Chapter 173: The Undead Army Appears
The advance team that arrived at the designated battlefield first consisted of 121 Sokri mercenaries, Captain Kane, Brother Lowell, Lieutenant Wagner Pitt, and a full group of 40 undead.
This number of people... doesn't look like they have enough fighting power. When the scout captain brought the news back, the deputy commander, Captain Roy, who was temporarily taking over the position of commander, had the first reaction: "Is this a trick? Did Rex hide his troops on purpose?"
It's no wonder that the officer from the Holy Land of the Fiery Sun Church had such a reaction. The results of Rex and Yang's undead army were there - first they captured the town of Westram overnight and controlled the entire town before the former lord Baron Marcus noticed it, and then they easily defeated and even captured the cavalry of the Innadri City Defense Force; they also silently disintegrated the detective operation led by Captain Walton himself, captured all the elite scouts of the church... and the spies sent by the city defense force.
It is impossible to achieve this by relying on dozens of undead and a group of mercenaries who can be seen as foreigners at a glance.
The scout captain agreed with this and diligently led all his men to set out, bypassing the enemy camp and spreading out to quietly search for any place within a ten-mile radius that could hide the "large army".
At noon, when a shed built by local nobles who were watching the fun appeared on the mountain next to the nameless wasteland, the scout captain, whose legs were almost worn out from running, still found nothing...
The Bartles family was the first to arrive at the nameless wasteland to watch the battle.
The Bartles family's manor was relatively close to the wasteland. When there was a shortage of pasture, the tenant farmers on the manor would come here to graze cattle and horses, and they were very familiar with the nearby terrain. A dozen sturdy male servants drove over in horse-drawn carriages early in the morning, selected a platform on an unnamed mountain at the edge of the wasteland, cleaned the area, and set up a shed for watching the game.
The loyal butler Mr. Gould and his cavalry team of the city defense forces had lunch at the manor before setting out, and arrived at the observation platform just after noon.
After exchanging a few words with Viscount Darcy's butler, who had arrived a little earlier and was directing the servants to set up the shed, Butler Gould asked the butler to take out the monocular telescope from the box, set up the tripod, and personally went to the telescope to observe the two sides fighting on the wilderness.
The members of the Cult of the Fiery Sun have come over from the farm where they were stationed. They have set up a camp on an open flat ground in the north of the wasteland. There are knights in full armor riding horses outside the camp to warm up, knight squires are adjusting the saddles of the lizard horses, some are maintaining their knives, some are sorting out their armor... Everything is in order, and it is obvious that they are a strong army that has experienced many battles.
Mr. Gould did not like outsiders. In his eyes, the northern barbarians (Kenyans) and the southern barbarians (Sokrees) were all the same kind of people. He curled his lips and moved the telescope away.
With the convenience of being on high ground, Mr. Gould quickly found Westham's camp again.
Compared with the camp of the Cult of the Fiery Sun, when Butler Gould saw the camp of Westham's side, he naturally uttered a light "tsk" to express his contempt.
In the pitifully shabby camp with only one tent, there were about a hundred dark-skinned barbarians and dozens of scattered and disorderly skeletons. How dare they bring such a force out to show off?
Butler Gould felt that if he led the city defense soldiers to charge down, he could wipe out this shabby camp in one fell swoop.
Butler Gould became even more furious when he saw Wagner Pitt through the telescope.
"No wonder so many good guys were captured silently, it must be this bastard who ruined things!" After staring for a long time and confirming that Wagner Pitt, a guy who was still a prisoner of war, was not only walking freely in the Westham army without restrictions but also dressed neatly, Butler Gould couldn't help cursing in a low voice.
If there hadn't been a viewing tent of Viscount Darcy's family right next to him, Butler Gould would have definitely cursed loudly - there was a traitor within the city defense army, and this traitor was a non-commissioned officer. This kind of thing was shameful for the Bartles family no matter how you looked at it.
The angry housekeeper Gould immediately summoned the city defense sergeant and gnashed his teeth and warned him: "When the battle below is over, take your men down and bring Wagner Pitt back to me! And don't let that disgusting illegitimate son of Charlie Rex go!"
The leading sergeant did not dare to hesitate and immediately responded yes.
Butler Gould thought about it and still felt angry, and asked again: "Where are Wagner Pitt's family?"
The leading sergeant's heart skipped a beat. He hesitated for a moment before he said, "I heard that... two weeks ago, Pete's wife took the children back to their hometown in the countryside."
Butler Gould thought that Pete's wife was a local, so he did not pursue the matter.
