The trees stood tall, majestically reaching toward the sky. Around them, massive moss-covered rocks were scattered haphazardly.
Between them was a narrow trail, worn down by the passage of countless travelers. At the end of that path, as if waiting, stood someone.
A Sixth-Circle Dark Mage, Basilud.
His face was lined with wrinkles, his hair stark white. Just as Dark had described, his attire could hardly be called anything other than rags.
To the untrained eye, he might appear as nothing more than a vagabond old man wandering aimlessly through the forest.
But one look into his eyes would change anyone's perception.
Those eyes, brimming with a hint of madness, were enough to reveal that Basilud was no ordinary person.
"Keuhuhu... So, my disciple is dead already, is he..."
Through a pact of dark magic, Basilud had bound Ziko as both servant and disciple.
Connected through their psyche, they could sense each other's presence even from great distances. But recently, that connection has been severed.
"Seems the fool made a mistake... How pathetic, getting caught..."
Basilud wasn't particularly concerned. Despite appearances, the territory he had targeted was guarded by knights. Having attempted mind control twice, discovery wasn't out of the question.
From the moment the connection broke, he had peered daily down the mountain with his magic vision. That was when he discovered the military forces advancing once again.
"Well, if that's how it is... I'll have to try a different approach."
Of course, the approaching soldiers would meet a gruesome fate. They would serve as offerings for him, after all.
"Come now, I'm right here. Come and get me."
Basilud grinned sinisterly, waiting for the soldiers of Nordhill to arrive.
It wasn't long before Ghislain and the Nordhill army spotted Basilud, who seemed to be expecting them.
"Is that him? He's quite confident," Ghislain said, smirking.
For someone to stand there so openly, even in the face of hundreds of soldiers—it was a bold move for a mage.
Surely, the man must have made his own preparations.
"A dark mage."
"I don't recognize his face."
"Why is he out in the open?"
Those who had participated in the last campaign gripped their weapons tightly, visibly tense.
During their last encounter, they hadn't even had the chance to properly fight and had been forced to retreat. This was the first time they were seeing the dark mage.
When Ghislain raised his hand, all the troops halted in place.
They had been warned about traps, and everyone scanned their surroundings, visibly cautious.
Ghislain took a few steps forward and shouted loudly.
"Are you Basilud, the one who dared target the Nordhill territory?"
Basilud smiled again. The fact that they knew his name meant Ziko must have revealed everything.
"Indeed... I am Basilud. To come here knowing of me... I'll at least commend your bravery."
Basilud's voice was low, too quiet to be heard from such a distance.
Yet, through magic, his words rang clearly in the ears of everyone present. It instilled a chill in the soldiers already on edge.
"I can see the fear in you already... Your souls shall be mine."
At his words, some of the soldiers began trembling. The knights shouted for them to stay calm, but even they were visibly uneasy.
Seeing this, Ghislain sighed in exasperation.
"Aren't you full of yourself for just being a Sixth-Circle mage?"
To Ghislain, who had even slain a dragon, Basilud's display was almost laughable.
But he could understand why the others were afraid. To the soldiers of this land, a Sixth-Circle dark mage was nothing short of a calamity.
Ghislain shouted again, louder this time.
"Stop posturing and fight if you're going to! Come at me already!"
Basilud was momentarily taken aback. Judging by the robe and staff, the man seemed to be a mage, yet he was at the forefront, shouting.
He seemed slightly unhinged.
Curious, Basilud asked.
"Are you a mage?"
"That's right."
"What circle?"
"Fifth Circle."
"Puhuhu... How utterly ignorant you are…"
Basilud couldn't help but laugh.
It was exceedingly rare for someone of a lower circle to defeat one of a higher circle. The gap only widened at higher levels due to the nature of mana suppression.
"A Fifth-Circle mage dares to challenge me... Are you relying on the knights and soldiers around you?"
If that was his reasoning, it made sense. No matter how powerful a Sixth-Circle mage was, allowing knights to close in posed a threat.
But Basilud had not revealed himself without reason.
"Ah... So, you've heard about me from Ziko already. In that case, let us begin."
When Basilud raised his hand, tendrils of black energy radiated outward from him.
Drrrrrum…
The ground began to quake. The Nordhill soldiers gripped their shields tightly, their tension rising.
And then, the very horrors they had feared began to unfold.
Uuurgh…
Kyaaaaah…
Kaaargh…
From what seemed like the depths of hell came harrowing wails. The earth trembled as corpses began to emerge from the ground.
Skeletons, zombies, ghouls, and other undead creatures, even animal carcasses, clawed their way to the surface.
Their number exceeded five hundred. An undead army that would not die.
This was why Basilud could stand so boldly on his own.
Having collected corpses for years, he now commanded a force that could rival any military.
"Kehaha... All of you, die here and become my servants."
The sight of the undead army made the soldiers falter in terror. They had heard of this, but seeing it in person was a different matter altogether.
Uuurrgh…
The eerie cries of the undead echoed all around. The soldiers could do nothing but tremble in fear.
At that moment, Ghislain strode forward, gripping his staff.
Without hesitation, he smashed the head of a zombie still clawing its way out of the ground.
Thud!
Uuurgh…
The zombie, which had barely emerged to its waist, had its head shattered and stopped moving, its arms twitching uselessly.
Ghislain didn't stop. He began smashing nearby undead with relentless blows.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Uuurrgh…
In an instant, dozens of undead had their heads crushed, their remains collapsing helplessly to the ground.
Ghislain's movements grew faster. Before long, dozens of fireballs were orbiting around him.
As he smashed the undead, the fireballs flew out in all directions, incinerating the creatures.
