Chapter 1020 Army Of The Night Marchers, Hidden In Darkness

Clank... Clank..! Clank!

"Can anyone else hear that strange noise?" One of the 9th Division members, Champion, commented.

"Huh? I thought I was just imagining things, but—you can hear it, too?" Revel frowned.

"Yeah, whatever it is, it sounds like it's getting closer," Champion said with furrowed brows.

"Everyone, remain alert! Something is coming this way!" Niflheim called out.

He then said to himself, "I guess asking for the element of surprise while storming through the front door was a bit too much to hope for."

Clank!

Niflheim, who positioned himself at the vanguard, caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a foot made of bone peeking out from the darkness and into the light that was being illuminated by one of the nearby magic casters.

The next moment, a strange creature stepped out of the darkness and fully into the light as Niflheim was finally able to get a good look at it.

"I've seen a lot of monsters before, but... What is that thing?" Niflheim said as he raised his shield.

The rattling sound came from the creature located roughly fifteen meters away from Niflheim. The creature was as tall as the average man with no distinctive facial features except a mouth that covered the entire body half of its face.

Within the creature's mouth were rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth and a long black tongue approximately thirty centimeters in length that hung out the side of it.

The most bizarre thing about this creature outside its unsettling mouth was its body which resembled that of a human without skin. The major difference was that its entire body was colored in a deeply saturated mixture of purple and red.

Additionally, its legs were shaped like that of a digitigrade's, and the lower parts of it appeared to be made out of jet-black bones.

When the creature was close enough, Niflheim and the others present managed to view its system information.

Name: Undead Night Marcher(Rare Elite)

Level: ???

HP: ???(100%)

Raaaaaaagh!

Without warning, the creature opened its mouth and unleashed a terrifying ghostly wail with a screech-like pitch.

〈Battle Alert: Player Champion has been affected by «Tranquil Night Hysteria»!〉

〈Battle Alert: Player Sanctity has been affected by «Tranquil Night Hysteria»!〉

〈Battle Alert: Player Noir has been affected by «Tranquil Night Hysteria»!〉

〈Battle Alert: Player Niflheim has been affected by «Tranquil Night Hysteria»!〉

〈Battle Alert...

...

〈System Alert: The passive skill «Evil Cleansing» has been activated!〉

〈System Alert: The effects of «Tranquil Night Hysteria» has successfully been cleansed!〉

«Immune»

'Oh? If my Evil Cleansing passive was activated, then—is it an illusion-type skill?'

If it were just poison, Izroth was confident that his Heavenly Golden Body and Might stat would be enough to shed any adverse effects. After all, his Heavenly Golden Body alone provided greater poison resistance than the cleansing effects of his Evil Cleansing passive skill.

Since the only other thing that could activate his Evil Cleansing passive were evil illusions, naturally, Izroth concluded that an AOE illusion-type skill must have been used.

"Such a vicious sound technique...! If I were careless, I would have been drawn to its horrid intent." Jol'Kil commented.

"Indeed, this creature is rather unsettling; however... It would seem that we have an even bigger issue that lies in front of us." Zel'Kan chimed in.

'Sound technique? No, that's not quite right... The auras are similar, but I'm certain—it doesn't match.'

Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!

Not even half a breath after the Undead Night Marcher revealed itself, several others emerged from the darkness.

Five... Twelve... Twenty... Forty—there did not seem to be an end in sight to the creatures pouring in as the rattling noise rose to an ear-drumming level.

"Get in formation! Prepare to engage the enemy!" Lances ordered.

But, a small frown soon found its way onto Lances' face. That's because, despite his orders, only a handful of individuals from the 5th Unit moved into action. This swiftly caused those who were getting ready to position themselves to come to an abrupt stop out of confusion. As for the others—they stood motionless and unresponsive in a trance-like state.

"Something's wrong." Lances said to himself as he narrowed his eyes and his gaze seemed to pierce into the darkness ahead.

"What's going on with you guys?! Snap out of it!" Guan Yu shouted in an attempt to get those within his vicinity under the influence of the illusion to break free.

"Shouting probably won't do much good. If we didn't consume an Evil Cleansing Pill, we'd probably be in a similar state to them." Halls stated.

"It was still worth a shot." Guan Yu said as he brandished his guandao.

At the same time, the Undead Night Marchers halted their screech and started their charge towards the 9th Division and 5th Unit members.

"Protect those who are still under the effects of the illusion. I'm going to check on something that's troubling me." Izroth said as he sped forward without awaiting a response.

"Young master!" Zel'Kan called out, but it was too late to attempt to convince him.

Didn't he just say he'd try to at least keep it in mind not to go off ahead of them? Was this his form of trying? Both Zel'Kan and Jol'Kil alike could not help but have these thoughts.

"There's no time, Zel'Kan. We must carry out the young master's orders. We just have to trust that the young master is capable of taking care of himself. Since he could face the clan head's attack head-on, at the very least, he will not perish before we are able to reach him." Jol'Kil stated as he did not hesitate to jump right into the action.

"I hope that you are correct," Zel'Kan said with a hint of concern in her tone as she also made her move.

Simultaneously, when Lances witnessed that the majority of those present were not responding, he clapped his hands together and called forth a towering wall of intense flames.

These walls erupted a few meters ahead of the vanguard and obstructed the path of the Undead Night Marchers.

Tssssssst! Woosh! Woosh!

Without slowing their momentum, the Undead Night Marchers ran right through the wall of blazing flames. However, the creatures did not come out completely unscathed. Several areas of their bodies became like melting wax and a large chunk of their health was instantly shaved away.

Nevertheless, the Undead Night Marchers persisted without a moment wasted.

"That guy—did he also sense that something was wrong just now? I guess I can leave that to him for now. More importantly, do these things have no regard for their own lives?" Lances frowned as a heavy concentration of flames encompassed his right hand.

Swoosh!

"Hand of Inferno!" Lances roared as he thrust his right palm forward.

Rmmmble! Fwoosh!

A towering pillar of flames erupted from Lances' right palm and took the form of a giant flaming hand as it rushed out at a crowd of Undead Night Marchers.

BOOM!

The hand of flames crashed into the group of creatures and unleashed a concentrated explosive force that instantly incinerated the Undead Night Marchers within its immediate vicinity.

...

Meanwhile...

A figure stood deep within the darkness located not too far away from the entrance into the Night Lord's Crypt.

"How dare those insolent and inferior beings set foot onto these sacred grounds. They must answer for their transgressions with their lives." A dark and raspy voice that carried a slight echo sounded from the darkness.

"So, this is where you were hiding." Izroth's voice sounded.

"Who-?!" The individual within the darkness seemed taken aback by the sudden sound of an unfamiliar voice.

Woosh! Bzzzt...! Crrrrckle!

'Third Sword Form: Collapsing Thunder.'

Clap!

A thunderous clap rang throughout the area as lightning struck down at the spot in front of Izroth.

Although there was no light in this area and Izroth relied on his Energy Vision to perceive his surroundings, the lightning flash that just occurred from his third sword form allowed Izroth to catch a brief glimpse of his target.

'I thought something felt a little off earlier when the Undead Night Marchers screeched. You may be able to fool others, but you cannot escape my Energy Vision Sense.'

Earlier, Izroth noticed that the effects of the Tranquil Night Hysteria were not the result of the Undead Night Marchers but rather of someone who was controlling them.

NPC Name: Penumbra Inquisitor, Marquis Varokin(Epic)

NPC Level: ???