This ambush nearly caught them off guard. Fortunately, Xiao Xun had been constantly reminding them not to let their guard down, so they quickly reacted and launched a powerful counterattack. Thus, this attack ended without any casualties.
Despite being an open-field encounter, the outcome was no different from the defensive battle at the camp.
However, a new type of soldier had appeared among the Scourge army that had attacked them this time: a group of giant, dark gray spiders.
That night, the Scourge did not return, likely discouraged by the failed surprise attack during the day.
Although the Scourge soldiers were cheap, summoning them still required time and magic.
The soldiers had already gone to rest early. It was better that there were no attacks; they could get a good night's sleep.
The next morning, Xiao Xun led his men onward.
He was trying to reach the enemy's main base in the shortest possible time. After all, in this freezing cold land, even the Winterfolk of the extreme regions would probably not want to stay any longer!
After a day, they passed through Kustainbing, which was originally their only kingdom.
Although it was called a kingdom, its permanent population was less than that of a single large city like Santi Roman. The people here lived in igloos, traveled by sled, and ate fish caught at sea. They essentially caught enough provisions for the entire year during the warmest season.
Their king and his court's palaces were underground, as they were sheltered from the harsh winds and heating was very convenient.
Since the King of Pride had arrived here, the undead he led had attacked the kingdom. Their king and the commoners living here had all become servants of the King of Pride.
Xiao Xun, accompanied by Bai Yang, arrived at the underground royal palace. Entering the main hall and looking at the peculiar throne and the murals behind it, he suddenly realized something: this king was not human, but a giant spider with a human face.
Emerging from the royal palace, he looked at the endless tunnels of various kinds, unsure where they led.
Xiao Xun had considered heading straight for the enemy's main base from here, but after thinking about it, he ultimately gave up.
The underground kingdom's intricate network of tunnels was enough to disorient any outsider, leading them astray in endless forks and eventually being swallowed by darkness.
Therefore, this place could not be attacked head-on. Xiao Xun left a few magical helicopters to monitor it before departing.
They still had to continue north and reach the enemy's main base as soon as possible.
However, for some unknown reason, they encountered no attacks for two consecutive days. Even the magical helicopters that had been on patrol did not detect any undead.
The more this happened, the more a tense atmosphere enveloped the soldiers. Xiao Xun had a premonition that the decisive battle would occur when they reached the vicinity of the enemy's main base.
Finally, on the morning of the fifth day, the magical helicopters brought Xiao Xun some good news.
They discovered a large number of undead migrating, and their direction of movement was to the northwest, towards the enemy's main base!
Experience told him that this was the King of Pride mobilizing troops from all over Papal, preparing for a decisive battle at the enemy's main base!
What about this discovered undead army?
Of course, it had to be eliminated!
"Vincent, order the entire army to march faster. There's a battle waiting for us ahead!"
Xiao Xun immediately gave the order, his voice tinged with hidden joy and excitement. "Magical helicopters, execute Plan Alpha!"
The so-called Alpha mission was a reconnaissance mission, with a particular focus on Destroyers and Necromancers. Xiao Xun was quite certain that An Mie would not appear on the frontal battlefield, so there was no need for them to pay special attention to a "big bat."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Vincent saluted, and then the entire contingent changed direction to intercept the undead army, which was no longer very far from them.
The commander of this undead army had astonishingly poor military acumen. For such a large army on the march, there wasn't even a scout!
This was also a tragedy of the undead. Most zombies and ghouls lacked intelligence and could not perform tasks that required a higher degree of skill.
For example, reconnaissance and ambushes.
"Soldiers, charge!"
The Holy Knight Vincent led the charge, taking the soldiers to the very front.
With his strength, he was not worried about his own safety.
The undead seemed to have been caught off guard, but these unintelligent creatures clearly did not know what "panic" was. After their commander reacted, they immediately began to counterattack.
In fact, the undead didn't need command. With their overwhelming numbers, allowing them to attack on their own was sufficient!
Thus, the battlefield immediately entered a white-hot state!
After entering combat, Xiao Xun quickly realized that this army was clearly unbalanced.
Not only was there almost no air force, but even the ground troops were a singular combination of zombies, skeleton soldiers, and those giant spiders. There wasn't even a single Abomination!
Clearly, it was a motley army, not even belonging to the Scourge Legion!
Even so, the small unit commanders on the front lines were still extremely nervous. After all, with overwhelming numbers, even the best fighter could not fend off attacks from all sides. One hit from each would be unbearable.
"Soldiers, raise your shields and defend!"
"Where are the magic soldiers? There's a zombie here that hasn't been slowed down!"
...
When Xiao Xun saw the spiders, he had already ordered the soldiers not to rush into attack but to constantly pay attention to the spiders' movements. It was better to enter a shield-bearing state than to be hit head-on by them.
He himself did not personally enter the battlefield but waited behind, awaiting reports from the magical helicopters!
Every undead army must have a commander, and that commander cannot be too far from the army.
"Fire!"
The gunners' loud voices could be clearly heard even on this battlefield. With the sound of cannons, the artillery squads behind them began to unleash their might. Flying shrapnel pierced the fragile bodies of the undead, but a flash of purple light swept over, and a swarm of small beetles emerged from the corpses of several dead spiders!
Xiao Xun couldn't help but clench his fists, his palms sweating slightly. The strange phenomenon before him did not capture his attention; his gaze was fixed on the rear...
With the advantage in numbers, the battlefield gradually began to turn against the undead.
For such unintelligent but extremely cheap soldiers, a simple swarm attack would usually result in victory. But when the two sides were evenly matched in numbers, or when the human side even had more, the outcome of such a battle could be predicted!
"Reporting to Your Highness, a super-sized armored spider has been discovered!" a magical helicopter pilot shouted. "Approximately four kilometers to the northwest!"
After discovering that this army did not contain any Destroyers, Xiao Xun, who possessed air superiority, became the sole master.
After all, being able to fly and having far-reaching vision made them much more effective for reconnaissance than any scout!
"Northwest?"
Xiao Xun turned his head to look, hesitating slightly. In the end, he decided that no matter what, there had to be a resolution. "Vincent, you will command the battle. Ducaal, come with me!"
"We will go and deal with their commander!"
"Your Highness, it's escaping! That giant spider is running, heading north!"
Running?