Battle

While all this was going on, Arthur had, for some reason, frozen in place the moment Luke took out the fight battle ship. Him preparing for battle was shocked to see a sudden change in his status panel the second the ship exploded. His essence points, now lagging at 80, suddenly spiked up, going all the way to 280. Trying to figure out how it happened, the numbers began to increase crazily, and it didn't take him long to understand what was going on.

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks - the destruction of the enemy's ships had somehow increased his essence points! Even as he could see it steadily increasing, unfortunately for him, he didn't have time to think about it too much as the surge of power was overwhelming him. He could feel it coursing through his veins, making him feel stronger than ever before.

On the other hand, both sides were fighting tooth and nail, desperate to win. But as the battle raged on, it became clear that the balance of power was shifting. The Aerendil forces were gradually being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the enemy, despite Luke's unreserved slaughter. Elena and Damon watched the battle in horror, unable to do anything to help. They were powerless to stop the slaughter that was unfolding before their eyes.

And as the battle continued, they began to fear the worst. What if Luke didn't make it out alive? What if they all perished here, in this desolate wasteland?

These were Elena and Damon's thoughts when they noticed the sudden change in the air and felt a surge of power flowing from a particular direction they hadn't had time to check since the battle began. They looked at each other, their eyes wide with wonder. "What's happening?" Elena asked, her voice trembling with excitement and uncertainty. Damon didn't have an answer, but he felt the same surge of power that Elena did. It was coming from somewhere they both hadn't paid attention to, as if the very air around them was charged with electricity.

Just then, they heard a scream from that very direction, followed by a thunderous roar. A moment later, the air was filled with a blinding light, and then the ground shook with the force of a thousand earthquakes. When the dust settled, they saw a sight they would never forget.

In the center of the battlefield, a figure stood tall, his arms outstretched, as just a single word fell from his mouth, "RAISE". That word carried the weight of absolute judgment that couldn't be refuted. The battlefield, plunged into a temporary ceasefire by the thunderous roar and earthquake, was thrown into the worst terror of their lives.

Before their very eyes, the cold, still corpses that had been trampled on spasmed and came back to life. One after the other, they rose to their feet, picking up their weapons. The ensuing chaos was a massacre, with both allies and foes falling and rising again.

The entire battlefield became a nightmare as enemies immediately turned allies to combat this new threat. They struggled to survive, especially with the sheer number of these undead steadily growing with each one taken down.

Elena's expression fell, her face solemn as she couldn't understand what was going on. She could only see the back of the person she had placed her hope on, looking at everything with a distant feeling, showing no ounce of emotion. The screams and terror of the people were gradually stacking up, and she couldn't take it anymore.

"Arthur!" she called out with all her might, evading a slash made at her by one of the rising. Thanks to Damon's leveled-up abilities, he was able to keep them safe, but he couldn't hold on for too long. The only thing he was grateful for at the moment was that these zombies weren't like the ones he had fought before, which had abilities.

"Arthur!!!" she screamed a few more times, at which Damon, struggling to keep up with the large number of zombies, told her to give up and escape with him.

It was just then that Arthur seemed to have heard her call and awoken from whatever stupor he was in. "Alexa?"

That was the first thing that came out of his mouth the moment he regained himself.

Turning toward the voice, he could see Damon and Elena had been overpowered and were about to meet their end. It wasn't just them alone but many within the battlefield.

"This is one of the few reasons I hate humans and their unique class abilities, especially this necromancy ability that plays with corpses as puppets," the hooded lady spat out in contempt and disgust.

Her tone laced with immense hatred and killing intent.

"Hahaha, how ironic of you, Slicer. You hate humans but keep one around as your loyal pet, allowing him to…"

"You are saying?" The hooded lady had appeared behind the hooded male figure amongst the five of them that was replying to her comment.

The guy swallowed hard when he felt the cold blade placed on his neck, the pinch, sting, and liquid feeling he was having at that spot told him to say nothing further.

"Calm down, Slicer, it's not like he had said anything out of point, you know," the leading hooded figure cut in, his eyes still glued to the battlefield.

His expression unchanged as if the people on his side dying in the battlefield were mere insects.

Slicer appeared beside the leading figure, watching the scene before with an arc expression.

"You want to kill him, right?" Slicer didn't answer him, instead gave him a side look with a wicked corner grin.

"Go have your fun then, remember to make it quite entertaining. I'm bored to death with the insects dying like bugs before my eyes.

"I'll advise you be careful too, I couldn't get a read of his level, but for him to be able to raise this many once and is still raising more,

he isn't someone you will treat trivial," the leading boss added a caution, seeing Slicer was about to dash off.

"Calm down, Foxy, I got this one, just help yourself with a good viewing point so you won't miss a thing." With that said, her figure disappeared from sight.

Foxy could only shake his head at her smug attitude, but more importantly, he wants to see how it plays out.

