Chapter 239: Catastrophe Legion

"Death Lord!"

The Weizelan wizards and Mo Du nobles all showed uncontrollable fear, and even a few people of weak will grew timid and began looking for a chance to flee.

Lei En's complexion also changed.

In Ai Lun E Si, this name is as thunderous as a drumbeat, famous and formidable, but the fame refers more to a chillingly terrifying reputation—so frightening that even a three‑year‑old stops crying upon hearing it.

The Death Lord is the world's most powerful death knight, a transcendent equal to a Holy Soul wizard.

At the same time, it is the sole leader of all death knights!

When people speak of the Death Lord, they refer to the towering figure before them, clad in rune armor—Esaz!

Lei En's private library contains several hundred books about the Death Lord.

This mighty undead rose to fame over a thousand years ago; his lineage was extremely noble, and in life he was a prince of the Lamon Empire, one of humanity's three great empires.

Not only was his strength outstanding, achieving the legendary Solar Knight rank at a young age, but his temperament was generous and his character humble—truly the perfect successor to the throne.

From the Pharaoh and the ruling class down to merchants and commoners, everyone regarded him as the next imperial ruler.

However, no one expected this flawless prince to fall amid a series of upheavals.

He suddenly threw himself to the Lord of the Dead.

Transforming from a Solar Knight into a death knight, the prince once called the "Great Filial Son" not only murdered his father with his own hands but also led a massive Undead Legion to ravage his own homeland, crazily slaughtering millions—perhaps tens of millions—of civilians who once adored him, dealing a severe blow to the Lamon Empire.

All these years, the Lamon Empire has never regained its former glory, now ranking at the bottom among the three great empires.

Scholars have tallied that the number of lives directly or indirectly taken by Esaz ranks within the top ten throughout Ai Lun E Si's long history.

It should be noted that those in the top ten are mostly great demons from the Abyss, such as Fear Demon King, Abyssal Lord, or the Scythe of Death—terrifying beings that ravage the Prime Material Plane, causing widespread devastation, species extinction, and ushering civilization into a new cycle.

Only the Death Lord perpetrated such a horrifyingly large‑scale slaughter in the mid‑era.

And he was once a human!

This makes the Death Lord even more despised, a great tragedy of Ai Lun E Si.

A wonderful beginning to life, yet it unfolded into the most terrifying disaster story; such a stark contrast makes countless people sigh in regret and many speak of it with fascination.

Many historians study why the Death Lord fell into the Abyss, and it remains a mystery to this day.

In human realms, aside from the Lamon Empire, books, data, novels, picture books… about the Death Lord abound; any story touching him, especially the tragic love tales, consistently dominate the bestseller lists year after year.

Among them are both serious historical studies and absurd unofficial novels, widely circulated.

Almost everyone grew up hearing the legends of Death Lord Esaz and knows him well.

After slaying countless of his own kind and offering their souls, Esaz naturally earned the Lord of the Dead's approval, receiving the highest‑grade blessing and being appointed as a Divine Chosen!

Moreover, the Lord of the Dead personally forged two Legend Grade pieces of equipment for Esaz.

They are the Crown of Command and the Frost Grief!

Wearing the Crown of Command allows unlimited control over massive undead creatures, forcing other death knights to submit.

Frost Grief is a two‑handed greatsword.

This legendary weapon wields unmatched icy power; each enemy it kills is turned into an undead, its soul harvested and devoured into the blade, making the sword ever stronger and amplifying its wielder's death power.

After acquiring these two legendary pieces, Esaz's power surged wildly, quickly reaching Saint Rank and becoming even harder to defeat.

Relying on the Crown of Command, he forged a massive undead army called the Catastrophe Legion.

For centuries, the Catastrophe Legion has been entrenched in the north of the New Continent, in a region called Karnod, a wasteland perpetually covered in ice and snow, gradually expanding outward to occupy a quarter of the New Continent, making it one of the strongest evil forces there.

The Catastrophe Legion and the Death Knot Seal are the two major forces of the Lord of the Dead in Ai Lun E Si.

The Death Knot Seal is led mainly by Liches and undead wizards, while the Catastrophe Legion consists primarily of death knights; the two have both rivalry and cooperation.

In recent years, the Death Knot Seal has become more active.

Both the Death Lord and the Catastrophe Legion have been quiet, in a dormant phase.

