Chương 33: Chapter 32

With the addition of the zombies, the undead army's strength had nearly doubled. Unlike the ghosts and skeletons, the zombies possessed far hardier bodies. A single divine pulse could wipe out dozens of skeletons and ghosts in an instant, but zombies were another matter entirely. Unless they were already heavily injured, the divine power merely blasted chunks of rotting flesh from their bodies or left them staggering backward. Granessa had it the easiest.

Her attack power continued to skyrocket with every kill and every wound she suffered. Each swing of her battleaxe erased dozens of undead from existence. Even so, her stamina was rapidly running dry, and Adam had no spell capable of restoring it.

"Ah! Damn!" Mei stumbled as a skeleton's broken axe handle punched through her thigh.

"That stings!" She limped backward while more undead surged toward her from every direction. Adam immediately shoved his way between Mei and the attacking horde, raising a [Tower Shield] to intercept the incoming attacks. Weapons crashed against the barrier.

"My savior!" Mei declared dramatically.

"But aren't you supposed to be wearing shining armor and riding a white horse?" Her gaze traveled down his bare chest.

"How come my knight in shining armor is a naked pervert?"

"I'm not naked. And I'm a mage, not a knight."

"True. If you were a knight, you'd have a long, hard sword." Adam's brow twitched. He chose not to dignify that with a response. Using the brief moment of safety, Mei grabbed the blood-soaked axe handle protruding from her thigh and yanked it free. A moment later, divine healing washed over her, knitting flesh and sealing the wound as though it had never existed.

"We need to retreat," Adam said.

"I'm nearly OOM."

"Out of mana? Already?"

"It's been half an hour, and we've killed at least several hundred undead." Mei glanced around.

"Where do we go? There's no way back." The sandstone shelves that had once served as their shelter now blocked any retreat. Endless waves of undead surrounded them on the remaining sides. Adam looked toward the only opening available.

"The only way is through. You and Granessa clear a path. I'll hold the rear." Mei nodded.

"Granessa, retreat!" The orc answered with a snarl before activating a skill. [Whirlwind] By spinning in a rapid circle, generate a lethal pushback force. Effect: Deal high damage to enemies struck directly and push back further enemies. Her battleaxe became a spinning blur. Skeletons exploded apart. Ghosts were shredded. Zombies were hurled backward as if struck by a battering ram. The sudden opening gave her enough room to disengage and rejoin them.

As they began forcing their way through the horde, Adam finally got a good look at her condition. Granessa's attack power had climbed to a staggering four hundred and sixty-six percent. The cost was obvious. Her breathing came in ragged gasps. Sweat drenched her body. Every movement looked heavier than the last, as though she had just finished running multiple hundred-mile marathons back to back. Maybe worse. The three of them were exhausted. Even Mei's rate of fire had slowed considerably.

"I feel kinda dizzy..." Her voice sounded distant. She fired one final magic bullet from her fingertips before she began to sway unsteadily. The next moment she collapsed into the sand.

"Mei!" Adam immediately dispelled his shields and spent the last scraps of mana he possessed on a [Heal]. Green light washed over her body. Nothing happened. Mei remained motionless. Completely unconscious.

"That won't... work..." Granessa said between heavy breaths.

"She's suffering... from magic fatigue. She... used too much mana..."

"But her skill doesn't use mana." Granessa bent down and lifted Mei over one shoulder.

"It does..." she said.

"The skill replenishes... the mana it spends... but not perfectly. That's the simple version... I can't explain more right now..." She adjusted Mei's weight.

"We need... to move." The undead had no intention of giving them time to recover. If anything, their attacks became more aggressive as they sensed weakness. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Adam attempted to cast [Sacred Shield]. Nothing happened. The heal had consumed the very last of his mana. If he pushed beyond his limits now, he risked suffering magic drain. Compared to Mei's magic fatigue, magic drain was far more dangerous. Potentially fatal.

He grimaced. At this point, it hardly mattered. If they stayed here, they would die anyway. Drawing on the minuscule traces of mana still lingering inside his body, Adam reached outward and exerted control over the ambient mana surrounding them. Mana rushed toward him like a tidal wave. Skeletons and ghosts caught in its path were ripped apart by the energy as their exposed cores were shattered. The zombies, however, absorbed portions of the ambient mana.

To Adam's horror, their decaying bodies seemed to gain a faint burst of renewed vigor. The tiny amount of mana he recovered was barely enough. Just enough to cast one final shield. No more. A divine pulse afterward would likely kill him.

"Go," Adam said.

"Get Mei out of here." Granessa nodded solemnly. She understood exactly what he was planning. To remain behind and face impossible odds so his companions could escape was the sort of death worthy of a hero's saga.

"May the Great War Goddess bless your journey into the afterlife with endless battle," she said, placing a fist over her chest before turning away. Without hesitation, she hurled her battleaxe into the crowd. The spinning weapon tore a bloodless path through the undead. Then she charged after it, snatching the axe from the ground and continuing forward, carving through anything foolish enough to stand in her way.

