Ascension of the Nephilim

The army formed ranks that had numerous classes and fighting types.

With the Midlands, they had access to more blessings that allowed them to have more diverse classes.

Magic Defenders and Magic Blades, which are Mage hybrids with swordsmen and knights, were the most common. In the Midlands, many could afford training in magic, and it was considered weak to have no access to such spells.

Ragion Spell Masters, Magic Lancers, Tri-Element Mages, and many other classes are not present in the Lowlands. And the composition of the army was unique since it combined numerous kingdoms and had a very diverse set of fighters and mages.

Such an army would threaten even the Highlands.

Many scouts of different forms and power, from mages to ninjas, to race-specific classes, moved ahead of the army.

The team of Nightwing watched, and Angelian could not help but praise the diverse powers of endless possibilities.

Nightwing felt déjà vu as they marched forward. He could not help but think that he had experienced something similar before.

"...Are you sure that your master has left this place?" Breveros asked once again.

"For the thousandth time, yes!" Nightwing impatiently answered.

"She is a True Neutral. She needs to hide from the gods and the fallen. I compromised her, and she would need to hide elsewhere. I threatened to reveal her location. If she stayed here, then she would be a target! We could go here and fight to defeat or devour her! She has no reason to stay!"

"My concern is with the Darklings! What happened to her army? How sure are you that they are not here?"

"Because I saw what they did. My former master left, fearing that she would fall for my charm. Her armies and those flesh golems were left on their own. I'm guessing that without her, it probably caused havoc. But the Black Bog Kingdom is too strong. The wild monsters above the lands are too strong. The kingdoms and forces there are also strong. I would imagine that the Black Bog kingdom is now fighting the remnants of this army. Hunting them down to feed their Dark Dependent needs."

"I guess that makes sense." Breveros agreed.

The team marched, and they found several more of the Darklings in the area. Finally, they found some of the Fleshy Golems that Nightwing spoke and slew them.

Unknown to them, these were creatures that Nightwing had ordered to prepare beforehand.

Bomos, the Gigantes leader, had crafted the earth using the flesh within the Gigantes body that Bar-Mammon had corrupted.

The cancerous parts were crafted and made into fleshy golems. But many more remained in hiding.

"Hm? The scouts!" One of the cultivators at the front could sense the scouts returning.

"My lords... A team of several dozen is headed back here. Most are humans and elves. A few orcs dwarves."

"What? How did they discover this path?!" Breveros was stunned.

"...It's probably a coincidence. Or it was already discovered. When I opened this path, I did not have the powers of my master to close it back. So it's possible that this place has already been discovered." Nightwing frowned.

"Discovered?! Then we might have to face an army on the other side!"

"Are you chicken?" Nightwing laughed.

"...My lords! These people do not seem to be from an army. They are very weak and seem to be fleeing for their lives!" The scout reported.

"...Then let's capture them and see what's happening. It seems that they found this place by chance." Breveros ordered.

The vanguard assumed their defensive positions, and a few minutes later, the sounds of people running could be heard deep within the thick mist.

"Halt!" Breveros shouted.

"Who's there?!" The rushing men shouted back as they heard Breveros.

"We are the Unified Uninvolved Army! Speak your name and affiliation!"

"Unified Uninvolved Army! My lords! It's me! Don't attack!" One of the voices shouted.

"You know them?!" Another voice spoke.

"Yes! I never told you, but I'm from the outside! Shut up and sit back!" The first voice angrily cried.

"My lords! I am Gemelon of the Stalkreach kingdom! A resident of the Dreadmarch region! Should any of Stalkreach know of a Cardinal Magic Blitzer Yelegor, he can clarify my identity!" The man shouted.

"He is one of my spies." A voice spoke.

"Cardinal!"

"Gemelon. Move closer. You and your allies. Move closer so we can see you outside of the mist."

Several men appeared, and they had horrifying states. It was clear that they had not eaten for many days, and their attire was very torn. Nevertheless, it was clear that these men managed to escape from a captor.

"You were prisoners? Which group captured you?" Cardinal Yelegor asked.