The leading sergeant left the observation tent and quietly wiped the cold sweat off his forehead...
As time went by, more and more people gathered on this platform, which was the best place for watching the game.
The nobles brought a large number of servants, occupied the best spots, set up tents to enjoy wine and snacks, and all kinds of luxurious carriages filled the parking space at the foot of the mountain; the middle-class families could only park their carriages farther away, and after walking up the mountain, they would tactfully find a place outside to spread a waterproof cloth, sit down and wait for the fight to start.
The place was especially lively when the people from the casino arrived. These guys relied on their connections with the upper class to squeeze into the platform and take up a seat. While the tables were set up to accept on-site bets, on the other side, the casino owner, who looked like a decent person, could still chat and laugh with the aristocratic butler.
People from Innadeli Weekly also came over. The reporter, who came with his assistant, took some photos with a camera and began to interview the noble butlers and middle-class people who were present at the game about their opinions. He also wanted to interview the people in the casino... but was politely declined.
When the time was almost up, the spectators, regardless of their financial resources, all took out telescopes of varying sizes - this thing, like a pocket watch, is a must-have for middle-class families. After all, one of the most respectable pastimes of the upper class is hunting, and observing prey with a telescope is people's most concrete imagination of hunting, a high-end and classy entertainment activity.
If you can't afford a valuable hunting dog, it's not a big deal to buy a handheld telescope that has little use in daily life.
On the wilderness, there are two camps separated by more than 2,000 meters. Just by looking at the size, anyone who understands military affairs or not can tell the pros and cons of each.
On one side was a camp full of big men (nearly a thousand people, which seemed like a lot), and on the other side were a sparsely populated group of about a hundred people plus dozens of skeletons.
Before Westram became famous for the undead, people watching the battle would probably be frightened by the presence of the undead; but now everyone knows that the people of Westram associate with the undead every day, and to the Inadri people, the name of the undead has lost its mysterious and terrifying color.
Some middle-class people observed silently for a while, and seeing that the Westham camp was still so deserted even though it was almost time for the war to start, they... also took out their money and shamelessly went to the casino booth to place their bets.
The casino accepts everyone who comes, since the odds on the Cult of the Fiery Sun are very low anyway... and many people bet on Westram in the hope of an upset, so the banker can't lose money.
Mrs. Gerry, who once visited the "Perfect Dream Photo Studio" and lived in the Granser district, also came to the scene to watch the game with her housekeeper, Ms. Will, and maid Claire.
Mrs. Gerry certainly had no interest in fighting. She had taken the trouble to come here in a carriage because she was keen on attending various cocktail parties and banquets in order to have something to talk about with the upper class. She was keenly aware that Charles Rex, an emerging noble, would attract the attention of the nobles whether he rose or fell, so she certainly could not allow herself to know nothing about it.
It has to be said that Mrs. Green was right in her effort to climb up the social ladder, as today a baroness whom Mrs. Green knew came to the scene; thanks to her active flattery at the party, Mrs. Green did not sit in the areas outside the platform with poor visibility like her middle-class housewife neighbors, but was invited to the shed where only respectable people could enter.
"Didn't Westram take the initiative to declare war on the Cult of the Fiery Sun? Why does it seem like he's not that serious about this battle?" The baroness with a dazzling ruby necklace around her neck was very concerned about this battle. She repeatedly observed Westram's camp through the telescope set up by the butler, and the baroness showed a sad expression as if she was disappointed in her friend.
Mrs. Gerry knew very well why the Baroness cared about this battle... the Baroness's deceased husband had a strained relationship with Baron Marcus, the former Lord of Westham, and the Baroness was very happy to see the Marcus family suffer misfortune.
If it were a more private occasion, Mrs. Gerry would find ways to say some roundabout words to belittle Baron Marcus's family in order to please the Baroness whose husband had died, but now... Marcus's arbor was not far from here, and Mrs. Gerry did not dare to cause trouble for herself. She could only rack her brains to please him in a small way and say some meaningless flattery.
On this side, the Baroness complained that Westram was not strong enough, while on the other side, Baron Marcus, who came to watch the game in person, was grinning so hard that his mouth was almost crooked.
Although the locals would not feel good when the troops from other places showed off their martial arts, the situation would be completely different if the ones being beaten up were their mortal enemies whom they hated to the core - Charlie Rex robbed Westram, which had been run by the Marcus family for many years, and cut off the red-light district where they made a fortune every day. Isn't cutting off someone's source of income a life-and-death vendetta?
