War, the Living, the Dead

At Angela's command, the undead army immediately sprang into action. Facing the wide river before them, the undead did not hesitate for a moment. They stepped into the water, and even as they were tossed about by the rapid current, they showed no panic. The clear river water gradually became murky, the decaying bodies of the undead spreading through it, turning the once clear and transparent water a dark green, and black clouds gradually covered the sky, adding another layer of pollution from above.

"Um?"

Just then, Angela saw several tall, dark figures suddenly appear behind the enemy army. She squinted, carefully observing the strange things, then frowned slightly, before a slight smile appeared on her lips.

"I never imagined they had such a treasure hidden away."

"What? What?"

Kalin was startled by the sound and quickly followed Angela's gaze. When she saw the dark figure clearly, she was also greatly surprised.

"That's... a cannon?"

Indeed, just as Kalin said, towering behind the army were rows of enormous metal cannons. However, unlike ordinary cannons, these giant cannons had their muzzles facing the sky rather than forward. If one had to compare them, they looked more like enlarged versions of mortars from Angela's world.

On this continent, cannons are a very uncommon tool of war. The reason is simple: on this continent, cannons are powered by Magic Power, meaning that only mages can use cannons in combat. Just like the cannons in Yi Aier's floating city, they are all powered by Magic Power. Of course, they don't fire cannonballs, but rather beams of Magic Power. This is because gunpowder simply doesn't exist on the Morning Wind Continent. Neither the Magic Empire nor the current Five-Nation Alliance has invented or discovered gunpowder, so naturally, they can't manufacture cannonballs like those on Earth. However, in the eyes of mages, the damage caused by gunpowder isn't particularly effective. Otherwise, Li Lin, who has lived on Earth for eighteen years, wouldn't have chosen to use magic arrays to create explosive effects instead of gunpowder.

Now, the Federation had actually produced several cannon-like structures, which explained Kalin's surprise. After all, the technology for manufacturing magic cannons was a military secret of the Magic Empire, and should have been extinct on the continent long ago. Moreover, operating magic cannons required mages. However, when Kalin looked over, she only saw a group of ordinary soldiers standing next to the giant cannons. Apart from their clothing, they seemed no different from other soldiers, and didn't appear to possess any Magic Power.

"Kid, I feel like something's not quite right."

"Hmph, trying to be clever is pointless."

In response to Kalin's well-intentioned reminder, Angela merely gave an arrogant snort. Kalin, in turn, shrugged at her attitude, then took out another bottle tied to her waist and began to drink.

Though the river was swift and deep, the undead legion advanced slowly but steadily, and they had now crossed halfway. The soldiers, poised for battle, raised their shields, and the archers drew their longbows, the flames on their arrows burning brightly and dazzlingly. The knights gripped their reins, forcing their horses, which had sensed the approach of death, to remain calm, maintaining tight formation, quietly and tensely awaiting the final battle.

Just then, a tremendous roar resounded.

"Boom!!"

Accompanied by this thunderous roar, sparks erupted from the muzzles of the tall cannons erected behind the army. The booming sound descended from the sky, then landed on the undead legion, which had already crossed half the river.

While not as powerful as a mage's spells, these bombardments still inflicted heavy losses on the undead creatures, who were rendered inactive by the river's current. Violent explosions erupted from them, each strike reducing dozens of undead to fragments. Had such an attack been directed at a human army, this barrage would have been enough to utterly shatter their morale and decide the outcome of the war.

Unfortunately, they were facing an undead army that was not human. Although shrapnel pierced their bodies, hearts, and heads, and even severed their arms and limbs, these undead creatures continued to advance relentlessly. Unless they were completely blown to pieces, no attack could stop their advance.

The repeated bombardments slowed the advance of the undead, but no one cheered for the victory. The undead continued their advance; they did not retreat, collapse, or surrender. They simply moved forward silently, their crimson eyes burning with rage, greed, and death, tearing, devouring, and destroying everything in their path.

Soon, the river's flow began to slow, as countless undead creatures blocked its course with their corpses, rendering the river unable to fulfill its intended purpose. Even the undead creatures deep within the riverbed's silt did not stop. They used their bodies to build a terrifying and sturdy bridge across the river. Although the giant cannons continued to fire, each shot still tearing up large swaths of limbs, it had little effect on the endless undead. Even their mangled bodies became part of this undead bridge.

