Divine Kingship

Chapter 648 When the Final Battle Arrives (Part 1)

Behind the second line of defense, people who were about to reach the third line of defense were walking with difficulty.

The summer heat made migration difficult, and the combination of acclimatization problems and years of walking caused villagers who were already malnourished and physically weak to collapse on the road.

Those who fell were simply abandoned, and some nobles even burned the villagers who were unable to move in order to prevent them from becoming ghosts.

Burn it alive.

The massive migration procession moved across the plains, and to prevent the population from becoming ghosts, the nobles agreed to Rand's Great Migration Plan.

Villagers in cities and villages, freemen and nobles in castles and fortresses, were all driven away from their homes by the knights and migrated north.

Commoners cannot defy the will of the nobles.

Nobles and wise men knew the horror of the dead.

"We've already covered more than half the distance of the migration! Just hold on a little longer, and we'll reach our destination!" The noble knight unusually encouraged the commoners.

“Do we really need to hide from those undead? Because of this ridiculous migration plan that Rand came up with, we’ve already lost a fifth of our population.” Some of the nobles questioned Rand’s plan.

Other more knowledgeable nobles countered, "Those countries in the south that refused to leave were directly destroyed. I suggest you show some respect to His Majesty Rand."

"Damn it, I feel like we're being chased like rats. We've been running away all this time, and I haven't had a good night's sleep in ten days," another nobleman complained.

And right now.

A call to arms came from afar.

"What the hell! What is that?"

"Undead! Undead! Enemy attack! Combat troops, prepare!" the migration commander roared after confirming the situation.

The armed forces of this migrating caravan were only sufficient to deal with bandits and monsters in the wilderness, making it extremely difficult to fight against the undead. Moreover, the undead that attacked them were clearly not weak.

"All those with weapons, assemble! Nobles, knights, adventurers, gather here!" The commander was Fenris, and Serai was his second-in-command.

"Damn it, we don't have many people at all, and these undead are actually emerging from beneath the earth!" Fenris cursed.

A fighting force was quickly assembled, and then Fenris ordered, "Seraphim! Continue to evacuate the civilians. We are not far from the border of the Moon Phase Kingdom. We will be safe there."

"Yes." Serai glanced at Fenris and then decisively went to carry out the order.

He knew exactly what Fenris was going to do, but war was cruel and dangerous, and he was used to it.

Fenris looked at the various forces gathered around him, which, although they seemed undisciplined, were estimated to be quite capable in combat.

"The enemy is the elite of the undead, and we are no match for them. Our mission is to attract as much undead power as possible and then deal with them. Now, charge with me!" Fenris said succinctly.

This hastily assembled force is unlikely to be very effective, but we have no choice but to act expediently in this emergency.

Fenris set off with a group of warriors dressed in various styles.

However, there was some good news: the hero Luca was also in the party, although Fenris knew that Luca might not actually be a hero.

The spirits emerging from the earth were a dark, dense mass.

Unlike common undead armies.

There aren't any of those common skeletons, zombies, or ghosts here.

They were all dressed in black armor; they were the Death Knights.

Death Knights, high-ranking undead, have appeared in organized groups, but that's not all.

The dark clouds in the sky are probably not mist or fog. The dark clouds pressing down are likely corpse dragons, or a swarm of corpse dragons.

“Those in black robes are necromancers, and there also looks like there are archnecromancers and liches. Those gradually rising city walls should be undead giants. Undead giants and a horde of corpse dragons, what the hell are all these skeletons and souls coming from? And what is that thing that's glowing yellow…” Fenris had already led his team to the front of the elite undead legion, frowning as he made his assessment.

It is obvious that the gap in strength between the two sides is ridiculously large.

On Fenris's side, there were six hundred nobles and knights from various countries, well-equipped, but they had no understanding of each other and were unfamiliar with the Sanctuary's tactics. There were about two hundred adventurers, but only about twenty of them were capable of fighting alongside the cavalry.

Among the adventurers, Luca is probably the most useful.

This departure is essentially a one-way trip.

But... "I'll say a few last words: for humanity, for our home, charge! Charge!" Fenris raised his gleaming sword and spurred his warhorse to take the lead.

Then the warriors behind him followed Fenris forward.

The knights quickly traversed the short distance and rushed to the front of these terrifying undead.

The warhorse and the Death Knight's skeletal warhorse collided, the sound like thunder rumbling across the earth.

Then came the skull shattering the skull, and the armor crushing the armor.

In the distance, Serai glanced at the battlefield before shouting orders for everyone to speed up their advance.

After Fenris charges once, he will lead his men away, and as long as enough undead are drawn into this army, the main force may be able to retreat.

The civilians, ordered to leave by Serai, looked on in bewilderment at the knights charging toward the undead, and at the undead that covered an area far larger than the knights.

They were subconsciously driven forward like cattle and sheep, but they couldn't help feeling fear and sadness in their hearts.

They did not believe that the valiant knights could defeat the undead, nor that they themselves could escape destruction.

"Mommy, are we...are we going to die?" A toddler trembled as he clutched his mother's robe, his teeth chattering as he asked.

"No, no." The mother covered her child's eyes and continued to lead the child forward with the crowd.

Meanwhile, Fenris had already led his team to carve a path through the undead army.

It was daytime, and the undead had just emerged from the earth, so their reaction was still relatively slow. Even so, quite a few knights were still knocked off their horses by the undead's counterattack.

The path that was carved out was nothing more than a steel needle piercing the skin of the entire undead force; it didn't even amount to injury to their flesh and bones.

Fortunately, the task of attracting attention can be considered a success.

"Stay close to me! Don't fall behind!" Fenris, having torn open space with the undead elites, led the knights away in the opposite direction from the human group.

And many undead also rushed in.

