CHAPTER 301 - Army Of The Undead

Brettel City had undergone a slight change. The civilians who dressed like beggars in the city often saw a different scene from what they usually saw. The soldiers of Brettel City, who lived like cowardly borers, had recently become energetic. It was as if they were possessed by something. They even formed an orderly troop and ran while carrying weights; or they practised their swordsmanship in the city lord's mansion, which was being constantly repaired.

The originally cowardly and useless soldiers, who'd worn fearful expressions on their faces, gradually hardened under the harsh training of the knights in silver armour. Their previously waxy, thin looks had also hardened, unconsciously becoming more defined.

It wasn't just the soldiers in Brettel City that underwent significant changes, but several other areas as well. One example was the pitted city wall, which was now being repaired by some old and retired soldiers. The changes were particularly noticeable in the City Lord's mansion. It was suddenly full of life. The large number of people coming and going had even caused it to become a bit disorderly.

For the civilians of Brettel City, who had already given up hope, these changes didn't affect them too much. They were used to the City Lord being the first to flee, and didn't think these changes would have any effect. Instead, some of them even speculated maliciously about the harm these actions might cause them.

They didn't know if the changes in the city would make the bandits and soldiers of the seven duchies, who hadn't visited for several months, think that there was loot in the city worth plundering. It would be another terrible experience if they became interested and came back to loot the city again.

Han Shuo slowly walked out of the secret chamber in the city lord's mansion very early in the morning to find Faulke, Dick and Chester already waiting in the living room. When he saw the three of them, the three people saw Han Shuo moving his storage ring and dumping weapons as well as bags full of provisions onto the floor. Han Shuo looked at Faulke and said, "Use these weapons and chariots properly. You must also control the supplies properly. Also, start recruiting today. Civilians can join the troops as long as they are young and strong. For now, promise them a gold coin in addition to their meals.

As an Earth Rider Knight sent by Lawrence, Faulke naturally possessed unusual strength. Several soldiers had already died from the intense training under Faulke. However, the deaths of these soldiers had actually served as an example, making all the soldiers truly realise the harshness of their training, meaning that none of them dared to be there just to make up the numbers.

In the mornings, Faulke would train these soldiers like mad, and in the evenings, he would discuss military tactics with the high-ranking soldiers in the city lord's mansion. Han Shuo also felt that he had learned a lot after listening in on the side for a few days and felt that Faulke was indeed an officer he could trust.

"Understood," Faulke was not a man of many words. He usually had a stern face and exuded the righteousness and bloodlust of a soldier.

"Dick, have there been any unusual events in the area lately?" Han Shuo smiled at Dick, who was in charge of Dark Mantle's operations in the area, "Sir Count, apart from some civilians not understanding your actions, nothing special has happened around Brettel City recently. However, according to Dark Mantle reports, I believe a wave of bandits will be paying a visit in a few days' time. Of course, their targets should only be the mountain people of Mount Tali near Brettel City," Dick replied respectfully. Although the soldiers in Brettel City were cowardly and useless, the local branch of the Dark Mantle still operated normally with Dark Star spies hidden in the surrounding mountains.

Han Shuo nodded and then said with interest, "Very good. Keep an eye on this, find out when the bandits will strike, along with their numbers and route. Faulke, maybe it's time to test these soldiers. If we don't stir them up a bit, I think it will be hard for them to really grow.

"My lord, you are quite right. I will make them more lively," Faulke replied.

Three days later, on Mount Tali, the mountain to the southwest of Brettel City, there was yet another intense battle. Redbeard Troda led four thousand savage bandits and stormed up Mount Tali, regardless of his losses. On the other side, the mountain folk hid in large bushes and behind large boulders along the mountain's winding paths, using bows to prevent the bandits from climbing the mountain.

The mountain people were used to this kind of attack. Of course, they had their own ways of dealing with them. Large rolling boulders and arrows caused considerable damage to the bandit horde. The mountain people hiding behind the boulders on the mountain were much braver than the soldiers inside Brettel City. They were not afraid of the bandits' attack at all, and used a variety of tactics to harass and repel the invaders.

