Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

There were nine main fronts in total, seven were on the ground, one was in the air, and one was underground, none of them were going to the living's favour, above and below ground, the forces of Tamaris had no real ways to properly fight back in these spaces, they could only put a flimsy excuse of a defence.

The mundane soldiers of life were outmatched by the regular soldiers of death, life could only count on their greater warriors to make a difference, but many of them were either dispatched against Loimos, or were to be kept in reserve for the stronger forces of King Nitok.

They could not fight forever, they had to save their strength and stamina, the only good way to push back the undeads was to push back their strongest leaders.

But their strongest leaders did not even need to show up unless Tamaris's champions stepped out, it was a desperate struggle, a sprint to somehow manage to force the undeads to cease their assault before they could breach the barrier, even if the country had many other barriers, once the main one came down, miasma would be free to spread in between the others, the other pyramids were weaker and smaller, not to mention that all of the people capable of maintaining and repairing that sort of barriers were put to work on the main one.

To the north, there were two big fronts playing out at once, one had made stellar progress at first, the general here had been too eager to gain terrain before the undeads could reach his men and pushed much too deep, allowing too many of his forces to step out of the barrier.

No lords of any kind appeared, neither did any elites, just a few regular foot soldiers, who were sucked into the corrupted soil just before contact was made, allowing for a hand to reach out of the darkness, its hand had twice as many fingers as a human's, like it was mirrored, bringing it down side first, it swiped the slate clean, crushing and rolling the soldiers into a round mound of bloody flesh melded together alongside equipment, pulling the ball of gore into the dark, the giant did not appear again, its presence perfectly concealed within the darkness.

After this, the general did not dare send anyone back, at least, no undeads were battering against the barrier… But if any forces appeared, he wouldn't be capable of fending them off, he needed some reinforcement already, barely a few minutes after the battle began.

The second northern front wasn't faring much better, the rank and file of the undead would look desirable compared to the sort of things here, two minor lords had made their presence known, the elite undeads under their commands had no problem pushing the living back even when in numerical inferiority.

Armoured zombies under the direction of Alkayne, and mysterious warriors with the heads of birds mounted atop humanoid bodies, the men of Prikrip, stalwart and brutal knight-like, elusive and rapid warriors fighting in perfect coordination, mirroring that of the lord they had pledged allegiance to.

Weapon imbued with necrotic lightning and decomposing dust, even when no wounds were suffered, when attacks were blocked, weapons and equipment would partly fall to dust, lightning would dance atop surfaces it struck, reaching the skin, shocking muscles and spreading vile decay, a moment of weakness that resulted in the death of the unfortunate soldier nearly every single time.

Here, the person in charge could only do their best by focusing on keeping them just a distance away from the barrier, there was no progression to be made upon them.

The only reason the barrier was not being struck by the lightning and dust was thanks to the death hunters also present amidst the ranks, warrior better used to facing undeads, even if the elites of the minor lords were entirely new to them, their expertise still came into play, allowing them work with the regular soldiers to prevent the worst.

That was far from the ideal situation however, one mistake and all that equilibrium would be broken.

But despair was not allowed to take root, reinforcements of great strength would arrive, it was a shame that they could not even contend at all with their many brave soldiers.

To the south, not a single blade had clashed, curses were sent at the living even with the protection of the barrier, such things formed from holy death managed to seep through in part, the clerics were standing outside of their reach, the great ballistas could reach there, but hidden away in firm forts, the curses would not be stopped, the soldiers here almost had to retreat further into their own territories, especially when a stop occurred, sign that the priests and priestesses were joining together, having arbitrary decided that one had to die right this instant.

'Just how many of them are there?!' the general retained a poker face, his mind a torrent of fury, the priests of Phanes present could not contend at all, it wasn't just a matter of strength, the number of curses being brought into existence every second was simply obscene.

And this was on the entirety of the southern side, this was the only front in this cardinal direction, kilometers upon kilometers of lands were battered by the worshippers of death.

It all stopped for a minutes, the constant praying in death tongue grew louder and louder, stomping their foot in perfect unison, sounding like thunder, and once it all stopped, nothing seemed to occur, indeed, no communal curse befell the living, no great blast of holy came flying from the eternal darkness.

Instead, a single undead stepped within sight, arms spread out, slightly upward, a blinding green shine emerging from the split skull.

"Fire! Steel your resolve!" without hesitation, the general shouted out an order, recognising the enemy from the reports, his mind raced forth in multiple directions, he understood what was happening, the why and how. Read exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire

Great bolts, veil of arrows and spells appeared as per his order, right as Yuolrt brought out her pseudo-zone, a magnificent jungle sprouted into existence, pink flowers growing from the ground, the general had not told his men to steel themselves for no reason, but it was meaningless either way.

Many of the loyal soldiers disappeared in hazes of pink, the flowers taking their spot, as the soldiers took the positions of the flowers, outside the barrier.

The pseudo-zone, enhanced by the collective blessing cast upon the minor lord beforehand, was already overflowing with the ghostly spirits of beasts and monsters, there was no chance for anyone to survive outside of the pyramid.

"The druidic minor lord is in the south!" he refrained the will to try and rescue the soldiers brought outside, instead informing that Yuolrt had acted in person.

"Aah… May the gods protect us…" he whispered, a tide of spirits slamming against the barrier, lifting his spear high in the air, giving the order to attack without stepping outside, as soldiers were being transported directly in the maw of death.

He prayed to the gods once again, without receiving an answer, against the might of death, the very gods were considered preys, even had they not been forced into silence, it was dubious any would have dared to show themselves.