Wizard: Starting from Escape from the Thorn Garden

Chapter 136 Rusty Corpse Witch

Kate led the vanguard of the war gang, consisting mainly of five elite Dread Knights, five Corpse Spear Throwers, and the Blood Priest himself, out of Skullcrushing Canyon and sped toward the Rusty Hills to the northwest.

This team is arguably the most elite force in the current Skullcrushing Battle Clan. Most of its members are at the peak of level four, and the Terror Knight is close to the initial level one strength. When they charge together, they are enough to tear apart most defenses.

Corpse spearmen excel at ranged attacks, while blood priests provide bizarre curses and life-draining spells.

Kate rode a warhorse-like undead beast, clad in bone armor, specially given to him by Grom, shrouded in a faint mimicry shadow, maintaining the cold and mysterious strategist image of "Shadowfang".

He was clear-headed; his primary purpose for this trip was not to "support" the king, but to observe, assess, and seek opportunities.

The team silently advanced through the treacherous terrain of the Eternal Night Canyon. The closer they got to the Rusty Hills, the more pungent the metallic rust and stench of decay became, even overpowering the canyon's inherent deathly aura.

Along the way, they encountered several other undead groups that were also ordered to gather at Rust Hills. They maintained a wary distance from each other, simply verifying each other's identities and destinations in a way unique to the undead, before hurrying on their respective journeys.

A sense of impending doom hung over the area.

Finally, after more than a day of forced march, a vast and strange hilly area came into view.

The land here has a sickly reddish-brown color, as if it had been soaked in blood and then completely rusted.

The ground was littered with huge, twisted metal debris, much of which had become one with the earth, covered with dark red moss and rusty fungi.

Dark red dust containing metallic particles, visible to the naked eye, floated in the air; inhaling it would severely corrode the soul fire of the dead.

Among the hills, one can vaguely see many mine pits with green or purple smoke billowing from their entrances, and simple sheds built from metal scraps and skeletons.

This is the lair of the "Rusty Lich" alliance—Rusty Hills.

They are known for devouring metal, crafting undead constructs, and corrosive weapons.

However, at this moment, this once vibrant hillside (by the standards of the dead) is plunged into a deathly silence of panic.

Kate led her team to a high ridge overlooking most of the hilly area and ordered them to stop and hide.

In the center of the hills, in a relatively flat valley that appeared to be the main gathering area of ​​the lich cultists, the scene was breathtaking.

On one side of the valley stood the "Rusty Corpse Witches" alliance, ready for battle.

Their main body consists of hundreds of "steel zombies" and "skull mechanics" clad in rusted plate armor and wielding various modified flamethrowers, acid cannons, or rotating saw blades, forming a rough but incredibly powerful defensive line.

Behind the defensive line were dozens of "corpse alchemists" dressed in robes inlaid with gears and pipes, accompanied by some enormous "stitched colossi" and "rotten turbines" that were pieced together from scrap metal and body parts and radiated dangerous energy.

These undead units may not be as individually strong as Grom's elite warbands, but they are more numerous and have the advantage of terrain. Relying on a large number of rust traps, acid pools and spontaneous metal mines set up in the hills, they have built a bizarre defensive line full of death technology.

Their leaders were three lich shamans of different shapes standing on a high platform.

The one in the center is a "Lich Lord" whose body is almost entirely made of dark metal, with a huge green energy core embedded in its chest cavity and constantly emitting strong acid gas. Its aura has reached the peak of the first ring, and it is obviously the leader.

On the left is a "Storm Weaver" floating in mid-air, surrounded by countless tiny metal fragments and arcs of electricity, a late-stage first ring.

On the right is an obese "Oil Manipulator" who constantly squeezes thick, black oil from the pustules on his body and controls several huge mechanical tentacles; he is also in the late stage of the first ring.

These three are the leaders of the Rusty Corpse Witch Alliance.

However, the force of the opposing side completely overwhelmed the visual impact of the Lich Alliance.

On the other side of the valley, a disciplined legion, exuding an aura of pure death and destruction, stood in a dark, imposing line.

That was the Pale Monarch's direct legion—the "Withering Legion".

The front row was filled with densely packed "Withered Guardians," heavily armored and armed with halberds. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, their silence as solid as a mountain, radiating a chilling killing intent.

The central army consisted of hundreds of "Plague Priests" dressed in grey-green robes, carrying plague censers and curse codes. They chanted unsettling blasphemous prayers in low voices, and their bodies were surrounded by a visible green cloud of plague.