The undead creatures gradually increased their speed. Supported by their selfless companions ahead, they stepped over the corpses of other undead creatures and crossed the slowly flowing river, sensing the endless, vigorous life force on the other side. This made the undead creatures even more excited. They were jealous, jealous that those lives could still stand intact in the sunlight. They were angry because they could no longer have these things, so naturally they didn't want others to have them either. At this moment, these undead creatures had only one wish: to strip all these lives away, turning these humans into pitiful worms like themselves, devoid of life and soul, only able to struggle in eternal imprisonment.

One after another, undead creatures stepped onto the riverbank, only to be blasted away by the giant cannon, their fragments falling into the river. But soon, three or four more undead creatures filled the gaps left by the unfortunate ones and continued forward—only to be blasted away again. Then, five or six more undead creatures appeared.

"Keep bombing, keep attacking, keep making futile resistance, you foolish humans."

Although thousands of undead creatures had been wiped out in the barrage of fire in a short period of time, Angela remained indifferent and leisurely. Before her, tens of thousands of undead soldiers continued to advance. Behind her, countless more undead soldiers emerged from the horizon, seemingly endless and without end.

This is a true human wave tactic.

Despite facing such a terrifying number, not a single warrior retreated, for as the undead gradually drew closer, they had come to see their true forms.

Inside were not only his comrades, but also the elderly, women, and children—all sorts of people had now become part of the undead army. Their faces were contorted and ashen; even the dead children were crawling forward in a twisted and nauseating manner, using their own hands and feet. Their once innocent faces were now swollen and reeking of death, and thick, viscous fluid flowed from their gaping mouths, where even their teeth hadn't fully grown in.

It was all quite obvious: Angela had not only used her own undead creatures, but she had also turned everyone she had encountered into her own kind.

An uncontrollable rage burned from the depths of everyone's hearts. Anyone witnessing such an inhumane scene would instinctively want to destroy this ugly and evil, allowing the souls of the undead to return to their peaceful and tranquil eternal slumber. Moreover, this made the soldiers realize more acutely that if they couldn't stop the spread of evil, their loved ones would soon join it, becoming part of this undead army, their souls forever captured by darkness and evil, with no hope of escape.

Angela paid no attention to what the soldiers were thinking. She didn't care whether they were terrified or invigorated by the sight of the undead. To Angela, whether they bravely charged forward to stop them or scattered in panic, the outcome would be the same—they would be overwhelmed by the undead, become their food, and ultimately become one of them. And that was what Angela admired: no matter how courageous or intelligent, it was all meaningless before absolute power.

The effect of artillery fire was ultimately limited. The undead eventually reached the opposite bank of the river. They began to regroup and once again "persevered" in their advance. On the other side, hundreds of knights had already formed a charge formation. With the waving of their banners, the knights pulled down their masks and raised their lances, aiming straight at the undead army.

"Waaaaah... Waaaah...!!"

As the bugle sounds, ten thousand horses gallop.

Just as the undead reached the riverbank and the plain before the city, the combined power of tens of thousands of warhorses finally erupted. The knights, riding their steeds, transformed into a raging whirlwind and charged towards the undead army.

At that very moment, the movements of the undead also changed.

The moment the knights marched, as if pulled by a thread, the previously slow-moving undead army suddenly accelerated. Using both hands and feet, they charged towards the knights with incredible speed.

The two enormous torrents collided simultaneously, and the resulting impact was enough to eclipse the heavens and earth. The knights' charge was so powerful that even the undead's originally swift formation was thrown into disarray. They split into small teams, like sharp knives cutting through the undead army, carving a path through the stench and rotting corpses.

But the undead creatures were not going to give up easily. Faced with the knights' unstoppable charge, they roared and screamed in anger, leaping high into the air and pouncing on the knights, dragging them off their horses. They were then trampled into a bloody pulp by the horses that followed—along with the knights they had pulled off.

Meanwhile, the undead clung tightly to the horses, seemingly understanding the principle of "shoot the horse before the rider." Compared to the fully armed knights, who were like metal cans with nowhere to be bitten, the horses beneath them were clearly a better target. The Ghoul gripped the horses tightly, tearing at their skin and muscles. When the horses could no longer endure the excruciating pain and collapsed, the knights on their backs would immediately be overwhelmed by the Ghoul and become another part of their meal.