No one expected the Death Lord, after years of silence, to suddenly descend upon Mo Du and attack Weizelan's Floating City.

If today the Weizelan Floating City were to collapse, dam the Yero River, flood Mo Du City, and the three bone altars sacrifice souls, millions could perish.

That would move the Death Lord up one or two spots on the killing ranking.

When the Death Lord truly appears before them, people only feel boundless terror and bone‑chilling cold, a sinister evil even more frightening than legend, bearing no resemblance to those tragic love stories.

Upon the massive Bone Dragon skull, the Death Lord raises the Frost Grief sword.

The Floating City's entrance suddenly expands dozens of times, the dark light fading, instantly like a breached reservoir, as countless undead creatures rush out in a frenzy.

Grave‑spider demons, skeleton warriors, skeleton archers, zombies, evil spirit cavalry, water ghosts, corpse dogs, skeletal terror demons, bone constructs, abhorrences… like an exhibition of undead creatures, varied and grotesque, many nameless.

They cluster together densely, and a terrifying rain of undead falls from the sky!

The Floating City's slope also opens an exit, spewing a massive swarm of undead.

Gargoyles, soul weavers, vengeful spirits, ghostly bats… spread like a blanket of dark clouds, plunging straight down.

Normally these undead would pose no threat to the Floating City, but now its shield, controlled by Lu Yin, has been reduced to a plaza to protect himself.

The entire Floating City is virtually undefended.

"Prepare to meet the enemy!"

Anxiwodasi shouted.

He brandished the Akus Holy Staff, its massive crystal emitting a red blaze; with a booming roar, everyone saw a sea of crimson, heat waves rolling as if in a furnace, flames stretching beyond sight to cover half the sky like a fiery sunset cloud.

Eight‑Ring Spell "Burning Cloud Technique"!

Anxiwodasi raised his hand, lifting the fiery cloud upward.

The first wave of undead that fell into the cloud ignited instantly; most turned to ash, and the few that passed through the fire cloud landed as charred husks, no longer a threat.

Lei En held his breath.

It was his first close encounter with a high‑ring spell, and such a large‑area lethal technique left him in awe.

"Everyone return to the entrance of Weizelan's High Tower, split into four groups, each guarding an entrance."

"Under no circumstances let the undead enter the tower."

Go quickly!

Anxiwodasi swiftly issued the order.

Lei En grasped the teacher's idea: the Fu Kong Cheng's control core is the Iola Core, and that thing lies beneath the Weizelan Tower.

Ruin diverted the Iola Core's energy, but the Fu Kong Cheng has backup power that can last at least two hours.

His body cannot endure two hours.

Before the backup power runs out, the Disaster Legion must destroy the Iola Core; otherwise, when Ruin dies, the shield will reopen and the battle will end.

Lei En has never entered beneath the tower, but he is fairly familiar with its four entrances.

Clap!

He transformed into lightning and returned to the Extreme Warrior, shouting, "Everyone, follow me."

"Yes, boss."

The resonant reply came from beneath the armor.

Lei En sprinted with thirteen Extreme Warriors; their speed was such that within seconds they ran out of the plaza into the academy.

The flame cloud overhead persisted, constantly dropping remains of undead.

When they were halfway, the flames suddenly faded and the sky returned to its normal color.

Lei En heard the teacher's muffled hum in his ear; the spell had been interrupted.

This Burning Cloud Technique lasted ten seconds.

In those brief ten seconds, thousands of undead creatures were slain, and ash swirled through the sky.

Yet more undead continued to fall.

Aaa…

A sharp roar!

A massive Bone Dragon hovering in the sky swooped down, and the Death Lord perched on its head raised Frost Grief, pointing directly at Anxiwodasi.

"Mortal, Frost Grief is hungry."

The Death Lord's deep voice resonated in the hearts of everyone in the Fu Kong Cheng, carrying an indescribable terror that made some weak‑willed people clutch their heads and flee, or tremble as if they had seen the world's most dreadful sight, even wetting themselves on the spot.

The Fu Kong Cheng, which had been orderly preparing to repel the enemy, instantly descended into chaos from that sentence.

At the same time, Korstted, who had just interrupted the Burning Cloud Technique, immediately began casting another spell.

Anxiwodasi remained unafraid.

