Chapter 312 - 121: Advent of the Dominator of Death

However, they still watched the Undead Demoness with a hint of vigilance and reverence.

A being from the Realm of the Dead was, to them, shrouded in mystery and the unknown. They could cooperate with it, but they couldn't necessarily trust it completely.

Meanwhile, in the Giant Camp, the battle had reached a fever pitch.

Goblin troops were pouring frantically through the breach.

Roaring, the Giant Warriors held the line at the breach, their Giant Club Stone Axes shattering the bones of the front-most goblins.

Under Catherine's command, the human Soldiers formed small squads. They used the remaining low walls and debris for cover, holding back the goblin assault with longswords and shields.

Militia musketeers in the rear ranks began to fire sporadically. Bullets tore into the goblin horde, making blood blossom in their wake.

Gu Youji's squad of Skeleton Archers finally found a suitable firing angle and began loosing arrows at the slowly moving Goblin Airship in the sky.

But the airship's skin seemed to have been specially treated. Most of the arrows simply bounced off. Only a few struck the propeller blades with a crisp TING, but the impact was negligible.

The Zombie Corps stood like a reef in the fiercest part of the fighting at the breach. Immensely strong and feeling no pain, they sent several goblins flying with every swipe of their claws.

But there were simply too many goblins.

Furthermore, driven by the Undead Demoness's shriek from the front and empowered by the Shaman Bloodthirst Skill from behind, they fought with complete disregard for casualties. The moment one fell, another would immediately surge forward to take its place, attacking relentlessly with crude weapons, or even their teeth and claws.

Before she knew it, Catherine was drenched in blood, Holy Light flaring intermittently from her blade.

She had already slain no fewer than twenty goblins and three Bear Goblins, but the enemy's numbers seemed endless.

She saw goblins breach a low wall on the other side of the camp, instantly overwhelming several human Soldiers. Her eyes immediately reddened.

"Fall back! Consolidate the line at the central bonfire! Cover each other and form a Defensive Array!" she shouted until her voice was hoarse.

Infused with Holy Light Fighting Qi, her voice barely managed to cut through the din of battle and reach her warriors' ears.

The defensive line steadily fell back.

The Rock Breaker Chieftain roared as he retreated, smashing a goblin warrior—weapon and all—into a bloody pulp.

He turned his head and roared at Catherine, "Human friend, we can't go on like this! There are too many of them, and that banshee's scream is driving the little green-skins insane!"

"Human friends, you have earned our respect. You should break out and retreat immediately. My people and I will cover you."

"No. I don't make a habit of abandoning my comrades to flee." Catherine gritted her teeth, Holy Light Power surging through her body as she yelled, "Fellow humans! Giant brothers! Lord Lynch's reinforcements are almost here! As long as we hold on, victory will be ours!"

'She had no idea when Lynch's main force would actually arrive, but she had to give everyone hope.'

Sure enough.

As her words rang out, the morale of the Giants and humans soared. The Defensive Array they had formed while falling back seemed to grow much more stable.

The ranged units' rate of fire steadied, and the shield-hands protecting them held their shields more firmly.

The Giants and the Zombie Corps formed a living wall with their bodies, withstanding wave after wave of the goblin army's charges.

But the reprieve was short-lived.

The Goblin Airship seemed to have finished reloading for a second round, its cannons once again adjusting their aim.

Meanwhile, the Undead Demoness still hovered behind the goblin army. Its ghostly green gaze seemed to pierce through the entire battlefield, locking onto Catherine, the commander.

A chill ran down Catherine's spine.

'Could it be... that I, Catherine Adela, the Ice Rose of the Holy Light Clan, am going to fall here in Angelo?'

'I can't accept this! There's still so much I have to do!'

It wasn't just Catherine who despaired; the Soldiers and Giants were also losing hope.

In the ruined camp, every face was stained with blood and grime, their expressions etched with exhaustion.

As time wore on, the defensive line was compressed ever tighter. Every roar and every slash was now tinged with the tragic heroism of a final, desperate stand.

