“Sir Nura Blackwood, please sit down,” said Hale Blackwood while offering a wide wooden seat with smooth furs pad.
The skinny pale man sits there. Some low henchman brought a big fan to ensure the respected man of Blackwood Family doesn’t have to bear the desert heat.
“How’s the situation?” asked Nura Blackwood.
“I’m sorry, Sir. This is my fault. Assassins sent by Big Madam failed and I have to issue retreat order to maintain minimum casualty.”
“Mmm….” Nura Blackwood held his chin, thinking. All members of the family grew nervous. “I told my sister not to meddle but she didn’t listen anyway. Now, look at you people, tsk. How many have died then?” he continued with a question.
Hale Blackwood answered with a cordial tone. “We have two casualties, Sir. The other few already became eunuchs. Would you like the details, Sir Nura?”
“No. I just want to know where their corpses are.”
The bald man hesitates for a moment. He knows well enough, his answer wouldn't satisfy the younger brother of Patriarch Blackwood’s main wife. “Sir, we are tremendously sorry, Sir. We already burned them.”
Even though the pale skinny man didn't react, his burly bodyguard let out a mocking snort.
Hale Blackwood glared at the bodyguard. It was Sir Nura Blackwood whom he respected and fear. How can a mere bodyguard mock him like that? Naturally he felt angry and humiliated.
“We're just afraid Jhuro’s poison would bring diseases if we let the bodies rot. However, there are also casualties from the mercenaries, Sir, maybe if we speak with the high-ranked mercenaries we could obtain dead bodies.”
“Then please arrange it,” Nura Blackwood casually ordering him.
“Sir, right away, Sir.”
All of the members who were afraid hastily retreated from Blackwood’s tent. Leaving only Nura and his bodyguard.
“From your professional point of view, what are your evaluation of my family’s men?” asked Nura, playing the glass of wine in his hand while nonchalantly asking the burly bodyguard.
“They are shit,” evaluated the burly man.
Nura wasn't angry when he hearing the answer. Instead, a faint smile appeared on his pale face. “But shits usually make a good meat-shields, don’t you agree?”
***
Afternoon, in the biggest tent of the camp, few people gaze at Blackwood’s men with unhappy eyes.
“You brought them to the dead and now you people want their dead bodies? Is it not enough to make them suffer? Are you Blackwoods even humans?” some high leveled Knight class warrior snorted.
“I say, there’s something suspicious going on within the Blackwood family,” a Level 54 wind elemental affinity Mage said with a wary tone.
Hale Blackwood collected his thoughts before answering. “We have personal issues with the elder of Hatim Malakas School, Jhuro Yashura. It’s that he is more cunning and dangerous than the rumors describe him to be. There are casualties in my Blackwood Family too, so it should be a warning for other people who wish to hunt his head. Blackwood Family said we would give a great reward. Is it our fault your people underestimated the risks?”
His answer brought more discontent grunts, but of course there were still some reasonable men in the tent.
“Five hundred gold coins per body, no negotiation. And you can’t decide which body to buy,” said a gray-haired elder.
The Mage of Blackwood who followed Hale to come here wasn’t satisfied with the condition. But Hale Blackwood agreed without a second thought.
At least, with that ridiculous expensive exchange, nobody would ask questions later.
When they brought back the bodies, the Mage couldn’t hold his curiosity. “Sir Hale, why did you agree to their term so easily? Our expedition team didn’t bring much money in the first place.”
Hale Blackwood smiled, while rubbing his bald head and looking at the direction of their tent. “We brought this measly number of dead bodies. Did you think Sir Nura would satisfied?”
“Pardon, Sir?”
“Prepare the men. This time that bastard of Yashura will not have the chance to live.”
Three hours later.
The camp’s emergency bell suddenly rang aloud.
An all-out battle between some mercenaries and a mysterious army broke.
“Shit! Who are these mad fuckers?!”
Furious yells and battle roar filled the bloodied air with hate. People desperately hacking and slashing towards the masked attackers just to try and preserve their lives.
“Where are the fucking Archers! Archers! Who the hell gave us support from the tower?!” enraged yells were focused towards their own teammates. Everyone turned mad.
