Chapter 991: Act 164 – The War Tablet: Dragon Skin X
The scent of late summer and early autumn filled the air, the Gold Needle Valley glimmered with silver flecks, and vulture tails and autumn’s welcome spread across the woods. After noon, the sunlight poured down like a golden curtain through the treetops, but beneath this breathtaking beauty lurked twisted and unclean entities. A skeletal army traversed the forest, these pale corpses seemingly dug from the earth, moving slowly, each step causing their rusty armor to clink ominously. They wore black swords at their sides, sheathed as their snow-white hip bones swayed back and forth, clashing against metal buckles, producing a strange and synchronized sound, a rustling that gathered and rose like waves, sweeping through the valley.
As far as the eye could see, there were dense black iron helmets and flickering phosphorescent lights, endless, like an ocean of gray and white. This ‘sea’ flooded from the eastern valley, gradually covering the ground, penetrating everything, devouring all living beings. Wherever they passed, the snow-white bark of silver trees gradually withered and even the leaves curled up, as if life had been drained from them.
A small group of human knights lingered far behind, fully armored, wearing winged helmets, brandishing lances, the fringes of their splendid cloaks hanging like tassels down to the saddle of their riding dragons. These massive drakes too were clad in armor; not only did they wear helmets adorned with metallic horns, but they also donned thick cotton armor added only in battle. The armor was an inch thick, lined with metal rings and rivets, offering protection that even exceeded ordinary armors, with elaborate decorations that extended down to the dragons’ bent knees, featuring a large white dragonhead emblem.
The relationship between these heavy cavalry and the undead army seemed extremely peculiar; the risen skeletons scattered across the hills ignored them, and the knights appeared disinterested in approaching these grotesque products of nature, each pursuing their own paths.
On the opposite end of the valley, Juliette and her knights brought their warhorses down and hid in a dip, peering out to clearly take in the scene. The lady mercenary leader’s expression was serious, a cold light shone in her emerald eyes. She had seen such scenes before—in Shubli, in Toniger—where the undead army marched through mountains and clouds. One hand rested on her warhorse’s neck, gently calming the elegant creature, while she turned to ask the others, “Are those knights from the White Legion?”
“It looks like they’re indeed the White Dragon Knights,” Mel replied, lifting his visor to reveal a youthful face—Brendel’s White Lion Guard was notably young, a stark contrast to the aging lion of the north, practically a brand-new army.
Juliette rubbed a handful of dirt through her gloved fingers, bringing it close to her nose, a rich scent of grass and foliage filled her senses. This land brimmed with vitality, absolutely not tainted by negative magic. These undead were not summoned from the local area, but where did they come from? Most importantly, why were they here alongside the Crusian White Dragon Knights?
“Cru, you explain it,” she turned to another young man. He was dressed in cotton armor that resembled a coat, its surface marked by diamond-shaped protrusions. He had a high collar and wore a thick felt hat, his face flushed, muttering helplessly, “I’m a Law Wizard, my lady, I haven’t studied necromancy. If you want me to explain the construction principles of summoning spells, I could go on, but asking me what those Crusian have planned is a stretch. From my view, it’s likely nothing good.”
“If you dare study black magic, don’t think my lord needs to take action; I’ll be the first to take you down,” Juliette shot back.
The young man shrank back nervously, glancing at them as if realizing something. “But I do have one observation. Those knights hanging back don’t seem to be watching over the skeletons; it looks more like they’re protecting someone,” he muttered. “It’s reasonable; an undead’s skeleton obediently follows its master without needing observation.”
“Are you saying the one controlling these skeletons is among those knights?” Juliette interrupted his long-winded explanation, chasing the main point.
“Not necessarily… My lady, you know that in Madara’s hierarchy, typically, it’s the necromancers who control the low-level undead without intelligence. Even a mid-tier necromancer can only command a dozen skeletal warriors. Therefore, the undead army of Madara isn’t actually as infinite as outsiders claim; they are limited by the number of mid and high-level necromancers among them. However, their combat strength is indeed formidable; firstly, undead armies are unaffected by morale, and secondly, the necromancers command the skeletons and zombies with precision, functioning like the knight officers in our human armies, but they do it even better.”
