The next day, just before sunrise, the war drums of the Ammar Kingdom reverberated across the battlefield.

Tens of thousands of troops steadily advanced towards the Mountain Fortress of the Yelan Kingdom with the intention of breaking their defenses apart.

"Archers, aim!" Watson ordered.

Tens of thousands of archers all nocked an arrow on their bows and aimed upwards. Their enemies were still outside of their firing range, so they all held their arrows steady and didn't shoot any of their arrows.

'This is bad. The wind is blowing towards us,' Watson frowned. 'This will reduce the effectiveness of our ranged attacks. I need to wait until they are close enough to order the attack.'

But, to Watson's dismay, the army of the Ammar Kingdom stopped just before they entered the range of his archers. It was as if they knew exactly where the safe spot was, and stopped before their formation could suffer a rain of arrows that would have taken countless lives.

"Prepare to start the operation," Moriarty ordered from his raised platform. "Mages, wait for my signal!"

Immediately, the soldiers that were at the front of their formation parted, and several people wearing white robes with magical staffs and wands in their hands stepped forward.

The soldiers once again parted as several large wooden wagons were carried to the very front of the formation. When all of them had been positioned properly, Moriarty gave an order that took the Yelan Kingdom by surprise.

"Light them all!" Moriarty ordered. "Mages, you already know what to do!"

As soon as the soldiers threw their torches inside the wooden wagons, the grass, as well as wooden branches in them started to burn.

The Mages then chanted and used their wind magic to blow the smoke towards the mountain where the Yelan Kingdom's first line of defense was stationed.

Immediately, the entirety of the army of the Ammar Kingdom disappeared from view due to the thick smoke that was flying in the direction of the mountain.

Lux, who had watched many documentaries in his past life, remembered something after seeing the smoke that was being sent in their direction.

His face immediately paled after thinking of that possibility.

"Sir Watson! Order everyone in the front lines to retreat!" Lux shouted. "That smoke might be poisonous! Tell everyone not to breathe in too much as they run away!"

Watson was startled because he never thought that their enemies would use this kind of strategy in order to force them out from their advantageous position

He immediately relayed Lux's orders to the rest of his army, while sending a few of his Elite Soldiers to take Sherlock away.

Unfortunately, the orders weren't relayed fast enough, and the thick smoke reached the location of the first line of defenders.

Half a minute later, screams spread in the surroundings as the soldiers on the front lines writhed in pain after being immersed in the thick smoke for half a minute. Their eyes, and skin started to itch at first then the burning sensation followed.

It was already too late when they realized that they could no longer escape the thick smoke due to zero visibility. Their condition worsened overtime, and soon, some of them became blind completely.

Others started to cough and wheeze heavily due to the irritation that was caused by inhaling the smoke through their noses.

Some of the Mages, who specialized in using Wind Element started to summon gusts of wind to blow the smoke back, which let them succeed in saving the lives of their comrades. However, some locations weren't lucky, and many people died because they weren't able to escape fast enough.

"Excellent," Moriarty commented as he watched the entire mountain slowly being covered by smoke. "Killing thousands without sacrificing any of our men. This is indeed a good plan. You did well, Malcolm."

"This is but a simple trick, General," Malcolm replied. "It is not worthy of such praise."

"Don't belittle your efforts, Malcolm," Moriarty crossed his arms over his chest as he listened to the screams that were coming from the mountain. "Because of you, none of my soldiers have died. This is a complete victory on our side."

Malcolm smiled and didn't comment any further. He wanted to say that this strategy was quite common during the wars between the Vahan Empire and its enemies. His father made sure that he understood how these methods were used in the past wars, and the ways to increase their effectiveness during critical moments.

An hour later, the fires in the wagons stopped burning, and only wisps of smoke emerged from it. The mages used water magic to completely drench the remains of the wagons to ensure that none of their own troops would be subjected to the same horrors that their enemies had encountered.

"Let's wait for two more hours before climbing the mountains," Malcolm proposed after using a telescope to check the mountain. "By then, most of the smoke will have already dispersed, and we can take over the enemy camp that is bereft of defenders."

Just as he expected, the only thing he saw were countless dead bodies that littered the entirety of the mountain.

Two hours later, Moriarty commanded his army to traverse the mountain. Without the defenders stopping their advance, their climb was smooth and unhindered.

Some of the soldiers of the Ammar Kingdom even spat on the dead bodies that they discovered along the way, while others started to loot their possessions.

Moriarty and Malcolm turned a blind eye to these barbaric acts because this was the privilege of the victors.

As they went higher up the mountain, they were astounded to see just how much death their smokescreen had caused to the Yellan Kingdom.

"With this, we have struck a decisive blow to their army's morale," Moriarty said with a very pleased look on his face. "I think we managed to take down a quarter, or even a third of their army. It is only a matter of time before they surrender."

---

Meanwhile, at the base of the mountain, located at the rear of the Ammarian Army.

Lux teleported to one of his skeletons that had buried itself among the piles of the dead soldiers.

A moment later, the Half-Elf summoned his Archlich beside him, who stood straight and looked at the one-sided genocide that transpired not too long ago.

"This is quite an unfortunate turn of events for the Yelan Kingdom," Asmodeus replied. "But it also created an opportunity for us, Master."

"Indeed," Lux commented as he stood beside his Archlich. "I believe that the one who thought of this strategy is Malcolm. He even succeeded without even breaking a sweat."

"Yes," Asmodeus smiled. "He is an interesting specimen. Unfortunately, I will not get a chance to dissect him. At least not yet."

Lux smiled wryly at his Archlich's comment.

"Let's start, Asmodeus," Lux stated as he raised his hand to channel his Necrotic Powers. "Let's use the gift that Malcolm had given us to the fullest."

"Humans have a way of fighting against Humans, and us Necromancers have our own way of fighting against the living." Asmodeus chuckled as he raised both of his hands high up in the air. "In Death, we find opportunities. I think it's about time they understand that it is not only them who can use schemes to perform a one-sided massacre."

The Archlich grinned as he channeled the necrotic energy in his hands.

"I'm ready when you are, Master," Asmodeus said after he finished his preparations.

"Understood." Lux sneered. "It's time to give them a taste of their own medicine. Happy Deathday to all of you!"

""Corpse Explosion [EX]!""

The entire mountain trembled as the corpses exploded one after the other, creating a chain reaction that detonated right under the Ammarian Soldiers' noses.

Shouts of pain, surprise, anger, and disbelief spread throughout the surroundings as another one-sided massacre took place.

Malcolm and Moriarty, who were at the center of the formation, no longer looked smug after everything around them started to blow up, sending bone shrapnel, blood, and pieces of flesh flying in every direction.

Those who were already dead killed the living, and those who died because of them killed more people. This unstoppable cycle was similar to a burning match that was dropped into a chest of fireworks.

A single spark was all it needed in order to set off an explosion that rocked the entire mountain, making Malcolm and Moriarty's faces pale from fright.