Chapter 195: Chapter 195: Attack Of The Lich

​That morning, Zero Castle wasn’t immediately stormed. Yet, everyone had stood rigid at their posts since the first light of dawn. A biting chill crept through the cracks of the stone walls, carrying the scent of damp earth and the lingering stench of death from previous battles.

​Ever since Dola’s warning two days ago, sleep had become an impossible luxury. Kancil was caught checking his Desert Eagle three times before the sun even peeked over the horizon—stripping the barrel, wiping away imaginary dust, and reassembling it with a mechanical click. Loy and Riri stood side-by-side in the backyard. Riri’s fingers trembled occasionally, but she gripped her weapon tighter every time Loy glanced her way. Lunethra could only serve dry bread and water. Gulp. Dayat swallowed a piece of bread that tasted like sand in his throat. No one had any appetite.

​Dayat stood directly before the gate. His silver-blue armor remained dim—he had to conserve energy. However, his purple-green blade was already unsheathed, pulsing softly in rhythm with his heartbeat. Dola stood beside him. Her white cloak fluttered gently, but her sharp eyes stared straight into the thick fog enveloping the blackened trees. The bandage on her shoulder appeared slightly crimson; the wound from the Death Knight days ago seemed unwilling to close completely.

​"They’re coming," Dola whispered.

​Dayat didn’t ask how she knew. He simply tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.

​At first, it was only a faint vibration—like the disturbed pulse of the earth. Then came the sound. Not the random shuffling of a corpse’s gait, but a disciplined march. Crack... crack... Branches snapped in a military rhythm. The fog before them slowly shifted colors, from a pale grey to a toxic, terrifyingly phosphorescent green.

​And then, they revealed themselves.

​They weren’t mere Zombies. Nor were they Ghouls. Two Death Knights emerged simultaneously. Their undead steeds stepped out of the mist, their black armor pitted with rust and the scars of ancient wars. Blue flames flickered behind the slits of their steel helms, staring without blinking. Their gargantuan swords dragged along the ground, leaving harrowing ruts in the stony soil.

​Behind them, a sea of Zombies and Ghouls moved in a neat column formation. Hundreds, perhaps thousands. Their presence seemed to swallow the color of the earth between the trees.

​"Tsk, their formation has changed," Dayat muttered, his jaw tightening. "It’s more organized." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

​"A Lich," Dola replied curtly. "He is their general."

​Behind the ocean of corpses, hovering atop a spire of bone that jutted from the earth, was the Lich. A skeletal figure draped in tattered black robes. His body looked as fragile as a dry twig, yet the aura of death he radiated was suffocatingly dense. His bone staff emitted black smoke that writhed like snakes. His eyes—two hollow sockets filled with green light—stared at Zero Castle with chilling indifference.

​Dayat swallowed hard. "Two Death Knights. One Lich. And an army that outnumbers us several times over."

​"I can hold off one Death Knight," Dola said. Her hands trembled slightly, and cold sweat began to bead on her temples. "But not for long."

​"Hmm, let me handle both of them. You focus on supporting from the back."

​"Dayat—"

​"Trust me."

​Dola met Dayat’s eyes for a moment, then gave a small nod.

​The Lich raised his staff with a languid motion. The effect, however, was instantaneous.

​The first Death Knight spurred its horse until the ground shook violently. The second knight followed from the opposite flank. Behind them, a wave of undead surged forward. It was no longer a blind assault; Zombies in the front to test their strength, with Ghouls ready to exploit any opening.

​"Engage!" Dayat hissed.

​Lines of purple and green exploded into light along his silver-blue frame. A transparent visor snapped over his eyes, displaying rapid-fire tactical data: 120 bpm, Energy 87%. His blade hummed loudly. He lunged.

​Whoosh! The first Death Knight swung horizontally. Dayat ducked sharply, his knee nearly touching the ground. Before he could counter, the second knight thrust from the left. Clang! Dayat spun his body, parrying the massive blade with his energy sword, sending purple-blue sparks flying.

​They attacked in turns with agonizing coordination. Dayat was forced into a constant cycle of dodging and parrying. Every time he went to land a strike, the other knight would always close the gap.

​At the gate, the sea of corpses began to press in. Dola raised her hands high. Despite her shoulder throbbing in pain, she exerted her telekinesis. Boom! A transparent shockwave sent dozens of Zombies flying backward.

​Lunethra stood firm beside her. Her staff was thrust into the ground. Green roots slithered out, entangling the legs of the nimble Ghouls. Bang! A Ghoul that managed to break free immediately lost its head to Kancil’s bullet from a distance.

​"Don’t let a single one in!" Kancil roared. Loy and Riri held their ground at the wall crevices, spitting lead into the endless swarm.

