He couldnât imagine that the battle, which had seemed to be a sure victory just moments ago, could be reversed in an instant.
Still, this Pseudo-Corpse Witch was a battle-hardened veteran of the Soul World. Although he had never faced a knight order as powerful as the Celestial Court Knight Order, he knew that a group of charging knights was nearly unstoppable. But if their advance could be halted, they would become mired in the bog of the Undead Army, inevitably to be submerged by the swarming Zombies and Skeletons.
Just stop their charge!
Vladimir stomped hard on the Skeleton Giant Dragon beneath him, commanding the four Corpse Witches at his side, "Go down! Get down there and stop them! Block their path!"
The Corpse Witches summoned by the Undead Calamity seemed to lack sufficient judgment. Upon hearing Vladimirâs orders, they descended without hesitation, raising their White Bone Staffs in unison and loudly chanting their evil spells.
"Those are... Corpse Witches!"
Fang Zhou was no longer a stranger to those skeletons clad in Mage Robes. When he saw the White Bone Staffs held high in their skeletal hands and the dark green light coalescing above them, a sense of crisis suddenly gripped his heart.
"Knight Order, charge! Stop them!"
At his command, the Celestial Court Knights wheeled their horses around with almost miraculous precision. Hundreds of riders changed direction in an instant, yet not a single one collided with another. Their bodies glowing with blood-red Battle Qi, these Knights followed Fang Zhouâs orders as loyally as a pride of lions following its king.
The Undead Army charged desperately at the Knights, setting up one defensive line after another along their path. Although these lines were torn apart like paper, they still managed to slightly slow the Knightsâ advance.
The chanting of spells across the battlefield abruptly ceased as the four Corpse Witchesâ White Bone Staffs simultaneously emitted a deep, dark glow. This light pulsed with a terrifying Undead Aura, and the air grew so thick it felt like inhaling a suffocating poison, making it difficult to breathe.
"This is it! The Blinding Death Fog!" Vladimir couldnât help but let out a triumphant hiss from the air.
He then saw the four Corpse Witches swing their White Bone Staffs in unison, their shriveled fingers clutching the tops tightly. Each swing exuded an aura of death. Four spheres of pitch-black light had barely left the staves before they instantly swelled into a vast, foul, and putrid black fog.
This black fog not only blotted out the sun and obscured all vision, but it was also highly toxic. Even holding oneâs breath could not prevent the poison from seeping through the pores to corrode flesh and bone. While the Knights could use the power of their Battle Qi to block the fogâs toxicity, their warhorses had no such ability. Even if not poisoned to death, they would suffer substantial harm, becoming sluggish or even collapsing.
In the next instant, Vladimirâs smile froze on his skeletal face. He watched as a fireball as brilliant as the midday sun erupted from the hand of the leading Knight. This was no simple flame; it was pure, condensed power that radiated an intense light. It shot out like a meteor streaking across the night sky, colliding with the black fog and instantly transforming the Blinding Death Fog into a roiling cloud of fire.
In the brilliant, fiery charge of the Celestial Court Knight Order that followed, the four black-robed Corpse Witches were utterly crushed without making so much as a ripple. Their figures vanished into the flames as if they had never existed.
Vladimir let out a nearly soundless shriek.
The towering creature known as the Soul-Binding Scythe, which had been standing motionless behind the Undead Army, finally took its first heavy strides. Standing over five meters tall, the creature towered over even the mounted Knights, like a mobile statue of death. If a dozen such creatures formed a solid defensive line, even the Celestial Court Knight Order could likely be stopped.
But at this moment, the creature was all alone. Facing the unstoppable charge of the Celestial Court Knight Order, it looked extremely fragile.
However, the creature showed no trace of fear. It was a messenger of death. It was confident of victory, certain that no living being could withstand its soul-freezing great scythe.
Facing the charging Celestial Court Knight Order, a sinister, icy blue light flashed from beneath the creatureâs hood. Then, it raised its great scythe, which glowed with a scarlet light, and slashed ferociously at the foremost Knight.
The creatureâs great scythe, slicing through the air with a bloody glow, was not terrifyingly fast.
CLANG!
The leader of the Knight Order thrust out his gold-and-red long spear, blocking the great scythe just an instant before impact. The collision of the two heavy weapons unleashed a shower of sparks that lit up a corner of the battlefield.
Despite its towering five-meter physique, the creature still staggered from the fierce blow delivered by the heavily armored Knight and his steed. Before it could regain its balance, another Celestial Court Knight swung his Knightâs Sword down at its head.
With a dull thud, the Knightâs Sword struck something slick and tough. The blow was deflected from the creatureâs head, merely tearing its hood to reveal the skeletal face beneath, which emanated an azure Undead light.
The warhorseâs charging speed carried the knight past the attack, and the great scythe naturally missed its mark. The creature let out a roar of frustration before being submerged beneath the heavy swords and war axes of the Celestial Court Knights.
However, this glorious victory came at a cost: the Celestial Court Knights suffered their first casualty.
After that single clash with the creatureâs scythe, the majestic, giant-like leader could no longer control his warhorse. He simply let the mount carry his body into the distance. The next moment, the gold-and-red long spear slipped from the Knight leaderâs grasp, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. His massive body swayed a few times in the saddle before gradually tilting and crashing heavily to the ground in a cloud of dust.
Fang Zhou held his breath in shock. This Knight Order leaderâwho, in Fang Zhouâs soul-powered projection, possessed at least the strength of a Glory Championâwas shockingly killed by a single blow from that Giant Scythe Undead. The scene left Fang Zhou astounded, but it also ignited a profound curiosity within him.
What kind of Undead was this? It seemed to have an attack that struck directly at the soul.
This type of creature was not depicted in the Undead Creatures Atlas provided by Master Sandro.
Suppressing his doubts, Fang Zhou stood on the city wall and looked out at the distant battlefield. As the massive body of the Soul-Binding Scythe fell beneath the charge of the Celestial Court Knight Order, a piercing scream echoed from the sky.
The Pseudo-Corpse Witch Vladimir clutched his skull with both hands. Since his awakening, this was the first time he had tasted pain. It was no ordinary pain, but an excruciating agony that tore at him from the very depths of his soul.
What made him even more incredulous was that, right beneath him, his Undead Army had begun to collapse. Yes, the Skeletons and Zombies were all collapsing.
With a CLATTER, the Skeletonsâ frames fell apart and scattered across the ground, then weathered away into a fine, gray-white powder. The Zombiesâ bulky bodies silently slumped to the ground, as if melting and disintegrating. Foul black blood seeped out from beneath them, staining the fertile land with dark scars.
This collapse appeared without warning throughout the Undead Army. From an aerial view, large empty patches could be seen constantly appearing within the pallid formations. The once-dense, seemingly endless ranks of low-level Undead now seemed like lost souls without guidance, scattering in disarray. Even the Undead that hadnât yet collapsed no longer obeyed Vladimirâs commands.
Enduring the excruciating pain in his soul, Vladimir tried in vain to regroup the Undead Army. However, his commands went out as if they hadnât been received at all.