Another World: When a Necromancer Possesses the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls

Stepping onto the solid, cold earth of the plateau, a strange sense of heaviness and oppression welled up in my heart, as if the rules of heaven and earth here were even more severe.

Looking out, there was a vast, boundless wasteland with a dark reddish hue. The wind whistled through the waist-high withered grass, and in the distance, there were sparse, twisted trees and undulating mountains.

According to the map, the Bloodskull Tribe's forward camp was still some distance away. Li Xingyao took a deep breath of the cold, rusty air, his gaze becoming focused.

"Let's go!" he muttered to himself, leading four skeleton sword saints, and striding forward resolutely toward the route on the map.

Li Xingyao stood at the edge of the camp assigned to the Blood Skull Tribe's reinforcements, gazing at the camp before him, its outline grotesque in the sunlight. It was less a camp and more a roughly leveled piece of land.

Various temporary dwellings were haphazardly set up, ranging from ordinary animal skin tents in the barbarian style to more upscale yurts, as well as several portable inflatable tents brought by human adventurers, and even some shelters with characteristics of other races.

The procedure for joining the tribal war was simple to the point of being brutal. A barbarian warrior with dark red battle markings painted on his face and a body as burly as an iron tower merely glanced at the stone tablet that Li Xingyao handed over, rubbed it with his short, stubby fingers on a certain rune, and cut his finger, leaving a faint bloodstain on it.

He pointed in a muffled voice to a relatively open area and uttered a short syllable, meaning "There, find your own place." There was no extra communication throughout the entire process, as if he were receiving not a mercenary to help them fight, but merely a piece of expendable material to be sent to the battlefield.

This support settlement was quite large, roughly several hundred people, with a bizarre mix of races. Li Xingyao saw the Shadow Clan and the Huntress Clan he had met before, several humanoid races wrapped in thick fur, a few well-equipped elves gathered in a small circle, and quite a few humans among them.

Humans made up a significant portion of the group, numbering around a hundred. They mostly formed small groups or teams. The appearance of Li Xingyao's team, consisting of four teammates, immediately attracted some subtle, discreet glances.

Soon, a human male who looked to be in his thirties, with an old scar on his face and eyes that showed a mixture of fatigue and shrewdness, walked over.

"A new team?" He looked Li Xingyao up and down, his gaze lingering for a moment on the latter's young face and the four figures shrouded in gray robes behind him. His tone was neither enthusiastic nor cold; it was more like a habitual greeting.

Li Xingyao nodded. "Yes, I just arrived today."

"Just call me Old Cat," the man grinned, revealing teeth slightly yellowed from smoking. "These groups are mostly humans, but there are also two easy-going cavemen brothers. They're just trying to make a living and looking out for each other. This godforsaken place is too hard to endure alone." He pointed to a small group of seven or eight tents not far away.

Li Xingyao readily agreed and followed the old cat. After a brief introduction, they had a place to stay for the time being. Most of these people looked weathered, and their equipment was worn to varying degrees, but deep in their eyes lay a degree of wariness and a hint of desire for wealth.

They seemed somewhat curious about Li Xingyao's four "teammates," but in this kind of environment, everyone has secrets, and no one would be so tactless as to ask too many questions.

"Take a rest while you can," the old cat said, handing him a hard piece of jerky. "The barbarians won't give us much time to rest. They fight every day. They'll sound the horn to assemble before dawn. It looks like they're going to launch an attack tomorrow." Li Xingyao nodded his thanks, ate a little something, and then quickly went to rest.

Sure enough, just as the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, a deep and desolate horn call, like the mournful howl of a dying beast, pierced the cold air and echoed throughout the camp. There was no lengthy mobilization, no impassioned speeches, only the rough shouts and urging of the various barbarian chieftains.

The mercenaries, like a flock of sheep being herded, quickly and silently gathered together and were organized into different formations according to a rough division of professions.

Li Xingyao and his Skeleton Sword Saint were assigned to a mixed formation, mainly composed of humans, a few cavemen, and some smaller, agile alien warriors, positioned in the middle to rear of the attacking force. A suppressed restlessness permeated the air, a mixture of leather, metal, sweat, and a faint smell of tension.

The team set off in silence, their heavy footsteps echoing with a dull rumble on the hard, cold earth. The high-altitude wind, like a cold file, scraped across everyone's cheeks.

After marching for about an hour, the terrain ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a relatively flat, vast wasteland covered with gravel and withered grass—this was today's battlefield.

On the other side of the wasteland, a dark, imposing line of troops stood ready. The banner of the savage beast tribe was a dark brown battle flag embroidered with ferocious fangs and beast heads, fluttering in the wind. Even from a distance, one could see the various shapes and restless star beasts before the enemy lines.