The veteran marksman up on the tower was shooting with desperation. He was a Level 55 Archer, the best one in the camp. Yet, arrows that he shot weren’t even able to slow down the attackers’ movement. He aimed at their heads before. And their chests, heart, legs, arms, not even one arrow was effective. The enemies still raged madly with their massacres!
“Who are these people? We couldn’t even kill one of them!” roared the leader of the camp. Fresh blood was on his scarred, old face.
“Can we survive this calamity?” asked one of the veterans.
The tents were ransacked. The supplies were burned. The situation was hopeless. Even the most stupid men in the camp knew they wouldn’t survive for long.
But, they still had their pride.
“The hell with this! Kill them! Kill them! Just try to kill these son of a bitches! Whatever the costs!” shouted the old leader to the unorganized army of his, inviting intensified battle roars of the mercenaries.
Even if they are to fall, those enraged mercenaries will make sure their enemies will fall with them!
In the secluded side of the battle, Blackwood expedition team was fighting with cautiousness. They also have wounds on their bodies, but not so bad as the other mercenaries were.
“Sir Hale, will we keep pretending or…” the Mage whispered.
Hale Blackwood shook his bald head, narrowing his eyes and said, “We have to wait for the signal.”
As time went by, more and more mercenaries were dead. The fighting men didn’t even bother with the fallen, as they still had to worry over their own life. Because of that, no one noticed the twitched dead bodies.
Soon, the dead men started to stand on their feet again.
The mercenaries were dumbfounded. Some of them even pinched their bloodied cheeks to ensure they weren’t inside some sort of nightmare.
Dead mercenaries picked up their weapons on the ground. Icily glaring at the living men who stationed themselves on the center of the camp.
Their eyes were hollow, yet filled with a strange aura of bloodlust, ready to charge into battle!
“Army of the death…” people were whisper with grieve.
It was then, a chilling roar was heard inside their own rank.
“Blackwood Family! Start killing!” Hale Blackwood roared.
A new battle broke, Blackwood's weapons slashing their own allies’ back!
“Traitors!”
“Blackwood Family! You dare!”
“I knew something was wrong with them!”
The old leader of the mercenaries was sullen. He started to raise his voice and pointed his sword at the Blackwood forces. “Forget these zombie motherfuckers! All of you, together with me… kill all Blackwood's piece of shits!”
The enraged mercenaries charged toward the Blackwood forces, but the army of the dead was attacking their side flank. While putting in huge pressure, scared and in low morale, the disorganized army of living mercenaries soon were overwhelmed by Blackwood and the walking dead forces.
***
One hour later, the battle roars died down….
Blackwood’s men were standing dazed and confused. Corpses of mercenaries faintly twitched on the sandy ground, as no one from the other side was survived.
Some of Blackwood’s men were collecting wealth from the dead men's purses before they turned into zombies. This day was shitty as hell. All of them were wishing they didn’t come here in the first place.
“Water! Water!” the bald Hale Blackwood shouted, searching for a bottle of water on the ransacked tents and corpses. But he didn’t find any. In the end, all he could do was rubbing his own bald head, enduring his thirst in silence.
There’s only one tent which still stood without damages, it was that of Blackwood. A black dressed pale man walked out from it.
“It was faster than I thought, ah,” Nura Blackwood said. “Where’s Jhuro. Anybody saw him?”
“No, Sir. He usually comes back late in the evening,” Hale Blackwood remained polite when he answered.
Nura Blackwood coldly smirks while he touched his chin. The walking corpses all come to greet their master. He nodded without concern.
A moment later, the Necromancer of the Blackwood Family let out a dissatisfied hiss. “Well, the evening wouldn’t be late for a reunion party. It’s time for us to finish the preparing,” then he said to one of the walking corpses. “Do it fast and quiet. I want to get some sleep before meeting my old friend.”
The corpse nods. It slowly turned its head, glancing at the remaining Blackwood men with its hollow eyes.
All the other living dead gave the same chilling gazes.
“Sir….” Hale’s expression turned grave. He wanted to shout and beg, but Hale Blackwood knew the ruthlessness of this man…
All of the sudden, screams full of grieve and fear rang once again in the camp.
The Blackwood expedition team tried to defend their life, but they were hopeless as they knew they couldn’t win against the fierce undead warriors in the first place. Soon, Hale Blackwood and the other boys were helplessly massacred. Only to stand once again as part of the army of the death.
