Elven cultivators

With Anton's order issued, the entire Silvermoon Clan sprang into action like a precision instrument.

A large number of personnel and supplies were transported by fleet to the forests on the northern border of the mainland as quickly as possible.

The elves and the disciples of the Primordial City began to expand the forest.

In just ten days, a forest spanning thousands of kilometers appeared on the map, like a solid wall stretching across the northern border of the continent.

Only after that did the disciples of Taichu City begin to set up the formation.

At the same time, the clan also began to mobilize its troops and gather them on the northern border, setting up a defensive line centered on the clan's three towns and more than ten resource points in the north.

Before the Wanling Guixu Zhenxie Formation is completed, they must stop the advance of the undead army and prevent the latter from affecting the formation's setup.

Upon receiving notification from the Silvermoon Clan, the major powers in the east, whether voluntarily or under pressure, all dispatched troops to join in the formation of the defense line.

......

On the plain, withered grass was pressed close to the ground by the wind, and grayish-yellow dust swirled in the low-lying areas.

On the leeward side of a gentle slope, more than thirty soldiers dressed in standard leather armor sat scattered about, wiping their weapons.

"After changing weapons, it's much easier to chop those skeletons. The Silvermoon Clan's weapons are indeed very useful."

"Come on, you haven't killed many more undead even after changing your weapons."

"Bullshit, I killed five zombie soldiers today."

"Five is nothing, I took down eight."

"You were lucky. You only ran into some dullards. In my group, there was a big guy, with a frame as thick as a calf. It took three slashes to take him down."

"Keep bragging, that's what you always say."

The crowd burst into laughter, which echoed down the slope, somewhat fading the stench of blood from the recent battle.

As the captain, Sage did not participate in his subordinates' idle chatter.

He leaned against the slope and took out the talismans from the leather box at his waist, carefully arranging them one by one.

Their team belongs to Baiyangbao.

Among the many forces in the eastern part of the continent, Baiyang Fortress was originally just a minor, insignificant force.

However, since they joined forces with the Silvermoon Clan, they have entered a period of rapid development.

Thanks to trade cooperation with the Silvermoon Clan, White Poplar Fortress has grown several times in strength over the years, becoming a medium-sized power.

Especially after the Bloodclaw Clan united with twenty-four forces in the east to try to fight against the Silvermoon Clan, but was instead suppressed and completely wiped out by the Silvermoon Clan, White Poplar Fortress suddenly became one of the most powerful forces in the eastern part of the continent after the Silvermoon Clan.

In the eastern part of the continent today, any power that wants to live a good life has to rely on the Silvermoon Clan.

Baiyangbao has been very clear-headed in this regard.

After the Silvermoon Clan issued the call to arms, the lord of the fortress did not hesitate and immediately ordered his eldest son to lead the army to set off overnight to join the battle on the northern border.

Sage's team was one of those small groups.

Upon arriving here, Saiqi learned that a large army of undead was heading towards the northern border with the aim of invading the eastern part of the continent.

Their vanguard has advanced to within 100 kilometers of here.

Although the two armies did not officially engage in war, they coincidentally sent out scouts to gather intelligence on each other and simultaneously eliminate enemy scouts in order to gain control of the battlefield.

There are at least several hundred squads like theirs on this plain.

The number of undead is even greater.

This place has long been a hunting ground where scouts kill each other.

""

To be honest, fighting the undead is quite risky.

Every day, scout teams died on the battlefield, never to return.

But the benefits offered by the Silvermoon Clan were simply too numerous to bear.

To motivate their soldiers, the Silvermoon Clan pooled resources provided by various factions and contributed some of their own, using all of it to reward the soldiers who had made meritorious contributions.

As long as you kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions, you can receive generous rewards.

This greatly excited the soldiers of all the major factions.

Other than that, the Silvermoon Clan's talismans and magical equipment are highly sought-after items. They are expensive and hard to buy outside, and you can't get your hands on them without connections.

Here, as long as you kill enough undead, you can take as much as you want.

For a time, the soldiers were full of energy.

Sage himself was no exception.

He has already set his sights on a rune-enhanced piece of equipment and is just waiting to accumulate enough merit points to exchange for it.

"Speaking of which, I didn't expect the undead to know tactics too."

"You say they don't even have brains, so how do they know to send scouts out to explore?"

"Not only that, they also know how to encircle and annihilate. I heard that a team from Gray Rock Fortress suffered a great loss yesterday and was almost wiped out."

Sage fastened the leather case, dusted off his hands, and said, "Although the dead have no memories of their past life, they still retain their intelligence. What's so strange about them understanding military tactics?"