The Rock Breaker Chieftain had sustained several new wounds, some deep enough to show bone. The Purple Zombies were covered in cracks, and seven or eight of the Black Corpses had already fallen.

Gu Youji's quiver was nearly empty, and almost half of the Skeleton Archers had been destroyed.

The human Soldiers' shields bristled with broken arrows and short spears, and the roar of the muskets had dwindled to a sporadic crackle.

On the outskirts of the battlefield, the elite Blue Scarf members were still watching with detached amusement, as if observing a dull play.

"Tch. I was hoping to stretch my legs a bit, but I didn't expect our opponents to be so fragile." The Warlock in purple robes yawned, idly tossing a ball of shadow energy on his fingertip. "They couldn't even take one round of bombardment and a charge from the green-skin horde. So boring."

"You can say that again." The Elemental Mage in the red robe squinted, his gaze fixed on the distant figure wreathed in Holy Light at the camp's center. His interest was suddenly piqued. "Hey, brothers, I just used the Eagle Eye Skill to get a better look… Guess what I saw?"

He licked his lips, a lecherous grin spreading across his face. "The leader in the enemy camp is actually a female Holy Knight with short, blonde hair! Tsk, tsk, that figure… you can tell she's stacked even through the Armor. And the way she wields that Longsword—so fierce and fiery. I like it!"

"For real?" The Wanderer next to him brightened up, immediately pulling out a spyglass to get a look for himself. He let out a cackle. "Heh heh, it's true! A shame, she looks like a tough one. Probably the type to die before she surrenders. But… her dying is fine, too, hah… a Holy Knight who just died, her corpse still warm, might be a whole different kind of fu…"

However.

The lewd words had barely left his lips when his voice cut off abruptly, as if an invisible hand had seized his throat.

It wasn't just him. All the Blue Scarf members—those who had been chatting, joking, and even spewing obscenities—found the easygoing expressions on their faces freezing solid.

Their gazes were all drawn, as if by an unseen force, to the rolling hills beside them.

There, on the ridgeline of the hills, a single banner of Lakefront Town unfurled in the morning wind.

At first, there was only one. Then a second appeared, and a third… one after another, the banners emerged.

Beneath the banners were rank upon rank of military formations, each one exuding a bone-chilling aura.

A dense Sea of Skulls spread out like a white ocean. An elite Undead Army stood poised to strike. A thick, deathly aura spread on the morning wind, making the surrounding air feel as if it had dropped several degrees.

Fully armored Soldiers of the Ninth Battle Battalion appeared right behind the Undead Army.

They were already in an attack formation, their spears a forest of steel, their shields glinting as they radiated a grim killing intent.

The militia musketeers had already taken the higher ground on the flanks. Their muskets were raised, the dark muzzles aimed down at the battlefield.

The entire combined army of Undead and humans had, at some point, completed a counter-encirclement, trapping the Blue Scarf members and the goblin forces completely.

And just as the Blue Scarf members looked on...

"THUD. THUD. THUD!"

A set of heavy, overwhelmingly oppressive footsteps echoed from the hills.

Immediately after, a massive and terrifying three-headed hellhound zombie appeared at the crest of the highest hill, flanked by a retinue of elite undead guards.

Ghostly green Soul Fire burned fiercely in its six eyes across three heads. Its thick limbs looked as if they held the power to shatter mountains. The moment it appeared, a terrifying pressure spread out, so palpable it felt solid.

And on the back of this terrifying behemoth, sat a figure.

The brilliant morning sun shone from behind this person, shrouding his entire form in light. The Blue Scarf members couldn't see his face clearly.

But silhouetted against this light, and backed by the terrifying death energy radiating from the massive Undead Army...

...the figure looked like the Dominator of Death himself, come forth from the Netherworld.

"*GULP*."

Someone in the crowd of Blue Scarf members swallowed hard, the sound echoing audibly in the dead silence.

At this moment, only a single thought remained in all of their minds.

'We're screwed!'

...