***
“Sir Nura Blackwood, please sit down,” said Hale Blackwood while offering a wide wooden seat with smooth furs pad.
The skinny pale man sits there. Some low henchman brought a big fan to ensure the respected man of Blackwood Family doesn’t have to bear the desert heat.
“How’s the situation?” asked Nura Blackwood.
“I’m sorry, Sir. This is my fault. Assassins sent by Big Madam failed and I have to issue retreat order to maintain minimum casualty.”
“Mmm….” Nura Blackwood held his chin, thinking. All members of the family grew nervous. “I told my sister not to meddle but she didn’t listen anyway. Now, look at you people, tsk. How many have died then?” he continued with a question.
Hale Blackwood answered with a cordial tone. “We have two casualties, Sir. The other few already became eunuchs. Would you like the details, Sir Nura?”
“No. I just want to know where their corpses are.”
The bald man hesitates for a moment. He knows well enough, his answer wouldn't satisfy the younger brother of Patriarch Blackwood’s main wife. “Sir, we are tremendously sorry, Sir. We already burned them.”
Even though the pale skinny man didn't react, his burly bodyguard let out a mocking snort.
Hale Blackwood glared at the bodyguard. It was Sir Nura Blackwood whom he respected and fear. How can a mere bodyguard mock him like that? Naturally he felt angry and humiliated.
“We're just afraid Jhuro’s poison would bring diseases if we let the bodies rot. However, there are also casualties from the mercenaries, Sir, maybe if we speak with the high-ranked mercenaries we could obtain dead bodies.”
“Then please arrange it,” Nura Blackwood casually ordering him.
“Sir, right away, Sir.”
All of the members who were afraid hastily retreated from Blackwood’s tent. Leaving only Nura and his bodyguard.
“From your professional point of view, what are your evaluation of my family’s men?” asked Nura, playing the glass of wine in his hand while nonchalantly asking the burly bodyguard.
“They are shit,” evaluated the burly man.
Nura wasn't angry when he hearing the answer. Instead, a faint smile appeared on his pale face. “But shits usually make a good meat-shields, don’t you agree?”
***
Afternoon, in the biggest tent of the camp, few people gaze at Blackwood’s men with unhappy eyes.
“You brought them to the dead and now you people want their dead bodies? Is it not enough to make them suffer? Are you Blackwoods even humans?” some high leveled Knight class warrior snorted.
“I say, there’s something suspicious going on within the Blackwood family,” a Level 54 wind elemental affinity Mage said with a wary tone.
Hale Blackwood collected his thoughts before answering. “We have personal issues with the elder of Hatim Malakas School, Jhuro Yashura. It’s that he is more cunning and dangerous than the rumors describe him to be. There are casualties in my Blackwood Family too, so it should be a warning for other people who wish to hunt his head. Blackwood Family said we would give a great reward. Is it our fault your people underestimated the risks?”
His answer brought more discontent grunts, but of course there were still some reasonable men in the tent.
“Five hundred gold coins per body, no negotiation. And you can’t decide which body to buy,” said a gray-haired elder.
The Mage of Blackwood who followed Hale to come here wasn’t satisfied with the condition. But Hale Blackwood agreed without a second thought.
At least, with that ridiculous expensive exchange, nobody would ask questions later.
When they brought back the bodies, the Mage couldn’t hold his curiosity. “Sir Hale, why did you agree to their term so easily? Our expedition team didn’t bring much money in the first place.”
Hale Blackwood smiled, while rubbing his bald head and looking at the direction of their tent. “We brought this measly number of dead bodies. Did you think Sir Nura would satisfied?”
“Pardon, Sir?”
“Prepare the men. This time that bastard of Yashura will not have the chance to live.”
Three hours later.
The camp’s emergency bell suddenly rang aloud.
An all-out battle between some mercenaries and a mysterious army broke.
“Shit! Who are these mad fuckers?!”
Furious yells and battle roar filled the bloodied air with hate. People desperately hacking and slashing towards the masked attackers just to try and preserve their lives.
“Where are the fucking Archers! Archers! Who the hell gave us support from the tower?!” enraged yells were focused towards their own teammates. Everyone turned mad.
