Chapter 695: The Fallen.

Thoren did not wait for the Fallen to move as he had never faced one of its kind before. He did not know how fast it was, what its chains could do, or what the anchors on its back were for.

’I cannot afford to underestimate it.’

He raised his hand, and the air in front of him tore open.

The Undead Space rippled, and his strongest undead servants poured onto the ridged ground in a single wave.

The undead Horn Lizard King appeared first, its cudgel resting on its shoulder. The undead Scorpion Men King followed, its gauntlets clanking as it settled into a low stance.

Behind them, the undead vanguard spread out in a line.

The undead Garron gripped his butcher knife, the undead Elite Jackal Beastman raised its spiked club, and the undead Kharv, the undead Royalty Stonewall, the undead Storm Tyrant and the undead General took their places beside them.

Soul fire burned in every eye socket, steady and bright.

The Fallen did not react.

Its green gaze drifted over the line, and the chains on its body clinked softly.

Thoren’s eyes moved from the creature to his undead, and he froze.

Something was wrong.

Not with the Fallen.

With his undead.

He looked at the undead Horn Lizard King. Its armor was whole.

The deep crack that had split its chest after the Mother’s palm strike was gone, and the metal shone clean in the light of the illusory lantern.

He looked at the undead Scorpion Men King. Its gauntlets were no longer dented, and its stood straight and unbroken.

His gaze jumped down the line.

The undead Garron’s armor was smooth and uncrushed.

The undead Jackal Beastman’s jaw hung properly in its place. The undead Kharv’s helmet sat on his head, and the ribs of his armor had no splits in them

The undead Storm Tyrant stood tall on two sound legs, its hammer back in its hands.

The undead General’s blade, which had snapped in half, gleamed unbroken at its side.

’What in the Abyss happened?’

His jaw dropped.

It was as if the Mother had never touched them. He remembered how they had looked when he last saw them.

Their soul fires had flickered so weakly that they could barely respond to his commands, and he had braced himself for their death.

And now...

They were all as good as new.

Thoren stared at them in disbelief.

His mind raced, but no answer came.

The Fallen took a step forward.

The chains on its body dragged across the stone with a long, grinding scrape.

Its green eyes stayed fixed on the line of undead, and its gaunt head tilted slightly, as though it were counting them.

The pressure in the air thickened.

The ridged rocks around it seemed to shrink back.

Thoren’s eyes swept across his undead legion, and the cold weight in his stomach loosened. For the first time since leaving the Weeping Ossuary, a thin line of confidence returned to his face.

’It is only level 47,’ he told himself. ’And I have my full force.’

He raised his hand and let it fall.

"Kill."

The undead Horn Lizard King charged first.

It lifted its cudgel and charged, each step shaking the ground, and the undead Scorpion Men King raced beside it, its gauntlets drawn back.

They led the charge across the open ground, and the undead vanguard followed close behind.

The undead Garron ran with his butcher knife held low. The Elite Jackal Beastman leaped over a ridge with its spiked club raised.

The undead Kharv, Royalty Stonewall, the undead Storm Tyrant and the undead General fanned out to either side.

The Fallen did not move.

When the Horn Lizard King was ten meters away, it swung its cudgel in a wide arc. The weapon came down on the Fallen’s head with a heavy crunch.

Bang!

The Fallen’s neck bent under the blow.

But its feet did not shift, and its green eyes did not blink. Slowly, it raised one long arm, and the chains wrapped around it began to move.

Clang!

A thick coil whipped out like a snake and struck the Horn Lizard King in the ribs. The huge undead was lifted off its feet and thrown sideways into a rock ridge, which burst apart on impact.

A second chain lashed out at the undead Scorpion Men King, who was already punching toward its chest. The chain wrapped around its arm and yanked it forward.

Crack!

The Fallen’s free hand slammed into its face. The Scorpion Men King tumbled across the ground and dug a deep trench through the grit before it stopped.

’It is fast.’

Thoren’s eyes narrowed.

He had expected a slow giant, but the Fallen moved with the sharp, jerking speed of something that did not need to think.

"Surround it!"

The undead Garron rushed in from the left, slashing at the Fallen’s legs. The undead Jackal Beastman struck from the right.

The undead Kharv and Stonewall closed from behind, and the undead Storm Tyrant lifted its hammer high.

The five of them hit the Fallen at once, steel and spikes biting into rusted skin.

Clang! Clang! Bang!

The Fallen turned, and the ship anchors on its back swung with it.

The iron flukes cut through the air like scythes.

One struck the undead Garron across the chest and sent him spinning away. Another caught the undead Jackal Beastman by the shoulder and hurled it into the undead Royalty Stonewall.

The impact rang across the plain.

The Storm Tyrant’s hammer came down on the Fallen’s shoulder with a crack. The Fallen’s knee dipped, and the ground split beneath its foot.

For a moment, Thoren’s heart rose.

Then the Fallen’s empty sockets flared bright green, and its chains exploded outward in every direction.

Whoosh!

Dozens of rusted links lashed through the undead vanguard, tearing through the air with a shriek of metal.

They struck armor and weapons, throwing the undead back in a storm of sparks. The Fallen stepped forward, dragging the chain behind it, and the ground trembled.