Raon exhaled quietly while swirling Heavenly Drive.
He could feel that the undead, who were singing the anthem, were turning around.
The army of undead numbered at least in the thousands, and a huge tremor occurred from the land as they stepped forward at the same time.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The footsteps and vibrations brimming with the energy of death pierced through the fog.
As if they were telling him that the zombies and skeletons who had just died from the Flame Dragon Art couldn't even count as a vanguard, a countless army of undead revealed themselves.
They only consisted of zombies and skeletons, but they were enough to make people's jaws drop because of the sheer numbers before them.
'It's endless.'
The Light Wind squad, the Amber Blade division, and the rangers had managed to overcome their tension and fear, but they looked like they were going to be terrified once again.
Raon was pondering what to do when he heard Burren's voice from behind him.
"Hey, vice squad leader."
Burren dragged his lips upwards to create a dim smile.
"I told you this so many times before! We aren't the Mad Dogs. We are the Light Wind squad!"
He shook his head, telling him to stop confusing the two.
"He's doing that on purpose.
Martha frowned while taking a step forward.
"It's because of that damn bastard that people are calling me Miss Rakshasa!"
"That's not true though. It's because of your personality in your case."
"Shut up!"
She shook her arm towards Runaan, who was rebuking her. Her hand wasn't trembling anymore.
"Raon."
Runaan took a step away from Martha and looked at Raon.
"Let's go to the bead ice cream shop after this fight is over. I heard there's a new flavor."
Her blank eyes were blinking as if she had never been nervous to begin with.
A new flavor?
"Is she really talking about ice cream in this situation…?"
"Seriously, the vice squad leader and the team leaders never get nervous."
"But don't you kinda like the name Mad Dog? I find it cooler than Light Wind."
"Mad Dog is cool? Are you going to tell me now that Miss Rakshasa is also cool?"
"That's just scary."
The Light Wind members were also chatting with smiles on their faces. They looked like they weren't even feeling the pressure despite the huge number of undead.
"There's no reason to be afraid!"
Wendy Arianne raised her fist while looking at the Amber Blade division and the rangers.
"We know these monsters better than anyone else! Don't let them lay a finger on this land!"
A clear light glowed from the Amber Blade division and the rangers' eyes upon hearing her shout.
"She's right!"
"They are just zombies and skeletons!"
"We've been fighting them for our entire lives!"
"Let's do this!"
They hardened their resolve in unison, and the pressure emerging from the army was no less than the energy of death coming from the undead.
You didn't even need to worry about it.
Wrath grinned while poking at Raon's cheek.
'Indeed. I was underestimating them too much.'
Raon smiled and incorporated aura in his voice.
"Prepare for battle!"
"Prepare for battle!"
Yellow madness glowed from the Light Wind squad's eyes, and unstained energy shone from the fingers of the Amber Blade swordsmen.
The rangers also raised their bows, their eyes sparkling like eagles.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The zombies and skeletons were approaching without any siege weapons to destroy the castle or any ladders to climb the walls. They seemed to be trying to break through with sheer numbers.
'They would be called stupid if this were an ordinary battlefield, however…It is an effective method for them. The castle walls are weak, and there are plenty of corpses.
House Arianne's castle walls became higher after the Swamp of Death disappeared.
The one who summoned the undead must've been trying to pile up the corpses of the zombies and skeletons to create stairs to climb the walls.
Since the undead had a powerful energy of death, they could fissure the weakened castle walls just by touching them.
To win that war, it was necessary to defeat them before they reached the castle walls.
Raon raised his hand while looking at the swaying zombies and skeletons as they approached.
Swoosh!
The sounds of rangers notching their arrows and swordsmen unleashing their auras could be heard.
The moment the zombies and skeletons entered their range, Raon extended his hand.
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
Wendy Arianne repeated after him and thrust her sword.
Whaam!
Hundreds of bowstrings were released at the same time and filled the sky with silver-white rainfall.
Thwack! Thwack!
The rain of steel fell from their parabolic trajectory to storm through the skeletons. Many undead perished in a single strike, but a significant number of them were still alive.
The rangers notched their arrows once again and pulled the bowstring. The arrows filled the sky once again before they fell to pierce through the malice of the zombies and the skeletons.
Powerful arrows were raining down like a shower, but many undead managed to approach the castle because there were just too many of them.
