On the other side of the gate, things were far calmer and composed . Not that no one had any worries, just that none of those still alive at this point hadn't encountered such a situation . Well, not exactly that one, in particular, they never ended up on a planet ruled by the Ancient with a sleeping Saksa and some nasty G.o.ds willing to gave up energy just to kill them . But something similar, yes . Therefore, even when they were slightly fearful of the power of those Heroes, it was just them in the end .

"The portals to Archet had already been prepared . " While everyone was frantically gathering men and weapons for the ongoing war, there was one island of peace . Well, peace may not be the correct term, but Archet was extremely calm . Nearly all the adventurers and merchants had fled at the dawn of the second day, leaving Ymir with the sh.e.l.l of a city . With the numerous problems related to the daily lives of his subjects, he, fortunately, had the help of Gwendoline to fix a lot of messes .

And he made a lot of them . Not that everyone was surprised by that, an Akûl in charge was never a good idea if it was not a fight . But he was still the biggest bait they had at their disposal, and the most resilient . With his new castle built and the restless guards that were the undead, no one could spot the hidden room with a portal in the bas.e.m.e.nt . As such, even if something unexpected happened, they would be able to easily retreat .

"Was that necessary to let the ghosts die in such a way?" Meridiana was still looking at the small screen reflecting the situation outside of their base . Another group of humans was marching fearfully toward the deep hole that was nearby . in truth, it was just sheer curiosity that made her ask that question since she knew they wouldn't last very long anyway .

"Yes, as such, the others still residing in the statues will die in the exact same way . Only after having their hearts pierced, of course . " While saying this, the lich began to laugh evilly, soon joined by the chuckles of the duvodiad nearby . If someone wanted to find the weak spot of an Akûl, aiming for that place would amount to nothing . In fact, even hitting the head would only turn the giant monster into something more terrifying . But the humans won't know about that before it was too late .

"Ymir will thank you for that later, Malakov . When they will desperately try to destroy his heart, only to realize the useless thing they have done . But, concerning the rest, will we truly abandon this base?" For the moment, only four of them were in the room . The absence of Leilade did not really scare them, even if they had no idea where she went . But because of that, they could only predict things or retain their secrets .

"If the might of the Heroes is too important and the G.o.ds are willing to waste all their energy, so be it . That was her words . Also, if the other thing is awakened, none of you wants to stay here . " That was something they all agreed . Even from where they were, they could hear the faint rumble of the last skeletons heading toward their positions . Those last days, both Kardel and Davion had watched every corner, every corridor, to see how they could be utilized at their maximum potential . They even prepared something that was called crazy by Meridiana .

"And the trolls?" The orodil took the parole for the first time since he came back an hour earlier . At those words, they all looked at the lich, wanting to know . Not that they cared, but they still had done a lot of things for them . It would be a shame to all be for nothing . " Right now they are . . . late . Once more . A second . "

The body of the lich stood still for a brief moment, before returning to its past condition . "Those braindead savages only listen to the giant and the troll girl . Yes, don't repeat that to the Empress, otherwise, she would blame us . " As for who the term troll girl referred to, it was not hard to get it . Maybe those trolls found it funny, but the four inside the room knew that it was closer to a death sentence than a joke .

"From what stupid hole in their brains did they came up with that?" At this point, even the duvodiad was impressed by their wish to die a slow and painful death . Sensing that the discussion was heading to a dangerous direction for all of them, Davion focused everyone on the main topic . "What did they said Malakov?"

"Nothing they will be able to repeat in the future . Not that they can talk anymore, I made them all sleep and have to take some skeletons just to transport them . Coupled with the seeds and the cattle, it will take days before they reached Archet . But truthfully, I had totally forgotten about them after I told them to follow the lich when they were ready to go . "

BZZZZZZZZZ

One of the screens Meridiana was looking at was getting blurrier as the seconds pa.s.sed until it finally disappeared . Seeing this, the rest quickly gathered around her, to observe what was happening . Time and time again, they saw the numerous magicians trying to aim at something invisible that was around them . The spirits created by Malakov were extremely well hidden, even in plain sight it was invisible to the human eye . "Did you see what they used to target them?"

