The Death Knight's Advance
“Hoo……”
Hallidery's two eyes gleamed like flames blazing in the abyss. His violet, flickering gaze passed beyond Yoahim, fixing on what lay behind him.
A massive army. At least thousands strong, the forces were slowly advancing toward the village.
Demon knights riding ghostly steeds led the vanguard, followed by dark elves with bows and quivers slung on their backs, and behind them, hordes of undead.
The intense stench of death they exuded was enough to instill terror in any living soul.
But what truly captured the eye wasn't the demon knights' razor-sharp blades, nor the dark elves' unerring arrows, nor the undead's fearless might.
It was a single knight.
“Come―at―me!”
Aljes. One of Haellagos's lieutenants and the commander of his knight order—a mighty Death Knight.
He had come here leading this vast host.
Hallidery knew full well what that meant.
This place would soon become a merciless battlefield.
“Aljes, huh. The foolhardy knight blindly following that brute Haellagos.”
“I―am―not―a―fool!”
Aljes drew the greatsword from his back, leveling it at Hallidery. Just supporting a blade the height of an adult man with one hand revealed his monstrous strength.
Hallidery could clearly sense the aura of death emanating from Aljes's body. It was an aura that bolstered the surrounding undead.
Proof lay in the skeletons' thicker bones compared to Yoahim's troops, and the larger bulks of the zombies and ghouls.
“I've been too complacent.”
Hallidery's true goal was to kill Kakali's apostle, who had refused to join him. Slaying a mere novice apostle wouldn't have required much effort.
He could've erased Yoahim without a trace with a single black magic spell, no need to summon undead.
But he'd gotten caught up in pointless provocations, wasting time summoning undead and toying with Yoahim.
In the end, he'd danced to Yoahim's tune.
Should I fight?
He could if he wanted. Hallidery himself was an army.
He was a powerful necromancer, not quite on par with Lich Alzahar but strong enough to raise forces here that could rival Aljes.
The Withered Land had known ceaseless war for decades, its soil buried with countless corpses—a vast arsenal for any necromancer.
But there's no reason to.
Hallidery thought coldly.
Starting a war right here wouldn't mean defeat, but it didn't guarantee victory either.
He was confident he wouldn't lose to Aljes.
But winning outright? No guarantees.
The apostle's life is a pity to waste, but……
A skilled commander chose the battlefield to his advantage. Sieges were tougher than defenses, and Hallidery held the defender's position.
No reason to abandon that edge.
Hallidery wheeled his ghostly steed toward his riders.
“Coward!”
Aljes's voice boomed like thunder.
Before becoming undead, he had been a knight—and he revered knighthood above all.
Turning tail from battle was unforgivable for a knight.
“Fight―me!”
His relentless taunts aimed to force a showdown here.
From Aljes's view, there was no need for an unnecessary field battle.
Killing Hallidery now would settle things cleanly.
Aljes's army had already reached the village outskirts, poised to charge at his command.
“Why should I?”
Hallidery snorted and flicked his hand dismissively.
At that signal, hundreds of waiting undead surged toward Aljes.
The demon knights reflexively drew their swords, but they had no chance to swing.
“You!”
As the massive greatsword swept horizontally, dozens of undead crumbled to dust.
With his free hand, Aljes crushed an undead warrior's skull like a snack.
Despite his terrifying prowess, the fearless undead obeyed their master's will.
They bought time, pinning Aljes and his army near the village.
Of course, mere hundreds could only delay for a few minutes.
“It'll take you a century to kill me, you dumb knight.”
But a few minutes was more than enough for Hallidery.
He leisurely rode back to his cavalry, then turned once more, extending a hand toward Aljes.
“See you at the castle. I'll claim your life then.”
Space warped.
Hallidery opened a portal with black magic, preparing to retreat to the castle with his riders.
Aljes, pulverizing undead with brute force, roared with crimson-glowing eyes.
“Coward―bastard!”
Whoosh!
The massive greatsword took to the air.
Like a boomerang, it tore through the wind, smashing everything in its path toward Hallidery.
And the blade aimed at Hallidery's neck—
“Pathetic trick.”
