Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead-Chapter 1223: It’s Been A Long Time Coming

Loimos stood before a portal manifested by the newest machine created by Gharl and Tiloh. The skeleton reached out for the portal, only to be instantly repelled. Smoke rising from his palm.

This realm's rules were stringent and very specific. So specific, in fact, that it was obvious that they had not been manifested naturally. Either the realm was conscious enough to make them in this manner, or another party had intervened to make these particular rules.

The rule that made it the most obvious was one with very specific wording, basically barring entry from certain undeads–By directly naming either their names or titles. Obviously, whoever or whatever had drafted these rules was aware of the Undead Empire.

Otherwise, there would be no rules specifically stopping entry from 'Loimos', 'Gravelords', as well as other titles that implied great strength. It was especially impressive because the rules had been made in a way to incorporate conditions into them, giving away protection in certain areas, to strengthen them somewhere else.

So the rules allowed for undeads to get in, and went a step further by allowing these undeads to keep their full strength, and to be unaffected by the potent amounts of life force within the realm. Basically, giving them the red carpet in exchange for absolutely keeping others out.

These rules were well-made, and Loimos couldn't help but notice that they had been imbued with certain forces that no one should have free access to. Implying the presence of something or someone of impressive power within–Not that Loimos had to guess, they were named directly within the rules of the realm.

Fallael.

Fallael was taking it upon themself not to intervene in combat-related matters in case an undead invasion did occur. At least, that was unless unauthorised invaders decided to somehow bypass the rules. In this case, the condition that shielded authorised invaders would be rendered null, and the full amount of life force stocked within the realm would be accessible to Fallael to deal with the abnormal threat.

Loimos had never heard of any individual by that name, but the way the rules were written strongly implied that this entity was the one who had manipulated the realm's restrictions…

Regardless, that being had definitely understood how to manipulate the rules of this realm. They had been built in a most pristine fashion. All loopholes had been sealed shut, and any alternative way into the realm–Such as by using another realm as intermediary–Had also been made impossible.

The realm the escapees of Tamaris had escaped to was incredibly secure. Loimos doubted that even a Great Realm would be able to manifest within it. Fashioning these restrictions had probably taken an egregious amount of time.

Unfortunately, the Undead Empire had not arrived earlier than this. The rules were completed, and even Loimos could not shatter them on a whim… However, some sacrifices had been made to achieve this result. Soldiers and warriors of the Empire could still enter without any problem.

Even better, they could fully deploy their strength and skill without having to worry about a thing.

Loimos turned to seemingly empty air–There, several unseen spectres were waiting, nearly impossible to detect. They were members of the Vanguard's greatest spy caste. Unseen, unheard, and capable of hitching a ride within the bodies of livings without any problem. They could even take possession of livings if necessary.

Of course, to achieve such a level of stealth across an entire caste, most of them had to completely give up on the ability to affect the material world, choosing to exist nearly exclusively on the edge between the main world and an immaterial realm of their choosing.

This made them excellent information gatherers, scouts, spies, and the like.

"The portal on the other side will only appear once someone enters through this one. It is preferable if we are able to establish a foothold and presence quickly. If we are forced to open more portals, the livings on the other side will become aware and potentially be able to thwart our efforts immediately"

"Do not fret, however. The realm on the other side is an unknown quantity to us. The portal may manifest in an unsatisfactory area. Regardless, do your best. Follow the procedure"

The Pure Undead explained before stepping to the side. The spectres paid their respect to the champion, and all flew into the portal. It pulsated strongly for a moment as the other end of the gateway was formed.

…Within the Peaceful Realm. Undeads appeared for the first time, although unaffected by it, the dire amounts of life force in the air were truly appalling. To them, this realm reeked of nought by blasphemy.

It was utterly disgusting.

Nonetheless, they were professionals and quickly assessed their surroundings, one of them flying upward to get a bird's-eye view of the area. Directing the others through mental speech.

They had appeared in an empty plain. It was better than being near habitations, but not ideal either. There was very little to cover the portal's presence. Meaning that it could be spotted from far away.

The spectres formed a circle around the portal, keeping watch and constantly reporting to the one in the sky–Soon, one who had remained close to the portal was sent back to the main world to report on the situation, leading to very tangible undeads coming in.

One of these undeads was equipped with a device allowing for the gateway to be moved. Under the guidance of the unseen spirits, they were led further and further away into the wilds, as one of the undead who had come in had the means to detect whether life force was ambient, coming from plants, or coming from animals and above… Capable of doing so with great precision and from great distances.

As such, they were getting away from where the livings were.

They moved quickly and without pause, until they reached what was deemed a sufficiently distant location, where they set the portal down for many more undeads to come rushing in–The builders and architects, ready to unleash their abnormal ability to erect structures in nigh paranormal amounts of time.

The first design was simple. One that had been thoroughly practised and was often used because it was especially quick to build–It was the favourite of the builders for this reason, and the most disliked of the architects for its lack of imagination.

In any case, a big box was soon created, which sank into the dirt like it was sinking in water. Promptly disappearing from view, leaving only a single, hidden entrance for the undeads to hop in, leaving no traces that they had even been here at all.

However, the fact that they had shown up had not gone unnoticed.

Fallael had sensed the breach immediately, and everyone had been informed of what had happened.

Instantly, all were ready to fight–Of course, no such things happened. The invaders were only here to secure an area for themselves. They did not linger inside the Peaceful Realm for any longer than was required.

…It made no doubt that attacks would begin soon, though.

Thankfully, many of the escapees had become thoroughly paranoid and had prepared for such an eventuality.

Barriers were already in place to protect people, and food had already been stocked up on, just in case.

Nonetheless, everyone was incredibly tense, even as Fallael tried to reassure them that there was no way that 'He' would be able to appear.

"Lizi. Is everything alright?"

"Auntie Antieeld… Yes. Everything is fine, I just… I am the oldest. I remember what happened the best"

"I am… Filled with an indescribable amount of fear, thinking about… Him. Yet, I can't suppress a strange sense of excitement? I don't quite get it"

Antieeld looked at the young woman. Lizi was holding her unsheathed sword, staring at the blade intently. A small smile crept up on the commandant's face.

"You want to wield your sword, that's all"

"...Is that so?"

Antieeld placed her palm against Lizi's back.

"Of course. Your heart is beating wildly at the idea of finally putting your sword skills to good use. Many will say that a swordmaster's peak is to no longer need to unsheath their blade–They are wrong. A swordmaster with no longer uses the tool they dedicated themselves to is a tragedy"

"The situation is terrible, but you will finally be able to be what you were meant to be, Lizi"

Antieeld ruffled the young woman's hair.

"Don't get yourself killed, though. If you die, I'll bring you back as a shade and give you an earful"

"Sure thing, Aunty Antieeld"

The commandant looked into the distance.

'To think that they would find their ways into the Peaceful Realm… It seemed quick to us, but who knows how much time has passed for them? Decades? Centuries? Even more than that? Are they expecting to find our descendants? Or do they already know that we still live?'

She sighed, tapping the guard of her sabre.

Only one thing was certain. There would be no negotiations. The undeads could not be allowed to wreak havoc upon this realm.

They needed to be banished.