Everyone was focused, doing their best to protect the kingdom. The air was thick with magic, steel, and desperation. Spells blazed across the battlefield, steel clashed against rotting flesh, and commands echoed among the ranks.
The green zombies, once numbering in the thousands, were nearly depleted. But just as we thought we were gaining ground, they suddenly surged again—manipulated by some unseen force. That's when I realized it: almost all of our burst attacks and area spells had been spent on the weakest of them. We had wasted too much firepower.
Blue and yellow zombies broke through the thinning front lines, tearing into the defenses with terrifying efficiency. Their speed and strength overwhelmed the already-exhausted soldiers.
I gritted my teeth and focused, manipulating 200 swords around me. Each sword gleamed with my energy, slicing through groups of five or more zombies with surgical precision. Still, they kept coming.
Elizabeth, radiant and fierce, moved like a thunder goddess across the battlefield. Lightning danced around her with each step. She prioritized the yellow zombies, cutting through them with divine wrath, while Sophia rushed from one injured soldier to another, pouring her healing magic into their wounds. Her hands glowed with soft light as she gave everything she had to keep them alive.
The mages around us targeted the blue zombies, unleashing storms of fire, ice, and wind, but it wasn't enough. The tide was overwhelming.
And then there was Lucy.
She stood at the rear, her hands glowing with a complex, swirling array of spell circles. She was preparing something powerful—something that was taking a very long time to cast. Her brow was furrowed, sweat trickled down her face, and the very air around her shimmered with intense heat.
High above us, Evelyn clashed against the towering Undead Knight. Each of their blows shook the skies. The knight was unlike any creature we had seen—armored in obsidian black, eyes glowing crimson. But Evelyn, a veteran 7-Star, stood her ground. Her movements were swift, elegant, and decisive. She was the wall that refused to fall.
Time crawled forward, and our lines grew increasingly difficult to maintain. I could only contend with the normal 4-Star zombies, doing what I could to hold the center. I focused on supporting where the green zombies still surged. Elsewhere, Leon remained a rock at the frontlines, one of our pillars, leading by example as he fought with grim determination.
Finally, Lucy opened her eyes. A tiny flame hovered in her palm, flickering weakly. She looked pale, her breathing shallow. But then—the flame turned blue. A heartbeat later, it shimmered into a deep violet.
Everyone froze. We knew what that Aura meant. A legendary spell.
With all her remaining strength, Lucy hurled the fireball into the center of the enemy horde, where yellow and blue zombies had clustered.
Boom.
The explosion tore through the battlefield, vaporizing half of the enemies in a brilliant flash. The shockwave swept across the field, toppling dozens more. And the fire—it didn't extinguish. It clung to the zombies, devouring them with magical fury.
Lucy collapsed to one knee, panting, but did not stop. She began casting again, hurling spell after spell, her eyes burning with defiance.
The effect was immediate. The frontlines roared in renewed spirit. Soldiers shouted and surged forward, emboldened by the destruction. The momentum shifted. For the first time, we had the advantage.
Then, from the north wall, the Mad Mage descended—floating gently in the air like a fallen star.
She was beautiful in a terrifying way. Her silver hair billowed like mist in the wind, her eyes a haunting mix of violet and gold. She wore a White robe adorned with runes that pulsed with forbidden power. She smiled, but there was no warmth in it—only madness and longing.
She hovered beside the Undead Knight, watching Evelyn with an eerie calm.
With a gentle wave of her hand, a dark aura wrapped around the knight, strengthening it. Evelyn narrowed her eyes, feeling the pressure rise.
The Queen gritted her teeth and prepared to cast a high-tier spell to end the knight—but was too late. The Mad Mage joined the battle, her aura flaring like a blooming nightmare. Her presence alone caused the zombie ranks to grow twice as fierce.
"She's a mid-layer 6-Star... and that's not even her full strength," Evelyn muttered.
The battle between the three raged in a dance of power. Fire and ice clashed against death and darkness. Yet through it all, the Mad Mage remained composed, graceful, and disturbingly serene.
She smiled at Evelyn, her voice smooth and distant. "Hmm... my husband, you truly are amazing," she said, addressing the Undead Knight with a dreamy look. Her gaze then flicked toward Evelyn. "Oh? So you're the new Queen. The kingdom thrives under your hand... how quaint."
A soft chuckle followed. "Too bad you weren't Queen a hundred years ago. Perhaps all of this… could have been avoided." Her voice trembled with ancient sorrow, a madness wrapped in tragedy.
Evelyn didn't respond, her focus fully on holding the line. But unease spread through her heart. Something was wrong. Deeply wrong. Her instincts screamed at her.
She raised her hand to the sky and unleashed her voice, booming across the battlefield like a divine command.
"EVERY KNIGHT—TO ME! DO NOT FALTER! I SUMMON THE THOUSAND WHITE KNIGHTS!"
A golden light tore through the clouds, and from it descended a thousand knights clad in radiant white armor, their weapons gleaming with holy light. They stood tall and proud, their bodies like forged marble, their presence awe-inspiring.
Gasps filled the battlefield.
"This… this is the Queen's Call!" someone shouted. "The same spell that turned the tide against the Demon Horde decades ago!"
Hearts ignited with hope. The tide of despair was swept away by the brilliance of the summoned army. Each of the White Knights was as strong as a 5-Star warrior. They descended upon the enemy, slaughtering the zombies with coordinated precision. The frontlines pushed forward once more, their weakness now guarded by divine warriors.
But the Mad Mage only smiled. A slow, chilling smile.
She gazed at the summoned army with a tilt of her head and whispered, "How nostalgic… but it's meaningless."
Her voice sent a shiver down Evelyn's spine.
Then, without warning, the unthinkable happened.
A terrible rumble echoed through the land. From the remaining three sides of the kingdom, distant roars and crashes filled the air.
The ground cracked open. Zombies emerged from graves long buried—hundreds, thousands of them.
The kingdom had been flanked.
Each side now faced waves of 400 green zombies, 300 blue, and 300 yellow. They poured through the breaches like rivers of death, bombarding the kingdom from all directions.
The city shook. The people screamed. And amidst it all, the Mad Mage hovered in the sky, arms stretched wide, as though welcoming an old lover home.
"Let the kingdom fall… as it should have… long ago," she whispered.
Evelyn raised her Staff that seemingly a sword, fire in her eyes.
The true battle… had only just begun.
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[i didn't expect to get showered by powerstone sorry i think i wouldn't able to reach all the extra chapter all at once TvT]