Bang!
It ricocheted with a deafening crash.
The greatsword embedded in a nearby boulder, which exploded, sending rock shards flying.
Aljes amplified his death aura further and bellowed.
“I'm―coming!”
“Such a spirited fool. Fine, I'll be waiting.”
With that, Hallidery vanished through the portal.
Aljes tore a ghoul's head from its body with both hands and tossed it aside, snorting in dissatisfaction. His ghostly steed neighed like a living horse.
“Re―form―ranks.”
After issuing the order, Aljes turned to face Yoahim.
“Yo―ahim.”
His gaze was heavy. Having witnessed Aljes's power firsthand made it all the heavier.
But Yoahim held his head high, unbowed.
He'd done nothing wrong—why cower?
If anything, I deserve praise. I held out till the main force arrived.
Yoahim steadied his breath and replied.
“Yeah.”
“Good―work.”
Aljes scanned the surroundings.
His crimson eyes swept over Yoahim's troops filling the village.
Yoahim had taken five hundred from Haellagos.
Now, he commanded more.
In battle, numbers dwindled. Only special cases like necromancers grew stronger with fighting.
Impressive tactics.
Aljes pondered calmly.
War wasn't just about winning—it was pyrrhic if your own losses crippled you.
And superb command.
He could guess how Yoahim had bolstered his ranks: tortured and coerced the enemy commander into surrendering troops.
Capturing enemy forces was clever, but more impressive was stably controlling them.
The more you commanded, the greater the demand on your ability.
Yoahim handling this many proved his skill and potential.
The lord has good reason to invest in him.
Aljes fought for Haellagos.
A knight was his lord's sword—existing to be wielded, not to wield the wielder.
He vaguely knew Haellagos saw Kakali's apostle as his successor.
As the knight closest to Haellagos after administrator Halbert, how could he not?
Still, doubts lingered even in obedience.
Why didn't his lord finish the grand undertaking himself? With such power, why entrust his dream to an apostle?
The answer had come.
Someday, I may need to serve the apostle……
The Death Knight prayed that day never came.
A blade's sharpness could be passed on, but not its loyalty.
“March.”
Aljes looked ahead once more.
As he spoke, a demon knight rode forward on a ghostly steed.
“Greetings, Apostle.”
His black hair fell to his waist, and his white teeth flashed neatly in a grin.
Yoahim narrowed his eyes at the demon knight.
“Who're you?”
“Forgive my late introduction. I'm Bille, deputy to Sir Aljes. Inadequate as I am, I'm the knight order's vice-commander. May I brief you on the operation? As you know, Sir Aljes isn't one for explanations.”
As Bille said, Aljes didn't suit the explanatory role. His gruff tone and peculiar syllable-by-syllable speech made it worse.
Yoahim nodded, checking Bille's level.
Fitting for a vice-commander, he was strong. Bille wore dual swords at his waist, and Leon stared intently at him.
“Then I'll begin the briefing. The plan is simple: advance on Levia Castle and pressure Hallidery. In a normal battle, that would suffice.”
Blockade the castle, cut supplies. The defenders would suffer shortages and crumble.
But Levia Castle's lord, Hallidery, was a necromancer.
Some demons and dark elves might be inside, but most troops were supply-free undead.
A blockade meant little.
“Hallidery's a necromancer. Standard tactics won't work. Prolonged fights normally dwindle numbers, but he can re-raise undead, so the longer it drags, the worse for us.”
Yoahim nodded as Bille spoke.
How would Aljes solve it? Overwhelm the gates with force and end it swiftly?
“So we'll pour troops into breaching the gates.”
Hm, that figures.
As Yoahim nodded to himself, Bille continued.
“Then a strike team infiltrates and finishes Hallidery.”
Hmm, yeah.
“And you'll lead that team, Apostle.”
Hmm…… Wait, what?
“The fuck?”
The absurd words drew curses instinctively.
Yoahim's eyes widened as he glared at Aljes.
“Who said?”
“You.”
Aljes confirmed with clear enunciation.
“Yo―ahim.”
“……”
Fuck, he says it to go die like that.