Chapter 15: Deathmatch

*BOOM!!!*

A powerful, destructive explosion followed by a wave of black flames swept through a vast area of trees, flattening mountains and creating a disaster.

Above the tree line, a sinister shadow dominated the skies. It was an undead dragon, a monstrosity of rotting scales and empty eyes. Its wings stretched out, covering the moon and shrouding the entire night in darkness. The world seemed to fall silent as the dragon opened its horrendous mouth and spewed forth fire and necrosis, spreading destruction everywhere.

At a seemingly safe distance, several thousand people were gathered while a cultivator general watched with anxious eyes as the apocalyptic battle unfolded before them. Then, a figure two meters tall with a slender body rose on top of the mountain on the horizon, wielding a sharp saber. With a single motion, he cut through the air, splitting it, and the flame divided, spreading to the sides.

The black miasma continued to spread through the air, enveloping everything around it. All the cultivators present felt their meridians silently infected by this nefarious presence. The general was tense, but then he received a telepathic message in his mind, which made him turn a bit more relieved in the southern direction, sensing the massive approach.

Meanwhile, while the apocalyptic battle unfolded in the heart of the ground confrontation, a skeleton remained motionless within a black mist. Every inch of its bones was covered in runes pulsating with a sinister and eerie power.

If someone had been watching from afar, they would have been shocked to see the scene around the skeleton. The ground was surprisingly flat, and the tree leaves rustled gently in the wind as if nothing had happened there. Everything seemed strangely normal, with no signs of destruction or devastation. Naturally, it was the Divine Skeleton! Not that Bruno and Alm liked that title, though.

A bit further away, a hooded figure stood, holding a tall staff and chanting mysterious words. Every second, a growing wave of Qi emanated from it, spreading in all directions. This figure was the former necromancer, now transformed into an undead mage.

The skeleton then moved its skeletal arms, causing some of the runes on its body to fade. Suddenly, a massive wave of Qi swept through the skies, and an apocalyptic roar echoed throughout the region. However, despite the impressive sound, nothing seemed to be actually happening. It was as if the world were hanging on the brink of imminent destruction.

"Their presence is increasing. Given the necromancer's cultivation level, we can be sure that the ten presences at the late Core Formation Realm are their most powerful commanders," Bruno commented. They had been observing everything that was happening from a safe distance while concealing their presence.

"The king must certainly be among them. Great, risking it all by creating this illusion seems to be paying off. The techniques we learned when we were weak are still proving useful. They are taking the bait, and the bloodbath is near," Alm said, sounding eager. Sure enough, the entire situation of infighting was caused by Bruno and Alm.

However, this infighting was nothing but an illusion! It was all for the sake of attracting both sides into their trap. Bruno and Alm planned to get rid of all problems, whether they were dead or living, in one go.

"The queen received the information directly from the necromancer. Well, actually, it was just us manipulating the necromancer. Anyway, they must be getting close to..." Suddenly, Bruno interrupted his thoughts, and the skeleton turned to the east.

From above, between the clouds, a gigantic figure emerged shrouded in black Qi. They couldn't discern it very well due to how far it was. Nonetheless, it didn't matter as they were already expecting its arrival.

"Just in time," Bruno said, and suddenly, they controlled the necromancer, who floated upward with his entire body wrapped in darkness. Right after, an explosion followed from the necromancer, and the whole world around became pitch dark.

Seeing the black domain taking form, Alm commented in satisfaction, "The trash was somewhat useful in the end. He could store a lot of Qi in his meridians." The domain covered the entire vast area of the illusion, not allowing anything to be seen from the outside. Not even the dracolich could know what was inside unless it entered the domain.

The necromancer's deep resentment toward the dracolich still lingered after becoming a puppet. With a little help from Alm and Bruno, it was easy for him to sense the dracolich's approach, as their karma was connected. After fulfilling the mission, the necromancer sacrificed himself using a technique far beyond his capabilities, resulting in the explosion of his own body. That's how the domain came to be.

A few seconds later, the dracolich descended from above and saw that black mass, becoming confused. His mastery of the laws of death was not sufficient for him to see what was inside. Still, his confidence was unshakable, and he didn't hesitate to enter the domain directly.

The reason he appeared here was because he had heard rumors of the commotion and quickly rushed here. He wanted to demand an explanation since none of it was part of their plans. Yet, things were already like that by the time he appeared.

At a good distance away, everyone was completely flabbergasted. The king of the living beings and all his generals were on top of the hill, watching the battle, and they clearly saw the world inside turn sinister and black. They could no longer see anything that was happening inside either.

Suddenly, everyone was horrified to see another dracolich emerge from the sky and enter that sinister place. "Two... two dracoliches, how is that possible?" one of the generals exclaimed. Of course, the first dracolich was nothing but an illusion created by Bruno and Alm. It's just that they didn't know about it.

"All this time, we were facing two of them? And we didn't realize it. This is much worse than expected," another said with a trembling voice.

"Couples of beasts can blend their QIs perfectly to the point of being practically identical. It would be impossible to tell just from the physical differences," explained a more experienced general.

The king then took a deep breath and said, "If none of this had happened, we could have fallen into a trap and suffered serious losses with two of them showing up. This is good news! It seems this isn't a scheme by the black queen; she definitely wouldn't hand over such an important card like this."

"Furthermore, she knows we have our teleportation crystals. If the tactic were to gather us and attack the capital, we would quickly find out, and the top cultivators could return swiftly. It wouldn't make sense for her to attempt something like that," another general added calmly.

Suddenly, another general remembered something. "Right! My king, I have fought the demon empress several times. She can definitely be behind this dark dome technique that's blocking our vision. The dracolich may have sensed that he was going to lose and called his partner for help."

Bruno and Alm would be laughing if they had heard that. That wasn't part of their plan, but since the living cultivators reached that conclusion by themselves, all the better.

A few minutes passed in silence, everyone thinking along similar lines but hesitating to speak. Suddenly, from the opposite direction, all the generals felt the ground shake.

When they looked in the direction of the tremors, they saw a gigantic figure riding an equally massive demonic land beast. "The last Black General!" one of them exclaimed in astonishment.

That was the Death Knight that Bruno and Alm found in the necromancer's memories. Don't mistake it for the Corpse Guardian that Bruno and Alm created, though. This Death Knight was not the Corpse Guardian. Instead, it was another one of the four commanders of the Death Armies. Or, a Black General, like the living cultivators liked to refer.

Following him at a short distance was an army of undead. He didn't stop for a second and entered the domain directly, followed by his entire army. Yet another one of them fell inside Bruno and Alm's trap.

The cultivators continued to watch from outside. "Only the Black Queen hasn't shown up. Maybe... this is an internal problem she can't control," commented one thoughtful general.

The king let out a slight snort and, determined, raised his golden lance high, radiating power. All the millions who were watching nearby raised their weapons along with him, ready for the confrontation.

"Surround the entire area, we'll attack from all sides. We'll kill the two dracoliches and the empress first. Then, even if the queen and her last general join in, we can crush them," the king told the generals.

He then put his QI in his voice and spoke to all those waiting below: "This is the golden opportunity to save our future and the lives of our people. Tomorrow, we can finally live free from the fog of war!"

And so, now, the massive deathmatch began.