Per-!
“Per-!”
Aum, spotting the scene from afar, tore at his hair. He knew full well that a commander shouldn’t leave his post. But watching his brother sacrifice himself right before his eyes made bile rise in his throat, driving him to the brink of madness.
“Calm down… calm down…!”
He told himself that, but the boiling rage inside clouded his judgment more with each passing moment.
Aum scowled at Loki’s arrogant posture atop the palanquin and the transparent barrier surrounding him.
“A barrier…? Then we need to find a way to break it…! But first, the approaching undead horde…! How?”
Aum kicked the podium in frustration.
“Damn it!”
In the end, we have to strike the enemy’s main base for any meaningful result. But we can’t just charge blindly!
If they kept charging headlong, they’d meet their end against the relentlessly advancing undead legion.
“Keep our distance and shoot… no, too late for that?”
The ballistae’s range outstripped javelins, so if they’d fired from afar from the start, victory might have been possible. But they’d lost the chariot units needed to reposition them—that was the real problem.
Aum’s hands trembled. Fury surged in his head.
Meanwhile, Loki surveyed the battlefield, stroking his chin with evident interest.
“…Indeed, the skeletons seem to have learning capabilities… Javelins and crossbows were used effectively. At this rate, we could train them all as versatile soldiers without splitting into specialized units?”
But skills tied to main specializations were fixed, so blindly switching roles would waste those strengths. On the flip side, it could enhance them—like the skeleton longbowmen. Ranged attacks were their specialty, so arming them with crossbows boosted their accuracy and skill synergy, amplifying power.
Loki was currently ‘testing’ the extent of his skeletons’ learning ability by clashing with Aum’s army.
Until now, Loki had observed that his skeletons weren’t mere ‘undead.’ According to Shaman, undead were puppets obeying their summoner’s commands, devoid of will or ego. But Loki’s skeletons were exceptions.
They had no summoner; they revived in Valhalla Palace and were bound solely to Loki. They often read the mood and acted independently upon receiving his orders—proof of will and ego. They even ‘learned’ on their own.
This means individual combat prowess skyrockets. Plus, no fatigue means endless learning across fields.
The downside: excluding skeleton sorcerers, other skeletons lagged in intellectual learning but excelled in combat-related adaptation. Sorcerers showed the opposite trend.
“Still, if they learn sign language, communication becomes possible.”
Loki smirked and crossed his arms. He was already certain of ‘victory’ before the fight even began. No need for full force—he’d deliberately split his formations.
“But this is getting boring. You’re not planning to end it here, are you?”
Loki gazed at Aum atop the distant podium.
Aum ground his teeth, racking his brain.
The chariot units were nearly annihilated. Even fighting at range now, who knew how many more losses they’d suffer? Ballistae ineffective, regular arrows were out of the question.
“Lack of large-scale command experience bites me at times like this.”
During his southern continent travels, he’d handled at most a few hundred troops. As a mercenary, and with Nords facing discrimination, even his talents hadn’t earned him command.
“Back then, I’d turn this into a lesson and rise again. But this battle is our last stand.”
Defeat here meant no survival. The devil before them would get his answers from Kudan, then dispose of Aum. No one kept a stubborn resistor alive.
We still have enough troops. Split them and strike the king?
Loki’s base was essentially empty. Hitting it offered a chance… but at staggering cost.
But dragging this out means unilateral slaughter. Minimize sacrifices…!
Aum sighed softly.
“I wanted all enemy forces committed… too greedy? No choice. Last resort…”
Aum shouted to his Nords.
“Everyone… drive stakes into the ice!”
The Nords swiftly hammered stakes into the ice. Massive spikes thudded in—thunk! Thunk!—one after another. But the thick ice held firm, and water seeping through froze solid in minutes.
“They’re going in, but…”
“Too tough!”
The Nords hammered frantically but fled as the undead closed in.
“…What’s the plan?”
Kudan, who’d watched silently, questioned Aum. Stakes over attack or defense?
