"You... ugh..." Hot blood instantly gushed from Margas's mouth.
In his last fleeting moment as life rapidly drained away, he seemed to suddenly understand something. His lone eye flashed with a trace of clarity before being completely drowned in endless hatred and unwillingness, finally losing all luster.
As Sigmund expressionlessly withdrew his blood-soaked arm, the evil mage's shriveled corpse collapsed softly to the ground like a rag sack, making a dull thud.
"Tsk tsk tsk, talk about cold-blooded!" Deep in Sigmund's mind, a voice he loathed to the bone yet was helpless against rang out.
Then, that voice continued impatiently: "By the way, killing him wraps things up, right? My turn to play with this body now, right?"
"Play..." Sigmund's expression became extremely ugly, but Lin Jun didn't care at all.
After messily saving the vampire back, the two had reached a delicate balance.
In terms of soul power, naturally Lin Jun still had an overwhelming advantage, but the vampire's body was bound to the other party's soul.
If Sigmund was pushed to a corner and steeled his heart to end himself, the result would be mutual loss.
With no other choice, Lin Jun could only put himself through the indignity of reluctantly proposing a "taking turns using it" suggestion.
At this moment, he unceremoniously pushed Sigmund's consciousness aside and quickly took over control of the body.
Lin Jun first greedily took a deep breath of the blood-scented air, feeling the real sensation of his lungs expanding, and excitedly declared: "Good! Step one, go find some good food and pig out!"
Boom—!
Just then, the ground beneath his feet suddenly transmitted a violent tremor, and dust from the ceiling fell down.
Before Lin Jun could figure out what was going on, an extremely unfamiliar voice came from outside the hall door: "Lord Duke! The humans are attacking!"
Who am I? Where am I? What does "the humans are attacking" mean?
Lin Jun was still pulling up his panel to study who he was now when the aide outside, getting no response for so long, couldn't help but sound a bit anxious and raised his voice again to ask: "Lord Duke? Are you still inside? The military situation is urgent!"
Bang!
The heavy door was suddenly pulled open from the inside!
"I'm here! Of course I'm here!" "Sigmund" strode out with large steps, his voice booming and even carrying a trace of inexplicable excitement. "Humans, right? Great! Let's go, take me to see! Watch this duke wreck them!"
As he spoke, he even completely out-of-character clenched his fist and vigorously swung it in front of his chest, his face overflowing with an eager, almost itching-for-action expression.
This appearance left the aide stunned, his brain momentarily unable to process.
Then the aide's gaze unconsciously shifted past the duke's shoulder and glimpsed the corpse of evil mage Margas inside the hall. His heart suddenly tightened. He quickly lowered his head, suppressed all doubts and fears, and followed behind the duke with utmost respect.
But after walking just a few steps, seeing the duke heading straight toward the kitchen, the aide had to steel himself and carefully speak up to remind: "Lord Duke... that... it's... this way."
He pointed to another passage leading to the outer observation platform and defensive fortifications.
"Oh oh oh! Right! This way, huh? Should've said so earlier!" Lin Jun readily complied, immediately turning around. His steps were still so light they were almost bouncy. Walking ahead, he even unconsciously swayed slightly left and right, humming a tuneless melody in a volume only he could hear.
The aide completely couldn't understand what was going on, but at least... the lord duke seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood?
The two quickly passed through the intricate passages inside the tower and arrived at the towering observation platform on the outer side of Crimson Spire. The scene before them opened up dramatically.
Above was the massive black curtain emanating from the top of Crimson Spire, shrouding the entire battlefield. It completely blocked out the external sunlight, providing the optimal combat environment for the demon army.
Below were layer upon layer of outer positions constructed based on the spire's menacing base. Looking down from above, countless demon soldiers bustled about like an ant colony.
And on the opposite side, the human army's formation spread out like a silver tide, banners flying, cold light flashing, slowly advancing toward the spire's direction!
Behind the human allied army formation, several towering mana-crystal constructs stood like small fortresses.
What Lin Jun didn't know was that these were strategic-level devices called [War Chariots] that humans used to synchronize many mages' spellcasting, greatly enhancing spell power and achieving ultra-long range. The tremor that had just shaken the spire's foundation was caused by concentrated bombardment from these things.
"My lord," the aide behind him stepped forward, his tone carrying a trace of dissatisfaction and absolute confidence, "Duke Eleanor's side has had no response whatsoever. It seems she's determined to sit on the sidelines. However, these humans actually dare to actively leave their turtle shell—they're simply seeking death!"
The aide's confidence wasn't baseless.
That Duke Eleanor being suppressed by Arama was purely because her own abilities were inadequate.
But here at this frontline guarded by Duke Sigmund, the situation was completely different.
The average quality of demon soldiers was superior to humans, and they even had the advantage in numbers.
Whether in personal martial prowess or legion command ability, Duke Arama and Lord Sigmund were evenly matched. Under this kind of hard power comparison, in the past humans could only curl up behind the walls of Highfort, relying on various defensive fortifications to desperately resist the demon army's offensive.
Now they actually dared to take the initiative to attack, running to engage in open battle at the foot of Crimson Spire where demon power was strongest—what else could this be but seeking death?
Lin Jun looked down at the grand battlefield before him, then turned back to look at the aide behind him whose eyes were fervent, eagerly anticipating achieving merit under his command.
The other party was respectfully bowing his head, waiting for him to issue the order that would decide the battle.
It inexplicably felt like just learning to use WASD keys to move a character, only to be pushed into fighting the final battle of the ultimate raid.
But... it's not his stuff anyway!
In his mind, Sigmund was anxiously trying to seize back control. Lin Jun decisively pushed him aside—they'd agreed this time was his turn to play!
"Anyway," Lin Jun cleared his throat, swung his arm forward forcefully, "full army charge!"
"Full army... charge?" The aide froze, instinctively confirming.
According to his understanding, at this moment the most prudent strategy should be to rely on Crimson Spire's powerful defensive and enhancement effects, continuously wearing down the humans' strength. After they were weakened, then strike while fresh against the exhausted, annihilating them in one decisive open battle.
However, when he looked up and saw the unfathomable smile on "Lord Duke's" face, as if everything was within his control... could it be the lord had some brilliant scheme or trump card he didn't know about?
Moreover, even if they really did commit the full army and engage in head-on open battle with the humans, their side absolutely held the advantage and could more thoroughly cut off the humans' retreat route, keeping them all here!
"Yes! My lord!" Having thought this through, the aide no longer hesitated. After receiving the order, he quickly turned to relay the command.
The aide left to carry out the order. Lin Jun turned back to look at the densely packed armies of both sides below.
"Wonder how many will die..." he muttered in a low voice, his tone impossible to tell whether it was pity or regret. "Really... such a shame."
(End of Chapter)
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