Lord: I can see loyalty.

After Vio's team defeated the priest and his enhanced warriors, the resistance ahead quickly diminished.

The stench in the air grew stronger, and the sounds of fighting and roaring became clearer and more deafening, guiding them in their direction.

After passing through the last twisted vine wall, the view suddenly opened up, and they finally saw Jimmy and the others' battlefield.

This is the core area of ​​the valley that we had previously looked down from the high slope. The huge mud pit in front of that black mud cave has now been completely transformed by that strange force.

The enormous pool of black sludge was now boiling and churning violently, with bubbles bursting incessantly and emitting a nauseating stench.

On the other side of the mud pit, about a hundred meters away, Jimmy was leading his troops in a bloody battle!

Their original formation had been completely broken, but the Azure Knights did not suffer many losses, thanks to the command of Jimmy and others.

The Cavaliers, led by Jimmy and Glenn, were still fighting hard on defense, facing the few remaining but still surging corrupted beasts.

Ansquier and Xavier each led a small group of blood-soaked militiamen, leaning against black, strange rocks stuck in the mud, forming a makeshift circle to hold on, with piles of wild animal carcasses at their feet.

Clearly, they had endured unimaginable battles to barely gain a foothold in this terrifying beast tide.

At this moment, the appearance of Vio and his group immediately attracted the attention of the enemy. Some of the corrupted beasts began to break away from the group besieging Jimmy and roared as they rushed towards Vio and his group.

"Jimmy! Prepare for the counterattack!" Vio breathed heavily, his voice echoing across the entire battlefield.

Upon hearing this, Jimmy on the opposite bank cleaved a corrupted wolf in two with his sword, looked up, his eyes lighting up as he shouted, "My Lord Earl! Everyone, rearrange yourselves and attack them from both sides!"

Without needing further orders, Vio and Albright exchanged a glance and simultaneously pointed forward: "Support Captain Jimmy! Wipe out the enemy!"

The arrival of reinforcements immediately threw the beasts besieging Jimmy and his companions into chaos.

Cooper the Hunter's arrows pierced the herd, and the Southern Militia, led by Vio, charged into the fleeing beasts.

Glenn also saw Vio's figure on the other side. He swung his greatsword even more wildly, almost single-handedly carving a bloody path through the enemy ranks, trying to rejoin Vio's group.

Under the combined attack, the remaining corrupt beasts finally could not hold on and began to scatter or be hunted separately.

Soon, Vio and Jimmy's two teams finally met up at the edge of the swamp.

"My Lord Earl!" Jimmy strode forward, his knight's armor stained with black mud and beast blood, his breathing slightly heavy. "And over there too..."

"We've dealt with a few troublesome priests," Vio replied briefly, his gaze quickly sweeping over Jimmy's group.

The Blue-Crested Knights suffered almost no losses, but the militia suffered casualties, all of them wounded and exhausted.

"The battle is not over yet," Vio said in a deep voice, his gaze passing over the edge of the mud pit and looking deeper into it.

Behind the swamp, at the very end, lies the enormous cave we saw at the bottom of the valley.

But at this moment, the cave was far larger than anything they had seen before. The entrance was over ten meters high, like a city gate, and the interior was deep and dark, as if it led straight to hell.

Thick, black mud dripped slowly from the edge of the cave entrance, flowing into several ditches below and eventually converging into a sludge pool.

At this moment, on the black platform in front of the cave, the last group of enemies is gathering.

There weren't many people, only about a hundred, but the feeling they gave was completely different.

They were not ordinary Haro barbarians; they wore relatively neat leather armor, wielded more standardized bone or stone weapons, and had numb and cold eyes, like lifeless puppets.

At the very top of this line stood a particularly striking figure.

He wore a faded, worn-out robe that still revealed its original bright red color, and a pure white mask with intricate patterns.

The mask was large, covering his entire face, revealing only a pair of scarlet eyes that gleamed in the dim light.

He had no swords or knives in his hand, only a seemingly ordinary wooden cane.

As Vio and the others focused their attention, the white-masked man slowly raised his head and looked at them.

Even though they were hundreds of meters apart, Vio felt a cold gaze fall on him.

This distance is enough... Vio stared intently at him, while simultaneously bringing up the control panel.

