Chapter 961: Chapter 757: The First Battle of the Underworld
In Toril’s underworld, aside from the wars started by the Dark Elves, it’s probably never been this lively.
The voices of a bustling crowd are mixed with loud laughter and various mounts neighing.
The path that allows an Ancient Dragon to pass through easily is, of course, suitable for the Undead Tribe to ride horses… so they wouldn’t complain about the length of the journey, as most of them can take this opportunity to do other things… like playing mahjong or chess on their tablets.
The journalists are happily keeping track of what everyone is playing, and Hill isn’t very interested in this spring outing atmosphere, but the Little Fairies are watching intently, regretting that they’re not part of that group.
However, they also know that the underworld has no place for Little Fairies. If something were to happen during the Undead Tribe’s battle and they got left behind, crying wouldn’t help them.
So, they are chattering away, discussing what kind of traps are suitable for this path, even the Pixies, who are best at getting people lost, can’t help but join the conversation.
Hill summoned an unread book and slowly started reading, and although what the Haber Family sent was all mass-produced by Candlekeep, it’s just as well that the Great Library at Candlekeep temporarily severed its connection with the Ferun Great Land. Hill suspects this also has to do with the ethereal guards they have hidden beneath.
When the Mage master holds the absolute advantage, necromancy is always useful… but once the Mage’s powers wane, rebellion among the undead is a common occurrence.
Candlekeep has stood on the Ferun Great Land for so many years because when the Scroll Mages’ mana gradually declines, they hand over control to the next Archmage in time… but in this situation, no one can take over.
All Candlekeep’s energy is now used to suppress its own subordinates, so they certainly don’t intend to open their doors to guests. The only consolation is that the next-door neighbors have turned into Elves.
Otherwise, they might have to welcome a visit from the pirates of the Moonshadow Archipelago.
In this period, for the pure Weave Mages, it indeed feels like a nightmare… rediscovering the Weave’s properties is not only arduous but also dangerous.
Without knowing what went wrong, they might just get blasted in the head by the erupting Primordial Power.
Hill decided to carefully read these books first and then use a Transcription Technique to copy them… he doesn’t want Fran, after finishing the tens of thousands of books in his study, to discover there are things Hill still doesn’t know… an unsatisfied Alchemist Master might make Hill copy all the books.
According to the tradition of the Undead Tribe… the twenty families with the greatest military exploits take turns appointing a lead. Hill occasionally looked up to see a bald Little Loli from the Black Rose… who likes wearing a black mini-dress but dressed in a bright red poufy skirt this time to be a proper lead.
Knowing that the cute Little Loli is a bald big guy underneath, Hill immediately lowered his head to continue reading.
White Dragons are not very patient creatures, so the underground passage that makes Arausato willing to go robbing wasn’t long enough to test the Undead Tribe’s patience… with someone leading the way at the front, those following can endure for a few hours.
“Ah! We see the enemy!” The Little Fairies’ excited cries made Hill look up again.
The first wave of underworld enemies the Undead Tribe encountered were the Ground Thorn Worms.
In the past, there likely existed some burrowing underground race here, but they relocated due to the appearance of the White Dragon, leaving these long and complex pits eventually occupied by endless Ground Thorn Worms… Hill learned for the first time that the originally low hissing and chirping sounds could be unbearably loud… which showed just how many of these worms there were.
The Undead Tribe was actually quite pleased, finding even insects better than nothing to fight, quickly blowing the loud horn to wake up those immersed in their mini-games.
Hill suspected this horn-blowing squad was created by the Young Master… an average person wouldn’t have come up with so many types of brass and trumpet, with the suona being just one of them.
He must have considered the underworld’s echoing problem before forming this squad… at least even the Ground Thorn Worms were intimidated into silence… until the frontline of the Undead Tribe put away their horses, took out great shields, and stood in position, only then did the worms regroup and charge.
Though the Undead Tribe’s defensive measures were quite prudent, with the first batch of poison stings blocked by their Defensive Knights… they overlooked these insects’ proficiency in underground attacks.
So quickly from the rear of the formation came the shouts: “There are worms underground!”
“Open shields, dimwit!”
“Who’s the idiot using area attacks in a crowd?”
While the chaos was quickly calmed by the team commanders within the crowd, a group of the Undead Tribe was sent back to the Hidden Town, forced to climb the mountains again… although the Ground Thorn Worms charged into the crowd, their damage wasn’t deadly enough to kill anyone, these unfortunate ones were sent back by those casting area attacks.
