How come this arcanist is invincible?

Chapter 225 The Sea of ​​the Dead of the Church of the Dead

Abandoned riverbed, outside the karst cave.

An army composed of all sorts of people has been fully equipped and deployed in dense formation.

At the forefront was the main force of the army, about two thousand men, each with a fanatical expression.

The first two rows consist of professional soldiers of the legion, holding shields and wearing heavy armor.

They were all tall and formed the defensive line of the entire team.

Following them were a large number of Sussab soldiers, clad in light armor, with scimitars at their waists and longbows on their backs.

Behind the main group was a team of about two hundred policing officers, each with a stern expression, who were in charge of military discipline inspection.

On either side of the group were hundreds of mercenaries who had come after hearing the news.

They came either because of the rumored treasure hidden in the abandoned riverbed or because of the reward offered by the local council.

The people were of all kinds: steppe people, Nords, Sussas, and so on.

The temporary commander, Valentine, mounted on horseback, was shouting sternly at the front and back of the column: "Move out! Move out! Advance slowly! We must thoroughly exterminate every ghost in the cave! Maintain formation! Keep a safe distance between each column!"

"Don't worry about wasting arrows! All the giant crossbows at the city gate have been brought in, and the local merchants are providing ample arrows, plus plenty of medicine!"

"Do not be afraid of sacrifice! The children of those who sacrifice their lives will be fully raised by the local council. The children of those who made significant contributions may even have the opportunity to be admitted to a law academy!"

The Lantern Bearer and the people from the Susas Mage Academy were at the very heart of this sea of ​​people.

They were tightly protected in the center by layers of people.

Kane remained expressionless, while Logan Sussas beside him was quietly reporting something to him.

Finn, the Lantern Knight, who had witnessed everything, looked at Kane, who remained calm, with an undisguised look of amazement on his face.

In just one day, the dean of the Susas Mage Academy managed to assemble such a large army through his skillful maneuvering.

He first gained command of the corps soldiers and sheriffs through the parliament, and then won over the people's hearts with the parliament's financial resources.

For chambers of commerce, the amount spent on providing strategic materials will be converted into tax-free allowances at twice the amount in the future.

Finally, regarding the mercenaries, he even arranged for his female mercenary named Sophia to spread rumors in various taverns and merchant guilds, claiming that a huge treasure was hidden deep in the abandoned riverbed.

In this way, an army more than fifty times their original size was fully assembled.

Although the individual professional levels of this team are far inferior to those of the Lantern Bearers and the Mage Academy teams, their superior weaponry, teamwork, and absolute numerical advantage are enough to make up for the gap.

"Dean Kane, the team is ready and we can depart."

After Valentine finished speaking, he immediately rode up to Kane's side and said in a somewhat obsequious tone.

Kane nodded and looked at the acting commander of the legion.

After being promised a permanent position and huge profits, the acting commander of the corps and his captains were quickly and completely won over by him.

He nodded slightly and said, "Let's go."

As soon as he finished speaking, Valentine roared out the order.

The next moment, heavy footsteps resounded as the group formed a line on the dried-up, abandoned riverbed and slowly advanced into the depths of the cave.

Kane calmly observed everything, then led the academy members into the crowd and into the dark cavern.

The once pitch-black cave was instantly illuminated by countless torches as a large number of people poured in.

The figures swayed incessantly in the flickering firelight, and the dense, heavy footsteps even caused the water accumulated on the cave walls to drip down.

Looking at the long line, Kane, walking at the center, noticed Logan Susas's furrowed brow and asked, "Mage Logan, what's wrong?"

Logan Susas frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I just feel like something's not right."

"Tell me about it."

"The creation of undead such as skeletons requires not only a rich environment of negative energy, but also, in theory, a vessel—to put it bluntly, a corpse."

But there are just too many skeletons in this cave. Where did all these corpses come from?

Logan Susas frowned even more, but Kane, as if he had expected it, slowly said, "These corpses are the residents of Twin Harbor over the past hundred years, the ancestors of the vast majority of our army."

"what?"

Logan Susas's face was filled with disbelief and shock.

Kane shook his head and continued, "Twin Harbors are short of land, and the custom of water burial has always been prevalent there."

The bodies of all the deceased will be cremated and their ashes placed in wooden boxes in the floating cemetery.

If someone were willing to do it, they could easily fool everyone by using wood ash instead of cremated remains in a wooden box and then transporting the real body into the cave.

Judging from the size of the skeletons in the cave...

This matter has probably been going on for over a century.

Logan Susas's eyes widened suddenly, clearly not expecting this at all.

She blurted out instinctively, "Who could have managed to keep this a secret from the entire city—?"

"He must be a member of the nobility."

Kane's gaze swept over the troops at the very front of the formation, and he said calmly, "Only nobles, and especially powerful local nobles, can do this."

Moreover, this nobleman is clearly closely connected with the Church of the Dead, which worships undead creatures, and it cannot be ruled out that the Church of the Dead has secretly colluded with the Church of the Demons.

After all, that duke had already sent people to Twin Harbor to establish a trading company multiple times.

