50 – Undead attack
The earth trembled violently beneath us, sending dust and small rocks tumbling from the cavern walls. The once silent, tense atmosphere of the council chamber erupted into panic and confusion.
“We have to get outside!” Lydia ordered, already sprinting toward the tunnel we’d come through.
We followed swiftly, our footsteps echoing through the narrow, uneven passageways. When we emerged into the open air, the scene before us was pure chaos.
The village was under siege.
Undead swarmed from all directions—skeletons, rotting corpses, and dark spirits writhed through the streets like a living nightmare. Despite the villagers' best efforts to hold the line, their defenses had been breached. Screams and the clash of weapons rang through the village as warriors fought desperately to repel the onslaught.
I spotted Zeta, the harpy, swooping down from the sky. Her talons tore through an undead soldier with a swift, clean motion, bones clattering to the ground. Her wings flared wide, beating hard as she ascended again, dodging a wave of arrows fired by skeleton archers.
“Zeta!” Lydia called out as we reached her. “What in the name of the gods is happening?”
Zeta landed near us, her chest heaving from exertion. Her sharp eyes darted from one end of the battle to the other before she replied, her voice harsh with frustration.
“We’ve been betrayed! Someone tipped Volkos off to our location!”
The words hit like a hammer. Betrayed? But who could have done such a thing?
Leona stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she surveyed the battlefield.
“The undead army is too large. They’ve overwhelmed the village’s defenses despite the holy magic the spell casters have been using.”
She wasn’t wrong. Even now, mages were standing at key points throughout the village, chanting incantations of holy light that slowed the advance of the undead. But for every one they managed to banish or destroy, more seemed to crawl out of the earth itself, bolstered by necromantic power. Despite this… is this really necromancy? It's… so rudimentary.
“Get back to the council, Zeta!” Lydia ordered. “We need everyone to coordinate a defense and drive these bastards out!”
But even as we turned to head back, Lydia suddenly froze, her eyes widening in shock.
Through the chaos of the battle, an elf emerged from the shadows of a building. His skin was dark as the night, his hair a striking contrast—pure white, disheveled, and wild. Scars marred every inch of his face, twisted into a grim mask. His leather armor clung to him like a second skin, and his cold eyes locked onto Lydia with a cruel glint.
“You!” Lydia snarled, recognizing him immediately. “Morthos! You did this?!”
Morthos smirked, a slow, smug grin that twisted his scarred features further. “Ah, Lydia. You always were quick to catch on. Yes, it was me.”
It seems that Lydia was really shaken by this event. Is this guy someone she knows?
“Why? Why would you betray your own people?”
Morthos’s smirk faded as he spoke, his tone surprisingly… petulant.
“Why?” he repeated, his voice dripping with bitterness. “Because of them! The women! No matter how much I tried, not a single woman in this blasted village wanted anything to do with me! I did everything right—joined the resistance, fought the undead, protected them—and what do I get? Rejection! Sneers! They can’t even look at me because of this face!”
He gestured dramatically to his scarred visage, his expression twisted into something between anger and desperation.
“So, you went to Volkos?” Lydia’s voice was incredulous, her hands clenched into fists. “All because of—what—your bruised ego? You betrayed your people for this?”
Morthos straightened, his sneer returning. “Volkos promised me. In exchange for helping him and delivering the council members to him I would get all the women I could ever want. He doesn’t care how ugly my face is.”
He grinned again, something dark and vile in his gaze. “And I won’t have to look at those disgusted stares ever again.”
For real? That's his issue? I’ve heard the term ‘dick pick’ many times in my past life… but is this guy really just thinking with his crotch? Scary. That being said, it almost felt like Lydia wanted to jump and strangle him outright. But in that moment I grabbed her arm, stopping her momentum.
“Let me go, Magnus. As the village chief, I am responsible for this!”
“Blind anger won't get you anywhere. Take a closer look behind him.”
As I pointed out, behind Volkos, there were 4 large creatures. Death Knights. A Death Knight stands at 3 meters tall with a crooked body. It is equipped with a rippled sword called a Flamberge and a huge shield known as a Tower Shield.
Moreover, the armor has sharp thorns everywhere and looks like an incarnation of violence. Two demonic horns protrude from the helmet, with the face being visible underneath. It has a disgusting, rotted face whose empty eye sockets are filled with hate and killing intent, glowing with a flashing red light.
If Lydia had charged in, she would have been killed instantly. Still… they are not giving off the same menacing aura as the Death Knight that was guarding the Undead Kings tomb. These are… inferior creations.
“Lydia, I know we are outsiders, but would you allow us to help?”
“Magnus… thank you, but this army is…”
“I can handle this much.”
At my affirmation, Morthos sneered and looked annoyed at me.
“Handle it? Hey, lizard-face, who do you think you are? We outnumber the villagers 3 to 1. And then there are these 4 guys behind me. One of them is worth 10 of your warriors!”
“That might be true… if it was a true undead.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“Morthos, was it? Do you know the difference between the undead that appear in dungeons, natural undead monsters and undead created by necromancy?”
“Stop beating around the bush and say what you want to say already!”
“Natural undead have a monster core and have an actual thought process. They can adapt in combat, they have a sense of awareness. In other words, they are sharper. Undead created with necromancy have no free will. They might have residual memory or thoughts, however without orders, they can't act or react. It is possible to create a superior undead creature… but your entire army is inferior.”
“You're starting to piss me off! Stop talking from your high horse. My 4 death knights will tear you to shreds!!”
“Oh my.” I said with a faint smile. “Monsters like that aren't worth my time. Let's see. You have 4 death knights. That means…”
I snapped my fingers. In that moment, Leona, Rusalka, Saphira and Rose stepped forward.
“My girls are more than enough. 4 against 4.”
“You’ll regret your words!! Death Knights!! Kill those bitches!!”
“Girls… teach them a lesson.”
“Understood!!” (X4)
I’m confident that my girls can handle this. But just for precaution I’ll cast some support buffs on them. In the meantime I hope they'll put on a good show at least, so I can finish my own preparations. I need time for this to work.