Chapter 247 - C146. The Initial Advance

Volume 5 Part 2. Battle Against 5.

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The cold wind blew through the massive leaves of the giant trees in the darknar forest. It was not the beginning of twilight and the sun was peaking out of the horizon but the thick ashen clouds loomed over the massive region as though making up for the lost time.

The large trees in the forest also prevented the rays of twilight from reaching the ground, giving the deepest parts of the forest a glooming, dark and eerie atmosphere that was perfect for the dead. 

In the vast stillness of the enchanting forest, the ground beneath the vines and snow suddenly began to vibrated gently before rapidly getting violent as the monsters of various nature, large and small, humanoid or beast— suddenly came bursting out of the deep as they took off running through the various paths of the forest in a desperate need to get away from something. 

Soon, several large masses of negative energy slowly began to move towards the east as the undead army marched steadily through the eastern parts of the Darknar forest. Scaring away everything weak living thing from their path. 

Due to the narrow terrains of the eastern forest, the large army had split its forces into regiments or units of three thousand undead of varying types in rather strategic formations that were led by powerful and intellectual undead creatures.

Each unit of 3,000 undead would travel a different path through the forest and subjugate any demi-human village or monster nest they came across. Sending their corpses back to the undead king who would then reanimate the dead to join his legion, steadily increasing the strength of his forces.

After successfully conquering most of the western parts of the darknar forest, the original force of 20,000 undead had increased to an estimate of 30,000 with 3,000 plus demi-humans and monsters forming a single regiment after being forced to participate by the undead king else they become the undead themselves.

It would seem the undead king could make a limitless supply of undead in a day without any limits. This was something that should be impossible, even for an Arch Lich much less an Eldar Lich. 

With that ability on his side, his immortal army would only grow stronger with each enemy they defeat. The army also had the aide of the queen of the south, Daenerys. An ancient Lamia, accompanied by her Battle Legion. 

In exchange for retaining the rights to rule her region without interference from Zerahut, as well as a part of the Northern forest. She had personally led a force to aid with his subjugation of the Darknar region. 

Her forces only numbered in the hundreds but they were all individually insanely strong and worked better as a team than a horde of undead. However, as they were not immortal, they were stationed with her by Zerahut's side. Forming a special unit with Zerahut's personal guards. 

In essence, their unit was the 11th and numbered only a thousand strong. A last line of defense in case of emergencies.

Zerahut's forces of 30,000 undead were divided into regiments, composed of 3,000 different undead of different smaller platoons that specialized in varying tasks.

In total, 10 different regiments or units were marching separately through the narrow paths of the forest with Zerahut's unit station at the back. 

Each unit was commanded by one of Zerahut's generals who were all undead creatures as strong or even stronger than himself. 

In total, he had created nine Undead Generals. They were brilliant warriors with the ability to command large hordes of the undead. They were also directly linked to his land via soul Link and as such, they could execute his strategies flawlessly. 

The General of the first Unit, or simply unit 1 was the Boneclaw, Raziril. A monster that had been with Zerahut from the very beginning. Born to eviscerate every living creature it comes across, it was a deadly intellectual monster that was then called the hand of death. 

Unit 2 General was the Eldar Lich, Feverant. He was a creature born as a Lich to serve Zerahut and had evolved with help from the Orb of death. 

The General of Unit 3 was the Soul Dominator. A true demigod wraith names Lezor. The creature had the power of the essence of the soul itself. This was a creature Zerahut had bound only thanks to the help of Mammon. 

Next was the Angel of decay Azatta and the DeathLock Deniola. They were both given to him by Mammon himself so Zerahut didn't have much control over them. 

The generals of Unit 6, 7, and 8 were all summoned by Zerahut temporarily for a duration of a month thanks to the Orb of Death. They were a Wight, a Mummy Lord, and a Doom Lord respectively. 

Last was the chained Giant. A true Giant from the near-extinct Giant race. This was physically his strongest creation. While there was also notable undead amongst his army, the majority of them were weaklings like skeletons and zombies. 

However, as long as his generals execute his strategy when facing stronger forces, they could not lose. The 10th unit was compromised of only semi-humans and was led by one of the Queen of the south's Lieutenant named Zero, the Minotaur Lord.

The army's current destination was the demon king's castle as they aimed to meet up with the behemoth of Greed, Mammon.

According to their agreement, he should've disabled the barrier around the castle by now. Allowing Zerahut to extend his influence throughout the Darknar region, using the castle as his base. 

As Zerahut's special unit was located at the back of the army, they were the last to enter the boundaries of the eastern forest. They planned on moving straight ahead slowly until the other units conquers the entire eastern part of the darknar forest. 

His choice was based solely so the other units could more easily have access to him to more efficiently receive corpses and send back newly created undead to constantly increase his forces. 

