Chapter 88: Schemes


Meanwhile, Abium sighed deeply and shook his head.


'Little did they know that the Ancient Mage Runeth is conducting tests to send a suitable candidate to destroy his magic tower on this world. But anyway, it seems I have to do two jobs at once. One is to steal this Dragon's Heart for Goddess Nyara while the other is to detonate the Tower of Rebirth before leaving this plane.' As for saving the Bone Tree and saving this world? Abium had no intention of undertaking such a difficult task.


'But what surprised me was our arrival in this region. Was it Lich Lord's precognition? I don't think so.' He had seen the difference in power between an ancient mage and a true goddess. When they were in the pocket dimension, Goddess Nyara stalked them all the time and even kidnapped them before the Ancient Mage could notice her presence.


'This Lich Lord might be around the same level as the Ancient Mage, so there is no way he could've perceived the Goddess's intervention. Additionally, my arrival itself is a variation due to time travel. So, Goddess Nyara is the real deal here. If my guess isn't wrong, she might be standing next to us and listening to our talk with an amusing smile.' He subconsciously shuddered as he thought of the stalking Goddess and took a deep breath to calm down his heart.


At that moment, Skaktak's words fell into his ears.


"Tomorrow at dawn, you will all begin the mission to the Dead Land pillars. I believe it will take three days to reach the Bone Tree. So, prepare yourselves for any unexpected situation."


Skaktak halted his speech, turned his gaze towards Abium, and asked.


"Shall we end the discussion?"


Abium also agreed and made another request.


"Yes, Lord Skaktak. If possible, arrange a room for us. We need to take some rest before setting out on another journey."


"You don't have to worry about it. Grurdin will take care of this matter."


Skaktak said before ordering them to leave the hall.


Meanwhile, Abium and others nodded and walked out of the Throne Hall. Other skeletons also followed after them, leaving only Rit'zyk, Skaktak, and two other high-ranked skeletons in the hall.


After checking no one was there at the entrance, Skaktak made a tap on the bone throne and waved his bony hand.


A second later, the entrance door moved on its own and closed with a bang sound.


He then took out a small black orb from his space ring and spoke while tossing it to Rit'zyk.


"Once you enter the Dead Land pillar region, take this orb and break it. Only then will we know about your location."


"Yes, My Lord," Rit'zyk didn't say anything as he nodded his skull and caught the small orb from Skaktak.


"Also, send these scrolls to all the other surviving Skeleton Lords and Demi-Liches. Tell them that if these visitors manage to place the Dragon's heart on the Bone Tree, it will be a full-scale war against the chaos. Tell the Lords and Demi-Liches to prepare their army to recapture our Bone Tree."


Skaktak said as he took out a few black scrolls and passed them to the nearby Undead Warrior named Krodhur.


The Undead Warrior, who looked around 2 meters tall with two bony horns on his forehead, caught the scrolls and asked in puzzlement.


"Are you planning to participate in this battle, My Lord? If so, why didn't you tell them?"


"There will be no difference even if they know the answer, Krodhur. Unlike you guys, I'm preparing for the main battle. Do you think Lich Lord As'zus and his four Bone Dragons will stay quiet when you and others enter the Dead Land Pillars Region? No. They are far more powerful and intelligent than other corrupted soldiers. I think they must have sensed the presence of the Dragon's Heart in this region and might be waiting for your arrival. I will try my best to lure them out of the Dead Land Pillars and allow you guys to sneak in. Meanwhile, you guys should act more cautiously and finish your work within an hour." Skaktak said in a solemn tone.


"Pardon me for asking such a foolish question, my lord."


"It's alright," Skaktak waved his bony hand, shifted his gaze towards Rit'zyk, and spoke.


"Rit'zyk, I also feel some restlessness whenever I see that Half-elf. Once they complete their mission, you must kill that half-elf. But don't lay a finger on that beastkin child. I don't want to be chased by a Goddess for the rest of my life."


"Your servant will fulfill your request without failure, My Lord," Rit'zyk replied solemnly.