"No, I just know that they are extremely bad at aiming . Or that thing is not accurate . " The succubus was looking everywhere, to see what was the thing they were using . But the more she looked, the more it seemed they were, in fact, betting on their luck . Of the four spirits, only one had been touched . The others were completely fine, not even scratched .

"Look at that side, they are throwing fireb.a.l.l.s at nothing . Malakov, can you confirm that nothing is in that area?" Looking at the screen Meridiana was pointing at, the lich pensively scratched his bony head . But even after searching all the connections he had with his summons, he couldn't find anything . "Nothing . But how did they knew that we were observing them? I mean, they clearly can't feel anything, otherwise, they would have shot down the others . "

The only one that came up with an answer was Kardel . "Blind luck . I mean, it worked, even if they have no idea of it from what we can see . If I had time to spare, I would have done the same thing . " As much as Malakov wanted the duvodiad to be wrong, he could not find anything destroying his hypothesis . The magicians were really acting like headless chickens, firing spells after spells at an empty area .

But the more they looked, the more they saw them getting braver and braver, even sometimes. .h.i.tting the outskirts of the entrance . That was visibly angering the lich near them, and at the same time, Davion was worried they would become too bold if nothing was happening . In the absence of Leilade, they had no certainty of winning if numerous Heroes appeared all of a sudden . "Malakov, unleash half of the other ghosts, right now . " Four eyes and two empty sockets looked at him like he was crazy . But without their commander, Davion would be the most experienced leader among them .

"Fine, but with or without victims?" The question was answered decisively without any regret . "With . You can start by those digging that hole . " The white teeth of the lich moved in an uncanny manner before he nodded . "Finally . " After this, they could all appreciate the spectacle that will happen shortly . Those that were currently digging were quite fortunate since they could hear a very faint "Third team, your turn . "

Following this, they could see dozens of humans exchanging their places, with some falling to their knees and thanking the G.o.ds for surviving while the others were praying while walking . The armored soldiers and the magicians around them did not notice the fact that several ghosts were patiently waiting for a prey to get closer . And after the first pickaxe touched the ground, a ghostly axe appeared from under it and cut the miner in half .

He was not the only, in a matter of second, terror took place in the heart of the humans, immobilizing their bodies . The ethereal souls were able to freely leave the ground and kill everyone on their path, met with little to no resistance at first . But soon, the magicians regained their composure and threw spells after spells . If one ghost was destroyed in the process, this time, Malakov was personally controlling them . The moment he felt the mana surrounding one of his summon getting manipulated, he immediately made him go underground .

The cat and mouse between the humans and the spirits ended not even ten seconds after the first death . The sound of horn resonated in the air, and the remaining humans that were still near the hole began to flee . If some mages tried to do the same, they quickly met a sword in the back in the process . Multiple groups of mages tried to help their peers, but for each ghost Malakov lost, he could take two to three humans with it . Satisfied with the results, since he still had a few in reserve, their enemy began to retreat farther away than before .

"That's more like it . " Kardel was a bit excited by the gruesome scenes he had watched, even if it was the doing of the lich near him . But for now, he knew that with the presence of the G.o.ds watching them, he could not act as he normally did . And as much as he had fun with Davion, devising traps and deadly pitfalls, it was nothing compared to killing preys with his own hand . "So now we do what? We rest for the remaining days?"

Meridiana raised her hand at this notion since she truly had no purpose in the current situation . She regretted at this point that she was here and not replacing Ymir, where at least she could have played a bit with humans . In a measured way, of course . It was followed by Davion that simply nodded his head after he came with the conclusion that he had done everything he could in the last weeks .

"Go ahead, I will wake you up when the real army will arrive . Or if the Empress orders it . " Waving his hand, the Envoy of Leilade kept reinforcing his undead army and scouting the enemy while the rest was leaving the room . However, contrary to his composed facade of an undead, he still checked once in a while if his connection with Leilade was not cut . The only thing he knew was the fact that the Viscount clearly disapproved her action, that he judged reckless .