"Moreover, after becoming undead, they become even more ruthless and emotionless, and are more rational and better at judging situations than the living."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

One of his subordinates complimented, "The captain knows a lot."

Just as Sage was about to speak, a soldier on lookout at the top of the hill suddenly interrupted them: "Captain, we've spotted traces of the undead."

Everyone's expressions tightened, and they almost simultaneously suppressed their smiles, grabbed the weapons beside them, and crouched down to climb towards the top of the slope.

Sage bent down, pressed himself against a clump of dry thorns, and peered northeast through the gaps in the grass.

In the distance, a gray-white procession was walking towards them along the dried-up riverbed.

At the very front were about a dozen skeleton wolves made of bones, with slender frames that made almost no sound when they moved.

Behind them followed seventy or eighty skeleton warriors and undead soldiers, their ranks orderly and imbued with a cold, distinct order from that of the living.

In the very center of the procession, a figure riding a bone horse stands out prominently.

It was a skeletal creature a size larger than an ordinary skeleton, wearing tattered chainmail and carrying a pale white bone sword.

The sword tip pointed downwards, swaying slightly with the skeletal horse's steps.

"It's the Bone Cavalry!" a young soldier exclaimed in a low voice.

The expressions of the others also became serious.

The Lord of the Underworld, the Black Emperor, has six lords under his command.

The Bone Cavalry are the elite legion under the command of Pale Hand, one of the lords, and each of them has the strength of the upper-middle level of Black Iron.

This intelligence was listed in the intelligence booklets issued by the Silvermoon Clan, and each scout team had a copy.

The booklet lists the common units of the undead army according to their threat level, operational habits, and weaknesses.

Sage had no idea where the Silvermoon Clan got such detailed information from.

Even Bloodhowl Fortress and Heart of the Mountains, which were the first to fight the undead army, did not have such detailed information.

I heard they even secretly sent people over there to buy intelligence pamphlets.

But Saiqi felt that the Silvermoon Clan had no intention of hiding it at all; almost everyone in the border military camp had a copy, and it was easy to get one by asking around.

Regardless, this intelligence was of great help to the lower-ranking soldiers, greatly reducing their fear of the undead.

After all, fear stems from the unknown.

Once the mysterious aura surrounding the undead is broken, they will no longer inspire fear.

"Be careful when you make your move."

Sage whispered a reminder.

"I'll deal with that skeletal cavalryman; you guys take care of the other undead."

He was the only Iron-tier warrior in the entire team, so naturally only he could deal with the Bone Cavalry.

Everyone nodded silently.

The procession of the dead drew closer and closer, moving slowly along the edge of the river, completely unaware that someone was hiding behind the slope.

Seeing this, Saiqi couldn't help but secretly admire the Silver Moon Clan's Concealing Talisman, which was indeed very useful. Even the undead, who were very sensitive to the aura of the living, had difficulty detecting their presence.

As the undead procession reached the bottom of the slope, the skeletal cavalryman on his bone horse suddenly raised his hand.

The entire procession stopped immediately, and all the undead froze at the same time.

The instant the skeletal cavalryman turned his head, Sage gripped the talisman in his hand tightly: "Attack!"

The moment the words fell, more than thirty beams of light simultaneously shone from the top of the slope.

The activated Five Thunder Talismans transformed into arcs of lightning as thick as fingers, crackling and exploding as they fell into the midst of the undead ranks.

Wherever the lightning struck, forty or fifty skeletons exploded on the spot, scattering bone fragments and ashes everywhere, and a scorching smoke filled the air.

In just a moment, nearly half of the undead were wiped out.

"happy!"

"The Five Thunder Talisman is really effective against these skeletons!"

"Take this!"

The soldiers laughed as they charged down the hillside and pounced on the undead.

Even when suddenly attacked, the undead remain calm and composed.

They coldly raised their weapons and faced the enemy.

Saiqi and the others had already changed into talismans to ward off evil. After activating the yellow paper with the sensing spirit stone, they patted it onto the armor, and a faint halo flowed along the edges of the armor plates.

As soon as they engaged in battle, the soldiers routed the undead.

Their weapons are specially made by the Silvermoon Clan, and are said to be inscribed with exorcising runes that counteract the undead, giving them an extra killing effect against them.

On the other hand, the undead cannot be broken by attacks; they are even harmed by getting close.

The battle was completely one-sided.

Instead of joining his men in slaughtering the ordinary undead, Sage charged straight at the bone cavalry.

With the blessing of the Lightness Amulet, he was extremely fast. In just a few strides, he approached the bone horse from the side and slashed his long sword fiercely at the rider's waist and ribs.

The moment the blade fell, the exorcising runes suddenly lit up, leaving a charred crack on the skeleton with a cracking sound.

