Knight and Wand

Chapter 358 Allies and Enemies

In the early hours of the morning, An Ran returned to the hiding place of the Jihad Army and lit the holy lamp that protected the souls.

When Azerien and others led the troops out to support, they saw that the eight people who returned safely neither retreated in a hurry nor captured the vampire, and they couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"Did the vampire escape?" Azerien asked curiously.

Leon shook his head: "That vampire is not important. He is not the murderer of Trosa. Besides, we have found Lord Elliver."

The vampire who was injured and tracked by himself and Corvis was just a spy sent by Count Elliver to the Usato Territory.

That night, the other party sneaked into Trosa's room because there were no descendants of Count Elliver's faction in the city of Avim who acted on their own and started a war with humans. The other party only wanted to find out whether the descendants of other factions had rashly attacked the Orland nobles.

However, unfortunately, he and Corvis happened to run into the spy, and he almost died in the city of Avim.

When Azerian heard that he had actually found Earl Elliver directly, and that the biggest goal of this trip had been achieved so easily, he couldn't help but be surprised. He couldn't wait to ask everyone what was going on.

While explaining what had happened to his general manager, Leon ordered the ambushed troops to withdraw and return to the temporary camp in the nearby mountains to set up camp and discuss the next plan with the military tent.

The greatest gain of this trip south was not only finding the Earl of Thornflower, but also learning about the current situation in southern Kantadar from Elliver.

According to him, more than a year ago, all the powerful undead who had been killing and harvesting souls crazily regained more or less autonomous consciousness after the clouds dissipated.

Leon speculated that this was probably related to the battle of Rolandar, when the Crusades dispelled the cursed area and completely destroyed the ritual core of the undead magic.

The magical network that originally bound the will of the undead completely collapsed after the soul bells failed one after another.

But the huge sea of ​​undead corpses was not completely in chaos.

High-level undead with more intelligence, such as corpse wizards, corpse lords, vampires, etc., have not only recovered many thinking abilities, but even have the wisdom and power to control more dead souls.

Many undead souls who realized that they had turned into dead became even crazier in their grief and bloodthirsty instinct, and continued to kill and self-destruct in Shannan and Roslava.

But there are also relatively more rational undead, leading a large number of corpses to occupy the south of Kantadar, thinking about the situation in confusion, and Elifer is one of them.

The change in the situation stems from the actions of the three most powerful undead.

Charleman first appeared in front of Count Elliver and other vampires who were struggling to restrain their bloodlust at that time. He gathered together the first-generation family members he created himself, as well as the second, third, and fourth-generation descendants transformed from all the first-generation vampires, and began to slaughter Kantadar frantically for revenge.

But in this land, the vampires from Roslava are not the only undead who have regained their sanity.

According to Earl Elif, it was around that time that the Ghoul Lord Avilut destroyed the duchy of the Duke of Aberle in the southern part of the mountain.

Aviut then led his troops westward to Roslava, attempting to bring all the undead subjects back under his rule.

As expected, the army of the Lord of the Corpses collided head-on with the descendants of Shaleman.

King Kantardar, who had launched the eastward invasion, once again fought a war with the defenders of Rolandar.

It was at this opportunity that Elifer persuaded Shaleman to concentrate his forces and turn his attention to the first goal of eliminating the culprit who invaded Serian from the east.

Leon couldn't help but sigh as he told Azerien about the war that was silently breaking out in the south of Kantadar, a war that was far larger than any in the history of the kingdoms.

If it weren't for the irreconcilable blood feud between Baron Charleman and Aviut, these millions of undead would never have allowed the kingdom of the living the opportunity to recuperate over the past year.

"What about the Atias undead named Karazik?" Azerien couldn't help but ask.

Leon shook his head. "Lord Elliver only learned from you, uh, from Shaleman, that Karazik was originally the leader of the undead who attacked Serrian. During the time when the dark clouds dissipated, he led the undead army over the Feru Mountains and occupied the northern part of the Uriah Grassland. He did not have a conflict with Aviut, and the two are now allies."

He stretched out his hand and drew an outline on the map of the Western Continent, which not only covered the two large territories south of Kantadar, but also included nearly a quarter of the land of the Uriah Grassland.

In the eyes of the people in the north, the Undead War ended more than a year ago.

But now it seems that it actually isn't.

The huge sea of ​​undead corpses simply changed direction and swept towards the southern part of the continent.

"All the Uriah tribes and cities in this area have been massacred. Neither the Blood Baron nor the Ghoul Lord showed mercy to the Uriah people."

