Chapter 253: Before the Battle

Wu Qingsong had transformed Raman’s giant eagle into a zombie by, but its carrying capacity was still limited. It could barely manage to fly with someone like Wu Qingsong, who had a smaller build and wore no armor. However, if it had to carry a warrior like Nina, flying would be out of the question.

Wu Qingsong, however, had more important tasks to attend to, and in the end, it was Daryl, who had become quite familiar with the undead over the past few days. After removing his armor, he mounted the undead eagle.

“Whatever you do, stay away from the ground,” Wu Qingsong warned him.

Even though Daryl had a magic shield item, no one could be sure how much Roderick had recovered after the night. Wu Qingsong didn’t want Daryl taking any unnecessary risks.

“You have two missions. First, scout their position and direction of movement, and second, confirm Roderick’s location. If he’s not in the camp, report back immediately.”

“Understood!” Daryl responded.

Wu Qingsong then turned his attention to examining Raman’s body.

Last night, he had sensed something different about it compared to the other corpses he had dealt with before, but due to being preoccupied with raising more undead, he hadn’t had the chance to investigate. Now, he finally had a bit of time to look into it.

As an elven mage, Raman’s soul fragment was far more powerful than anything Wu Qingsong had ever encountered before. Even the unconscious fragment attached to the body was comparable to dozens of soul fragments collected from regular soldiers.

But that wasn’t the only unusual thing. When Wu Qingsong tried to interact with and control this soul fragment using his mental energy, he could clearly feel that it wasn’t as mindless as other fragments. When he attempted to control it, it actually fought back.

Upon further analysis, Wu Qingsong realized that it had grown stronger since he first observed it the previous night.

Could it be absorbing other soul fragments to strengthen itself?

This discovery surprised him. 

Cautiously, he placed a purified soul fragment next to Raman’s, and sure enough, Raman’s fragment immediately surrounded it and devoured it furiously. Within minutes, the two fragments merged into one, and the resulting fragment was slightly stronger.

This made Wu Qingsong realize that he might have stumbled upon the key to crafting a lich.

With great care, he began to attack the fragment in the same way the Red Demon Lord had once done to him. The fragment fiercely resisted, but Wu Qingsong applied what he had learned. Before long, the memories, emotions, and will tied to Raman were compressed and eventually vanished into nothing.

A flicker of soul fire appeared before Wu Qingsong. He carefully pieced together Raman’s body, preparing it as he would for reanimating a zombie. Then, he infused the soul fire into the body. A few minutes later, Raman’s form fused back together. His eyes opened, and he stood before Wu Qingsong.

“At your service, my master,” he said, speaking on his own before Wu Qingsong could ask.

“Do you remember anything from before?” Wu Qingsong asked.

“The past no longer matters to me, Master,” Raman replied.

His body had a noticeable seam, giving him a somewhat grotesque appearance.

“Can you still use magic?” Wu Qingsong asked.

“Of course!” the lich replied eagerly. 

He immediately summoned a fireball, letting it hover in front of him.

“How many times can you cast a fireball like that?” Wu Qingsong inquired.

“If you don’t replenish my soul energy, I can cast thirty fireballs or two explosive flame spells,” Raman answered. “After that, I’ll lose the ability to use magic and function like a normal undead.”

“Can’t you replenish energy on your own?”

“I can, but very slowly, and it comes with some risk,” Raman explained. “My soul’s strength can’t handle too much backlash. The rate at which I devour soul fragments is nowhere near as efficient as you, Master.”

“What else can you do?” Wu Qingsong asked.

If that was all the lich could offer, its usefulness was more limited than he’d hoped.

“I can command lower-level undead, Master,” Raman replied. “As long as you provide me with enough energy, I could even control an entire army.”

“Where am I going to get an army for you to control?” Wu Qingsong shook his head. 

Still, he gave it a try, letting Raman command the skeletal war wolves. To his surprise, it worked out pretty well.

Raman’s natural leadership ability seemed to remain intact. While it wasn’t as precise as Wu Qingsong’s direct control, it was still far better than just giving the undead vague commands and relying on their instincts to attack a target.

Just then, the undead giant eagle returned.

“I saw Roderick!” 

Daryl jumped off the eagle even before it fully landed. 

“He’s gathered all his forces together, right here, less than three miles from us!” He pointed to the spot on the map. “It looks like they’re making breakfast. I saw a lot of cooking fires.”

The fact that Roderick hadn’t fled was good news for them, but his next move was still hard to predict. Last night, he had shifted his forces slightly to the northeast, a position where he could either retreat toward the Noguti Duchy or still pose a direct threat to them, possibly even launching an attack.

“Nina?”

“I think he still wants to fight us before deciding on his next move,” Nina said.

Wu Qingsong nodded. “Daryl, take the eagle and scout the area. See if he’s sent out any messengers. If you find any, do whatever you can to stop them.”

“Leave it to me!” Daryl nodded. 

The messengers likely wouldn’t be numerous, and with the magic tools and the undead eagle, a small number of soldiers wouldn’t pose much of a challenge.

“If Roderick really wants a fight, it won’t be long now,” Wu Qingsong said. “He won’t give me much more time to raise more undead, and their supplies won’t last long either. Time is on our side now. The longer we drag this out, the lower their morale will sink, and the more undead we’ll have on our side.”

With Raman now acting as a low-level lich, Wu Qingsong had more tactical options at his disposal. 

He entrusted it with nearly a thousand skeletons, sending them to flank Roderick’s forces from the east. If Roderick tried to flee, this unit could delay them, and if a battle broke out, having these undead appear from behind would deliver a heavy blow to their morale at a critical moment.

Nina ordered the wolfmen to prepare food, and soon after, they completed their battle preparations. Wu Qingsong led the skeleton army forward to approach Roderick’s troops, while the wolfmen began to maneuver from the flanks.

“The enemy is on the move,” A wolfman scout came running back.

“Which direction?” Nina asked.

“They’re heading our way.”

Nina glanced at Wu Qingsong, and both of them breathed a sigh of relief.