Name: Kieran Douglas

Race: Human

Age: 35

[Faction: Haro Tribe Blood Sacrifice Witch Doctor]

【Features: Devotion, Healing, Resurrection, Necromancy】

Loyalty: Not loyal to you

[State: Focused, highly concentrated]

Blood sacrifice to the witch doctor, resurrection, necromancy!

Vio felt a chill run down his spine. This guy was indeed an enemy who had mastered necromancy, just like the God of Death.

"So that's the final enemy leader..." Jimmy frowned, before he could finish his sentence.

The witch doctor Kilan slowly raised his staff, the tip of which seemed to glow faintly. He began to chant a strange, deep incantation that reached them.

As he chanted, a faint grayish-white mist began to appear on the barbarian warriors lined up in front of him, and the numbness in their eyes was quickly replaced by madness.

But what's even more unsettling is that right at the edge of the swamp, the corpses of the beasts and humans who had just died in battle began to twitch slightly, and the blood flowing from their wounds turned dark and black!

"He's reviving the corpse! Stop him!" Xavier seemed to realize something and shouted immediately.

"Archers! Aim at the one with the white mask!" Jimmy shouted the order. The surviving dozen or so archers, despite their exhaustion, raised their crossbows.

However, just as they aimed, the two warriors in front of Kieran suddenly raised their crude, massive bone shields and blocked his way.

At the same time, his chanting tone changed, the tip of his staff flashed purple light, and several corpses that had just begun to convulse stood up and swiftly rushed towards the Southern Militia at the forefront!

"Fire!" The crossbow bolts were fired, most of which were blocked by the bone shield or hit the resurrected corpses. Only two or three bolts grazed the witch doctor's body and failed to cause any effective damage.

"Charge! We can't let him continue casting!" Vio knew they couldn't wait any longer.

This witch doctor's abilities are too bizarre; if he were to raise an army of the undead, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He activated the sand breathing technique again, his skin turning a deep black, and rushed out first, followed closely by Gina, Albright, and Valerie.

Jimmy gritted his teeth, drew his sword, and led the knights and militiamen who were still in good condition in a charge.

The final battle is about to unfold in the open space between the black platform and the swamp of mud.

Vio took the lead and charged into the enemy ranks.

Those barbarian warriors shrouded in gray-white mist were indeed troublesome. They were quite strong and disregarded defense. Unless their core was completely destroyed, they would keep fighting.

What's more troublesome is that, with the intervention of the witch doctor Kilan, his staff continuously unleashed beams of light that fell onto the battlefield.

The wounds of the barbarian warriors who were hit healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the corpses that fell nearby, as long as they were still intact, would soon be awakened again and stagger back into the battle!

This is a war of attrition. Every time Vio defeats an enemy, he may quickly get back on his feet thanks to the witch doctor's abilities, while the casualties on his side cannot be reversed.

"He's stalling for time!" Vio's face stiffened, realizing what he meant. "For the monster in that cave!"

It was clearly impossible for these barbarian warriors to deal with Vio and his group; they were obviously just stalling for time.

"Ah!" A furious roar rang out, and it was Glenn!

He was covered in blood, and his eyes were blazing with fury. He completely abandoned his defense, wielding the huge magic ore greatsword with both hands, and charged into the densest part of the enemy formation like a whirlwind.

With a roar, Glenn poured all his strength into his greatsword, unleashing a sweeping attack that was devoid of any skill but brimming with all his might!

"Boom—Crack!"

A terrifying sword wind swept past, and four or five barbarian warriors and two corpses that had just gotten up within the range were instantly shattered like toys!

Severed limbs and broken arms were scattered all over the ground! So broken that even the witch doctor could no longer revive them, or rather, even if he did, it would be useless.

Glenn's reckless burst of attacks briefly cleared a large area and greatly shocked the barbarian warriors who still had some sense of reason.

"Now!" Vio seized this hard-won opportunity, pushed his breathing technique to its limit, and rushed out from the gap created by Glenn, heading straight for the witch doctor Kieran who was hiding at the back!

"Whoa!" Two of the most burly barbarian warriors fearlessly stepped forward to intercept them.

But Vio's speed did not decrease. He drew two intersecting streaks of cold light with the Southern Will in his hand and unleashed a cross slash.

puff!puff!

The two soldiers froze simultaneously, their upper bodies then slid down a diagonal line and were severed.