“Get to the point—” Juliette interrupted him again.
“…My point is, there are at least several thousand undead in this army; Madara would need a unit of necromancers to control them. That group of knights doesn’t seem capable of safeguarding so many. Of course, there’s another possibility: someone is using a necromantic artifact to control these undead, or perhaps a high-tier undead lord among those knights personally commands this army.”
The lady knight waved her hand dismissively, “Does a high-tier undead lord still need these knights to protect them? Don’t treat me like I haven’t seen an undead lord before; there must be an undead treasure involved here. How did the Crusian get their hands on something like that, and their queen consorts with the undead?”
Several young knights cautiously abstained from responding. Juliette, influenced by Brendel and the others, had become accustomed to disregarding the prestige of the Crusian emperor, casually referring to him by name, but they dared not do so. The legacy of the Vaunte Empire had instilled a deep respect for the royal family; they wouldn’t dare speak lightly of the emperor, let alone the queen. Thus, they treated the lady mercenary leader’s ramblings as if they were invisible, choosing to remain silent.
But Juliette didn’t mind. Her gaze pierced through several swaying dandelions, fixated on the direction of the valley, her eyes glimmering with intensity. “They don’t look like they’re going to Fatan; this direction extends north—”
“That aligns with those mountain folks,” Mel added.
“Cru,” she suddenly asked, “Let me pose a question: if we charge in and seize that necromantic artifact, could we control this army?”
The dip fell silent immediately.
Juliette frowned, turning back to her followers. “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?”
The young men weren’t mute; they were startled by her peculiar idea. “My lady, if I’m to speak honestly, I think this idea is rather foolish,” Cru said, his face paling. “Setting aside whether we could control this undead army, those White Dragon Knights are all golden-tier experts. It’s uncertain if we can even defeat them. To put it mildly, I think we have no chance whatsoever.”
Juliette shot him an irritated glare, “Coward! How can you call yourself a knight?”
“I’m a wizard,” Cru retorted, feeling wronged.
“You’re Lord Charles’s most prized student.”
“But the teacher said that as a wizard, the first priority on the battlefield is self-preservation.”
“Enough! I don’t want to hear any more of your nonsense; shut your mouth—”
The young man could only retract his neck, falling silent. As a top graduate of the Royal Knight Academy alongside Freya, Mel contemplated the feasibility of this plan seriously. Although he hailed from the mountains, he was part of the scarce noble class, his father being a retainer of Duke Vieiro. He wasn’t the eldest son, which is why he had been sent to the royal court to be a knight. Yet he shook his head, replying, “It’s too risky, my lady; do you have any alternative plans?”
Juliette cast a glance toward the army of undead. “There’s something definitely amiss; seeing the Crusian mingling with the undead is downright abnormal. As scouts, we can’t just watch them slip by right under our noses without reacting!”
She waved her hand, interrupting the young knight who was about to speak. “Don’t worry, I’m not that reckless. When I was the leader of the mercenary band, you lot were still suckling at the nurse’s breast—”
“My lady, when you were the leader, I was your subordinate…” Cru said weakly.
But the lady mercenary leader completely ignored him. She continued, “We might not be able to do it, but we still have reinforcements.” With that, she took out a light blue crystal. Within the hollow center of the crystal floated a rune, which suddenly lit up. Juliette lowered her voice and spoke into it, “My Lord, this is Juliette. My subordinates and I are currently in the Gold Needle Valley—”
……
In the dark underground hall, a rune array was gradually forming. The center of the array surrounded a pile of rubble, with sunlight streaming down through the gaps in the dome above, perfectly enclosing the rune array.
