Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

"you are?"

"Welcome in the name of George Edmont."

Karen stood before the Pope, lightsaber in hand. "Your Majesty, that is evil."

Atlak tapped Karen's wrist to stop her.

"I believe that proud St. George."

"Hello, George's follower, could you please show us the way?"

The true forces of the Holy Light arrived in Andre and were quickly received by the War Council. The commotion caused everyone to stare intently at the elderly human man at the head of the assembly.

The dean went to greet him.

"Pope Atlas?"

"I am just an old man who survived because of sacrifice, Lord Soul Reaper." The old man, who had lived through the Crusades, seemed to recognize the undead lingering on the edge of the battlefield.

The dean nodded in return.

"So, I'm just an old man who's no longer alone because of sacrifice, Your Majesty."

The living and the dead stood together in harmony, their leaders both humble and far-sighted elders. Pope Atlas was seated, and instead of removing the Black Abyss Prince, he was given a separate seat next to the Dean and scholars. The priests were also seated, their hearts filled with trepidation as they observed the other groups. The Andri liches were unusually quiet; the holy light emanating from the clergy seemed to have triggered post-traumatic stress disorder in the undead, their bones trembling.

Lyle was also trembling, because he saw the luminous female paladin, Karen Pengpai, staring in this direction. He wasn't sure if he had been exposed, and he grabbed the lich next to him by the ribs, as they were assimilated in the collective shudder.

"My angel, why are you staring so intently at those masked men in black?"

"I sensed a familiar presence."

"A familiar, malevolent aura?"

"...I don't know."

Karen looked at the little nun beside her, who was acting like a little adult, reminding her.

"His Holiness the Pope has reminded us not to show negative emotions and arouse tension in others!"

Karen patted the nun's trembling back.

"Okay, I've got it."

Atlak's affability and sincerity quickly won the favor of many races. They looked at this legendary leader of the Holy Light with curiosity, some even harboring a sense of anticipation at witnessing yet another formidable villain. Andri was not to be trifled with; liches always went for the kill. The Holy Light, ha, those who survived were either those who hadn't provoked it, or like the dragons who had been killed and resurrected.

“The Holy Light has failed, and we have lost our ability to fight,” Atlak said sorrowfully.

"But I personally am willing to go to the battlefield with you all and witness the victory." Or the end of the world.

Atlach struck the ground with his staff, and gentle holy light spread across the round table, descending upon the living races and bestowing upon them a blessing that astonished them.

"I am probably the best pastor in existence. Please allow me to offer my humble contribution."

Lyle felt like there was someone else next to him.

“Is there anything you would like to say, Mr. Galarón? I remember you are also a priest.”

"I'm the kind of person who wields a sword to kill people and mourns over their corpses."

"I was ignorant."

"I'm just good at martial arts; without some martial arts skills, I wouldn't be able to shut George's foul mouth. His Majesty Atlach is indeed the best priest right now, but that's all."

"The one who chants scriptures is the most skilled at killing, and the one who kills is the most skilled at chanting scriptures."

"I don't deny it. I left first, and then that little angel looked this way again."

"You'd better not come out again!"

Chapter 833 Preparations (Part 1)

Kara... Kara...

The barely intact skeleton left footprints in the mud, and the flame of the soul lit in the skull burned quietly.

"next."

The skeletal remains quickly moved forward and entered a special, metallic-looking portal. A bulge appeared on the other side of the paper-thick liquid surface, which throbbed a few times, then, like a slingshot, ejected the fragments of bone it contained. The bones were broken, and traces of dimensional erosion remained at the joints.

"Coating failed."

The flesh-and-blood creature, which had been waiting nearby, swallowed the bone fragments. After a series of internal reactions, the bone fragments were transformed into the basic materials for consecration techniques. Bone meal can promote the sprouting of flesh and blood and the revival of the body, just like fertilizer.

"next."

The lich standing to one side marked on the parchment. There were dozens of such lines, and at the other end of the long dragon of skeletons were hills and plains filled with skulls, staining the earth a stained, pale white. The lich, head down, tried his best not to look for the end of the skeletons, knowing the exact amount of work was a painful thing.

"Coating successful."