The last barrier has disappeared, and there are no longer any obstacles between Vio and Kieran. The two are less than a few meters apart!

The witch doctor seemed surprised that Vio could break through to this level so quickly; his chanting stopped abruptly, and a hint of panic finally flashed beneath his mask.

He hurriedly raised his staff, its tip flashing wildly, aiming it at Vio, as if to unleash some powerful magic or make a final defensive move.

But Vio will not give him any more chances.

call--!

A sound like cannon fire pierced the air as Vio once again unleashed a powerful sword strike, channeling his entire body through his breathing technique! The magic ore patterns on the Southern Will shone with a blinding light, aiming straight for the witch doctor's heart!

The witch doctor Kieran tried to dodge, but his body was clearly no match for Vio's sword. He tried to block with his staff, but that was also far too slow.

laugh--!

The sword, unsurprisingly, pierced through the tattered red robe and precisely struck the witch doctor's heart, the tip protruding slightly from his back.

"Uh..." The witch doctor's body trembled violently, and his cane slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. After a moment of fear, his face was quickly replaced by a smile.

Vio's expression changed, and he drew his sword and retreated.

Blood gushed from the wound in the witch doctor's chest. He staggered a few steps, fell backward, his white mask askew, revealing half of the face of a pale, thin, middle-aged man with a strange smile.

Those eyes, now devoid of light, gazed one last time toward the cave. Their lips moved slightly, as if they wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

With the death of the blood sacrifice witch doctor, all the barbarian warriors and resurrected corpses on the battlefield that he had awakened or strengthened instantly stopped moving, like puppets with broken strings.

The corpses collapsed to the ground, completely lifeless. The remaining few Haro barbarians let out terrified howls, losing all will to fight, and scattered and fled, quickly being cleared away by the allied soldiers.

The battlefield fell into an eerie silence.

All that could be heard were the panting of the remaining people and the gurgling sound of the black mud churning in the swamp.

"Is it... over?" A young militiaman leaned on his spear, staring in disbelief at the enemy corpses scattered on the ground.

Vio suddenly looked up, staring intently at the dark cave entrance, his heart pounding.

It's not over yet! The way the witch doctor looked before he died clearly showed that the operation to buy time for the monster had succeeded...

As if to confirm his worst suspicion, the next moment, a writhing sound came from the depths of the cave, getting closer and closer, as if a huge creature was awakening and squeezing out of the narrow passage.

Glug... glug glug...

Immediately afterwards, the entire black platform, and even the ground beneath their feet, began to tremble violently! Even more violently than when the terrain had changed before!

"Damn it! Back off! Get away from the cave!" Vio roared hoarsely.

The group hurriedly helped each other and retreated to the other side of the muddy pool, to a relatively higher place.

And just as they had retreated less than thirty meters...

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A terrifying sound, like a mountain collapsing and the earth splitting, or like the howling of thousands of ghosts, erupted from the cave!

The dripping mud at the cave entrance and the black mud in the swamp were suddenly sucked in by an irresistible force!

Then, endless black sludge, mixed with twisted bones and broken rocks, gushed out of the cave!

The black mud waves reached several meters high, instantly submerging the entire platform in front of the cave and sweeping towards the mud pit and further away!

Along with this devastating wave of mud appeared a gigantic monster, indescribable in words, that emerged from the depths of the cave.

It has no fixed shape, and seems to be a chaotic mud lump forcibly aggregated from countless black muds.

Its volume is so enormous that it almost fills the entire exit of the giant cave, and it is still flowing outwards.

Within this constantly writhing, flowing chaos, one can vaguely see countless twisted, pained faces, struggling limbs, and broken weapons...

Countless eyes randomly opened and closed on the surface of this clump of mud.

The indescribable stench spread rapidly with an even more unbearable odor as the monster appeared.

Those with weaker willpower even felt dizzy and nauseous, as if their reason was being eroded by the pure stench.

The torrent of mud finally subsided temporarily, but the black mud monster that occupied half of the cave entrance was now fully revealed to the allied forces.

This is the source of corruption, the root cause of the fall of the sacred forest, the chaotic monster that devours everything.

Its countless eyes turned in unison, finally locking onto the young count, Vio, at the very front of the crowd, wielding a longsword that shimmered with the faint glow of magic ore.

The final enemy has arrived.