Chapter 165 Tail Last Boss
----------------------------------------
"Why didn't anyone wake me up?" Edelweiss pouted as she walked over to Alistar, the sun already high in the sky. It hadn't yet reached midday, but it was close enough, and the realization hurt her pride.
"We can use all the rest we can get. We must be in our best condition now that we're embarking on a perilous mission. Are you ready, Edelweiss?"
"Yes."
"Good. We will depart shortly. Our destination is the ruins of Northlandgard. We will use the sewers."
"The sewers?"
"Yes. Lily suggested it. Northlandgard was heavily fortified, with high walls and sturdy gates. However, the sewers that connect to the river might be a way for us to sneak in. I never thought those undead could employ defensive tactics. I assumed we could simply stroll into the town, but we spotted several archers positioned atop the walls. We couldn't attack them head-on, as their arrows were accurate, and we didn't have enough men to form a proper testudo formation against them," Ghander muttered. Edelweiss, the proper princess, winced at the mention of sewers, but she didn't complain due to her adventuring and leveling experience.
"Hmm... I do recall that Northlandgard had such a sewer for infiltration. But I forgot its exact location. Do you think we have time to return and fetch the Northlandgard maps from our archive?" Alistar asked.
"No need. I remember them. It's through this point. We need to circle the city a quarter of the way in," Ghander answered.
As we rode toward our destination, an archer stood at the top of the wall with the sewers directly beneath it. Alistar motioned for an elven soldier behind him to hand him a bow. As he drew the bow and notched an arrow, it flew in a parabolic arc toward the archer's head. The undead creature turned its hollow eye socket toward the incoming arrow, but it was too late. The arrow penetrated its skull, dissipating into thin smoke before hitting the ground from the fall.
"That was a beautiful shot," Lily commented.
"That skeleton was different, wasn't it?" Edelweiss muttered.
"Yes. It sensed something coming at it," Alistar confirmed.
"Why was there only one skeleton?" Edelweiss questioned.
"Probably because there are few undead archers," Alistar answered Lily, though uncertain of his own response.
"No, I mean, why not put ordinary zombies as sentries?"
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Why would they do that? Zombies only sense you when you are closer than three meters. It would be useless to place them on top of the wall," Ghander answered Lily's question.
"Ah, I see."
"However, expect those zombies to fill the entire city. If we alert even one of them, they might all come at us at once," Alistar warned.
"That's where the beacon comes in," Alistar said. "Once we find the source of the leakage, I will act as bait and use the beacon. You two seal the leakage and then come to help me!"
"Alright!" Lily and Edelweiss nodded in agreement.
The group continued through the sewers. I had expected an underground passage, like in those games and movies. However, the sewers weren't underground, although they reached up to our chests when we entered. The sewers were dry and unused by anyone, but they still emitted a foul odor. We passed through the wall inside the sewers, and when we emerged on the other side, the city was dilapidated. Wooden houses were broken down, and zombies roamed. Many household items lay scattered on the streets, and rotten food and corpses of elves were still there.
"So, this is Northlandgard... I wonder why my parents would want this kind of city..." a younger elven soldier commented, earning him a glare from Ghander.
"The undead make the city grim and bleak. However, in its glorious days, it was filled with festival cheers," another soldier remarked as we climbed out of the sewers onto a road. The zombies were sparser than we had anticipated, with only a tiny group appearing every hundred meters or so. We dispatched them quickly with a few swings of our swords.
"Where is the source of the leakage?" Alistar asked, and Edelweiss pointed her device toward a grand cathedral-like structure. However, it wasn't used for religious ceremonies but for government purposes instead. If it was similar to Hoeth, it might have served as a throne room for kings and a meeting place for the senate.
"Why is the source of the leakage inside the central Northlandgard government building?" Lily questioned.
"It could have appeared anywhere, right?" Alistar responded. "It just happened to be inside the government building."
The group then entered the building, finding it devoid of anything except for a black figure holding a staff on the throne at the center.
"Another wight?" Alistar whispered.
"No, the mana feels different," Edelweiss replied. As we approached, the figure turned towards us and spoke.
"Welcome, Elves and tailfolk, to the throne of the undying king," the figure said. Its black robe concealed most of its features, making it difficult for us to discern any details.
"Are you an Anthropoid?" Alistar asked, referring to elves, humans, tailfolk, or dwarves.
The shapeless figure replied, "No, we merely harbor vengeance against all living beings."
Its voice was dissonant, and we couldn't quite grasp why. We had countless questions about this unknown entity before us but didn't know where to begin.
"Then you are our enemy!" Edelweiss struck the first blow, channeling her mana through her Mithail staff. Spears shot out from it, piercing the figure's body like beehives. Yet, the figure remained undisturbed as its shapeless robe tore away, revealing a humanoid form a few steps away.
"What a hasty girl," the black shadow spoke eerily. Although it lacked a definite shape, we could sense its glee as it addressed us.
"We apologize for our rudeness. However, allowing you to join our entourage would be beneficial to further our ambition," the figure stated, waving its hand from beneath the cloak. Two figures rose up—one elf whom I didn't recognize and one human whom I also didn't recognize. Both appeared pale as corpses, but unlike zombies, no hanging flesh existed. Apart from their pale face, they looked healthy. While Lily and I tilted our heads in confusion, Alistar and the others turned deathly pale with shock.
"King Garland of Northlandgard!" Alistar exclaimed.