Chapter 437: You Want to Ride Me? Dream On, Run Yourself

Tu Ge had never imagined he could ever truly control De Luo Ge City, because the city's defenses were held by the Undead Guards, and with them present, he was forever just a steward-like lord.

But all of this changed over two months ago, when the Undead Guards suddenly went on strike; Tu Ge went to seek the Gravekeeper Lord, only to find him missing.

Without the Undead Guards, De Luo Ge City ran on inertia for several days, and inevitably, illegal acts began to surface; when criminals discovered no one came to punish them, their boldness grew ever greater.

Tu Ge dispatched the Lord's Guard to maintain order. But honestly, his guards were only fit for ceremonial duties and putting on airs—they were nowhere near match for desperate outlaws.

One and a half months ago, a dozen guards surrounded a mercenary who had assaulted a serving girl in a tavern and refused to pay; he killed six of them outright and escaped the encirclement. Tu Ge lost all face, and since that day, many merchant guilds began ignoring him.

Until over a month ago, an envoy from the Necropolis Council suddenly delivered the Undead Scepter and entrusted it to Tu Ge, the most respected figure at the time, granting him the power to summon the Undead Guards from the cemetery.

Overnight, Tu Ge's power was solidified: he could now summon waves of Undead Guards, and many powerful figures flocked to his side, becoming his core followers who would help him fully seize control of the city.

But to feed these followers, his old tax revenues wouldn't suffice—he needed more industries and more slaves.

Slaves were the cheapest labor: just feed them enough to keep them from starving. Their wives and daughters could be sold; their sons, once grown, remained slaves—profitable beyond measure.

Perfect! Tens of thousands of refugees had arrived outside the city—ideal slave material. Starve them a few days, then offer a single loaf of bread, and they'd sign their indentures willingly, becoming his property.

But before he could act, a group from the "Necropolis Temple" arrived outside the city and began distributing aid, relocating and resettling the refugees—suddenly, nearly half the refugees outside vanished.

Tu Ge was initially stunned: Necropolis Temple people coming to aid refugees? Did that temple even still have followers?

He doubted it, but dared not be certain—what if they truly were from the Necropolis Temple?

After spending half a day, Tu Ge used his connections to dig up a piece of news: the Necropolis Temple on the Anxi Plains had collapsed ten years ago.

If the Necropolis Temple had collapsed, where had these people come from? They were definitely impostors.

Tu Ge immediately summoned the cemetery's Undead Guards and, with his followers, quietly surrounded the area, preparing to net them all—leaving not a single blasphemer alive.

Yes, he'd already prepared his excuse: label them as blasphemers, capture as many alive as possible, so even if they truly were from the Necropolis Temple, he could claim it was merely a "misunderstanding."

But his movements were spotted by Rebinia, who risked coming to warn them—yet An Ge and the others wore strange expressions.

An Ge even showed a look of resignation: this was the fourth time.

Seeing this, Anthony hurriedly said: "My lord, my lord, you absolutely must not act—restrain yourself, restrain yourself, don't frighten the Scepter!"

An Ge tilted his head.

Anthony quickly whispered: "This is a perfect chance to display our strength. If you just move casually, it's a waste. We must properly showcase our power—to intimidate both enemies and allies."

As Anthony spoke, he glanced toward Rebinia's direction—clearly, she too was a target needing intimidation.

An Ge nodded, then tilted his head again.

Anthony hurriedly said: "First do this, then that, then this again—oh, by the way, what's something especially flashy and intimidating in the necromantic arts? We should scare them with it."

An Ge and Nai Ge Li stared at each other. Du Luo Ken rubbed his chin and listed: "Plague of the Undead? Flood of the Dead? Soul Storm? Despair's Wail? Banshee's Divine Song? Rotting Plague?..."

Du Luo Ken was about to keep listing them one by one, but Anthony waved frantically: "Stop, stop, stop! That's too terrifying—are you trying to scare them or kill them?"

Nai Ge Li said: "If you want something truly flashy, try the Mist of Death, combined with the Abyss of White Bones—white hand-bones erupting from the ground, stretching as far as the eye can see—that should be impressive. An Ge, can you use it?"