​Dayat saw an opening. Dola sent the last of her energy to yank the leg of the first Death Knight’s horse. The creature stumbled. Thrust! Dayat’s purple-green blade pierced through the knight’s breastplate. The sound of snapping metal was agonizing as the knight collapsed. One down.

​However, the second Death Knight was already behind Dayat, its sword poised to descend.

​"DAYAT!"

​Dola didn’t just shout to warn him. She charged with her own body. She shoved Dayat aside, but the gargantuan blade struck Dola’s shoulder—right over her unhealed wound. Agh! Dola collapsed, fresh blood immediately flooding her white cloak.

​"DOLA!" Dayat screamed. His rage exploded instantly. He turned and attacked the second knight with uncontrollable ferocity. Slash! Slash! Crack! In three brutal movements, the knight’s armor shattered, and its head was severed from its neck.

​Both Death Knights were destroyed. However, the Lich began to move.

​The skeletal creature raised his staff high. The ground beneath Zero Castle bucked violently—a magical earthquake that cracked the stone foundations. Pitch-black roots snaked out from the underground darkness, coiling around the castle like a giant python. Boom! The eastern wing crumbled into ruins.

​"The castle is collapsing!" Lunethra cried out in panic.

​Dayat stared at Dola, who lay weak on the ground. Lunethra immediately knelt beside her, her green hands glowing as she tried to seal Dola’s wound. Dola looked at Dayat, her blue eyes dimming but full of conviction.

​"Go," Dola whispered hoarsely. "Finish him..."

​Dayat didn’t answer. He only looked at Dola for a single second, then turned back with a hollow, lethal gaze. The Mana-Circuits beneath his skin blazed a deep purple.

​"Lunethra! Watch over her!"

​Dayat bolted straight for the bone spire.

​The Lich looked bored. As Dayat’s blade almost reached him, he vanished in a puff of green smoke. Zip! He reappeared behind Dayat, swinging his staff. A lash of green energy struck Dayat’s shoulder, sending a pain that pierced his very nerves.

​The pattern repeated. Dayat would attack, the Lich would teleport. Every strike of green energy that hit Dayat made his muscles feel as heavy as lead.

​"Eh, you’re fast," the Lich’s voice sounded like dry bones grinding together. "But you’ll never touch me."

​Dayat panted heavily. He stopped chasing. He closed his eyes, letting the Maiden’s knowledge transferred by Dola flow through his mind. He searched for one thing: the Phylactery.

​"What is this? Surrender? How boring," the Lich mocked.

​Dayat opened his eyes. His Maiden Vision activated. He could see the flow of death energy now. And there, hidden within the Lich’s ribcage, behind his black robes, was a pulsing black gem.

​"There you are."

​The Lich started. "What?"

​Dayat raised his left hand. Purple-green particles solidified, forming a flat holographic disc: Phylactery Locator & Nullifier System. A purple wave swept over the Lich’s body. The red dot pulsing in his chest locked on.

​"Wait... that’s..." For the first time, there was a hint of fear in the Lich’s voice.

​"You hid it in your own body? Hmm, clever. But not clever enough," Dayat hissed.

​Click. Dayat pressed a button on the disc. A nullifier wave shot out, piercing the Lich’s chest. The black gem within instantly cracked. The green light in the Lich’s eyes flickered in horror.

​"NO!"

​The Lich tried to flee, but his teleportation magic failed completely. Dayat’s disc continued to lock his position. Dayat immediately manifested his Pulse Rifle. Blam! Blam! Blam!

​Every anti-magic shot slammed into the Lich’s chest and skull. A death scream never before heard in Aethera broke out—a shriek capable of shattering anyone’s resolve. The fourth shot hit dead center of the black gem.

​CRACK!

​The gem shattered into a thousand pieces. The Lich’s body exploded into black dust that vanished instantly in the wind, as if the world wanted to erase his very existence.

​Immediately, the thousands of Plagueborne on the battlefield stopped moving. They collapsed like dolls with their strings cut. A profound silence fell over the Forest of Lamentation.

​Kancil lowered his weapon with trembling hands. "Is... is it over?"

​"They’re all dead. Truly dead," Loy murmured in disbelief.

​Dayat ignored everything. He ran as fast as he could toward Dola. He knelt, lifting his pale wife’s body into his arms. "We won, Dola. We won."

​Dola gave a weak smile, her cold fingers touching Dayat’s cheek. "You... did it..."

​Zero Castle still stood, though cracked and ruined in places. The six of them gathered in silence, looking at one another to ensure the comrade beside them was still breathing.

​However, far away in Brassvale, atop the throne of the Hall of Gears, Wabil the Harbinger stopped tapping her finger. For the first time, she wasn’t smiling.

​"My army lost again?" she whispered coldly. There was a tone of anger appearing in her voice for the first time. "By a crippled Maiden?"

​She rose from her throne. Her black robes billowed following her overflowing rage.

​"I’ve played around for far too long. Next time... I shall step in myself."