Chapter 167 Flee with Tails tucked between legs
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When Death pronounced his name loudly, the world around us seemed to shake as black waves emanated from him. More Vargmuth and undead rose up around him. I fired fireballs all over the place, trying to kill them. However, even as fires raged and spread around Death, they never traveled closer than two meters from him. Edelweiss threw a rock spear at him, but it simply passed through him as if he wasn't there.
"We aren't doing anything to him!" Edelweiss shouted in frustration.
Meanwhile, Alistar and Ghander were engaged in their own battles. The plan was for Ghander to distract the human undead while Alistar dealt with the elf undead. However, that plan was turned upside down. The human never left the elves, and the elves materialized a harp out of nowhere and began playing it. Each time a string was plucked, Ghander swiftly blocked it with his sword, but he was often sent flying as a result.
The rocks Alistar threw flew at almost supersonic speed, but they crumbled upon reaching the human undead. The human undead was harder than the rocks, so it did no damage. The hands that blocked them turned to stone, but strangely, all the joints could still move as if they were made of liquid cement. Moreover, they were incredibly hard. They shattered Ghander's swords, and one of the fists punched through one of his clones, killing it. Ghander was left dodging the attacks, causing him to focus more on defense rather than counterattacking.
"Edelweiss! Please help Alistar! I will hold on here," Lily shouted, giving orders to Edelweiss.
"But..."
"He needs your help more than I do. We can't seem to harm this guy, no matter how hard we try. I can handle his summons with my sword and spells. Once you defeat those undead, you can come and assist me," Lily explained, looking at Edelweiss, who hesitated for a moment.
Although Lily held a lower rank than Edelweiss, she simply nodded and ran toward Alistar while casting spells. Edelweiss may have been hopeless in direct combat, but she was a genius who could cast spells while on the move.
"Shiro!" Lily called out in her mind. I quickly refocused my attention and cast several more fireballs, attempting to suppress the Vargmuth emerging from the ground.
"This feels never-ending," I muttered.
"I know. We just have to hold on. Don't waste your mana. We'll wait until Edelweiss and the others defeat the former king and the former general undead," Lily reassured me.
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"Lucas!" Alistar shouted as an elven warrior's head separated from its body while he was engaged with a group of skeleton soldiers surrounding us. It was our fifth casualty now. The elven king was a menace to ordinary soldiers, as his attacks were invisible. Even for mages, his attacks barely left any trace of mana.
"Lily!" Alistar called out after Edelweiss used her mana to immobilize the stoneman and threw a rock at the elves, but the harp the undead elf used cut the stones apart.
"On it," I responded to Lily. I summoned my dragon inside the building.
"Silence!" The black figure screamed for the first time, and black tentacles sprouted from the ground, binding my dragon. As it happened, we all looked at one another and made a decision without speaking a word. It was clear what our next step should be.
We made our escape, utilizing the remaining mana I had to cover our retreat. As the opulent building crumbled into flames, we fled with our figurative tails tucked behind us. Skirting the city, Alistar pointed to a three-floor house that belonged to wealthier elves, constructed with concrete instead of wood. With a nod, the group entered the perimeter and dispatched any remaining zombies.
The living room was quite spacious, but it couldn't accommodate the thirty or so elves that were with us. Alistar dismissed them, and they dispersed throughout the house, likely ensuring the safety of the perimeter, tending to injuries, and finding rooms to rest.
"Damn! That was a disaster," Alistar spat, reflecting the somber mood that hung over us. We couldn't shake off the feeling of defeat in our encounter with that entity. Even though we had defeated the elf king and the human general, our spells were ineffective against the black figure, rendering our efforts fruitless.
"Edelweiss, Lily, what did you gather from fighting that thing?" Alistar asked, purposely raising his voice for Edelweiss to hear over her healing duties.
"I don't know. It felt like we weren't even fighting something corporeal. That thing was like a ghost or something. My spells and sword couldn't touch it," Lily replied.
"That one's the boss, right? If we defeat him, everything will be over, right? We'll win, won't we?" Alistar inquired, with Ghander seeming to entertain the idea. "That black figure reminded me of the wight we faced, but much stronger. If we can defeat it, I'm sure the area around here will be cleansed. Did any of you sense a curse seed there too?"
"I didn't see any curse seed, but I sensed something similar in nature. It exuded more malice and was stronger than curse seeds. I agree with Alistar that the black figure calling himself Death is the leader of the undead. However, Alistar, please don't assume that he is the pinnacle of the undead," Ghander provided his analysis.
"Alright! I'm finished treating our soldiers. I've determined that the black figure is ethereal and cannot be defeated using normal means," Edelweiss returned and took a seat on the remaining sofa in the living room. She offered a clear answer, showcasing her brilliance in mana research.
"I see. But you didn't say that Death is unbeatable, right? So, how do we defeat him?" Alistar posed the crucial question.
"We need to employ stealth. If we seal off the remaining breaches, he will lose his power and become harmless."
"But Death was guarding one of those breaches, wasn't he? How are we supposed to defeat him, then?" Ghander expressed his frustration.
"Let's just give it our all. We'll close the other breaches first, and then we'll deal with the one he's guarding," Alistar sighed.
And so, our infiltration of Northlangard began.