Along with the furious roars of the skeletal dragons, their massive bodies appeared in Rhode’s vision. Looking at this scene, Rhode wasn’t all that surprised. Ever since Chaos influenced and awakened the corpses and souls of the night wyverns, they became the most powerful and indispensable of all the Chaos armies. According to Rhode’s calculations, ever since Chaos launched their attack, his side had cleaned up about a dozen skeletal dragons. But it clearly wasn’t enough.
Compared to the nearly a thousand night wyverns that existed in the past, this was only a very small portion of them. And for that reason, the defensive line was able to barely stop them. Otherwise, if more than a thousand skeletal dragons attacked the defensive line at the same time, it would be a huge trouble for Rhode as well. But what was astonishing to him was that Chaos didn’t actually do that. It was very likely that they hadn’t been able to influence all the skeletal dragons, but rather sent to the battlefield the ones they managed to influence. Considering the amusing nature of Chaos, this possibility wasn’t entirely impossible. Of course, if that were the case, it would simply be the most desirable situation for Rhode to be in.
I wonder how long this desirable situation will last…
At this thought, Rhode collected himself, raised his head, and gazed at the group of skeletal dragons with a grave expression. Judging from the number, there were around 14 to 15 skeletal dragons attacking this defensive line on the Country of Light’s border. Looking at this scene, he twitched the corner of his eye. There were only four to five skeletal dragons that attacked this place at the beginning. But now, there were actually 14 to 15 of them. Rhode hoped that this number was the total amount after gathering the skeletal dragons from other front lines and wasn’t due to the fact that the rate of Chaos’s influence and conversion was becoming faster. Otherwise, perhaps Rhode’s ‘good times’ would indeed be coming to an end soon.
If this were the previous defensive line, maybe they would struggle against these skeletal dragons. But now…
“Celestina, are you ready?”
“Of course, Master. Everything is in place. Please enjoy the show from your first class seat.”
Upon hearing Rhode’s question, Celestina raised her head proudly, extended her arm, and snapped her fingers.
Snap.
“Roarrr———!”
Along with this action by Celestina, a series of wolf-like howls echoed from the surface. Shortly after, Rhode witnessed the shadows by the defensive line twisting and turning, followed by a string of scarlet flames that erupted from them. Hundreds of Flesh Hunters let out chilling shrieks, flying out from the flames like exploding meteors and dragging long trajectories behind them as they headed toward the skeletal dragons. However, they looked uglier and even more terrifying than before. Apart from their muscular stature, they also had a pair of pitch-black, bat-like wings. At that moment, the demons flapped their wings strongly, roared, and pounced onto the skeletal dragons.
In the face of the massive skeletal dragons, the Flesh Hunters were nothing more than food the size of sheepdogs. Glaring at the enemies pouncing toward them, the skeletal dragons came to a halt almost simultaneously and the spiritual flames burning inside their pitch-black eye sockets grew even brighter. They snapped their jaw open and whistling gales gusted and coalesced in their mouths. At the next moment, energy gathered and metamorphosed into a turbid torrent of death that spurted straight at the Flesh Hunters.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
In an instant, the heavens and earth darkened. A mysterious, cloudy light beam consisting of the power of Chaos tore apart Order and swept across the land and sky without mercy, leaving behind deep fissures in the ground. Not only that, but the sky also wasn’t able to escape this terrifying blow. The azure sky turned gloomy and even the sun became seemingly pale and dim as if it had lost its luster and became dull and listless.
The Flesh Hunters who bore the brunt of the attack were no exception. Under the spray of the Chaos dragon breath, the scarlet flames burning on their bodies were extinguished in an instant. Shortly after, a great flood of light tore through them so mercilessly that Rhode witnessed one of them being sliced in half. At the same time, almost all the Flesh Hunters that charged at the skeletal dragons were annihilated. It was highly likely that the ones that survived would be doomed in the next wave of attack. But this was also within Rhode’s expectations.
The Flesh Hunters were on about the same level as Gaya, so how was it possible for them to resist the skeletal dragons’ attack? Furthermore, these skeletal dragons were ancient night wyverns, so their mighty spiritual powers were undoubtedly tough to deal with. Not to mention, they were also influenced and awakened by Chaos. Even though Chaos wasn’t given any privileges of Order, they were quite significant in terms of power enhancement. For that reason, the skeletal dragons became much harder to deal with compared to when they were alive. If the Flesh Hunters were able to reach the side of the skeletal dragons effortlessly, it could be considered a waste of time for Gaya and Lydia to personally guard this place all this while.
