Chapter 597: [Bonus - ] Cressida... Facing the Undead Army

Chapter 597: [Bonus Chapter] Cressida... Facing the Undead Army

The space before Thoren trembled violently with no wind. The darkness ahead twisting as a powerful undead aura poured out from the opening.

The pressure spread through the chamber, and even the roots attacking the undead slowed for a brief moment.

Then a figure stepped out.

The undead General appeared first, his enormous body emerging from the distorted space, the massive saber in his hand was a terrifying sight to behold.

Behind him another figure emerged, then another, the three undead commanders stepping out one after another, each carrying an aura powerful enough to make the chamber’s atmosphere grow heavier.

Then came dozens of undead Scorpion Men, walking out of the darkness in an endless line, their heavy footsteps filling the chamber.

More kept appearing and the number kept climbing.

The space around Thoren grew crowded fast, undead soldiers filling in before the four shield soldiers still guarding him.

The weakest among them was Level 36, a fact terrifying on its own. Within twenty seconds, close to a hundred undead had gathered around him.

The enormous chamber, which had already seemed barely large enough to contain the fight between five undead and Cressida’s roots, suddenly felt far too small.

The undead General stood at the front.

The three commanders stood behind him. Around them packed dozens upon dozens of undead Scorpion Men, waiting for their master’s word.

Their combined aura collided with the tissue like roots, and this time the impact was far greater. The air itself seemed to thicken.

The crimson leaves on her massive tree body trembled violently, the strange liquid in her roots surging faster, as though her own body sensed the threat instinctively.

Cressida stared, her eyes widening. For several seconds she didn’t move, simply taking in the army before her. A hundred undead, nearly all above Level 35, every single one under Thoren’s control.

"This..." The word slipped from her lips.

She had thought the battle already decided the moment she revealed her tree’s regenerative ability.

Now, that even the powerful undead that had initially overwhelmed her roots were now struggling desperately.

The undead Horn Lizard King could no longer advance. The undead Royalty Stonewall was being restrained. The undead Elite Jackal Beastmen were nearly bound completely, and the rest were fighting desperately just to hold their ground.

Everything had gone exactly as she’d planned. She believed Thoren nothing else in his arsenal and she even had the thought of her overestimating him.

With this bit of strength, the young man before her was nothing and she couldn’t wait to devour his soul.

And now she understood she’d been wrong again.

She never overestimated and rather, she had underestimated him completely.

Her eyes swept across the massive troop before her, and for the first time since Thoren had entered the chamber, genuine disbelief showed on her face.

How could a Necromancer possess this many powerful undead?

She had fought Necromancers before and understood their methods well.

They relied on their undeads, but there was always a ceiling.

Four at most.

The stronger the undead, the harder to obtain, the more resources required, the heavier the burden on the necromancer spirit.

That was why she had never taken Necromancers seriously.

But Thoren Starfall was different.

Entirely different.

He didn’t have one or two powerful undead.

He had an army, and that army was fully capable of matching her roots head on.

Subconsciously, her expression twisted. She stared at him as though looking at something she could no longer understand.

How many undead does he have?

The thought passed through her mind with no answer. A faint chill ran through her at the realization. She had judged him by the standards she applied to every Necromancer she’d ever met, and that had been her mistake.

Thoren Starfall wasn’t like them.

He was an anomaly.

A Necromancer who could keep producing powerful undead without limit. Who could command an army of high-level undead without showing the slightest sign of strain on his spirit.

And now that army stood directly in front of her.

Thoren watched the shock and confusion spreading across her face and a faint sneer touching his lips.

He said nothing.

There was no need.

His mental link already connected him to every undead soldier in the chamber. His eyes went cold, as his order traveled through the mental link.

’Destroy everything.’

The moment the command landed, the undead General moved. It massive saber raised above his shoulder, charging forward while the ground shook beneath him.

The three undead Scorpion Menn commanders followed immediately, and behind them the Scorpion Men surged forward like a tide of death. weapons raised.

There was no fear in them and there was no concern for the roots’ regeneration.

They were already dead and now, they only need to follow their master’s command.

Bang!

The General’s saber smashed into a massive root, the thick tissue exploding apart and scattering flesh across the chamber.

And just like that, the chaos unfolded in real time.

Bang!

One of the undead Scorpion Men commanders struck another root down.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The chamber erupted into violence.

The sudden addition of nearly a hundred undead completely reshaped the battle.

What had been a handful of powerful undead struggling against countless roots was now something else entirely.

Roots against nearly a hundred of undead soldiers and neither side were willing to retreat. Roots surged forward, undead charged to meet them.

Slash!

Several roots fell at once.

Before they could regenerate, another soldier charged through the gap and hit the next cluster.

The commanders spread out, carving paths through the mass of roots while the Scorpion Men followed behind, widening those paths with every swing.

Cressida’s roots kept regenerating, but regeneration alone was no longer enough. Every time one fell, another undead was already waiting for the next.

The roots came back in five seconds, but the undead never gave them those five seconds of peace.

Five seconds might be short but to Cressida and her root regeneration. It was as if time had stretched infinitely.

When one root regenerated, it was instantly cut apart.

Another regrew and was smashed.

The whole battlefield became a relentless cycle of destruction.

Boom!

For the first time, Cressida understood that the battle she thought she’d already won had only just begun.

****

[AN: This Chapter is sponsored by: Scott_Berry_3382]