The Green Turtle Duchy, Seashine Beach.
The day began like every other day, the main city of the duchy was built closest to the ocean so most of the fishermen live there. They were the first to wake up, and without eating the first thing they did was check the fish traps they placed in the sea. If they were some fishes they would be brought back to their houses, they would eat the breakfast that would be made down for them, then they would go get their boats and sail into the ocean with their fishing equipment to catch bigger, better fishes and other edible sea creatures.
Every fisherman had their own fishing spots in the part of the ocean they could wander, and there was a Fishermen Council that keeps order and peace among the fishermen, so if another fisherman uses another person's spot they and their crew would be suspended from fishing for a while or be punished be being resigned to Dead Fish Area where the fish were frustratingly scarce.
Just like any other day, boats were littered across the ocean and their occupants' tossed nets into the ocean with the hopes of hauling in big catches. Everything was going normal and steady when they noticed a few ships coming their way. The fishermen were surprised but weren't shocked, while most fishermen prefer to fish alone or with a few family members or friends and only needed boats, but some people with crew members numbering from 10 to 20 who rent or buy ships to venture farther into the ocean to haul in bigger catch and exotic sea creatures.
Although seeing more than one ship returning at the same time was unusual there wasn't anything to worry about since there didn't seem to be any damages on the ships so the fishermen they focused back on their work.
The ships sailed closer and closer to the shore, most of the fishermen were wondering why they weren't moving towards the docks when they suddenly stopped, all of them, at the same time.
The situation was a bit unnerving, and all the fishermen stopped what they were doing to stare, the closer ones strained their necks to check what the ship crew were doing but they couldn't see any movement on board. This made them feel strange, if there was no one on the ships then how did they get there?
"L-look, there's something under the ships!" Someone yelled, then everyone turned their gaze downwards and saw a huge shadow in the water.
Everyone's hair rose up and their bodies shook in fright, someone couldn't hold it in anymore and screamed hysterically, "Sea Monster!"
The scream shook everyone from their daze, they packed in their equipment as fast as they could and rowed hard towards the shore, but they were never going to faster than a magical beast from the ocean.
Giant tentacles burst out of the ocean – eight in total – and swiped at the retreating boats with terrifying speed. The tentacles accurately every boat they targeted, the fishermen rowed as fast as they could, but they were soon slapped to death by the giant tentacles, only the ones whose fishing spots weren't far from the shore managed to get away.
Soon, the only boats in the water were in wreckage, bodies floated motionlessly all around. After the onslaught the tentacles retreated underwater, then the ships continued moving until they were run aground. The gangways were dropped down immediately they stopped, and ten robed people walked down, they were followed by hordes of undead.
One of them raised their hand and beckoned something, then with a huge wave what looked like a giant octopus came out of the ocean. With a green glint in its remaining eyes it followed the horde as the slowly made their way into the Green Turtle Duchy.
…
White Tiger Duchy, Flame Temple.
An explosion rocked the battlefield, tossing numerous undead into the air and blasting the closer ones into smithereens. The necromancers came so sudden and chaotically, but the Flame God's followers responded with a harsh counterattack. Their attacks easily destroyed the undead, but that didn't mean they had the advantage. The undead heavily outnumbered the followers in the flame temple, the necromancers had prepared a lot in advance.
They had divided themselves into two groups, one attacked the Flame Temple while the other caused carnage all around to give them an endless supply of undead.
"Fire, form according to our will, become a wave and blast our enemies away!" 20 men in red robes yelled at the same time, "Fire Flood!" Flame burst from their palms like geysers and formed a huge wave that towered over the undead, it curved and slammed on them, burning the unintelligent and fearless undead to ash. The ones that were destroyed were immediately replaced, but the residue of the spell slowed them down a bit.
The undead were being destroyed left and right, some by the spells others by formations that once triggered would shoot out a spiral flame that would blast them to pieces. Up in the air, a necromancer standing on an undead Silver-Winged Eagle stared down at the carnage and destruction below. The wind blew their hood off and reveled a woman who had an unsatisfactory frown, the Flame Disciples may be stressed out but that just about it. In fact, after the initial attack none of them died anymore.
The necromancer sent a mental command and called out to the Greater Undead she controlled, they were at the rear of the battle and were standing motionlessly. After they got the order they rushed to the front, the necromancer controlled the Silver-Winged Eagle to drop her to the ground, she was also going to personally join the fight.
She first casted Enfeeblement Rays on the followers in the front, causing them to feel dizzy and loose concentration. The first Greater Undead sent forward was a Saber-Toothed Wolf, it was a Fourth Rank Beast when it was alive. It reached the midst of the enfeebled followers with one leap and proceed to tear them apart with its necrotic claws and fangs.
The second Greater Undead was an Undead Knight, the necromancer kept it behind since it wasn't needed yet.
Because of the disorder the Saber-Toothed Wolf caused the Flame Disciples weren't able to stop the undead from climbing over their walls and breaking down their gates. The necromancers behind casted Undead Grasps and skeleton claws burst out from the earth and incapacitated the unsuspecting Flame Disciples, they still fought desperately but were eventually taken out by the undead.
The necromancer decided to send her Undead Knight to the front, things weren't looking good for the inhabitants of the Flame Temple.