That was why this wasn’t what Rhode was concerned about. Instead, what he was more interested in was the other ability of the Flesh Hunters…
“Roarrr———!”
Under another bombardment of the dragon breaths, hundreds of Flesh Hunters were instantly enveloped and about to end up dead. But at the next moment, another series of wolf-like howls penetrated out from the dragon breaths. Along with the disappearance of the dragon breaths, the Flesh Hunters that should have died sprang out of the smoke and charged at the skeletal dragons!
Not bad.
Looking at this scene, Rhode nodded in satisfaction. This was what he expected to see. According to Gaya, the bloodline of these Flesh Hunters was connected to the bloodline of the people of the Eastern Plains due to their curse. Unless all of the people of the Eastern Plains died, these Flesh Hunters would never truly die. And now it seemed like their ‘immortality’ was indeed quite helpful.
But this wasn’t the only reason why Rhode chose to let the Flesh Hunters fight against the skeletal dragons. Even if they couldn’t be killed, their strength was still much weaker than the skeletal dragons. Take ants, for instance. Tens of hundreds of ants were no match for humans even if they gathered. Even if they couldn’t be killed, they could still be imprisoned (this was what the battle angels and Eastern Plains had done in the past). If that was all there was to it, the Flesh Hunters would still be nothing more than pieces of rocks in the skeletal dragons’ path even if they possessed immortality. They had no way to stop the skeletal dragons from making large strides. However, Rhode had chosen them clearly for his own reasons.
Staring at the Flesh Hunters that were supposed to be destroyed in their dragon breath darting over again, the skeletal dragons were stumped. It was apparent that even they were confused by this scene before them. But even so, the skeletal dragons were still experienced in battle, after all. Upon witnessing the dog-headed demons pouncing toward them, they flapped their wings and flew skyward, distancing themselves quickly. Shortly after, the skeletal dragons raised their heads and spurted out dragon breaths that enfolded the dog-headed demons.
The skeletal dragons also seemed to learn from their previous lesson. This time, their fiery breaths spread out in a fan-like shape and under the bombardment of a dozen dragon breaths, all the dog-headed demons were shrouded in the blink of an eye. By all accounts, even the battle angels would have suffered considerable injuries if they didn’t die under this strike. No matter what, this attack also contained the aura of Chaos, so there was absolutely no way that even a battle angel could fully withstand such a powerful attack.
Whoosh———!
However, at the same time the skeletal dragons spat their Chaos dragon breaths, streaks of dazzling, fiery red brilliance flashed past and split apart their attacks forcibly. Soon after, several stripes of burning light flew across the air and struck the skeletal dragons’ skulls.
Boom!
In a series of exploding flames, even the skeletal dragons were unable to withstand such a fierce attack. They stopped spitting their breaths and retreated in all directions hurriedly. But this time, they weren’t able to back down, for as they retreated, the dog-headed demons that dashed out of the dragon breaths screeched and brandished their flaming spears at the skeletal dragons.
If one were to take a closer look at the demons’ bodies, one would be surprised to find that they weren’t hurt by the Chaos dragon breath in any way. On the contrary, the skin that revealed their bloody flesh after being ripped apart became flat and smooth. Under the radiance of the flames, one could also clearly see pieces that resembled dragon scales!
“Awesome. Looks like Gaya didn’t lie to us.”
Looking at this scene, Rhode nodded in satisfaction, turned to Celestina, and commented. Upon hearing his words, Celestina nodded with great pleasure. It was obvious that she understood what Rhode was trying to say.
“Of course, Master. If I were able to get my hands on these slaves earlier, we would have stood a higher chance of defeating those damn skeletal dragons. But they aren’t too bad either. Even though there are some troubles and weaknesses in these slaves that the worthless Hell Lord created, judging from this situation, they aren’t all that useless.”
Just like what Celestina said, apart from their ‘immortality’, the Flesh Hunters also had an outstanding trait—the ability to regenerate. But this form of regeneration wasn’t simply a matter of restoring their flesh; rather, in the process of regeneration, the Flesh Hunters would become immune to the properties of the attacks that injured them previously. Not only that, but they would also be able use that power as their own. After being bombarded and swept away by the Chaos dragon breath, not only were the Flesh Hunters resistant to it now, but during the process of regeneration, they also received the power and defense of the dragon race! That was why their bodies were now covered in dragon scales. It was precisely during the previous attack that they absorbed the skeletal dragons’ power.