Raon raised Heavenly Drive while looking at the Light Wind squad and the Amber Blade division.
"Unleash the sword winds while saving your aura as much as possible. A small wind will be enough to kill them if you target their heads."
He slashed with the red blade of Heavenly Drive as if he were drawing a line with a brush. Flower petals blooming from the heated blade spread throughout the wind to attack the group of undead approaching the castle wall.
Whaap!
The pieces of flame flowed down like cherry blossoms and turned into a wall of fire that erased the undead.
Whir!
His mysterious swordsmanship raised the morale of the troops above the castle walls once again.
"Don't even let them get close to us!"
Burren stomped on the ground and slashed the Barren Wind Sword. Even though he'd decreased the aura output to the minimum, the unleashed wind was frighteningly sharp.
Slash!
The undead coming from the right side were cut in half and collapsed.
"Stupid bones! I'm going to destroy all of you!"
Martha slashed while grinding her teeth. She suppressed her frustration and unleashed techniques that had a low consumption in aura, but she was just so strong that five undead died from each strike.
"I'll avenge the ice cream."
Runaan smoothly thrust her sword. The frost dwelling on her blade spread around to freeze the feet of the undead on the front line.
Creak!
The undead that stopped walking were disturbing the advance of the rest of the army, and the zombies started to rub against each other while baring their teeth.
"We should also get started!"
The Light Wind squad also stepped up to the edge of the wall and unleashed their sword winds.
The battle was long, but they weren't sweating in the slightest.
Raon nodded, feeling that it was worth feeding them the elixirs and making them go through that hellish training.
"Those who've exhausted their aura should stay back and recover their stamina before returning."
Raon smiled faintly while shooting sword winds at the endless wave of undead.
"This war isn't going to end in a single day."
****
Prica pulled his bowstring.
Wham!
The arrow fell in an arc and pierced through a zombie and a skeleton's heads. They fell to the ground once their heads were destroyed.
"Huff…"
His breathing was getting rough. He couldn't even remember how many arrows he'd fired. He kept shooting the arrows from his quiver and refilled it whenever it became empty.
"Argh…"
He was attaching the next arrow to his bowstring when a tearing pain could be felt from his middle finger.
He'd continuously practiced with a bow, but he'd never fired so many arrows in a row. It was a natural outcome in a way.
Prica bit his lip tightly and changed the location of his fingers before he fired another arrow.
All of his practices bore the result, and the arrow landed precisely on the head of the skeleton that he was aiming at.
He strained his knees, which were trembling from exhaustion, and looked around. Even though a day had already passed and the sun was setting once again, the swarm of zombies and skeletons was endless.
Whether they were team leaders or members, everyone was shooting a lot slower than in the beginning. The swordsmen were also exhausted, their swords wavering.
Despite the situation, none of the swordsmen or the rangers dropped their weapons. Even though they were exhausted, they didn't stop unleashing the sword winds and firing arrows.
The reason why they could keep going was simple.
'Raon Zieghart.'
Prica raised his gaze to look at the back of the man standing at the forefront, on the castle wall.
'Because he's still standing.'
Raon crushed the biggest number of undead from the front line.
Honestly, he estimated that Raon had killed more undead on his own than the rangers, the Light Wind squad, and the Amber Blade division combined.
'I can't give up now when he's going this far for us. Moreover…'
He looked at Wendy Arianne, who was swinging her sword next to Raon.
'She's the same.'
He honestly didn't think that Wendy Arianne's might was that amazing even though he looked up to her resolve.
Even though she was a Master, he didn't expect much from her since she didn't have much practical experience.
However, Wendy had slain countless undead, just like Raon, and kept killing them to raise morale.
It was a sight befitting the only swordswoman in Arianne who tried to protect the will of the house.
'For some reason, I have a feeling we can win this fight.'
Watching Raon and Wendy's indomitable backs gave him the impression that they could survive the assault of the undead—just like the house managed to change.
Prica pulled the bowstring once again with his bloody finger.
Psssh!
Another arrow pierced through the darkness and destroyed the head of an undead.
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the setting sun.
'This really is endless.'
Even the sun rose at a fixed schedule, but the advance of the undead was endless.
'No, I should say that it's only getting started.'
Indeed, you have a long way to go.
The undead approaching from behind the wall of zombies and skeletons were wrapped in even more energy of death.
'They must be the ghouls and superior species of skeletons.'
