Chapter 244: The Cat and Mouse Game (Part 3)

Raman guided his giant eagle in a circle over the forest, burning all the undead he could spot. However, it was clear that the necromancer was not among them.

He quickly returned to the attacked military camp, landing in a clearing nearby. The surviving officers rushed over to him with respectful urgency.

“Where is your squad leader?” Raman asked, wrinkling his nose slightly at the sight of the dust, blood, and sweat covering them.

“Lord Myron has fallen in battle…” 

A few of the half-elves exchanged glances, cautiously replying.

“And the deputy?”

“Lord Frey also perished,” the half-elves answered, their tone tinged with sadness.

“Damn it!” Raman was visibly annoyed. 

He casually pointed to one of the officers who seemed somewhat competent. 

“Alright, you’re in charge now! Immediately get the remaining troops moving. Search the surrounding area. That necromancer must be nearby.”

“My lord?” 

The newly-appointed half-elf officer felt a strange mixture of excitement, like he’d just won a prize, but was also troubled by Raman’s order.

This location housed half of a squadron, serving as a key outpost in the area. The other half of the forces were spread across key transit points to restrict the movements of the wolfkind trapped within the encirclement.

According to the original plan, no wolfmen force should have been able to breach an outpost’s defenses quickly. If any outpost came under attack, a distress signal would trigger reinforcements from here to drive off the wolfpeople.

But the undead attack had been entirely different from that expectation.

In the pre-dawn assault, nearly all their outposts were attacked simultaneously. Even the headquarters of the largest regiment had lost about a third of its soldiers, with both top commanders killed. The situation at other outposts was likely just as grim. In such a state, how could anyone expect these shaken, exhausted soldiers, still clearing the battlefield and tending to their wounds, to march into the forest and continue fighting?

But Raman wasn’t concerned about that. He simply issued his orders, then mounted his giant eagle again and circled above the forest.

“Listen, everyone…” 

The newly promoted or perhaps unlucky half-elf gritted his teeth as he addressed the former squad leaders, who were now his subordinates. 

“You all know how the long-lived ones are, especially these two. Whether we like it or not, we need to get the troops moving, even if just for show. If I take the fall, you won’t be much better off.”

Feelings of jealousy, resentment, and schadenfreude were certainly present, but his point wasn’t entirely without merit. If the order wasn’t carried out, this newly appointed officer would certainly face the consequences, and the others wouldn’t escape unscathed either. So, ten minutes later, just as Raman’s impatience was growing and he was about to land near the camp again, roughly 200 soldiers were finally organized into squads and began moving into the surrounding forest.

Raman was quite dissatisfied with the number. But with barely any soldiers left standing in the camp, he had no choice but to accept it.

Just as he considered whether to fly to the nearest regiment and order reinforcements, a sudden scream of terror rang out.

Raman immediately directed the giant eagle to fly toward the scream’s source.

On the ground, four or five ghouls were battling a squad of soldiers. One soldier lay bleeding. He was on the brink of death, while just ahead of them was a natural pit covered in weeds. The undead had likely been hiding there, ambushing the soldier when he stumbled upon them.

In truth, ghouls weren’t particularly powerful. Once the element of surprise was lost, their combat abilities were only slightly superior to an average soldier’s. When Wu Qingsong and Nina first encountered undead creatures, even the more advanced ghouls, once far from their necromancer, were no match for elite wolfmen.

But these soldiers had become so terrified that they couldn’t bring themselves to fight their former comrades-turned-undead. And unlike Wu Qingsong, there was no one present to explain the nature of these undead to them, helping to dispel their fear.

By the time Raman arrived, two soldiers from the squad had already been cut down. The rest fled in panic, spreading their fear to nearby search teams.

Suddenly, flames rained down from the sky, engulfing the fleeing soldiers. Their blood-curdling screams filled the air, only to be silenced by the undead who had been chasing them.

Soon after, those same undead were also consumed by fireballs. They stumbled and fell to the ground as they attempted to pursue more soldiers.

“Cowards who retreat from battle shall be executed!” Raman’s furious voice echoed from above. “The necromancer controlling these creatures is nearby! Search quickly!”

The soldiers hesitated. 

Moments ago, the powerful figure who had been their savior had suddenly turned into a deadly threat. This sudden shift crushed the courage they had just barely managed to muster, but they had no choice but to press forward in order to save their own lives.

Before long, the soldiers unconsciously began to search the forest more “thoroughly.” Their movements became slower and slower.

“Idiots! Move faster!” Raman shouted angrily.

At that moment, another squad of soldiers stumbled upon ghouls hidden in the bushes. Panic and despair gripped them as they fought the undead, screaming for help from their comrades. Forced to confront the monsters head-on, they managed to destroy the ghouls, but not without losing three of their own in the process.

“See? They’re nothing!” Raman yelled. 

But his words held little weight, failing to inspire the troops.

“Send word to the nearby forces! Have them split their men and come help!” Raman ordered loudly.

He forgot who he had previously appointed as the temporary commander and issued a general command.

Soon after, another group of undead was discovered, and the soldiers engaged them once again. This time, they managed to defeat five ghouls at the cost of only one life, with two others wounded.

“That’s it!” Raman said, clearly pleased with the result. “Keep pushing forward! Kill them all!”

Throughout the long morning, the exhausted soldiers, along with reinforcements from three other squads, managed to kill nearly two hundred ghouls. 

However, they lost about a third of their own men in the process and still couldn’t locate the damn necromancer.

Raman quickly grew tired. The giant eagle he was riding was also worn out. He ordered the soldiers to rest, eat, and then continue the search. Meanwhile, he returned to the temporary camp on the cliff.

“How’s it going?” Roderick asked, casually munching on chilled fruit. 

Seeing Raman’s sweat-drenched face and exhausted expression, he asked the question instinctively.

Raman felt a surge of frustration. He and Roderick often relaxed during battles while the mastiff soldiers fought. But now that the roles were reversed, and he was the one being observed, the experience felt entirely different.

“We’ll find him soon!” Raman said, suppressing his anger. 

He dismounted from the eagle and stormed toward his tent.

The attendants hurriedly prepared bathwater and scented oils for him. Just as he removed his dirt-streaked robe and stepped into the bath, a commotion suddenly erupted outside.

“It’s the Dafflin squad! They’ve encountered the enemy!”

Raman irritably stepped into the bathtub, and just as the servants carefully began pouring the perfectly warmed, flower-scented water over his head, the commotion outside grew louder.

“The Dafflin squad is requesting backup! My lord?”

“Useless idiots! Can’t they hold out for even ten minutes? Order Anton and Frederick to go support them!” Roderick’s voice shouted from outside.

Furious, Raman slammed his fist into the water, sending a splash across the room, then stood up abruptly.

“My lord?” The startled attendants asked nervously.

“Bring me my robe and staff!” Raman growled, barely containing his rage. “Hurry!”

One of the maids had just brought a tray of chilled fruit, intending to place it by the tub to feed him. In a fit of anger, Raman smacked the tray out of her hands. 

“Get out of my way! Move!”