And that was also why the battle angel army failed to eliminate these demons and had no choice but to imprison them in an enchanted field. In the battle between the battle angel army and the Flesh Hunters, the latter absorbed the formers’ powers. As a matter of fact, the burnt bat wings on their backs were actually angel wings due to the conflicting energy between angels and demons. However, the Flesh Hunters couldn’t specify which power to absorb into their body, which was why the contradiction between just and evil attributes led to them becoming strange-looking creatures. For that reason, not only did the Flesh Hunters not become stronger, but they were also weakened instead, which was why the battle angel army was eventually able to lock them up. Otherwise, if the Flesh Hunters could absorb any form of power, they would basically be invincible.
But it was a pity that all things counteracted with one another.
However, the current situation was completely opposite. Not only were the Flesh Hunters’ defense increased to that of the dragon race after absorbing their power, but their strength was also raised quite a bit. In that case, the skeletal dragons’ earlier attack on them, in turn, became the best way to strengthen the Flesh Hunters. Fortunately, no matter how the Flesh Hunters grew, they were still demons in essence. Even though in most situations, this explanation wasn’t a convincing one, Rhode wasn’t worried at all.
Since demons respected the strict hierarchy among themselves and he had a high-class noble demon like Celestina, who was naturally superior to them, around, they wouldn’t disobey her orders no matter how powerful they became. Moreover, even though the Flesh Hunters seemed to possess strong abilities like a holy knight that intimidated one, it wasn’t like there wasn’t anyone who could stop them. After all, it was only their strength that was increased and they still weren’t capable of defying the erosion of rules. Therefore, even if they were powerful enough to break free from Celestina’s restraints in the end, as long as Rhode got the Presence Deity Warden, Marybelle, to wave her magical staff and make them disappear, he didn’t need to worry about nurturing a tiger and inviting calamity.
At that moment, the Flesh Hunters had gotten in a brawl with the skeletal dragons. In the beginning, although they were ripped apart and bitten by the skeletal dragons from time to time, they became much stronger now and the power they gained allowed them to regenerate and put up some resistance. Right now, these dog-headed demons were already comparable to the skeletal dragons in terms of defense alone. In addition to their smaller size and higher numbers, they managed to overwhelm the skeletal dragons and keep them occupied.
In fact, if the skeletal dragons were ordinary undead skeletal dragons, it wasn’t as if they didn’t have the power to resist the Flesh Hunters. As mentioned earlier, the Flesh Hunters only grew in strength and didn’t have any particular resistance in other areas. Even if the skeletal dragons were undead skeletal dragons, with their mastery of spiritual rules, it would still be effortless for them to extract the souls from the Flesh Hunters’ bodies or seal them into soul crystals. When that happened, it would be useless even if these Flesh Hunters could live forever.
But it was a pity that the influence of Chaos made the undead skeletal dragons lose their grasp of the Order rules. Even though they were powerful, that was only in terms of brute strength, after all. Although there was a saying that went ‘one force subdued ten wise men’, it was unfortunate that the skeletal dragons hadn’t reached the point where they could push through whatever obstacles in front of them. That was why in the face of the Flesh Hunters, they didn’t have many countermeasures and seemed to succumb to their attacks instead.
Seems like all is well.
After making sure that the battle was settled, Rhode’s mind was finally at ease. With the characteristics of the Flesh Hunters, there shouldn’t be much of a problem in dealing with these skeletal dragons. Unless there were too many skeletal dragons to deal with, they should be able to completely hold the line of defense.
In that case, the next step is…
At this thought, Rhode shifted his gaze to the pale soldiers who stood on the city wall like lifeless corpses. According to Celestina, these soldiers had undergone her ‘transformation’ and were now fully capable of facing the attack of the Chaos creatures. Although he didn’t know what exactly she did, from the look in the soldiers’ eyes, he saw that their souls were still forcibly bound to their bodies despite their physical bodies being completely dead.
This wasn’t done through the soul-binding practice of undead creatures, but was more of a sinister and horrible curse that bound the soul to the body. Living creatures lost their sense of pain after transforming into undead creatures because their bodies were nothing more than vessels for their souls. But the souls of these soldiers were still bound to their flesh by the evil curse of death, which meant that they would still feel pain when their flesh was harmed.
What was more terrifying was that such pain was unavoidable.
“Please enjoy, my dear Master.”
Upon detecting Rhode’s gaze, Celestina revealed a proud smile, swung her arm, and the black whip in her hand struck the city wall heavily. After hearing the loud and crisp crack of the whip, almost all the soldiers trembled.
“Attack, you slaves! Now is the time for you to offer up your useless selves to me!”