Zerahut sat leisurely on a throne made entirely of bones and was being carried around by Black Knights of his creation as they move steadily towards the demon king's castle. He stared at the rough orb in his hands as the flames in his eyes flickered like candle lights in the wind. 

The orb emitted a faint glow that gently pulsates like a heartbeat, making Zerahut— who could not breathe and had no heartbeat because he was undead— take deep breaths as he felt his core pounding louder in anticipation.

"Soon, very soon."

*Hiss "You seem to be getting impatient young Zerahut."

A soft voice gently echoed from beside Zerahut as he turned his bony head around to see Daenerys looking at him with a fascinated expression as she sat on her throne that was also being carried through the forest by her guards. 

An army of undead, as well as her own legion, marched silently behind them in a tight formation that prevented any direct access to them. Their thrones were also surrounded by magic barriers that prevented any projectile attacks.

Her personal guards compromised of handsome male Lamias who— unlike the females, possess demon-like horns protruding from the side of their heads. 

Just like Daenerys, these male lamias were bare-chested, wearing only metal vambraces with different melee weapons strapped to their backs of the waist. 

These Lamias as well as minotaurs were the main members of her Battle legion. 

"There's no need to be worried about me Queen Daenerys. I've waited centuries for this, I can wait even for a few more years."

"Worried? Why would I be worried?"

Zerahut glanced at Daenerys for a second, the flames in his eye socket intensifying for a brief moment before he returned his gaze forward.

Daenerys chuckled to herself gently, an entrancing smile was plastered on her beautiful face as her snake-like tongue licked her supple lips. 

She didn't care much for Zerahut, her only intentions here were to stay alive. Unlike the other four kings who couldn't see past their noses, she could accurately grasp the bigger picture of every situation. 

She also kept tabs on the entire darknar forest and was well aware of the strength Zerahut wielded and his visit from a certain behemoth. 

On his own, Zerahut's army of undead could not threaten her but after that visit, he gained newfound strength that she could no longer ignore and had decided to aide him on her own terms instead of waiting to be conquered by the mad king.

After all, he was undead and she could not tempt him with lust nor could she control his mind with her spells. The only path left to her was to ally herself with him or bow. Her presence here alone would keep the remaining member of the four kings at bay until they met up with this behemoth. 

"We've crossed into the Eastern territories. This was the domain of the Beast King, the Ancient Rykir. There are also demon scouts out here so what will you do?" 

Daenerys spoke as though the issue did not concern her and she was only a spectator in the war. Zerahut could understand the undertone hidden in her voice but chose not to address it. His ghastly voice that did not belong in the land of the living then reverberated in the surroundings. 

"There's no need to worry about that. The demons have already been evicted from the forest. All that's left is engross this region in the aura of death and my ritual will be a success."

"I see." 

She nodded her head in understanding as she grasped the full extent of Zerahut's plan which she felt was a little too dependent on his newfound partner. If something were to happen to that behemoth, everything he's done thus far would be for naught.

The worst part of that unfortunate outcome was that she, as well as her forces, would be caught in the crossfires. This possibility was the reason she had brought only a single legion. 

"Do you still underestimate me, Queen Daenerys? How troublesome. Let me show you a little of my night then."

Sensing the unrest in Daenerys's heart, Zerahut snorted. He then raised the orb of death in his hand up a little and the shadows all around them morphed slightly as a massive pitch-black hand rose from the ground.

Halting the advancement of their special unit. 

"Wha— what is this?"

A look of shock and absolute despair could be seen on Daenerys's face as she raised her head just to see the black forehand that even broke past the top of the giant trees.

A bloodthirsty aura beyond her comprehension gusted out of the shadow hand almost driving her forces insane when Zerahut immediately lowered his hand and the shadows were forced back into the ground without a trace. 

After his brief demonstration that had only taken a little over 2 seconds. Zerahut turned back to faced the stunned Queen and the flames in his eyes flickered as he spoke.

"Know this, I am Zerahut, the immortal Undead King of the West. I rely on no one. I serve no one and will bow to no one. It doesn't matter if it is man or god. Whoever stands in my way will fall."

With an army of over 30,000 undead generating so much negative energy, there was an abundance of energy absorbed by the Orb of Death for him to use various Ritualistic spells that require countless mages and time in less than a second.

Spells that could even kill this so-called primordial behemoth. There was no way he was foolish enough to trust his fate, much less his plans on the whims of an arrogant demon child. 

Whether or not that behemoth was still alive was not his problem. He had obtained the resources he needed to claim this region, and by the time he was done. He had enough negative energy to become a true god. 

This was the true reason he had accepted to work with Mammon. He would never trust a demon again in his life and the moment he ascended beyond the mortal plane, he would kill that arrogant kid himself. 

No one was allowed to look down on the Undead king. He would become the personification of death itself. 

This war was the birth of the God of Death, Zerahut the immortal.