Arthur's eyes widened as he took in the scene of horror before him.

The battle had turned into a massacre, with the undead wreaking havoc on the battlefield.

He saw Damon and Elena struggling to stay alive, and he knew he had to do something.

Without a second thought, he raised his hand, ordering every zombie to stand still. Having successfully stilled the hands of the zombies, Arthur turned towards Elena and Damon, a bit short of words to explain himself.

Neither was he ready to explain himself either as a certain level of anger is still storming inside of him.

His consciousness struggling to remain awake, pain, sorrow, regret and other negative emotions were building up within him.

"Arthur, watch out!" Elena screamed suddenly, seeing a glimmer of light flash behind Arthur, but her warning was a bit late as a figure appeared behind him almost immediately.

Slicing off his head in one full swoop, startling and plunging Elena into shock.

The lady's speed of appearance and execution of her move were flawless and quick, leaving no room for mistake. Unfortunately, she wasn't having a satisfied or pleasing look when she executed her swift move.

The moment she sliced off Arthur's head, the body changed halfway in the process of falling down, leaving her apprehensive. She kept her eyes darting left and right to see where he would come out against her from.

Too bad that never happened as every single zombie that had stood still like a statue ever since, allowing the living to withdraw from the battlefield, all turned towards her.

Like flies drawn to the smell of feces, they lunged at her like a pack of hungry wolves, rushing over from every corner of the battlefield. Slicer didn't bother with that either.

She swiftly brandished her moonblade and like a merciless reaper, she began piling bodies upon bodies where she stood.

No matter how much the zombies pressured her, she never stepped away from where she stood.

her movements fluid and precise as she spun, slashed, and stabbed with deadly accuracy. Each swing of her blade resulted in a zombie falling to the ground, lifeless once again.

Still, her eyes were scanning the battlefield in case the necromancer shows up.

Suddenly she disappeared from where she was standing in a streak of light, and the sound of two metals colliding hard against each other rang out from one corner of the battlefield.

Sparks spread out from the spot of collision, but nothing else was seen aside from more sparks going off in different places, accompanied by the sound of metal against metal.

Any zombie around the area a spark goes off ended up headless or sliced in two clean halves.

Elena, Damon, and those that had survived the slaughter couldn't follow the speed at which those two were engaged in battle, while the rest of the hooded figures could follow the fight quite fairly like it was being done at normal pace.

The necromancer seems to be stronger than a regular necromancer we've come across. His proficiency with the sword is also outstanding. I thought he would be the type to hide behind summons."

One of the hooded figures beside Foxy commented, and the others nodded in agreement.

"Slicer is doing quite well too. She isn't the type to fight head-on for too long, as her specialty is like an assassin – swift and precise," another added, still watching the fight.

"You are wrong," Foxy spoke in a low tone, his eyes following each and every move. "She would lose out pretty soon."

These words shocked the other three, but they didn't refute. Foxy is known for his expertise and rich battle knowledge, so they decided to watch closely to figure out why he said that.

True to it, after watching for a while, they noticed something: the necromancer was luring her in for a deadly blow, subtly leading her. It was very subtle and easy to miss, especially when you are the one in the battle.

"Cunning fox," one of the hooded figures spoke in anger and disgust. "I can't let this pauper make a mockery of the Silent Night Mercenary."

Without waiting for Foxy's approval, he sprinted over, his speed making his movements like a darting streak of a shooting star heading towards the battlefield.

Halfway through to the battlefield, another streak of light shot out from nowhere, charging toward the incoming one, and both collided.

As if in slow motion, when both streaks of light were about to collide, they morphed into the figures of the hooded figure and Luke, throwing a punch at each other.

With each blow connecting, their figures shot back into the opposite direction as streaks of light, landing heavily on the ground. Their figures reappeared, leaving two deep trail lines on the ground from the force of the impact.

When both of them finally came to a stop, the hooded figure had a mocking smile on his face.

"Why don't you go play with the toys you were playing with before and leave the real fight to real men?" gesturing at himself as the real men.

"You are right. I should leave the fight for real men and play with my new toys," raising his spear, he pointed it at the hooded figure, indicating he is his new toy.

The hooded figure flared up in anger, pulling out twin daggers as his eyes changed into bird-like eyes, giving off a gentle glow.

Bird-like wings sprouted out from his back, and with a single flap, he took to the air.

Luke's shadowy lightning wings flapped too, and he was airborne too, engaged in an intense aerial battle of spearmanship against a swift dagger user's skills and techniques.

The battle was a sight to behold, as two powerful warriors clashed in the air, their movements swift and precise. Every move was a blur, and the speed at which they fought was unimaginable.

The hooded figure's daggers flashed like lightning, while Luke's spear strikes were like thunderbolts. Their movements were in perfect harmony, yet they were locked in a deadly dance of death.

It was clear that neither of them was willing to give an inch, and that the battle would not end until one of them was defeated.