Ch.246246. Peter and the New Moon (2)

“Peter! Over here!!”

“Yeah, got it!!”

Fortunately, Peter and Laila didn’t have to face the undead hordes in open terrain.

Luckily, while preparing for a short camp (about 2-3 hours of sleep), they discovered a small cave and were about to use it as a temporary base when they realized today was the new moon.

“《Protection from Evil》, 《Repulse Ghost》!”

Since this cave had only one entrance and the interior was just about the size of a single room, Laila cast defensive magic on Peter who was guarding the entrance while simultaneously placing repulsion magic on the cave walls to prevent spirits from passing through.

Although she couldn’t cast any more spells on Peter to conserve mana for a potentially long battle, Peter judged that this much would be a significant help in combat as he lowered his helmet’s visor.

“…They’re coming!”

At that moment, various undead began approaching the cave, and the battle commenced.

Thud, thud, thud, thud…

The first undead to approach were Moving Corpses.

Literally just animated corpses, these lowest-tier (Rank 10) undead moved solely by undead instinct without even animal-level intelligence.

In real-world terms, they resembled the slow-walking zombies from old zombie movies, which is why Peter easily cut down these low-grade undead approaching the cave.

For Peter, a mid-tier warrior, these corpses that burst apart with a mere tap were barely worth considering as enemies.

And then came the real challenge.

Woof! Woof! Woof woof!!

Grrrrrr……!!

Awoooooo──!!

Kuong, kuong.

Hush, shiiiii…..

The next wave consisted of various Corpse Beasts, including Corpse Hounds, zombie wolves, undead bears, and zombie wild boars.

These animals-turned-undead retained their living intelligence and ranged from Rank 9 to Rank 7, representing typical physical-type low-tier undead.

Without any special abilities, relying solely on physical strength, their combat power was actually at a disadvantage against a mid-tier warrior like Peter.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Peter swung his aura-wrapped longsword, dismembering these rotting corpses, while Laila, unable to engage directly, provided covering fire with her small crossbow.

Thanks to their efforts, they managed to deal with the wave of Corpse Beasts before long… but without giving them even a moment’s respite, more undead continued to pour toward the cave.

Uuuuuuuuhhhhh……..!

Clatter, clatter, clatter.

As zombies with animal-level intelligence and surprisingly tough endurance for their rank led the charge, skeletons wielding nearly shattered weapons began advancing from the rear.

The zombies swung their arms as they moved forward with their unusually strong muscles for their rank, and the skeletons, though in terrible condition, still wielded metal weapons…

Yet again, they were far too weak to face a mid-tier warrior.

“Peter, catch!”

“Thanks, Laila!”

Catching Laila’s auxiliary weapon—a beautiful mace—Peter concentrated on quickly slaughtering the undead using both a blunt weapon and a blade simultaneously.

Having successfully defended against this wave as well, they were about to block the entrance temporarily to rest for a few minutes until the next invasion when…

‘…What are those?’

The scene before their eyes was something Peter and Laila couldn’t comprehend.

Like before, ordinary zombies stood at the front… but these zombies were marching in formation like an army. What would anyone think seeing such a sight?

“…Peter, look at the back.”

“The back? ……?!!”

Behind those zombies marching in formation were skeletons with spears, also in formation, and in the rear were Rank 8 undead—skeleton archers with bows made of bone and sinew.

Of course, the spear-wielding skeletons were also Rank 8 undead, Skeleton Spearmen.

Using zombies as meat shields, the skeleton spearmen’s formation as a barrier, while skeleton archers in the rear fired arrows to attack enemies.

It was clearly an undead army controlled by some higher undead, and when they spotted a particular undead among them, their suspicion became certainty.

A Rank 7 undead, a Skeleton Sergeant, was mounted on a Rank 8 skeletal horse—typically used as a mid-level commander in armies led by mid-tier or higher undead.

Confirming that these undead soldiers were being controlled by someone, Peter carefully handed the mace back to Laila and asked:

“Laila, how many more times?”

“Three. That’s the limit. …Using one now wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“True, it won’t work on higher undead anyway. Need anything?”

“No. If anything… I’ll need your protection.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Lisa pointed her oak staff at them, and immediately used a miracle against the approaching undead—

“—《Turn Undead》!!”

As the pinnacle of anti-undead miracles burst from Lisa’s hand in a golden flash, the undead caught in the sacred radiance began to collapse with screams.

Zombies, skeleton archers, skeleton spearmen, and even the skeletal horse.

With mouths agape, they let out spiritual screams that echoed through the cave before beginning to disintegrate into dust.

The only one that didn’t disintegrate, the Skeleton Sergeant, completely froze in place—being the same rank as the caster, it didn’t disintegrate but suffered “paralysis” status and severe damage.

There was good reason why this was the most commonly used skill in the undead-specialized “Exorcism” category.

Crack!!

After Peter finished off the only remaining undead with his sword.

“Peter, this is……..”

“I think so too. Someone is definitely pulling the strings behind this.”

Realizing that someone was manipulating events and deliberately attacking them, the pair quickly regrouped while the sacred power of Turn Undead still lingered.

“《Burning Vigor》. 《Lesser Cure Hurt》.”

While Laila recharged Peter’s energy and healed his shallow wounds with holy magic, Peter checked his equipment, restored his slightly dulled blade, and tightened the straps on his armor.

Even during a new moon when undead grow stronger, being able to control undead of this caliber meant the culprit had to be at least a mid-tier undead or necromancer.

Personally, Peter suspected it might be both, so after briefly looking at his beloved’s slightly tired face…

“…Laila.”

“Yes, Peter?”

“Let’s make sure we survive this.”

“Of course we will.”

The young couple steeled their resolve, looking at each other, then headed toward the cave entrance as the sacred power began to fade.

“……..?!!”

“Is that… the one…!”

There, they finally saw the undead who appeared to be the mastermind behind this situation.

A skeleton with blue flames like will-o’-wisps enveloping its skull.

This undead had the appearance of a mage.

It held a bone staff topped with someone’s skull and a purple crystal orb, wearing a tattered but once-luxurious black cloak.

This undead with the classic “undead mage” appearance was a “Skeleton Necromancer”—a powerful Rank 5 mid-tier undead.

Considered a lower version of the famous undead mage lich, the Skeleton Necromancer was surrounded by undead that seemed to be protecting it.

On either side stood a Zombie Ogre (Rank 6) acting as personal bodyguards, while dozens of Tomb Guards (Rank 7), excellent warrior undead, accompanied it.

Additionally, spectral undead like evil spirits and wraiths floated around it, while various other undead positioned themselves in the vicinity.

It was the classic, “well-prepared” necromancer formation.