However, Sage was surprised rather than pleased by what he saw.

Even a skeleton cavalryman, if struck head-on by his attack, would not have suffered only this minor injury.

Before Saiqi could figure it out, the cavalryman in front of him suddenly swung his sword, the force of which even stirred up a piercing whistling sound in the air.

Sage hurriedly raised his sword to block, but in the next instant he felt an overwhelming force surge towards him, sending him flying and his sword almost slipping from his hand.

Bang!

Sage crashed heavily to the ground with a muffled groan.

Two bone knives came slashing at him from the side, but fortunately they were blocked by the aura of protection on his body, so he was not injured.

Sage swung his sword, slicing away the two undead that were attacking him. He then took a closer look at the "Bone Cavalry" not far away and noticed a grayish-white emblem on its shoulder armor, shaped like an open bone hand.

His expression changed drastically: "No! Those aren't skeletal cavalry, they're pale knights!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers' expressions changed drastically.

The Pale Knight and the Bone Cavalry looked similar, but their strengths were worlds apart.

The former is the elite legion under the command of the Pale Hand, each of whom is said to have the strength level of a silver rank.

Even if there's only one, they can't handle it.

How come there's a Pale Knight in this undead army?

This doesn't make sense!

However, the dead obviously wouldn't reason with them.

The pale knight suddenly pulled on the reins, and the bone horse's forelegs rose high, the sword wrapped in grayish-white mist sweeping across.

Sage barely managed to dodge to the side, but the sword's edge grazed his shoulder armor. The aura of the talisman flickered briefly before quickly dimming.

The talisman is effective against ordinary undead, but its effect is much less against elite undead like the Pale Knight.

Fortunately, the others had already dealt with the surrounding undead by then.

Sage gritted his teeth and retreated while beckoning the crowd to gather around him.

More than thirty people took turns holding off the Pale Knight, barely managing to delay his movements by sheer numbers.

But everyone knew that this situation wouldn't last long. Once the aura of the talisman wore off, the situation would take a sharp turn for the worse.

Just as Sage felt his arms getting heavier and heavier and he was about to give up, a streak of flame suddenly streaked across the sky.

The light was golden and blazing, leaving a long, thin trail, and struck the pale knight squarely in the chest.

The latter only had time to let out a sharp neigh before its entire skeleton burst into flames from the inside out, burning the horse and its bones to ashes.

The battle suddenly fell silent.

Sage, panting heavily, stared at the pile of smoldering ashes for a long while before turning his head away.

A hundred meters away, several figures were rushing towards them.

They wore long, gray-blue robes and moved with light, agile movements, as if they were walking on the wind.

"They are disciples of the Primordial City."

One soldier couldn't help but gasp softly, his tone filled with undisguised surprise and awe.

Sage immediately sheathed his knife and strode forward to meet him.

The leader was a young disciple with a calm expression, his gaze sweeping over the group: "Are you the scout team from Baiyang Fortress?"

"Yes, sir."

Sage bowed slightly, his expression respectful.

The disciples of Taichu City are core members of the Silver Moon Clan, and they dare not be negligent in front of them.

The disciple nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "We have detected that the main force of the undead army has arrived and joined up with the vanguard. A large-scale battle is expected to break out soon. This area is no longer safe. You should immediately retreat to the rear camp."

Sage's heart skipped a beat. Without asking any further questions, he immediately replied respectfully, "Yes, sir, we will evacuate immediately."

After saying this, he instructed his men to pack up their weapons, put away any usable talismans back into their leather cases, and then prepared to leave.

"etc."

The leading disciple suddenly called out to them.

Sage turned around in confusion, only to see the other party raise his hand and throw over a stack of talismans, pointing at the skeleton warriors and corpse soldiers on the ground.

"You dealt with these spirits, so we won't take advantage of you. We'll take the spirits, and these talismans will be your reward."

Saiqi and the others were overjoyed upon hearing this.

The other party saved their lives, so it would be reasonable for them not to give anything in return. Getting a stack of talismans is already quite good.

The key point is that these talismans were given by disciples of Taichu City, so their quality is definitely better than those obtained by exchanging merit points.

"Thank you, sir."

Saiqi and the others thanked him profusely and then left happily.

After they left, the disciples of Taichu City began to get busy.

Someone took out a soul-gathering banner to collect the surrounding death energy.

Some people examined the corpses and, upon discovering a relatively intact corpse soldier, took out a talisman and put it away.

As for the scattered bones on the ground, they didn't even glance at them.

After quickly cleaning up the battlefield, the disciples briefly identified the auras and then used their wind manipulation techniques to continue their journey to the next location.