Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

“Ahh!” The succubus screamed shrilly.

An angel swiftly swung his sword down onto the succubus. With Judgment’s Sword afflicting extra damage to heretics, a burst of Sacred Flame soared to the sky, completely enveloping Gidgeg.

The angel took to the skies with a spread of his wings, rushing towards another demon. From time to time, a Sacred Flame of Judgement would erupt in Demon Valley.

Far off in the cracks of a stone wall, a pair of shadows muttered in hushed tones, “Are these friggin’ battle birds mad or what? They consider everything heretical and want to kill everything in sight. Has he forgotten his mission?”

“Well, they wouldn’t be called battle birds if it wasn’t for such unyielding attitude. Even cute demons like the succubus aren’t spared. What exactly do they deem as heretical?”

“They probably lack aesthetics, not knowing what ‘cute’ entails.”

The pair of shadows whispered quietly while the angel quickly scorched all demons within Demon Valley. As for humans and other species not classified as heretics, they were completely ignored by the angel.

Having demolished all heretics, the angel took to the skies and flew off in a particular direction.

The two shadows quickly followed, squeezing out of the rock crevices. They formed human silhouettes with their legs moving alternately at a rapid pace, leaving behind ghostly residues as they raced ahead.

The residues further solidified, forming four legs and then six legs. The space between the legs expanded, and the pair of front and rear legs stretched longer, lifting the Black Warrior aloft.

Following this, a horse head with glowing red eyes emerged from between their legs, transforming into a horse along with the front and rear pairs of legs, carrying them in a swift pursuit towards the angel.

This isn’t a Black Warrior; this is clearly a more formidable figure – a Black Knight.

Like two plumes of black smoke, they traversed without raising any dust, trailing behind the airborne angel from afar.

As they galloped away, the sky gradually darkened, and the wind began to pick up in strength.

The two Black Knights chorused, “This is trouble. That damn judgmental bird wasted too much time. Otherwise, we would have reached the ‘World Transfer Station’.”

“What should we do now?”

“Let’s take cover for now. We Undead are terrified of the Resting Wind. It sends chills down our spine. The Witch can resist it a little longer.”

Both the Black Warriors and the more competent Black Knights are artificially created undead creatures. They are essentially ghosts without a physical entity.

If they were wizards or the like in their previous life, becoming an Undead wouldn’t be too consequential. But if they were fighters or any combat-related professions, becoming an Undead would deprive them of their physical attacking prowess, rendering their martial skills useless.

To make full use of the skills learnt when they were alive, the Necromancers of the Undead Empire invented a technique that could transform non-physical Undead into Black Warriors with semi-physical bodies. A battle horse was then manifested based on the Black Warriors, thus creating Black Knights.

The essence of a Black Knight’s steed is an extension of the Black Warrior’s form. But the size of the form is proportional to the strength of their soul. Being able to synthesize a bigger and better steed shows that the soul strength of the Black Knight far exceeds that of the Black Warrior.

However, regardless of whether it’s a Black Knight or a Black Warrior, they are essentially spiritual bodies. They cannot resist the Resting Wind, a force that directly influences the soul. Unlike the Necromancer, they can’t defend themselves as they lack a flesh and blood body to mitigate the force.

With a swishing sound, the battle horse beneath them evaporated into smoke and shrunk back into their bodies. Subsequently, their bodies started to disintegrate gradually and they whipped into the cracks on the ground. As Black Knights, they could disperse or assemble their form at will, making digging holes unnecessary.

The very moment they burrowed into the ground, a sacred light appeared in the distant where the angel was.

“Is that battle bird really enduring the Resting Wind?!” The Black Knight commented in surprise.

An hour passed. A Black Knight popped out for a moment, glancing in the angel’s direction. Startlingly, flashes of sacred light still carved through the darkness, now descending from the sky to the earth.

“Quick, come see! That battle bird is really withstanding the Resting Wind. Has it gone mad?!” said the Black Knight in astonishment.

“Are you kidding me? Can someone be that dedicated? That’s the Resting Wind we’re talking about. It should be hiding in a hole!”

Glimpsing a few more times, the Black Knights couldn’t bear it anymore and dove back into the ground.

Another hour passed, both Black Knights, unable to contain their curiosity, popped out again for a sneak-peek. The sacred light was still as bright as ever, like a torch amidst the fog.

The Black Knights genuinely admired the perseverance, “Two hours… That’s really some strength. It’s no wonder they call them Battle Angels.”

The third hour arrived, the sacred light continued to sparkle. The Black Knights no longer believed in sheer strength, “I guess angels have some special abilities that allow them to withstand the Resting Wind.”

The fourth hour, “Is it really enduring for this long? Can it survive the entire night? If it has such an ability, wouldn’t Resting Wind be meaningless to angels?”

The fifth hour, the sacred light was no more.

The Black Knights didn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed, they sighed heavily, “Finally, it couldn’t bear it any longer. Probably dug a hole to hide.”

“Yeah, right. It couldn’t bear it… no one can withstand that,” they remarked with a trace of melancholy in their tones.

With apprehension in their hearts, the Black Knights endured the next few hours. The moment the wind ceased, they rushed towards the direction of the angel, eager to confirm the actual scenario.

From a distance, they spotted a skeletal figure kneeling half-way through on the ground; its bones were slim and lucid, unlike a regular human skeleton. Two bone wings drooped from its back.

Its hands bunched in front of it as though gripping a sword, as if still steadying his supporting sword thrust into the ground. It kneeled on one leg and wrapped itself under its wings.

Sadly, after death, all its flesh dissolved under the corrosion of the Resting Wind, leaving only a skeleton behind. Regular corpses wouldn’t dissolve, rather they would harden.

The Black Knights were floored, “Didn’t take cover… endured till death… Is it an endurance freak?”

This situation was utterly unexpected. The Black Knights were at a loss, quickly reaching out for their equipment to contact their superior, “Boss… no, Archbishop, what now?”

A momentary silence was broken by Cardinal Antoni’s voice; somber and rather downcast, “The Highest Mobilization Order has been issued. I can’t spare any more hands. The loss on Leonardo’s end is a severe blow already. Losing another holy spirit is going to be a hard sell. Well, bring back the Holy Relics.”

After a brief silence, Antoni couldn’t help but roar, “The reason I deployed it in the first place was to swiftly resolve the issue. It wasn’t supposed to face the the Resting Wind head on… Is it an idiot? It’s even dumber than a skeleton!”

It was rare for incidents to stir up Cardinal Antoni. The two Black Knights promptly switched off the Plane Communication Array, refusing to endure such an uproar.

Just as they were about to approach and collect the angel’s remains, clip-clopping of horse hooves echoed in the vicinity.

Looking up, they saw a horse striding at a brisk pace along their side. Atop the horse, was an angel, a Necromancer, a skeleton, and a young Bronze Dragon. They all tilted their heads in unison, curiously eyeing the Black Knights. A thought crossed the Black Knights’ minds: Isn’t this an overload?