Sandro the Platinum Skeleton Mage

Undead covered the mountains and plains, charging toward the Flower Territory army. Even the soldiers in the front line could clearly see the faces of the undead.

Most of these undead were skeletons. Aside from a few anomalies, the vast majority were weaklings without any rank, possessing only hollow eye sockets and a terrifying appearance of gray-white bones.

Any adult woman could easily smash these undead back into fragments and return them to the dead.

The second most numerous among the undead were zombies. Most possessed Bronze-rank strength, with tough bodies and corpse poison on their fingernails and teeth. An average adult male could not handle these guys.

The main force of this undead wave was the Ghoul. Most were Silver-rank, with a few reaching Gold-rank. Possessing a speed that zombies and skeletons lacked, their sharp claws and pointed teeth were a nightmare for anyone who encountered them.

Edward was currently at Crouching Dragon Ravine, a location whose terrain was excellent for defense, with the only drawback being that it was difficult to break out once surrounded.

Edward calmly observed the undead appearing around them. They were all low-level units; Abomination, Crypt Fiend, and Death Knight had not yet appeared. Edward had not lost hope; he believed his subordinates could handle the undead currently on the field.

"Everyone, raise your shields!"

Following the order of the necromancer hidden in the dense forest, the undead covering the mountains and plains surged like a tidal wave, carrying infinite power as they crashed into the soldiers' formation.

Edward roared loudly, directing the defensive line. In a battle between two armies, only if the first wave of the formation held could they hope to survive this attack.

The soldiers in the front raised their shields high in their left hands. The ground beneath their feet cracked under the impact. From time to time, a soldier would fall, unable to get back up, and the person behind him would immediately step up to fill the gap.

Seeing the battle line holding steady, Edward leaped up, jumped out of the battlefield, and chased toward the dense forest. To capture the bandits, one must first capture the ringleader; as long as he caught this hidden necromancer, the attack would end.

Blood splattered wantonly in the air. One soldier after another fell to the undead's attacks. The elite force that had numbered over five hundred was now less than three hundred.

What they found most unacceptable was seeing their fallen comrades resurrected under the manipulation of the hidden necromancer, turning against them as enemies.

Looking out, the undead covering the mountains and plains showed no sign of decreasing. The peaks of Crouching Dragon Ravine were already covered in bleached bones.

Under the intense sunlight, the soldiers felt cold to the bone. Their arms swung mechanically, each strike shattering a skeleton or felling a zombie.

However, what was the use of all this?

The soldiers did not know what result their efforts would yield; they could only pray that their lord would be able to turn the tide and save the crumbling situation.

On the other side, Edward was weaving through the dense forest. The lush vegetation brought great inconvenience to his movements, and he could only search at his Gold-rank speed.

Seconds and minutes ticked by. Edward was tormented and distressed; every moment he could feel his soldiers dying, and that feeling of helplessness eroded his heart.

"Boom!"

"Found you."

Accompanied by a massive roar, the persistent Edward finally discovered a peculiar figure at the edge of the battlefield. Without hesitation, he swung his greatsword, carrying at least a thousand pounds of force, toward the target's position.

"Swish!"

"Not bad. It seems Lord Edward has found me. However, your soldiers seem to be on the verge of death."

The figure in the black robe seemed to have anticipated this, dodging Edward's attack with a flicker.

"Who are you, and why are you attacking us?"

The black-robed man looked at Edward with mockery.

"Oh, oh, oh, it seems our respected Great Lord doesn't remember me. Take a good look at me."

As he spoke, the black-robed man removed his mask, revealing a handsome yet pale face.

"It's you, Sandro. I didn't expect you to have defected to the Scourge Legion. Are you even human anymore?"

"Haha, human? I haven't been one for a long time. Ever since you killed my father and destroyed my family's territory, I have wanted to take revenge on you day and night. Since magic could not grant me power, I sought out that which could. Look at this magic power of mine—how magnificent it is."

Sandro let out a rapturous sound; he had already become a plaything of power.

"Lost in your delusions."

Edward snorted coldly, not wasting more words. Every moment, people were dying; he could not waste time conversing with the enemy.

"Earth's Wrath!"

Edward's greatsword struck the ground heavily. His internal energy resonated with the earth, creating a massive wave that roared toward Sandro.

"Bang!"

As the dust settled, a massive figure appeared in front of Sandro: a mutated Abomination Butcher.

A normal Abomination Butcher only possessed Gold-rank strength, and its corpse poison could only harm Silver-rank beings. However, the one Sandro summoned was clearly an enhanced version.

"Haha!"

Sandro laughed wantonly.