The sheer number of them far exceeded Li Xingyao's expectations. Almost every barbarian warrior in front of him was accompanied by one or two star beasts, and some particularly fierce minor leaders were even surrounded by three or four. The auras between humans and beasts were subtly connected, making the situation extremely dangerous. They were the main profession of the barbarian tribe, and as their name suggested, the direction of awakening in the barbarian tribe was beast taming.

On the other hand, on Bloodskull's side, the main force of their formation consisted of a large number of berserkers who had entered a frenzied state, their bodies radiating bloodlust, their muscles bulging, and wielding massive axes and hammers. Their breathing was heavy, and their eyes flashed with a bloodthirsty red light, like a flood about to burst its banks.

On both sides, there were a small number of beast tamers and other warrior teams, but in terms of both quantity and quality, they were far inferior to the opposing team.

As Old Cat whispered along the way, the main force of the Beast Tribe is currently focused on the Silver Blade Tribe, with their offensive here being more of a diversionary tactic. The Blood Skull Tribe and the Silver Blade Tribe seem to have reached some kind of tacit agreement, simultaneously putting pressure on the Beast Tribe, but this doesn't mean the battle will be easy. For every individual on the front lines, every engagement is a life-or-death test.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

From the direction of the Bloodskull tribe, heavy war drums suddenly pounded, their rhythm primal and violent, as if striking directly at the heart of everyone present.

"Ugh—!"

Almost simultaneously, the savage tribe also sounded the horn of attack, the sound sharp and piercing, carrying a wild, beast-like ferocity.

Without any probing or shouting, the two torrents representing savagery and power collided with a deafening roar, as if they had agreed beforehand!

"For Bloodskull! For our ancestors!" The berserkers roared, their crimson star energy burning like tangible flames. They took enormous strides and launched a ferocious charge. Every step shook the earth, and their massive weapons, carrying the force to tear everything apart, slammed into the opposing defenses.

The savage tribe's response was simple yet effective. The massive star beasts in the front ranks, with their thick hides and rough bone or metal armor, let out muffled roars, lowered their heads, and curled up, using their broad, sturdy backs and heavy armor to withstand the berserkers' first wave of attack!

"Bang! Boom! Crack!"

The sounds of metal clashing against bone, weapons against armor, the cracking of metal, the roars of fury, and screams of agony mingled together, composing the most brutal opening symphony of war. Blood and bits of flesh rained down, instantly staining the withered yellow ground crimson.

The Bloodskull Berserker's destructive power was terrifying. Each heavy blow could break a Star Beast's bones or even send it flying. However, there were simply too many Star Beasts in the Savage Beast Tribe. As the front row fell, the back row immediately took its place. At the same time, the Savage Warriors and their agile Star Beast companions, who were hidden behind the Star Beasts, took the opportunity to launch a deadly attack.

Moreover, the phalanx behind them also launched an attack, with poisoned arrows, heavy javelins, and skills flashing with elemental light, attacking the berserker from all angles, which had been exposed by the attack.

Li Xingyao's mixed formation followed closely behind the main force, but instead of engaging in the most brutal frontal assault, they fought on the flanks against the enemy's mercenaries and flanking units. Even so, the brutality of war was instantly revealed.

Arrows swarmed through the air like locusts, striking and striking people repeatedly as they fell to the ground with bloodcurdling screams. Spells flashed intermittently, fireballs and ice spikes crashing into the crowd, unleashing a storm of blood and gore. Swords clashed, roars shook the heavens, and everyone frantically swung their weapons in a desperate struggle for survival.

For the first time, Li Xingyao truly experienced what war was. It was unlike any battle he had ever fought before. Here, individual bravery was infinitely compressed, and there was almost no room for maneuver. He was surrounded by people, with wielding weapons and splattering blood all around him.

Often, you can't even see where the attack is coming from; you can only rely on instinct to block and dodge, then thrust your weapon at the nearest enemy. Adrenaline is surging, your heart is pounding like a war drum, but your brain is becoming somewhat numb from the information overload and the constant threat of death.

Li Xingyao witnessed a human crossbowman who had just been working with him being bitten on the calf by a star beast that suddenly emerged from the ground, resembling a burrowing rat. He was dragged to the ground and instantly beheaded by a barbarian warrior who rushed by. The look of astonishment still lingered in his eyes.

He also saw a nimble Shadow Clan assassin on the other side, who had just used his unpredictable footwork to slit the throats of two Bloodskull Warriors, when he was smashed into a bloody pulp by a furious area-of-effect strike from one of his own berserkers who was in a bloodthirsty frenzy.