Mercenary Wars

Chapter 214 The Desert Bishop
Gaucano's first reaction to the group of ghosts who worshipped evil gods, including the Desert Bishop, was actually to notify the church.

After all, an eighth-level undead, plus a bunch of minions, doesn't sound like a tough opponent.

This place isn't too far from the Kingdom of Sein and the Kingdom of Liberland, both of which have Holy Knight Orders. As long as he spreads the news about the Desert Bishop, it's estimated that Holy Knights will arrive soon and wipe out this group of undead in no time.

But according to Oren, the Desert Bishop is building a large-scale magical facility to convert the undead, and it seems to be nearing completion.

In this light, notifying the church might be a bit slow.

Before his message even arrives, the Desert Bishop's plan might be completed, potentially unleashing thousands of dead souls that could affect the entire country.

Moreover, it can be expected that the Desert Bishop will actively search for corpses at other ancient sites. There are likely over 100,000 ancient soldiers buried in the Asur Desert; if he succeeds, the consequences will be unimaginable.

With this in mind, Gao Gano couldn't help but change his train of thought.

Is it possible to take down the Desert Bishop with just your own team?

Forcing it won't work.

Even if we could win by force, the cost would be extremely high.

We must achieve victory through unconventional means.

After much thought, Gao Gano gradually came up with an idea.

He turned his gaze to the undead wielding the sword.

The undead wielding the sword shuddered involuntarily: "You... what are you going to do?"

Gao Jiano didn't answer, but turned his head and said, "Put a silence spell on him too."

Darius immediately cast a spell, silencing the sword-wielding undead.

Then Gaucano drew the Blood-Summoning Sword and walked straight to the undead holding the sword.

The sword-wielding undead could not make a sound. With no flesh and blood on its face and bound hand and foot, the trembling of its body was the only way it could express its fear.

At this moment, under Gaucano's indifferent yet curious gaze, he was trembling violently.

Gao Jiano grabbed his arm bone, then placed the Blood-Summoning Sword on it and began to saw repeatedly, like sawing wood.

"Chi chi chi——"

The blade made a piercing sound as it struck the bone, and some bone dust began to accumulate at the saw's edge.

Skeletons have no flesh and blood and are immune to bleeding. In addition, Gaugano did not use much force, so after sawing for a while, the arm bone of the sword-wielding undead was only slightly damaged.

This puzzled everyone.

"Boss, what are you doing?" Daryls couldn't help but ask.

“I’m trying to control him,” Gao Jiano explained. “With just our small force, it’s too dangerous to deal with the Desert Bishop. If we could control some of his men, things would be much easier.”

The Bloodsummoning Sword's enchantment "Mark of Enslavement" is probabilistic and generally not very effective against ordinary enemies, since few creatures can withstand multiple attacks from the Bloodsummoning Sword without dying.

Only creatures with exceptionally strong defenses or immunity to bleeding are more likely to trigger the "Mark of Enslavement".

The undead are clearly one of them.

Therefore, Gaucano's idea was to continuously "attack" the sword-wielding undead in this way, attempting to trigger the "mark of enslavement".

If we can control a group of undead, we can not only weaken the power of the Desert Bishop, but also strengthen ourselves at the same time, making the battle much easier.

Watching Gaogano's sawing motion, Oren couldn't help but ask, "Will this work?"

Gao Jiano pondered for a moment and said, "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure either. But if that doesn't work, our best course of action might be to seek help from the Church. As for you, you'll also need to find a new hiding place."

Everyone was silent.

"Chi chi chi——"

Gaucano continued sawing at the bones of the sword-wielding undead, then moved to a different spot after a while.

Xiao Hei interjected, "Do you need my help? I was just thinking of grinding my teeth for a while."

"……Need not."

"Oh."

For some reason, in this scenario, the probability of triggering the Mark of Enslavement seems to be greatly reduced, or it may not even be triggered at all.

Gaucano sawed for more than ten minutes, but the sword-wielding undead was not controlled.

This made him frown.

After some reflection, he decided to try a different approach.

He exerted some strength and slashed fiercely at the undead holding the sword.

"Clang!" With a clang, the Blood-Summoning Sword struck the bone, and the sword-wielding undead, who had been somewhat numb, showed fear again, trembling all over.