On the other side of the gate, things were far calmer and composed . Not that no one had any worries, just that none of those still alive at this point hadnt encountered such a situation . Well, not exactly that one, in particular, they never ended up on a planet ruled by the Ancient with a sleeping Saksa and some nasty G.o.ds willing to gave up energy just to kill them . But something similar, yes . Therefore, even when they were slightly fearful of the power of those Heroes, it was just them in the end . The portals to Archet had already been prepared . While everyone was frantically gathering men and weapons for the ongoing war, there was one island of peace . Well, peace may not be the correct term, but Archet was extremely calm . Nearly all the adventurers and merchants had fled at the dawn of the second day, leaving Ymir with the sh.e.l.l of a city . With the numerous problems related to the daily lives of his subjects, he, fortunately, had the help of Gwendoline to fix a lot of messes . And he made a lot of them . Not that everyone was surprised by that, an Akûl in charge was never a good idea if it was not a fight . But he was still the biggest bait they had at their disposal, and the most resilient . With his new castle built and the restless guards that were the undead, no one could spot the hidden room with a portal in the bas.e.m.e.nt . As such, even if something unexpected happened, they would be able to easily retreat . Was that necessary to let the ghosts die in such a way? Meridiana was still looking at the small screen reflecting the situation outside of their base . Another group of humans was marching fearfully toward the deep hole that was nearby . in truth, it was just sheer curiosity that made her ask that question since she knew they wouldnt last very long anyway . Yes, as such, the others still residing in the statues will die in the exact same way . Only after having their hearts pierced, of course . While saying this, the lich began to laugh evilly, soon joined by the chuckles of the duvodiad nearby . If someone wanted to find the weak spot of an Akûl, aiming for that place would amount to nothing . In fact, even hitting the head would only turn the giant monster into something more terrifying . But the humans wont know about that before it was too late . Ymir will thank you for that later, Malakov . When they will desperately try to destroy his heart, only to realize the useless thing they have done . But, concerning the rest, will we truly abandon this base? For the moment, only four of them were in the room . The absence of Leilade did not really scare them, even if they had no idea where she went . But because of that, they could only predict things or retain their secrets . If the might of the Heroes is too important and the G.o.ds are willing to waste all their energy, so be it . That was her words . Also, if the other thing is awakened, none of you wants to stay here . That was something they all agreed . Even from where they were, they could hear the faint rumble of the last skeletons heading toward their positions . Those last days, both Kardel and Davion had watched every corner, every corridor, to see how they could be utilized at their maximum potential . They even prepared something that was called crazy by Meridiana And the trolls? The orodil took the parole for the first time since he came back an hour earlier . At those words, they all looked at the lich, wanting to know . Not that they cared, but they still had done a lot of things for them . It would be a shame to all be for nothing . Right now they are . late . Once more . A second . The body of the lich stood still for a brief moment, before returning to its past condition . Those braindead savages only listen to the giant and the troll girl . Yes, dont repeat that to the Empress, otherwise, she would blame us . As for who the term troll girl referred to, it was not hard to get it . Maybe those trolls found it funny, but the four inside the room knew that it was closer to a death sentence than a joke . From what stupid hole in their brains did they came up with that? At this point, even the duvodiad was impressed by their wish to die a slow and painful death . Sensing that the discussion was heading to a dangerous direction for all of them, Davion focused everyone on the main topic . What did they said Malakov? Nothing they will be able to repeat in the future . Not that they can talk anymore, I made them all sleep and have to take some skeletons just to transport them . Coupled with the seeds and the cattle, it will take days before they reached Archet . But truthfully, I had totally forgotten about them after I told them to follow the lich when they were ready to go . BZZZZZZZZZ One of the screens Meridiana was looking at was getting blurrier as the seconds pa.s.sed until it finally disappeared . Seeing this, the rest quickly gathered around her, to observe what was happening . Time and time again, they saw the numerous magicians trying to aim at something invisible that was around them . The spirits created by Malakov were extremely well hidden, even in plain sight it was