99 Shadows in the Nigh

Right now, Seron could see a group of warriors that wouldn't have to lower their head facing the strongest adventurer team of Archet fighting side by side with the guards.On the other hand, those proudly respected fighters that always wore their emblems on their chest were nowhere to be found.No he spoke too soon, a little farther there was a group of them, but just from one glance, the ratio between the two professions was still overwhelmingly in favor of mercenaries. At this time, Seron couldn't even imagine the incentives those wealthy leeches had to promise for them to fight so hard, disregarding their own lives.

However, even if they had far more superior equipment, skills or even sheer strength compared to the local guards, they couldn't break through the chains of humanity. Not even the Heroes of the legends were capable of fighting without any rest for days, and the few hours of hacking skeletons and dodging their ghostly grasps were putting too much pressure on everyone's body. But from the continuous reports that were coming in, the situation had been stabilized after the initial loss of the ramparts.

The surges of undead in the South and North had both been handled well by the officers in charge, and they were no longer spreading on the walls of Archet. The sudden arrival of the giants and the numerous ways of attack of the enemy army that was provoked by it caused that disorganization. Because of this, they had to retreat and reform the defenders, unless they were ready to lose even more lives than they already did. Fortunately, the giants were principally concentrated on the eastern walls, meaning that without them nearby, the panic wasn't as dire on those places.

"The first section had lost 124 men and has 39 injured …"

"The second section had lost …"

"The third section …"

Every time someone came near Seron, it was to report the number of dead and injured that couldn't fight anymore. Strangely, unlike many other conflicts, the number of dead was far higher than the number of disabled soldiers. But the reason was that there was no real moment where one could receive deep injuries, except right before dying. The skeletons had to remove the armors of the guards before being able to do anything, so it meant that those injured were saved at the very last moment. At the same time, those that were mentally or physically exhausted were not counted as injured, since they could still pick up their weapons. Or at least, that was what all hoped.

" … 3 men and 1 injured ..."

Seron was still mechanically nodding at each scout when he finally understood what the later said. His brain still took at least a few seconds before truly understanding, and even then, he wasn't capable of guessing how it was possible.

"Stop! What were the numbers you said? From where did you come?" The scout was slightly surprised by the reaction but told once again what the commanding officer wanted to be transmitted.

"I come from the third section of the North Wall. There have been three deaths, lieutenant Gerald Woodfield, private Ernest Ambermoon and private Dirk Crowhaven and an injured that have lost his arm. I do not know his name."

Facing the man that was telling this with such a straight face, like it was normal, both the captain of the guard and the Guild Master that was nearby were a bit puzzled. Even if they were in the North, both the second and fourth section had a death toll higher than 50. So how was it possible for this very place, stuck between the two, to not have a similar number? Trying to remember something about it, Seron could only wreck his brain in vain.

"How did they survived with so many? Did they not have a single giant on their side of the wall?"

The scout was a bit surprised, and his face was a bit paler. He hadn't time to talk with anyone else, so he hadn't known that the situation everywhere else was far worse.

"No, there were two giants, but all the skeletons were destroyed by the two adventurers that were present. Their names are Davion and Meridiana, but I do not know about their ranks or anything else. But they are truly strong, I mean, they kil…"

Seron raised his hand, stopping the man in his track. Even right now, he could see that the moment he spoke about those two, the eyes of the scout were shining more brilliantly. It was a gaze of adoration, something he hadn't expect to see in this night. But from what he could deduce, just those two had at least done the same job as 100 guards reunited. He could only smile about that news since it was the first good one he heard since the night had fallen.

"I got it, make sure to hold the stairs. At the same time, both the second and fourth section need additional reinforcements, so if the officer in charge thinks those two could be of additional uses, he can order them around as he likes. Tell them that the Guild Master had given his accord."

Without even checking on the person in question that was barely a meter away, the scout rushed back, bringing the news as fast as he could. The Guild Master was just shaking his head, feeling that even his very authority was worth nothing this night. But he couldn't cause some issues while people were dying. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sleep well.

"Next time, can you at least ask me first before saying something on my behalf?"

"You said nothing, so I understood this as an acknowledgment. Was I wrong?" Facing such a shameless question, he couldn't retort anything. Seron, on the other hand, was not concerned at all. If it was a normal day, he would have suffered thousands of critics from the Mayor, for being non-diplomatic, harsh, rude. But since the later was not here, he could finally express himself without any worries, since the aftermath was not his problem.