Brendel silently watched White configure the rune array nearby, letting go of a softly glowing crystal. The blue hue gradually faded. “It’s a message from Juliette,” he whispered to Bai Jia behind him. “That woman hasn’t deceived us; the Crusian have begun to move. She has discovered an undead army heading north in the Gold Needle Valley—”
Bai Jia shifted her gaze away from White and into the dark environment, her onyx eyes shining with a faint glow. With her magical prowess, she could immediately discern that White was setting up a typical array, related to summoning magic. She wasn’t overly concerned about White’s capabilities in this array, so she collected her thoughts and speculated, “The mountain folk that disappeared weeks ago and this undead army are heading toward the borders of Mehotoffen, aiming to trap us in Fatan. They must be waiting for White to take action, and once Fatan falls into eternal darkness, the undead and the White Legion will strike.”
“We need to accelerate our movements; luckily, White is still within our control,” Brendel silently congratulated himself. If it weren’t for this unexpected encounter, had Her Majesty’s plan suddenly been put into effect, they might have fallen into an unprepared situation.
“Juliette is in Gold Needle Valley, not far from here. Do you intend to intercept that undead army?” Bai Jia asked keenly.
Brendel glanced at her, nodding. This particular undead army was very different from Madara’s; Madara’s army was controlled by units of necromancers. Although he wasn’t afraid of a few thousand skeletons, it was impossible to kill them all; even if those necromancers lined up for him, it would take him a long time. Contrary to that, the undead army in the eastern Mezz was controlled by a few individuals utilizing a necromantic artifact, which provided him with an opportunity. When Juliette conveyed the situation from that side, he immediately felt excited.
With this thought, he raised his head to glance in the direction of Roslin’s undead. While it was White who freed his wife, the soul of that knight surely understood whom to thank. If White dared to make a move, she would undoubtedly be the first to charge, especially since in life, she was already vengeful towards evil.
At that moment, White finally completed her array.
The black knight lady clapped her hands and looked up at Brendel with a meaningful gaze. “I’m done. As agreed, I will only take the Blood of the Dark God, while you, my lord, will receive that tablet, along with more secrets about Constance and that man. If you don’t mind, I’m ready to begin.”
Brendel glanced at her, nodding slightly.
“Sir Roslin,” White asked loudly, her voice as hollow and hoarse as always.
The undead knight nodded in return, the golden flames flickering in its eye sockets, appearing exceptionally bright.
Only then did White step forward beside the rune array—she had inscribed the array using the swords of several Wraith Knights, digging half an inch into the ground, creating deep grooves. It resembled two opposing moons intertwined, the curved lines crossing each other to form thick shadows under the radiant light—White raised her pale wrist, hesitated, then remembered she was now undead. She frowned, directing her gaze at Bai Jia.
Brendel naturally understood what she meant; he grabbed hold of the senior student who was about to step forward, stating, “I’ll do it.”
“Thank you,” White replied, her tone so flat that it bore no hints of gratitude.
Brendel wasn’t worried that White would betray her at this stage. White’s primary profession was physical, and although she had encountered magic both in life and death as an ancient silver elf, she was still no match for Bai Jia, who was deep in magical studies. He drew the Sword of Earth, making a cut on his hand, with crimson blood spilling out like the most exquisite red wine. The blood trickled down the blade, forming a string of crimson beads that dripped into the rune array.
Brendel calculated that he had shed approximately twenty-one points of life in blood, then wrapped the wound with a thick cloth to staunch it. When he removed the cloth again, the wound had fully healed, leaving only a faint white scar.
Seeing this, White couldn’t help but gaze at him deeply, uncertain if it was due to his impressive self-healing ability or his properly calculated blood offering. Brendel’s action was also a warning to her; the ritual for blood sacrifice in the array required precise amounts for each segment. Any excess or deficiency would affect the spell’s efficacy. This type of top-tier array for eleven segments required about the blood of a warrior shedding twenty-one points of life.
Understanding this, White naturally realized that Brendel was well-informed about her magic, stirring a sense of apprehension within her.
