Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires-Chapter 292: When Hope Is Extinguished

At their city, there weren't any members of the council, there weren't any members of the influential families.

No great warrior, no wise mage, no legendary hero, no unstoppable beast. Nothing strong was on their side.

They were just a group of men and women, facing the strongest army in the world—the perfect army, one that no amount of strategy, no threat, no fear, no power could stop.

A giant army of the undead, marching forward silently. Their hollow sockets were focused on them, ready to doom more humans to join their ranks.

All hope in the soldiers' eyes was extinguished. Nothing would save them now.

If they died by the blade of one of the skeletons, their bodies would rise again—not by their own will, but by the will of another. They would be forced to obey the necromancer, and they would have no choice but to march deeper into their empire's territory, killing their friends, loved ones, the men, the women, the children—forcing all of them into this eternal torment.

What about running away? Was that an option? It was true that humans were the mammals with the greatest stamina, capable of running hundreds of kilometers without stopping. But these skeletons didn't have stamina. For them, the very concept didn't exist. They could pursue their targets forever.

Even if they were faster than the skeletons, they'd have their backs to them, which meant they would be vulnerable to arrows striking them in the back, turning them into the enemy.

Fighting wasn't an option.

Fleeing wasn't an option.

Praying wasn't an option.

That left one thing, and one thing only.

Gripping the dagger that was on his back, the archer forced his trembling hand to move quickly, slitting his own throat. Blood poured from the wound, along with his last breath.

His eyes unfocused and widened as he felt the approaching death at his side.

Yet there was no fear—death was far better than becoming one of these skeletons.

With a loud thud, the body of the lifeless man fell to the ground, soaking the nearby stones of the wall with his blood.

Silence befell the people on the wall.

Then a few others followed. Some did not have daggers, so they used the arrows on their backs. Others used their spells and redirected them to themselves. Others took the weapons that their comrades had used to kill themselves, and did as well.

In the span of a minute, the people on the walls fell by a third.

The ones that remained didn't do so because they wanted to fight—no. They were scared to take their own lives. Killing oneself was the hardest thing one could do, and not many had the courage to do it.

As the air became thick with the smell of blood, Ruby grimaced. She was scared, but giving up without trying wasn't like her.

"Listen to me!" she forced herself to shout, trying to maintain a fearsome leader's demeanor, but failing—her fear was too evident to mask.

Still, the others were too desperate to care and gazed at her, hoping that she had some kind of plan.

"Are we here just to die without even trying?! The way I see it, there is no worse fate than dying without managing to achieve what you've wanted in your life! There is no worse thing than giving up without giving it your all!"

One mage nearby could hold it no longer. "Then what are we supposed to do?! Give our bodies to the necromancer, making his army even stronger?!"

Ruby gritted her teeth. It was tough to be a leader. Even if you did not have faith in winning, you still had to act as if there was any hope.

"We still don't know how this army works! For all we know, it's just a fluke! Coming with such a large force must mean the necromancer is using a vast amount of mana. I'm sure if we attack and destroy skeleton after skeleton, his mana should give out eventually!"

It was the only plan she had. If one were to face a necromancer, the easiest and smartest way to defeat them and their army was to kill the necromancer himself. But that wasn't possible right now, since the emperor of the Graveborn Empire could command his forces from afar.

Meaning the only strategy left was to fight and try to exhaust his mana core.

During the panic, dozens of men dropped their weapons and fled the scene as fast as possible. Ruby gritted her teeth again but couldn't really blame these soldiers.

The ones that remained were the ones too scared to kill themselves, leaving them with no other choice but to fight.

"FIRE!" Ruby commanded, and the next moment, the sky dimmed due to the large amount of arrows that had just been launched.

The spells followed almost immediately, streaking through the air toward the skeletons on the horizon.

As expected, the skeletons showed no fear as the attacks rained around them.

Some fell, their legs destroyed, but they continued to crawl forward using their arms. Others had their skulls crushed, stopping them from moving altogether.

It seemed that if they were struck where their brains should have been, they would be permanently removed from the battle. But with their overwhelming numbers, it was impossible to stop them all.

The archer prepared to fire again, but a moment later, the sun dimmed again as now they were on the receiving end of countless arrows.

"DUCK!" Ruby shouted, taking cover behind a large shield.

Her actions were fast enough to make her come out unscathed, but a few weren't that lucky as they were hit right in the head, killing them on the spot.

As they fell to the ground, their bodies twitched and then stood again. Though they had just died, they still had flesh on their bodies, but that did nothing to stop them as they began attacking their comrades.

Ruby charged in, smashing the heads of the creatures that had been her comrades just a few seconds ago, but it was pointless—more arrows came, more died, more rose.

Soon, there were more dead creatures in the town than her own soldiers.

Then her own forces were obliterated in sight as she was surrounded by the enemy.

Her eyes filled with tears, her breath heavy. She had no choice but to turn her back and run, praying she wouldn't be struck in the back by an arrow.

'I have to inform someone of this!' With those thoughts, she pushed her body to the limit, running with all her might, hoping she wouldn't meet the same end as her comrades.

*****

A figure in black robes and a mask stood atop a mountain. In their hands, a two-meter-long wooden staff with strange green symbols inscribed on it.

The figure was completely concealed, not a single feature visible—no hair, no eyes, nothing.

Letting out a sigh, they rose to their feet.

"This is why I dislike dealing with the younger generation—rather than living like the elders, they think it's a wise decision to come to the human continent... and for what?! Just to get caught and have me bail them out!" The voice was male, sounding frustrated with both himself and the situation.

Taking hold of the wooden staff, he moved his hand with such speed it was a blur, and in the next moment, the giant boulder at his side split in two—it had been perfectly sliced by the wooden staff, which had no sharp edges.

Having taken out his frustration on the boulder, the hooded man began to walk with dashing speed; his search had yet to be over.