Chapter 29:21. Battle between Heaven and Man
Translator: 549690339
Over an hour later.
Grave Vault, first level.
Sergeant Alvin Stafford prepared in two ways.
On one hand, he requested support from the Legion Fortress.
On the other hand, he ordered the attack.
The army was gathering.
The campsite was bustling with activity.
Every soldier about to join the battle had a Lightning Spore on their arm – a mutated product that can release forked lightning.
After the soldiers drank an unknown mutagenic agent, these sprout-like things grew from their arms. Noland Lee didn’t understand how it worked.
Sergeant Alvin Stafford made a temporary change in the military personnel arrangement.
Including Sergeant Alvin Stafford himself, his army had a total of 1 sergeant major, 18 sergeants, 80 corporals, and the rest were Private Second Class.
Originally, the 18 sergeants were the captains of the various small teams or members of the guard team.
Now, Alvin extracted 12 of them and put them together with the Sin Soldiers to form a special team:
Soul-binding Stone Tomb Disassembly Squad.
Corporal Mars was appointed as the captain.
The sergeants were responsible for escorting the Sin Soldiers to the Stone Tomb, and under the supervision of the sergeants, the Sin Soldiers would tamper with the Undead Runes on the Stone Tomb.
At this point, Intelligence Department 4’s secret plan was semi-public in Alvin’s army.
Even if Sergeant Alvin Stafford ordered to keep it a secret, the plan’s disclosure would only be a matter of time.
Noland Lee didn’t care about this, as he was just a Sin Soldier and didn’t need to consider the bigger picture.
Now he only wanted to safely modify the Undead Runes.
However, some people just didn’t give him peace of mind…
“1 don’t care where you’re fom, you Detter listen up clearly..”
The only three remaining Sin Soldiers of the army stood together, discussing the modification of the Undead Runes, occupying a small open space in the camp.
One tall, big Sin Soldier spat on the floor and said viciously:
“If you dare to command blindly while modifying the Undead Runes and cause my death… I guarantee that before I die, I will definitely drag you down with me.”
Noland Lee glanced at the scar on the eyebrow of this Sin Soldier and stared back at him without any fear:
“If you’re smart enough, stay quiet. With just a thought, I can use ‘Death Storm’ to crush you. What about you? What can you do besides yelling? You should be grateful that I need you to scout for landmines, otherwise… Heh heh, whether you’re alive or dead, it means nothing to me.”
Who can’t talk big, do you think I survived in the Holy City of Night by doing nothing?
For dealing with such a bully, Li had to shut him up completely, otherwise, he would become even more arrogant.
Noland Lee’s words were more effective than low-level threats in terms of confidence and logic. Anyone with an IQhigher than a child could understand their meaning.
As expected, the Sin Soldier’s eyes trembled slightly, and a hint of cowardice appeared in his tough attitude.
He twisted his neck, glared at Noland Lee, and looked away:
“You just wait, one day I’ll get you..”
Noland Lee wasn’t concerned and turned to look at another Sin Soldier standing beside him.
He was a man with just a slightly stronger build than Noland Lee and a very well-proportioned body.
Throughout Noland Lee’s introduction of the Undead Runes, this guy remained silent, just lowering his head and nodding quietly without saying a word.
Compared to the domineering scarred Sin Soldier, this silent Sin Soldier made Noland Lee more wary, likely the ruthless type who could easily capsize someone in the gutter.
Noland Lee noticed that this guy was missing a middle finger, seemingly forcibly removed, and guessed that he might have been a caught thief or something…
Wait, it might not be a thief…
Noland Lee narrowed his eyes and had another guess about the identity of the silent Sin Soldier.
There was another profession that would also have their middle finger cut off voluntarily…
Does such a profession exist in this world?
Noland Lee was uncertain.
The army was ready to go.
Everyone wore breathing masks and lined up to enter the staircase.
Soldiers responsible for engaging the enemy in close combat had the assistance of Lightning Spores, while the Sin Soldiers who needed to alter the
Undead Runes each had a Rune Staff.
