“I feel the power of Nature's Will. This is truly a wonderful and refreshing scent; I miss it dearly, but unfortunately, I can no longer truly perceive the freshness of nature through my sense of smell.” Ludwig slowly extended his hand, looking at his arm and hand bones that shimmered with a metallic luster, his eyes, those pale blue soul fires, flickered, indicating his emotions were somewhat agitated.
However, deep within the pale blue soul fire, a emerald green light also flickered. Although faint, it was genuinely present within the pale blue soul fire, protecting his last shred of sanity.
It was also the power of a Nature's Will fragment, safeguarding his last bit of sanity, a remnant of his time as a Wood Elf.
This was also Nature's Will's final gift.
Precisely because he possessed a fragment of Nature's Will, even though he had become an Undead Monster and was eroded by death spirit rules, a portion of his soul was still hidden within his body through the Nature's Will fragment, preventing him from becoming a complete puppet of the death spirit rules.
“But the death spirit rules are growing stronger. If the extraordinary power of this world becomes potent again, I will eventually become a puppet of the death spirit rules.” Ludwig narrowed his eyes slightly, turning to look at the magnificent human castle in the distance, his pale blue soul fire flickering again: “Indeed, those fellows were right. There’s such a rich natural aura in that human castle, and there are even Nature fragments present. This is truly good news.”
Because Ludwig knew that as long as he could acquire more natural dryness, more Natural Consciousness fragments, he would be able to maintain more of his sanity.
He wouldn't have to wait for the extraordinary power of this Blue Star World to reach a higher concentration and then be completely turned into a puppet by the increasingly powerful death spirit rules.
That outcome truly filled him with enough sorrow.
If he had previously seen those Wood Elf and sensed that the aura on them was identical to that of the Wood Elf from his homeland, which was why he had let them and the Wood Elf Village go, giving them a chance.
Now, his reason for helping these Wood Elf and that Wood Elf Village also included his desire to obtain more Natural Consciousness fragments to help him maintain his sanity.
He truly did not want to become a puppet of the death spirit rules, which he had once loathed the most. If he could still deceive himself now, believing he still had some connection to the Wood Elf.
But if he were to be completely controlled as a puppet by the death spirit rules, then he would merely be a Skeleton frame possessing his former combat skills and biological instincts.
He would be a genuine Undead Monster.
“If that happens, I’d rather die on the battlefield than become an Undead Monster. Proud Wood Elf warriors can never be tempted or manipulated by the enemy.” Ludwig gritted his teeth tightly, but thinking of the terrifying Black Emperor of the Black Arrow Tower Seventh Dynasty, he couldn’t help but clench his jaw even harder, causing his Skeleton head to emit a grinding sound.
The Black Arrow Tower Seventh Dynasty was formed by the Wood Elf troops during the End War.
However, their supreme leader was not Ludwig.
Instead, it was a terrifying Skeleton King who, from the moment the death spirit rules were not yet strong and the End War had just erupted, had already led the Undead army to fight against them, the righteous allied forces.
The reason their Skeleton Legion of the Black Arrow Tower Seventh Dynasty all shimmered with a metallic luster was because all of them were transformed by that Skeleton King, who was known as the Black Emperor.
Especially when they were transformed into Skeleton Archer, that terrifying Skeleton King, that existence known as the Black Emperor, also absorbed all of their memories, mastering the most essential archery and close-combat techniques of the Wood Elf. Coupled with his terrifying power and super strong defense, that Skeleton King, known as the Black Emperor, now possessed incredibly formidable combat strength.
He was at least 10 times stronger than he was during the End War.
Just thinking about this, Ludwig’s heart was enveloped by a surge of vexation and frustration.
If it weren't for that Black Emperor Skeleton King still absorbing all the memories of the Wood Elf.
And also because the concentration of extraordinary power in the Blue Star World had not yet reached the standard for his true arrival, otherwise, Ludwig truly had no way to resist the Black Emperor Skeleton King's manipulation.
Only then would Ludwig truly be powerless to turn the tide.
“I originally thought that as the concentration of extraordinary power in the Blue Star World grew stronger and stronger, and then the Black Emperor Skeleton King’s power would also become more and more tyrannical, I would eventually fall into being a puppet of the death spirit rules, but I didn’t expect that now there’s a new opportunity that might allow me to escape such a tragic possibility.”
Ludwig trembled with excitement, even as he gazed at the human castle basking in the sunlight before him, his soul fire swaying more and more violently.
Then he suddenly moved forward, directly stepping out of the surrounding dense black mist, the protective mist containing countless death spirit rules, and directly into the sunlight.
Then his Skeleton-like body, with its metallic shimmering Skeleton, was immediately illuminated by the light. Ludwig then felt a pain that stung his soul spread throughout his entire body.
Even upon his shimmering, bony Skeleton body, countless black mists had already appeared, and there were even sizzling sounds of burning.
“This is the power of Holy Light, the power of human sacred radiance. I truly didn’t expect to see this power again, the strongest power among humans against death spirit rules during the End War.” Ludwig endured the soul-level stinging pain spreading throughout his body at this moment, but he did not retreat back into the black mist. Instead, he stood outside the mist, raising his head, his soul-fire flickering eyes staring intently at a glowing Torch Tower atop the human castle: “Yes, it is the power of Holy Light. This is indeed the power of Holy Light commonly found in human empires. It is purifying my filthy body, but I never imagined that the power that once accompanied us and was trustworthy would leave me covered in wounds.”
A look resembling a bitter smile appeared on Ludwig’s skull; of course, it was imperceptible, but his emotions carried a sense of sorrow: “Let me destroy this human faction. Then, in the process of its destruction, I will obtain the Nature's Will fragment and find a way to be free.”