A gleaming skeleton passed through the portal, its body intact, a layer of silver light covering its surface, even the loose teeth in its mouth. It looked somewhat sturdier. Under the control of the necromancer, it walked to its gleaming brethren, fifty in a group.

"Groups 13267, 13268, and 13269, proceed immediately to the Necromancer Figure Company and hand over control to the company's members. Thank you."

The coated skeleton walked away silently, and the orderly troops entered Andre Academy.

The scholar, dragging his chains, drifted toward the working lich on site.

"How is the spatiotemporal coating progressing?"

"The success rate is close to two-thirds, teacher. Although it's a bit low, each skeleton transformed in a batch has the ability to resist the erosion of the black mud for a long time."

The ceremony was deliberately set up on the other side of Andre Castle, away from the Chapel of Holy Light, so that the liches could speak at a normal volume.

"Hopefully it will work." The scholar looked up at the undead army. He didn't have high expectations. The number of skeletons could not improve the combat power of the elite troops. The main purpose was to maintain the strength of the main force.

"It will definitely be useful. We've never fought a battle with such abundant resources. The Dean even asked us to keep 100,000 materials to be converted into a cursed graveyard in the center of the battlefield. If Andre Castle hadn't been so slow, he would have turned the punitive expedition into a homeland defense war. So, floating cities are really great..." The lich looked at the scholar with envy.

"That's very expensive. Even maintenance for battle damage is heartbreaking."

"Next. So, the teacher is just here to check on the progress?"

"I'm waiting for an old friend."

Amidst the pile of bones, the Gate of Bones abruptly opened, its deep green portal stretching to its limit. The surrounding skeletons, lined up, were quickly swept inside. Before the destruction could cease, a giant claw emerged from behind the portal, gently slapping the ground and crushing large swathes of bones into fragments. The mighty body of the Father of Ten Thousand Dragons emerged from behind the Gate of Bones, spreading its wings, the resulting gusts of wind once again disrupting the procession.

He first let out a couple of joyful howls, then looked at the rubble beneath him and met the eyes of the pale-faced lich.

"Peace and happiness, my friend."

“Anle, Mr. Dragon, you have caused the first destruction in the war against the evil gods, and the losses are countless.”

"Sorry, sorry." The dragon chuckled, broke off a few teeth from its mouth and threw them into the ground. The light of the Bone Summoning Technique flickered, and the Dragon Tooth Soldiers, which were more powerful than normal skeletons, replaced the original team.

The scholar went up to greet the dragon, who had shrunk back to human form, and gave him a light hug—the kind that wouldn't cause a fracture.

"Is everything settled at Dragon's Nest?"

“I dragged the dragon's lair to the elemental plane; Triton won't be able to see it there. Hill is still a bit afraid of the evil god, so I left her there too. So, is there a bachelor party tonight?”

The scholar chuckled in response to the dragon's humor and led it to a small gathering of dragon priests.

"Don't forget your children are here too. You're no longer a husband, but a father. We need to discuss tactics; you're a key player in the fight against the Sleepers."

Mr. Dragon, on the other hand, seemed quite confident. He swung his steel-whip-like tail with a boastful air, making a loud cracking sound. "Fight! If I don't fight soon, my body will start to rust. Resigning from my position as professor of Bone Conjuration doesn't seem like such a good thing."

Only after the two disappeared from sight did the lich begin to complain.

"There are so many open spaces, yet they squeeze them together with us. If I hadn't taken their classes, I would have... stayed far away long ago."

The nearby lich continued working, saying, "Perhaps Mr. Dragon's reasons are the same as ours."

"You mean the aversion to the Holy Light?"

"You can be more direct. We're all on the same side. Pretending will only make you look pathetic."

The lich tacitly chose to remain silent.

"So how did the Holy Light become our neighbor? Wasn't it said that the Holy Light was finished?"

"I heard it was the literary society that did it. You know those guys always do things the unpredictably."

"Speaking of which, hasn't the Literature Club recently lost some members? Should their war rations be redistributed to other clubs?"

"Of course not. They are always the ones who lead from the front, no matter what they do. If you can't find them, they must be plotting something."

While chatting, the bone coating process proceeded smoothly.

