Chapter 65
Lilith's expression hardened. She had already accepted that surviving this would take everything she had.
Undead Magic erupted from her body, her bones creaking under the pressure as though the power might tear her apart from within. She thrust both hands forward and summoned the Ossuary Colossus.
A colossal skeletal frame rose behind her, towering more than a hundred feet above the frozen plain.
Dark-gray bones enclosed Lilith and Giles beneath a mountain of undead armor, every surface crawling with dense runes that radiated Death-Essence Mana.
Flesh spread across the frame, and soul fire ignited within its hollow body.
The Hallowed Flame Arrow struck its raised bone shield.
The explosion shook the Frostlands. A violent shock wave blasted snow high into the air, throwing a white curtain around the impact point.
Silver-white sacred fire collided with the Colossus's cold blue undead power, and the opposing forces tore into each other with a piercing hiss.
Bone fragments scattered through the storm, burning to ash before they ever reached the ground.
Lilith clenched her teeth and held her ground, Undead Magic pouring from her body in a continuous flood to reinforce the Colossus as its massive frame began to buckle.
But Nysia's full-strength attack carried the power of an Elite. The silver fire devoured undead runes the instant it touched them.
A sharp crack rang through the storm.
The Ossuary Colossus split open.
The Hallowed Flame Arrow punched through its chest and kept coming, still carrying enough power to kill any ordinary Veteran outright.
"Damn it!"
Lilith wrenched every last trace of strength from the collapsing Colossus and compressed it into a final barrier before her.
The arrow struck again. The shield shattered.
Lilith sent skidding across the snow, carving a long trench through the frozen ground before she finally stopped. Blood ran from the corner of her mouth, and her face had gone deathly pale.
But she was alive. And that meant she still had a chance.
She ignored the pain and activated her trump card.
"Sacrifice!"
Hundreds of low-ranked undead within the approaching army froze in place. Gray-white streams of essence were ripped from their bodies and drawn toward Lilith, converging on her from every direction, pouring into her like rivers feeding an ocean.
The sacrificed undead collapsed in waves. Their soul fires went dark, and their bodies crumbled into dried, lifeless husks. Hundreds died within seconds.
Their essence knitted Lilith's injuries closed at a visible rate. Color returned to her face, the pain receded, and her drained Undead Magic surged back to full.
The Goblin High Chieftain, the Goblin Archpriest, and Lucian arrived just in time to witness the entire process. All three slowed, staring.
"That ability..."
"Undead Magic," the Archpriest said with certainty.
The Goblin High Chieftain gazed at Lilith as an old fear crept into his expression. "Could she have inherited one of the ancient undead Legacies?"
"But sacrificing undead like that..." The Archpriest's grip tightened on his staff. "I've never heard of such a technique."
Lucian said nothing, though he was no less shaken.
Even if the human woman had somehow acquired an Undead Legacy, being discovered by the Stormcrown Empire had already sealed her fate. Her opponent was no wandering adventurer, but a Royal Knight acting under imperial authority.
The three exhausted Elites made no move to interfere. They had all burned too much strength inside the dungeon, and none of them wanted to become Nysia's next target. For now, they were content to let the Royal Knight fight alone.
Lilith rose slowly, having survived Nysia's full-powered attack. Her body was still battered, but her eyes were sharp and focused as she wiped the blood from her mouth and looked up at the knight circling overhead.
She raised one hand toward the undead army.
"All Veteran-ranked undead, attack!"
More than thirty powerful undead moved as one.
Lilith's forces had grown enormously over the past several days, especially compared to those of other Lords. More than twenty Veteran-ranked Black Knights led the charge, armor rattling as they drew their blades.
Several Wraith Revenants and Skeleton Taskmasters followed, along with all three Undead Overlords.
Bonnie had apparently grasped how dangerous Lilith's situation might become and had even sent the Gargoyles from her own Territory—only one had reached Veteran Rank, but every additional fighter mattered.
The rest of the army was mostly Recruit-ranked undead. Against an Elite, they would contribute little beyond numbers.
More than thirty Veterans rushed Nysia without hesitation. They were undead—they felt no fear and never questioned their Master's command. Even against an enemy they couldn't defeat, they attacked with absolute obedience.
That was the nature of the undead.
As the Veteran-ranked forces converged on Nysia, Lilith withdrew into the heart of the army. Hundreds of undead closed ranks around her, sealing off every direct line of attack.
She swept both hands outward and cast Bone Magic. Bones rose from beneath the snow and interlocked swiftly around her, forming a crude shelter. The structure offered almost nothing in the way of real defense, but it hid everything happening inside from the watching Elites.
That was all Lilith needed.
She summoned the Wraithveil Robe as well, smothering her aura until even the faintest flicker of power vanished.
"Giles, guard the entrance."
Her voice drifted from inside the bone shelter. She couldn't afford another moment of hesitation.
The Severed Claw of the Dragon God appeared in her hands, its dark-gold surface flooding the confined space with immense power.
Lilith drew a steady breath and opened the System interface.
Everything depended on what came next.
"Integrate."