Morning.
The Will of Ruler stood atop a high hillside with over a hundred zombies, gazing down upon the Crusader Knights just a few hundred meters away.
The distance between the two sides was close.
Yet she felt no fear.
Because the enemy had no horses left.
They could not match the zombies' speed.
A group of knights and soldiers without mounts posed no threat.
Even if their numbers were four times greater, they were nothing but lambs waiting for slaughter.
Sirin led another hundred zombies, swiftly approaching the Crusader Knights. Once they entered the Rangers' bow range, the undead halted in unison.
The Vigiles zombies took the front to shield them.
Behind them, the Rangers drew their bows, aiming toward the Crusaders.
"Fire!"
More than fifty arrows shot forth from the strings, slicing through the air with a whistling sound, flying straight toward the Crusader Knights.
The Crusaders reacted swiftly, taking defensive stances and diving for cover. The first volley wounded fewer than ten ordinary soldiers.
Seeing them take shelter behind trees and rocks, the Will of Ruler flanked from another direction, closing in. Then, another volley of arrows rained down from her Rangers.
The two zombie units of over a hundred each formed a pincer formation, striking from both sides.
They unleashed continuous fire upon the eight hundred-strong Crusader force.
Without horses, the Crusaders' charges were suicidal.
Before they could even get close, many were already felled mid-sprint by the Rangers' arrows.
Even if they pushed forward despite casualties—the zombies could simply retreat.
And if they did get close, the melee zombies would intercept them.
The Crusaders had archers of their own, but they were far fewer in number, and their bows lacked the range of the Rangers'.
The Rangers' arrows were directly generated by Honkai energy—there was no limit to their ammunition.
Trying to retrieve those arrows to reuse them was impossible.
After all, once the Will of Ruler willed it, the Honkai energy dissipated, and the arrows would crumble into fragments of ice.
Useless.
Unless something unexpected happened, the Crusader Knights would eventually be wiped out by the zombies' endless kiting tactics.
From morning till noon, the two zombie forces maintained distance, continuously firing upon the Crusaders.
They only paused when Honkai energy reserves ran low.
The melee zombies not only protected the Rangers but also acted as living batteries, transferring a third of their Honkai energy to recharge them.
Once replenished, the Rangers resumed generating arrows and continued their assault.
However, the Crusaders were not fools. After one failed charge, they quickly changed tactics.
They ran into the dense forest.
Inside the woods, the Rangers' bows were far less effective.
The knight commander scanned the surrounding trees and bushes, confirming their temporary safety before sending scouts to survey the area.
Most of those monsters—except for the few special ones—could be slain by two regular soldiers or a single knight.
In a direct confrontation, the monsters would stand no chance.
Iron Maiden approached the commander and whispered, "What should we do now?"
Their mission to purge the heretics had clearly failed.
Survival itself was uncertain.
The main heretic army of a thousand had yet to arrive, yet this vanguard of only three hundred monsters had already driven them into a desperate corner.
Without horses, there was no escape—unless they discarded their armor and scattered on foot.
But if they did that, what was the point of returning?
Better to charge those abominations head-on and die a knight's death.
The knight commander sat beneath a large tree, eyes narrowed as he studied the forest around them, brows furrowed deeply.
Those monsters fought in the most infuriating way.
He and his knights couldn't even bring their full strength to bear.
First, they had ambushed and killed their horses, robbing them of mobility.
Then, they bled them slowly with endless volleys of arrows.
The worst part was that, if things continued like this, his men would only grow more fearful.
The knight commander glanced at a soldier sitting beside him.
The man's hand trembled as he gripped his sword.
That constant fear of death—few soldiers could truly endure it.
The knight commander himself was ready to give his life for God and felt no fear.
"I have a bad feeling," he muttered. "Those monsters... they can probably see everything we do."
After entering the forest, he had tried to set up an ambush with a small group of knights.
But the monsters had not hesitated for even a moment—they went straight for the ambush site, surrounding it with arrows and fire.
Had he not sensed something wrong and ordered a retreat in time, they would all have been wiped out.
"That's exactly the problem," Iron Maiden nodded. "Their spellcaster must be watching us from the shadows."
From the monsters' movements, she had already noticed—their commander never needed scouts. They reacted instantly, as though they could see everything.
It was terrifying.
They had no idea what their enemy was doing, yet the enemy always knew what they were.
If she had such a power—if she could command her nation's army like this—she could conquer all of Europe.
And with such obedient, fearless monsters, if they reached a certain number, conquering the world would only be a matter of time.
Things were becoming more dangerous by the minute.
Unless they eliminated that hidden spellcaster watching them, she didn't know how they could win.
Their only remaining advantage was numbers.
But even that wouldn't last.
Another heretic army of a thousand—half of them monsters—was already on its way.
Once those reinforcements arrived, their numbers would mean nothing.
"So what do you suggest?"
The knight commander turned to her. Iron Maiden, the duke's daughter, had brought part of the knights and soldiers here herself.
He could tell she wanted to withdraw.
And truth be told, he did too.
But how could he return home and admit that two or three hundred monsters had routed a thousand knights?
Better to die in battle.
"Let's head for the nearby town first," Iron Maiden said finally.
The knight commander frowned. "To do what?"
"To find horses. Or do you plan to remain a knight without one?"
Her words made him freeze.
Of course! They could still find horses in the nearby town!
Though town horses were inferior, they were better than none.
"Good idea," he said, rising to his feet.
He gathered his men, ordering them to move out toward the nearest town in search of mounts.
Suddenly, Iron Maiden sensed danger. She spun around and deflected a flying arrow with her knight's sword.
"They've caught up," she said, stepping back.
"You lead them ahead," the knight commander ordered.
He and several dozen knights, along with two hundred soldiers, turned toward the approaching threat—Ranger zombies loosing arrows from the trees, and Ninja zombies advancing through the undergrowth.
They would hold the monsters off.
"Be careful," Iron Maiden said. She knew that if no one delayed the enemy, they would be relentlessly pursued.
By now, everyone understood the monsters' attack patterns and abilities.
As long as they were careful, losses would be minimal.
She also had another reason to head for the town—to use its walls to block the enemy's arrows.
And to resupply.
With dense foliage and tall grass serving as cover, the Will of Ruler could only send in melee units—Jun-Ninja, Joyo-Ninja, Kunoichi, Clawed, Vigiles, and Praetorian zombies.
The Rangers could only climb trees to shoot a few volleys.
The Archer zombies, however, could still ignite fire arrows and set the woods ablaze.
Watching the zombies engaged in battle, the Will of Ruler wondered whether it was time to deploy Honkai Beasts.
But Honkai Beasts required far more Honkai energy.
Zombies could be made by injecting Honkai energy into human flesh.
Honkai Beasts, however, were another matter entirely—silicon-based lifeforms.
To make them move, an enormous amount of energy was needed.
She had experimented with infusing animals with Honkai energy before—but the resulting Honkai Beasts knew only destruction, unable to understand her commands.
They were too difficult to control.