Chapter 238: The Scourge of the Undead

“It’s the same as before,” Isaac said.

After several failed attempts, where all they found were empty camps and lots of blood, the squad leader Albert’s face had turned grim.

What made things worse was that, during the last two times, they even saw distress signals fired by the attacked squads. But by the time they circled around the mountains and valleys to reach those spots, all they found were deserted battlefields.

Where had the bodies gone?

It wasn’t surprising that the attackers took the armor and weapons. The weapons used by the Sentalus regulars were top-quality gear from the family workshops—highly sought after no matter where they were. But why would they want the bodies?

Could it be that these attackers, like them, had war wolves and needed the bodies to feed them?

Even stranger, the footprints left by the attackers matched their soldiers’ prints perfectly. But when they had their war wolves sniff out the tracks, the animals reacted with intense disgust—almost like fear.

Losing a squad wasn’t a huge deal. As long as they could strike back hard and retrieve the lost equipment, a grand duchy like Sentalus, with tens of thousands of mastiff slaves, could always find more cannon fodder.

But losing three squads in a row without even catching a glimpse of the enemy? Unless they managed to capture that Nina Lams, their careers might be over.

“We have to catch up with them!” 

The two exchanged a glance, both thinking the same thing.

Only by catching up to and defeating this enemy force could they hope to cleanse the stain on their reputation.

However, the fact that the enemy could wipe out three squads in such a short time and then disappear without a trace left them feeling uneasy about the enemy’s capabilities.

“Should we send someone to report to the lords?” Isaac asked quietly.

There was no way to keep such a matter hidden, but the timing and content of the report were crucial.

Reporting that three squads were annihilated after encountering a formidable enemy versus reporting that they encountered a strong enemy, lost three squads, but then managed to defeat them would lead to entirely different outcomes.

He hadn’t yet realized that his expectations for the battle had subtly shifted from “annihilate the enemy” to “defeat them.”

“We’ve already been circling around the mountains for a while,” Albert said as he studied the map, then suddenly recognized a serious issue. “Just two more miles to the northeast, and we’re at the regiment’s camp.”

“Those guys wouldn’t possibly…”

As if mocking them, a red smoke flare suddenly shot up from behind the ridge in front of them, exploding loudly in mid-air. The red smoke lingered in the sky for a long time.

“Lord Albert…” Both of their faces turned pale.

If this had happened a day earlier, they would have been thrilled. An enemy actively attacking the fortified camp they’d been fortifying for over ten days would be walking straight into their trap. The two squads left behind would draw them in, wear them down, and then the three squads led by Albert and Isaac would encircle them for a textbook annihilation.

But now, at this moment, they suddenly felt a loss of confidence.

“How many of them are there?” Isaac murmured.

Given the fighting capability of the wolfmen, it would take an elite force of over a thousand to wipe out one of their squads quickly. But even organizing the battlefield took time—transporting corpses consumed a significant amount of energy.

Not to mention, from the traces they found, the enemy had already been engaged in combat since last night.

For the enemy to still have enough strength to attack their camp, the only explanation was that their numbers far exceeded one or two thousand.

“They’re not from the Silver Moon Wolf Clan!” 

Both men simultaneously reached this conclusion.

The entire Silver Moon Wolf Clan couldn’t number more than fifty thousand. In previous operations, at least four thousand able-bodied fighters and over ten thousand elderly and weak were slain by their swords. Moreover, the remaining forces were currently surrounded by the army led personally by the two Sentalus lords. Even if a few hundred elite warriors slipped through a hidden passage or a gap in the encirclement, it would be impossible for them to muster thousands to launch a surprise attack here.

But if they’re not from the Silver Moon Wolf Clan, who could they be?

They racked their brains but couldn’t figure out who might have assembled such a large force to oppose the Sarnthalas family at this time.

“Have the troops rest and eat,” Albert ordered immediately. “You personally lead a team on the side paths to scout them out. Don’t engage, don’t delay—just identify who they are and come straight back.”

“Understood!” Isaac nodded.

The troops they were leading had been marching through the mountains for nearly five hours straight, from morning until now, and their stamina was at its limit. Forcing them to continue marching in this state would be sending them to their deaths, not into battle.

If the two squads left behind couldn’t hold the enemy off using the terrain and wooden fortifications, then these three exhausted squads wouldn’t be able to make any difference either.

However, if the defenders could hold out, then after resting and recovering their strength, the three squads could quietly march around to attack the enemy from behind at dusk, turning it into a victory worth celebrating.

Albert urged his soldiers to go down to the valley to get water, eat some rations, and rest where they were, all the while anxiously waiting for Isaac to return.

What puzzled and worried him, though, was that it was just a two-mile stretch of mountain path. With Isaac’s skills, he should’ve easily made the round trip on foot in under an hour, let alone while riding a wolf.

But even after all the soldiers had finished their rations, rechecked their gear and weapons, and fed their wolves with jerky, Isaac and the wolf riders he took with him still hadn’t returned.

The soldiers had seen the distress signal earlier, and as they rested and waited, they began whispering among themselves.

Listening to their speculations, Albert’s unease grew stronger, and his caution finally led him to make a decision.

“Form up!” he shouted. “Everyone, form up!”

“Sir, are we going to take down those bastards?” a squad leader asked.

“Everyone, head west!” Albert ordered instead. “We need to move in and protect Lord Roderick’s flank! Hurry up! Get moving!”

The half-elf officer and the mastiffmen were stunned. Ignoring a distress signal to protect a superior’s flank miles away?

But just then, the war wolves suddenly started to grow restless, and everyone felt it. There were a lot of people moving through the woods around them.

It was too late.

Albert took a deep breath.

“Form up! Form up!” he shouted. “Wolf riders, move to the flanks and get ready to charge! We need to break through them!”

The soldiers quickly sprang into action, but soon, someone among them cried out in shock, “It’s… it’s our own men?!”

The soldiers surrounding them had already formed a tight encirclement, but the faces visible through the gaps were all ones they recognized.

The only difference was that now, those faces looked dark, eerie, and expressionless.

“Captain Isaac?” one of the squad leaders called out in disbelief.

On the hill directly ahead of them, a group of wolf riders identical to their own had appeared, led by faces they all knew too well.

“Isaac… Auden… Bennett… Gust…”

It was like a cruel joke. The very people they had been searching for all day had suddenly shown up before them, but their appearance left no doubt that they were no longer the comrades they once knew.

“Ams above…” 

Albert’s heart sank completely as he spotted the broken, shambling bodies dragging themselves toward them from behind. The sight made his hand tremble so much that he could barely hold his sword.

“Undead…” he muttered. “The Batiz are back!”