As the sun set, night enveloped the entire Wilderness of Chaos.
Behind the high-backed chair made of solidified flesh and blood, a pair of clear, bright red eyes slowly opened.
Count Bennett Antos stood up, and the high-backed chair quickly transformed into a dark robe that draped over his shoulders, making his already slender figure appear even broader.
Sensing their master's awakening, hundreds of Blood Corpse gathered in the cave's main hall unconsciously knelt on one knee, following the guidance of their bloodlines, to show their respect for each other.
Among these hundreds of Blood Corpse was [ Aluode ]. He exchanged a glance with the count and quickly understood the deeper meaning in the other's eyes. He then jogged after the count, bending over.
Count Bennett stepped out of the cave. The barren hill, which had been deserted during the day, was now teeming with people. But from the roars, [ Aluode ] knew for certain that these were not human.
Using the moonlight to make a rough estimate, he felt that at least a thousand Blood Corpse were gathering there.
Is this the appeal of an earl?
By this point, the old vampire's combat prowess and status had clearly surpassed [ Aluode's ] expectations for a boss at this stage: powerful individual combat strength, a strong ability to rally support, and the ability to cast spells infinitely by consuming the life force of his subordinates...
All of this made him feel a heavy burden on his shoulders, because if this group of Blood Corpse were allowed to attack White Wax Town, the Soul Returner would likely suffer heavy casualties.
But that's alright, because he's about to put his plan into action.
During the day, [ Gill's Cuisine ] had repeatedly emphasized to him what he needed to do, and assured him that they would take care of the rest. He only needed to bring the Blood Corpse to Weeping Willow Town, and he didn't need to worry about civilians being injured or killed because of his actions.
As for the subsequent siege by the Blood Corpse, [ Gill's Cuisine ] says that professionals will handle it.
"[ Aluode ]."
The old vampire suddenly called out.
"Your Excellency, I am here."
[ Aluode ] quickly stepped forward, awaiting the other party's orders.
" The Blood Corpse have assembled. Let's begin giving directions. Take us to that... Weeping Willow Town."
"With pleasure, my lord."
The blood-red robe began to change again, still in the familiar high-backed chair shape, but the four legs below continued to extend outwards, and the four or five Blood Corpse around Bennett died instantly.
The two clumps of flesh and blood came together and quickly formed a vehicle with human bones as the skeleton and flesh and blood as the outer casing.
[ Aluode ] looked closely and was surprised to find what was supposed to be a "sedan chair" in this world.
Seven or eight Blood Corpse received the order and came to the front, back, left, and right. Together they lifted the open sedan chair made of flesh and bones. Bennett was adjusting his bow tie and sat down in the high-backed chair with the dignity and elegance of a nobleman.
[ Aluode ] clicked his tongue in amazement, guessing that if this trend continued, this thing would probably evolve into a tent by tomorrow morning.
Sigh, if only we could evolve into a villa a few more days, that would kill at least several hundred Blood Corpse, which would be good news for the players.
With such unrealistic ideas in mind, the group of Blood Corpse that posed the greatest threat to White Wax Town began to change course under the cover of night.
Target: The neighboring settlement south of White Wax Town – Weeping Willow Town.
[ Aluode ], panting heavily, felt that this game was a little too realistic...
Perhaps it's because I'm used to teleporting, and even when I'm traveling, I can always finish within an hour. Unless I'm leaving the territory to hunt Blood Corpse in the Wilderness of Chaos like before, I've never really felt the size of the game map.
But as he walked on this land, he couldn't help but marvel at the vastness of this wilderness.
The reason is simple: today is the third day since the Blood Corpse Squad set off.
A distance that's only a finger's length on the map takes a whole day to traverse in the game. Although the Blood Corpse are quite courageous when facing enemies, they are actually quite prone to falling behind when traveling.
This can be seen from Gray's previous encounters and the enemies the player's team has faced. Once the Blood Corpse start moving long distances or charging, some of the weaker Blood Corpse will quickly be left behind and eventually become random monsters wandering the wasteland, waiting for someone with a purpose to slash their head.
According to [ Aluode ]'s observation, at least nearly a hundred Blood Corpse have broken away from the group in the past three days. They are trailing behind at an unknown distance, and it is unknown whether they will be of any use in the battle.
The good news is that Count Bennett has indeed been consuming the Blood Corpse for his own pleasure, but the bad news is that he only used thirty or forty in total, far from enough to weaken the entire Blood Corpse army...
Perhaps I should advise him to start indulging in pleasure?
But this behavior seems a bit too abstract, and... we're less than twenty miles from Weeping Willow Town now. At this rate, we can set up camp in the woods near the town today and launch an attack tomorrow.
" Aluode, why was the village deserted just now?"
Bennett suddenly asked his advisor, [ Aluode ], who thought for a moment and said:
"My lord, the resurgence of the Blood Corpse has been underway for nearly a month. Scattered Blood Corpse had already appeared around the villages and towns. The provincial archbishop ordered all the towns to move their villagers to the town center and build fortifications. There are no villagers left here."
Why didn't you say this sooner?!
Bennett frowned slightly, somewhat displeased. He was about to reprimand the other party when he remembered that it was just a Blood Corpse that could communicate with him. Since he hadn't asked, it was normal that the other party hadn't answered.
Isn't it just a defensive fortification?
If this stuff were truly effective against Blood Corpse, how could I have been captured alive by the Grand Duke when the city fell?
However, since such a thing might exist, a thousand Blood Corpse might still not be enough.
With that thought in mind, Bennett, sitting in the sedan chair, once again began to cast the Psionic Energy Formula engraved in the bloodline of the vampire lineage, attempting to summon more Blood Corpse as reserve cannon fodder.
However, at that moment, the sound of a bowstring being taut suddenly came from the dark woods.
The next moment, several arrows whistled through the air and pierced the skulls of the Blood Corpse at the front. Before they could even roar, they fell to the ground, lifeless.
Although Bennett's "eight-bearer sedan chair" was surrounded by Blood Corpse in the middle, it was still considered to be in a relatively forward position in the procession.
He opened his blood-red eyes the instant the arrows were released, and several heavy arrows happened to fly towards them during this volley.
This is certainly no coincidence; even with night vision, it is by no means easy for players to carry out an assassination in the dead of night.
But if there's a semi-transparent ID floating in the darkness helping them aim, that's a different story...