It was already late at night.
The heavy snow didn't seem to have any intention of stopping, and the entire wilderness was covered in a sheet of white.
Zayen narrowed his eyes and glanced at the forest in the distance. Contrasted against the white snowfield, the dark forest was even more striking and conspicuous. He tilted his head and looked at a ranger beside him who was wearing leather armor and a white cloak.
"Are you sure they went in?"
"Yes, sir."
Facing Jenn's question, the Ranger nodded.
"I saw those carriages go in with my own eyes. They were dressed like a caravan, but I felt that there was something wrong with them, so I took a few more glances."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Jenn furrowed his brows.
Right now, they could be considered to have performed the "villages surrounding the city" drama to the extreme. However, they didn't really surround Tarkus into a city. Although the "National Freedom Army" had sealed off all the main exits under Jenn and Oldman's orders, it was just a gesture. In fact, if there were really civilians who escaped, they wouldn't stop them. It was the same for the merchants.
Jenn had already reached an agreement with Oldman and Nadia that the "National Freedom Army" was definitely not a group of bandits. Therefore, most of the caravans would be allowed to leave. Of course, they wouldn't stop them from entering either.
Because of this, many people didn't have much conflict with the "National Freedom Army". They weren't afraid of god-like opponents, but they were afraid of pig-like teammates.
Although Oldman said that anyone could enter and leave as they pleased, Doante heavily guarded the city gates and forbade anyone from entering or leaving.
Even the traveling merchants wouldn't be able to come out once they entered the city.
Because of this, the people in Tarkus City were filled with resentment towards the fat walking meat.
And now, there was a caravan that escaped from the city that was indeed worthy of attention.
"What's wrong with them?"
"This … I can't really say."
Hearing Jenn's question, the Ranger hesitated for a moment.
"I don't know either. Anyway, I just feel uncomfortable looking at them. Just looking at them makes me feel that something is wrong.
Although on the surface, they look like an ordinary caravan, I just feel that something is wrong.
But I just don't feel right. It's like … it's like they're not like that.
Moreover, they left the city at night, but set up camp in this forest at dawn … In any case, I feel that this is very abnormal. "
Hearing this, Zayen and Nadia looked at each other and saw the wariness in each other's eyes.
These simple hunters and farmers might have never left their land in their entire lives, but Jenn and Nadia were veterans who had killed countless humans and non-humans. If it were those farmers, they might even think that this Ranger's words were just his drunken fantasy.
However, Jenn and Nadia would never have such a stupid idea. It was unusual for someone who had never received any magic education to be able to tell that something was wrong.
Since life would instinctively reject threats, the Ranger's sense that something was wrong was probably a form of self-alarm. Generally speaking, anything that could make a living person feel so uncomfortable …
"Coo — —!"
At this moment, a low chirp of mountain birds came from the forest beside them. Zayen's face darkened when he heard the sound.
"They're here."
As he spoke, he gestured to the others. Soon, everyone followed Zayen's signal and laid in ambush. They used their white cloaks to block the reflection on their armor, then held their weapons in their hands, hid behind the snow-covered rocks, and looked forward through the gaps.
Shortly after, under everyone's watchful eyes, a convoy of carriages emerged before them.
Under the reflection of the white snowy plains, everyone could clearly see the black carriages lined up in a row, slowly advancing forward.
The coachman in the front held onto the reins while the guards walked side by side. Everything seemed normal. No, it didn't seem normal at all.
After taking a closer look, one would realize that these people were moving silently. The carriages were also pitch-black and there were no signs of lights inside. From afar, it seemed as though the carriages had blended into one with the pitch-black forest.
There was no sound, not a single sound. The cold wind blew past, but it only brought about a deathly silence.
Not only that, but what was more terrifying was that the convoy was actually floating on the surface of the snow!
The thick layer of snow didn't pose any obstacles to them at all. The thick layer of snow that was deep enough to sink one's thigh into was as solid as a ten-thousand-year-old glacier. They walked on the surface of the snow without the slightest hesitation.
"Oh my goodness!
What are those things! "
Looking at this scene, many people shrieked in low voices. At that moment, Jenn and Nadia knitted their brows. Unlike the ignorant farmers, they immediately realized what exactly those creatures were.
They were Undead Creatures!
"Fire the arrows!"
