367 Liches and Ghouls

The remnant flames died down, and the scattered ruins of the city sank into deeper shades of darkness. 

Soul Weapons, equipment, and tools among various miscellaneous items could be seen littered on the surface, yet not a single corpse was present, nor bloodstain remained behind. If not for the lingering heat, it would appear like the city had been deserted for decades.

Along a broken street riddled with rubbles and cracks, two humanoid figures masked in cloaks of darkness casually strolled as they scoured the area. 

These cloaks of darkness were not made of material substances but comprised of Darkness Profound Energy and Death Energy. 

A gust of wind blew against their cloaks and scattered traces of darkness along the ground, leaving a trail of desolation.

"Keke, those pile of bones really did a number on this place. Much to my disappointment, there is nothing left for us to collect. Just when I was expecting to pick up a few minions on this trip too." One of the figures spoke in a ghastly and eerie voice. 

The figure grinned, but an average person would be able to tell. Both figures were skeletal without an ounce of flesh. Also, they appeared to be unrelated to the Bone Calamity and moved independently with free will.

They were Liches.

"Gaining some low-level minions is inconsequential. The real prize lies in the Blackwind Catacombs. But before that, we must collect all the remnant negative feelings for our lord, Astaroth." The other Lich spoke with a glimmer of red light from its eye sockets.

When the first Lich heard this, it smiled wickedly.

"It's a great pity that Lord Karau's undead army only knows how to kill and not torture humans. This place would have been seething in negative energy, otherwise. The foolish humans never learn their lessons. I wonder which foolish one made Lord Karau upset this time."

The Liches each held an unsealed black gourd in their bony hand and drew in blackish air from time to time. 

The black gourds were Demon Artifacts specially manufactured for the collection of intangible and negative feelings such as despair, anger, and hate.

"Nothing we can do about it now. Lord Karau needs a gargantuan amount of souls to revive while our lord needs negativity to restore his power. If not for the existence of that intolerable Demigod, we would not need to be so lowkey."

"We should hurry. It'll be troublesome if a Battle King arrives." 

"You don't need to worry about that. The Bone Calamity has not caused enough waves for the humans to wake those slumbering old monsters from their underground coffins. The Demigod will not interfere either if we do not blatantly reveal ourselves. However, I do agree. We need to hurry. The Primal God race is showing signs of awakening. One Demigod is already enough to give us a headache. We do not need more." The second Lich said.

The first Lich grinned.

The two Liches paused at the collapsed entrance of the Blackwind Mines. 

The first Lich waved its bone hand, and a wave of black flames swept towards the broken rubbles impeding their path to the mines. 

An eerie scene played out as the broken rubbles corroded into fine dust, like withering plants dying quickly after experience a significant change in the flow of time.

Shortly after, the two Liches disappeared into the darkness of the mines.

…

Darkmoon Tribe.

The Darkmoon Tribe warriors lined the walls at the front, while the Blackwind survivors provided support at the back. This was the arrangement made after the discussion between Razorleaf and Chief Valencia. 

Close combat fighting was the most preferred method of the warriors, but it was only the only way.

The city walls were equipped with large siege weapons like Ballistas and Catapults for long-distance attacks. It was rarely used, but now it was being managed by Blackwind survivors and other tribesmen below the Great Warrior Realm.

To combat the powerful Bone Army, the ammunition used for these siege weapons were naturally not ordinary. It could be said that ammunitions prepared were equivalent to many Tier 3 Soul Weapons and above.

It was an extravagant waste of resources to manufacture something rarely used. Still, such extravagant waste has now become a necessary expenditure for the survival of the Darkmoon Tribe against the Bone Calamity.

"Don't think for a second that I will acknowledge you people as one of us just because we will be fighting together. Exactly what is your Blackwind Tribe plotting? I don't believe the great Blackwind Tribe could fall so easily." Goldenrod said in spite.