As the saying goes, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Although Baron Marcus lost his territory, his former fortune was still there, and he was not excluded from Innadri's upper class circle, so he knew very well that Charles Rex would not last long... After the Bartles family settled the most important autumn tax of the year, Adela III, who had freed up his hands, must go and find trouble with the illegitimate child.
But it's always a pleasure to see the enemy get into trouble early on... If the Solari can kill that hateful pretty boy in this battle, Baron Marcus will be able to eat a few more pieces of meat when he goes home tonight.
The time came to two o'clock in the afternoon, the time for the battle published in the Nadeli Weekly.
The time of the war, which was confusing to both the Innadri people who were watching and the Cult of the Fiery Sun who were responding, was... 7:30 p.m. Earth time.
Well, that is the peak online period for all online games...
The scout captain of the Fiery Sun Cult led his men wandering in the wild for most of the day but failed to find any hidden troops. This made Captain Roy more confident in the battle even though he was confused.
The hands on the pocket watch pointed to the time of war. Captain Roy, who led the troops out of the camp in person, glanced in the direction of Westham Camp, raised his hand, and signaled all the lieutenants to come closer to him.
He decided to make arrangements to capture prisoners before the battle, so as not to let the big fish Charlie Rex escape - as long as he caught this guy, there would be no problem in exchanging him for Captain Walton .
"Captain!" The scout captain, who was still vigilantly observing the enemy through a telescope, suddenly pointed in the direction of Westham's camp and shouted excitedly.
Captain Roy quickly raised the binoculars hanging around his neck.
On the platform at the top of Nameless Mountain, the casino staff who had been carefully observing both camps were the first to notice something was wrong.
"Oh my God! Oh my God!" The people in the casino had red faces, and it was unclear whether they were surprised or frightened. "Look at Westram's position, oh my God!"
Butler Gould, who believed that this battle was a foregone conclusion, was too lazy to pay attention to the battlefield and was now chatting with the butler of Viscount Darcy's family. Hearing the screams coming from the sheds of the surrounding nobles, he vaguely felt that something was wrong, so he hurried back to his own shed and stood in front of the telescope.
After adjusting the camera to find the Westham camp that he had observed before, Butler Gould's eyes, which had been slightly narrowed, suddenly widened.
“W-What’s going on?!”
Mrs. Gerry was in the shed where the audience was standing, and the Baroness was shouting out loud, "Oh my God, come and see Gerry, oh my God!"
Mrs. Gerry quickly raised her telescope.
Through the lens, Mrs. Gerry saw with horror... In the Westerham camp, which was not much bigger than the campsites used during spring and autumn travels, countless armored and sharp-armed skeletons poured out of the lonely tent like flowing water.
Mrs. Gerry rubbed her eyes and blinked hard a few times.
She was not mistaken. Undead souls continued to pour out of the tent that looked about the same size as their camping tent.
The originally empty Westham camp and even the open space outside were now crowded with undead, and that magical tent showed no signs of stopping.
"Witchcraft! This is witchcraft! This is the most evil devil summoning ritual!" Baron Marcus's angry curse could be heard clearly through the sheds of several houses. "That damn Charlie Rex is an evil cultist who sold his soul to the devil! This damn bastard should be put to the stake!!"
On the battlefield, Captain Roy, riding on horseback, holding a sword in one hand and binoculars in the other, gradually opened his mouth and his face became more and more stiff.
The field of vision is filled with more and more densely packed undead...
On the Westram side, which had successfully "defeated the enemy without fighting" before the war, there was not much joy in the atmosphere of having victory in its grasp.
When Yang informed them through the Brand Matrix to prepare for the undead army , Wagner, who was well aware of the undead's destructive power and uncontrollability, immediately ordered Kane's men to withdraw from the camp and stay away, so as to avoid being looked down upon by the undead - he knew too well how these guys disliked "friendly forces".
Wagner's response was correct. The undead summoned by the so-called "summoning circle" did not show any hostility towards him who was alone. Instead, they walked outside one by one in a very "civilized" manner to make room for the undead that were teleported from behind.
However, as more and more undead were teleported in batches, the situation began to get out of control.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing in front of you? Make way! The bet is solid!"
"Damn it, you can't play through characters in this game, don't you know? Stop blocking the way! Get out now!"
"Don't push, don't push! Damn, in this game, people can die if they are trampled!"
"Can you please stop crowding behind me?"
"Fuck it, I'm not the one who wants to squeeze, I can't even touch the ground!"
