Assassin 087

At Lyon’s command, the two thousand soldiers under his banner charged at once.

Unlike the ten thousand goblins gathered in haste around Iron Tooth, Iron Tooth’s goblin legion could only be called a rabble.

After all, that legion had been assembled entirely by the force of Iron Tooth’s authority and by their hatred for Cale, the butcher of goblins.

Iron Tooth himself, as commander, was also driven by private motives in the midst of battle, always placing the preservation of his own tribe’s strength above all else.

Lyon’s forces, however, were altogether different. Whatever else could be said of him, Lyon had risen from the ranks of the common people, carving his way up with sword and blade; he was a truly outstanding general, and his army was equally formidable.

Well equipped and strictly disciplined, they did not hurl others’ goblins forward as cannon fodder when they charged. Their spearhead was their own commander, Lyon himself.

An army like that, though only two thousand strong, possessed battle power beyond imagination. Even with a full ten thousand goblins, Iron Tooth might not have been able to hold them back, let alone now.

Lyon’s first assault nearly cut clean through the goblin legion.

Though Iron Tooth had spared no effort to preserve his own people in his struggle with Cale, he was no fool.

One wave of Lyon’s attack made it plain to him that this was no time to hold anything back. If he did not fight with all he had, he would likely be ground to death by Lyon.

Yet he did not strike back the moment Lyon launched his charge. Instead, he immediately gathered the elite of his own tribe, those of third, second, and first tier, and, avoiding Lyon’s main force, let Lyon’s vanguard tear straight through the goblin legion.

His thoughts were rotten indeed; he meant to send Lyon’s main force crashing into Cale’s undead legion.

But if Iron Tooth’s thoughts were vile, Cale’s were even worse. When Lyon’s army came surging forward, Cale’s undead legion simply turned about, broke out of the goblin encirclement, and withdrew steadily backward. They did not leave the battlefield, but their meaning was obvious.

You fight. I shall watch.

Seeing this reaction from Cale, Iron Tooth was nearly spitting blood. Were they not supposed to be joining forces to resist the great army of Moon-Worship City? What was this sudden change of heart? Had he not heard them say that not a single goblin undead would be spared? If Cale stood aside now and watched, once they wiped out Iron Tooth’s side they would come for them next. Did he not understand that?

Cale understood all of it. He simply refused to join the fighting. Right now, he intended only to watch.

Lyon was likewise bewildered by Cale’s response, but he was still quite pleased.

After all, though he did not fear Cale and the goblins joining forces, defeating them one by one would always be easier than facing two enemies at once.

So Lyon immediately turned and pursued the goblins with relentless ferocity.

Under such circumstances, Iron Tooth’s ashen face turned purple with rage; his teeth nearly ground to dust, yet he had no choice but to fight Lyon with clenched jaws.

At this point he could not retreat at all. He could only battle Lyon to the bitter end.

And he was not without hope of victory. So long as he could hold Lyon’s main force here, he believed Cale would join the battle, after all, Lyon had shouted at the start that he intended to destroy everyone, undead included.

Once Cale entered the fray, if he could endure a little longer and wait for reinforcements to arrive, the situation might yet be reversed.

Clinging to that last shred of hope, Iron Tooth began to fight with a desperation bordering on the reckless, wielding a wolf-tooth club nearly as tall as he was and charging toward Lyon.

In an instant, the commander of the goblin legion and the supreme commander of Moon-Worship City were locked in battle, while behind them the elite troops of both armies also clashed in a savage war.

The fighting on both sides opened Cale’s eyes, especially the duel between Iron Tooth and Lyon.

Though Cale’s Eye of Insight could not take effect on either of them, their combat made it clear that they were absolutely above the level of outstanding third tier, and might even be beings of fourth tier.

Their struggle was ferocious beyond measure. In less than a few minutes, the field around them had already been reduced to utter wreckage.

Even third-tier fighters dared not draw near while they exchanged blows, fearing to be caught in the aftermath.

At that terrifying pace, even if Cale’s Little Green and Garen attacked together, they likely could not withstand many strikes.

But just as Iron Tooth had predicted, when the battle on that side erupted and Iron Tooth pinned down Lyon’s main force, Cale’s undead legion moved again.

Garen and Little Green led ten third-tier undead and two hundred second-tier undead into the fray, intending to strike Moon-Worship City from behind while Iron Tooth held Lyon in place.

Yet as Cale’s side moved, the ghostly legion, which had likewise been watching from the sidelines all this time, made its move as well.

“It’s our turn. Lyon may not need our help, but we can’t just stand by and watch, can we?”

“Fine. You go hold off the undead legion. I’ll handle that necromancer. I still have not forgotten the failure I suffered at his hands last time,” Shadow said coldly, glancing at Cale. Clearly, the failure of his last attempt still weighed heavily on him.

“You sure about this? Don’t end up getting yourself killed,” Dima said.

“Relax. I brought my hidden trump card this time. Even if I can’t kill him, escaping will be no problem.”

With that, Shadow flickered and vanished.

As Shadow moved, Ghost and Dima sprang into action as well, leading the elite among their own kind and charging straight out to block Cale’s undead legion.

Once they moved, the undead force Cale had launched would find it difficult to achieve the intended effect. Even worse, after Ghost’s men appeared, part of Lyon’s army also split off to help Ghost resist Cale’s undead.

Just like that, the battle once again fell into deadlock.

No, deadlock was not the right word. On Lyon and Iron Tooth’s side, the two of them had exchanged only a few minutes of blows before the outcome was nearly decided. Iron Tooth, who had once fought so savagely, was now suppressed to the point of barely being able to breathe.

Watching from the sidelines, Cale could not help frowning.

“This is getting troublesome. It looks like that goblin may not be able to hold out. If he dies and Lyon is left free to run rampant, that will make things a bit difficult for me.”

“Rather than worrying about that, you should first consider whether you can keep your own life.”

As Cale was lamenting this, a low, sinister voice rang out. Almost at the same moment, Shadow, who had failed in his attempt to assassinate Cale before, appeared once more behind him.

This time, however, he was far more cautious than before. He did not draw close to Cale, but materialized ten meters away, and as he appeared he pulled out a teal-colored crossbow bolt.

Though Cale’s Eye of Insight could not reveal the bolt’s attributes, he could still clearly sense something dangerous about it. Instinct told him that if Shadow fired it, there was more than a ninety percent chance he would die.

And yet there was not the slightest trace of tension on Cale’s face. If anything, his gaze toward Shadow was full of mockery, as though he were looking at an idiot.

In truth, in Cale’s eyes, Shadow was indeed an idiot.

“I really don’t understand. What on earth is wrong with your head? You think adding a crossbow bolt is enough to kill me?”

Before Shadow could even recover from Cale’s taunting look, a dagger pierced straight through his skull, and he plunged into boundless darkness.

At the same time, an undead being appeared out of nowhere behind Shadow.