Episode 152
The undead legion followed Gurav into the trap-laden area set by Zeke.
Zeke dismissed Gurav’s summoning.
“Well done, Gurav.”
He then signaled to Richmond.
“Richmond, now!”
Richmond unleashed the skeletons hidden underground.
Creak, creak, creak!
Empowered by the Blood and Madness Rider, the skeletons erupted from the earth, scattering the ranks of the skeletal knights.
Screeeech!
Richmond’s summoned skeletons swung their crimson bone swords wildly, attacking the skeletal knights.
But soon, the corrupted aura of the Arch Lich shone brightly.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
The Arch Lich cast a dark curse on Richmond’s skeletons.
Their movements slowed, allowing the skeletal knights to regroup.
Zeke, assessing the situation, signaled Richmond again.
“Richmond! Now!”
Richmond commanded the skeletons to detonate their magic bombs.
The skeletons retrieved the bombs from their bone armor and detonated them simultaneously.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Forty magic bombs exploded with a deafening roar.
Crash!
Both Richmond’s skeletons and the skeletal knights were shattered to pieces.
Yet, amidst the chaos, the Death Knight, the Arch Lich, and a few skeletal knights continued their advance, unscathed.
The Arch Lich’s aura glowed once more, attempting to reassemble the fallen skeletal knights.
“Not so fast.”
Zeke signaled the dragon soldiers who had been lying in wait.
The dragon soldiers hurled potions of the Flame Giant’s Breath.
Smash!
Neither the Arch Lich nor the Death Knight could intervene.
The skeletal knights, not fully reassembled, had no means to block the incoming potions.
The potion bottles shattered, and the Flame Giant’s Breath engulfed the undead legion.
Whoosh!
The skeletal knights, trying to rise again under the Arch Lich’s power, were incinerated, reduced to ashes.
Only a few skeletal knights managed to reform, emerging from the flames with swords and shields.
At that moment, the ghostly steed of the Death Knight inhaled deeply and exhaled a blue breath towards the flames.
Roar!
With a ghastly sound, the ghostly steed’s breath quelled the flames.
Though the number of skeletal knights dwindled, the Death Knight and the Arch Lich entered the crystal cave, untouched.
Richmond, receiving Zeke’s signal, summoned more skeletons.
Creak, creak, creak!
Forty crimson-enhanced skeletons charged at the undead legion with bone swords drawn.
Clang, clang, clang!
The enhanced skeletons clashed with the skeletal knights.
The skeletal knights, wielding shields, moved with agility uncharacteristic of skeletons.
Crash!
They blocked the enhanced skeletons’ swords with their shields and shattered their bone armor with their own blades.
The skeletal knights who survived the flames had been blue-ranked knights in life, and even as undead, they displayed formidable power.
At Zeke’s command, dragon soldiers hidden throughout the area joined the fray, aiding the enhanced skeletons against the skeletal knights.
Crash!
With the dragon soldiers’ support, the skeletal knights began to fall back.
The Arch Lich, hovering beside the Death Knight, surveyed the battlefield. It soon identified Richmond, who was directing the skeletons, and flew towards him.
Screeeech!
With a terrifying shriek, the Arch Lich’s corrupted aura emanated darkness.
“How dare a mere demi-lich defy me, an Arch Lich! Kneel and swear your loyalty to me!”
Though Richmond was a demi-lich, he was already Zeke’s summoned creature and classified as a lowly dragon type, so the Arch Lich’s command had no effect on him.
“Ahh! It’s the Arch Lich! Scary!”
Panicking, Richmond shouted at the Arch Lich and swung his staff to erect a barrier.
The Arch Lich retaliated with a barrage of spells.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Black fireballs rained down from the corrupted aura.
Despite his shrill cries, Richmond skillfully deflected the Arch Lich’s attacks with his staff imbued with the power of the Blood and Madness Rider.
At that moment, Gurav appeared behind Richmond.
Growl!
Gurav opened its maw wide, spewing venom at the Arch Lich.
Sizzle!
The venom corroded the aura.
The Arch Lich’s gem-like eyes flashed with anger.
“How dare a vile chimera…”
While Gurav and Richmond kept the Arch Lich occupied, Zeke drew his orichalcum sword and approached the Death Knight.
Having learned how to combat demons from his battle with Arataso, Zeke donned the Hershion and Agamemnon masks and brandished the Sacred Flame.
He launched a radiant mace at the Death Knight.
Boom!
The massive mace of light struck the Death Knight.
But it was futile.
Rumble!
A dark haze enveloped the Death Knight, blocking the mace of light.
“A barrier, perhaps.”
The Death Knight, mounted on its ghostly steed, charged at Zeke.
Thud, thud, thud!
As the distance closed, the Death Knight swung its sword at Zeke from atop the steed.
Crash!
Zeke managed to block the strike with his sword, but the impact pushed him back.
Simultaneously, the Death Knight leaped from the ghostly steed, slashing down at Zeke.
Whoosh!
Zeke steadied himself and executed the Agamemnon-style golden swordsmanship.
Boom!
The clash of swords sent shockwaves rippling outward, as if an explosion had occurred.
As Zeke retreated, the Death Knight burst through the dust cloud, pressing the attack.
Whoosh!
The Death Knight wielded its massive black sword and shield with ease, driving Zeke back.
Zeke realized the Death Knight’s swordsmanship was familiar.
“The Death Knight uses paladin techniques?”
Death Knights are undead created from the souls of fallen knights.
Thus, they retain the skills they possessed in life.
As the Death Knight pressed its attack, it spoke in a chilling voice.
“Remember the name of the one you cursed to death. Louis Marchisio. I will kill you and offer your head on the altar.”
Zeke was taken aback by the Death Knight’s words.