"This is my most precious work of art. To gather the materials for it, I slaughtered two small towns, taking only the best piece of flesh from each person, integrating the skulls of a thousand children, and pairing them with the corpse of a Gold-rank warrior to create it."

Sandro introduced it to Edward as if showing off his treasures. A strange flush appeared on his sickly face, making him look even more demonic.

After his first strike failed, Edward furrowed his brows. The defensive power of the stitched monster before him was shockingly high. By the time he dealt with this monster, his soldiers would all be dead.

"Bang! Bang!"

Under Sandro's manipulation, the Abomination Butcher began to attack Edward. Its two hammer-like arms smashed everything they touched into powder, leaving two ten-foot-wide craters in the ground.

"Boom!"

After dodging the stitched monster's attack, Edward seized the opportunity to strike, his sharp blade carving a three-foot-long wound into its body.

A foul, fishy stench emanated from the wound, and as the green blood dripped onto the ground, it corroded a bowl-sized pit into the earth.

"Not good."

The corpse poison from the Abomination Butcher had traveled through the air into Edward's nose and mouth; he suddenly felt unsteady on his feet, a wave of dizziness washing over his mind.

Edward had no choice but to retreat, channeling his internal energy to suppress the toxic gas that had entered his body.

"Do you see how powerful my big baby is?"

Sandro noticed Edward's movements and mocked him.

I cannot meet this head-on; I must outwit him.

Ignoring Sandro's taunts, Edward looked at the mindless Abomination he had wounded, thinking to himself.

Seeing Edward retreat, Sandro grew even more arrogant, manipulating the Abomination Butcher to pursue him. Edward appeared disheveled under the creature's relentless assault, showing faint signs of being overwhelmed.

"A perfect opportunity."

Edward's seemingly chaotic flight was actually a ruse to lure the Abomination Butcher away from Sandro's side. The creature was now over fifty meters away from the Lich, and given its sluggish movement speed, Edward could easily kill Sandro before it could return.

Although the Abomination Butcher had been drawn away and was now within Edward's striking range, he remained cautious and decided to lure it just a little further.

Suddenly, Sandro seemed to sense that Edward's behavior was abnormal and began pulling the Abomination Butcher back toward him.

"Whoosh!"

Knowing his objective had been exposed, Edward hesitated no longer, bolting toward Sandro like a bolt of lightning.

"Boom! Boom!"

Sandro's expression shifted drastically; he hurriedly waved his staff, summoning two bolts of Necrotic Entanglement.

Edward dodged the attacks with ease and swung his hand with great force, sending Sandro's head tumbling to the ground.

Wait, he isn't dead.

Looking at Sandro's body, Edward suddenly realized that the man had transformed himself into a Lich. Without destroying his Phylactery, the most he had done was severely weaken him.

Watching the Abomination Butcher grind to a halt, Edward unleashed a powerful strike that shattered it into pieces, finally burning the remains with fire.

"I wonder how the others are faring?"

After dealing with Sandro, he rushed back to Crouching Dragon Ravine without a moment's delay, where the battle was still raging intensely.

The once-numerous skeletons and zombies had all fallen, leaving only the semi-intelligent Ghouls to launch attacks against the surviving soldiers.

Edward did not pause, joining the fray immediately. Aside from a few Ghouls that managed to escape to the edge of the battlefield, the rest fell upon the pile of corpses just like the skeletons.

"Brown, where is Brown?"

Once the fighting ended, Edward looked at his captain of the guard and asked.

"Centurion Brown has sacrificed himself."

Tears streamed down the blood-stained face of the captain; the usually stoic, tough man revealed his deep grief in that moment.

"What happened?"

Edward's voice turned heavy.

"Two minutes ago, our already crumbling defensive line finally broke. To stabilize the front, Centurion Brown led a small squad out to draw the undead's fire, buying time to re-establish the line."

Edward fell silent. The joy of victory vanished, replaced by a sudden, crushing sorrow. Looking at the fewer than a hundred men remaining, he felt an indescribable ache in his heart.

"My Lord, what is wrong?"

Edward suddenly collapsed without warning, and the captain rushed to catch him.

"Medic! Come here, the Lord has fainted!"

"The Lord has been poisoned. It is a potent toxin; it is fortunate that he possesses great martial strength and managed to suppress it, otherwise, he would not have merely fainted."

The medic, who had hurried over, reached his conclusion.

"How do we save him?"

"We need many medicinal herbs that we do not have. We must return to Flower Territory."

"Understood. We return to Flower Territory at once."

The captain immediately rallied the remaining soldiers, leaving two men behind to clear the battlefield and collect the bodies of their fallen comrades, while the rest joined him in escorting their Lord back to Flower Territory.