The Approaching Nightmare, Concerto

Although the summer sun scorched the earth, a biting wind swept across this dark land, carrying a chilling stench of blood. The silent dead stood quietly on the ground, speechless. Undead creatures are, after all, merely walking corpses; though their souls were corrupted by evil forces, they lacked the ability to preserve themselves. In the cold winter, they could remain intact, but with the arrival of spring and the blooming of flowers, these undead creatures began to change.

Although, in reality, even if these corpses were reduced to bones, it wouldn't pose any problem for Angela. In fact, bones might even be easier to manipulate—without the rotting flesh, there would be no threat of ignition. Bones may seem fragile, but they are actually quite hard, and the chances of an arrow hitting them would be much lower. However, right now, these undead creatures are clearly in the most unacceptable stage. Their half-rotten, half-fallen appearance is quite nauseating. Even ordinary people would begin to decompose after being dead for so long, let alone these "battle-hardened" corpses. Although the terrifying aura they emit keeps scavengers away, it cannot reverse the decay process. Even Li Lin rarely comes here now—he came once when Angela organized her army, but left quickly. Even for Arcane Mage, the smell of a million corpses rotting simultaneously is indeed quite "spectacular."

However, the overwhelming stench did not affect Angela at all. She remained sitting on the central stone pillar, hugging her knees, gazing at the corpses before her with a hint of reminiscence.

Wasn't it the same in the castle that day? Corpses were all around her, their rotting, maggot-infested flesh... Thinking of this, Angela's lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile.

"Father, Mother, and Betty, how are you all doing? Angela is doing very well now, because..."

As she spoke, Angela stood up, stretched out her arms, and looked up at the sky.

"... Because Angela has finally found her happiness... This is everything I've ever wanted! Hoo hoo hoo, hoo hoo hoo..."

With a soft laugh from the girl, darkness seeped in like a tide. Soon, one corpse after another fell to the ground, their flesh rapidly decaying into pools of blood. The bones, however, began to gather quickly. Soon, the strange, enormous skeletal giants that Miu'erkasi had seen before reappeared among these undead creatures. They opened their mouths, emitting cold, lifeless growls. Bright, crimson light flashed from their enormous, dark eye sockets, eclipsing even the blazing sun. Standing, they were as tall as city walls. Just as Angela had told Miu'erkasi, these creatures, though slow-moving, possessed immense strength and formidable defense.

Angela had never intended to display these things. It wasn't that she was hiding her strength or deceiving Li Lin. From Angela's perspective, firstly, while these creatures were undeniably powerful, they lacked aesthetic appeal. In Angela's words, they were incredibly ugly. Although she was Vampire Species, Angela's aesthetic sense wasn't like that of the dead; she maintained a considerable level of appreciation. Therefore, having such repulsive-looking creatures displayed before her eyes wasn't something she would enjoy. Secondly, in Angela 'Angela view, there was no need to summon these things. After all, with the strength of these humans, they were only fit to be dinner for the lowest-ranking Ghoul. Creating these relatively high-level undead creatures to fight against them was, in Angela's opinion, like using a cannon to kill a mosquito—a waste of talent. As the noblest Vampire Species, to create high-level undead creatures to fight a group of weak and helpless trash? It was utterly shameful.

This time, however, Angela had clearly changed her approach, for a very simple reason. Since Catherine had noticed the change in events, the report would definitely be on Li Lin's desk on the same day. So, Li Lin called Angela over, didn't say much to her, and simply placed Catherine's report in front of the little guy. Angela understood everything immediately.

Indeed, ordinary humans were no different from trash in the little guy's eyes, but these paladins and saints were quite troublesome. Having lived in this world with Li Lin for so long, the little guy admitted that his undead army wasn't always effective against the supernatural beings of this world. Therefore, at the start of a battle, Angela would first eliminate the priests who could inflict heavy damage on the undead army before unleashing her main force. Although she was ruthless, she wasn't stupid. Moreover, Li Lin had once demonstrated that miraculous power to her—facing the hundreds of undead creatures summoned by Angela with an evil smile, Li Lin simply used an anti-necromantic spell to completely annihilate them, leaving not even a trace.

This also made Angela realize that her army was not omnipotent.

Moreover, Li Lin had repeatedly reminded himself that at the end of this war, when the God of Justice appeared, he would definitely use the Holy Light! And according to what Li Lin had recorded in Angela's little head, the powerful force of that light could even turn all of her undead army into ashes!

Angela wasn't bothered by this; they were all dead anyway, turning to ashes was no big deal. However, the condition was that they had to complete their mission first. If these creatures disappeared without fulfilling their purpose, Angela would absolutely not allow it.

For this reason, Angela ultimately decided to create some advanced undead creatures.

These undead creatures are different from those of this world. In fact, even on Earth, most of them are products of legend and ancient times, some even dating back to the mythological era. For Angela, who has mastered the Root life and death, creating such monsters is not difficult. Moreover, Li Lin has personally conducted experiments, confirming that these advanced undead creatures are indeed much more resistant than the lower-level ones. However, he also clearly told the little guy that these monsters are equally ineffective against holy light, and can only hold out for a longer period of time. To prove his point, he even had Gabriel cast holy light on these advanced undead monsters several times, allowing the little guy to witness firsthand how these undead creatures were reduced to ashes.

This task was of utmost importance to Gabriel. After all, she was an angel, and even though she acknowledged the "legitimacy" of the Magic Empire's revenge, the thought of countless undead creatures gathering beneath her feet made the archangel uneasy. Moreover, Angela had mocked her many times in the Lower Planes, and finally finding an opportunity to vent her anger was something Gabriel naturally wouldn't let slip. She not only put great effort into it but also subtly intended to wipe out Angela's undead army in one fell swoop.