"Faulke, do you think these bandits can come out victorious?" Han Shuo, some distance away from the bandits, turned his head towards Faulke at the foot of the mountain.

Faulke shook his head and replied bluntly, "It is impossible, even though Red Beard Troda's bandits are numerous, the mountain people of Mount Tali have the geographical advantage. They are also used to mountain warfare. It's impossible for war horses to negotiate the winding mountain paths, but Troda doesn't have the determination to fight to the death, so he's doomed to get no booty from these attacks".

"Only a hundred or so bandits are dead out of four thousand wild bandits. Hehe, Faulke, do you think we have a chance of killing them?" Han Shuo asked again.

"That is also impossible. The road at the foot of Mount Tali is flat, so we have no geographical advantage to take advantage of. Besides, these soldiers haven't been trained for so long, I don't think their courage can stand up to the Red Beard Bandits' ferocity right away. What's more, we only have 1,300 men. Your Lordship, this is not a good idea," Faulke was shocked to hear Han Shuo's words, and immediately wanted to advise Han Shuo otherwise.

Unfortunately, Han Shuo didn't listen to Faulke's suggestion. He chuckled and said, "Faulke, you're forgetting that I'm a Necromancer. Necromancers specialise in this kind of large-scale battle. Besides, these bandits don't have any outstanding light archmages. I think we can give it a try."

Before Faulke could speak again, Han Shuo had already walked over to the Red Beard bandits with a smile on his face and said, "Attack with me. I think you should know what to do."

Han Shuo took out the skeleton staff from his spatial ring. With a low chant, dark creatures began to appear one by one. Due to the existence of the skeletal staff, the power of the summoning magic was doubled. Fifty hate warriors, two hundred or so zombies, seven hundred or so skeleton warriors, and three hundred gargoyles led by ten evil knights were summoned by Han Shuo as he used the skeleton staff and poured in a huge amount of mental power.

A thousand two hundred or so dark creatures , including powerful evil knights and hate warriors, along with soaring gargoyles, stood in an organised fashion and marched towards the bandits under the guidance of Han Shuo's skeleton staff.

After seeing so many dark creatures appear with Han Shuo's chant, Faulke felt his life suddenly become a bit surreal. Only when Han Shuo's figure had almost disappeared from sight did he finally react, quickly roaring at the soldiers behind him who were terrified of him, "Today is the day to test your training! You have already seen the City Lord's prowess. I don't doubt that he has the strength to kill you all alone. The results of being a coward will definitely be pitiful, so your only choice is to follow my orders and attack!"

The already frightened soldiers felt a chill in their hearts after hearing Faulke's roar. They glanced at Han Shuo as he waved the skeleton staff with a sinister expression. As courage and cowardice battled against each other, they all surprisingly found the courage to fight. They grabbed their weapons with a determined look and prepared to die so as not to fall into the hands of the city lord.

The little skeleton with glistening white bones was riding a special spiky undead creature that was five metres long and three metres high. This creature seemed to be a hedgehog magnified a thousand times. It carried a tail of spikes and had only a single grey eye, filled with the aura of death.

The Earth Elite Zombie and the Wood Elite Zombie each rode a fire-breathing, black-armoured warhorse. These were usually only owned by an evil knight. They stayed at the side of the little skeleton. These three little things were actually more brazen than the ten evil knights, and they appeared at the very front of the troops. Strangely enough, the ten evil knights didn't seem to mind this apparent assertion of pecking order and followed obediently behind them.

"What-what was that?" cried a cowardly bandit at the back, as he turned to see what the muffled roar behind him was. He was completely stunned by the sight that greeted him.

Concentrating on the battle in front of him, Redbeard Troda was annoyed and had a sullen expression on his face as he roared on a boulder. Hearing the shouting of his subordinates, he immediately cursed, "Stupid pigs, attack!"

"Boss, look behind you. Look behind you!" The bandit was terrified as he anxiously pointed behind him and continued to shout.

When Troda raised his head, he was met by a dark aura of death. He found that a horde of undead creatures, exuding an icy, unearthly air, were marching relentlessly towards them.