Marrow hid behind the tall grass for protection as the light surged everywhere.
However, her skeletons and undead weren’t so lucky. The golden light rained upon them. The skeletons were turned to dust within a second. As for the undead, only the smell of burning flesh remained behind.
The few that were out of the range remained rooted to their spot on Marrow’s instruction. Still, out of the three hundred people strong force, a hundred got wiped out in a single attack.
Even under covers, Marrow felt the intense heat radiating from the cloaked figure. It was as if the man had summoned the sun to do his bidding.
I need to figure out how many times that human can use that strange skill.
Marrow gritted her teeth, but then calmed down. How would she show her face to Blaze if every setback made her lose her mind?
Meanwhile, the humans went into action. The shield bearers slammed their shields into the ground, surrounding the cloaked figure.
A hulking figure roared over the murmurs. The rest of the humans took their positions.
"The intel was right," the cloaked male said. "Kill one of them, and more will appear."
The young man pushed his hood, revealing it was the same person who had shot the bald man. He had volunteered to help others, despite receiving the title of an enforcer. Not out of goodwill, but to put his abilities to the test.
The initiates wanted to curse him, but couldn’t. Not when he was wearing the cloak made from the skin of the man he killed.
Also, because the moment he wore it, his entire demeanor changed. It was as if a new soul had entered his body, one that was completely loyal to the cult and to the Blightlord.
The man was excited to show off his power. He didn’t care about the initiates, but the latter didn’t have that luxury. They had been told that if anything happened to the newbie enforcer, all of them would be turned into cloaks.
The enforcer rejoiced, but the rest of the group didn’t share that sentiment. Despite their valor and outward strength, Marrow could see the terror in their eyes.
They killed a handful of zombies, and then an army appeared to confront them. No one knew what would happen now that they had slaughtered half the army.
"That’s enough testing," a shield bearer said. "Let’s leave before more of them arrive."
The enforcer’s [The Heretic’s Plight] was an overpowered ability. But it came at a price.
It took roughly ten minutes to charge, and then an hour of cooldown on top of that. Not only that, the ’priest’ was restricted from using any other spells while the skill was on cooldown.
That’s why there were so many people there to protect the two priests in their defenseless state. After having tested the ability successfully, they had to retreat beyond the spire’s range.
Two guards dropped their shields and picked the priests up before rushing out. The ranged damage dealers followed, leaving only the eight remaining shield bearers to stop the zombies.
As for the shield bearers, they merely looked over their shoulders, not daring to follow them.
That was the plan of their seniors.
After seeing what happened to the bald guy, none of them dared disobey the enforcers. By some miracle, they might survive the zombies, but the cult would kill them without fail.
As if it was going to be that easy.
"Shields!" the priest yelled as the second group of zombies began chasing them.
Technically, they weren’t being chased, but flying towards them. Chimera was flinging the skeletons at them like a catapult!
"No, you won’t!" a man yelled, swinging the bone mace.
The mace smashed the legs of a few skeletons, stopping them as arrows weren’t effective against them.
The skeletons fell to the ground, but soon they charged again, using their hands. The chosen had his guard down as the skeleton jumped at him. It bit into the man’s calf, and soon others followed.
The man reached for his team, only to see them further away. He had been abandoned.
The man yelled, swinging his mace. It was his only lifeline, but even that was cut short. A skeleton seized his wrist and bit into it until the mace fell from his grasp.
A skeleton clanked its jaw as it picked the mace up.
The man’s cries got cut off as the skeleton slammed the mace into his face again and again. It didn’t stop until the man’s head burst open like a rotten fruit.
The crunch of breaking bones satisfied the skeletons as they left the man to the mace-wielding skeleton, as it was having too much fun and charged at the rest.
The cultists saw the scene, but it only fueled them to escape faster.
The shield bearers who had been left behind weren’t spared either. The skeletons and zombies under Chimera’s command charged at them.
The initiates swung their shields to bash their heads, but ended up breaking their formation. Skeletons slipped past them as the zombies hung on to the shields, making it impossible for the humans to lift them, let alone swing them.
Without their shields, the humans could protect themselves as the skeletons lunged at them. Blood splattered everywhere as the skeletons bit into their throats.
Unable to hold back, the zombies joined in on the slaughter. It was a makeshift feast for them. The taste of human flesh was just too good to ignore.
However, their meal was cut short by a concentrated beam of light, turning most skeletons to dust.
Enraged, Marrow looked towards the source.
It was the second priest who was about to cross the spire’s rainy veil.
But it wasn’t used to help the shields. They were already dead. The action was more like a challenge.
The humans came, killed the zombies, and left with their primary force intact.
It was a slap to the so-called unstoppable horde.