"Mist of Death, yes. Abyss of White Bones, no," An Ge said.

Nai Ge Li immediately noticed: An Ge said "yes" and "no," not "can" and "cannot."

"You mean the Mist of Death can be cast, but the Abyss of White Bones cannot? Too high a level?" Nai Ge Li guessed.

An Ge nodded. The Mist of Death was a large-scale manipulation of death energy, not dependent on rank but on control over undead energy—exactly what An Ge excelled at.

The Abyss of White Bones, however, was an eighth-rank necromantic spell—he lacked sufficient magical power to cast it.

After Nai Ge Li translated, everyone understood. Du Luo Ken smiled and raised his hat: "Then let me perform a little magic."

Anthony added: "There'll likely be some verbal exchange soon—don't rush. Uh, let the little zombie go first. Can you do it, little zombie?"

"Aow!" The little zombie slapped its own pectorals.

Anthony didn't understand its meaning, but heard the eager tone in its voice, and immediately said: "Good. You go first, then me, then my lord and Lord Du Luo Ken will act when the time comes."

"Aow!" The little angel raised its hand vigorously.

Anthony panicked: "You can't act—your signature move is too obvious."

The little angel pouted, pointing a finger at him: "Aow!"

Anthony blinked rapidly—he'd guessed the little angel's meaning—and hurriedly said: "Don't you remember what I originally was? The Black Knight Emperor."

The little angel puffed out her cheeks in anger but stopped saying "Aow."

Had he calmed her down? Anthony exhaled in relief—if he hadn't, she'd have burst out with a single Radiant Flash, and pretending to be the Necropolis Temple would be impossible—they'd have to pretend to be the Church of Light instead.

Seeing everyone muttering in strange expressions, yet ignoring her, Rebinia grew angry, stomped hard, and turned to leave—fine, I'm done with you all.

"Lady Rebinia, please wait—your testimony is needed for what comes next," Anthony called out urgently.

"Testify to a bunch of undead? I risked coming to warn you, and now Lord Tu Ge will hate me too," Rebinia said.

"Heh, then take your place on the city wall as a witness—see the dignity of the Necropolis Temple. Not just any cat or dog dares to offend us," Anthony said coolly.

Rebinia turned back in shock: "You're really from the Necropolis Temple?"

Anthony shrugged, speaking coolly: "Of course. We have no need to deceive you. And look—this isn't even a fearsome name. Even a petty lord dares to defy us. It seems we've been too long without manifesting miracles—the world has forgotten us."

Rebinia's expression grew grave. She'd assumed Tu Ge dared to act because he'd received some information.

Tu Ge had recently gathered many followers, and his inner circle was leaky as a sieve. Rebinia, the Count, simply asked around and learned the Necropolis Temple had collapsed ten years ago—that must be why Tu Ge dared to move.

But now, seeing how confident An Ge and his group were—even more so than Tu Ge—could they truly be from the Necropolis Temple?

If these people truly were from the Necropolis Temple, and recalling Anthony's words—"miracle," "offense," "deterrence," "forgotten"—Rebinia suddenly felt a dread.

She quickened her pace, leaping to the city wall, where her loyal subordinates had already lowered a basket. As she ascended halfway, she saw three sides swarming with a dark tide.

An Ge and his group, along with the refugees, were now surrounded by countless undead creatures.

Amid a circle of followers, Tu Ge pushed through the refugees and stood before An Ge and the others. When he saw their attire, his heart grew even more at ease.

"Look at them! A stunted yellow dragon, a sorcerer, a few humans, and a little girl—daring to impersonate the Necropolis Temple? Do you know this is blasphemy? Foolish fools! Bring them to me—arrest them!"

Not a single undead, not a single lich, not a single necromancer—how dare they impersonate the Necropolis Temple? Do they think everyone here is stupid?

Seeing the enemies approach, Anthony suddenly grew distant, remembering something long buried. He slammed his chest hard: "Come forth, old friend—we fight side by side again."

