Chapter 43, first part, Battle in the Mountains

Chapter 43: 43, first part, Battle in the Mountains

Battle in the Mountains

Two days had passed since Yun Che had left behind the place where he had rescued Seraphina and Lyria.

As they traveled, the landscape changed completely. Before, they had been surrounded by tall, enormous trees, but now those trees had given way to rocky slopes.

Huge mountains began to emerge on the horizon, their peaks hidden beneath a thick layer of mist.

The air had also become different. There was less life in this region, but the spiritual energy was clearly more intense, which left Yun Che frustrated.

Any other cultivator would have been delighted by the increase in spiritual energy. After all, cultivation would become easier, allowing them to progress greatly within a short period of time.

But for the holder of the Supreme Dual Cultivation System, his cultivation would not increase unless he practiced Dual Cultivation. Therefore, all that spiritual energy was no different from empty air to him.

Yun Che walked at the front of the small group, dressed in his black clothes and wearing the mask that completely covered his face.

Behind him, Seraphina advanced in silence alongside Lyria. The two had not spoken much since the beginning of the journey, caution adorning their beautiful faces.

Seraphina still felt deeply uncomfortable whenever she looked at the five undead accompanying them.

Even after witnessing how they had been protected by them, it was impossible to ignore the fact that those creatures were capable of turning a battlefield into a scene of death.

Lyria felt the same way. The difference was that she could not hide it as well.

Her eyes remained constantly focused on Kael, who walked several meters ahead, observing his surroundings and remaining completely alert to the terrain.

"My master."

The deep voice made Yun Che stop for a moment.

"What is it, Kael?"

Kael did not answer immediately. He slowly clenched his right hand.

"We are being watched. There are enemies ahead."

Seraphina stiffened upon hearing this, while Lyria immediately reached for the weapon she carried.

"How many?"

"It should be a regiment slightly larger than the previous camp."

Kael looked toward the mountains.

"There are too many to deal with in a short period of time."

A heavy silence descended over them. Then, stones began rolling down the slope.

Yun Che raised his eyes and saw dozens of eyes appearing among the rocks, yellow and red. They belonged to creatures of different shapes.

A tremendous roar echoed through the mountains, and in the next instant, monsters leaped down from the slopes.

"There they are!"

"Don’t let them escape!"

"Kill them all!"

"I see Medusas among them. Don’t let them escape!"

The beasts advanced first.

They were creatures of different sizes, some resembling enormous, deformed felines, while others had bodies covered in scales, long fangs, and claws.

Behind them came the Lizardmen, wielding spears, axes, and swords. Higher up, among the rocks, Beastmen prepared their bows, and one of them smiled.

"There are only eight of them."

Another replied:

"It doesn’t matter! Since they dared to venture into this area, not to mention bringing Medusas with them, let’s kill them quickly!"

Kael took a step forward.

"Defensive formation."

His order was brief, but the other four immediately understood. Valeria and Nefrava retreated.

Yun Che, Seraphina, and Lyria remained between them while Eryon raised his staff. In the blink of an eye, five skeletons emerged from the ground.

The bones were covered in dirt and still carried traces of the bodies from which they had been taken. They possessed no armor, only broken swords and spears found among the corpses.

A Beastman laughed.

"Is that all?"

Then the first monsters arrived, roaring and ready to attack with brutal force.

One skeleton had its skull crushed by a mace. Another lost both arms when a sword pierced through its chest. The third was torn apart by a quadrupedal creature.

The enemies celebrated upon seeing that the first line of defense had been easily brought down.

"It worked!"

"Keep going!"

But then the crushed skull began to move. Bony fingers touched the ground, and very quickly, the skeleton stood up again.

A second later, the others also began reconstructing their bone bodies, causing the enemies’ smiles to disappear.

"What...?"

Eryon slammed his staff against the ground, and a wave of darkness spread across the terrain.

"Curse of Counter-Agility."

Several enemies staggered as their movements became heavy. Seeing the opening, Kael disappeared at high speed.

The Revenant appeared before a Lizardman, his fist striking the creature’s chest.

The impact was so violent that its bones shattered before its body was sent crashing into a formation of rocks. The rock broke apart when it struck.

"Attack!"

A Beastman charged toward Kael. The Revenant dodged by mere centimeters, and the blade passed directly in front of his face.

Kael grabbed the enemy’s arm and twisted it with force. The crack of breaking bones could be heard clearly.

The Beastman screamed as Kael hurled him against the ground.

Another Beastman hesitated for a second before throwing caution to the wind. That was when Morcant appeared behind him.

The long claws pierced through the spear before the man could even react. The spearhead shattered like glass.

Morcant brought his face closer to the enemy.

"You should have run when you had the chance."

The man tried to scream. The opening in the Soul Devourer’s chest opened, and from within it, appendages resembling black tongues surged forward and wrapped around the enemy’s body.

The man fell to his knees. His body was still intact, but his eyes had lost their focus.

He felt his dying soul being ripped out from inside him.

"No!"

Another Lizardman witnessed this and recoiled in fear.

"Don’t fight that thing. It’s far too terrifying! There’s no way to defend against those strange attacks!"

"Retreat now?"

"Do you want to die?!"

The enemy formation began to collapse, but they were not stupid. They had seen that the people at the rear were being protected, and they had also seen where the orders were coming from. One of the Beastmen pointed toward Yun Che.

"Don’t attack the abominations. Attack their leader!"

"Kill the man!"

Everyone immediately understood. If the Indigo-clad leader were eliminated, those abominations that were not human might disappear.

A highly skilled archer raised his bow, and the others did the same.

Valeria appeared before Yun Che, her body partially transforming into blood mist.

The arrows passed through her body without producing the expected effect. She reappeared behind the archers.

A cold expression appeared on her delicate face.

"Now it’s my turn."

She charged forward, and at the same time, Nefrava stomped her foot against the ground, causing the earth to explode into countless tiny fragments.

A mass of golden sand appeared around Yun Che, Seraphina, and Lyria, forming a rather irregular defensive barrier.

The three of them were protected.

Seraphina watched everything with her eyes wide open. She wanted to say something, but she could not even open her mouth.

The undead were fighting for them, weren’t they?

No. They were fighting for him. Meanwhile, Yun Che remained motionless at the center of the defense, which made everything even more frightening.

"These creatures..." Lyria murmured.

Seraphina merely swallowed nervously.