With her attack power still increasing, even the slightest graze from her weapon was enough to obliterate skeletons, ghosts, and zombies alike.

"I'd rather not spend eternity fighting battles after I die..." Adam muttered under his breath. A sad smile formed on his face as he poured everything he had into [Sacred Shield]. Every remaining drop of mana. Every ounce of willpower. The golden barrier erupted with radiant light, growing brighter and brighter until his vision became a sea of white. Nearby skeletons and zombies began to smoke beneath the overwhelming divine energy, their bodies sizzling as if exposed to a miniature sun.

He took a step forward, then another, preparing to unleash the strongest divine pulse of his life. A pulse powerful enough to annihilate the horde. A pulse that would almost certainly kill him as well. Then his magic vanished like a clay ox entering the sea. The radiant shield disappeared instantly, as though it had never existed. The sudden emptiness felt wrong, like losing a limb he hadn't realized he possessed. For the first time since arriving in this world, he felt completely powerless.

[Silence] A powerful curse spell that locks the target's magic. Effect: Restrict the target's Magic stat completely for 1 minute. A figure stepped forward from the sea of undead. Unlike the others, this creature carried itself with purpose. Half of its body remained wrapped in ancient funeral cloth while patches of shriveled flesh peeked through the gaps. In one hand it carried an ornate golden scepter topped with a crystal-like gem filled with swirling liquid mana. The undead around it instinctively parted.

Army of the Dead General (Elite Mini-Boss) - Lv. 70 Adam's stomach sank. As if that wasn't bad enough, an entire squad of mummies emerged behind the general. Every single one of them was level sixty-five. The mummies immediately spread out. Long strips of enchanted wrappings shot from their bodies like living ribbons, racing across the battlefield toward Granessa. The exhausted orc swung her axe and tore through several bindings, but her body had long since reached its limit.

More wrappings followed, coiling around her arms, legs, and torso until she was completely restrained. Despite her absurd attack power, she lacked the strength to break free. The mummy general planted its scepter into the sand.

"Great Pharaoh Hatshepsut has issued their decree." Its voice was deep and dry, as though the speaker had not used it in centuries.

"All three trespassers shall be brought before them alive." The order was immediately obeyed. Dozens of enchanted wrappings shot forward. Adam didn't even attempt to resist. He simply couldn't. A moment later he, Granessa, and the unconscious Mei were tightly bound from head to toe.

"Let me gooo!" Granessa roared, attempting to bite through the wrappings and tugging uselessly with her tusks. A fresh strip of cloth immediately wrapped around her mouth and face, leaving only her eyes and nose uncovered. Adam, meanwhile, remained still. Every second mattered. With his magic sealed there wasn't much he could do, but he still focused on recovering what little mana he could. Then a painful realization struck him. The magic battery. It was still sitting inside his inventory. Empty of mana.

If he had charged it beforehand, perhaps he would have had enough mana to help them escape before the mummy general arrived. The thought lingered for a few moments before he reluctantly dismissed it. That was wishful thinking. Nothing more. The truth was they had likely been doomed from the start. Their biggest mistake had been overconfidence. If they had retreated the moment the undead appeared, they might have escaped. Maybe. Or maybe not. Either way, dwelling on it wouldn't change anything.

They were prisoners now. Their options were simple: accept whatever fate awaited them inside the massive pyramid looming over the desert, or find a way to escape. Adam was firmly committed to the second option.

"Do not waste a drop of the virgin blood," the mummy general ordered. At the command, dozens of ghosts drifted across the battlefield. They plunged their translucent hands into the sand and began extracting every drop of blood spilled during the fight. Adam watched in fascination as crimson liquid rose from the desert and gathered into floating spheres. Three distinct blood orbs eventually formed. The smallest was roughly fist-sized. His. The second measured about the size of a human head. Mei's.

The third made the others look insignificant. It contained enough blood to fill a kiddie pool. Definitely Granessa's. The ghosts discarded the first two without a second glance. Granessa's blood, however, was carefully preserved and carried forward as though it were some priceless treasure, causing Adam's unease to immediately intensify. After the battlefield had been thoroughly stripped clean, the undead army resumed its march toward the massive pyramid at the heart of the desert.

As he was carried along, Adam tried piecing together what he knew.

"Well, it clearly isn't an Arabian Nights situation," he thought. His eyes drifted toward the enormous orb of blood floating ahead of them.

"So why the obsession with a virgin woman? More specifically, her blood. A ritual, maybe?" The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. If the mummies funeral clothes weren't wrapped tightly around his body, he would have nodded. It was definitely some kind of ritual. He'd seen enough movies to recognize the setup. Most likely the pharaoh was attempting to restore their body using virgin blood. Or perhaps resurrect themselves entirely. Either way, Adam doubted the process would be pleasant for Granessa.