And as he spoke softly, a hint of ruthlessness appeared in Ludwig’s eyes.
Because he recalled the words his elder brother, the Great Elder of the Wood Elf Plane, had arranged for him when he conversed with those Blue Star Humans.
“Yes, my dear brother, my full-blooded brother, even my twin brother.”
The soul fire in Ludwig’s eyes once again flickered rapidly, but this time, the green light had diminished considerably, and a trace of red even appeared within the pale blue light, representing his agitated mood and the corruption arising from his emotional excitement: “You want to obtain another Nature's Will fragment to advance to the legendary rank, yes, I understand. As long as you become a legendary-rank expert, you will already be the top-tier expert in the Blue Star World. You will even be stronger than the former demigods, stronger than the former false gods, after all, after the Spirit World Crystal Wall System completely shattered, all those existences related to faith have already died. Even the high and mighty deities have disappeared, and the legendary rank is the strongest expert.”
Ludwig was speaking, murmuring to himself, even as his entire body was bathed in Holy Light, causing his soul to ache more and more. Then, a trace of green light reappeared, recalling his sanity.
Then Ludwig retreated back into the dark mist, once again allowing his soul and this Skeleton body to be nourished by the death spirit rules, rapidly recovering from his injuries.
Only in the sorrowful emotions within his eyes remained anger and mockery: “You’re right, brother. You want to become a legendary-rank expert, you want to become stronger, to reach higher, and that’s also why you betrayed me and became the Great Elder of the Wood Elf Kingdom. That’s also why you went to the End War, leading all the Wood Elf elites to fight against the terrifying Undead army.”
The mockery in Ludwig’s eyes deepened, and he was quite exhausted: “That’s also why you didn’t choose to save me even after receiving my plea for help. It’s simply because my talent was higher than yours, and I was well-liked by others. These are the reasons why you acted against me, aren’t they?”
Ludwig gritted his teeth.
His teeth were tightly clenched, and the pale blue light in his eyes began to flicker again, and as his emotions surged, it began to release a special reddish glow.
A profound magical power also began to permeate around his body.
It began to connect with the thin extraordinary power that had already appeared in the Blue Star World outside, and also communicated with the death spirit rules and the countless dead Skeleton soldiers in front of him, through the negative energy that had not completely dissipated from these Skeleton soldiers and the remaining parts of the death spirit rules.
He slowly raised his hand.
“Come on, let your corpses construct the crucial aid for conquering this human castle this time.”
Then Ludwig directly extended his hand and clenched his fist, allowing the profound magical power he had already mastered to begin to spread, causing the countless Skeleton scattered across the entire battlefield to tremble.
It was as if these Skeleton fragments and bone scraps were responding to the magical power that Ludwig had unleashed.
‘Whoosh!’
As Ludwig raised both his hands and then pointed towards the eastern city wall, all of them suddenly ascended into the air, emitting countless faint black lights with cracking sounds, and rushed towards the eastern city wall.
That’s right, he rushed over.
Countless bone fragments and bone scraps all rushed over, then, like a rain of bones falling from the sky, they crashed onto the outside of the eastern city wall with a rattling sound.
In a short period of time, they filled the four to five-meter deep trench and began to stack layer by layer against the more than 6-meter high city wall.
And Ludwig watched all of this, the soul fire in his eyes flickering more intensely, and he continued to increase his magical output, making the frequency at which the scattered Skeleton scraps on the ground ascended into the air faster and faster.
The quantity grew larger and larger.
Even at this moment, Ludwig noticed that the number of Skeleton scraps on the ground was decreasing, but he unhesitatingly pointed his hand towards the seven or eight mist clusters around him, and those mist clusters immediately burst open with a bang.
Hundreds of Skeleton Archer within them completely shattered, and along with the black mist clusters, they also joined the ascending bone scraps, flying together towards the eastern city wall.
More and more Skeleton scraps began to fall outside the city wall.
More and more Skeleton began to form an orderly slope.
Stacking layer by layer.
Finally, with a rattling sound, a ramp made of Skeleton scraps, 10 meters wide and over 30 meters long, was formed directly outside the eastern city wall.
It extended directly from the bottom all the way up to the top of the city wall.
The city wall's defense, which was originally impregnable, suddenly became precarious due to this gray-white, metallic-lustered slope constructed from Skeleton!
“This is the power of magic. You Blue Star Humans simply don’t understand why spellcasters were the strongest professionals when the Spirit World was at its peak.”
At this moment, the soul fire in Ludwig’s eyes was no longer as vibrant as before, having become quite faint and sparse, but at this moment, he seemed to be breathing heavily, his eyes filled with excitement, looking at the bone-constructed ramp that had formed, revealing a sinister smile: “If my dear brother can reach the legendary rank with another Nature's Will fragment, then if I get another Nature's Will fragment, I will certainly be able to regain my body, and perhaps even isolate myself from the Black Emperor Skeleton King’s control.”
As long as he could achieve all of this, he would have the possibility of freedom.
And looking at the breakthrough already formed by bones in front of him, his voice also appeared in the soul fires of all the Skeleton Legion, which meant it appeared in the minds of all the Skeleton Legion: “Now, all units, begin the attack!”
And behind him, in the darkness of the night completely enveloped by the death spirit rules, more black mist clusters began to appear.
More and more Skeleton soldiers began to charge.
The general offensive of the Skeleton Legion had now begun!
“Come, come, come, fragment of Natural Consciousness, please allow me to once again receive your favor.” Ludwig also walked forward.