As a Peak-ranked Warrior, Goldenrod felt humiliated to be put in the same group as the Blackwind survivors. Someone like him should be standing at the front, along with the other Great Warriors.

Why did his elder brother place him together with these little children, elderlies, and disabled warriors?

Goldenrod's words made all the Blackwind Tribe survivors feel uncomfortable in their hearts, but they chose to remain silent. If their ancestors were still alive, would they have fallen to such a miserable state?

Battle Masters were rare, but Battle Kings were even rarer. Even so, every tribe had at least one or two ancestors at the Battle King realm. 

Due to them being very few and far between with extremely high risks of undergoing Demon Possession, the Battle King ancestors mostly spend their time in deep slumber underground until they are needed.

They were the true guardians that guard human tribes and lands against the demons of the south.

The Blackwind Tribe had two Battle Kings. They were the ancestors of the Black family and the Wind family. But because of a conflict of interest five years ago that ended in a civil war, both Battle Kings lost their lives in the battle against each other.

Goldenrod was ignorant of such events. Seeing the survivors keeping their silence, he continued to mock them.

"Hmph! You useless things better not hold me back later." 

"That's enough, Goldenrod! The battle is imminent. What the hell are you trying to do by sowing discord at this moment?" Chief Valencia harshly rebuked after overhearing his displeasing remarks that affected the morale of the troops.

"It does not matter whether they were from the Blackwind Tribe in the past. What's important is that they are now one of us. You better start treating them with proper respect." 

"Y-Yes, Chief! I'm sorry!"

Goldenrod quickly apologized. 

He did not expect the tribal chief to have such sharp ears and overhear him from the main southern tower.

Not only did Chief Valencia heard him, but a lot of other people on the main southern tower did so as well. One of them was his elder brother, Goldeneye.

Goldeneye swept his little brother an impassive glance, filled with hidden disappointment. His little brother was a frivolous person who liked to butter up to important people, but things did not play out as he had hoped.

'This is a battle of unprecedented danger. I placed you in the back to protect you! At the same time, it was your chance to get closer to the Blackwind Tribe's Shamans. But not only did you fail to do so, but you also embarrassed me! Why do I have a useless brother like you?'

As the earth began to rumble in the distance, no one further paid Goldenrod any attention and directed their gazes to the front with a solemn expression.

When the Bone Army came into view, a few narrowed their eyes while most widened them with shock.

"What the hell is that?"

"Can that still be called a Bone Army?"

"An army of Ghouls seems more appropriate, no?"

"Right, they look like freaking Ghouls!"

"Is this the true nature of the Bone Calamity?! To prey on the flesh on the living and revive?!"

The warriors broke into discussions with sheer shock. They had never encountered such a situation, or rather the problem was never dire enough to reach such a point! 

"Ah, that's our chief! Chief Blackarrow is still alive!" 

"Wrong! That is not Chief Blackarrow! Look carefully! Something is different about him! He is leading the Bone Army!"

The Blackwind survivors were excited for a moment before they sank into deeper despair. If Goldenrod were not afraid of being reprimanded again, he would have jumped out to criticize these emotional people. 

'You are all part of the Darkmoon Tribe now. What do you mean by 'our chief,' huh? Chief Valencia is your chief now, not Blackarrow.'

"So, they got him too." 

Chief Valencia had a forlorn look. 

In the distance, the 'Bone Army' was being led by a Bone King that assimilated with Chief Blackarrow's body. 

All the Bone Demons following behind also had some layer of flesh attached to them. They were absorbed by the dead warriors back in Blackwind City.

'Chief Blackarrow was an Early-ranked Battle Master when he was alive. Now that he is an Undead, he can only be much stronger. I am afraid that his strength should be somewhere around the High-ranked Battle Master Realm now. The Bone Demons behind him do not look like pushovers either. This battle is going to be… difficult!'

Chief Valencia quietly analyzed the situation.