Chapter 630: Volume Seventeen: Dark Descends on Earth - Two: Seizing the City (2)
Conan struggled to raise the knight’s spear in his hand, the sizable flare of the spearhead blossoming into a dazzling halo. Only now did he realize, despite having devoted considerable effort to Light Magic, just how much he needed help in the face of these undead creatures—and he was far from the only knight harboring this thought. Although Mejernov had been persistently casting supportive spells to help the knights recover their strength and sustain their Holy Light Spells, the endless stream of skeletons and zombies still left them feeling stretched thin.
Bronin could bear it no longer, it was time for him to stand with his knights. His body leapt up lightly, aided by the knight’s cloak infused with Wind Magic, his airborne silhouette between the castle and the streets appeared especially graceful. The knight spear cast a myriad of light and shadows, and in an instant, broke through several skeletons that had just lunged at him wielding rusty swords and blunt blades. The shattered particles of their bones scattered, falling down in bits and pieces—just this single thrust turned four skeletons into debris.
The spear’s green qi cut sharply through the air, a powerful impact driven purely by Fighting Qi. The light wheel at the top of the spearhead suddenly expelled forward, creating a harsh, piercing sonic boom as it violently rubbed against the air. Two massive zombies lunged fiercely from the sides, the rust-streaked wolf tooth clubs in their hands seemed intent on smashing Bronin into pieces. He spared them a contemptuous glance, then suddenly pulled back his spear, drawing a beautiful arc at his waist. Without warning, two blossoms of the spear’s light imprinted on the tops of the two charging zombies’ heads. In that moment, the Holy Power of Holy Light, riding along the Fighting Qi expelled from the spear, was triggered. The zombies, as if abruptly realizing something had gone awry, saw their pale complexions turn crimson red, and then their bodies exploded, chunks of their flesh and foul gases splattering everywhere—a sight so gruesome that Viscount Saliman, who was watching from behind, couldn’t help but retch on the spot.
Hiding in the shadows, Komer watched all this with keen interest. Perhaps due to their primal state, the skeletons and zombies weren’t of great quality—most conjured from the cemetery around Bruce Fortress were in fact residents who had died normally or otherwise. These skeletons and zombies, having undergone no special training or casting of spells, could do little more than frighten people and perhaps claw at the soldiers of the Storm Infantry Corps. However, in the presence of the knights of the Knights regiment, they were utterly feeble.
The only satisfaction for Uma and the other two Undead Mages was that some of the skeletons and zombies summoned from the trenches buried beneath the fortress walls were somewhat acceptable, particularly a few clad in military garb who evidently possessed considerable combat prowess in life. After intense spellcasting reinforcement and fortification by Uma and the two other mages, these became the main force in this chaotic battle. One of them, a Skeleton Archer, despite not being physically exceptional—the small stature and delicate limbs indicated it had likely been an Elf—was now a force to be reckoned with under Uma’s deliberate training and enhancement, drawing attention even from onlookers like Komer. To see such a delicate skeleton handling a bow and arrow, shooting successive arrows and hitting the target, was indeed an unusual sight to behold.
Komer had to admit, Light Knights naturally held a tremendous advantage in combat against these undead creatures. The Holy Light Spell wasn’t anything extraordinary, in fact, it was merely the most basic spell within the Church of Light. Imagine, even these knights could cast basic Holy Light Spells to enhance their weapons’ offensive power or to fortify themselves against dark creatures, underlining the spell’s significance. Yet, it was this very basic Light Magic that still struck fear into these undead beings—especially the unfortified skeletons that, upon being impacted by the Holy Light Spell, would suffer considerable damage. Light dispels darkness, darkness devours light; it’s the innate truth of opposing forces. These skeletons were simply too lowly to be strengthened to a satisfactory level in a short time. For Komer, the fact they could be rallied for an attack and create chaos was already satisfying enough.
Nevertheless, if these hastily summoned skeletons and zombies were to continue being consumed by the blows of the Light Knights, this wouldn’t suffice to instill fear in those people from Homer and force them to relinquish Bruce Fortress. It was imperative to crush their psychological thresholds.
With a "thwack" of the bowstring, Saliman instinctively ducked, a single arrow whizzing by his cheek to embed deeply into the stone wall behind him, quivering steadily. Following the arrow’s flight path in horror, Saliman spotted a Skeleton Archer readying its bow, aiming a second arrow at him. The bottomless sockets seemed to hide endless Magical power, its rows of white teeth grotesquely bared.
Apprehensively, Bronin watched the dark shadows advancing from afar, shrouded in an old, black robe, its face showing a strange golden hue devoid of expression, the eyes dim and lifeless. With just one look, one could tell it was a corpse, yet Bronin knew this was no ordinary zombie. It emanated an infinite Dark Aura, so palpable that even from thirty meters away, both he and Mejernov could feel it.