Lyle spent two hours in the Hellish plane helping Gaugalan adjust their spinal wheels. Although the Black Abyss Prince's brilliant performance left him with mixed feelings, Gaugalan's loyalty to the Holy Light was still a happy thing. For the first time, he agreed to help these demons illegally modify their war machines, personally taking the plunge. These battle fools were incredibly grateful to Lyle for "consecrating" their weapons.

Try your best to survive, Lyle thought. Otherwise, you'll miss out on a lot of fun.

Before leaving, Lyle also saw the Black Abyss Demon Clan's war mobilization, the erected Hell Nails, the assembled troops, and saw Femma Black Abyss standing on the peak, roaring and commanding his people. Lyle was somewhat moved.

Back in Andrei, after brushing off the sulfur smell from his clothes, Lyle saw a group of glowing skeletons blocking the entrance to the Necromancer's Figurine Company. The Naslan sisters were performing a soul synchronization ritual, and with nothing else to do, Lyle followed the materials team.

Upon entering the clubhouse, he saw his friend, tentacled and dangling, inscribing runes on a kneeling, fleshy giant. Nia climbed onto Lyle's back, exclaiming in amazement at the massive creature that filled the entire space—the Necro Gundam. Despite its cool name, its appearance was far from aesthetically pleasing. Adhering to the Necromancer school's aesthetic principle of practicality above all else, its head was a fleshy lump capable of switching cannons, its entire body covered in bone fragments, filled with Nia's corrupted, living flesh. Aside from the soft cockpit and the spine etched with magical nerves, the Necro Gundam could unleash all of its flesh as ammunition within a minute, releasing flesh-and-blood missiles that could even corrupt machinery, like a shower of petals. Its excessive size hampered its agile maneuverability, mainly because the enemy it was fighting, the Sleeping Triton, was no small foe. Its massive size would create an overwhelming force, and the Necromancer figure company envisioned a war of gods consisting of massive melee combat, as well as microscopic mutual erosion.

Seeing the pilot excitedly shouting around the cockpit, Lyle called out to the pilot who had just landed.

"Don't blame me for not reminding you, the driver you booked isn't me, it's your own brother."

"Remember to change the 'Escape Pod - This Side Facing Enemy' setting back, or you won't even have your ashes collected."

Chapter 834 Preparations (Part Two)

He must not have noticed his own appearance. Clinging to the brick wall, his simple silhouette, outlined by light, stretched across the windowsill. The tip of his nose, illuminated by the moonlight, became the brightest part of his body. The angel was tall, but now he was hunched over, leaning forward, peering to the other side. His holy figure had taken on the sleazy air of a thief. His two wings lit up the dust floating in the air, like stars hanging on them. His feet trod on the damp stone steps, and seeds in the cracks were sprouting towards him.

He was completely oblivious, oblivious to the light feathers lashing out at the black-robed, bird-beaked humanoid figure behind him, and oblivious to my gaze.

Entering this castle of the dead with inexplicable feelings, Karen Pengpai was overjoyed to discover an angel in the land of death. It had no physical form, only a blurry angelic light. Karen doubted that this light even had any warmth, yet she could see its presence. Through those eyes, through that familiar feeling.

I want to get closer; I want to hear his voice.

[Lyle, I need to see His Majesty Atlas; he can offer us assistance.]

Karen shrank into the shadows around the corner, knowing her heart was pounding erratically; the angel's words had gripped her heart. She patiently suppressed the burst of holy light within her. Be patient, Karen! We need to confirm! she told herself. Although angels were considered the most sacred beings, and believed to grant the wishes of the devout, Karen still felt the situation unfolding too easily to be real.

Karen didn't know what was driving her, but she felt as if the breath in her chest had been drawn out, the breath that had sustained her through the devastating news of her father, the crisis of the Holy Light, and the aura of maturity. Her fists clenched, the Holy Light stirring with excitement, and then a next sound nearly made Karen lose control. She used her practiced [Detect Evil] ability to greet the source of the sound.

“You don’t need to hide to the side, Mr. Galarón. You are less than twenty meters away from His Holiness the Pope. If you take a few more steps and raise your voice, he will notice you. Instead of hiding in the dark against the wall like a mouse in front of a cat.”