But the Disciples of the flame weren't done yet. A large group of Flame Disciples were escorting their High Priestess to the battle, she was also being surrounded by ten Holy Flame Princes as extra protection.
"High Priestess, please be careful and don't leave the protection circle." A Flame Prince said.
"Don't worry, I know what to do," she glared straight at the undead with her golden eyes, "I wouldn't have had to come outside if they hadn't lured the High Priest away, but we don't have any choice now. We have to protect this place until reinforcement arrives."
She sat down on the ground and prayed, she stretched her hands forward and said, "In the name of the Flame God Asmodeus, I offer you the Blessing of Fire!"
Every Flame Disciple felt their connection to the flame element deepen and strengthen, every spell they cast from them on would have an extra boost.
"Everyone, all together now!" The High Priestess said to the Flame Princes, they all nodded and began chanting together.
"From the depths of the Flame Realm, with the power and order we have been given by the Flame God, we summon Ifrit, the flame giant."
A formation appeared on the ground directly in the front of the undead, a flame pillar shot out of the formation high into the sky, and when it disappeared a five-meter-tall appeared on the scorched earth. Ifrit whole body was covered in a stone-like armor, there were cracks all over its body and through them flame energy so dense it looked like molten lava could be seen.
Most of the Flame Princes magical energy had been consumed after the spell had been cast, the rest plus the High Priestess ordered the giant to attack. After receiving the order two red lights shone in his visor and a fiery mane spilled from its head, it unhooked the stone sword from its back and set it ablaze. It slashed forward forcefully, sending a flame slash that burned most of the undead in front of it to oblivion.
The necromancer behind gritted her teeth and glared at the flame giant, she was supposed to have taken the Flame Temple before the High Priest returned, but the High Priestess was much more formidable that she thought. She ordered her Greater Undead to attack Ifrit, even though she would rather not have them damaged, she no longer had a choice. The flame giant had formed an impassable blockage between them and the Flame Temple, even just the temperature exuding off it was melting the undead that got to close.
The two Greater Undead both flanked Ifrit under the control of their maker, and with a wave of her hand they both lunged at the undaunted flame giant.
…
A necromancer glared at the gates of the Black Stallion Duchy's main city, things weren't going as planned. Somehow, the people in the country had been alerted about them and had made proper security measures. The wall that surrounded the entire city had been filled with more guards than normal, so they were spotted before they even reached the city.
Also, most of the people in the towns and villages had taken refuge in the main city so the amount of undead the necromancers brought – though still a lot – was smaller than intended. The towns that remained were supplied with enough Patrol Knights to protect themselves, but even that wasn't as frustrating as what the necromancer was looking at.
"It seems the duke of the Black Stallion Duchy is as paranoid as the rumors say, the fucker." Another necromancer rode next to the former and said through gritted teeth.
But they could only curse and could not enter the city, because the entire city was protected by a grey forcefield.
The Stallion's Protection, that was what the duke used. It was a protective measure that should have been used only when the city faced an extinction level threat, the main cities in the other duchies had their own version. The forcefield could only be activated once a year but could be used for a long period of time.
The necromancer snorted, "Let's go, since we can't attack the main city, we will go and aid the others attacking the surrounding towns. We will kill all of them and add them to our undead army and use them to attack the city when the forcefield comes down."
…
Sword Peak Academy.
Usman the Gatekeeper stared solemnly at the Sword Mountain that stood majestically in the distance, it was one of the great wonders of the kingdom, as he stared at it, he couldn't help but get a bit emotional.
He had entered the Sword Land as a normal tourist and was staying in an inn situated in the middle of the city. He sat crossed-legged in his room, he kept his palm on the ground and went into a trance. The room he chose was on the first floor, so he could connect to the earth better.
He had been given a very important mission by the Enactor; he was tasked with blocking the Sword Peak Academy from sending help to the kingdom. It was basically a suicide mission, but he was determined not to die a humiliating death. Before he left, the Enactor had taught him a spell that would boost his magic into vast proportions, the downside was that the spell needed Soul Energy be activated.
In his trance, he began spouting archaic incantations from his mouth, the signature green flame of the necromancers spilled from his body and drilled into the earth, it phased through the floor of the in like a ghost. He continued reciting the incantation over and over, and slowly but surely, his energy changed from dark green to dark purple.
Usman gasped the next instant, he could feel his strength swell up and felt bloated even though he wasn't gaining weight. He found, to his energy that his power could cover the entire Sword Peak Academy. He felt omnipotent, it was exhilarating.
But his newfound strength didn't come for free, he was exchanging his soul for it.
Usman energy drilled deeply into the earth and came in contact with the numerous bones that had been buried under the Sword Land, some of which even predated the making of the land. The bones shuddered slightly, then began elongating with insane speed. The people all around watched aghast as bones tore out of the earth and formed a net-like dome that covered the entire Sword Peak Academy.
The second thing Usman did was order his Greater Undead, the Skull Knight to go wild and cause as much damage as it could before it gets put down, and since the Skull Knight was connected to him it also got a boost, it would take the strongest of the Swordspeople around to take it down.
But Sword Land did not lack strong people, so Usman wasn't counting on the Skull Knight to last long, but he would pour every bit of his soul into the bone dome.
'As the Gatekeeper, none of you are allowed to leave without my permission!' He resolutely thought, then he encased himself in bones.