Especially given their lineup, those who did such things must be from their own family, so all these guys could do was curse and set out again.
The people in the very front, facing a more dangerous battle, found it better organized as they analyzed these giant beetles’ skills.
So far, the most common tactics were acid splashes and poison sting attacks… these insects’ pincers are also formidable, and they favor small-group attack patterns.
The Undead Tribe quickly realized that taking down the largest ones makes the smaller ones, though still fighting to the death, much weaker, so they began fiercely targeting the big ones first.
At least without the power boost, these small beetles can basically be killed by the shield’s reflective attack… Knights who don’t trust most mages’ aim hope they target something bigger.
This is an intense encounter battle… Hill even spotted the King of the Ground Thorn Worm Swarm, a massive, fearsome beetle that would give even Arausato a headache.
And as long as this King of the Swarm stands there, the ground thorn worms will fight to the death without retreat… Hill closed the book in his hand and watched the battle seriously.
The thing ground thorn worms fear most is the mass of dead bodies from their kind… Once the death toll exceeds their tolerance, they will quickly retreat and relocate.
But surprisingly, the King of the Swarm observing the battle neither intends to join nor shows desires to retreat… In this time, the Undead Tribe has at least wiped out tens of thousands of bugs.
Moreover, the Undead Tribe is still pushing forward to a wider part of the cave, so those behind can also join the fight… These bugs were created by the Tiefling wizards by combining creatures from the Mortal Realm with Hell’s lineage, not mindless beings. They can’t be unaware of the large group of undead behind.
So at least in this King of the Swarm’s plans, there is a chance to exhaust so much flesh… Even if tens of millions of bugs die, as long as they can leave all these elf corpses behind, they will surely be able to breed more and stronger bugs.
Hill feels that the Undead Tribe may face the first swarm of bugs that numbers over a billion and is evolved. That King of the Swarm, in Hill’s observation, is at least Level 18… Knowing that these beings usually start at Level 10.
The undead forces continue to push forward steadily, and Hill anxiously clenches his hands, feeling uneasy.
Even though he knows that their death only means running this route again for a few hours or giving up battle rewards to wait for the first underground camp to be established… But such large-scale warfare easily stirs excitement.
The Little Fairies are also watching with bated breath, too afraid to speak.
After the undead slaughtered tens of thousands more worms and the front three rows of Defensive Knights occupied the middle of the cave, the King of the Swarm couldn’t hold back anymore. It tilted its head and loudly chirped twice before leaping high and crashing down on the knights.
The Defensive Knights desperately held their shields: “@#! Such strength!”
“Quick heal! Quick!”
“Can’t hold! Dwarves! Get under quickly!”
The chaos upfront distracted the long-distance professions in the back. They tried to aim at the huge bug but feared aiding the enemy, so they squeezed forward.
Under their feet, the ground suddenly exploded, and twisted, bizarre figures burst forth, rushing into the chaotic crowd.
“Aaah! Monsters in the crowd!”
“Damn! Poison!”
“Detox! Water Magic! Wood Magic, quick detox!”
“Where’s the priest! Heal!”
“Shit! Is the priest dead too!”
“Fight! Stop the nonsense!”
“So fast!”
Hill sighed gently, leaning back on the couch.
The Ground Thorn Worms have always known only slaughter when it comes to living beings, so wherever they appear, there is little life… But possibly undead creatures.
Hill always suspected such a huge swarm might be controlled by intelligent undead. Even though the methods to control ground thorn worms disappeared after the Tiffin Empire’s fall… it doesn’t mean it couldn’t be discovered again.
No wonder, even with so many bugs dead, that King of the Swarm stood motionless at the back… In its eyes, the Undead Tribe’s struggle seemed more like a march to death, so it stood steadily at the rear.
But if their ace is the Corpse Demon, then there’s nothing to worry about… Any humanoid creature killed by a Corpse Demon will become another Corpse Demon in five minutes. These derivatives lack the abilities from their previous life but are controlled by the Corpse Demon until destroyed.
This sudden attack is a disaster for any Toril army, but not the Undead Tribe… After all, they aren’t flesh and blood.
The only effect is the considerable negative effect created by the Corpse Demons, which is the current bleeding status of the Undead Tribe… But the Undead Tribe has a large number of detox professions… even if those clumsy attempts miss, someone will eventually get cured.