I Became a Mythical Knight King

Chapter 42: Death Army (2)

Soldiers were stationed atop the fortress walls.

Among the conscripts, the number of regular infantry totaled 553.

Positioned along the southern wall, battle priests stood interspersed among them.

The total number of the Battle Priests under Sir Ruan of the Omphalos Order was 50.

The most important position, atop the main gate wall, was held by the elite infantry led by Kate, totaling 40 soldiers.

Vanadain’s elite archers, also numbering 40, were lined up alongside 55 archers selected from the conscripts.

Altogether, the allied forces atop the wall numbered around 700.

It was nearly twice the size of the force that had fought the kobold prince and the trolls, but there was no room for complacency. The enemy’s numbers had multiplied several times over.

Yoo Seong stood beside Kate.

Jillian, her face half-tearful, was positioned with Ruan on the northern side of the western wall, while Rene was stationed on the southern side with Vanadain.

Sir Simon, Sir Rant, and Robin, who had returned alone, each held their positions on the walls.

They had known for days that the enemy was coming.

They had even been able to predict the timing of the battle since the day before.

So there had been plenty of time to steel themselves, but not everyone had hearts of iron.

The enemy was coming.

Following the wind from afar, dark and ominous smoke billowed forward.

Fear spread among the soldiers.

Yet, none broke formation or attempted to flee.

Those who had already fought two battles understood one thing: there was no choice but to fight and win.

They also knew they could achieve victory with the Scorching Black Knight by their side.

Some forced smiles.

Others, trembling and swallowing dryly, faced their first battlefield.

“They’re coming.”

Someone spoke.

A voice, hoarse and low, echoed through the strained and uneasy silence.

It was the legion of corpses.

Beneath the burning sunset, the legion of the dead advanced.

Their numbers totaled approximately 3,500.

Though the distance was still considerable, it was enough to make out details.

Partially rotted corpses and skeletal soldiers marched together.

Amid them stood a single living figure.

A figure straddling the line between life and death.

A woman mounted atop a skeletal horse with two horns raised her head to look at the fortress wall.

She observed those who trembled, those who gathered courage, those who stared resolutely—and Yoo Seong.

The woman smiled.

Though the smile beneath her mask was dry, it was unmistakably a smile.

“Go.”

She pointed at the wall and commanded.

The obedient corpses began advancing toward the fortress wall.

But this time, it was different.

The ones in the lead ran.

The moment the first one started, all the corpses began to run.

There were no wild roars or screams.

They sprinted silently, a grotesque sight that amplified the horror.

“Vanadain!”

“Shoot!”

At Yoo Seong’s command, Vanadain released his drawn bowstring.

It was the signal.

Nearly 100 archers released their arrows in unison.

Papatatat!

The sky, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, was pierced by 100 flaming arrows.

Every single one was aflame.

Whoooosh!

The mass of corpses was so large that even stray arrows found their mark.

Vanadain and his archers kept firing, raining down hundreds of flaming arrows onto the advancing horde.

The corpses caught fire.

Burning corpses ran toward the wall.

Despite the hundreds of arrows falling, the arrow volleys could not halt the undead army.

“Keep shooting!”

The archers continued their relentless barrage.

It seemed ineffective at the moment, but even the legion of the dead was not invincible. If their limbs burned away, they wouldn’t be able to advance.

“They’re here! Prepare yourselves!”

Sir Simon shouted at the top of his lungs.

The legion had reached the moat.

It was a dry moat.

The ones at the front fell into the deep pit, collapsing as they tumbled down.

The second row followed.

Then the third and fourth rows.

But not the fifth.

They crossed the moat, now filled with fallen corpses, and reached the wall.

The corpses scratched at the wall.

Larger zombies, trolls, and ogres struck the walls with their fists.

Then flames erupted.

Astonishingly, the bodies of the zombies that struck the wall burst into flames.

“A sacred barrier!”

One of the battle priests shouted with joy, instantly understanding what was happening.

The walls engraved with divine sigils had become sacred artifacts, harming the unholy beings.

“Pour the holy water!”

At Sir Rant’s command, soldiers poured holy water over the heads of the undead.

Another incredible scene unfolded.

The corpses struck by the holy water shrieked in agony and writhed.

“High Priestess Jillian!”

Yoo Seong couldn’t help but shout in amazement, turning toward her.

Both the holy water and the sacred walls were performing beyond expectations.

He wasn’t the only one surprised. Ruan, who stood beside Jillian, also turned to her in shock.

“High Priestess!”

Her divine power may be weak, but she truly is a High Priestess!

The awe and admiration in Ruan’s gaze flustered Jillian.

She was bewildered, not by the respect, but by the current situation.

Why is the holy water this strong? Why is the wall acting like a sacred artifact?

Sadly, there was no time to ponder.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The walls trembled with deafening explosions.

The impact came from the corpses exploding as they struck the wall.

“How’s the wall?!”

“It’s holding—ugh?!”

A soldier, who had been watching below the wall, screamed and stumbled back.

The corpses, without any ladders, began to pile on top of each other, forming a ramp.

“They’re coming!”

The corpses surged forward up the ramp.

Those that had fallen into the moat climbed up and joined them, while larger corpses pounded the walls with flaming fists.

“Push them back!”

“Spray the holy wa—”

Boom!