The Rune Staff is an alchemy item that allows ordinary people to modify Undead Runes.
Its appearance is a dull gray metallic staff, about the length of a baton, with complicated and profound alchemy inscriptions on the surface, produced in the Gold Federation where alchemy is prevalent.
Its usage is as simple as an ordinary pen. By drawing on the Undead Runes on the Stone Tomb, one can change the existing Undead Runes to others.
Sin Soldiers did not have Lightning Spores, as they were powerful and sudden weapons.
If the Sin Soldiers had malicious intents, it is highly likely that they would use the Lightning Spores to create chaos. This terrible situation must be avoided.
So when Noland Lee set foot on the battlefield this time, he had only a hard Rune Staff in his hand and carried no other weapons.
He and two other Sin Soldiers were escorted in the middle by sergeants.
Corporal Mars walked at the head of the team.
He glanced back at Noland Lee with an encouraging look, raised his right arm, aimed the Lightning Spore at the front, and dashed through the Metal Gate into the battlefield on Tomb Level Two.
The moment he followed the team through the door frame, a thrilling battle scene unfolded before Noland Lee.
The vast Tomb Level Two was illuminated by the ghostly light of hundreds of Stone Tomb Bound Spirits, and the three-story-high Stone Tomb stood in the middle of the Grand Hall.
In mid-air, the Stone Tomb Bound Spirits flew in groups, swarming toward the Imperial Soldiers like locusts and launching wave after wave of swooping attacks with howling gusts of wind.
The soldiers maintained their phalanx, gathered around Sergeant Alvin Stafford, and raised their right arms to release a large swath of lightning.
Electric light flickered, as electric snakes surged.
Over a hundred Lightning Spores fired forked lightning, which wove a bright blue net above the phalanx.
As soon as the Stone Tomb Bound Spirits touched the lightning, deafening screams erupted.
Eerie, terrifying, and painful howls made the living tremble in fear.
A Stone Tomb Bound Spirit was struck right in the forehead by lightning.
Its body swelled in just one second and then exploded like a popped balloon, scattering a wide area with purple fog.
A grieving, ethereal human face emerged within the purple fog and was sucked into the Stone Tomb amid endless wails.
This scene delivered a spiritual shock to the soldiers witnessing the spectacle.
Some Private Second Class soldiers were suddenly lost in thought, their hands slowed for a moment, and they lost their attack rhythm.
Because of this fatal mistake, they became food for the Stone Tomb Bound Spirits.
A dozen Stone Tomb Bound Spirits took advantage of the soldiers’ distracted minds, sneaked through the holes in the lightning net, and rushed straight toward these stunned soldiers.
As the Stone Tomb Bound Spirits passed through the soldiers’ bodies, they took away their body heat and lives, instantly turning the living soldiers pale and withering their bodies into fragile sculptures that would shatter upon touch.
The Stone Tomb Bound Spirits sneered and flew away from the soldiers’ formations.
The sight of their comrades being instantly killed made the surrounding soldiers even more afraid.
Fortunately, Sergeant Alvin Stafford promptly shouted out a reminder, pulling the morale of the army back from the brink of collapse.
“Soldiers! Do not let the wicked tricks of the Undead Cult break your will!
Attack, keep attacking! The Empire’s flames will guide our path! And I, Alvin Stafford, will fight with you until the very last moment!”
Sergeant Alvin Stafford blew the horn.
The soldiers stabilized their minds and released another wave of lightning alongside their commander.
Noland Lee watched the scene of lightning sparks and shrieking Bound Spirits, deeply admiring Sergeant Alvin Stafford’s composure in the face of danger.
Corporal Mars’s voice suddenly came from the front of the team:
“Attention! Enemies approaching from the 3 0’clock direction! Prepare for battle and keep moving! The time Sergeant Alvin Stafford has bought for us is very limited, so we must reach the Stone Tomb as quickly as possible!”
