Ezra had already mopped up the Undead Trolls on the beach and cleared the way to Cekunia. Aurelia’s journey, however, took her across a barren moor and brought her to a deserted ruin seventy miles from the capital.Racinta used to be one of the oldest villages in Valaria and was inhabited by groups of barbaric tribes and roving traders from the remotest parts of the country.A hundred years ago, the place was still bustling with life, but a deadly plague killed the inhabitants during one of the harshest winters, and now the village was just a lifeless ruin dotted with thatched huts, derelict granaries, and decrepit wooden shacks.While it was possible to avoid the ruins entirely by going around them, the longer route was fraught with dangers. Racinta was surrounded from all sides by a treacherous bog which often swallowed lost travelers and stray caravans whole if they weren’t careful. Thus, it was much safer for any army to pass straight through the ruins and avoid the deceptive terr

Barely a few hours ago, everyone was fighting tooth and nail to defend Magaravia, but Ezra’s bold approach reversed the situation completely. He was no longer interested in playing the safe game but wanted to hit the necromancers with everything they had.The only problem was Ezra wasn’t looking to take things slow and focus on one city at a time. His strategy relied on launching a two-pronged attack which would give the cultists no time to formulate a counterattack.However, not everyone was eager to fight two battles at once without even knowing what they were dealing with.Aurelia had already tried dissuading Ezra, but he was obstinate about attacking both cities at the same time and it seemed like even the Goddess herself could not convince him to alter his plans.“I understand that you are not too comfortable with the idea of splitting our forces, so I don’t need anything from you. Take the Imperial Army and the Elementalists. Focus on Ignar while I deal with Malodor’s forces in

Everyone listened attentively, their eyes focused on the map as Ezra began discussing the plans for the attacks. “Cekunia is the closest city to Magaravia,” he said, circling the port city on the map. “This is where Malodor has been hiding. It is also the last city they captured. Once we manage to liberate it, we probably would not have to worry about another attack on Magaravia.""That's right. The undead presence around the capital was reduced considerably just by clearing those two neighboring villages. I am quite certain that killing a necromancer and liberating his stronghold would deal a crushing blow to their forces,” Servius spoke in his turn.Ezra nodded. “Exactly. Malodor is the oldest necromancer in that group, and I believe he has been leading their forces. With him taken out of the picture, they will lose their edge. Then, we can think about rattling their foundations.”“Since Cekunia is a port city, capturing it would also allow us to reclaim the sea and use the waterway

Once Ezra was safe under the dome of sacred light, he dismounted from his horse and looked around. Everything seemed quiet now, and there were no undead in sight.However, as Ezra was scanning the area, he spotted a steely gray metallic platform sticking out of the sand. It was a triangular structure with a circular disc embedded in the middle and three magic cores fixed on its three corners.“Is this yours?” Marlin asked, staring at the peculiar object with wide-eyed curiosity.Ezra shook his head. “I don’t even know what that thing is. But it doesn’t look like it belongs to the undead either. It’s far too clean and…sophisticated.”As Ezra was analyzing the triangular platform, it started buzzing, and a circle of vibrant blue light appeared on its surface, illuminating the area in its dim glow.“Teleportation successful!” A squeaky voice exclaimed as a human figure appeared on the platform.Milton stepped out of the blue light, removed the laboratory goggles from his eyes, and took of

As Ezra marched toward Cekunia, the Rot Cannons activated, their reddish-black barrels poking out of the holes in the battlements.“Defenders to the front!” Ezra yelled into his controller, commanding the Sentries to break formation.The Sentry Defenders rushed out of the group and marched in front of Ezra, linking their heavy shields together to form an impenetrable phalanx.All ten Rot Cannons fired at once, their swollen barrels contracting like living tissue.Slop!Splash!Blobs of rotting meat drenched in blood and slime splashed against the galvanized shields, filling the air with a putrid stench.Ezra stood behind the fortified phalanx and watched from a safe distance as the cannons fired again, launching another meaty volley of regurgitated flesh and bones.“What the hell are they even firing?” Ezra scrunched his nose in disgust as the rotting stench irritated his nostrils, making his stomach turn in disgust.“I guess you haven’t heard about slime boluses before?” Marlin pitche