On the other hand, a skeleton was particularly gloomy. He was currently sitting on top of a giant, looking at the sea of skeletons still flowing on the huge arms of those improved ladders. It had been at least six hours since the beginning of the fight, and the army had been reduced to just 15 000. It could have been fine, but from the reports of Meridiana, not everything was thrown out against them. Meaning that he would have to worry, even if the two liches managed to finally break down the garrison.

With just a single thought, 5 ghouls appeared near him. The others were sent in the West, hunting everyone trying to leave the sinking ship that was Archet. They were waiting in ambush near all the shortcuts created by the White Hand, ready to catch everyone that will use them. For now, they had only managed to grab two small fries from that criminal organization, but because the situation was not dire for the humans, it was logical. Those two dead were probably more of messengers than anything else.

Guiding the five deadlier undead, he aimed that toward the South, far from both the captain of the guards and the two spies they had infiltrated. There, an officer had just begun to shift the guards defending the place. Because the waves of skeletons were near infinite, this action had to be extremely precise. At the same time, the undead were so mindless that they could bait them away from where the guards were swapping by advancing other fighters nearby.

Right when Malakov arrived, they were still in the middle of doing this, and even if they were tired and concentrated, they were not fearful. They had already done it numerous times in the last hours, and even when one man was grabbed, he was quickly saved not even a second later. Everyone was a little more careful after that, and it seemed to be on a good way to not have any incident.

The 5 shadows were hiding inside the sea of white bones, moving unnoticed by the humans. The light produced by all the torches and braziers was enough to cover the stairs and a part of the walls, but by now, all the torches on the walls were knocked down. Some giants were still barely visible, and some lights were not yet extinguished, but in most cases, the vision was limited to a few meters. That was the case in this place.

The same accident happened, and a soldier was grabbed. His neighbors broke the formation to help him, as usual, unfortunately, they noticed something strange far too late. The thing that grabbed the man was not white, or even bones. It was a rotten hand, with long and sharp claws. In fact, the guard was already dead, blood spreading from the cut in his neck. The moment the two close to him saw the blood, they saw two fast moving pair of blackened arms heading their ways.

In a matter of a few seconds, three had already lost their lives and a hole had appeared in the line of shields. By now, a dire flaw had already been integrated into the mind of those that were fighting. Because it happened so many times, a tactic understanding had spread, meaning that only the two closest to the victim will move. This meant that everyone else was focusing on the incoming skeletons, and were trusting the rest to handle the rest.

This caused the ghouls to have this little buffer before anyone could react. Using this to the maximum, they slaughtered three additional guards before anything was made to stop them. And even then, even when the officer began to shout a warning, even when those close began to back off, it was far too late. The wave of confusion slightly messed up everything in an area of dozens of meters. But just that slightly allowed numerous accidents to happen simultaneously, letting the ghouls leave unnoticed.

Their entire attack had lasted so little times, but the impact was far bigger than just three deaths. At the same time, everyone that had a glimpse of their presence had succumbed, allowing the trump card of Malakov to remain a secret. This sudden disturbance caused nearly a hundred casualties and picked the interest of Seron. By all means, this shouldn't have happened, no matter how someone looked at it.

However, misfortune was still a possibility, and since no one saw anything related to any of the two liches, he could do nothing. He still said once more to always look for the two main enemies, since killing just one would make the entire defense easier. But when he heard the exact same thing happened once more, five minutes later, he immediately understood that something they overlooked was the cause.

The day before, agile undead had entered Archet and escaped with victims. Some were killed by those two powerful adventurers, Meridiana and Davion, but the rest escaped. Because there was only two alive that were reported, he didn't think that they would be particularly useful. However, they were apparently far more dangerous than he guessed. At the same time, he had no idea how many were really available for the two liches.

But if he guessed the reason why this happened, he still had no idea how to prevent any other slaughters to happen. Creatures that managed to escape nearly two weeks of intense searches, outwit even the gangs of the poor area could not be caught by normal means. Just when he felt that they could still hold, even after losing the ramparts. But if more troubles arise, the pressure will begin to be far too important. And if that happened, it will not be a single place that will crumble. But maybe the entire eastern front.