He did not cast the Burning Cloud Technique again; a thick flame shield enveloped him, he rose into the air, raised his hand, and hundreds of fireballs materialized instantly.

The countless fireballs turned into three torrents, each surging toward Korstted, the Death Lord, and his Bone Dragon.

Three Holy Soul‑ranked transcendants began a melee.

Lei En had no mind to watch the battle.

Every second, hundreds of undead creatures fell from the sky; without the Burning Cloud Technique to block them, they quickly struck all over the Fu Kong Cheng, most concentrating around the plaza and the Weizelan Tower.

Bang bang bang…

Falling from several hundred meters, the undead triggered the Fu Kong Cheng's "Slow‑Fall Technique" the instant they hit the ground, reducing fall damage.

Lei En had already charged into the academy, not far from the base of the Weizelan Tower.

A tomb spider demon landed before him; its massive spider body stood over three meters tall, emitting a foul black‑purple odor, weighing two to three thousand pounds, supported by six legs, with two front claws saw‑toothed and curved tips extremely sharp, and its four pairs of compound eyes filled with ferocity.

It opened its mouth to spit silk, its compound eyes reflecting a human silhouette that leapt high.

The Lightning Hammer struck down with force.

Poof!

The spider demon's head turned into a pool of mire, its upper body smashed into a dark blood sauce, lightning burst, and it instantly burned to ash.

A soul flew out of the spider demon's corpse.

Lei En did not glance at it again, lifted his war hammer and kept charging forward.

Just a few meters out, four or five skeleton warriors dropped ahead; he charged through them, shattering them all into fragments.

Some undead fell behind or to the sides, and Lei En ignored them; the Extreme Warrior's giant sword easily sliced them into fragments.

He pressed on, the battle never ceased.

Half a minute later, Lei En finally reached the base of the tower.

Along the way, dozens of undead died beneath his war hammer, and together with the enemies slain by the Burning Cloud Technique, all souls that perished within a hundred meters were absorbed and converted into electric charge.

Even though those undead were low‑level and their souls ordinary, their sheer number raised Lei En's electric charge, which quickly reached about 30%.

The tower's entrance is fifteen meters tall, like a city gate.

When Lei En arrived at the first entrance, he found someone had already gotten there ahead of him.

The legendary holy swordsman Heins, leading a group of holy swordsmen, swiftly slashed nearby undead; with them were Speaker Ronnie and several elite wizards.

Lei En did not linger, immediately leading the Extreme Warriors around the tower to the second entrance.

He had just arrived when a teleportation portal opened at the entrance; Speaker Kelaoaosi stepped out, followed by a legendary priest from the Earth Church, five earth nuns wielding heavy weapons, Viscount Stoyind, and Sword Saint Weili En.

Such a powerful lineup could not possibly not lend a hand.

Lei En said nothing and kept running forward.

The third entrance was finally unguarded; dozens of evil spirit cavalry dropped nearby, each riding an undead warhorse, already formed into a line, charging the protective barrier array at the entrance.

When Lei En appeared, all the evil spirit cavalry turned their heads in unison.

Their bodies were sheathed in rust‑spattered armor, with two ghostly flames beneath their helmets, their withered hands gripping long spears, and they immediately turned to charge.

"Kill them!"

Lei En shouted, quickened his run, and launched a head‑on charge.

"March for Augustus!"

Extreme Warriors brandished their giant swords, following behind Lei En, shouting slogans as they charged together.

The charge of fourteen people was like that of ten thousand troops!

In the roar of boom, the two forces collided without any pretense; Lei En swung his war hammer horizontally before him, triggering a thunderous heavy strike. The terrifying power smashed the evil spirit cavalryman before him into powder. His steel-like body pierced through, slamming into the second evil spirit cavalryman with a crackling clatter, lightning burst forth, and the third and fourth evil spirit cavalrymen were also shattered into fragments.

After swinging the Thunder Hammer several times, the view ahead cleared; Lei En had already cut his way through.

He turned his head and saw that all the evil spirit cavalrymen had fallen to the ground, none intact, with the Extreme Warriors following him, not a single one missing.

Several dozen souls flew out, and he absorbed them.

"Hah..."

The exhilaration of surging electricity made Lei En involuntarily draw a deep breath. Before he could relax, a tearing sound came from above, and another hundred or so undead descended from the sky.

(End of chapter)