"Qiang Qiang Qiang!"

Gao Jiano carefully controlled his strength, repeatedly slashing at the thick bones of the sword-wielding undead while trying not to cause too much damage to it.

Before long, the bones of the sword-wielding undead were covered with cleavage marks, as dense as gradations.

In a daze, Gaucano, who was constantly hacking without success, felt that his movements were a bit like striking flint, only more elusive. After all, striking flint can produce sparks, but hacking like this would leave you with nothing.

Finally, just when he was about to give up and the sword-wielding undead was about to become numb again, some information suddenly surfaced in his mind.

[Triggered Successfully: Mark of Enslavement]

You have enslaved John (Level 5 Undead)

As this information surfaced, Gaucano immediately felt a connection established with the sword-wielding undead. More precisely, he gained control of the sword-wielding undead's body.

"Finally, it worked!" He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Untie him and remove the silence spell."

Daryls hesitated for a moment before doing as she was told, lifting the restriction on the sword-wielding undead.

The undead wielding the sword then rose from the ground, performed a few strange movements as Gaugano had wished, and said in a slightly stiff voice, "For Sindragosa!"

Everyone was a little incredulous.

Pierce, who had transformed into a human, widened his eyes in surprise. After a moment, he seemed to realize something: "Your weapon has a control-type enchantment?"

"More or less," Gao Jiano simply said.

Then he looked at Oren: "Next, you'll have to work with this guy to lure the other undead over, and then I'll take control of them."

“No problem!” Oren said excitedly.

After discussing it, the group immediately set to work.

Oren and the sword-wielding undead headed towards the vicinity of the Seth Church, luring one or two undead at a time. The group quickly subdued them, and then Gaucano used a series of slashes to control them.

Before long, Gaucano successfully controlled the five Set undead and placed them back in the territory of the Desert Bishop.

But just as he was trying to control the sixth undead, an accident occurred.

[Triggered Successfully: Mark of Enslavement] [You have enslaved Peter (Level 4 Undead)]

As the notification appeared, Gao Jiano felt a buzzing sound in his mind, and his consciousness instantly became heavy.

At the same time, the connection of all the marks of enslavement was also presented in his consciousness in the form of text through the panel.

[Enslavement: John (Level 5 Undead)]

[Enslavement: Rhoden (Level 6 Undead)]

[Enslavement: Matt (Level 4 Undead)]

……

Beyond the six dead, there is a faint connection.

[Enslavement: Laugus (Level 7 Ghost Apprentice)]

Laugus?
Gao Jiano had almost forgotten about the apprentice he had controlled.

Several months have passed, and across different dimensions, I never expected that the other party is still under the influence of the mark of enslavement!
Of course, due to the vast distance, Gaucano was unable to exert any control over Laugus, and could not even determine his location.

It can be said that this mark of enslavement exists in name only.

Nevertheless, it still put a certain burden on Gaugano, leading to his current negative state.

Now he has to make a choice.

Should we relinquish control over Laugus?

After all, this mark is merely nominal and has no practical use, but it can become a burden.

Giving up this mark would at least allow Gaucano to escape his current uncomfortable state.

But after a brief consideration, perhaps because he wasn't thinking clearly, he ultimately didn't do it.

the reason is simple.

He found the Ghostly Path quite peculiar...

After all, as far as he knew, Ghosts seemed to exist only in the legendary Netherworld and in Behelit's blood sacrifice rituals, belonging to an extremely rare type of ghost.

“Let’s prepare to move.” Gaucano then took a deep breath.

Oren: "No more controlling a few enemies?"

Gao Jiano shook his head slightly: "My control has reached its limit. If I continue to control the enemy, I will definitely be attacked by the magic."

"Aren't we a little short-handed?" James thought for a moment.

Gaucano: "It's a bit little, but as long as we proceed according to plan, it should be enough."

As he spoke, he took out several Wind Orbs from his storage ring, along with some Lesser and Standard Grade Holy Oil, wrapped them up, and placed them on an undead he controlled.

"Oren, you and the other undead gather all of the Desert Bishop's subordinates together, and then I will detonate this package," he instructed.