Leon pointed to the southern end of the Feru Mountains and said, "This is probably the territory occupied by the powerful lich named Karazik. If nothing unexpected happens, the Feru Kingdom is also facing the threat of the undead at this moment."

"We can't just sit there and watch the undead compete for the winner." Azerien supported his chin with his clenched palms, frowning and thinking: "According to Lord Elliver, no matter which side wins, the Undead King who will eventually rule over all the undead will come again to kill us. By then, even without the blessing of the magic cloud, their size alone will be an irresistible disaster."

Leon nodded and drew a line on the border between Sobonitz Territory and Shannan Territory. The end of the long line reached the mountain pass of Usato Territory. "We can't compete with the undead in numbers. We have to find a way to build enough fortresses with soul-guarding holy towers on at least this line of defense."

If possible, Leon even wanted to build fortifications similar to the walls of Dragon Claw Fortress or the Great Wall of Despair to resist the army of the undead. However, such a huge super project would be a huge challenge even for the industrial society of the Earth in the previous life. With the infrastructure capabilities of the Western Continent being only slightly better than those of the Earth in the feudal era, it was obviously wishful thinking.

"We can't just rely on the Holy War Alliance to do this." Lion continued, "We have to lobby King Eric and the ruler of Serrian. It would be best if we could get help from the Church of Dineshion."

"Send people to Dineshien. If they can see the Oracle's throne, call on all the Holy Sun Cult kingdoms to join in and build a defense line. The threat of the undead is not just to Kantadar, Orland and Serian." Azerien said.

Olivia propped her chin up and suddenly interrupted, "Should we contact Steelforge and Desolate Mountain City through the Edel Chamber of Commerce? Doesn't the ancient book say that the dwarven craftsmen are also very skilled in building structures?"

Leon nodded. These preparations must be carried out simultaneously after returning.
The discussion and debate ended and everyone dispersed.

Azerien deliberately stayed in the big tent. When only Leon and Olivia were left, he looked determined, withdrew his gaze from the parchment map, and said suddenly: "I want to go see him."

Of course Leon knew who his partner was referring to, and he couldn't help but frown.

"This is very dangerous. You yourself said that his reaction at the time was extremely difficult and he almost killed you. Who knows what the demons in the spiritual world did to your father's sanity."

"Even so, I have to try. You know very well, Leon, unless we ignore the people of Kantadar under our rule, even if my father wins the final victory, we will sooner or later fight him. This is the worst case scenario."

Azerien's expression showed no signs of impulse, and he continued with a rational balance: "I have to try to convince him. I am the only one who has a chance to convince him to let go of his blind hatred and only take Avilut and Karazik as the end of his revenge. And if possible, I might be able to convince my father to give Lord Elliver freedom. Earl Thornflower is not my father's and my enemy. He has done me a favor, but now my father has killed him. For the Flarel family, this is already repaying kindness with enmity without distinguishing right from wrong. I owe the Thornflower family a lot. If my father still has a bit of reason, he should not continue to enslave Lord Elliver and the knights of the Thornflower family.

This is a responsibility I must redeem, and I cannot turn a blind eye to it.”

Faced with his partner's serious words, Leon couldn't continue to stop him and could only ponder.

Azerien was right, they didn't have many options when it came to Charlemagne.

The option of killing the Blood Baron and letting him rest in peace now seems not only difficult to do, but more importantly, they cannot do it.

At least not before Charleman defeats the Ghoul Lord and the Archlich.

After all, Aviut and Karazik are absolute enemies of all living people in the world, and there is no possibility for the Alliance to reconcile with them, but with Charleman, there is still hope.

"We'll go with you." Leon said without any hesitation.

"No, it's best if I go alone." Azerien shook his head: "If other people are present, it will only cause unpredictable situations. It will be safer for me to go alone."

He looked at the worry in Leon and Olivia's eyes and could only smile comfortingly: "Believe me, he is my father after all. Since he has been protecting me even in the craziest times, I believe that even if the worst happens, he will not hurt his only living child."

Leon rubbed his eyebrows, thought for a long time, and finally proposed a compromise plan.

"Well, the Knights will temporarily station themselves in Lord Elliver's territory. I will have Corvis cast a tracking rune on you, and we will monitor your condition from high in the sky on griffins and hippogriffs. If anything unexpected happens, Olivia and I will immediately rush down to rescue you."

