Cavalry Becomes Infantry
Inside the factory, the ritual of the Undead Cavalry had reached its climax.
The soul fire finally merged, sinking into the head of the leading Undead Knight.
A black, materialized energy rippled across its frame, hardening into an armored shell that covered both knight and steed from head to hoof.
Xu Mo descended slowly from the air, surveying the more than thirty armored undead knights and nearly five hundred skeleton soldiers assembled before him. He nodded in satisfaction.
Carving an auxiliary magic circle required absolute concentration. With this army shielding him, he no longer had to worry about the factory's roaming zombies interfering.
Yet, a chill seeped into his body.
Casting spells did not require physical strength, but in an environment saturated with undead energy, even he could not avoid some of it leaking into his system. This was the price of necromancy. Without strong mental power, necromancers often ended up resembling the very spirits they commanded.
Fortunately, Xu Mo's spirit was resilient. The invasive energy was slight, and after a moment of controlled breathing, he stabilized.
He drifted forward, lashed out with his foot, and kicked an Undead Knight from its saddle. Then, without hesitation, he mounted the warhorse himself.
These knights were his creations, their bodies animated by his power. A single thought could reduce them to scattered bones. Because of this, they obeyed without resistance.
The knight on the ground quickly regained mobility, turned to see who had struck him, and immediately understood. With no complaint, he retrieved his weapon and fell back into line.
Cavalry becomes infantry.
Of course, the knight could never grasp one truth: infantry is always more plentiful than cavalry.
Xu Mo, astride the towering black warhorse, led the column forward toward Kim Tae-hee and her companions.
Before they reached the warehouse, Kim Tae-hee and the others stepped outside. The thunderous march of cavalry had shaken the ground, making their arrival impossible to ignore.
Seeing the wall of armored undead advancing was suffocating, but Kim Tae-hee exhaled in relief when she recognized Xu Mo riding at their center.
Realizing the inconvenience of parading such an army through confined spaces, Xu Mo allowed the Dark God's Book at his brow to flare. In an instant, every undead soldier vanished, absorbed into the pocket dimension within the artifact—a hidden space that had revealed itself only after he first cast the Undead Summoning.
Watching the army disappear, Kim Tae-hee and Jack both relaxed. The oppressive weight that had pressed on their chests evaporated with it.
Xu Mo swept his awareness into the warehouse.
At its center lay heaps of silver ornaments.
"Well done," he praised, striding inside. With a wave of his hand, the silver vanished into his possession. It seemed like a mountain, but at most weighed just over a hundred tons.
Kim Tae-hee and her companion exchanged glances at the sight, but having already witnessed his other impossible feats, they held their tongues.
Guided by Jack, Xu Mo reached the back warehouse. Inside were neatly stacked metal crates, each perforated with coin-sized holes. Through them gleamed silver bricks nearly forty centimeters long, each marked at fifteen kilograms.
By rough count, over a thousand tons. More than enough for his ritual.
After securing the silver, Xu Mo turned to Jack.
"My goal is achieved. Since you cooperated, I'll give you a ride."
A spatial rift opened under Jack's feet. With a startled cry, he plunged through.
---
Los Angeles
The second most populous city in the United States—and after the apocalypse, one of the most overrun with zombies.
Given his options, Xu Mo chose this over New York. Though New York had greater numbers, its irregular geography and waterways wasted too much space for a circular formation. Los Angeles, more compact and land-dense, was the better candidate.
At Kenmarie Park in southwest L.A., Xu Mo and Kim Tae-hee emerged from a portal.
"Where did you throw him?" Kim Tae-hee asked.
"A small uninhabited island in the Pacific. Plenty of resources, ideal for survival." Xu Mo's tone was casual.
Kim Tae-hee fell silent. He wasn't wrong—isolated islands were among the safest havens now.
Of course, Xu Mo hadn't abandoned Jack completely. He'd tossed him a bone knife as well. Enough to live comfortably… if he could endure the loneliness. At worst, Xu Mo mused, he could always send him a companion later.
Their conversation was interrupted by the guttural howls of dozens of zombies. The horde had caught the scent of life and rushed them from all sides.
Xu Mo's brow flared, opening a gray vortex.
With a thunderous roar, an entire squad of Undead Knights charged forth, spreading in formation and trampling the zombies underfoot.
Behind them poured nearly five hundred skeleton warriors, their weapons raised.
Xu Mo lifted his hand, commanding coldly:
"Clear the area."
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