Uuurrgh…
Over a hundred undead were destroyed in moments. The remaining bodies and fragments twitched but were incapable of fighting.
Seeing this, Basilud shouted in shock.
"S-stop!"
Ghislain smirked.
"Are you stupid? Who stops when told to? Did you think I'd wait for all of them to come out?"
Thud!
Even as he spoke, Ghislain crushed more undead. Basilud, now desperate, raised his hand.
"You insolent fool!"
Boom!
After a short casting, a beam of black energy shot out from Basilud's hand. It was a powerful spell capable of killing a knight instantly if struck directly.
Ziiiing—!
A blue light flickered in Ghislain's eyes, and a simple shield materialized in front of him.
Basilud grinned.
"You fool! Do you think a mage of the lower circle can block my magic?"
Having a lower circle meant having less mana. It should have been impossible to block such a high-level spell.
Soon, Basilud's black beam collided with Ghislain's shield.
Kwaaaaaang!
The smile on Basilud's face slowly faded.
His opponent was standing unharmed. It was a situation he couldn't comprehend.
"How... How can you block a Sixth-Circle spell with a Fifth-Circle shield?"
He had used one of the strongest and fastest spells for direct combat. A Fifth-Circle shield should have been completely inadequate.
Yet his opponent had only been pushed back slightly, showing no signs of injury.
Ghislain smirked and spun his staff in his hand.
"That was pretty sharp. Should we get serious now?"
"How dare you!"
Basilud drew more mana, and darkness spread outward from beneath his feet.
In this field of darkness, holy power weakened, while the strength of the undead grew even greater.
At the same time, Ghislain dashed forward, leaving the undead behind. Yulian followed closely behind him.
While running, Ghislain shouted, "Focus only on defense! Trust the 'saintess candidate'!"
The soldiers at the front gripped their large shields tightly with both hands, bracing their legs firmly.
Behind them, lines of soldiers extended long spears forward. Each spear had a crescent-shaped crossbar at the tip, designed to push enemies back.
Both the shields and weapons had been hastily crafted according to Ghislain's orders.
Deneb, called the 'saintess candidate,' blushed in embarrassment as she infused her mace with holy power.
Fwaaaash!
A white light enveloped the mace. It wasn't particularly powerful holy power.
But the soldiers didn't know that. They saw the glowing mace and felt hope rise in their hearts.
And Ghislain didn't disappoint them.
While charging toward Basilud, he released a burst of mana behind him.
Papatapatap!
Multiple orbs of light appeared around Deneb. It was Light, a First-Circle spell.
It had no combat value whatsoever, but visually, it was incredibly effective. Deneb, surrounded by glowing lights, appeared truly divine.
"Waaaaaaaah!"
The soldiers roared. It felt as if holy light had descended upon the darkness.
Deneb instinctively squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden brightness. That made the cheers from those around her even clearer.
'This is nonsense, but it's working too well!'
Ghislain's theatrics were practically a scam, but they successfully boosted the soldiers' morale, and that was all that mattered.
Uuuhhh…
The undead immediately swarmed toward Deneb.
Even weak holy power was still holy power. Feeling the opposing force, the undead instinctively tried to eliminate it first.
"Hmph!"
Deneb raised her mace and swung it hard. Though her holy power was weak, her blunt-weapon techniques were top-tier.
Smash!
The mace, infused with holy power, instantly crushed a ghoul's skull.
Deneb demonstrated every technique she had ever learned, smashing the heads of the approaching undead one after another.
The problem lay elsewhere.
'Ugh, the light's too bright—I can't see properly!'
Ghislain had overdone it with the lights. It might have looked dazzling to others, but to Deneb, standing in the center, it was blinding to the point of tears.
Fortunately, Kyle fought alongside her, keeping her out of major danger.
Fwaaash!
Kyle's sword flashed like lightning, severing the necks of the undead. His movements were swift and deadly, like those of a wolf.
Meanwhile, Dark kept criticizing from nearby.
"Ugh, that's pathetic. Can't you take them all down with one swing? I've seen swordsmen in the future who could slice through castle gates with a single strike."
Having witnessed countless powerful warriors in Fenris, Dark wasn't impressed by Kyle's performance.
"Got it! Just shut up already!"
Kyle was fed up with Dark's nagging. Being constantly compared to others was driving him insane. He was developing an inferiority complex he never even had before.
Despite their bickering, the two managed to take down dozens of undead.
But there were still hundreds more.
Uuuhhh…
The undead flailed their arms and legs as they continued to approach the soldiers. Because of the uneven terrain in the mountains, many stumbled and fell.
The soldiers carefully spread out, maintaining distance from one another to encircle the undead.
Kaaaah!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The undead lashed out, but the soldiers in front held their shields firmly and endured. The soldiers in the back pushed the undead away with their spears.
Their job wasn't to kill the undead. Their mission was to minimize damage while herding the undead into one area.
"Hold the line! We can do this!"
"Push them back a little more!"
"Drive them toward the center!"
The knights shouted commands as they protected the soldiers. Andrew nervously watched from behind, trying to steady himself.
Everyone was following Ghislain's plan. Though the soldiers weren't highly trained, the simple orders made them easy to follow.
Uuuhhh…
With the soldiers focusing solely on defense, the undead struggled to deal significant damage. Instead, they were gradually being herded into one spot.
And at the center of that spot, Deneb and Kyle were fighting like mad.
"Argh! Damn it! Why do I have to fight like this?!"
Kyle cursed as he slashed through the undead. Deneb kept blinking her stinging eyes while swinging her mace.
That's right. The soldiers' goal was to funnel all the undead toward Deneb and Kyle.