On both flanks of the legion, swarms of extremely fast "Corrosion Hounds," resembling hunting dogs but composed of skeletons and venom, roamed.

What's most unsettling is the figure hovering above the legion.

It was not a gigantic undead behemoth, but a gray-green humanoid figure similar in size to a normal human, shrouded in a distorted halo.

It wore an ancient and tattered robe, its face blurred, with only a pair of eyes, like two constantly spinning gray-green vortexes that devoured light, radiating an absolute stillness and majesty that caused all things to wither and all living beings to decay.

It held no weapon, but gently held a black crystal ball that dripped viscous black liquid, as if it were compressed from countless tormented souls.

Its mere presence seemed to freeze the air in the entire Rust Hills, repelling the rusty dust and mist from the Lich Alliance's side with an invisible force field, making it impossible for it to get even a fraction closer to the Wither Legion.

The Pale Lord incarnate!

Although it was just an avatar, the aura of its rank it exuded far surpassed that of any being Kate had ever seen before, even more profound and terrifying than Commander Elmer, as if facing death itself.

Kate could feel the core of death within her cycle of reincarnation trembling slightly under this pressure, a mixture of awe and an irrepressible yearning—a yearning for a higher level of death rules.

"This is—the power of the monarch's incarnation—" Kate thought with a chill, fully activating the Heart of Reincarnation and the Seed of Origin to analyze and record the characteristics of that power.

"Cold, pure, carrying the connotations of absolute end and decay—the rules are extremely concentrated, far exceeding the energy accumulation of ordinary undead—seemingly capable of directly interfering with the fundamental structure of life—"

Even though the terrifying knights beside him were devoid of emotion, their soulfire involuntarily contracted slightly, expressing their instinctive fear.

The blood sacrifice lowered its head, not daring to look directly at the blood.

"A massive army is pressing in, and the monarch himself is here—the Rusty Lich Witches are in deep trouble."

The blood priest said in a low voice, his tone carrying a hint of schadenfreude and awe.

Kate remained silent, only signaling the team to maintain absolute silence, using the shadows of the ridge and her own mimicry to conceal her presence, and quietly observe.

In the valley, the two sides seemed to have just finished a round of negotiations, and the atmosphere was tense.

The lich lord stepped forward, his metallic scraping sound carrying anger and resentment, and said from afar: "Pale King, my Rust Alliance has always been autonomous and has never offended your majesty."

We are willing to offer you superior weapons and constructs, but we demand that we all be incorporated into the Wither Legion and surrender all alchemical secrets and control of resources.

This is absolutely impossible! This would destroy our future.

Although its voice was strong, a slight, barely concealed tremor could be detected if you listened carefully.

In the air, the Pale Lord's avatar did not speak, but its gray-green vortex-like eyes turned slightly as it looked at the Lich Lord.

The next moment, an invisible and terrifying will pressed down on the entire Lich Alliance like a tsunami.

Pfft!Pfft!

Within the allied forces, a large number of low-level steel zombies and skeleton mechanics collapsed to the ground as if struck by an invisible giant hammer, their soul fire extinguished instantly, without even a struggle.

Even the three leaders trembled violently. The metal shell on the Lich Lord's body emitted a teeth-grinding twisting sound, the arcs of electricity around the Storm Weaver became chaotic, and several pustules on the Sludge Manipulator's body burst open.

Without uttering a word, he instantly annihilated nearly a hundred low-level undead and injured three high-level first-ring leaders with his sheer willpower.

This is the power of a monarch!

"Ants have no right to bargain."

A cold, indifferent voice, seemingly composed of countless dying wails, resounded directly among the soul fires of all the dead within a radius of several miles, indiscriminately influencing friend and foe.

"To surrender, to merge into eternal decay. Or—to be utterly transformed into nourishment for decay."

There was no threat; it was simply stating a fact.

A commotion immediately broke out among the Lich Alliance, and fear spread like a plague.

Many of the dead began to instinctively retreat.

The three leaders were both shocked and furious. The Lich Lord was about to say something when he was pulled back by the Storm Weaver beside him.

The Storm Weaver communicated with it rapidly, seemingly engaged in a heated debate.

Kate could see clearly that the Rusty Lich's interior was not a solid block.

The Lich Lord seemed more inclined to resist forcefully, while the Stormweaver appeared more fearful and hesitant, and the Sludge Manipulator was somewhat indecisive.

"Internal disagreements—that's good."

Kate thought to herself, "This is something I can use."

Just then, the Wither Legion made a move.

