Chapter 63

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

The screams hurled by the army of the dead were no longer a mental assault. They were the hellish fanfare announcing the start of battle. Dozens of corpses crawling out of the black lake rushed ashore in a rotten spray at speeds no human agility could explain.

“Form the defensive line! Keep them tied to the lakeshore!”

Hector roared and charged out first. Behind him, the ‘Shadow Blade’ operatives followed like a wall of steel. They formed a circular defense with backs to each other, following the efficient formation designed by Rian. The hardened steel swords forged by the dwarves and aura-amplifying armor were the only shining hope on this desperate battlefield.

The first corpse swung a bone spear at Hector. Hector did not dodge the attack. Trusting his armor, he collided with it and shattered the corpse’s center. Then, without missing the opening, he sliced upward and pierced the corpse’s jaw. A blue aura exploded, turning the corpse’s skull into something like a bursting melon.

“Their bodies are made of swamp mud! Aim for weak points like joints or the head!”

At Hector’s shout, the Shadow Blade operatives moved in unison. With no wasted strength, they cut off limbs and slit throats with the most efficient motions. Their swordsmanship was not flashy, but every strike was that of a perfect killing machine, full of murderous intent and efficiency.

Meanwhile, the ‘Ghost’ led by Cypher fought in a completely different way. Rather than forming ranks, they dispersed like snakes and melted into the darkness.

The moment a corpse targeted the back of a Shadow Blade operative, an inky whip of dark energy flew from the shadows and wrapped around the corpse’s ankle. As the corpse lost balance and fell, another Ghost appeared like a specter, climbed onto its back, and stilled it by raking a dagger between the vertebrae. Their fighting style was far from honorable. Cowardly, brutal, and single-mindedly result-driven, the way of assassins.

The two shadow groups began slaughtering the dead in their own ways. But the number of corpses showed no sign of decreasing. More bodies kept crawling out of the lake, and the Weeping Tree’s lullaby constantly shook their minds.

“Damn it! It’s endless!”

A member cut off a corpse’s arm, but the severed limb writhed in the mud and grabbed his ankle again. The whole swamp, this tree itself, was the enemy.

“We can’t keep this up! If it becomes a war of attrition, we’ll be the first to collapse!”

Cypher shouted as he snapped a corpse’s neck. Cold sweat ran down his brow as well.

Hector was thinking the same. Pushing back the wave of corpses with his blade, he eyed the cave entrance at the roots of the Weeping Tree.

“That’s the cave! The ones controlling that tree are in there!”

“Who doesn’t know that! But how do we get through those corpses?”

Their eyes met across the air. There was no choice left. They couldn’t trust each other, but for this moment they had to use each other’s strength.

“I’ll open the way!”

Hector shouted as if resolved.

“Our ‘Shadow Blade’ will be the wall to hold them back! In that gap, you infiltrate the cave! Can you do it?”

It was a proposal bordering on suicide, throwing their lives as bait. Cypher studied Hector’s eyes for a moment. There was no lie or deceit in them, only a steely will to carry out his lord’s command.

“…Madman.”

Cypher muttered briefly, then let a sardonic smile cross his face.

“Fine! I accept that offer! Within the time you buy, we’ll tear out that tree’s heart! So… until then, don’t die—hold on, Kairos’s dogs!”

“Who are you ordering, you Valerian snake spawn!”

They hurled insults at each other and, for the first time, reached a perfect agreement.

“Shadow Blade! All units, assemble on me! From now on, not a single corpse crosses this line! Stake our lives and open the way!”

At Hector’s command, the Shadow Blade operatives gathered around him and established the final defensive line toward the cave entrance.

Cypher also motioned to his three elite ‘Ghost’.

“Let’s go! On the path those stinking corpses made, we’ll be the first to seize the ‘Dragon’s Heart’!”

Cypher and his subordinates lowered their bodies like snakes and began sprinting toward the path Hector had opened.

Hector watched their backs and tightened his grip on his sword as dozens of corpses surged toward him.

“Now, shall we begin. The dance of the dead.”

A bitter, resolute smile tugged at his lips.