The veteran marksman up on the tower was shooting with desperation. He was a Level 55 Archer, the best one in the camp. Yet, arrows that he shot weren’t even able to slow down the attackers’ movement. He aimed at their heads before. And their chests, heart, legs, arms, not even one arrow was effective. The enemies still raged madly with their massacres!
“Who are these people? We couldn’t even kill one of them!” roared the leader of the camp. Fresh blood was on his scarred, old face.
“Can we survive this calamity?” asked one of the veterans.
The tents were ransacked. The supplies were burned. The situation was hopeless. Even the most stupid men in the camp knew they wouldn’t survive for long.
But, they still had their pride.
“The hell with this! Kill them! Kill them! Just try to kill these son of a bitches! Whatever the costs!” shouted the old leader to the unorganized army of his, inviting intensified battle roars of the mercenaries.
Even if they are to fall, those enraged mercenaries will make sure their enemies will fall with them!
In the secluded side of the battle, Blackwood expedition team was fighting with cautiousness. They also have wounds on their bodies, but not so bad as the other mercenaries were.
“Sir Hale, will we keep pretending or…” the Mage whispered.
Hale Blackwood shook his bald head, narrowing his eyes and said, “We have to wait for the signal.”
As time went by, more and more mercenaries were dead. The fighting men didn’t even bother with the fallen, as they still had to worry over their own life. Because of that, no one noticed the twitched dead bodies.
Soon, the dead men started to stand on their feet again.
The mercenaries were dumbfounded. Some of them even pinched their bloodied cheeks to ensure they weren’t inside some sort of nightmare.
Dead mercenaries picked up their weapons on the ground. Icily glaring at the living men who stationed themselves on the center of the camp.
Their eyes were hollow, yet filled with a strange aura of bloodlust, ready to charge into battle!
“Army of the death…” people were whisper with grieve.
It was then, a chilling roar was heard inside their own rank.
“Blackwood Family! Start killing!” Hale Blackwood roared.
A new battle broke, Blackwood's weapons slashing their own allies’ back!
“Traitors!”
“Blackwood Family! You dare!”
“I knew something was wrong with them!”
The old leader of the mercenaries was sullen. He started to raise his voice and pointed his sword at the Blackwood forces. “Forget these zombie motherfuckers! All of you, together with me… kill all Blackwood's piece of shits!”
The enraged mercenaries charged toward the Blackwood forces, but the army of the dead was attacking their side flank. While putting in huge pressure, scared and in low morale, the disorganized army of living mercenaries soon were overwhelmed by Blackwood and the walking dead forces.
***
One hour later, the battle roars died down….
Blackwood’s men were standing dazed and confused. Corpses of mercenaries faintly twitched on the sandy ground, as no one from the other side was survived.
Some of Blackwood’s men were collecting wealth from the dead men's purses before they turned into zombies. This day was shitty as hell. All of them were wishing they didn’t come here in the first place.
“Water! Water!” the bald Hale Blackwood shouted, searching for a bottle of water on the ransacked tents and corpses. But he didn’t find any. In the end, all he could do was rubbing his own bald head, enduring his thirst in silence.
There’s only one tent which still stood without damages, it was that of Blackwood. A black dressed pale man walked out from it.
“It was faster than I thought, ah,” Nura Blackwood said. “Where’s Jhuro. Anybody saw him?”
“No, Sir. He usually comes back late in the evening,” Hale Blackwood remained polite when he answered.
Nura Blackwood coldly smirks while he touched his chin. The walking corpses all come to greet their master. He nodded without concern.
A moment later, the Necromancer of the Blackwood Family let out a dissatisfied hiss. “Well, the evening wouldn’t be late for a reunion party. It’s time for us to finish the preparing,” then he said to one of the walking corpses. “Do it fast and quiet. I want to get some sleep before meeting my old friend.”
The corpse nods. It slowly turned its head, glancing at the remaining Blackwood men with its hollow eyes.
All the other living dead gave the same chilling gazes.
“Sir….” Hale’s expression turned grave. He wanted to shout and beg, but Hale Blackwood knew the ruthlessness of this man…
All of the sudden, screams full of grieve and fear rang once again in the camp.
The Blackwood expedition team tried to defend their life, but they were hopeless as they knew they couldn’t win against the fierce undead warriors in the first place. Soon, Hale Blackwood and the other boys were helplessly massacred. Only to stand once again as part of the army of the death.
***