The plague priests in the legion's mid-line formation simultaneously raised their plague censers, and their chanting suddenly rose in pitch.

Thick, nauseating gray-green plague clouds billowed from the incense burner, coalescing into a massive, churning wall of clouds that slowly advanced toward the lich alliance.

Wherever it passed, the ground quickly turned black and rotted, and even the metal debris rusted and disintegrated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Plague cloud, disperse! Acid cannons, prepare to intercept it!" the Lich Lord roared in alarm and rage.

The Lich Alliance was thrown into chaos, and some of the skeleton mechanics responsible for ranged attacks hurriedly operated their rudimentary acid cannons and flamethrowers to fire at the plague cloud.

Chi Chi Chi!

Acid and flames are injected into the cloud, which can temporarily evaporate a small portion, but it cannot stop the advance of the entire cloud wall. In fact, it sometimes accidentally injures friendly forces in front.

Even more terrifying, some steel zombies that couldn't dodge in time were swept into the plague cloud and immediately let out a shrill scream. Their solid metal bodies melted like candles, and the soul fire inside was instantly infected and twisted by the terrifying plague virus, turning into a pool of writhing, foul-smelling black sludge.

The plague cloud is not only terrifyingly corrosive, but also contains a vicious curse that directly attacks the soul.

"The Wither Legion—it lives up to its reputation." Kate calmly assessed, "It is extremely lethal on large-scale battlefields, and it is especially good at dealing with clustered targets and fixed defenses."

The downside is its relatively slow advance speed, which may reduce its effectiveness against high-speed mobile units and small elite forces.

The plague cloud wall was about to approach the first line of defense of the Lich Alliance. Once they were caught up in it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Just then, the Storm Weaver suddenly soared into the sky, its metal fragments spinning wildly and bursting with blinding arcs of electricity!

"Storm Barrier!"

It let out a sharp cry and pushed its hands forward violently.

Rumble!!!

A massive tornado, composed of raging electric currents and rapidly spinning metal fragments, appeared out of nowhere and blocked the plague cloud wall.

Sizzle sizzle—!!

The plague cloud collided violently with the thunderstorm, producing a deafening explosion.

The green plague energy and the blue-white electric snakes annihilated and tore at each other, corroding a large number of metal fragments into powder, but also electrolyzing and dispersing a large amount of plague mist.

The Stormweaver, single-handedly, temporarily halted the advance of the Plague Cloud Wall.

But it was clearly struggling, its body trembling constantly, and the electric arcs around it flickering.

"Good opportunity! Corruption Hounds, flank attack! Wither Wards, advance!"

A cold voice came from behind the Wither Legion, seemingly from the actual commander of the legion.

The next moment, a pack of Corruption Hounds surged out from both flanks of the legion like a tidal wave. They were incredibly fast, like streaks of gray shadows flying close to the ground, avoiding the frontal battle and flanking the Lich Alliance.

At the same time, the front-line Wither Guardian formation began to march with heavy and orderly steps, like a moving steel jungle, pressing towards the Lich Alliance, which had been exposed due to the Storm Weaver's being restrained.

A three-dimensional offensive, applying pressure from the front and flanking maneuvers.

The Lich Alliance was suddenly attacked from both sides.

"Block them! Stitch the colossus up! Rotten turbines, stop those dogs!"

The Oil Manipulator roared, controlling its mechanical tentacles and several massive, mobile fortress-like structures to meet the Corrosive Hounds on its flanks.

The Lich Lord personally led his most elite Iron Zombie Guard to the front, ready to meet the onslaught of the Wither Guards.

The battle instantly intensified!

On the flanks, the Corrosive Hounds moved like ghosts, their venom easily corroding the armor of the Steel Zombies, their sharp claws specifically designed to tear apart the energy nodes of the undead.

The lich's stitched colossi are incredibly strong, but slow-moving, often easily bypassed by packs of hounds. They can only barely hold back the hounds' attacks by relying on the viscous oil released by the rotting turbines and the spinning blades, resulting in heavy casualties.

Head-on, the Wither Guard and the Iron Zombie collided violently!

The sounds of metal clashing, bones cracking, and energy exploding filled the air!

The Withered Guards are disciplined and work in perfect harmony. Their halberds form a forest, and each thrust carries the aura of death, accelerating the decay of their enemies.

The Iron Zombies are even more ferocious, relying on modified weapons and fearless charges, but their coordination is poor and their individual strength is slightly inferior.

For a time, the fight became so intense that neither side could gain the upper hand.