Chapter 147 Militaily Discussion
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"What kind of horses are these?" Lily exclaimed when we finally arrived at the stable. The horses were malnourished, so much so that even I, who is not an expert on horses, could tell. They could barely hold a rider in a trot.
"We skimped on horses since there were only twenty of them. They are practically useless, so we only use them as messengers," explained someone.
"Damn it! Give me the beacon! Lhorne, get your horse. We'll gallop to the city carrying the beacon!" Lily cursed as she tightly gripped the beacon and mounted her horse. She screamed for the soldiers to get out of her way as she raced towards the back gate. Her sweat poured out of her body as she urged her horse to match the urgency of the situation.
As soon as we got outside, Vargmuth and the skeleton horsemen raced to chase us. I waved my tail to create several fireballs, but it proved unnecessary as a rain of glittering arrows rained down on the horsemen from behind. The undead changed their course and turned away from the fort, making a beeline in our direction.
Isaac didn't let the opportunity slip, and a rain of arrows fell upon them. We weren't grateful since all of this mess was caused by him, but he did an excellent job with those mana arrows.
"Those arrows shoot straight without arcing. Amazing. They are not affected by the wind either," remarked Lhorne, the archery nerd, clearly impressed by the human archer's accurate shots at the undead skeletons.
"Let's head to Verundra trois! We can talk about his mana arrows later! We need to deliver the beacon there," Lily shouted.
As expected, the undead couldn't catch up with Lily. However, being undead, they didn't feel exhausted. Meanwhile, our horses slowed down more and more with each passing minute until we were merely walking. Vargmuth and a few skeleton riders could be seen in the distance, but they didn't attack; they simply waited at a distance, watching us closely.
Lily continued the journey with Lhorne on foot as the day turned into night. Finally, we spotted the city. Vargmuth still observed us from the horizon while some of the faster skeleton warriors approached.
"I guess we have to work a little harder, huh, Horsie," Lily said as she rubbed the tired horse's mane. The horse had managed to rest for about two hours after galloping to the human city, but Lily had no choice because the skeletons and Vargmuth had gathered and were inching closer.
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"They are pretty smart for skeletons. They were out of range for my bow and your spells, too," grumbled Lhorne as he watched Vargmuth loitering around.
"They are trying to surround us. Be on guard, Lhorne. We have to ditch the beacon and flee."
"When the undead rush at us, that's when we'll ride our horses, gallop out of the city, and shoot the beacon inside," Lily said, looking at the city and then at the undead. The town was almost lifeless at night, unlike reminiscence.
"Lily, they are coming," warned Lhorne, and she nodded. She mounted her horse, and the horse obeyed her command, trotting towards the city. Vargmuth started chasing after us, but I shot several fire arrows, effectively hindering them. We didn't rush into the city. We still had to escape after we were done with the beacons.
"Lily, faster!"
"No, we still need to escape after this. Don't worry; I still have mana and the fire dragon as a last resort. Don't tire your horse, Lhorne," Lily replied while our horse trotted.
Lhorne, being an elf with keen eyes, was jittery as he looked behind us. The undead were getting closer, but my firebolts hindered their progress. Our horse began to speed up a few minutes later, and Lily motioned for Lhorne to prepare his arrow.
"Will it reach from this distance? It's over a kilometer!" I asked.
"Lhorne will determine whether it reaches or not. Besides, it's fine even if it doesn't reach. As long as it's close enough to the city, it's fine, right?"
However, Lhorne didn't disappoint. He drew his bow, and the arrow flew in a beautiful arc toward the city, landing just beside the wall.
"Done. Let's scram!" Lhorne said, and we raced our horses, galloping away while the undead ignored us and ran for the bait. The city was in an uproar as alarm bells rang across its walls. Soldiers rushed to their posts with their bows while the undead continued streaming toward the city. I watched from a distance as Lily raced her horse away from the battlefield.
"Will it be okay?" I asked.
"While the soldiers here seem to be less disciplined than the others, I think they will win. The skeletons weren't equipped with siege weapons because they chased us. The big guys like Vargmuth are also few in number because we killed them during the chase," I answered after analyzing the situation.
Lily then galloped away in the middle of the night, with Lhorne leading the way. After three days of circumventing the undead army, we found ourselves back at the human border, heading towards Fort Soleil. It was tough to navigate the terrain without attracting the undead or alerting them to our presence. My spells were too eye-catching; even a flicker of flame from my fireballs was enough to gather several skeletons to our position.
The mood was somber as the terrain became corrupted by the undead. The grass withered, and the villages were empty. The stark contrast when we reached the elven border was apparent as the morning sun shone through, illuminating the bright glow and greenery of the elven land in stark contrast to the dark cloud hanging over the human territories.
"Greetings. Welcome back, Lord Lily. The Mithail stakes have arrived. They are faster than expected," Alistar welcomed us. In the meeting room, a pile of stakes glowed silvery white, sparkling like stars. Each stake was about half a meter long and roughly the thickness of a palm. However, today's main discussion was not about the stakes but when to assault the undead.