As Zayen spoke, he immediately raised the brass short bow in his hand and aimed in front of him. Then, he nocked an arrow at a speed that was almost invisible to the naked eye. Soon, accompanied by a sharp piercing sound, two shadows of arrows flashed across the white snowfield. Then, the horse that was pulling the carriage at the front fell to the ground.
Zayen did not aim at the heads of the two horses. The arrows that shot out from his hands tore through the air with the sharpness of a blade, cutting off the horses' front hooves, causing them to lose their balance and fall to the ground.
Almost at the same time, the others who heard Zayen's order immediately nocked their bows and arrows. Sparks emerged from the snowstorm, then flew out, and in the blink of an eye, shot toward the direction of the caravan.
However, before the arrows hit their target, a strange, ice-cold gale erupted from the ground all of a sudden, forming a wind barrier that resisted all the arrows.
Shortly after, a shield made of white bones emerged from the wind and turned into a solid barrier beside the convoy as though a wall had appeared out of thin air.
At this moment, Jenn and Nadia confirmed the other party's identity.
"White bone shield. There's a Necromancer inside!"
Looking at this scene, Nadia was taken aback. She hurriedly lifted her head to look ahead and yelled.
"Retreat! Everyone retreat now!"
Upon hearing Nadia's command, the crowd who intended to surround the chariot stopped in twos and threes. They gazed blankly at Nadia and didn't understand why she ordered them to retreat.
There were also some who didn't hear Nadia's command due to various reasons. They raised their weapons and blocked the chariot, attempting to attack the enemies before them.
At this moment, several black rays of light emerged and blasted at the militias.
Before they reacted, the black rays of light penetrated their bodies.
The ice-cold chills of death erupted instantly. In the blink of an eye, the militias who were blocking the chariot collapsed to the ground without making a sound.
But in the next moment, they crawled up from the ground again. They were expressionless, and a pair of scarlet eyes could be clearly seen on their ghost-like white faces.
"Necromancy spell!"
Looking at this scene, Nadia grimaced. She raised the sword in her hand and swung it forward with all her might. Shortly after, a white, holy flame erupted and blasted the militias who had been transformed into Undead Creatures. In the blink of an eye, the holy radiance soared into the sky and devoured the militias.
At this moment, Nadia was drenched in sweat and panting heavily. It was a piece of cake for her to deal with these newly transformed Undead Creatures.
As long as she activated the divine halo, the Undead Creatures couldn't get close to her at all.
But now, Nadia, who had lost her divine blessing, had to give it her all just to deal with the lowest-level Undead Soldiers.
"Miss Nadia."
Gazing at Nadia, the others decided to approach her. But at this moment, Jenn unsheathed his sword and brandished it forward. Then, a gust of wind struck and stopped them.
"Leave this place immediately and return to the encampment. Tell Oldman to send the mages and priests here to help. Tell him that there are Undead Creatures and he knows what to do!
Hurry up and don't waste any more time. Don't think about staying here. With your strength, you will only become the enemies' puppets! "
"Yes!
Sir. "
Upon hearing Jenn's command, the others nodded immediately.
These people weren't fools. They knew that there was definitely something wrong with this merchant group and they had never seen such a strange thing in their entire lives.
Now that they heard Zayen's order, they naturally knew what they had to do. So, the militia and rangers who were lying in ambush here, intending to launch a sneak attack, quickly left. Only Nadia and Zayen held their swords and stared vigilantly at the carriage in front of them.
At this moment, a strange voice sounded in the whistling, chilly wind.
"Hehehe, how interesting. I thought it would be someone blocking my way. I didn't expect to see you here again, Paladin Nadia …"
"Who are you?!"
Nadia's expression turned pale instantly. It wasn't surprising that the other party could identify her identity as the holy knight's armor and the holy flames were the best proof.
However, it was different for the other party to be able to call out her name. This meant that the other party definitely knew her and Nadia was sure that she didn't have any Necromancers as friends in her memories.
Of course, she had also killed many Necromancers.
However, Nadia felt a little uneasy. For some unknown reason, she felt that this voice was rather familiar as though she had heard it somewhere before.
"Nobles are really forgetful."
The Necromancer sneered at Nadia's question. The white bone barrier split into two and a figure clad in a black robe emerged with a white bone staff in his hand. From head to toe, no matter how one looked at him, he was a Necromancer who couldn't be any purer. His emaciated face was almost skin and bones as though he was a moving skeleton.
Upon seeing this face, Nadia's expression changed drastically.
"You … Could you be … Loki?"