"The Church of the Dead!"

As a necromancer, Logan Susas had naturally heard of this name, and his expression instantly turned serious.

Kane was not surprised by her reaction.

The necromancers in the academy are all mages within the framework of order. All their research and the use of their corpse servants follow proper procedures, making them part of the lawful and righteous camp.

The Church of the Dead follows the evil path of fanatical worship of the immortals, not only digging up corpses year after year, but also frequently holding large-scale sacrificial rituals.

If it weren't for the insufficient concentration of ether, terrifying beings like liches would have already emerged among them, making them a thoroughly lawful evil faction.

"I've already sent Sophia with a group of mercenaries to investigate. If all goes as expected, they'll make a move soon."

However, our most important task right now is to find Master Zeno and bring him safely back to the academy.

"only----"

Kane's eyes flickered slightly as he gazed into the dark and deep cavern, where the surrounding negative energy was so dense it was almost impossible to dissipate.

With limited clues, he can only confirm through divination that the mage Zeno is still alive, but this mage is most likely being coerced into being trapped here.

He had no idea what his current situation was.

He suppressed his thoughts and continued to follow the group.

He didn't notice that an acquaintance was silently watching him from the other side of the line.

As the group slowly arrived at the cave hall where everyone had previously evacuated, the soldiers who passed by were shocked to see the dense battle marks on the ground.

The floor of the cave hall was covered with charred burn marks, the terrain was forcibly distorted by magic, and at least hundreds of skeletons were scattered all over the place, some charred and brittle, and others covered with cracks from being chopped and hacked.

And all of this was supposedly caused by a team of mages consisting of only a few dozen people.

Thinking of this, the soldiers felt reassured, believing that with their current numbers, clearing out the undead in the cave would be no problem at all.

Kane felt the fervent gazes coming from all directions, but he shook his head slightly inwardly.

He had originally planned to have the mages reserve spell slots above the second ring, and not to use them unless absolutely necessary.

As the group passed through the battle-scarred hall and prepared to venture deeper, Kane suddenly frowned and his voice, transmitted precisely through a communication spell, reached Valentine, who was leading his horse: "Halt the group. Aim at the cave passage at three o'clock ahead and test-fire the giant crossbows!"

Valentine paused for a moment, then immediately replied, "Yes!"

The column slowly came to a stop under his command. The soldiers of the legion were all puzzled, after all, they had not seen a single skeleton along the way.

A heavy ballista was slowly pushed to the front of the group.

Four soldiers worked together to cock the crossbow, loading a giant bolt into place, and then suddenly released the trigger.

The ballista jolted violently the next moment, and the bolt, with a piercing whistle that tore through the air, shot straight into the dark depths of the cave at the three o'clock position like thunder!

The crossbow bolt pierced the darkness, but made no sound.

The entire venue fell silent instantly, and many people in the line of over two thousand people looked puzzled.

Many eyes were on Kane, who was clearly the true leader of the team.

Kane remained expressionless and said to Valentine, "Fire a second time!"

Upon receiving the order, Valentine's expression changed, but he dared not disobey.

He was nominally the highest-ranking officer in the army, but everyone knew who the real power was.

He could only curse under his breath, but he still obediently directed his subordinates to operate.

A moment later, another sharp whooshing sound rang out, and the second giant arrow once again shot into the dark depths of the cave!

The crossbow bolt was fired, but there was still no reaction for a long time.

The soldiers in the ranks began to stir, Valentine looked puzzled, and even the Lantern Bearer and the people from the Mage Academy looked at Kane with confusion.

Kane remained unfazed, simply uttering three words: "They're here."

coming?

Valentine was taken aback at first, then reacted instantly, roaring, "Everyone, prepare for defense! Raise your shields!! Follow your captain's orders!! Maintain formation!! No reckless advances!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the rustling of footsteps and the cracking of bones grinding together surged forth from the depths of the cave.

The next moment, a white ocean suddenly burst forth from the darkness, revealing countless, endless skeleton soldiers.

Behind the debaters followed a large number of skeleton archers.

The debaters surged forth like a white tide, overwhelming and densely packed, charging straight toward the army's lines!

Looking at the eerie green flames flickering in the skull's empty eye sockets, the various weapons gleaming coldly in its hands, and the overwhelming stench of decay, I was struck by the sight.

Even with absolute confidence in their own numbers, many of these soldiers, mercenaries, and sheriffs who grew up in peaceful countries still turned pale instantly.

"Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!"

The instant Valentine's roar rang out, in the army's front corps, apart from the shield guards responsible for defense in the front row, the lightly armored soldiers in the rear all raised their bows, drew their bowstrings taut, and then released them.

Whoosh whoosh!

The next moment, hundreds of arrows shot into the air and rained down on the horde of skeletons.

However, for the Skeleton Undead, these arrows, except for a few that can accurately pierce the eye socket and shatter the soul fire, or break key bone joints, are mostly ineffective.

The vast majority of the attacks merely grazed the bones or passed directly through the gaps between the skeletons, causing only minor damage. Only a handful of skeleton soldiers were completely destroyed.