“What plan?”
Aum smiled at Kudan’s puzzled look.
“Just reburying the dead who should stay underground. So…”
Aum stepped down, clapping Kudan’s shoulder.
“I need your help. Bury those undead. Kudan Raguna!”
Dawn passed, morning light chasing shadows from the frozen lake, heralding the day. Unknown to most, this lake’s dawn was the continent’s most beautiful—pure air, pristine ice paths, untouched by man or monster.
But now, human blood stained it red.
Hundreds, thousands of Nords bled out, freezing into a crimson lake. Across this bloodied ice marched the undead legion.
“Hurry, everyone!”
“D-Damn, they’re too close!”
“Fall back! Retreat!”
Nords staking the ice fled the immortal horde. Undead ignored the stakes, pressing central paths lined with them.
Soon, they’d hit Aum’s main formation—the war-starter’s core. For whatever reason, they turned their backs on the hard-won barricades. The vast semicircular barriers trapped them, blocking escape.
Skeletons sneered at cornered, despairing Nords leaning on walls. Bony jaws clacked in eerie laughter, red eyes narrowing.
The end neared. The sparks of life before them would snuff out by their hands.
“Th-They’re here!”
“D-Damn! Do or die! Battle stations! Hold!”
The Nords’ screams were music to the skeleton undead. How thrilling—the moment to deliver satisfying results to their master.
They were undead, but unlike rage-filled puppets blindly obeying summoners, they were different. They heard their master’s command, obeyed with true ‘joy’—egos as ‘lives’ finding purpose in his will. A word, a mood—they understood, acted, made it their ‘existence’.
Thus, deliver ‘victory’ swiftly!
-Kraaak!!
The lead skeleton halted; the advance froze. Spears aimed skyward at Nords, then slammed earthward.
Thud-!
The boom echoed; skeletons stopped. Nords flinched, barely 150 meters separating them.
At such close range, skeletons stood motionless, attack paused.
“Why’re they…?”
“Did they… stop attacking?”
Murmurs spread; some sighed relief. But Aum shook his head, cold sweat beading.
“No, that’s… prepping for the assault!”
Like calm before storm, silence shattered—skeletons roared in unison.
-Kraaaaa-!
The shield wall cracked. Skeleton warriors charged with greatswords. Shield-bearers with spears followed.
Formations irrelevant now. Overwhelming force heralded ‘slaughter’!
Impenetrable lines dissolved into storm-like fury. Thunderous steps, red auras from eyes, nose, mouths. Full sprint at prey.
Terror-struck Nords fled, but barricades blocked them.
“Aaaah! Fight those things?!”
“Damn! How beat those monsters!”
“We can’t win from the start!”
“It’s over!”
Aum grinned darkly at their despair.
“Yes, this accursed war ends now. Kudan!”
At Aum’s call, Kudan moved. Gripping his massive warhammer, he charged the undead rush.
Skeletons mocked his recklessness, hurling spears en masse.
Innumerable javelins flew—but bounced off his warhammer.
Skeletons widened eyes, hastily forming shield walls, spears raised. Dense phalanx: five in front, five behind.
But the solid wall…
“Out of the way!”
Kudan’s hammer shattered shields like cookies. Undead flew back.
One strike. Even siege engines couldn’t breach it—now crumbled effortlessly.
-Kweek?
Skeletons stared. Then at his path: the stake-filled center.
Realization dawned; red eyes flared. They halted Nords-charge, swarming to block him.
Hundreds of immortals lunged at one man.
Kudan charged in headlong. Spears and swords whizzed; he dodged razor-thin. Cheek gashed, limbs nicked—blood poured.
Evading hundreds of blades, he reached the stake-heart. Surrounded, weapons converged—but
Kudan ignored the onslaught, slamming his hammer down with full might.
“Back to hell, you dead ones—!”
Boom-!
Massive roar shook earth. Shockwave hurled weapon-wielding undead; ice shattered beneath.