……

After the first, second, and third waves of believers and missionaries from the Sanctuary arrived at various sections of the defensive line and began their work, morale was effectively boosted.

Guli, a soldier on the defensive line where Ranta and Chad were stationed, swallowed hard.

Their defenses here now face considerable pressure from the undead. Guli remains terrified of these rotting, clearly inanimate yet still mobile monsters.

But he also realized that humanity had no way out; if they did not fight with all their might, their families and friends would have no chance of survival.

Moreover, the battle environment changed significantly after the two church members arrived at this defensive line.

These two missionaries were different from the usual noble commanders; they always took the lead and charged ahead.

Later on, the nobles on those defensive lines were too embarrassed to hide behind them anymore.

And those noble lords have begun to fight on the city walls again, shouting slogans of glory. What reason do these ordinary soldiers have to retreat?

Meanwhile, in Rand, the city of the ratmen, they were receiving kings from several countries.

"You still have a main force, don't you? The First Knights of the Moon Phase Kingdom. Why aren't they on the battlefield?" a king with bloodshot eyes questioned.

Those who stand at the pinnacle of human power have never been so humiliated.

They decided to support Rand's plan, but that selfish Rand is still holding back his precious elite forces from taking action.

“The aces will have the missions they are supposed to carry out.” Rand showed no expression in the face of the king’s questioning and pressure.

"I see you just want to preserve your power! How could you, how could you! You betrayer of our pact... you devil!" One of the kings could no longer control his words.

Rand was indeed quite helpless about this.

Indeed, everyone's elite troops have been deployed to the front lines, but Rand is still holding onto the First Knights of the Moon Phase Kingdom, which seems blatantly selfish.

But this trump card of his must be suppressed. The enemy's "core," the suspected incarnation of the Cataclysmic Apostle, has not yet been found, nor has the enemy's elite main force, which should exist, been discovered so far.

If you carelessly reveal your trump card, you'll easily find yourself at a disadvantage in the subsequent battle.

Unfortunately, not all countries understand this, and even those that do cannot tolerate Rand's cowardly and petty behavior of sending others to the battlefield while keeping his own strength to himself.

Although Rand had actually sent many believers, missionaries, and soldiers to various defensive lines.

Just as these kings were about to question Rand and demand an explanation from him...

A messenger arrived.

"Report, enemy main force spotted," the messenger reported.

Several kings who had challenged Rand looked over, and they suspected that Rand had sent people to put on an act.

But the messenger quickly dispelled their doubts.

The messenger brought a photo crystal.

A massive horde of powerful undead appeared behind the defensive line.

Those terrifying monsters slowly emerged from the ground, bursting forth as if they had always been lurking there.

"It's underground?" Rand was also very surprised.

Since Rand knew very well that the undead did not need any supplies, nor did they need to worry about cold or heat, Rand did not overlook those towering mountains or certain ditches during his investigation.

But to their surprise, the undead's attack route was even more outrageous than they had imagined.

Indeed, the dead don't even need air, so why can't they travel underground?
"The elite force of the undead has appeared out of nowhere behind the second line of defense, directly attacking the troops retreating to the third line. If the undead succeed, we humans will lose more than 30 percent of our population. And if these people are directly transformed into undead, it will basically mean the end of our war," the messenger said.

"In addition, we have also found the 'core' of the undead, and it is estimated to be not far from the city of the ratmen," the messenger continued to report.

“It seems we’ll have to split into two groups.” Rand pondered.

The king, who had previously questioned Rand, remained silent.

After discussing with the high-ranking officials of the Holy Land present, including several kings, Rand made a decision: "Your Majesty Berlan, I trouble you to lead the elite troops of various countries to stop the main force of the undead. Karin will also be arriving from the New Holy City soon to assist you."

"Oleena, Elsa, you need to help maintain the overall stability of the current war situation. Combat and command will depend on you. Ellie should receive the news soon. She should stay in Crescent Moon City to oversee the situation. Queen Vanilla will also bring some elven elites to help."

"Ryza, you and I will take the Kingdom's First Knights to find the core. I suspect the incarnation of the Cataclysmic Apostle is there." Rand finished making the arrangements.

"Quiruo, defend the Ratman City; the danger here is not small either."

Finally, Rand looked at the kings: "Gentlemen, if there is nothing else, please leave. I will not keep you company any longer. Or perhaps you would like to join me in dealing with those undead?"

The kings remained silent; now they were more inclined to believe that Rand was simply a selfish man.

Such terrifying undead are not even the full force; there are still so many elite main forces that they were able to march across the land to the defensive line. So, were the undead that attacked the defensive line just a feint?

This only made them more desperate. Their country was not large to begin with, and their population was not very large. Now, if something happened to the migrating population, they would lose both people and land, and naturally they could no longer be called kings.

Rand ignored them and left with Lysa.

The undead's tactics this time were indeed beyond Rand's expectations.

But at this time, Rand also commanded an army beyond the norm—the Dragonblood Eagle Knights equipped with thunder hammers.

The undead can march beneath the earth, while Rand temporarily holds the reins of the sky.

The decisive battle is about to begin.

……

About 500 kilometers in front of the city of the ratmen, underground, there is a skeleton with a pure white body, like white jade, holding a corpse in its hand.

Those human scouts were smarter than we thought.

They still managed to find it.

However, these scouts were also foolish. What good would it do to find him? He had no choice but to embrace death.

If they can't escape, how can they send a message back?

The plan is progressing smoothly so far. Humanity is a challenge, but our understanding of death is still far too lacking.

The defenses on the ground were clearly insufficient to stop the advance of the undead army.

Now, it's time for everything to return to silence.

And He too will die because of plague, war, famine, and...

To become the sole ruler of this world.

(End of this chapter)