Meanwhile, the skeleton archers who had rushed halfway also stopped and raised their bows in the same manner, ready to fire a volley.

Upon seeing this, Valentine's face turned deathly pale!

He was used to using tactics against human enemies, but he was completely out of control. The extinction of the world and the migration of living beings are fundamentally different species.

But there is never a chance to regret on the battlefield.

In the blink of an eye, thousands of arrows rose densely from the white sea of ​​skulls, heading straight for the soldiers at the forefront of the army!

Meanwhile, the lightly armored soldiers in the central formation, who had just collapsed into a volley of arrows and hadn't had time to retreat into their shield formation, looked at the overwhelming rain of arrows and their faces instantly showed despair.

"Create wind!"

From the red-robed disciples at the rear of the procession, several voices rang out in unison.

The next moment, a violent hurricane suddenly rose up in the cave, sweeping through and engulfing all the arrows in the air!

The strong wind did not directly knock down the arrows, but it completely disrupted their flight trajectory, distorted their aim, and caused most of the arrows to deviate from their original direction and scatter to the side.

Only a few arrows landed on the shields of the front-line shield guards or on the open ground beside them.

Fewer than a hundred arrows pierced the crowd, splattering a few drops of blood, but this already minimized the casualties.

Just then, the vanguard of the skeleton horde crashed into the giant shield defenses of the front line of the legion, like a white raging tide slamming into a dam!

The skeleton soldiers in the front row were instantly smashed to pieces, but the skeletons behind them continued to charge forward one after another.

Many skeletons climbed up, stepping on the corpses of their comrades, attempting to bypass the shields and break into the center of the army.

The soldiers of the legion held their shields tightly, using all their strength to push back the skeletons that were trying to climb over!

The battle situation quickly turned into a stalemate.

At that moment, the skeleton archers in the center of the sea of ​​skeletons raised their longbows once again!

"Finn, follow me into the enemy lines!"

"Lantern bearers! Mercenaries! Sheriffs! Flanking maneuvers!"

"The divisions will continue to support the army groups and stabilize the front lines!"

Kane's voice, amplified by the combined efforts of several masters, was clearly transmitted throughout the entire battlefield.

The moment he finished speaking, his shadow transformed into a shadow blade in his hand, and he leaped up from the left side of the group like a ghost.

He stood atop the rock face and charged straight towards the center of the sea of ​​skeletons along the cliff!

All the skeletons that tried to stop him along the way were cleaved in two by the Shadow Blade and fell apart on the spot.

Faced with the mental damage inflicted by the Shadow Blade, these apprentice-level skeletons were utterly powerless to resist. He charged straight into the ranks of the skeleton archers!

At the same time, on the right flank of the team, Finn suddenly leaped over the crowd.

The white light from the lantern clung to the longsword, having a strong restraining effect on the undead. Almost all the skeletons that stood in his way crumbled with a single blow!

The two men's charges, one on the left and one on the right, completely opened up the battle.

Under Sophia's command, the Lantern Bearers, mercenaries, and sheriffs in the rear also launched an attack on the flanks of the skeleton horde.

The originally tense battle situation was instantly reversed, and countless scenes of fierce fighting unfolded simultaneously on the battlefield.

When the soldiers of the corps saw the addition of fresh troops, hope instantly ignited in their eyes.

They desperately used their shields to withstand the onslaught of the skeleton horde, while simultaneously drawing their daggers and thrusting them fiercely through the gaps in their shields.

The Lantern Bearers, with their extensive experience in fighting the undead, maintained a safe distance at all times, clearing out the skeletons in small groups in a steady and methodical manner.

The mercenaries, fearless of death, were driven by the double incentive of a gold coin for killing a skeleton and the generous shoes and shirts they would receive upon their sacrifice, and their eyes turned to bloodlust.

However, they also became the group with the highest casualties on the battlefield.

The sheriffs who had reached the professional level began to roam the dangerous areas of the battlefield, rescuing many soldiers in peril and leading the wounded to the rear.

The entire battlefield was completely divided into countless smaller battlefields where fighting broke out.

For every soldier who falls, at least ten skeletons are completely destroyed.

The balance of power in the war began to tilt completely in favor of the military.

Deeper into the cavern where the horde of skeletons was surging, a group of black-robed warriors were watching the battle from above.

The leader, a gaunt man dressed in black robes, looked at the situation before him and his face turned extremely ugly.

"Time is running out—the Church of Death's century-long plan in Sussas must not be wasted!"

"Accelerate the ritual—and also, reply to the Demon Cult; I accept their conditions."

Behind them, on a cave platform, lay a huge pool of blood.

A thick stench of corruption and evil energy is continuously emanating from the blood pool.

More than a dozen demons of various shapes and sizes were impaled by iron chains, and blood kept gushing from their wounds, slowly flowing into the blood pool below.

In the very center of the blood pool, a tall man with the appearance of a grassland dweller, dressed in a traditional robe, had his eyes closed.

A sinister, dark gray aura was spreading from his face, and eerie, black patterns covered his entire body!

This person was none other than Zeno, the master Kane had been searching for on this trip!