Free Web NovelChapter 344: The Tide of Corpses Breaches
As evening fell, cries for reinforcements, columns of smoke, agonized screams, and scavenging crows wove together across the skies of Bull Territory.
"Distress signals are appearing everywhere!"
"Reporting, sir. The sentries have discovered what appears to be a gray mist environment spreading through the surrounding villages."
"Report! The reinforcements we dispatched to Bull Fortress have been routed by an unknown Corrupted Divine Chosen. Her offensive power is terrifying. We’re trying to gather the surviving troops."
"Villagers are being hunted by corpses. They’ll enter our line of sight soon."
"Sir, it’s the corrupted creatures. They’re spreading everywhere and slaughtering indiscriminately. The nearby villages have been swallowed by a tide of corpses. We need reinforcements."
A stream of reports was delivered into the hands of the fortress commander, Andrew.
As he read through them, Andrew’s brows furrowed deeply. His unfriendly gaze shifted toward the growing number of corpses flooding into the fortress.
"Damn it. I knew these bloodsuckers could never give up their habit of drinking blood. The Priest should never have made an agreement with the corpses."
"Could there be some misunderstanding?" the adjutant said after a moment of consideration. "At the very least, the monsters below don’t seem to have any intention of attacking us. We should ask for the Priest’s opinion."
Andrew nodded.
"This matter must remain confidential. Many of the border troops come from the surrounding villages. If they find out that the corpses destroyed their families, they’ll go mad immediately."
Although everything happening around them was being orchestrated by Phield’s corpses, the people inside the fortress had no way of distinguishing that.
"Report! That insect monster, uh, I mean Miss Broken Wing, has been seriously injured and is on her way to the fortress."
Andrew finally let out a breath of relief.
"Come on. We need to ask her what exactly happened. Why have the corrupted creatures suddenly started attacking us?"
"Wait, Commander Andrew, look!"
...
At that moment, Ophelia was bursting with energy.
Controlling her newly acquired corpses, she continuously drove ordinary civilians toward Bull Fortress.
The grotesque corpses, covered in tumors and flesh growths, chased down their former relatives and friends.
The overwhelming scent of blood emanating from them immediately stirred the rebel corpses into agitation. If not for the pressure exerted by the Divine Chosen keeping them restrained, they would have already begun slaughtering.
"By the Goddess, that’s my father!"
A soldier atop the wall could hardly believe his eyes and nearly jumped off the battlements in panic.
"My child! She’s become a corpse! Ahhhh!"
A middle-aged soldier rolled his eyes back and collapsed unconscious.
"Damn it! I knew we should never have let the corpses inside." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"We’ve been betrayed!"
"We should never have believed your lies. Give me an explanation, you animals!"
Several hot-tempered soldiers grabbed nearby cult followers and began beating them without restraint.
"Heh. Reaping what they sowed."
Holding his artifact telescope, Phield observed the scene from afar.
After crushing the fortress relief force, he had immediately marched his army here without delay.
Phield sneered.
"I’ve contracted Corrupted Divine Chosen and still don’t dare make it public. How did you people ever think it was a good idea to let your civilians and soldiers know about this?"
Human hearts were fragile.
They shattered easily.
"Ophelia, add more fuel to the fire."
Phield issued the order mercilessly.
"As you wish."
Ophelia immediately cast Halo of the Mad Dead upon the villager corpses.
Their speed surged instantly.
Sixteen fleeing villagers were pounced on from behind and dragged to the ground, where the corpse horde tore them apart and devoured them alive.
The soldiers on the walls exploded into chaos.
Large numbers of local Bull Territory soldiers either screamed and tried to save their loved ones or rushed off to question their officers. The situation was already on the verge of mutiny.
"Hehehe. That’s right."
Phield licked his lips as he watched the disorder spreading across the fortress walls.
"When soldiers see their own family members turned into corpses, can you still hold the fortress?"
Recruiting border troops provided manpower quickly, but loyalty was another matter entirely.
Allowing a small number of cultists to control vast numbers of border soldiers while also opening the gates to corpses had turned the fortress into a powder keg.
All it needed was a spark.
"Ophelia, it’s time. Bring in more ordinary corpses and create even greater chaos!" freēwēbnovel.com
One to two hundred fresh corpses immediately appeared on the horizon, arriving from villages throughout Bull Territory.
As for the heavily armored corpses, Phield kept them in reserve.
He only sent a portion of them disguised as rebel corpses to create confusion.
The moment Ophelia’s corpses attacked the rebel corpses, the latter’s suppressed bloodlust could no longer be contained.
"Crunch!"
One previously obedient corpse could no longer resist its hunger.
It seized the soldier beside it and bit open his throat.
Blood sprayed like a fountain.
That single act became a signal.
Every corpse reverted to its savage nature.
The corpse tide revealed its fangs and greedily devoured every living thing before it.
The soldiers could no longer endure the relentless psychological assaults.
Ignoring their superiors’ orders not to attack the corpses, they immediately began hacking apart every corpse within reach.
Humans couldn’t tell which side any corpse belonged to, so they simply slaughtered indiscriminately.
The rebel corpses couldn’t distinguish friend from foe either. They charged toward any concentration of people they could find, crashing into formations of soldiers.
Once a corpse began feeding, every nearby corpse became even more frenzied and bloodthirsty.
In almost an instant, both inside and outside the fortress descended into complete chaos.
The three factions were dragged into a brutal melee.
Battle cries echoed everywhere.
Even worse, waves of corpses continued pouring into the fortress from outside.
Phield burst into laughter.
"Stop hesitating. Commit every corpse we have, including the armored corpses. Before the fortress gates are closed, charge straight into the fortress! Spare no cost!"
The moment the order was given, Rosalia launched herself toward the fortress.
Whether human or corpse, anyone standing in her path was cut in half with a single slash.
Phield didn’t hesitate either.
Drawing his sword, he led the recruited border troops forward beneath the captured Bull Territory banners, disguising themselves as retreating friendly forces while rushing toward the fortress.
"Damn it! Everyone stop!"
Andrew’s eyelids twitched violently.
The chaotic battlefield left him feeling utterly powerless.
"Close all the gates immediately! Adjutant, restore order! What the hell is happening?"
"Commander, some of the border troops who surrendered to us have rebelled!"
The adjutant looked as if he were about to cry.
"The cultists and border troops are fighting each other. And there are those damned corpses too."
"I knew those idiots couldn’t be trusted."
Andrew nearly fainted from rage.
"No matter what methods you use, stop the soldiers from attacking the corpses."
The adjutant protested with bloodshot eyes.
"Then are we supposed to let the corpses slaughter us?"
"Idiot, do you understand?"
Andrew practically screamed.
"The corpses here are only the tip of the iceberg. More than thirty thousand elite corpses and three Corrupted Divine Chosen aren’t here under our noses. They’re on the front lines!"
The Shadow World Sect relied heavily on slaughter and sacrifice, which meant they never had enough manpower.
If the corpses they depended on suddenly turned against them, Andrew didn’t even dare imagine the consequences.
"The Priest ordered the corpses to assist in battle. If we provoke them now, the commanders on the front lines are finished!"
"It’s too late, sir..."
The adjutant swallowed hard and turned toward the streaking fireballs flashing outside.
"The sensing magic tower linked to the fortress defense constructs has already activated."