"Cardinal! No group captured us! A strange occurrence has happened in these lands! These people next to me explained! The cities nearby are all decimated! Monsters of dark form are there..."

"They've already killed them! Look!" Gemelon's companion shouted and pointed to the corpse.

"The Darklings?! The flesh monsters! Cardinal! You've killed them?!"

"We've killed a few on the way here."

"A few?! But how?! Cardinal! There is an army of them!"

"What?! An army?! Impossible!" Nightwing suddenly moved forward.

"These things could never be an army! They eat and feed, but they were never too strong to take on the full Black Bog Kingdom!"

"They came right after the former Crowns of this region killed each other! There was a great war between the factions!"

"Killed each other?! Why would they kill each other?!" Nightwing cursed.

"We didn't understand it either! All those powerful groups went to war, and at that time, many attacked the monster king's nest! These creatures took advantage and began to attack the scattering monster horde from a dead monster king! But the many groups inside were too busy fighting each other that by the time they noticed these creatures, it was all too late! Many cities have fallen!"

"Then how did you survive?! Where were you kept?"

"Nearby! We were inside a cave, and those fleshy golems were slowly eating our companions! We managed to escape because of a battle that occurred nearby. We believe there was a Crown who was trying to get to the other side!"

"Enough!" Nightwing shouted.

"This is too dangerous. Breveros. It seems that my master may have pulled off some last annoying prank."

"Annoying prank? The massacre and potential downfall of the Black Bog Kingdom are but a prank to her?!"

"She had to do that! She wouldn't dare make this place fall under my control! We don't have a choice! We have to go in there and eliminate this darkling plague! If not, we risk being attacked by them! If we move in, we could save and call to service all those in the Black Bog Kingdom to compensate for the forces we lose in this expedition!"

"We don't have the luxury of time! The drop will be happening soon!"

"These things look for blood. I have the blood of my master. They will come here if I leak out my blood. But this means we face a horde!"

"Let them come! Even with their numbers, we can defeat them!" One of the orc kings laughed.

"You just want more food, dark dependent." A paladin frowned.

"Ha! You're just afraid that we dark dependents will get a little stronger than you!" A Black mage who was the prince of another kingdom and one of the few Dark Dependent Crowns in the Midlands laughed.

"Lord Nightwing. Do it. Let that army come. The strength these creatures have shown is not that all too great. Besides, these could be great cultivation resources for Lord Eldrich Breveros!"

"Wait." Breveros frowned.

"Wait?"

"My luck isn't good! I mean, look at the true state of this kingdom?! It's definitely because of my luck!" Breveros cursed.

"What?" Many became confused.

"Nightwing, don't do it. My luck has always been bad. And even now, I have a bad feeling about this."

"So we don't do it and hunt for these things one by one? You know we can't leave even a pack of these dogs alive! If we hasten to the location where those ambushes are set and attack the ambushes, we risk being attacked as these things could become creatures with Crown strength!" Nightwing warned.

"Master Eldrich, you should be more confident in yourself! I am not a Dark Dependent. But I still know the value of these corpses. It will greatly help as a source of food for the army, a source of cultivation materials, alchemy, magic, and level up for many of our teams." Another king spoke.

"...Fine. Do it. I just hope my luck isn't bad." Breveros sighed in defeat.

Nightwing smiled and made a small cut on his arm. He then began to chant as the small droplets of blood rose up and became a faint red mist.

"Alright. Get ready. They should be coming here now..."

"We have a narrow path, so we only have to defend at the front and the back. Unless these creatures will leap over us from the mountains above. Let's rearrange our forces and-"

RUMBLE... RUMBLE... RUMBLE...

As they spoke, the ground suddenly began to tremble.

Nightwing's expression suddenly became ugly.

"What's going on?!" Breveros shouted.

"Everyone! Watch the ground! This place has become their lair! They've been hiding beneath us the whole time!"

All at once, hundreds of Darklings suddenly surfaced out of the dirt. The formations of the army became useless as the creatures jumped out of the place where the United Uninvolved army stood.