129 Met an expected resistance

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 gods 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 shell 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 basement. 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 gods 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 passed 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 fireballs 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 hitting 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 gods 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 gods 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.