68 New World XXXI

The following morning, nearly all the members of the Army of Death were prepared for their most significant battle. 

The army- amounting to 13,000 strong- was standing in one of the clearings in the Great Forest of Tob.

All the core members stood at the helm of the massive army of undead, magic casters, and even some melee fighters. The core members included;

Khajiit, the second in comand after Malachar.

Xyris, the former leader of Zurrernorn.

Clementine, a former member of Zurrernorn and the current leader of the melee fighters of the Army of Death. 

Azrik, the former member of Zurrernorn and the current battle strategist.

Wise Wolf, the former member of the Corpus of the Abyss.

Krunui, the former member of the Corpus of the Abyss.

"Is everybody ready?" Khajiit asked Azrik while he witnessed some Elder Liches drawing a massive magic circle.

"Yeah, everybody is ready. Once the magic circle is completed, we'll teleport everyone to the pre-decided location and attack the new headquarters." Azrik replied while witnessing the members and the massive army of undead- they now possessed.

In total, they had over 8,000 different kinds of normal undead skeletons, 3,000 different types of zombies, 8 Elder Liches, 5 Skeletal Dragons, 2 Skeletal Behemoths, and 1 Soul Eater. 

Their collective might was undeniable, and if they attacked any nation, they could raze it to the ground. Of course, there were some exceptions, like some Scriptures from the Slane Theocracy and the Dragon Lords from the Argland Council State.

Yet, even with these numbers, they were skeptical of winning the incoming battle, all due to one person, the current leader of the Corpus of the Abyss, Granz Locker- The Saintess of White.

After Wise Wolf joined their ranks, he told them about the formidable strenght of Granz. According to him, she was capable of casting a 9th-tier spell, able to kill any undead- excluding Night Liches and a few others.

As they inspected the army, an Elder Lich approached them and bowed.

"The magic circles are complete, master," He spoke in a deathly raspy tone.

"Umu. Go back to your place," Azrik ordered in an authoritative tone.

"Understood," The Lich replied in the same deathly raspy tone and walked back toward the rest of the undead, and the remaining Liches also followed it.

"Please, do the honors," Azrik spoke while lightly bowing toward Khajiit. Even though Azrik was a core member, his standing was lower than Khajiit's because he was the second in command after their master, Malachar.

Khajiit nodded while walking toward the freshly completed magic circle, whose semantics were provided by Malachar.

At first, Helios told Malachar not to meddle with the Corpus of the Abyss takeover. However, because of the sudden change in the headquarters and Helios wanted it done quickly, he handed Malachar a teleportation circle blueprint and instructed him to pass it on to Khajiit.

One Khajiit was inside the circle- drawn over an elevated ground- and he turned toward the mighty army, including the undead and the living.

"GET READY, EVERYONE; TODAY IS THE DAY. TODAY, WE WILL SHOW OUR MASTER WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF!!"

Khajiit shouted to boost the army's morale while taking a sizeable blue gem- with rugged edges and shaped like an uncut ruby- from underneath his robes.

The army bellowed out in response, their voices rising like a thunderous wave, echoing through the environment. The undead struck the ground with their legs, Skeletal Dragons let out roars, and the Soul Eaters neighed like horses.

Satisfied with the response, Khajiit placed the gem in the middle of the circle and activated it. 

The magic circle began to glow in a bright blue light, and at the same time, many smaller circles also appeared around the army.

"GET READY EVERYONE!"

As Khajiit shouted, the members of the army started to disappear from their positions. The teleportation wasn't anything fancy; each member glowed in a blue hue for a second before vanishing.

And after a minute or so, everyone had teleported away.

Malachar- who was floating in the air and was invisible- also teleported away after everyone had teleported away.

At first, Helios also wanted to watch the final battle unfold. Unfortunately, he had some other business to attend to.

~Scene Change~

The camera pans to reveal a rugged rock face, its surface marred by intricate cracks. Short grass, with scattered stones interspersed, forms a patchwork at the base of the rocky terrain. A vast cave entrance yawns open on it.

The location was somewhere in the Azerlisia Mountains. Due to the high altitude, snow was also present in patches around the rock face.

Then, suddenly, many magic circles materialized out of thin air, forming a circle. A few seconds later, undead and humans began to appear inside it.

About a minute later, a massive army of over 13,000 strong appeared near the rock face- fully armed, ready for battle.

"Lord's magic is truly magnificent," Wise Wolf spoke while moving near the helm of the army. He said with enthusiasm in his tone.

