Chapter 53: Frontal Assault

“They’re just ahead, in the valley,” said the wolfman scout, somewhat breathless. 

To sidestep the undead lurking in the forest, they had been forced to take a lengthy detour, nearly doubling their journey.

“From what we can see, there are about fifty to sixty skeletons of various kinds, predominantly humanoid. There are also a dozen or so walking corpses. None of them seem to have any ranged weapons. The necromancer is situated at the flat center of the valley, swarmed by undead. Getting within crossbow range is out of the question. Also, he’s not an elf.”

Was this the silver lining in their situation?

“In that case, we’ll have to discard the first plan,” Nina said, her brow lightly furrowed before she stood up straight. “No more second thoughts. We’ll proceed with Plan B. A frontal assault.”

Following the prior battle, Wu Qingsong had suggested incinerating the corpses. As the only one with any relevant expertise on necromancers, his advice was taken seriously by Nina. The wolfmen acted according to his guidance, and Wu Qingsong took this opportunity to impart all he could about the undead and necromantic spells.

For the wolfmen, some of this knowledge was entirely beyond their comprehension. Yet, Wu Qingsong felt obligated to assist in any way possible, uncertain though he was about the accuracy of his own information. Preparedness, no matter how excessive, was always preferable to reckless ignorance.

A few wolfmen grew apprehensive after absorbing his briefing. It wasn’t fear, per se, rather, they pondered the wisdom of returning later, better prepared to vanquish these profane entities once and for all.

However, the findings from the scout urged Nina to embrace the gamble.

The undead were clearly occupied with excavating ancient bones from the earth. If Wu Qingsong’s insights on necromancers were correct, this meant that each day of delay would exponentially amplify the necromancer’s power.

Nina’s troops were already scattered among various villages, and regrouping them would consume substantial time. The nearby settlements could only provide a handful of hunters and farmers as reinforcements, making their participation in the fight against these monstrosities of little impact.

Rather than languishing in anxious indecision, it was better to seize the opportunity to attack while the necromancer’s force consisted solely of skeletons and shambling corpses–when his power was still in its infancy.

“Did anyone spot any specters or wraiths?” Wu Qingsong asked once more. “How about liches or skeleton knights?”

Having effortlessly defeated the walking corpses, he was less concerned about the theoretically less potent skeletons. His real worry lay with these entities. While weapons in video games could vanquish spiritual beings, the reality could be entirely different. Charging in only to find their blades were useless against ethereal entities would be more than awkward, it would be disastrous.

This was no game, there were no second chances.

“We’ve been watching for a while and haven’t spotted any such things,” came the response.

“Then let’s get on with it,” said Wu Qingsong, gritting his teeth.

Nina drew her sword, “Listen up, everyone. We’re up against an evil like nothing we’ve ever seen or even heard of. You all know what they’re doing, desecrating our homes, attacking our elders, families, and friends, and threatening our very right to live! We have no option but to move forward. Victory is not just an aim, it is a necessity. Now, let us march forth and fight bravely!”

The wolfmen let out subdued growls as they gripped their weapons tightly. Following Nina’s earlier instructions, they hoisted the large shields they had quickly fashioned from wood and formed a shield wall behind her. With torches and incendiary bottles strapped to their backs, they encircled Wu Qingsong, Liuli, and another wolfman tasked with throwing the incendiary jugs.

“Don’t be afraid,” Wu Qingsong reassured, even though he himself harbored no absolute certainty of victory.

The necromancer they faced could potentially wield curses, poisons, summon undead, reanimate corpses, or even conjure formidable demonic entities and ghostly spells. These were variables that couldn’t be gauged by simple reconnaissance.

Still, he knew that taking this step was crucial, and the same went for Liuli. If they hesitated, they would never find success in this world. The most daunting obstacle wasn’t failure, it was the paralysis that came from never daring to take the first step.

He was immune to injury, and Liuli could morph into a whirlwind of destruction on the battlefield when needed. What was there to fear when their foes were mere skeletons and shambling corpses, all vulnerable to blades?

“I’m scared,” Liuli admitted, her voice tinged with vulnerability.

She might have felt more at ease if Ling were by her side. But Nina, while acknowledging Ling’s marked improvement through rigorous training, deemed her not yet ready to handle such dire circumstances. Ling had been left to care for the unconscious villagers where the bodies had previously been incinerated.

Liuli, on the other hand, was pivotal for their chances of victory this time.

“I’ll protect you. Do you believe me?” Wu Qingsong said, locking eyes with her.

Liuli nodded meekly, her eyes filled with trepidation.

“Let’s move,” Wu Qingsong declared at last.

The team advanced in a relaxed formation. As they rounded a mountain pass, they came face-to-face with their first undead creature–a skeletal deer. Without waiting for it to act, Nina swiftly broke rank, decapitating the creature with a single sword stroke and reducing it to a heap of shattered bones.

“Quick, remember Wu’s instructions. Follow me and push as far as possible. Don’t waste time on these low-level minions, our primary target is the necromancer,” she commanded.

The wolfmen condensed their formation, surging forward like a monolithic beast. Nina led the way, sword in hand, unguarded at the front. She mercilessly shattered any skeleton that dared to block their path.

Unexpectedly, the skeletons froze in their tracks and then began converging toward where the necromancer was presumed to be.

“Hurry, hurry!” 

Nina accelerated her pace once more. No skeleton that crossed her path could withstand a single stroke of her sword. However, she soon felt the pressure when she was confronted by four or five zombies armed with pickaxes and other tools.

These zombies were unmistakably the missing villagers, but their abilities had changed drastically. Not only were they considerably more agile, but their strength was also staggering.

Under normal circumstances, no wolfman could withstand the might of Nina’s greatsword, but these zombies did, using their tools and even their bodies to block her blows.

‘What’s happening? This is nothing like before,’ she wondered internally.

A raspy voice came from ahead, “So you are the ones who ruthlessly killed my cherished pets,” it said, dripping with malevolent glee. “Fine, you’ll serve nicely as their replacements.”