Chapter 147: Submit And You Will Be Spared
Voss let out a slow breath.
"...Still can’t believe this," he muttered.
Beside him, the town lord stood stiffly, his hands gripping the edge of the railing so tightly his knuckles had gone pale, his eyes wide as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
His name was Hal.
And at this moment, he looked nothing like a man in control of a town.
Voss narrowed his eyes slightly, studying the formation more carefully.
"It really is a bunch of walking skeletons... and dead bodies," he said under his breath, his voice low, almost disbelieving. "How is this even possible..."
Hal swallowed hard, his throat dry, his gaze locked onto the advancing figures that seemed to stretch endlessly into the darkness.
"...Can we defend against them?" he asked, his voice tighter than he wanted it to be. "There’s... there’s at least twenty body tempering monsters out there..."
His breathing grew uneven.
"They’re not even hiding it..."
Voss didn’t answer immediately.
His eyes moved.
Voss didn’t answer immediately.
His eyes moved, counting, and measuring.
Reading the battlefield before it even began.
Then he spoke.
"As long as we hold for half an hour," he said calmly, "reinforcements from Clear Water Sect should arrive."
Halric turned to him quickly, hope flashing across his face.
"Half an hour...?"
Voss nodded once.
"That’s the plan."
A short pause.
Then his gaze sharpened again, locking onto two figures standing at the very front of the undead army.
Carrion.
Vermis.
Even at this distance, their presence stood out.
Like something the world itself didn’t want to acknowledge.
Voss’s grip on his saber tightened slightly.
"...But," he added.
That single word made Halric freeze.
Voss didn’t look at him.
His eyes remained forward.
"We’re going to have to work hard for that time," he said.
The wind along the watchtower shifted again, colder this time, carrying a strange stillness that didn’t belong to a normal battlefield.
Below, the undead army came to a stop.
Not slowly.
Not in confusion.
But all at once.
As if a single thought had passed through every one of them at the same time.
Voss’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"...They’re organized," he muttered.
Halric felt it too.
That silence.
That unnatural discipline.
Then one figure stepped forward.
Clad in full armor, dark and worn, the metal dulled by age yet untouched by rust, its surface marked with faint scratches that looked more like memories than damage, the figure moved with a steady, deliberate pace until it stood ahead of the entire army, its presence heavier than the rest, not because of strength alone, but because of the way everything behind it seemed to revolve around it.
Carrion.
He stopped just within clear sight of the walls.
Then his voice rose.
Carrying across the distance as if the air itself was forced to deliver it.
"Humans," he said.
The word echoed faintly against the stone walls.
"If you wish to live..."
A brief pause followed, long enough for every guard on the wall to tighten their grip, long enough for the fear already present to sink deeper.
"My lord is magnanimous," Carrion continued. "Submit... and you will be spared."
Murmurs broke out along the walls.
Uneasy.
Confused.
Some of the guards exchanged looks.
Others stared forward, unsure whether to laugh or tremble.
On the watchtower, Voss let out a short laugh.
Not loud.
But sharp.
"Submit?" he repeated, almost amused.
He stepped forward slightly, resting one foot against the edge of the wooden platform as he looked down at the armored figure.
"Ha," he let out. "Why would we submit to monsters, I don’t think if we can even call you monsters."
His voice carried just as clearly, filled with rough confidence that cut through the tension like a blade.
Behind him, a few of his mercenaries smirked.
The guards straightened a little.
It wasn’t courage.
But it helped.
Below, Carrion did not react.
Not even slightly.
Before he could speak again, another voice rose.
Vermis stepped forward.
She didn’t rush.
Her movements were relaxed, almost casual, as she came to stand beside Carrion, her gaze lifting toward the walls, her lips curved into that same faint smile.
"If you submit," she said, her tone gentle, almost inviting, "my lord can grant you something far more valuable than survival."
A slight pause.
Her eyes gleamed faintly.
"Immortality."
The word settled over the battlefield.
Vermis tilted her head slightly, as if studying their reactions.
"You won’t age," she continued. "You won’t wither. You won’t die from time."
Her smile widened just a little.
"You will exist... beyond what you are now."
Silence followed. Then, a laugh broke out, not from one person, but from several.
"That’s insane..."
"Immortality?"
"Do they think we’re fools?"
One of the guards shook his head, almost scoffing.
"That’s just a story told to children..."
Even Hal blinked, his fear momentarily replaced by disbelief.
"...That’s impossible," he said under his breath.
Voss snorted quietly.
"Yeah," he muttered. "Now they’re just talking nonsense."
He looked back down at Vermis, his expression turning colder.
"Immortality?" he called out. "If that were real, you wouldn’t be standing out there trying to convince us."
A few guards laughed again.
For a brief moment, the laughter from the walls carried across the field.
Below, Vermis went still.
The faint smile on her lips did not disappear, but something behind it shifted, something colder, sharper, like a thin layer of restraint snapping quietly into place.
Her eyes lifted again, locking onto the walls.
"...They’re laughing," she said softly.
Beside her, Carrion remained unmoving, but the air around him grew heavier, the faint, oppressive weight of his presence pressing outward, subtle but undeniable.
"They mock him," Vermis added, her voice still light, but now carrying something darker beneath it.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
Then Vermis let out a small breath, almost like a sigh.
"Carrion," she said, tilting her head slightly, "let’s stop talking."
Her smile widened just a little.
"And kill all these humans."
There was no emotion in it.
No anger in the way humans would show it.