Chapter 574: Honor  

Seeing Burzuryano’s expression, everyone realized that something must have gone wrong and quickly backed away from the crack. In the distance, an army of skeletons was fast approaching. Steger summoned the Eye of the Sky with a wave of his hand. Due to the thinning of the dark fog, it was easy to see the skeletons.

The skeletons in the army of skeletons were completely different from what normal skeletons looked like. These skeletons had gleaming, pale heads. They were all wearing smooth bone armors that were clearly very strong. Each skeleton was equipped with a longsword that was sharp and wide. All of these skeletons were weaponized to the teeth. Normal skeletons did not have eyes, but these ones, however, had glowing red eyes.

What was even more shocking was the speed of these skeletons. They were moving so fast that it was almost impossible to see their individual legs. They were almost as fast as a master swordsman.

Mauso was called the Observer, because of his excellent senses. He already sensed coming danger, when he flew out of the crack, which was why he sounded the alarms. Morgan’s eyes widened, as he noticed the black swirl under each skeleton’s feet. Morgan, who rarely lost his composure, paled at the sight of it.

"It’s impossible," he whispered, desperation creeping into his voice. "Impossible. The Throne... the effect of the Throne of Bones!"

Hearing his voice, everyone froze in shock. Even though Morgan didn’t say exactly what the swirls were, it was clear that Morgan was terrified. The Throne was already complete.

"We’re wrong, then..." Golman said quietly, his voice quivering. "We only thought about how strong Minos is, but we forgot how smart he is. We all know he’s the weakest now. He must have expected something."

"So what?" Morgan asked angrily. "This can’t happen. Minos is not powerful enough to finish it before the planned date. This must be a trick."

"Morgan, haven’t you noticed?" Golman asked quietly. "Ever since we got onto this island, we haven’t seen a single necromancer. There must be at least a few hundred on the island. Were are they?"

"Golman, are you saying that Minos absorbed them?" Desvidia asked quietly.

"I can’t think of another explanation for this," Golman said, glancing at the darkening sky. He started to sound desperate. With the Throne of Bones, Minos was practically a god already. No one can defeat a god. Even if a supreme power appeared now, it would be too late.

"No!" Morgan said, shaking his head. "This can’t be. It must be a trick!" He was trying to calm everyone’s nerves, but he could not even convince himself with his words. He, too, sounded desperate.

Just then, a skeleton climbed out of the ground. It jumped out and dashed toward Burzuryano, who was standing in the front. Fernando called out for Burzuryano and lunged at the skeleton. The skeleton did not back away from Fernando. The two clashed with a loud thud. Fernando stumbled back a few steps, while the skeleton was thrown back and crashed into the ground. A moment later, the skeleton climbed off of the ground and dashed toward Fernando again. It was as if the clash did not do any damage to the skeleton.

Fernando raised his lance. A ball of bright light flew toward the skeleton, followed by the lance. The lance pierced the skeleton’s armor and buried itself in its chest. The skeleton let out a shrill scream. Fernando released his lance and jumped at the skeleton. He raised his shield, slamming it down onto the skeleton. With a sickening crunch, the head of the skeleton broke off of its shoulder and tumbled to the ground. The body jerked a few times before falling to the ground.

Fernando took a few steps back, staring ahead emptily. He had won, but it made everyone even more hopeless. If a Knight of Light’s lance could only barely pierce the skeleton’s armor, what would they do when the entire army reached them? What awaits them once the army arrives?

The scrolls Saul had spent days making would be useless. Even if they teleported, they would have to reappear somewhere, and as soon as they did, the skeletons would be upon them.

Another group of skeletons appeared in the Eye of the Sky. They wore similar armor as the first group, but all the skeletons in the second group were equipped with large bone shields and long knifes. Behind them was a third group, with bows and arrows. The skeletons were marching in tight formations and straight lines. These two groups were not as fast as the first group, but were just as intimidating.

The army of skeletons drew closer, and the image in the Eye of the Sky changed again. More skeletons marched into sight. These skeletons all held bone staffs, and were wearing mage robes made of smooth pieces of bones. These skeleton mages had bumps on their heads, and the red glow of their eyes were particularly vicious.

After the skeleton mages, came two dozen Knights of Death. Each one of those knights was riding a large bone horse with large wings. It didn’t matter how strong these Knights of Death were. If their mounts could fly, they would be that much more dangerous.

Lastly, came half a dozen ghost dragons, led by Jimeng, Minos’ mount. When Jimeng fled, it had been injured. Now, it was completely healed and repaired. As if sensing the Eye of the Sky, it raised its head and blew some dark fog at the Eye, obscuring the view again.

"If Minos wants to defeat us with this army, I’m afraid he will be disappointed," Saul said. He had regained his wits, but Morgan was still staring.

"You’re right," Douminge said with a small grin. "Let’s show him what real mages are made of."

Steger whispered a spell and waved his hand. A wall of earth appeared. He turned and summoned three more walls, forming a small fortress. Jacob used his strengthening potion to make sure the walls held longer. In the middle of the small fortress, a tall earth spike formed a temporary mage’s tower. Everyone present was a top level power, and could immediately tell the weakness of the skeleton army. Saul summoned several Eyes of the Sky, observing the entire island.

"We need to get Mauso down here," Douminge said to Burzuryano.

Burzuryano nodded and released the signal. Seeing the signal, Mauso circled around a few times and dove down. Douminge began chanting quietly, and an invisible magic shield began forming. The most dangerous parts of the skeleton army were the Knights of Death and the ghost dragons. Douminge was willing to use the anti-flying ward, because he knew the danger.

As long as he was alive, the dragons and knights would have to approach on the ground. Burzuryano jumped onto the wall of the fortress and waved his hand. The ground around the fortress burst into green light. Countless vines started growing out of the ground, covering the walls of the fortress.

Morgan watched the mages at work, and was very impressed by how well they worked together. He looked at the mages and said with a long sigh, "It is my honor to be fighting with you all today." He was terrified, but he was proud. If he was to die, he would die fighting.