However, Angela did not get angry. On the contrary, she watched calmly as these undead monsters died at Gabriel's hands without showing the slightest reaction. She was not as angry as she usually was, nor did she have any intention of jumping up and fighting the archangel.

"One hour, twenty minutes, and thirty seconds."

Angela narrowed her eyes as she watched the enormous bone soldiers slowly rising before her.

"It can only last this long under the Holy Light, and considering that the Holy Light of that annoying piece of trash is even more powerful than that hen's, it might not even last an hour."

Thinking this, Anjie snorted coldly. She was never a reckless person. For thousands of years, Angela had lived in this world, witnessing the cruelest, most terrifying, most ferocious, most cunning, and most dreadful aspects of humanity. Her confidence stemmed from her belief that she was more ferocious, more terrifying, more cruel, more cunning, and more dreadful than humans. She wasn't the kind of impulsive person who would go mad in a moment of anger. As a Vampire Species, beneath Angela's violent nature lay an extremely calm mind.

However, Angela is not just composed of these bone monsters.

"Hoo hoo hoo, I'll show you what a true immortal being really is..."

Angela chuckled softly, then stretched out her arms.

The shadowy figures began to move again. Unlike before, the tide of these figures fused the flesh and blood that had been separated from the corpses together. They began to swell and merge, like melted jelly, gradually changing, then twisting and transforming into a new, even more terrifying entity...

"It seems there are no problems with Angela."

Li Lin deactivated the illusion before him. His face was pale, but he was much better than Yi Aier, who was nearly unconscious beside him. Li Lin had always known that Angela possessed more than just the zombies from Resident Evil. Back on Earth, the little girl had proudly told Li Lin about the undead monsters she had controlled and how humans trembled before their immense power. But until now, apart from when Angela created another kind of undead creature out of anger and pride in front of Miu'erkasi, the little girl had always been using the lowest-level units in combat.

This is somewhat similar to the competitive games Li Lin played on Earth. In his view, the little guy simply activated "SHOW ME THE MONEY," then used secret techniques to mass-produce the lowest-level units and overwhelm the opponent with sheer numbers. Of course, this is almost always successful, but that doesn't mean it will succeed in every situation. Therefore, taking advantage of the opportunity before the final battle, Li Lin must properly "squeeze" the little guy out and reveal her hidden cards; otherwise, if any problems arise, things will get complicated. Although in Li Lin and Angela's plan, these undead creatures will ultimately be sacrifices, they must be sacrificed in a worthwhile way.

On the political level, everything has stabilized. Long before the migration, most people had already learned of the current situation from their leaders. The Prime Material Plane is currently in a perilous state, and many disasters are likely to occur. Under these circumstances, only the floating Ringwraith City can help them withstand the calamities. For this reason, these races and people have no unease about living in the Ringwraith City.

After receiving news from Li Lin, the Kingdom of Serei and the Sea-Encircled Country, left with no other choice, had their king and princess Shirley personally travel to Ringwraith City to demand an explanation from Li Lin. Li Lin did provide one, and his explanation was very sincere and detailed. However, as Li Lin had predicted, after hearing his explanation, the king and princess stared at each other, mouths agape, completely speechless. After all, in their lives, fighting against other nations or confronting political enemies within their own country was already the most dangerous thing for them. But a war between gods? Or a collision of planes? These unimaginable things were beyond their comprehension; even if they were to be afraid, they didn't know how to react.

Of course, they weren't fools. After witnessing firsthand the elves, Dark Elf, half-breeds, orcs, and angels residing in Ringwraith City, these two had already buried their hopes that Li Lin would allow their citizens to live in the city. Although there were plenty of rooms, living with so many different races... Angels aside, elves were a slave race of the Five-Nation Alliance, and the reputations of Dark Elf and those half-breed orcs weren't much better. It wasn't a suggestion worth considering.

Even so, Li Lin agreed to their request that they send some people with "magical talent" from their country to study at the academy. After all, they knew very well that they had to leave some seeds for their country, no matter what. Moreover, Li Lin also hoped to see a new beginning, at least for now.

"There's not much time left."

Li Lin sighed, turned his head, and looked at the twinkling stars outside. It was still broad daylight, but the stars in the sky showed no sign of hiding under the sun's light. This indicated that the turmoil and upheaval in the Upper Planes had begun to affect the rules of the Prime Material Plane. Li Lin could foresee that in the next few days, there was even a possibility of polar day, polar night, or extreme cold and heat. Although everything was relatively stable so far, no one knew how things would change next.

There was no further contact with the gods. Even when Li Lin convened the Astral Plane Meeting, not a single person could be seen. Clearly, either they had already complied with Li Lin's threats, or they had begun to accumulate strength, waiting for the Prime Material Plane to shift so they could fight the Lower Planes to the death, or...

Thinking of this, Li Lin's expression darkened slightly; he didn't particularly like this last possibility.

"Nia, pass down the order: everyone must make final preparations before nightfall. And I'm allowing them to drink today... but starting tomorrow, they must prepare for battle!"

"Of course, Li Lin."

Standing beside Li Lin, Nia answered softly.

"Anna, Yi Aier, and Miu'erkasi are ready to leave. Tonight, we'll be having a dinner party... You should be coming, right?"

"Of course, as long as you don't drink alcohol..."

At this point, Li Lin glanced strangely at the crystal ball that had just reflected Angela's undead army.

"I'm not eating meat today either... The fruit from the elves' place is pretty good though... Damn it, I really shouldn't have gone to check on what the little guy was up to. Now I probably won't be able to eat meat for the next few days."