invisible to the human eye . Did you see what they used to target them? No, I just know that they are extremely bad at aiming . Or that thing is not accurate . The succubus was looking everywhere, to see what was the thing they were using . But the more she looked, the more it seemed they were, in fact, betting on their luck . Of the four spirits, only one had been touched . The others were completely fine, not even scratched . Look at that side, they are throwing fireb.a.l.l.s at nothing . Malakov, can you confirm that nothing is in that area? Looking at the screen Meridiana was pointing at, the lich pensively scratched his bony head . But even after searching all the connections he had with his summons, he couldnt find anything . Nothing . But how did they knew that we were observing them? I mean, they clearly cant feel anything, otherwise, they would have shot down the others . The only one that came up with an answer was Kardel . Blind luck . I mean, it worked, even if they have no idea of it from what we can see . If I had time to spare, I would have done the same thing . As much as Malakov wanted the duvodiad to be wrong, he could not find anything destroying his hypothesis . The magicians were really acting like headless chickens, firing spells after spells at an empty area . But the more they looked, the more they saw them getting braver and braver, even sometimes. .h.i.tting the outskirts of the entrance . That was visibly angering the lich near them, and at the same time, Davion was worried they would become too bold if nothing was happening . In the absence of Leilade, they had no certainty of winning if numerous Heroes appeared all of a sudden . Malakov, unleash half of the other ghosts, right now . Four eyes and two empty sockets looked at him like he was crazy . But without their commander, Davion would be the most experienced leader among them . Fine, but with or without victims? The question was answered decisively without any regret . With . You can start by those digging that hole . The white teeth of the lich moved in an uncanny manner before he nodded . Finally . After this, they could all appreciate the spectacle that will happen shortly . Those that were currently digging were quite fortunate since they could hear a very faint Third team, your turn . Following this, they could see dozens of humans exchanging their places, with some falling to their knees and thanking the G.o.ds for surviving while the others were praying while walking . The armored soldiers and the magicians around them did not notice the fact that several ghosts were patiently waiting for a prey to get closer . And after the first pickaxe touched the ground, a ghostly axe appeared from under it and cut the miner in half . He was not the only, in a matter of second, terror took place in the heart of the humans, immobilizing their bodies . The ethereal souls were able to freely leave the ground and kill everyone on their path, met with little to no resistance at first . But soon, the magicians regained their composure and threw spells after spells . If one ghost was destroyed in the process, this time, Malakov was personally controlling them . The moment he felt the mana surrounding one of his summon getting manipulated, he immediately made him go underground . The cat and mouse between the humans and the spirits ended not even ten seconds after the first death . The sound of horn resonated in the air, and the remaining humans that were still near the hole began to flee . If some mages tried to do the same, they quickly met a sword in the back in the process . Multiple groups of mages tried to help their peers, but for each ghost Malakov lost, he could take two to three humans with it . Satisfied with the results, since he still had a few in reserve, their enemy began to retreat farther away than before . Thats more like it . Kardel was a bit excited by the gruesome scenes he had watched, even if it was the doing of the lich near him . But for now, he knew that with the presence of the G.o.ds watching them, he could not act as he normally did . And as much as he had fun with Davion, devising traps and deadly pitfalls, it was nothing compared to killing preys with his own hand . So now we do what? We rest for the remaining days? Meridiana raised her hand at this notion since she truly had no purpose in the current situation . She regretted at this point that she was here and not replacing Ymir, where at least she could have played a bit with humans . In a measured way, of course . It was followed by Davion that simply nodded his head after he came with the conclusion that he had done everything he could in the last weeks . Go ahead, I will wake you up when the real army will arrive . Or if the Empress orders it . Waving his hand, the Envoy of Leilade kept reinforcing his undead army and scouting the enemy while the rest was leaving the room . However, contrary to his composed facade of an undead, he still checked once in a while if his connection with Leilade was not cut . The only thing he knew was the fact that the Viscount clearly disapproved her action, that he judged reckless .