The spirits couldn't help but feel a chill.

After all, to them, the holy oil was like scalding dung; the power of it exploding where the undead gathered was unimaginable.

“We have to stay away from this guy when it detonates,” James said.

“Without a doubt.” All the undead nodded in agreement.

"How should we deal with the Desert Bishop?"

Gao Jiano: "Xiao Hei and I will handle it."

Daryls couldn't help but say, "Won't it be too few with just the two of you? How about Little Gu and I go too?"

Gao Jiano shook his head: "No, you are not good enough to handle this situation, and others should not participate either, after all, the battle will definitely be very disadvantageous to the undead - I have a lot of holy oil and an exorcism ring. Xiao Hei is the most suitable helper."

"As for Little Gu, its level is a bit too low. Let it drop holy oil from the air to assist you," he added.

"Ok."

The group began their operation.

Gaucano disguised himself as a captured adventurer and then controlled Rodon—the only level six undead he enslaved—to travel to the Cathedral of Set.

The others also acted in sync with the plan, either gathering the Desert Bishop's men as much as possible or lying in ambush where necessary.

Under Roden's "escort," Gaucano arrived at the Seychelles Church.

Like most religious buildings, the Seymour Church has a striking design. Despite extremely limited resources, the Desert Bishop still managed to build it into a magnificent structure, complete with spires and long staircases, inspiring a sense of awe in those who approach it.

The church walls are adorned with exquisite murals depicting various legends about Set, the god of the desert. However, as a god with a tarnished reputation, the myths and legends of Set are mostly unpleasant, at least to normal beings. The murals are filled with images of desert and withered bones, symbolizing desolation, decay, and death. Perhaps only spirits, beings conceived in death, are most likely to develop faith in Set.

Gaucano, bound, walked behind Roden to the church door.

There was an undead guard in front of the church. Although he was also wearing rusty equipment, he seemed to be doing his job well. Upon seeing Gao Jiano, he immediately stepped forward and asked, "What's going on, Rodon? Where did this human come from? And what about that bear?"

Gaucano, controlling Rodon, replied, "He seems to be an archaeologist and hunter trying to find some treasures here. My brothers and I caught him—it took quite a bit of effort! I'm just about to bring him to His Excellency the Bishop!"

“This is truly a rare sight. I can’t even remember the last time a living person came here,” said the undead guard. “The problem you mentioned should be brought to His Holiness the Bishop, but… are you going to bring this bear in as well?”

Rhoden: "If possible. After all, you know, His Holiness the Bishop is preparing for that great ceremony, and this big guy looks like a perfect living sacrifice."

Undead Guard: "Forget it, I doubt it can even squeeze through the church door. Leave it outside, and you take this human to see the bishop."

“Okay,” Rodden said, then handed the leather strap that held Little Black to the undead guard.

Looking at the slender leather belt in his hand, the undead guard was taken aback: "Wait, a leather belt? This looks like a dog leash. Are you sure it can control this big guy?"

Rodden: "Don't worry, level six magical beasts are still quite intelligent. Its master is in my hands, and I swear in the name of Seth, it would never dare to do anything."

“Alright.” The undead guard looked at the enormous black creature and the leash that resembled a dog leash, his tone somewhat apprehensive. “Hurry up.”

Rodden then led Gaucano into the Seychelles church.

Before long, they met the Desert Bishop in a spacious room.

To Gaucano's surprise, the Desert Bishop transformed himself into a human, dressed in a rather magnificent outfit—his blue robes and staff were glowing.

When Gaucano entered, the Desert Bishop was kneeling on the ground, seemingly in prayer, muttering, "Seth, supreme god of the desert, I am about to complete my sacred mission and spread your glory among mankind..."

Beside him was a ghost dressed as a servant, who had also taken on a human form.

After a long while, the Desert Bishop turned around.

Gaucano thus got a clear look at his face.

It was a bizarre face, with sunken eyes, rough and slightly dark skin, and wrinkles all over it. Although it had flesh and blood, it was as thin as a rake, like a dried corpse, and not much better looking than a skeleton.

The Desert Bishop looked at Gao Jiano, a hint of surprise rising in his dry voice: "A living person?"

(End of this chapter)