051 The Death Rider

The Black Legion was indeed one of the Bourbon Kingdom’s most elite corps. Especially their cavalry—five thousand horsemen, all second-tier! Moreover, every one of them was a veteran with over ten years of service, seasoned and battle-hardened. With such credentials, it was no wonder that the armies stationed at Meda and Odo City were so invigorated upon the arrival of this legion.

After all, even the second-tier undead under Kalen’s command did not number five thousand. Thus, when the Black Legion deployed, nearly everyone in the Bourbon Kingdom believed Kalen was doomed to defeat. The Black Cavalry Regiment, in particular, wore smirks of scorn when they saw Kalen’s thousand undead cavalry approaching.

Leading them was a middle-aged officer marked by a scar across his face, who laughed outright. “What is this? Skeletons barely a meter and forty centimeters tall, and dog bones not even two meters? Dressed in white armor, wearing white helmets, wielding white lances that look like they’d shatter with the slightest force. Oh, and they even carry bows on their backs—quite the complete setup! But these ridiculous things are supposed to be cavalry? They intend to face the kingdom’s finest with such a farce? Preposterous! Even more laughable, they only send about a thousand of them to challenge us. Clearly, we have been thoroughly underestimated! Men, charge! Let these foolish, filthy undead learn what true cavalry is!”

With that mocking command, his cavalry surged forward faster, lances already braced, ready to pierce Kalen’s laughable undead horsemen in a single strike. Yet, witnessing this, Aero was frantic inside. “Don’t come closer! Don’t come closer!” he screamed internally, but it was of no use. He couldn’t even voice it aloud, and even if he did, the enemy would pay no heed.

The Black Cavalry Regiment pressed on, confident they were no match for those ridiculous riders, and charged headlong. But just as they closed to about a hundred meters, an unexpected turn occurred.

Kalen’s undead cavalry erupted with force.

Though only a thousand strong, Kalen’s cavalry was composed of two types of undead: goblin skeleton warriors mounted atop skeletal azure demon wolves. Both types were second-tier undead, each unleashing their abilities simultaneously. The goblins executed piercing thrusts with their bone lances, while the skeletal wolves summoned the power of the swift wind, casting a wind-elemental spell known as Wolf Fang Break.

This was only the beginning of their assault. The goblin skeleton warriors also hurled hundreds of magical scrolls, crafted recently by two undead magic scribes under Kalen’s command.

The ferocity of this onslaught was terrifying. The Black Cavalry had no time to react before hundreds, even thousands, of wind-blades tore through the air toward them. Then, before they could recover, hundreds of scrolls unleashed spells such as Blindness, Weakness, and Confusion.

Suddenly their vision darkened, their strength drained in layers, and their minds spun helplessly as they instinctively swung their weapons. Before any close-quarters clash could occur, the Black Cavalry’s combat effectiveness was severely diminished—some were cut down by the wolf fang wind blades, others fell victim to their disoriented comrades.

In this chaotic state, Aero led Kalen’s undead cavalry to strike. In a single wave, the five thousand Black Cavalry disintegrated utterly. By the time survivors shook off the debilitating effects, their forces were scattered, exposed beneath the relentless surge of Kalen’s vanguard, and the slaughter began in earnest.

Kalen’s undead cavalry showed no mercy. They charged relentlessly, their cold, sharp bone lances sending the Black Cavalry one by one into the abyss. Over the course of the battle, it was evident that Kalen’s undead had grown far stronger than before. Months ago, while besieging the five werewolf brothers, some had even fallen behind or been unseated. Now, nearly all of the thousand undead horsemen moved with perfect harmony between rider and mount.

This was no surprise, for over the past three months, they had trained incessantly atop their azure demon wolves. Day and night, this relentless drilling forged an extraordinary bond and heightened their combat cohesion.

Faced with such undead cavalry, even with abundant resources at their disposal, no matter how evenly matched two cavalry forces might be, victory would always belong to Kalen’s undead legion.

Under their brutal assault, the Black Cavalry Regiment was wiped out in less than an hour.

But Kalen’s undead did not pause after this triumph. Just then, the Black Legion’s infantry arrived. At Kalen’s command, the undead cavalry launched another attack against the foot soldiers.

This time, however, their tactics differed. Instead of charging headlong or casting scrolls, they employed a sophisticated mounted archery strategy.

Mounted archery is an advanced tactic rarely mastered by ordinary cavalry. Yet Kalen’s undead cavalry was different. Firstly, after over three months of continuous training, they had nearly achieved the unity of rider and steed. More importantly, they were equipped with skeletal bows that required no exceptional marksmanship—only energy.

With these skeletal bows, even those with no archery skill could unleash formidable ranged attacks. And with twenty-five thousand infantry massed densely behind them, the undead cavalry needed no refined aim. They would charge forward, fire a volley, retreat to create distance, then charge again, firing another volley, and so on—repeating this cycle to inflict heavy losses without ever closing for direct engagement with the Black Legion.

As Kalen’s undead cavalry continued their relentless slaughter, Aero’s heart burned with fury and hatred, the flames of vengeance reaching their peak. The intensity of his hatred was so palpable that even Kalen, watching from several hundred meters away, could sense it.

Kalen’s eyes flickered with a fiery gleam as he revealed a smile of keen interest...