They were devouring the zombies and the skeletons to accelerate their advance.
Raon looked under the castle walls.
'A hill of corpses…'
The skeletons and zombies were defeated before they reached the castle walls and formed a hill of corpses in front of the castle.
However, Raon could expect that the incoming assault would be more difficult to defend. Casualties could occur.
"Dorian."
"Yes…"
Raon shook his hand and Dorian approached him. His round face had turned skinny from exhaustion.
"You managed to send it, didn't you?"
"Yes. I said this before, but we can't guarantee that it will arrive. A problem could occur during the transfer."
Dorian shook his head, saying that he couldn't guarantee success.
"It's fine. Some of them should arrive at least."
Raon nodded and touched the ring around his finger.
'I need to use this if the worst comes to the shove.'
Chamber gave him the ring, but Rimmer was the one who told him how to use it. It was the last resort he had for the battle—or, rather, for the Light Wind squad.
He quietly sighed and went towards Wendy Arianne.
"Amber Blade division leader."
"Yes!"
Wendy was smiling even though she was exhausted. She looked a lot livelier than when she was doing the paperwork.
"Go to the jail and bring the executives who want to participate in the battle."
"What? Bu-but why would we bring them…?"
"Poison shall be dealt with poison. Even the nasty ones can be useful sometimes."
A few executives, including Baneder, could be useful for the battle. Making use of them instead of having them waste food was the correct course of action.
Raon turned around to look at the Light Wind squad, rangers, and the Amber Blade division.
"Everyone, rest for two hours and return. This is probably going to be the last rest you get."
"What about Raon?"
Runaan immediately raised her head.
"I'm fine. I can recover while fighting."
Raon was the only one who could recover during a fight—even if it was a small amount.
"But we can't possibly leave the vice squad leader alone!"
"Yes! You are already straining yourself."
"We should alternate to rest…"
Raon slashed the Fangs of Insanity with Glacier's frost instead of responding to them.
Whaap!
The ground turned silver, and the zombies and skeletons that were trying to take that opportunity to advance were frozen in place.
Snap!
Raon snapped his fingers, and the frozen undead shattered into pieces. The ice shards turned the other undead into porcupines.
"Who do you think you are to be worried about me?"
Raon shook his hand as if he were chasing away a fly.
"This is an order. Go away already and rest since we don't have any time to waste."
* * *
By the time the sun finished setting and the night fell, the rangers and swordsmen returned. Baneder and a few executives were among them, and Raon could guess that they had accepted the offer.
However, their complexions weren't too good even though they'd recovered their stamina and aura. They looked even more pale than when they left the battlefield.
Raon nodded while looking at that reaction.
'It can't be helped. They probably realized that the real battle is just getting started.'
The number of zombies and skeletons had decreased, but the stronger versions of them—the ghouls and skeleton warriors—were approaching with a frightening energy of death.
Kieeeeeh!
Grotesquely-shaped ghosts were flying around in the sky, dullahans clad in dark armor were rampaging on their horses from the sides, and spartois that were rumored to be created from dragon's teeth were rising from the darkness.
Lastly, an undead chimera created as a combination of multiple corpses showed up.
Raon bit his lip tightly while watching the real army of undead where the energy of death was overflowing.
'This isn't going to be easy.'
Swordsmen and rangers were fighting on the castle walls while the residents were supporting them from below to the best of their abilities, but he couldn't guarantee that the walls wouldn't be breached.
'But we still have to do this.'
He slowly raised his hand.
"Hold your fire!"
"Hold your fire!"
The rangers, Light Wind squad, and Amber Blade divisions stood at the edge of the wall once again. Their hands were trembling from the intense energy of death of the undead but raised their bows and swords once again.
The charge of undead wasn't as reckless as the zombies and skeletons. They were gathered in a proper formation and were approaching slowly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Even their footsteps sounded heavier than the previous wave. It felt like even the heartbeats from the people around him were louder than before.
Thud!
Raon lowered his hand to signal the volley when the undead army stopped their advance.
The center of the undead army that looked like a swarm of ants was split apart and a death knight with green light radiating from his eyes came forth.
"Humans from Zieghart and Arianne."
The death knight opened his mouth. The grotesque voice that could be heard sounded like it came from the bottom of the abyss.
"I propose one-on-one matches."
A spartoi the size of a boulder, a dullahan, and two death knights stepped forward from behind the death knight as he spoke.