A corpse leapt over the wall and exploded among the soldiers.

Soldiers within a three-meter radius were caught in the blast and lost their lives.

“Push them back!”

“Don’t let them climb the walls!”

Soldiers thrust their spears at the corpses. It wasn’t to kill, but to push them away.

However they couldn’t push them all away.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of explosions erupted, killing another dozen soldiers.

The fallen soldiers rose as corpses and attacked their comrades.

“Push! Push them off!”

“Stay calm! There aren’t that many of them!”

It wasn’t a lie. Many corpses were being used to form the ramp, so relatively few managed to climb the wall.

But then it happened.

Yoo Seong, who had been burning corpses with his flaming sword, instinctively looked up at the sky.

Huge bats appeared.

The bats were also corpses but the problem wasn’t just the bats.

Each bat was clutching something in its claws—corpses, all of which were swelling, ready to explode at any moment.

“Vanadain!”

Yoo Seong shouted urgently, and three arrows swiftly pierced the sky.

Three bats had their heads blown off, but more than seven remained.

Vanadain nocked another arrow.

The remaining bats veered toward the northern section.

“Jillian!”

Yoo Seong shouted loudly.

Rene dove in and cast a spell.

Two more bats’ heads exploded.

But it was too late. The bats were already above Jillian.

The corpses were dropped and the dead bats also fell.

Jillian watched in horror with her wide pink eyes.

Ruan shielded Jillian with his body and crouched down, while Jillian squeezed her eyes shut and prayed.

Boom!

The sound of the massive explosion shook the entire wall, a colossal blast created by successive explosions.

Yet Yoo Seong couldn’t feel the wind or debris from the explosion.

He neither saw blood nor heard the soldiers’ groans.

Rene blinked.

So did Kate, wide-eyed and stunned.

But only for a moment.

A smile spread across Rene’s face.

Kate laughed, and the soldiers looked up in awe at the radiant white barrier above their heads.

The Omphalos Barrier.

It spread above Jillian.

A sacred barrier, at least dozens of meters high, shielded the soldiers from the explosion.

Ruan, who had been cradling Jillian, lifted his head and stared in shock.

The Omphalos Barrier.

Ruan recognized it as a holy spell.

He could even cast it but he was shocked.

This barrier was far too immense.

Five meters at best.

That was the size Ruan could manage.

Even for a high priest skilled in divine magic, ten meters was the limit.

But this barrier was enormous—dozens of meters wide.

It was as if a saint had appeared—

Ruan blinked and looked down instinctively.

Jillian, curled up, was sobbing and praying.

Without thinking, he muttered,

“A saint?”

The realization struck.

A saint.

Yes, a saint.

Only a saint could do this.

Only a saint could turn the wall into a sacred object, mass-produce holy water!

Had Jillian hidden her divine power all along?

Was she chosen as a high priest because of her potential as a saint?

No.

She became what she could never be before.

A high priest turned into a saint.

“It wasn’t a lie!”

Her claim of receiving a prophecy from Omphalos.

Omphalos had chosen Jillian and transformed her into a saint, a protector for the king.

Jillian, startled by Ruan’s shout, opened her eyes and looked up.

She was shocked by the holy barrier before her.

What…what is this?

Omphalos Barrier?

Did a saint appear?

As Jillian looked around in confusion, Ruan laughed heartily as he thanked Omphalos and his lord.

Because meeting his lord allowed Jillian to be reborn as a saint, saving not only herself but many soldiers.

If Yoo Seong had known Ruan’s thoughts, he might have been creeped out.

Fortunately, Yoo Seong lacked the ability to read minds.

But Yoo Seong was a rational thinker.

He reached the same conclusion as Ruan when he saw Jillian.

After laughing, he shouted,

“Sir Ruan! Protect the high priest! No, protect the saint!”

“Yes, sir!”

Ruan’s loud response left Jillian flustered.

A saint? Me?

Am I a saint?

There was no time to explain or rejoice further.

The corpses continued their advance.

“For the glory of Camelot!”

Kate drove her flag into the ground, radiating golden light.

The corpses shrieked in silence but provided no reprieve.

Rrrraaaaaaah!

A grotesque sound echoed as a black, enormous shadow loomed over the soldiers.

It was a mass of corpses.

Burned, crushed, and mangled, they formed a colossal serpent tens of meters long and slithered up the wall.

Crunch!

The massive corpse-serpent coiled, whipping its body like a giant lash, smashing into the wall.

Some soldiers were crushed, becoming part of the serpent.

“Fireball!”

Rene hurled a massive fireball at the corpse-serpent.

It exploded, igniting the creature, which collapsed.

But the corpse-serpent was not alone.

Yoo Seong, burning the corpses with his blazing sword, saw more serpents rise beyond the wall.

It was as he had suspected.

The necromancer’s level was high.

As in Monarch of Fantasy, the strength of the undead legion depended on the necromancer’s skill.

She could reanimate burned flesh and shattered bones.

A war of attrition would only swell their dead.

Yoo Seong scanned the battlefield.

The necromancer sat on her skeletal steed and hundreds of corpses stood motionless at her side.

The sun was setting.

The sun’s blazing light disappeared, replaced by a violet darkness.

The necromancer’s dry smile emerged beneath her plague doctor mask as the corpse-serpents surged toward the wall.