Seeing that Azerien was about to say something, he immediately raised his hand to interrupt: "Don't argue, don't underestimate our Knights' Champion."

Olivia also gave Azerien a reliable expression, as if she was in control.

Leon took his wife's right hand and patted the back of her hand confidently: "You don't know how strong Olivia is now when she is fully fired, and her magic field is a natural counter to magic products. If there is a conflict, even if we can't beat your father, it will be enough to ensure that we can retreat safely. Besides, I am not a pushover."

Leon made the decision without allowing Azerien to refute.

It's a pity that Olivia is not as powerful as she will be three years later. She doesn't have the magic power to control the Holy Sword of the Sun. Otherwise, with the "Queen of Golden Lion" by her side, she would not be afraid even if she faced the Blood Baron head-on.

After finalizing the contact plan, the next day, Leon asked Corvis to put a tracking rune on Azerien, and then he went to find Count Elliver again.

After entering the castle and explaining his purpose to the Lord of Thorns in the throne room, Elifer did not look overly surprised.

When he first learned about Charleman's name and origin from other first-generation clansmen, he had already guessed his blood relationship with the young knight under his command.

Elifer stood up and helped Azerien, who was kneeling on one knee to confess his crime, and brushed the young man's shoulders with his pale hands, with a calm expression on his face.

"Don't worry about it. No matter who is on the battlefield, they have already put life and death aside. Besides, I have personally experienced your father's condition at that time. If you want to blame someone, just blame this unpredictable fate and those damn demons you are talking about."

Elliver sighed and warned, "But you have to understand that your father's sanity is now sometimes good and sometimes bad. He is being tortured by a terrible force. If Charleman loses control, I will not only be unable to protect you, but I will also be unable to disobey his orders. Do you still insist on going?"

Azerien stood up and nodded firmly: "I must redeem my father before he makes a bigger mistake."

"Okay, then three days later, Shaleman plans to gather an army from the Lion Scorpion Valley and march south to the Uriah Steppe to launch a new round of attacks." Elliver looked at Leon.

"Be ready and set out with me."

Three days flew by.

On the eve of departure, Leon asked Lohak, David and others to stay and lead the knights to wait for his return.

Although the big guy was somewhat dissatisfied that he could not go to protect his best friend, he knew that the griffin's saddle had limited space, so he could only complain that sooner or later he would get a flying mount, and he stayed in the suburbs of Kiathus, muttering to himself.

The army of zombies led by Elifer gathered in the wilderness outside the mountain city at night, and marched towards the "Lion Scorpion Valley County" southeast of "Morag County" in a mighty manner.

Leon and the other two rode on griffins and hippogriffs, hanging high in the sky behind the Undead Legion, and followed the tracking runes on Azerien's body.

Although the movement speed of the undead ghouls is almost the same as that of the living army, the army of the dead never sleeps, does not need supplies, and its overall strategic mobility is much more efficient than that of an ordinary army.

In just one day and night, they reached the Kantadar border.

Seeing the Undead Lion Scorpion hovering above the huge sea of ​​corpses from afar, Leon did not dare to be careless. He quickly ordered the Death Claw to climb to the maximum height that the Hippocampus Xiaoan could reach and hide there.

Restraining his worries, Leon prayed that Azerien's meeting with his father would go smoothly, while remembering the composition of the Undead Legion he had seen on this trip.

Among the undead, perhaps some individuals learned lessons from the undead civil war and improved the weapons of ordinary corpse ghosts. For example, he saw a large number of low-level zombies in the army under Elifer, who were no longer unarmed and relying only on minions.

Many ordinary corpses have three-toothed claws installed on their arms, which undoubtedly greatly increases the combat effectiveness of the undead who had no martial arts skills in their lifetime.

Especially now that the magic of the Dark Clouds and Underworld no longer exists, this makes up for the weakening of the combat power caused by the reduced activity of the corpses.

But who is making these iron weapons for the undead army?

Are they ordinary living craftsmen who are protected under the rule of Elifer? Or are there undead craftsmen who can make tools and weapons?

If there is no ability to make tools, who made the Soul Bell altars in the Undead strongholds and the Soul Bell Corpse Carts that were used to attack cities everywhere?

etc.
Leon suddenly raised his eyebrows.

If these sleepless undead can build tools and structures, does that mean they can also do less difficult agricultural work? ?

Ok? ? ?
Countless bold ideas and unstoppable madness popped up in Leon's active mind.

That's the idea, from a moral perspective.
Isn't it a bit...too hellish?

(End of this chapter)