The people from the Otherworld sound like they're whining when they curse.
Xue Dili didn't even plan on arguing with Old Deng.
Meanwhile, below, the handful of militiamen holding spears and bows were trembling.
What does it look like when the numbers exceed ten million?
An ocean! A never-ending sea of corpses!
Everywhere you could see in the distance—mountains, plains, farmlands, forests...all were submerged by that ocean-like horde of the Undead, stretching to infinity.
So dense, so endless.
Even the less than one percent of flying Undead blotted out the sky.
Except, not far away, there stood a mountain full of Undead, densely packed together.
"Why aren't the Undead occupying that mountain?" Xue Dili pointed to the snow-covered peak.
"That is the Empire's Holy Mountain, also the dwelling of the mythic Sun God. But in your world, it should be called...a volcano…" the old Undead explained.
"Volcano..." Xue Dili stared silently at it, a different spark in his eyes.
...
At that moment, General Julia looked at the endless sea of the Undead Army in the distance, then at the militiamen beside him who might never have seen battle before…
It's impossible to win…
Though he had faced defeat repeatedly, he was a veteran general who had fought in dozens of battles, so he knew without needing to think that victory was unattainable!
Absolutely impossible to win…
The Empire was doomed, humanity was doomed.
If it weren't for the Witch Demon King, even if the Undead Army was sizable, there would still be some chance to fight back.
Without the Witch Demon King, the Undead Army would be nothing but brainless chaos, possibly even fighting amongst themselves.
But facing the Undead Army led by the Witch Demon King, it had truly turned into an "Undead Catastrophe."
A catastrophe capable of destroying the world.
To hold on now, there was only one way…
General Julia looked into the distance, where atop a Skeleton Giant Dragon's back, a throne appeared, and on that throne was the Witch Demon King!
Then there was only one way! Charge and kill the Witch Demon King!
Just like General Barak's decision twenty years ago, the only way to end the Undead Catastrophe was to kill the Witch Demon King.
But twenty years ago, it was because General Barak assaulted the Witch Demon King while leading a retreat with his demoralized army that the single battle war effort failed.
The boomerang thrown twenty years ago now struck him twenty years later…
General Julia's palms were sweaty as he turned and looked at his personal guards.
These were Hero Level Great Knights, among whom many were Magic Knights capable of casting magic.
These dozens of personal guards were his true core, his last card to play when recovering from the brink of failure over the decades.
"General Barak, we beseech you to protect us..."
The sudden voice came from among the militia.
Then more and more people threw down their spears, kneeling, reciting doctrines, calling out Barak's name.
They began to pray, began to offer pleadings. Kneeling, trembling, calling upon that singular hero who could save them.
That Imperial Iron Wall, who had triumphed in countless battles against the Undead and even slain the Witch Demon King once, Barak!
General Julia clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.
That's right, no one believed in him anymore, not even he believed in himself.
Despite the passage of over twenty years and the Empire's attempts to seal and tarnish General Barak's exploits, his story continued to spread, transformed into legend by minstrels.
Even amidst the circulating tales, General Barak was no longer a mere Undead but had become the Sun God's Angel…
In many humble homes, people secretly displayed images of General Barak, including in the Divine Hall.
The public's hope was simple; when General Barak lived, the Empire spanned millions of square kilometers.
Now, this Empire was confined to a mere corner of the Imperial Capital.
In the end, in their most desperate and humiliating hour, all they prayed for was the return of the Grand General, Barak, who had once led the Empire to prosperity.
As if Barak's grace was a debt still unpaid even after twenty years.
Regret surged within, and General Julia's blood seeped from his hands, then he smiled as if with relief, seemingly having made up his final decision.
"Everyone, this is the final war…"
He looked towards the distance, at the Witch Demon King sitting on the Bone Dragon, eyes flashing with a fierce resolve for a final fight.
"Everyone, we have no other chance at victory, but there is one last desperate gamble, and that is to emulate General Barak from twenty years ago, to kill the Witch Demon King!"
Upon hearing this, even the personal guards around him looked in shock at this current Grand General of the Empire.
It was precisely because of General Julia's retreat twenty years ago that led to the failure of the battle to seal the Witch Demon King.
Anytime they recalled this incident, countless soldiers resisting the Undead Army were filled with regret and wished that they could strangle General Julia.
And now, twenty years later, this General Julia made the same decision as that other general from twenty years ago.
But…
"Even if the Witch Demon King dies, it will resurrect in less than ten years, it's an immortal monster…" someone said, "Then what good is killing it!"
Even General Julia's personal guards lacked any morale, let alone the conscripted militia.
"But, we would earn the Empire ten years to breathe, and that would be enough!" General Julia drew his sword, pointing towards the Witch Demon King's direction, "Everyone, charge with me!"
"Open the city gates, assault the Witch Demon King!"
The militia was stunned, watching the small troop preparing to sally forth and ambush the Witch Demon King, reminded once more of the heroic feat of General Barak from twenty years ago, where he perished alongside the Witch Demon King.
The night was ending, dawn was nearing.
The wishes of the former Grand General now converged on this general who had originally fled in cowardice.
Opening the city gates, even the personal guards looked at the distant, faint-lit sky, at the sky-darkening Undead Army; their hands trembled as they gripped their weapons.
This path leads only to death!
"General, can we really win?" Julia's confidant, the deputy general, asked with a shaky voice.
General Julia remained silent, then turned solemnly toward the brightening sky, solemnly replying.
"We will win!"
This was the victory proclamation before the charge.
He was at the Quasi-Legendary Level, one of the Empire's strongest forces in its current state. The Witch Demon King's close-combat strength was not overwhelming; if their predecessor could trade lives with the Witch Demon King, so could he!
"Cavalry, charge!"
Following the Knight Commander's spear, they galloped onto the battlefield meant for the dead.
The Unicorn-blooded steeds raced across the plain outside the Imperial Capital, with but one target: the Witch Demon King seated atop the Bone Dragon ten miles away!
In that moment, General Julia charged towards the rising sun's direction, as if finally understanding the conviction General Barak held during his charge twenty years prior.
General, your debt of gratitude is one I can never repay in this lifetime…
He understood, but it was already too late.
No, it wasn't too late!
As long as they reached the Witch Demon King, as long as they reached that place, with himself at the Quasi-Legendary Level, along with dozens of Hero Level Great Knights working together, victory was assured!