"Good. That half-elf is a dangerous one, so be careful." Skaktak warned repeatedly.


"Yes, My Lord."


Skaktak nodded and shifted his gaze towards the metal box.


'When they put this Light Heart on the Bone Tree, the Will of the World will gain some power and choose a new batch of Divine Protectors. In the current scenario, I'm playing a crucial role in saving the world tree and already have enough merit to become one of the Protectors. All I need to do now is to make a breakthrough and enter the realm of Demi-Liches. After that, all I have to do is wait for the World's Will to grant me Divinities.'


'The only problem is the foreigners. There is a possibility of them finding the Undead Plane's coordination later in the Tower of Rebirth and returning here in the future. Except for that ignorant child, the other three are quite dangerous fellows.' His eyes grew sharper as a pair of cold blue fire began to flicker in those hollow sockets.


He felt that everything was a mess and needed a complete rearrangement.


'Our strength is weakened considerably.' He was well aware of the current condition and grew more solemn inside.


He didn't like the idea of killing the outsiders who were attempting to save the Bone Tree. But he must eliminate the future threat at all costs.


'I don't want to be enslaved by humans and elves for eternity.' He muttered inwardly and ordered everyone to leave the throne hall.


...


The next day,


It was around early morning.


At that moment, 130 Undead Skeletons stood at the castle entrance and prepared to depart.


Abium and others stood among the group of undead skeletons and were waiting for Captain Ritzyk to appear.


"How long will it take?" Nicolaus grumbled as he looked at the surrounding undead skeletons and subconsciously touched his sword hilt.


"Why are you so anxious? Are you afraid of these undead skeletons? They should be the one who fears us, Nicolaus." Abium chuckled and pointed his finger at the metallic case placed next to where they were standing.


"But this matter seems to be much bigger than we thought, Abium. That Skeleton Lord is sending all of his high-rank undead to accompany us." Fennelis interjected as she observed the surroundings.


"I noticed it, My Lady. They seem to be preparing for war. Let's not involve ourselves in their matter too much." Abium calmly responded. In truth, he had long noticed the anomaly but decided to keep quiet about it.


'The more the danger, we will have the greater opportunity to get away with the loot.' A smirk appeared on his face.


"A war against the corrupted undead?" Nicolaus asked but got no response from Abium.


Meanwhile, Abium calmly looked around and analyzed every skeleton's strength.


There were 100 Undead Warriors, 12 Death Knights, and ten cloaked Undead Assassins who stood around them in order and appeared well-armed. Undead Warriors carried different types of weapons like broadswords, long swords, saber-type weapons, axes, hammers, and spears and looked more like a squad of veteran soldiers. Meanwhile, Death Knights wore black armor and held long spears in their bony hands. What's more shocking was that they were riding on unique undead horses and looked intimidating.


The only one who looked normal was the ten Undead Assassins. They covered their bodies in black hooded robes and maintained a considerable distance from the other undead. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novel-fire.ɴet


'But it's hard to distinguish their strength. Although these undead skeletons' physical attributes are above 5 points, they don't have any extraordinary skills or spells. In a way, they are more like Warriors of the Easica Plane.' Compared to these undead skeletons, Skaktak and Rit'zyk were on a whole new level in terms of strength.


'For example, these guys are strong but aren't strong enough to face an Official Mage or a Tier-1 Magical Beast in one on one battle. But if they grouped up, they might even take down Tier-2 Magical Beasts.' Abium instantly shook his head.


'I need more information. I feel like I'm walking on a clueless path without any future knowledge.'


As Abium was thinking deeply, Rit'zyk, Grurdin, and another armored undead knight walked out of the gate carrying a large blueish square rocky ore and gave it to him.


Following that, Rit'zyk said a few words to Abium, moved towards the front, and made an announcement to the soldiers.


Soon, everyone immediately set out.


The group moved in the north for the next few hours and crossed rocky plains, desert land, chaotic gas-filled valleys, etc. Although a few undead creatures tried to attack them, the undead skeletons exterminated everything quickly and moved forward.