual was that the vengeful spirits would not disappear. They would be trapped on this ravaged land, forming a kingdom of the dead until every last spirit was cleansed.

Judging by its range, this was clearly a war-scale psionic ritual. As it took effect, the vengeful spirits