Volume One: The Hell-Level Lord World Chapter 88: An Encounter with Interception

Seven hours later, Chen Gu’s carriage came to a slow halt.

It was not because Chen Gu or the carriage required rest. Chen Gu, seated atop the carriage, was either working or sleeping most of the time, and now, he felt quite energetic. His carriage was drawn by corpse-eating vines, which had no need for rest. Under normal circumstances, if Chen Gu was determined to press on with his journey, there would have been no need to stop at all.

This time, however, the halt was entirely due to the Fire Spirit Crow, which had detected an undead legion assembling ahead. The message it delivered was more grave than any before. Until now, the undead Chen Gu had encountered along the way were mostly wandering outcasts. He rarely needed to intervene personally; when he released the Bloodshadow Wolves and the Fire Spirit Crow, any group of a hundred or so undead would scatter at the first assault, wiped out in moments. If the undead were insignificant, the Fire Spirit Crow would not even bother to return and warn him.

That it came back now meant this was no mere band of stragglers. This was clearly a regular undead force that had come seeking him out.

Once the carriage stopped, the camp assembled itself without need for Chen Gu’s command. The outer ring of eight carriages was quickly linked with wooden planks, forming a small, temporary fortress. The four carriages of the inner ring were arranged to encircle and protect Chen Gu’s vine-drawn carriage within.

Standing atop the carriage originally intended for construction of a magic tower, Chen Gu surveyed the approaching undead army.

This undead force had two obvious heroes. One rode a skeletal warhorse at the rear of the formation. By his side, a skeleton soldier held a white battle flag. Around him, three units had been arranged into disciplined phalanxes: skeleton soldiers, skeleton archers, and skeleton warriors.

Skeleton soldiers were the most basic of the skeleton troops, clad in the simplest armor, wielding rusted swords or spears. Their combat strength was only slightly above that of ordinary skeletons. Any average person, one on one, could dispatch a skeleton soldier. Chen Gu had slain many such foes on his journey and knew perfectly well how to deal with them. The skeleton soldiers here were clearly cannon fodder—their numbers swelled to over four hundred, and they stood at the very front, ready to charge at the outset of the battle.

Behind these four hundred skeleton soldiers marched one hundred and twenty skeleton archers. These wore noticeably better armor, and the bows in their hands were intact—unlike the rusted swords of the skeleton soldiers.

Behind them, clad in more complete suits of armor, were the skeleton warriors. Like the skeleton soldiers, they wielded swords, but theirs were proper iron blades, not rusted weapons. In addition, they bore shields and donned heavy armor. Chen Gu had no doubt that these thirty skeleton warriors alone could annihilate all four hundred skeleton soldiers.

The other hero, unlike his counterpart, was positioned at the very front of his force. This undead hero was a hulking zombie, standing fully two and a half meters tall, with greenish skin. His right arm had transformed into a massive axe, while his left remained human. He had neither mount nor subordinate to carry his banner; instead, he had thrust the green battle flag directly into his own back, making his presence unmistakable.

Behind him trailed about three hundred walking corpses. Though these were the most ordinary sort, the zombie hero had managed to augment their combat power somewhat. Each corpse wielded a large logging axe, a clear attempt to compensate for their lack of speed with greater offensive power. Still, compared to the skeleton soldiers, this unit lacked any notable strengths.

Marching together, it was obvious that the walking corpses served under the skeleton hero.

Surveying the enemy, Chen Gu realized he could not afford to delay. The longer the standoff, the less favorable it would become for him. The combined undead force numbered less than a thousand—still manageable for now.

“Bloodshadow Wolves, attack the skeleton archers—don’t let them loose a single arrow. Corpse-eating Vines, drag all the walking corpses underground for me. Fire Spirit Crow, prepare to scour the field—target the skeleton warriors. As for the skeleton soldiers, let them charge for now.”

As he spoke, Chen Gu dispatched his subordinates. He himself did not remain idle, unleashing several spells in quick succession. He summoned units of Holy Light Magma—elemental troops—onto the field. Of course, with his current magical reserves, he could only summon about ten at a time.

These creatures positioned themselves atop Chen Gu’s carriages, launching blasts of holy light at the skeleton soldiers as they charged.

Unnoticed, the Strawman Assassin vanished from Chen Gu’s side, slipping silently toward the enemy heroes, ready to strike at any moment.

The two undead heroes had not yet realized what they were up against. In truth, their division was a motley detachment under the command of a nearby undead army. Their mission was to find and pin down Chen Gu; they were not expected to engage in real combat. The main undead force was still en route. But Chen Gu’s party had traveled too swiftly, and his pursuers had yet to catch up. Now that they had managed to intercept him, their only task was to delay him.

Chen Gu understood perfectly that he could not afford to linger. This was not the time to stop; he needed to eliminate these enemies as quickly as possible. Thus, after securing his own safety, he immediately sent all his forces into action.

Seeing Chen Gu’s troops surge from the camp, the two undead heroes were momentarily stunned. Before they could react, the Fire Spirit Crows had already formed a line in the sky, sweeping over the skeleton soldiers below.

“Shoot them down!” the skeleton hero ordered at once, sensing the threat posed by the Fire Spirit Crows. But his command came too late. The Bloodshadow Wolves, quick as lightning, appeared in the midst of the skeleton archers, their jaws snapping at throats and legs. Once they sank their fangs into a target, they vanished again, tearing apart a skeleton archer with every blink.

Caught off guard, the skeleton archers turned their attention from the Fire Spirit Crows above to the Bloodshadow Wolves in their midst.

At that moment, the Fire Spirit Crows soared above the skeleton warriors, and the fiery cleansing of the battlefield began.