A black mist rose from his body, coalescing into a horse's head, then a mighty undead warhorse leapt into the air.

The black mist wrapped around him, hardening into a majestic suit of armor—within moments, a death-wreathed Undead Knight stood before them all.

Tu Ge's followers involuntarily slowed their advance: weren't there no liches or necromancers? What about an Undead Knight?

Anthony smiled faintly, ready to mount—but as he stepped forward, the black horse sidestepped sharply, sending him tumbling awkwardly into empty air.

"Uh—Black Horse, stop playing. Stand still," Anthony said, embarrassed, glancing around, then gripping the horse's neck and trying again.

The black horse sidestepped once more, muttering: "Ride? Ride? You call me out just to ride me? Dream on. Run yourself."

"Oh come on, don't joke! Stand still! Give me some face! I'm getting angry! Everyone's watching—do you want to drive me mad?" Anthony chased after the horse, trying to mount, but the horse dodged nimbly, circling the field.

Tu Ge and his followers, who had slowed, couldn't help but laugh, then charged forward again.

Black smoke surged from the little zombie, hardening into a soul-armored suit.

The enemies involuntarily slowed again—another one who could manifest soul-armor?

The little zombie didn't hesitate. It remembered Anthony's plan: it was to strike first. So it thrust both hands forward—Death Breath: Shockwave.

A black column swallowed Tu Ge and the followers before him.

When the beam passed, Tu Ge and two followers vanished—erased utterly by Death Breath.

Anthony and Nai Ge Li simultaneously covered their faces. We told you to strike first—not to obliterate the boss outright! How are we supposed to play this now?

"Aow!" The little zombie didn't care. The little angel always acted this way—it was just copying. After unleashing its move, it roared and charged headlong into the stunned followers.

A chorus of cracking bones and snapping tendons rang out—three or four swordsmen who couldn't dodge were flung skyward.

Piercing through the enemy ranks, the little zombie halted, turned, and charged again. Its feet pounded the earth with thunderous booms, like a giant running.

"Huh?" Nai Ge Li exclaimed: "Earth Charge? When did it learn Earth Charge?"

Du Luo Ken also gasped: "Earth Charge of the earth element? How? It doesn't even use magic—how can it connect with earth elements to perform Earth Charge?"

Nai Ge Li suddenly realized something, and turned sharply toward An Ge: "Did you teach it?"

An Ge shook his head, then raised both hands and mimed digging soil.

"Pfft—you mean it dug so much soil, it spontaneously learned it like you did?" Nai Ge Li nearly spat blood.

An Ge, after watering too much, spontaneously learned Rain Spell; after loosening soil too much, he learned Loosen Soil Spell. Why couldn't the little zombie, after digging far more soil than An Ge had ever loosened in a thousand years, spontaneously learn Earth Charge?

Over these years, the little zombie had dug more soil than An Ge had ever loosened in a millennium.

Nai Ge Li took several deep breaths before accepting this absurdity—after all, even more absurd things had happened around An Ge.

"What now? Should we still activate the next moves? The little zombie already finished everything," Nai Ge Li asked.

Under the little zombie's repeated charges, the enemy forces were in disarray, unable to hold formation—only scrambling to dodge. If this continued, the little zombie could clear them all alone.

Anthony sighed: "Go ahead. We didn't intimidate the enemy—then at least intimidate the allies. Look at the wall—there are many more spectators now. They're our potential allies."

After speaking, Anthony glared bitterly at the black horse, then charged forward on foot.

An Ge extended his will—the ground surged with black mist, releasing vast amounts of death energy, spreading across the surface.

Du Luo Ken waved his Golden Rod and, for the first time, chanted a spell: "Abyss paved with white bones, waving hand-bones, farewell to the living, welcome to the undead..."

White hand-bones erupted from the ground like grass sprouting, like tombstones rising from the earth.

Fog rose—dispersed death energy coalesced into mist, surging swiftly to obscure the city below and flowing toward De Luo Ge City.

As it surged, those on the city wall could clearly see the mist shifting into the shape of a face, silently watching them all.

Rebinia froze, not daring to move, until the mist swallowed the city wall.