[Vol. 8] Chapter 8: The Undead Tide
As soon as Violet stepped onto solid ground, she turned to glance at the carriage behind them. Inside were Eudora, Mia, and Selna.
Although that little succubus once pulled off an amazing feat in Iron Hammer Canyon, taking down over a thousand elite imperial troops on her own, that was only possible because the priestess had asked Frederica to call in Wing, whose support made it all happen. Succubi aren't good at head-on combat. Even though Eudora is a bit special, she’s still just a child. It would be best if she didn’t have to fight at all.
So, knowing there might be trouble ahead, Violet had already arranged for two maids to stay by Eudora’s side to take care of her. Even though Mia and Selna weren’t especially strong, in Violet’s opinion, they didn’t even really count as fighters, they were still vampire nobles at the count level. And with their special training from the Sainz maid academy, they should be more than capable of protecting Eudora, as long as the front line didn’t completely fall apart.
After confirming that they were still safely inside the carriage and hadn’t been attacked directly, Violet finally looked back outside and noticed more and more enemy figures appearing from the dense Hellwood Forest.
They were completely skeletal from head to toe, with pale white bones. A dim blue fire flickered deep in their empty eye sockets. They held bone-made weapons, and pieces of tattered clothing or broken armor hung off them, too damaged to tell what they used to be. But from the look of it, they were probably soldiers when they were alive, not ordinary civilians.
Skeleton soldiers, one of the most basic and common types of undead. Most of them were weak and used as cannon fodder, but every now and then, stronger ones would appear. These were known as Skeleton Generals, Skeleton Lords, or even Skeleton Kings. Their strength depended on how strong they were when alive, and sometimes it could change during the undead transformation.
It’s said that a Skeleton King could even have the same level of intelligence as a living person and could speak, but that’s just a rumor.
The ones appearing here now, judging by their size and structure, seemed to be just ordinary skeletons. Weak, yes, but the number of them was truly shocking. They had completely surrounded the team, so many that you couldn’t even see where they ended. It felt like they were trapped in an endless sea of skeletons.
But what was strange was that neither Violet nor Xiao Guang had sensed them before they appeared. There was only one possible explanation.
These undead weren’t hiding in the forest ahead of time. They had just crawled out of the ground. That was easy to tell because most of the skeletons were still covered in dirt.
So now, their source was clear.
“Everyone!”
Just as the girls stepped outside, the Saintess Frederica rode in quickly on her white mount, a creature with unicorn bloodline. She jumped off her horse and drew the [Judgment Holy Sword] from her waist.
“These low-level undead don’t deserve your attention. Please leave them to us!”
“?”
Violet gave her a curious look, noticing how full of fighting spirit the Saintess seemed.
It was true that Violet had spoken with Frederica the night before, warning her that they might be ambushed today. But for her to show up so quickly, right at the start, was still a bit surprising to Violet.
After all, Frederica was the leader and strongest warrior of the entire group. When unknown enemies suddenly attack, her job should be to stay flexible, watch over the whole situation, and be ready to help where needed. Not rush over here to act as a personal bodyguard.
Even though the words just now didn’t name anyone directly, pretty much everyone present could guess who she was talking to.
But since this was the decision of the Judgement Saintess, Violet didn’t say anything more or try to take over. She simply nodded and got straight to the point.
“These skeleton soldiers feel a little different to me. I think they’ve been strengthened by some kind of special power. Tell your people to be careful. This battle probably won’t be as easy as it looks.”
“Huh? Really?! Someone, come here!”
Violet had only casually mentioned it as a warning, yet the Saintess immediately believed her without question and nodded seriously. What surprised Violet even more was that the Saintess didn’t pass along the message herself. Instead, she loudly called over her assistant and told them to deliver the warning to be careful. Meanwhile, she stayed right where she was, standing in front of Violet in a clearly protective stance.
What was with this girl? Did she really think Violet looked like someone who needed protection…?
Before Violet could even think more about it, the skeleton soldiers, who had slowly moved closer, suddenly stopped. At the same time, they all stepped to the side, revealing several gaps in their formation that made people’s hearts skip a beat.
And then—
“Hyah hyah hyah—whoosh whoosh!!!”
Just as everyone’s attention was drawn to that strange movement, countless pale bone arrows suddenly shot down from above, raining toward the front line like a deadly storm!
“Zzz Zzz Zzz Zzz Zzz!”
This surprise attack from above seemed threatening, but for the elite soldiers of the Holy Empire’s envoy group, it was still nothing more than a simple trick.
Even without orders from Frederica, the holy knights instantly raised their shields. Their alloy shields, blessed with holy light, easily blocked the arrows, which weren’t all that powerful. Even the carriages carrying non-combat members lit up with protective barriers right away, shielding the passengers, horses, and wagons completely without taking any damage.
Just then—
“BOOM!!!”
Before the knights and priests could feel proud for stopping the arrow attack, a ball of dark fire, as big as a washbasin, suddenly shot through one of the gaps. It exploded in mid-air, growing even larger with the wind, and unfortunately, it was flying straight toward Violet and her group!
“How dare you! Such disrespect from mere undead!!!”
For some reason, Frederica’s expression suddenly changed. She shouted in anger and, without hesitation, drew her sword and slashed. The fierce dark flame was actually sliced in half by the blade’s light, as if it had been cut like a solid object. The sword energy didn’t fade, it even flew forward into the forest, slicing through branches and tree trunks, ending with a terrible, inhuman scream.
Clearly, the Saintess had used real strength in that attack. The target she struck probably had no chance of surviving such a powerful holy sword strike.
But the next moment, as if something had been triggered, even more dark fireballs came flying out from deep inside the [Forest of Death], crashing into the group with loud explosions. At the same time, the skeleton soldiers, who had been watching closely, suddenly charged all at once like a tidal wave, throwing themselves at the team!
At this point… the battle had fully begun!