“The paladin who nearly killed the girl of Luvern, that one?”
Zeke realized that the paladin Louis’s soul and the cardinal Verdi’s soul had become corrupted, transforming into the Death Knight and the Arch Lich.
Just then, Richmond’s urgent voice rang out.
“Ahh! Master, save me!”
Zeke glanced over to see Richmond struggling against the Arch Lich.
“A Death Knight and an Arch Lich…”
If this undead legion had appeared in the kingdom, it would have been classified as a national emergency.
“Ahh! Master, I’m going to die!”
Hearing Richmond’s plea for help again, Zeke hurled the Sacred Flame at the Death Knight.
Whoosh!
The Sacred Flame created a wall of white fire.
Taking advantage of the opening, Zeke turned his attention to the Arch Lich attacking Richmond, wielding his orichalcum sword.
Zeke aimed a radiant mace at the Arch Lich.
Boom!
Caught off guard, the Arch Lich was struck by the radiant mace and fell from the sky.
Dark energy seeped from the fallen Arch Lich’s aura.
Zeke approached cautiously, sword at the ready.
The Arch Lich spoke, its gaze fixed on Zeke.
“You, who led me to death. Zeke Draker, I will offer your soul as a tribute of loyalty to my master.”
“Try if you can.”
The Arch Lich, once Cardinal Verdi, seemed to harbor a deep grudge against Zeke.
Zeke summoned the Blade of Purification.
A golden aura surged from his sword.
The Arch Lich flinched at the aura emanating from Zeke’s sword.
Despite its power, the Arch Lich was still undead, instinctively recoiling from the purifying force Zeke wielded.
The hesitation was brief. The Arch Lich extended its hand, muttering an incantation.
Dark energy from the corrupted aura seeped into the ground.
Crash!
Skeleton soldiers clad in ancient armor emerged from the earth.
The skeletons charged at Zeke.
Unfazed, Zeke swung the Blade of Purification.
Crash!
The skeletons struck by the purifying blade crumbled to ash.
But it wasn’t over. The skeletons continued to rise from the ground.
Realizing this could go on indefinitely, Zeke called out to Richmond, who was floating nearby.
“Richmond, can you take control of those undead?”
Richmond, flustered, responded.
“What? Take control?”
“Since we’re all undead anyway, I figured it might just work.”
Richmond had never considered such an idea before, but after pondering it for a moment, he reached into his robe and pulled out a small pouch. Meanwhile, Zeke and the Arch Lich continued their cycle of destroying and summoning skeletons.
Richmond took out small bone fragments from the pouch, raised his staff, and chanted a spell. The bones turned a dark crimson.
With a flourish, Richmond hurled the transformed bones toward the skeletons. “Take this, you wretches!”
A strange phenomenon unfolded. The crimson bones scattered and attached themselves to the skeletons advancing on Zeke. Suddenly, the skeletons halted with an eerie screech.
The Arch Lich, noticing the odd behavior of his summoned skeletons, infused them with stronger magic. Yet, they remained unresponsive.
“You wretched lich! What have you done?” the Arch Lich bellowed.
The skeletons, now motionless, abruptly turned around. Richmond swung his staff with a flourish.
“Follow me, my adorable bone minions! I’ll transform you into something far grander!”
A dark crimson aura seeped from his staff into the skeletons. With a crackling sound, the ordinary skeletons transformed, their bones turning crimson and forming bone armor and swords. Their skulls morphed into something resembling reptilian features.
Richmond exclaimed with glee, “Reptilian skeletons, success!”
The newly transformed reptilian skeletons turned their weapons on the other skeletons created by the Arch Lich.
“How dare you, a lowly lich, steal my power!” the Arch Lich roared in fury.
Ignoring the Arch Lich’s rage, Richmond commanded his reptilian skeletons to attack.
With a thunderous charge, the reptilian skeletons rushed at their foes, their enhanced strength and agility evident.
Zeke, impressed by the unexpected success, turned to Richmond. “I didn’t think it would work, but here we are. How did you do it, Richmond?”
“Well, since I became your summon thanks to the dragon bones, I thought maybe attaching dragon monster bones to other skeletons might work too, so I gave it a try.”
Richmond, who had spent his life handling monsters, had a knack for the unusual.
Zeke observed the reptilian skeletons, intrigued by their agility and resilience. “Stronger than regular skeletons, these could be incredibly useful for surprise attacks.”
For Zeke, who used anything at his disposal in battle, they were a valuable asset.
The Arch Lich, realizing his forces were outmatched, retreated. “Damn it! What are you doing? Kill them, now!”
The skeletal knights, previously engaged with the dragonbone soldiers and Richmond’s enhanced skeletons, turned their glowing eyes toward Zeke at the Arch Lich’s command.
The Arch Lich’s corrupted fortress pulsed with energy, empowering the skeletal knights and skeletons.
Zeke ordered Richmond to advance the skeleton army and positioned the dragonbone soldiers at the rear, instructing Guraav to launch poison darts from a distance.
Guraav, a massive creature, rose and spat poison at the Arch Lich, forcing him to retreat into the air to avoid the corrosive attack.
“Where are you, Luis? Stop them now!” the Arch Lich cried, desperate for reinforcements.
Guraav’s poisonous assault was formidable, and Zeke watched the battle unfold with a satisfied smile. “This might be as powerful as a knight’s order.”
With the restored guardians’ strength added, they could wield the power of an entire legion. Zeke alone commanded the might of a one-man army.
Just then, a fiery blaze erupted.
The Death Knight, previously bound by sacred flames, reappeared. Late-arriving mages in ashen robes had used their magic to extinguish the flames and free the Death Knight.
The Death Knight’s eyes burned a fierce red as it emerged from the flames.