None of the Ghoul noticed that each knight had a small, transparent bottle hanging from their waist. The bottles on the knights who were knocked down by the Ghoul had broken open, and a pungent liquid was slowly leaking from them.

In just a few tens of minutes, all the knights had been submerged in a sea of Ghoul. And just then, the banner waved again.

The longbows, already fully drawn, immediately unleashed flaming arrows, a torrential downpour of fire raining down on the sea of undead. Then, flames erupted, spreading as if alive. Fueled by the flammable oil carried by the knights, the flames engulfed the entire plain within minutes, mercilessly igniting the dead, the living, and all who remained, melting them into their own bodies.

"A boring trap."

Gazing at the blazing fire, Angela stretched idly, then snapped her fingers lightly.

A heavy atmosphere began to spread across the battlefield, and dark clouds had already reached the sky above it. Then, cold, sticky raindrops began to fall sparsely, and the rain gradually intensified.

Before the raging inferno could fully spread, it was firmly suppressed by the torrential rain. Faced with the even more frenzied downpour, the burning flames were utterly powerless to resist. Soon, the flames began to weaken, then slowly went out, leaving only blackened, charred remains as proof of their existence.

The undead creatures continued forward, stepping over the corpses of their companions, without the slightest hesitation or doubt.

"Monster!"

Although they had anticipated the battle would be extremely difficult, the generals still felt a chill run down their spines upon witnessing the unimaginably terrifying scene. One secret weapon, one trap, one scheme after another—a human army would surely have reacted to such a display. But these damned undead showed no sign of wavering or chaos. Moreover, although a considerable number of undead had been eliminated, endless darkness remained behind them.

This caused some anxiety and panic among the soldiers, who had never experienced such combat before. At the same time, a sense of despair began to slowly creep into their hearts. They were not afraid of sacrifice or death. However, what they feared was that everything they had done would ultimately be meaningless. They had exhausted everything, yet they could not stop the enemy from achieving their goal, and their loved ones would not gain peace and tranquility because of their sacrifice.

The old council chairman's fingers trembled slightly as he watched everything unfold, his heart filled with a complex mix of emotions—fear, worry, and a touch of calm. Although he had long imagined how powerful his opponent would be, human imagination has its limits. In any case, the old council chairman had never imagined that his opponent would be this powerful. Moreover, the old council chairman was extremely nervous. After all, it was the Magic Empire that had declared war on them, and the Magic Empire Magic Empire, naturally, used magic. But so far, apart from using undead creatures and the previous bizarre downpour, the opponent hadn't used a single spell. In other words, the opponent's full strength hadn't been revealed, while they themselves had already played all their trump cards.

In any case, this will be the final battle.

The soldiers raised their heavy shields, reaching their height, and extended spears from the gaps. Guided by the waving banners, they braced their shoulders against the inside of the shields, attempting to use this wall of flesh to block the invasion of the undead. At that moment, the priests began to chant, summoning holy light that enveloped the tens of thousands of soldiers, giving them courage, strength, and faith. Even the once-black spears began to radiate a faint, divine glow.

At that moment, almost all the soldiers were astonished to see a bright spot of light suddenly appear in the depths of the dark ocean, shining with a beautiful and dazzling brilliance like the morning star in the night.

What is that?

Before the soldiers could even react, a pure, massive beam of magic roared into the crowd, engulfing thousands of soldiers and tearing a huge rift through the ranks.

Faced with this sudden attack, not only were the soldiers extremely surprised, but even Angela jumped up in a fit of rage and looked back.

"You big cow! Why are you disturbing my pleasure!"

"I was just following my master's orders."

With her golden twin tails swaying, Yi Aier raised her right palm, and the light in her hand shone once more.

"He ordered me to come and assist you in the attack... Do you think you're relaxing in a hot spring? It's been so long and you still haven't finished?"

"How could a cow that thinks with its breasts understand my pleasures!"

"Complaining to me won't do any good, Miss Angela. After all, I'm not the only one ordered to assist."

As Yi Aier spoke, an invisible shadow emerged from the gaps in the dark clouds—black, red, white, blue, and green. A colossal Chromatic Dragon, illuminated by red lightning, hurtled towards them, unleashing its long-breathed power onto the dark, cold earth.