"Huh?"
Raon's eyes widened.
'An undead is proposing a duel?'
Having duels between leading warriors before the battle was a common occurrence to raise morale.
The undead in front of him seemed to be talking about that kind of duel.
"I-is that…?"
"Is that asking us to have duels?"
"B-but he's an undead…?"
"What the hell…?"
The Light Wind squad's hands were trembling in surprise because the undead had just spoken and even suggested duels like humans.
"I-I heard…"
Wendy Arianne stepped up next to Raon.
"That something like this happened in the past."
"The past… Don't tell me…?"
"Yes. Records mentioned that undead proposed one-on-one matches during the war that the first head of Zieghart and Arianne fought together."
She swallowed nervously, saying that the approaching undead in front of them were doing the same thing.
"I see."
Raon smiled faintly. Just as he had guessed at first, the arch lich that was defeated by Zieghart's ancestor must've summonsed the undead in front of him.
'They must be trying to reverse history.'
They seemed to be trying to take their revenge against the descendants after a thousand years.
"What do the records say about the results of the duels?"
"Five people participated from Zieghart and Arianne, and they won all five matches."
"I knew it."
Raon had the feeling that the man who founded Zieghart had definitely won his matches.
"Who is going to participate?"
"Raon will, of course."
"That goes without saying. He will be the last one."
"Sir Mark and the Amber Blade division leader should also participate, which means we have two spots left."
"I'll do it!"
"No, it's my turn."
The swordsmen on the platform started talking about who was going to participate. Obviously, Runaan, Martha, and Burren started to fight over who was going to join the matches.
Raon jumped down from the castle wall before they finished their argument.
"Raon?"
"We haven't decided yet!"
"Are you insane? Why are you going there alone?"
Runaan, Burren, and Martha called him, but Raon approached the undead army without looking back.
"Are you the vanguard?"
The death knight with green flaming eyes that previously suggested the duels twisted his chin.
"No."
Raon shook his head with a cold smile on his face. He unleashed the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and placed his hand on the hilt.
"I'm the vanguard and the captain at the same time."
He stomped the ground and unsheathed Heavenly Drive. The wave of fire appeared at the same time as his sword draw and soared to the horizon.
Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Hundred Flames.
Flawless Sea of Fire.
The high-ranking undead that stepped forward for the duels—and the undead standing in formation behind them—had a crimson line appear on their necks.
Swaaaa!
A huge wave of fire burst out while cutting through the red lines, engulfing all of the undead in front of Raon in flames.
"Don't talk about duels when you are just filthy undead."
Grrr…
Kieee…
Even the evil undead didn't expect Raon to sabotage the duel. Their formation was destroyed.
Wow.
Wrath jumped out while gasping.
Your personality is just so bad…
His jaw dropped as he said that he couldn't believe Raon was human.
'They are the ones who started this.'
Raon disliked the fact that they were pretending they were offering a fair fight after they tried to kill everyone with the swamp tsunami.
"Uuh…"
"I-is that really okay?"
"Even monsters are shocked at his personality…"
"It's suitable for the leader of the Light Wind squad—no, I should say Mad Dog squad instead."
"Raon is damn handsome!"
Even the Light Wind squad wasn't cheering for him anymore. They were watching him with their chins trembling in fear.
Despite his dastardly performance in the duels, the morale on the castle walls had reached its peak.
Raon was about to return, satisfied, when a huge amount of energy flooded from the end of the land of death.
Kwaaaah!
The roar was full of malice. Just like the Mad Dragon's Roar of the Beast Union, the roar was brimming with the energy of darkness as it assaulted House Arianne. It was the lion's roar that only the highest undead were capable of using.
Raon drew the Blade of Requiem while controlling Glacier.
Creak!
The yellow blade of ghastly energy soared while scratching the scabbard to burst out a screech of resentment.
Whaaam!
The bloody rain advanced and grabbed the lion's roar to drag it down to the ground.
Bam!
As soon as Raon removed the lion's roar, he slammed down the hand that he had raised to pierce the sky.
Psssh!
Along with the powerful sound piercing through the wind, silver arrows and sword winds rained down on the battlefield. The undead army collapsed one after the other before they could defend themselves because their commanders had perished.
Raon's eyes sparkled in a deadly light as he watched the rain of arrows destroy the army of undead.
"I'm sorry, but history repeats itself."