At the main entrance of the demonic cult's base, located to the southwest of the mountain, Lusian, Emily, Adela, Charles, one hundred nineteen knights, and twenty mages prepared to begin the assault. To the north was Leonidas with forty-nine knights and ten mages. To the east, Keitaro, Iris, twenty-two adventurers, and Jaiden Jenkins led twenty-nine knights and five mages. Finally, on the western side, Albert commanded thirty-nine knights and ten mages.
The group was strategically divided to surround the cult's base and attack from different directions. Each leader had a considerable number of soldiers and mages, providing enough strength to carry out the assault.
Lusian ordered a group of forty knights to advance while the mages prepared to cast an area wind spell. With his knowledge of the game—the same world that Erwin had once completed—he knew that when fighting the undead, black mages often used an area spell that generated a fog capable of strengthening those creatures and poisoning anyone who entered its range.
Moments later, as the knights approached the cave entrance, a dense fog began to spread around the doorway. Rotting corpses rose from the ground, and several members of the demonic cult emerged from the cave itself. Among them stood a Lich wielding a halberd. At the sight of it, a chill ran down Lusian's spine.
Following his orders, the mages cast their wind spell to disperse the fog. The clash between the knights and the undead began with ferocity. However, the creatures seemed to appear faster than they could be destroyed.
Lusian made a strategic decision and ordered twenty additional knights to advance, leaving sixty in the rear to provide support and rotate with the wounded or those who had exhausted their magical energy. Meanwhile, the mages took turns maintaining their spells.
Although there was only one mage with light affinity—particularly effective against the undead—the fire mages unleashed Inferno spells. With the support of four wind mages, they incinerated several enemies that were closing in dangerously on the knights, who were already overwhelmed by the sheer number of adversaries.
"Where are so many coming from?" Emily asked.
"The demonic cult must have desecrated all the graves in the nearby villages," Lusian replied. "To create undead, you need corpses. They don't appear out of nowhere. That's why some are decomposed and others are just bones."
"Then… how many could there be?"
"Thousands, maybe more. The good thing is they're not very strong, but their numbers are the problem. If we're not careful, our knights will run out of magical energy," Lusian explained.
"I thought it would be easier…" Emily murmured, lowering her head. "I can help the mages too."
She cast an area Purification spell to assist in battle, but its effect was weaker than expected, and disappointment was evident on her face.
"Isn't it strange?" Lusian asked, watching the faint light fade. "Light and darkness can't touch each other, so how is it possible for them to take physical form through mana?"
"What are you talking about?" Emily asked, intrigued.
"You," Lusian replied calmly. "You're researching how to create a stronger light spell, aren't you?"
"How do you know that, Lusian?" she asked, surprised.
Lusian smiled and pulled a scroll from his pocket. He unrolled it and showed Emily a detailed drawing of a light spell.
"Because I'm trying the same thing. Look, I'm researching how to enhance my dark magic."
He recited a spell for about twenty seconds, and a dark beam struck an undead. It staggered, but kept advancing.
"As expected, dark magic isn't very effective against the undead," Lusian commented.
Emily watched, impressed, and asked him to teach her.
"It's not that hard," Lusian said. "You just have to think about not giving physical form to light magic—just concentrate on its intensity."
"You really expect me to understand that?" she asked doubtfully.
Lusian smiled. "It's hard to explain with words, but try. You have enough talent to figure it out."
His words seemed to give her confidence. Emily nodded and began channeling her mana differently, determined to refine her light magic.
Meanwhile, the squad's light mage was running out of mana despite having exterminated many undead with his Light Arrows spell, which dealt severe damage to the endless enemy lines. Not even ten minutes had passed since the battle began when several knights started getting injured, and a couple even fell to the cult's mages.
The situation would have been disastrous if the knights had not been equipped with legendary-grade armor and swords. In addition, each of them possessed a superior artifact that enhanced their magical affinity.
The number of undead began to decrease; they were no longer appearing in massive waves. However, the Lich—a being of terrifying power—stepped forward to attack. Around it, ten corpses clad in the armor of Erkhan knights rose.
"Damn it! They have high-level undead," Lusian shouted, recognizing the threat.
"They must have found the corpses of knights… this will be troublesome," Charles said, frowning. He turned to his leader. "My lord, I request permission to join the battle. The knights won't last long if they're besieged by the Lich and those undead."
Lusian nodded gravely. "Go, Charles. Take Umber with you."
However, Umber did not move.
"He will not leave your side while there is danger, my lord," Adela intervened firmly. "I will send Aureus to assist him."
Understanding the importance of maximizing each member's abilities, Lusian ordered the water-affinity mages to cast spells along Aureus's path. The strategy proved effective: the mages positioned themselves behind the knights and began unleashing powerful water spells.
Seizing the moment, Aureus activated his Frozen Mantle ability. As the water spells struck the undead, enemy lines began to freeze. While the damage was not great, the effect gave the knights enough time to close in and destroy them.
The combination of the knights and Aureus's freezing power allowed them to annihilate a large number of enemies. The strategy worked, weakening the cult's forces and allowing the group to advance.
The Lich, along with its undead knights, charged fiercely against the Douglas knights, killing several of them. The situation became critical until Charles stepped forward and engaged the Lich directly. Meanwhile, the other knights fought the undead, and the mages supported them with powerful fire spells.
Charles used gusts of wind conjured by his own magic to combine his attacks with the flames of the mages, increasing their power and precision. Even so, it was clear his defeat would only be a matter of time if the other knights failed to eliminate the undead quickly.
At that moment, Lusian, sensing the power gap between the Lich and Charles, decided to intervene directly. He moved onto the battlefield and shouted for Emily to stay with the mages—for her own safety—and not engage in close combat.
The Lich knocked Charles back with a strike from its halberd; the knight lost his balance and fell. As the weapon rose for a killing blow, a beam of light struck the undead's right arm. Emily, having completed her spell, had managed to wound it significantly.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Lusian unleashed a series of dark spells at the Lich. They did not seem to deal direct damage, but they drew its attention and pulled it away from Charles. In that instant, Umber—Lusian's loyal companion—intercepted the undead and bit down hard on the arm holding the halberd, nearly tearing it off.