Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 1796 The Invisible Clash

Li Ce himself was also a necromancer at the Transcendent Realm.

With so many necromancers casting spells together at the foot of the mountain, making such a commotion, it would be hard for him not to notice.

Upon reaching the top of the watchtower, Li Ce quickly checked the situation below using binoculars.

[If I just had Lord Xuan Yu fly down and cremate them all...]

Wait a minute! Something's not right!

The thought had barely crossed Li Ce's mind when he realized something was clearly wrong.

Based on the known information, Lord Xuan Yu had already demonstrated formidable strength against these undead during their brief previous encounter.

[Now that all these undead necromancers are clustered down there, casting spells so openly, it's a bit too unprepared.]

Surely the commander on the other side can't just turn around and forget about this, right?

Or is it that they think they won't be burned to death because they're undead?

[No! Lord Xuan Yu's flames are no ordinary flames. In previous battles, most undead were burned to ashes. How could the enemy not know that?]

As his thoughts raced, Li Ce, standing on the watchtower, looked down at the square formation of undead necromancers below. He unconsciously narrowed his eyes, his expression carrying a meaningful look.

[The necromancers are supposed to be the core of the undead force, yet they're just exposed right in front of me? Is this a trap, waiting for us to make a move? Or are they just bluffing me, confident I won't act easily?]

Li Ce was an expert at manipulating people's psychology, and it was difficult for him to distinguish between the opponent's feint and the real move.

He could actually test the waters, and he has the means to do so, but he fears that if he does, the situation will escalate rapidly, which is not what he wants to see given the current circumstances.

For Li Ce, the ideal situation right now is to steadily drag the battle out until Zhou Xu arrives at the front line.

During this process, he did do some things. Following the instructions Zhou Xu had given him to the giant eagle knight, he attempted to compete with the other side for control of the undead units.

As it turns out, some things can be done, and some things cannot.

Li Ce was a smart man, and being a transcendent necromancer himself, he quickly figured out the key to the problem.

When a necromancer transforms an undead, he will inscribe a mark on the undead's soul, making the transformed undead unable to resist him.

In addition to this function, the soul imprint also serves to declare sovereignty.

To put it bluntly, it's telling your fellow undead, "This undead is mine, don't touch it! Otherwise, you'll face the consequences!"
Given this premise, the process of forcibly seizing another's undead unit is actually quite simple: just cast a spell and overwrite the opponent's soul mark with your own.

The key point here is that if the opponent is stronger than you, not only will you not be able to cover up their mark, but you may also be severely injured or even killed by the backlash of their soul mark!

If your strengths are evenly matched, covering each other's soul imprints will carry the risk of backlash and will also consume a significant amount of resources.

You can only do this relatively easily if the opponent is clearly weaker than you.

Having confirmed this, the undead necromancers on the other side were superior to those of their Great Zhou, both in quality and quantity.

Just as Zhou Xu had predicted, they were professionals.

If you insist on challenging someone in their field of expertise, aren't you just making things difficult for yourself?
After understanding this, Li Ce had no intention of trying it again, as it would be a complete waste of his magical power.

Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, in the Undead's stronghold, the Undead General leaned on his greatsword, concealed his aura, and quietly began to sense the surrounding area.

Before the Undying King arrived at the front lines, they had roughly two objectives in launching their offensive.

One objective is to deplete the enemy's strength, while the other is to probe their weaknesses and gather intelligence to inform future plans. Judging from the current situation, the enemy is on the defensive throughout, seemingly in no hurry. Have they failed to grasp their purpose of a war of attrition, or are they also waiting for something?
The emergence of this idea, unwittingly, added some pressure to the Undying General.

Previously, his main message was, "I'm waiting for my ultimate move, what are you waiting for?"

Now, he realizes that everyone is probably waiting for their ultimate move, which suddenly increases the uncertainty on the other side.

Faced with this situation, the best way to play it safe is to keep at it until the very end and see who has the more ruthless ultimate move.

But as a veteran, his inherent pride prevented the Immortal General from giving up to that extent.

So he immediately arranged for a group of necromancers to openly cast spells together at the foot of the mountain, hoping to lure the other side into making a move.

At worst, he could try to find out what countermeasures the other side had. To be even more aggressive, he could lure the other side out and kill them!

This group of necromancers is, of course, not all of them; the vast majority of necromancers are still hiding in the shadows.

Even in the worst-case scenario, where all the necromancers are cremated on the spot by that beast, they would still have the ability to put up a fight.

To everyone's surprise, after revealing this move, the other side remained completely unmoved.

[It's unlikely they're helpless; did they see through my intentions?]

Unbeknownst to many, an invisible confrontation has already begun.

The battle between the undead and the Great Zhou forces continued day and night around the natural barrier surrounding the Rakshasa District.

When the battle lasts for more than seventy-two hours, the Great Zhou soldiers in the mountain camp will generally fall into two states.

One reason is that the mind is under constant tension for a long time, unable to rest peacefully, resulting in a sharp decline in condition and even a gradual trend of collapse.

Another type gradually adapts to the sounds of gunfire and explosions outside, and can even sleep soundly in such extreme environments.

The current battle situation is like an evolutionary process of survival of the fittest. You either need to make a breakthrough in terms of willpower or psychology, otherwise you will not be able to survive this ordeal and will basically face certain death.

"For the Emperor!"

"For the Emperor!!!"

In such extreme battles, physical means can no longer appease them; what they need is faith!
Soldiers who were followers of the state religion often had a much stronger spirit, and the emperor was their spiritual pillar.

Amidst the shouts of slogans, their previously dazed eyes gradually hardened.

The battle continued, and the undead soldiers' offensive remained largely unchanged from the beginning.

But this is precisely what makes the undead so terrifying.

After days and nights of fighting, the condition of the Great Zhou soldiers was declining and getting worse, but the Undead were completely unaffected.

"Line 3! They've rushed onto Line 3!!"

This was the first time the undead forces had advanced to the third warning line, which was quite close to the mountainside camp.

Inside the camp, Li Ce, seizing the opportune moment, swiftly gave the order…

"Prepare the logs! Fire!!"

(End of this chapter)