Every time a member of the Corpus of the Abyss swore their allegiance to Malachar, they needed to meet him in person to be accepted into the Army of Death.

While everyone had their unique reaction to seeing him, it was safe to say that Wise Wolf's was the most over the top. 

"Yeah, typically, it would have taken more than a week or two to get here with such a massive army."

Azrik spoke while eyeing the cave entrance. It was the new headquarters of the Corpus of the Abyss, or what was left of it. Now, they only have 1 to 2 Night Liches.

"We should begin the attack; our master expects us to be done before nightfall," Khajiit spoke while looking toward Azrik.

"Understood. Then, let's get started."

He spoke while turning toward the lesser undead- Skeleton and Zombies. He ordered them to attack the cave entrance. As the command was issued, all of the lesser undead began to run toward it.

But before they could reach it, an invisible barrier formed around the cave's entrance and stopped them.

"STOP AND RETREAT!" Azrik shouted another command, and the Skeletons and Zombies began to retreat.

"Guess it wouldn't be that easy," Azrik spoke while eyeing the now visible barrier.

"What should we do now? We can use Elder Liches to try and break the barrier, but I think we should save them." Xyris chimed in.

"Agreed, it'd be a waste to expend their MP here," Krunui spoke while stroking his chin.

While all the Night Liches present could break the barrier, doing so would require them to expend their precious MP.

"Let me try," Clementine spoke while taking out her Stilettos.

"Yes, let's try its effectiveness against melee attacks," Azrik spoke while crossing his arms.

Getting the confirmation, she moved near the barrier and took an attacking stance.

'Here goes nothing; I've been growing stronger recently. This should prove to be a good test of my current abilities.' 

She thought while activating her martial arts.

"Ability Boost, Greater Ability Boost, Strengthening, and Greater Strengthening."

Due to her increase in levels, she was able to learn new martial arts and was able to use more than 5 at a time. This was due to her getting the Job Class known as Martial Artist.

Her body began to glow in different colors- after a few seconds- she lunged toward the barrier- pointing her Stilettos at a single point.

As she struck it, a wave seemed to pass through her entire body and the barrier.

'Such sturdiness!'

She was shocked to see the sturdiness of the barrier. In all honesty, she thought that she would be able to destroy it.

'Guess I need to use another weapon.' 

Thinking this, she landed on the ground with an audible huff and moved back toward the army. She deactivated her martial arts to save stamina.

"Guess you can't break it then. No worries, we ca--"

"Who said I can't break it. I still have a few things to try," She spoke while stowing away her Stilettos and picking up a spiked mace.

"Oh, go ahead then," Azrik spoke while gazing toward her- taking a stance.

She crouched down and placed the mace behind her.

"Ability Boost, Greater Ability Boost, Strengthening, Greater Strengthening, and Focus Battle Aura."

As she finished activating her martial arts, her body, as well as the mace, began to glow in different colors. The last martial arts she used allowed her to pour her fighting spirit into her weapon- this art endows typical weapons with effects equivalent to those of magical weapons.

She again lunged toward the barrier and struck it with her full force. Unlike last time, cracks began to appear on it but stopped after a few seconds.

"I am not done yet!" She shouted while pulling the mace back and attacking again. All her martial arts were still activated, thanks to the Increased Duration passive from the Martial Artist Job Class.

She kept attacking the barrier, and a few seconds later, it shattered. As it broke, she fell onto her knees, huffing loudly.

'That took a lot out of me. But, holly shit! I was able to break it.'

Azrik moved near her, placed a hand on her shoulder, and spoke.

"Head back and drink some potions to alleviate your fatigue."

She nodded and stood up. As she was walking back, Azrink issued a command for the lesser undead to swarm the cave's entrance.

~Scene Change~

In a dimly lit cavern, a skeletal giant with a dragon's skull and dragon wings- which were made of bones- on its back sat on a large throne- made of stone.

Two colossal skeleton monsters stood around her.

"The barrier has been broken, Saintes," One of the many skeletons with mage robes- which kneeled before her- spoke while bowing its head even further.

As he spoke, purple flames appeared in the giant's eye sockets. It turned its head toward one of the skeleton monsters and opened its mouth.

As it began to speak, a guttural sound came.

"Go. Play with them." One of the skeleton monsters- that had the shape of a giant lion- came to life and began moving toward the cavern's exit.

'Let's see how you deal with it. And after I am done with you, I'll find your master and kill him as well.'

The giant closed its fists.

To Be Continued...