CHAPTER 53

A week passed swiftly, and Duke Lamorak had gathered an army of nearly ten million soldiers, with the help of both bannermen and mercenaries, as he advanced toward the Forbidden Mountains.

"Foussard, do you know that such battles are welcomed by the songs of the star angels, celebrating the arrival of every brave soul into God's embrace? A feast awaits the fallen on the other side, a sight beyond our imagination!"

Foussard, riding alongside him on his black Pegasus, clad in luxurious armor that was no less grand than the ten marquises behind him, sighed and gazed into the distance.

"I hope we can negotiate by demonstrating our strength because, with the current power of the Demon King, one could say he stands as an equal against the other factions. If we can reach a suitable agreement with him, there might be benefits in store for us."

Foussard had expected Lamorak to be angered, but what happened next confused him.

"If the lives of the faithful are safe, then I, as a servant of God, will spare no cost. But if that demon has set his sights on our souls, I shall bring divine retribution upon him!"

Foussard was slightly bewildered, yet he felt relieved by such a mindset. He had feared Lamorak's extreme fanaticism, dreading that he might preach like many bishops and call people to a bloody war. However, Lamorak's strategy seemed more focused on defending his own lands. Nevertheless, Foussard knew the reason behind Lamorak's calm demeanor toward the Demon King—it was because he had spared his brother's life and instead threatened the South and the Dark Faction. The Southerners, after all, would never come to the negotiating table unless they were forced to.

"I hope a negotiation takes place."

Meanwhile, in the south, near the Demon King's fortress, two armies stood facing each other. It was expected that one would belong to the Dark Faction, but that was not the case—both were undead forces. The Death King stood with an army of five million undead against Hazard, whose forces numbered only sixteen thousand.

[5,000,000 ordinary demonic undead, 150,000 demonic undead archers, 100,000 demonic undead swordsmen, 20,000 elite swordsmen, 10,000 elite archers, 1,000 demonic undead sorcerers, 50 demonic undead giants, 5,000 demonic undead knights, 10,500 demonic liches, 100 demonic undead generals, 1 grand demonic undead general, 1 demonic undead champion, 1 Death King, 1 Death Shade, 300 undead giants, 1,000 undead hellhounds, 35 large undead hellhounds, 1 colossal undead hellhound alongside the large one, 30 nightmares, 6 death cyclopes, three baby thunder death dragons, 30,000 death eyes, 8,970 hellcats, 1 great hellcat, 600 undead witches, 1,300 witches, 1,000 undead miners, 5,675,230 undead of warlord to elite rank]

Hazard looked at his forces, having increased his knights by three thousand over time. His five thousand demonic undead knights stood at the front, supported by ten thousand demonic liches and 300 undead giants as cannon fodder. He faced the Death King and his 5.5-million-strong army, unable to fathom how he had gathered such a force. But a more pressing issue existed—Hazard had yet to reach the Epic rank, and no hero of any renown, due to his infamous reputation, would aid him at this time. Now, the Death King had broken their agreement, arriving earlier than promised with his entire army.

"Nameless King… our agreement was not for this time."

Hazard felt a chill down his spine sensing the Death King's Epic level, but the Death Shade doubled his mana, giving him a slight boost in confidence. Still, the Death King had the upper hand in every statistic, placing Hazard in a dire situation.

"The time has come. Yesterday, I fought in a grand battle against one who called himself Genibas—a legendary sorcerer wielding dark powers and immense fire attacks. Most of my army burned in a sea of flames, but in the end, I emerged victorious, and these undead are the fallen from that war. However, before escaping, that Epic sorcerer warned that two Dark Princes were amassing their forces and would come for you after slaying me. Not wanting to be a shield for the Hound of Ruin, I brought my army here."

At last, Hazard realized what the explosions his scouts had reported yesterday had been. Now, he faced news that the two Dark Princes had joined forces to eliminate him. However, another urgent matter loomed—drawing his colossal sword from its sheath, the Death King continued.

"Our battle will take place now! If you can defeat me, my army will be yours!"

With that, his royal aura erupted, shaking the ground and sending tremors through everyone's bodies.

"Death King, you must know that a fight between us benefits neither of us. If what you say is true, the Dark Army will soon arrive!"

Yet, before Hazard could react, the Death King vanished and reappeared in front of him in an instant.

"Saving the lives of the children is enough for me!"

With that, Hazard swiftly summoned the Reaper's Scythe to block the attack, but he could not entirely deflect it—he was sent crashing into the middle of his own army, injuring dozens of knights in the impact.

"Damn you! You brought this upon yourself!"

At that moment, his mirrored deaths appeared, and chain lightning of death surged as all battlefield skills—including buffs, debuffs, and temporary undead transformation—activated. As the Death King attacked, his army charged forward, while Hazard's knights, mounted on skeletal warhorses, galloped at full speed, strengthened by Hazard's power.

"You dare face me with such numbers?! You have no hope of survival!"

With that, the Death King absorbed the lightning into his sword with incredible skill and then swung it toward the lich army, wiping out hundreds of liches and their souls in a single strike.

Hazard's hope shattered upon witnessing this. His liches and knights had greater raw power due to the Abyss enhancement, and his domain buffs strengthened his two clones, giving him a fighting chance. But now, he sensed the presence of numerous Warlords in the Death King's army—sixty Warlords suddenly emerged on the right flank.

As the two armies clashed in the center and left, the undead knights demonstrated the effectiveness of their cavalry while the liches bombarded enemy ranks with magic. However, the right flank was a complete disaster, leaving Hazard frozen in place. In just ten seconds, his entire right-wing—composed of 1,500 knights—was obliterated by 100 undead giants. Only the liches' relentless attacks prevented the center and left from being completely encircled, all while Hazard struggled desperately against the Death King.

In those mere ten seconds, their exchanged blows—both magical and physical—had already exceeded triple digits. Seeing the dire state of his forces, Hazard had no choice but to summon thirty special creatures. However, this greatly weakened his forces in the north, where they faced Duke Lamorak, commanded by the Grand General.