Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Chapter 187: Archlich

--

Undead Phalanx...

They're the amalgamations of failed undead experiments an Archlich made in their pursuit of eternal life, more importantly, they're an attempt at the ultimate blasphemy - the creation of God and its enslavement.

Amongst the people trapped outside of the walls, Cedric has the most knowledge about the Undead; he'd been killing literal hordes of them in Purgatory after all.

The Undead Phalanx are slow but insanely durable creatures, they are resistant to all manner of physical and magical attacks - they are, after all, made by Archliches and were created to be their frontline servants, therefore they will have the highest defense amongst its army.

Undead Phalanxes can also attack. In fact, its overall strength was equivalent to a Demon Lord on its own, but it's just really slow. However, their Archlich masters could remedy that by turning them into comets that can be hurled toward the enemies of the encroaching undead army at the cost of the caster's mana and the creature's durability.

Since they're of the undead kind, killing them doesn't end the fight completely. The Undead Phalanx can and will explode with the strength of an atomic bomb and later turn into more hordes of regular undead; still under the control of the Archlich - this is what made them terrifying.

Then, there's the Archlich itself...

"If you have skills or spells that will prevent you from dying or strengthen yourselves, I suggest you use them now. When this fight begins, it will only end when we are extracted out of here or when we die." Cedric solemnly stated to his team.

"If one of us dies, the Archlich can and will resurrect them, turning that fallen ally into an enemy. I'd hate for us to strike each other down so do your best to stay alive."

"Close your heart to their suffering as it will erode your resolve. Harden your will, as this will be the most difficult fight we will face."

Saying that Cedric released a strong pulse of his Ki, sweeping through his team and reminding them of their duty. They followed suit and the creeping hold of corruption was stopped at bay.

Cedric then felt a strong presence entering his field of senses and his face hardened. He gripped his sword tightly as he muttered:

"It's here."

Even though no one else aside from him saw it, they all felt its presence.

It was a walking disaster. It registered to their senses as a giant orb of dense but unstable foul mana and corruption, followed by a stench of death and decay.

Coldness gripped their hearts as the creature slowly marched towards them, accompanied by its army of undead from all shapes and sizes. A literal horde was coming towards them and there was no escaping it.

Relying on their comrades was of no use. They can't fire the cannons this close or it will also injure the cadets. Besides, these are undead creatures, killing them using ordinary means doesn't work on them.

It didn't take long before they saw the Archlich...

Picture it cloaked in tattered, obsidian robes that seem to swallow light itself, emitting an unsettling aura.

Its visage is a ghastly sight to behold—a skull-like countenance, devoid of flesh, with empty eye sockets glowing with pure ghastly flames of malevolence that pierces through the very core of your being. But what truly chills the marrow is the crackling energy that dances along its skeletal fingers, emanating an otherworldly power.

When it speaks, it's as if the air itself recoils in horror, carrying whispers of ancient curses and malevolent incantations that haunt the mind long after they've faded. The Archlich is a harbinger of darkness, a master of necromantic arts, spreading terror and despair with every step it takes.

Bang!!

The entire squad was shaken out of their stupor when they heard a gunshot next to them. They all saw a streak of orange flying towards the horde and exploding into a giant wildfire - spreading through the horde immediately.

They all looked to the side and saw Cedric holding his standard-issued pistol, smoke coming out of its barrel. His eyes were cold and calculating, not an ounce of fear or hesitation could be seen as he measured the horde.

His attack did kill a few undead but it was snuffed out shortly by some undead who spat out globs of acid. The flames didn't last long and the shot itself didn't do a lot of damage. It did, however, awaken his teammates to the reality and broke them out of their terror over the Archlich and its undead army.

Cedric then raised his sword to the sky with both hands. Instantly, a pillar of bright orange flames erupted, raising the heat of his surroundings and illuminating the dark and gloomy environment.

His Ki, Sword Heart, and Orange Flames were released to their limits. His muted presence was replaced by an overwhelming image that issued a challenge to the incoming horde.

The flames he released were like a beacon that was seen everywhere. It climbed to a terrifying height of 150 meters - reaching half of the Great Wall's height. Its heat spread across the surrounding environment, melting the corruption around while warming his allies.

Then, the flame pillar suddenly disappeared...although, not really. Cedric compressed all of it to the tip of his sword, causing it to glow red like it just came out of the forge.

Since everything was concentrated there, the heat reached a terrifying degree that it was almost melting space itself.

Cedric was sweating, but he didn't seem to mind even one bit. With a cold grunt, he performed a mighty vertical swing supported by his back.

His teammates only saw a tear in space for a brief moment before an explosion of fire swarmed their vision.

BOOM!!!

The explosion of flames crashed like a tsunami, swallowing the marching undead horde. It burned everything it touched to crisp, not sparing anything on the way.

Its size and commotion could be felt from miles away. The sea of flames steadily advanced until crashed into the marching undead. The Archlich didn't retreat from this though. Instead, it extended its bony fingers and pointed at it.

A pitch-black bubble emerged within a hundred meters around the Archlich. The bubble itself released a pitched scream as the flames made contact with it. This barrier was formed with undead souls that the Archlich gathered throughout its life.

These souls are semi-immortal, and the Archlich turned into a spell that hardened these souls to a certain degree to be used as protection. Since they could be revived, the Archlich now has a semi-immortal shield.

However, Cedric's flames burned too hot. While the undead souls are functionally immortal, they do have limits. Additionally, once the undead soul dies, it truly disappears because it doesn't have any flesh to use as an anchor. That's the downside of this spell.

It wasn't just the flames though. What really made this sea of flames really troublesome to deal with was the traces of Sword Law infused into it.

There wasn't much to begin with. After all, Cedric just reached this stage a couple of minutes ago. But even this much was already something that irked the Archlich.

Cedric's Sword Law contains attributes that are harmful to demons like them. Cedric's distaste and hatred towards demons manifested this way and amplified by the Demon Slayer class, and even though it's still in its infancy, the Sword Law was something that Demon Lords had to be wary of.

If his previous attack barely did something, the following one surely did some damage.

Cedric alone shaved the undead horde by half. The Archlich couldn't protect all of its minions with that barrier, so the rest were burned into ash particles by Cedric's attack.

The Archlich could've resurrected them but Cedric's flames burned them to the source - meaning that even the souls of the undead were burnt into nothingness.

Cedric will never outright say that he used a little bit of his sunfire in the attack, simply because now is not the time.

Still, this attack drained a considerable amount of his energy. And it should've, or else everybody will think that he secretly has a way to use an unlimited energy source.

That said, this was just the start of the battle. The Archlich, annoyed as it was, remains strong and uninjured.

Once the flames subsided a bit, the Archlich dropped the barrier to preserve whatever was left of it. It raised its bone staff up high and chanted ancient soul-shivering words.

Ten ritual circles appeared in the air, glowing with a ghastly green light and radiating an intense death energy. These ritual circles then turned into a gaping maw that spots out black comets that surrounded Squad #1.

It gave them a sense of deja vu, and rightfully so because the Archlich just summoned its front liners - the Undead Phalanxes. There are now a total of 10 surrounding them.

Seeing this, Cedric took a deep breath and flared his power.

He stabbed Solaris Edge on the ground and folded one of his legs to kneel. Both of his hands were at the handle of the sword with his eyes closed as his power concentrated.

Slowly but surely...a miniature sun appeared on the battlefield.